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Dalit theology is a branch of Christianity theology that emerged among the Dalit caste in the Indian subcontinent in the 1980s. It shares a number of themes with Latin American liberation theology, which arose two decades earlier, including a self-identity as a people undergoing Exile.Anand Rao (2025). 382587205X, LIT Verlag. 382587205X Dalit theology sees hope in the "Nazareth Manifesto" of , where Jesus speaks of preaching "good news to the poor ... freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind" and of releasing "the oppressed."
Evelyn Ruth Bhajan, a deacon in the Church of Pakistan, stated that Dalit theology is vital in that it aligns the Church's mission with "strategies based on the social, political and economic implications of liberation in Christ." Bhajan stated that this liberation includes that from persecution, segregation, and economic depression.
Dalit theologians have seen passages in the gospels, such as Jesus' sharing a common drinking vessel with the Samaritan woman in as indicating his embracing of Dalitness. Adrian Bird, M.M. Thomas: Theological Signposts for the Emergence of Dalit Theology, PhD thesis, University of Edinburgh, February, 2008, p. 53–54. The parable of the Good Samaritan is also seen as significant, providing a "life-giving message to the marginalized Dalits and a challenging message to the non-Dalits."M. Gnanavaram, "'Dalit Theology' and the Parable of the Good Samaritan," Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Vol. 15, No. 50, 59–83 (1993).
M. E. Prabhakar expanded on the Dalitness of Jesus, stating that "the God of the Dalits ... does not create others to do servile work, but does servile work Himself."John Parratt, An Introduction to Third World Theologies, Cambridge University Press, 2004, , p. 63. He also suggested that Jesus experienced human, and especially Dalit, brokenness in his crucifixion. Prabhakar has developed a Dalit creed, which reads in part:
"Our cries for liberation from harsh caste-bondage
Were heard by God, who came to us in Jesus Christ
To live with us and save all people from their sins."Rowena Robinson, Christians of India, SAGE, 2003, , pp. 199–200.
Vedanayagam Devasahayam (b. 1949) of the Church of South India followed Nirmal as head of Dalit theology at the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College, and further developed Nirmal's ideas, writing a number of books.Hans Schwarz, p. 530. Devasahayam later became bishop of the Church of South India's Madras Diocese.
Dalit theology opposes indigenization movements within Indian Christian liturgy, since these are seen as reinforcing traditional caste hierarchies.Charles Stewart and Rosalind Shaw, Syncretism/Anti-Syncretism: The Politics of Religious Synthesis, Routledge, 1994, , pp. 101–102. However, the incorporation of some Indian religious traditions is supported.
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