'Inculturation' is a word come only recently into theological language, having its origin and impetus in a revolution in the perception of Christian mission--even of Christian identity. 'Toward a Theology of Inculturation' is the first book to bring together the many strands of current and historical Catholic thought on what might be called a theology of a multicultural church. Inculturation, Shorter argues, is the recognition that faith must in effect become culture to be fully received and lived. In the course of a wide-ranging discussion, the author explores the intimate relationship between inculturation and theology, focusing in particular on scripture, the history of Òmissions (especially in Africa), and contemporary Catholic thought. Shorter concludes with an exploration of the future of the church--a multicultural church. 'Toward a Theology of Inculturation' offers a substantive explication of what inculturation is, what it is not, how and when it occurs, and what its limits are or should be.

The split between the Gospel and culture is without doubt the drama of our time," wrote Paul VI in 1975. Since that time there has been an increasingly urgent awareness that inculturation is an indispensable task of the church. But inculturation, the dialogue between church and cultures, demands first of all that we who would enter into the dialogue understand what "culture" itself means and what dialogue entails. To that end, cultural anthropologist Father Gerald Arbuckle gives us this important volume. He traces the history of the development of the concept of culture, and the too-often negative, rarely positive effects of encounters between church and culture. He explores how Jesus Christ approached the cultures of his time, and outlines the current treatment of culture and inculturation in church documents and in Catholic theology. He shows that modest progress in understanding has recently staled, and there are even forces working to turn that progress into regress. He concludes with a description of inculturation as it needs to happen 'and a sharp critique of those who resist. With a sense of prophetic hope, Arbuckle seeks to help us bridge the lamentable split between Gospel and culture, the drama that continues to unfold in our time.

Drawing together international and Indian sources, and new research on the ground in South India, this book presents a unique examination of the inculturation of Christian Worship in India. Paul M. Collins examines the imperatives underlying the processes of inculturation - the dynamic relationship between the Christian message and cultures - and then explores the outcomes of those processes in terms of architecture, liturgy and ritual, and the critique offered of these outcomes, especially by Dalit theologians. This book highlights how the Indian context has informed global discussions, and how the decisions of the World Council of Churches, Vatican II and Lambeth Conferences have impacted upon the Indian context.

Offering a theology of migration, Cruz reflects on the Christian vision of 'one bread, one body, one people' in view of the gifts and challenges of contemporary migration to Christian spirituality, mission, and inculturation and the need for reform of migration policies based on the experience of refugees, migrant women, and others.

Perhaps nothing is as important to the future of the Church as continuing to make the liturgy meaningful to those who celebrate it. Inculturation, the dynamic translation of the typical editions into the cultures of local Churches, is the key. Inculturation as a branch of liturgical study has a dauntingly wide scope. It covers the areas of history and theology, liturgical and cultural principles, process and methods, sacraments and sacramentals, Liturgy of the Hours, liturgical year, liturgical music, liturgical arts and furnishings, and such related topics as popular religiosity and catechesis. So where does the average pastor, liturgist, or student begin? With this volume the reader is introduced to the different technical terms expressing the relationship between liturgy and culture (indigenization, incarnation, contextualization, adaptation, acculturation ... ). The subsequent discussion on the question of sacramentals, popular religiosity, and liturgical catechesis explains how these disparate topics share the same basic concern of inculturation. Throughout the book the focus is on method. Method encompasses both how one may remain true to the liturgy while also considering what culture offers the liturgy or requires of it. The question of how creativity relates to inculturation is also answered. For the serious student of the liturgy, whether or not you serve a culturally diverse community, this work provides foundations, principles, and methods for creating a liturgy of the people and for the people.

"A systematic look at migration that seeks to reimagine the operative political, social, and cultural narratives of immigration through a Eucharistic theology"--

This is a revised and updated edition of the comprehensive study of the role of art in the process of inculturation in Africa, first issued in 2000. The study is a substantial contribution toward a theology of inculcation in Africa, and enriches the debate on indigenous African and Christian artistic traditions. It represents the first systematic theology constructed in and from Malawi that establishes a theology of symbolic expression in Africa.