Inculturation and Symbiosis Through Ritual Practice: Catholic Funerals in the Northern Delta of Viet Nam

Abstract

Abstract: Nowadays Vietnamese Catholics worship Jesus while at the same following indigenous practices of non-Catholic Vietnamese such as ancestor veneration, which Vietnamese and other Asian Catholics had previously been prohibited from performing. A relatively new Catholic concept termed “inculturation” has become a primary means of enabling Catholicism to be adopted globally, making possible broader and more inclusive ways of practicing Christianity. . This article explores the practices of Catholic funerals in the Northern Delta of Viet Nam, which follow Catholic traditions for the dead but also incorporate traditional Vietnamese funeral customs. Through field research on Catholic funerals, this article shows how the inculturation process can be seen as furthering the coexistence and development of Catholicism and Vietnamese culture.