Abstract
Using anthropological and theological perspectives and secondary literature, this paper argues that the scientific study of culture by professional anthropologists and social scientists is an essential component in the Catholic Church’s mission of evangelization through inculturation. Inculturation, the process of inserting the Christian message in society, requires scientific discernment to know which cultural traits are compatible with or contrary to the Christian faith, requiring anthropological training and active collaboration between theologians and professional anthropologists. Evangelization has incarnational and empirical dimensions when inserting the Gospel in human cultures. A genuine evangelization of cultures must be firmly rooted in the empirical reality of local cultures. The philosophical and theological orientation of many inculturationists and missionaries may sufficiently address the metaphysical dimension of the Christian faith, but not its empirical aspect when preached and adapted to human behavior in society, which entails scientific ethnographic research and active dialogue among clerics, missionaries, and social scientists.
Highlights
Inculturation is one of the most significant theological concepts of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) after the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II), a universal council convened by Pope John XXIII in Rome from 1962 to 1965 to adapt the Church’s life and teaching to modern times
Studying culture scientifically is an essential dimension of evangelization: Before inculturationists or missionaries incarnate the Christian faith in society, they need the scientific study of professional anthropologists to assist them in understanding the cultural system of the people they wish to Christianize: “[N]o matter what the origins of anthropology are or what anthropologists might feel about the supernatural, the Church must come to a love relationship with anthropology” (Arbuckle 1986, p. 428)
This paper has shown that both the RCC’s inculturation and anthropology deal with human culture but differ in understanding and treating it
Summary
Inculturation is one of the most significant theological concepts of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) after the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II), a universal council convened by Pope John XXIII in Rome from 1962 to 1965 to adapt the Church’s life and teaching to modern times. Church documents after Vatican II consistently stressed the role of faith in the evangelization of human culture Despite Vatican II’s emphasis on the crucial role of culture in evangelization, clerics, and missionaries, who are expected to be the leaders of this endeavor, lack knowledge of the latest scientific research on culture and society from anthropology and the social sciences, both of which can advance the RCC’s mission on inculturation. One may inquire: Is the scientific study of culture offered by anthropology and the social sciences a necessary or supplementary component of the RCC’s mission of inculturation and evangelization?. Using sociological and anthropological perspectives and secondary literature as the source of data, in this paper, I argue that the social sciences, the anthropological sciences, are necessary tools for Catholic clerics and missionaries who are tasked to lead in the RCC’s mission of Christianizing human cultures. I further argue that the Church’s mission of evangelization has incarnational and empirical dimensions which cannot be adequately addressed by philosophy and theology, needing the scientific methodology and research of anthropology and the social sciences to establish the empirical foundation of evangelization through inculturation
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