Two Days with an Indian Catholic Family: A Cultural Study

Introduction

As Geert Hofstede notes, there are several cultural dimensions for each nation that influence how people of that nation think, what their values and beliefs are, and what their worldview is. These dimensions include power distance, masculine vs. feminine work ethic, long-term orientation, individuality vs. collectivism, and so on (Hofstede Insights). However, some nations are actually quite diverse, made up of many different smaller states where distinct subcultures exist within the main culture. India is one such nation. India was not truly a united country until the British colonized it and began to unite and gain control over its different states throughout the 19th century (Panikkar). The dominant religion in India is Hinduism; however, there are Catholic pockets throughout the land, particularly in the South, where there are communities of Thomas Christians — that is, Catholic communities whose existence dates back to when the Apostle Thomas came to India to convert the people in the first century AD (Bayly).

The Indian family I stayed with was from one such community in India, though they were not Thomas Christians — the story of how their family converted from Hinduism to Catholicism is told in the "Religion and Faith" section further on in this paper. The mother and father were born and raised in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India and the city where it is said that Thomas was martyred 2,000 years ago. I know the family through my brother, who works with Pio, the head of the household, at an IT company. I selected them because their culture is entirely different from mine — they are both Indian and Catholic. The family was happy to allow me to stay with them for two days and was very accepting and gracious throughout. I felt they were as interested in learning about me and my culture as I was in learning about theirs.

Logistics and First Impressions

It was arranged for me to stay the weekend with the family. I would arrive Friday evening, spend all day Saturday with them, and then attend Sunday Mass with them on Sunday morning. The family consists of five members: Pio, his wife, and their three children. I was given a guest room on the first floor. Because Pio has worked in the IT industry for 20 years in the US, he has built a good salary and the family has a very nice house. They made me feel right at home — but right away I noticed a significant cultural difference: they asked me to remove my shoes when I entered the home. This is not a typical custom for most Americans, but for Indians it is quite common. In India, the practice of leaving dusty shoes outside keeps the home clean, and this family has carried that custom with them to the US.

I took part in meal preparation on Saturday and sat in the pew with the family on Sunday. The Mass was in Latin — the Tridentine Mass, which has been said in the Church for hundreds of years. Pio explained that the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s ushered in changes that many Catholics were not comfortable with, and a new Mass said in the vernacular of each country was introduced. Pio said he grew up attending this new vernacular Mass, but that five years ago he discovered the Latin Mass being celebrated in our city and has been taking his family ever since. "The hymns are so beautiful and the service is so much more reverent," he said.

Pio did not mind opening up to me about his religion or his life in India. We developed excellent rapport, enjoying each other's company and sharing a very similar sense of humor, so there was a great deal of laughter. I think it helped that we shared the same political opinions — once Pio discovered this, he saw me as a sympathetic person and seemed to genuinely enjoy letting me into his world.

Religion and Faith

The Catholic religion is the oldest of the Christian traditions, and Pio's very existence represents something of a miracle, as he sees it. He told me the story of how his family converted to Catholicism — a story that goes back many centuries and is partly legend, but this is how it was passed down to him.

Many centuries ago in Chennai, before the modern era, one of Pio's distant ancestors was the head of a village and a practicing Hindu, as most Indians were. He was an old man with many wives and had only one son, who was to be his heir. One day the boy became gravely ill and would not rise from bed; his condition worsened to the point of death. The old man sought help from doctors, Hindu priests, and local counselors, but no one could heal the boy. Then word came that two foreigners dressed in black robes were traveling through the country. The old man sent for them. These men were Catholic missionaries from Europe. When they arrived, they prayed over the boy — and the boy got up and asked for something to eat.

