Contextual Theology as Heritage Formation: Moluccan Culture, Christianity, and Identity

Jip Lensink

doi:10.1163/1572543x-12341601

Abstract

Abstract This article uses the case of Moluccan Protestantism to argue that contextual theology is not merely a postcolonial theological movement, but in some cases also can be understood as part of a larger post-independence political nation-building project of heritage formation. I show how in two key political periods the interests of the Moluccan Protestant church (GPM) and the Indonesian government coalesced. The word ‘heritage’ is central to the Moluccan contextual discourse, and the development of contextual theology resembles practices of heritage formation, being a controlled political process of careful selection of cultural forms, aimed at a sense of ‘authentic’ local identity. The development of a Moluccan contextual theology partakes in the socio-political effort of preservation of Moluccan cultural heritage. At the same time, and paradoxically, the heritage frame in which Moluccan contextual theology is embedded, also hinders the theological goal of contextualization. This article is based on anthropological research into Moluccan theology. Its innovative contribution and relevance lies in the interdisciplinary postcolonial perspective, that understands Moluccan contextual theology as both a theological exercise of inculturation and as a religious expression of Indonesia’s heritage politics.

Highlights

At the theological university in Ambon, Universitas Kristen Indonesia Maluku (UKIM), theologians are developing contextual theologies based on the current cultural context of Moluccan Christians.[1]
This article uses the case of Moluccan Protestantism to argue that contextual theology is not merely a postcolonial theological movement, but in some cases can be understood as part of a larger post-independence political nation-building project of heritage formation
In this article I have demonstrated the entanglement of the twin projects of contextual theology and heritage formation in the case of Moluccan Protestantism

Summary

Introduction

At the theological university in Ambon (the Moluccas, Indonesia), Universitas Kristen Indonesia Maluku (UKIM), theologians are developing contextual theologies based on the current cultural context of Moluccan Christians.[1]. With regard to the history of Christianity in the region, the year 1815 marked the shift from chartered company mission to independent missionary societies, which aimed to develop a Moluccan Christianity modelled after Dutch Reformed Christianity.[11] The missionaries began to pursue a policy of purification of Moluccan Christianity (agama Ambon – localized Christianity as an Ambonese identity marker) from all cultural influences connected to pre-Christian religion.[12] The legacy of this endeavor to separate Moluccan foundational expressions from Christianity in the Moluccas – in particular the living reality of the ancestors – is still strong and remained a key concern, even after the Moluccan Protestant church (Gereja Protestant Maluku – GPM) became autonomous in 1935.

Clarification of Key Terms

Moluccan Theology and Heritage Formation

The Politics of Preservation

Conclusion