Kingdom Transformation to Upper-Class Urbanites in India

This dissertation addresses the issue of how certain lower-class groups of people in Mumbai, India, are coming to follow Jesus in large numbers, while in upper-class groups the following is negligible. While the categories of lower and upper classes can relate to designations such as religious backgrounds, caste backgrounds, and educational background, the analysis here is largely based on categorizing according to economic standing. The factor of caste is analysed to the extent it affects the class of economic status. The working poor – who have just about enough to meet the needs of food, shelter, and clothing at the most basic level – are referred to economically as the lower class. The rich – who have all their basic needs more than met and are economically strong enough to spend on affluent needs – are referred to as the upper class.

Over the last twenty-five years, a large number of people from the lower classes of Mumbai have become followers of Jesus, but the number of people following Jesus from the upper classes has been very small. Distributed surveys were used to analyze how non-Christians and Christians in Mumbai view Christianity. Informal focus group activities were conducted among a selected group of upper-class non-Christians to provide a comfortable atmosphere for discussing spiritual matters. Based on the findings, the dissertation concludes with several recommendations for churches attempting to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to non-Christians from the upper classes in Mumbai and other urban areas of India.