Witnessing a potent truth: rethinking responsibility in the anthropology of theisms

For Ahmadi Muslims in the Indian town of Qadian, a major part of ethical behaviour is the cultivation of a relationship of subordination to potent religious truths. This involves both manifesting and witnessing the truth of their religion in the form of polemical arguments and religious travel. I argue that understanding how moral character develops out of such a relationship requires us to turn our analytical attention away from agency and towards responsibility. Such a move has important implications for the more general anthropological study of theisms.