ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the reader to the phenomenon of dual (and multiple) religious belonging and explores how the field of Hindu-Christian studies offers a unique vantage point through which to explore dual belonging. We highlight the importance of belonging (as both an internal state within the individual and an external state of acceptance by a broader religious community) in the exploration of dual belonging. Noting this, we thus emphasise that dual belonging is best explored from interdisciplinary perspectives – since an interdisciplinary approach offers multiple methodologies and theoretical frameworks through which to consider these multiple facets of belonging. We offer four distinct ways of understanding and defining belonging, namely belonging which is (1) granted by a religious authority, (2) extended by a religious community, (3) attained via one’s inner sense of identity, and (4) an exercise and ultimate quest to belong to God. Additionally, the introduction provides succinct summaries of each of our contributors’ chapters and also offers three categories (“both, beyond, or between”) through which readers can situate Hindu-Christian dual belonging.
