Subversive Spiritualities: Dalit Theology Month

Raj Bharat Patta

This is the first-of-its-kind Dalit theology podcast engaging with the subversive spiritualities from the sites of subalternities. In this podcast, you will have the opportunity to listen to theological reflections on Scripture, faith, politics and the public sphere. Dalit theology is a critical tool striving for liberation, justice and love in our world filled with conflict, exclusion, discrimination and oppression. You are invited to this chaotic sacred space to listen deeply and be transformed to become a channel of God's justice. Come, let's celebrate subversive spiritualities.

  1. Nov 2

    Why Should Christians Do Interfaith?

    Does interfaith compromise Christian faith? Can we love God while refusing to love neighbours who believe differently? What happens when religion becomes a barrier to love? As we approach Inter Faith Week 2026, I reflect on these questions through my lived experiences in India and Britain, drawing on Dalit, decolonial and public theology. I argue that interfaith isn't about making everyone believe the same, but about ensuring everyone belongs. 🎧 Join me in this conversation as we explore how faith can cross boundaries, challenge prejudice and nurture solidarity, justice and shared flourishing. 💬 I'd love to hear your thoughts: Does interfaith challenge our Christian identity, or deepen our understanding of what it means to follow Jesus? Let's keep the conversation going! #SubversiveSpiritualities #InterFaithWeek2026 #Interfaith #PublicTheology #LoveYourNeighbour #FaithBeyondBoundaries @rajpatta

    Why Should Christians Do Interfaith?

  2. Oct 25

    Trick or Treat? Finding God in the Dark and Sharing Love in the Light

    Is Halloween really a celebration of darkness, death and evil? Or could it be an unexpected opportunity to discover the divine in the dark and share the light of God's love? In this episode of Subversive Spiritualities, I explore Halloween through a biblical, theological, intercultural and missional lens. Drawing on my experiences of growing up in India and living in Britain, I reflect on how Christians might move beyond fear and condemnation towards hospitality, hope and love. Remembering Martin Luther's challenge to the Church on the eve of All Saints' Day in 1517, I ask whether Halloween might become another occasion for reimagining Christian witness. When the world says “Trick or Treat,” I am reminded that when Jesus was tricked by the powers of religion, law and empire, he responded with the transforming treat of love, grace and forgiveness. Perhaps our Christian calling is not to curse the darkness, but to recognise God's presence within it and become bearers of light. Join me as we explore why Halloween need not be a threat to Christian faith, but could become a missional opportunity to practise love beyond boundaries. #SubversiveSpiritualities #Halloween #FaithAndCulture #PublicTheology #ChristianMission #LoveBeyondBoundaries #RajPatta

    Trick or Treat? Finding God in the Dark and Sharing Love in the Light

  3. Oct 21

    Seeds of Liberation - Talk at SCM Britian's 2013 National Conference

    This is a talk given by me in Manchester in 2013 at the Student Christian Movement Britain's 2013 National Conference on the 40th anniversary of "the Seeds of Liberation Conference". I have been invited as a speaker from SCM India to deliver this lecture. In this lecture, I speak about my story, our story, Christ's story and your story.

  4. Jul 21

    Is Everything Hallelujah?

    🎙️ Is Everything Hallelujah? Is the Christian life always meant to be triumphant, joyful and victorious? What do we do with lament, doubt, suffering and silence? In this episode of Subversive Spiritualities, I reflect on a biblical faith that refuses superficial optimism. Drawing from Scripture, this episode explores how authentic Christian hope makes room for lament, justice and solidarity with those on the margins. At a time when Christianity is increasingly being appropriated to legitimise fear, exclusion and far-right extremism, this conversation reclaims the gospel as a message of compassion, hospitality and liberation. It challenges the misuse of faith to divide communities and invites listeners to rediscover Christ's radical call to love our neighbours, welcome the stranger and work for the common good. Join this conversation as we explore a spirituality that is honest about suffering, courageous in hope and committed to resisting hatred with the transforming love of Christ. Faith that questions. Hope that liberates. Love that transforms. #SubversiveSpiritualities #Podcast #Christianity #PublicTheology #PoliticalTheology #LiberationTheology #FaithInPublic #FarRightExtremism #CounteringHate #Sanctuary #Hospitality #CommonGood #Justice #Hope #Lament #Theology #FaithAndPolitics #ChristianEthics #DecolonialTheology #RajPatta

    Is Everything Hallelujah?

