Ethics of translating sacred texts

Abstract

This chapter focuses on translational ethics in the religious context and how we can engage critically with the debate on translation ethics as they manifest in sacred text translation. The chapter argues that the translation of sacred texts is as implicated in ethics as other kinds of texts since any act of translation that involves choice immediately raises questions of ethics. The focus here is on three key issues at the heart of sacred text translation ethics: attitudes to what is perceived outside or alien to oneself, the availability of choice, and agency in terms of the power and degree to which choice can be exercised. The first section examines issues addressed in current scholarly discussions in relation to translators, faith communities as audiences, and institutions that control sacred text translation, offering examples from different religious traditions to highlight that translation practices and strategies considered ethical in one religion may not hold as ethical in another. The second section offers an in-depth discussion of these aspects in relation to the specific religious and historical context of Christian missionary translations where issues of ethics have been raised in scholarly discussions.