The Internal Structure of Dialogue Two Taiwanese Case Studies

Abstract

This paper looks at two case studies of the way in which the Catholic Church in Taiwan has adapted to the local culture. The author holds that there was a clear and concrete opposition to the process of evangelization: an active opposition led by the Dangki or local religious mediums, and a symbolic opposition arising from the Taiwanese cultural environment. It is thus as an encounter between cultures that he looks at the exchange of religions.Culture is analysed according to the anthropology of Clifford Geertz, whilst religious dialogue is presented according to two documents issued by the Vatican in 1984 (Dialogue and Mission) and 1991 (Dialogue and Proclamation). Particular attention is drawn to the role of a third party in any dialogue, in the case here, those non-Catholics who did not accept Catholicism. The theory is illustrated by two funerals set in the same parish in Taipei but performed very differently to meet the needs of the participants. The person as the place where dialogue is carried out is very important.The paper concludes that in Taiwan there is reciprocal interpretation of two cultural systems. In dialogue people find the symbols which give meaning to their everyday life. The symbols of one cultural system slowly penetrate and root themselves in another, and vice versa. It is this endless (re)interpretation, negotiation and accommodation that is called cultural dialogue.