  5. Jul 6

    Grace beyond boundaries: Why I voted for Online Communion

    Grace Beyond Boundaries: Why I Voted for Online Holy Communion What happens when the Church meets people where they are, rather than asking them to cross boundaries that many simply cannot? In this episode of Subversive Spiritualities, I reflect on why I voted in favour of online Holy Communion at the Methodist Conference in Britain. Drawing on my own journey from a Lutheran upbringing, where the sacrament of the Lord's Supper profoundly shaped my faith, to my ministry within the Methodist Church, I explore the meaning of Holy Communion as God's gift of grace rather than a reward for perfect presence. I ask whether we can place limits on the grace of God, and how a decolonial reading of the Eucharist challenges inherited assumptions about power, presence, and priesthood. This episode also considers the Methodist understanding of the sacrament as a means of grace, the importance of Christian community, and the conviction that without social communion, Holy Communion itself is at risk. As churches continue to wrestle with questions of accessibility, disability, migration, digital belonging, and ecclesial identity, I invite listeners to imagine a Church where the table of Christ becomes more, not less, inclusive. Together, we ask: Can God's grace be confined by geography? How might we decolonise the role of the presbyter in celebrating Holy Communion? What does it mean to embody Christ's hospitality in a digitally connected world? Join me as we explore a theology of grace that crosses boundaries and a vision of the Church that refuses to leave anyone behind. Rev. Dr Raj Bharat PattaBritish Indian Methodist Presbyter | Public & Decolonial TheologianHost of Subversive Spiritualities

    Grace beyond boundaries: Why I voted for Online Communion

  6. Jun 24

    Football and Faith: The Beautiful Game & Christian Discipleship

    In this episode of Subversive Spiritualities, I reflect on football through a decolonial political theology lens and ask a simple question: What can the beautiful game teach us about Christian discipleship today? Drawing from my own experiences of playing football as a schoolboy in India and living in Manchester, I explore how football can teach us that Christian discipleship is a team sport. I reflect on themes of belonging, solidarity, community, and the importance of recognising that none of us journeys through life alone. At the same time, I engage critically with some of the darker realities of the game. I raise a red card to racism in football, reflect on the hostility that can emerge between rival supporters, and ask what happens when the people's game becomes increasingly shaped by money, consumerism, and corporate interests. Using Paul's vision of the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:12–27, I suggest that football can offer both inspiration and warning. At its best, it points us towards communities of mutual care, shared responsibility, and collective flourishing. At its worst, it exposes the divisions, inequalities, and exclusions that continue to shape our world. Whether you are a passionate football supporter or someone who has never followed the game, I invite you to join me in exploring how faith can help us imagine a world where no one is excluded, no one is disposable, and no one plays alone. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12–27 #FootballAndFaith #SubversiveSpiritualities #PoliticalTheology #DecolonialTheology #ChristianDiscipleship #PublicTheology #FaithAndFootball #DalitTheology #BodyOfChrist #RedCardToRacism

    Football and Faith: The Beautiful Game & Christian Discipleship

  7. May 28

    Whom do we serve at our worship services?

    What does it mean to gather for worship while the world still bleeds outside our sanctuaries?In this episode of Subversive Spiritualities, I invite listeners into a prophetic and unsettling reflection on worship, justice, and public life. Journeying through Isaiah’s cry for justice, Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman, and decolonial visions of liturgy, this episode asks: Whom do we really serve at our worship services? When worship becomes performance, faith risks losing its soul. But when worship spills into compassion, solidarity, resistance, and truth, liturgy becomes life. Perhaps the real service begins after the service.Perhaps before Holy Communion, we are first called to build social communion. Join the conversation. Listen, reflect, question, and engage as we reimagine worship beyond performance and rediscover it as the work of justice, community, and liberation in our world today

    Whom do we serve at our worship services?

  8. May 21

    Talking back to the Pulpit

    Who gets to stand in the pulpit, and who gets silenced? Who speaks in the name of God, and what happens when we dare to push back? In this episode, I take us on a journey through the politics of proclamation: from a revival poster in India that erased the human preacher, to Jesus preaching himself to the edge of a cliff, to the troubling arrival of the AI sermon generator. Drawing on Francis of Assisi, John Wesley, the Apostle Paul, and the wisdom of Dalit Christian communities, I offer five marks of a preaching from below, and close with a question that might just stay with you longer than any sermon you've ever heard. This one is for anyone who has ever sat in a pew, or stood at the margins, and thought: something is missing here. And it's an invitation to listen differently, to who and what might already be preaching around you, without a pulpit in sight. #SubversiveSpiritualities#TalkingBackToThePulpit#Podcast#LiberationTheology#PublicTheology#DalitTheology#DecolonialTheology#PropheticVoices#FaithThatQuestions#VoicesFromTheMargins#TheologyFromBelow#PreachWithYourLife#SpiritualityThatLiberates#JusticeAndFaith#ChurchAndPower#ReimaginingChurch#QuestionReflectAct#RajPatta#SpotifyPodcast#ChristianPodcast

    Talking back to the Pulpit
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About

This is the first-of-its-kind Dalit theology podcast engaging with the subversive spiritualities from the sites of subalternities. In this podcast, you will have the opportunity to listen to theological reflections on Scripture, faith, politics and the public sphere. Dalit theology is a critical tool striving for liberation, justice and love in our world filled with conflict, exclusion, discrimination and oppression. You are invited to this chaotic sacred space to listen deeply and be transformed to become a channel of God's justice. Come, let's celebrate subversive spiritualities.

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