In
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, inculturation is the adaptation of Christian teachings and practices to cultures. This is a term that is generally used by
Catholics
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, whereas
Protestants
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
, especially associated with the
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...
, prefer to use the term "
contextual theology
Contextual theology or contextualizing theology refers to theology which has responded to the dynamics of a particular context.
Terminology
The term contextualizing theology was used in missiology by Shoki Coe when he argued that the Venn-Anders ...
".
Background
The coexistence of Christianity and other cultures dates back to the apostolic age. Before his
Ascension,
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
instructed his disciples to spread his teachings to the ends of the earth (Mt 28,18; Mk 16,15), Saint Paul's speech to the Greeks at the Areopagus of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
(Acts 17:22-33) could be considered as the first inculturation attempt. The speech was not well received by all, according to verse 32: "Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked". Around the year 50, the apostles convened the first Church council, the
Council of Jerusalem
The Council of Jerusalem or Apostolic Council was held in Jerusalem around AD 50. It is unique among the ancient pre-ecumenical councils in that it is considered by Catholics and Eastern Orthodox to be a prototype and forerunner of the later ...
, to decide whether to include Gentiles and inculturate Gentile culture.
[McManners, ''Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity'' (2002), p. 37, Chapter 1 The Early Christian Community subsection entitled "Rome", quote: "In Acts 15 scripture recorded the apostles meeting in synod to reach a common policy about the Gentile mission."][McManners, ''Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity'' (2002), pp. 37–8, Chapter 1 The Early Christian Community subsection entitled "Rome", quote: "The 'synod' or, in Latin, 'council' (the modern distinction making a synod something less than a council was unknown in antiquity) became an indispensable way of keeping a common mind, and helped to keep maverick individuals from centrifugal tendencies. During the third century synodal government became so developed that synods used to meet not merely at times of crisis but on a regular basis every year, normally between Easter and Pentecost."] The Council confirmed that
Gentiles
Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym for ...
could be accepted as Christians without first converting to Judaism.
Cultural conflicts continued until Christianity incorporated the
Greco-Roman
The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...
culture. Similar inculturation occurred when the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
ceased and the Germanic and Medieval cultures became dominant, a process taking centuries. Early practitioners of inculturation in the history of missions include
St. Patrick
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...
in Ireland and
Sts. Cyril and Methodius for the
Slavic peoples
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic language, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout ...
of Eastern Europe. After the schism of 1054, the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
was largely restricted to the Western parts of Europe. Attempts failed to return the sphere of influence to the cultures of the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
with the
crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
and the
Latin Empire in Constantinople (1204–1261). The
Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
generated a division in the Western Church. However, at the same time,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
and
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
discoveries of the Americas, Asia and Africa broadened contact with other cultures and civilizations.
Inculturation after the discoveries
After the discoveries of new territories and the
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...
(1545–1563), the inculturation movement became more systematic. The Catholic Church had to ponder how and to evaluate elements of ancient non-
Christian culture
Christian culture generally includes all the cultural practices which have developed around the religion of Christianity. There are variations in the application of Christian beliefs in different cultures and traditions.
Christian culture has ...
s. Notable figures were, among others,
José de Anchieta
José de Anchieta y Díaz de Clavijo (Joseph of Anchieta) (19 March 1534 – 9 June 1597) was a Spanish Jesuit missionary to the Portuguese colony of Brazil in the second half of the 16th century. A highly influential figure in Brazil's hi ...
for the indigenous people of Brazil,
Thomas Stephens in Goa,
Roberto de Nobili
Roberto de Nobili (1577 – 16 January 1656) was an Italian Jesuit missionary to Southern India. He used a novel method of adaptation ( accommodatio) to preach Christianity, adopting many local customs of India which were, in his view, not con ...
in Southern India, and
Alexandre de Rhodes
Alexandre de Rhodes (15 March 1593 – 5 November 1660) was an Avignonese Jesuit missionary and lexicographer who had a lasting impact on Christianity in Vietnam. He wrote the ''Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum'', the first trilingua ...
in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
China
![Ricci_Guangqi_2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Ricci_Guangqi_2.jpg)
The
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
s
Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci, SJ (; la, Mattheus Riccius; 6 October 1552 – 11 May 1610), was an Italians, Italian Society of Jesus, Jesuit Priesthood in the Catholic Church, priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He create ...
