Crypto-Christianity
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Crypto-Christianity commonly refers to the secret practice of the Christian religion, usually while attempting to camouflage it as another faith or observing the rituals of another religion publicly. In places and time periods where Christians were persecuted or Christianity was outlawed, cults of crypto-Christianity have surfaced.
While the initial development of the Christian Church under Roman rule shares traits with crypto-Christianity, the term is not usually applied to it.
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[edit] History
Various time periods and places have seen large crypto-Christian cults and underground movements. This was usually the reaction to either threats of violence or legal action.
[edit] In Japan
Christianity was introduced to Japan during its feudal era by Saint Francis Xavier in 1550. From the beginning, Christianity was seen as a threat to the power of the Shogun. In 1643, Christianity was banned, all churches were destroyed and all signs of Christian influence were systematically eliminated. The ban was not lifted until 1858.
During this period, faithful converts moved underground into a crypto-Christian cult called kakure Kirishitan or "hidden Christians". Crypto-Christian crosses and graves, cleverly styled during these two centuries to resemble Buddhist imagery, can still be seen in the Shimabara Peninsula, Amakusa islands and far south in Kagoshima.
[edit] In the Balkans
Due to the religious strife that has marked the Balkan Peninsula, instances of crypto-Christian behavior are reported to this day in Muslim-dominated areas of the former Yugoslavia and Albania. With the threat of retribution for the religious and ethnic conflicts, many Christian minority groups keep their religion private to protect themselves. Not a one-sided phenomenon, the practice is equally common for Muslims in the area as well who live as Crypto-Muslims.
Crypto-Christianity was mostly practiced following the Ottoman Turkish conquests of the Balkans, but the earliest scholarly record of the phenomenon dates to 1829[citation needed].
[edit] In Nazi Germany
In a unique instance of crypto-Christianity occurring in a majority Christian nation, the underground Confessing Church consisted of German Christians who were opposed to the unified Protestant Reich Church that was consolidated under Adolf Hitler. When many of their leaders were incarcerated and sent to concentration camps, many Confessing Church members proceeded to worship privately or secretly in a crypto-Christian manner.
[edit] Intra-Christian Cases
In addition to crypto-Christianity, where Christians practiced their faith secretly in an anti-Christian society, there have been instances of crypto-Catholics in Protestant territories where Catholicism was banned and heavily persecuted (such as England from 1558 to 1829), and the reverse in Catholic territories.
[edit] Other Meanings
The term crypto-Christianity has been applied to other phenomenon as well.
[edit] Christian-derived Practices
The term can be used to describe practices, stories and celebrations that are derived from Christian beliefs but have been modified, corrupted or their meaning lost. For instance, the legend of King Arthur can be seen as crypto-Christian, with its concepts of a returning king and a virtuous martyr. Some small Muslim sects have rituals and feasts whose meaning is crypto-Christian, some sociologists contend.
[edit] Christian "aggression"
Crypto-Christianity in recent times has been used to describe allegedly devious practices by evangelical Christians operating in predominantly non-Christian nations. In this sense, it is used to describe evangelical groups who operate under the auspices of charity, aid or counseling services, but whose primary goal to gain new converts. The term is a politically charged one, and its acceptance or rejection by intellectuals and "experts" depends on their own personal leanings, as can be seen in intellectual discussion about the subject in India.
This term is usually used by culturally conservative non-Christian religious groups. These attacks are often accompanied by accusations of Christian aggression, a feared subversion of local faiths by aggressive Christian missionaries. Hindu groups opposed to Christian influence in India have employed the term.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Stavro Skendi, "Crypto-Christianity in the Balkan Area under the Ottomans", Slavic Review 26:2 (June 1967), pp. 227-246. JSTOR online (pay site)