The old man was overjoyed and told the priests they could have whatever they wished. He offered them one of his wives. The priests declined, saying all they wanted was the old man's soul. The old man agreed. The priests told him that as a Catholic he could keep only one wife, and the old man accepted this condition. Because he was the leader of the village, all of the people in his village converted to Catholicism alongside him. The surrounding Indians were angry and refused to arrange marriages between their daughters and anyone from that village so long as they remained Catholic, but the old man held firm. The village remained Catholic, as did all the generations that followed — including Pio. He considers his religion and his family to be the fruit of a miracle, as he is descended from that old man whose son was healed by the Catholic missionaries.

Religion in the household is visible everywhere. In the living room — which is large, contains a fireplace, and has a big flat-screen TV mounted on the wall — there is a shrine to Jesus and Mary. A video game console sits nearby for the children, but the shrine is what catches the eye most. The images of Jesus and Mary are unlike those commonly found in America: they are very colorful, with bright and bold hues reminiscent of a children's illustrated book, almost cartoonish in appearance. Yet the shrine itself makes clear that faith is central to family life. Pio told me this is where they pray the rosary every night. I was given a rosary to hold that evening while he and his family prayed five decades. They prayed it again Saturday night, and again Sunday morning in the church before Mass began.

The history of the rosary is traditionally traced to St. Dominic in the 13th century. According to this account, Dominic had a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who gave him the rosary as a devotion to spread among Catholics. Though the precise origin of the devotion remains unclear, that is the standard, accepted story among Catholics (Thurston). The rosary consists of a set of beads with a cross at the end. There are more than fifty beads, and one full rosary consists of five "decades" — that is, ten Hail Marys, one Our Father, and one Glory Be. Each decade has its own "mystery" that the person praying is supposed to meditate upon. Traditionally, the rosary contained three sets of mysteries — the Joyful, the Sorrowful, and the Glorious. In more recent years, a fourth set — the Luminous Mysteries — was added, but Pio said he does not pray the Luminous Mysteries because he does not follow the innovations introduced in the Church since the Second Vatican Council. "Plus," he said, "there should only be three mysteries, because this reflects the mystery of the Triune God — the Holy Trinity, which is Three Divine Persons in One God."

When I asked what this meant, he explained that God is one Being with three distinct Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. In my attempt to understand, I offered, "That sounds a little like Hinduism, with its different gods and goddesses who are all ultimately the same — no?" He replied, "No. Hinduism has many gods and goddesses, but they are not true. They are all devils. Jesus Christ is the One True God and True Man, the Savior of the world." I asked whether Christ is therefore also the Father and the Holy Ghost. "Yes, He is all three, but also He is Himself. It is a mystery — you cannot understand how it is so, but that is what you must believe as a Catholic, because that is what has been revealed to us," he answered.

Pio's faith was deep and his knowledge of Catholicism was extensive. He could quote saints from centuries past and engage theological arguments with ease, many of which went over my head. He spoke at length about the philosophical proofs of God's existence and encouraged me to explore the matter, as I admitted knowing little about it. He also said he would pray for me, that God would show me the way to Him — which I found very kind and told him so. He laughed and said it was nothing, because that is simply what he is supposed to do as a Christian.

Conclusion

Pio and his family were very gracious hosts and deeply welcoming. I feel that I could probably write an entire book about them given more time. There is a great deal that could not even be included in this paper. The fact is that Pio and his family carry very strong Indian and Catholic characteristics, and the blend of Indian culture and Catholicism they embody is something one would not easily find in most American Catholic families. At the same time, the family is also very American — particularly when it comes to politics, shared values, and daily life — which is likely why we developed such strong rapport so quickly. The experience was a reminder of how cultural identity is never singular: it is layered, inherited, adapted, and lived all at once.

Works Cited

Bayly, Susan. Saints, Goddesses and Kings: Muslims and Christians in South Indian Society. Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Hofstede, Geert. Cultures and Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations. 2nd ed., Sage Publications, 2001.

Hofstede Insights. https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/

Panikkar, K. M. Asia and Western Dominance. G. Allen, 1953.

Thurston, Herbert, and Andrew Shipman. "The Rosary." The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 13, Robert Appleton Company, 1912. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13184b.htm