(from Portugal),
Adam Schall von Bell
Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1 May 1591 – 15 August 1666) was a German Jesuit, astronomer and instrument-maker. He spent most of his life as a missionary in China (where he is remembered as "Tang Ruowang") and became an adviser to the Shunz ...
and others were missionaries appointed to introduce Christianity to China. They learned Chinese and more about the culture, seeking to find ways to help the people understand elements of the Gospel. Ricci and Schall were appointed by the
Chinese Emperor
''Huangdi'' (), translated into English as Emperor, was the superlative title held by monarchs of China who ruled various imperial regimes in Chinese history. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was considered the Son of Heaven ...
in
Peking
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
to be court
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
s, court
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
s and
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
s. The first Catholic Church was built in Peking in 1650. The emperor granted freedom of religion to Catholics.
Ricci had adapted the Catholic faith to Chinese thinking, permitting, among other things, the cultic veneration of ancestors, which he described as cultural practice. The Holy See disagreed, deeming the veneration an act of worship and hence
idolatry
Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or "idol" as though it were God. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the A ...
. It forbade any adaptation of Christianity in the so-called
Chinese Rites controversy
The Chinese Rites controversy () was a dispute among Roman Catholic missionaries over the religiosity of Confucianism and Chinese rituals during the 17th and 18th centuries. The debate discussed whether Chinese ritual practices of honoring fam ...
in 1692 and 1742. The Chinese emperor felt duped and refused to permit any alteration of existing Christian practices. The Church suffered setbacks in 1721 when the
Kangxi Emperor
The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...
outlawed Christian missions.
[McManners, ''Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity'' (1990), p. 328, Chapter 9 "The Expansion of Christianity", by ]John McManners
John McManners (1916–2006) was a British clergyman and historian of religion who specialized in the history of the church and other aspects of religious life in 18th-century France. He was Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the Univ ...
According to Franzen, "The Vatican policy was the death of the missions in China."
[Franzen 324]
Papal teachings
Leo XIII
In the late nineteenth century, Pope
Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
fostered inter-cultural diversity, leading to the reintegration of the
Armenian Catholic Church
, native_name_lang = hy
, image = St Elie - St Gregory Armenian Catholic Cathedral.jpg
, imagewidth = 260px
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illuminat ...
into the Catholic Church in 1879. He opposed efforts to Latinize the
Eastern Rite Eastern Rite or Eastern liturgical rite may refer to:
* liturgical rite used in Eastern Christianity:
** liturgical rites of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which mainly use the Byzantine liturgical rites
** liturgical rites of the Eastern Catholic Ch ...
Churches, saying that they constitute a most valuable ancient tradition and symbol of the divine unity of the Catholic Church. His 1894 encyclical ''Praeclara gratulationis'' praised the cultural and liturgical diversity of expressions of faith within the Church. In ''
Orientalium Dignitas
''Orientalium dignitas'' is a papal encyclical concerning the Eastern Catholic churches issued by Pope Leo XIII on November 30, 1894. The encyclical further established the rights of the Eastern Catholic churches. This includes a prohibition agai ...
'' he repeated the need to preserve and cultivate diversity and declared different cultures to be a treasure.
[Duffy 241] He opposed the latinization policies of the Vatican and decreed a number of measures that preserved the integrity and distinctiveness of other cultural expressions.
Benedict XV and Pius XI
While
Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...
and
Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...
tended to be slightly more Latin oriented,
Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...
was especially concerned with the development of missionary activities, which had suffered so much during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. He believed that inculturation was based on development of a domestic clergy in lands where Christianity was new. On November 20, 1919, he appealed to the Catholics of the world, to support missions and especially the development of local clergy, favouring a de-Europeanization of the Catholic missions.
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...
promoted local clergy in order to better recognize local cultures. He held a mission congress in Rome in 1922. Each year he personally consecrated newly appointed bishops from Asia, Africa and Latin America. At his death 240 dioceses and administrations were led by bishops who were natives of the countries where they served.
Pius XII
In 1939
Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
, within weeks of his coronation, radically
reverted the 250-year-old Vatican policy and permitted the veneration of dead family members in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
The December 8, 1939 issuance from the
Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
, issued at the request of Pius XII, stated that Chinese customs were no longer considered superstitious but rather an honourable way of esteeming one's relatives, and therefore permitted to Catholics. The Church established twenty new arch-dioceses, seventy-nine dioceses, and thirty-eight apostolic prefect over the next decade. But in 1949, the Communist revolution took over the country and repressed Christianity.
The introduction of the Gospel means inculturation and not the destruction of local cultures. Pius emphasized this; he wrote in
Summi Pontificatus
''Summi Pontificatus'' is an encyclical of Pope Pius XII published on 20 October 1939. The encyclical is subtitled "on the unity of human society". It was the first encyclical of Pius XII and was seen as setting "a tone" for his papacy. It c ...
that a deeper appreciation of various civilizations and their good qualities is necessary to the preaching of the Gospel of Christ. And in his 1944 speech to the directors of the Pontifical Missionary Society, he said:
"The herald of the Gospel and messenger of Christ is an apostle. His office does not demand that he transplant European civilization and culture, and no other, to foreign soil, there to take root and propagate itself. His task in dealing with these peoples, who sometimes boast of a very old and highly developed culture of their own, is to teach and form them so that they are ready to accept willingly and in a practical manner the principles of Christian life and morality; principles, I might add, that fit into any culture, provided it be good and sound, and which give that culture greater force in safeguarding human dignity and in gaining human happiness."
Inculturation was addressed in his encyclicals ''
Evangelii praecones
''Evangelii praecones'' (June 2, 1951) was an encyclical letter of Pope Pius XII about Catholic missions. In it, he described necessary improvements and changes, and the persecution of the Church in some parts of the world. The encyclical was i ...
'' and ''
Fidei donum
This is a list of encyclicals of Pope Pius XII. Pius XII promulgated 41 papal encyclicals, during his reign as pope for over 19 years, from his election of March 2, 1939, until his death on October 9, 1958. The 41 encyclicals of Pius XII exceed ...
'', issued on June 2, 1951 and April 21, 1957, respectively. Pius increased the local decision-making of Catholic missions, many of which became independent dioceses. Pius XII demanded recognition of local cultures as fully equal to European culture. Continuing the line of his predecessors, Pius XII supported the establishment of local administration in Church affairs: in 1950, the hierarchy of Western Africa became independent; in 1951, Southern Africa; and in 1953, British Eastern Africa. Finland, Burma, and French Africa became independent dioceses in 1955.
Paul VI
In the
Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...
,
Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...
promulgated the decree ''
Ad gentes
''Ad gentes'' (''To the Nations'') is the Second Vatican Council's decree on missionary activity.
The document establishes evangelization as one of the fundamental missions of the Catholic Church and reaffirms the tie between evangelization an ...
'', teaching that inculturation imitates the "economy of
Incarnation
Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...
".
John Paul II
John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
addressed the issue in several encyclicals and public appearances. The term was used again by the encyclical ''
Redemptoris Missio
''Redemptoris missio'' (Latin for ''The Mission of the Redeemer''), subtitled ''On the permanent validity of the Church's missionary mandate'', is an encyclical by Pope John Paul II published on 7 December 1990. The release coincided with the tw ...
'' of John Paul II in 1990.
*"The incarnation of the Gospel in native cultures and also the introduction of these cultures into the life of the Church."
*"The intimate transformation of authentic cultural values through their integration in Christianity and the insertion of Christianity in the various human cultures."
*"It is now acknowledged that ''inculturation'' is a theological term which has been defined in ''Redemptoris Missio'' 52 as the on-going dialogue between faith and culture."
Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
, like his predecessor, placed a high regard on the dialogue between cultures and religions. Though he at one point attempted to move from the notion of "inculturation" to "inter-culturality", he would later state that the inculturation of the faith is necessary, as long as the specificity and the integrity of the "culture of faith" are not compromised.
[Follo, F. (2010). Inculturation and interculturality in John Paul II and Benedict XVI. ''Oasis'', 29/03/2010]
Challenges and criticisms
Christian approaches of inculturation have not always been positively received by the context being inculturation.
In
Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 1 ...
's missionary work in 16th-century Japan, Xavier asked the convert
Anjiro for a Japanese word that would be the equivalent of and was offered the word . While first accepting it, Xavier later realized Anjiro's derived from the central divinity of
Shingon Buddhism
Shingon monks at Mount Koya
is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra.
K ...
. To avoid invoking the god of a competing religion, Xavier transliterated into the phonetic equivalent .
But this was phonetically similar to the term , meaning "great lie." Avoiding Xavier's difficulties,
Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci, SJ (; la, Mattheus Riccius; 6 October 1552 – 11 May 1610), was an Italians, Italian Society of Jesus, Jesuit Priesthood in the Catholic Church, priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He create ...
in China and
Roberto de Nobili
Roberto de Nobili (1577 – 16 January 1656) was an Italian Jesuit missionary to Southern India. He used a novel method of adaptation ( accommodatio) to preach Christianity, adopting many local customs of India which were, in his view, not con ...
in India did not attempt the same phonetic transliteration in inculturation.
See also
*
Christianity and colonialism
Christianity and colonialism are often closely associated with each other due to the service of Christianity, in its various sects (namely Protestantism, Catholicism and Orthodoxy), as the state religion of the historical European colonial power ...
*
Christianization
Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
*
Cultural Christian
Cultural Christians are nonreligious persons who adhere to Christian values and appreciate Christian culture. As such, these individuals usually identify themselves as culturally Christians, and are often seen by practicing believers as nomina ...
*
Cultural imperialism
Cultural imperialism (sometimes referred to as cultural colonialism) comprises the cultural dimensions of imperialism. The word "imperialism" often describes practices in which a social entity engages culture (including language, traditions, ...
*
Enculturation
Enculturation is the process by which people learn the dynamics of their surrounding culture and acquire values and norms appropriate or necessary to that culture and its worldviews.Grusec, Joan E.; Hastings, Paul D. ''Handbook of Socialization: ...
*
Missiology
Missiology is the academic study of the Christian mission history and methodology, which began to be developed as an academic discipline in the 19th century.
History
Missiology as an academic discipline appeared only in the 19th century. It was ...
*
Religious pluralism
Religious pluralism is an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religious belief systems co-existing in society. It can indicate one or more of the following:
* Recognizing and tolerating the religious diversity of a society or countr ...
and
Jacques Dupuis (Jesuit)
Jacques Dupuis (5 December 1923 – 28 December 2004) was a Belgian Jesuit priest and theologian. He spent several decades in India and taught at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
Career
Jacques Dupuis became a Jesuit in 1941. Aft ...
*
Syncretism
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various school of thought, schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or religious assimilation, assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in t ...
*
Zaire Use
The Zaire Use (), officially the Roman Missal for the Dioceses of Zaire, is a Congolese-based variant use of the Roman Rite within the Catholic Church. Approved by the Vatican in 1988, it contains many elements from the Ordinary Form of the Roman ...
* ''
Models of Contextual Theology
''Models of Contextual Theology'' is a book written by Stephen B. Bevans which argues that all Christian theology is contextual and identifies six dominant models of contextual theology.
History
Bevans first sketched out his ideas of various m ...
''
Notes and references
Sources
* August Franzen Church history, Kirchengeschichte, Herder Freiburg, 1988
* Schineller, Peter. A Handbook on Inculturation. New York, 1990.
* Shorter, Aylward. Toward a Theology of Inculturation. Maryknoll, NY, 1988.
External links
* ''Jesus Living in Mary: Handbook of the Spirituality of St. Louis de Montfort''. Chapter
"Inculturation"by Stephen M. Beall
Short videos from
Georgetown's Ricci Legacy Symposium on inculturation.
{{Authority control
Catholic theology and doctrine
Practical theology
Christianization
World Christianity