Liberation or Inculturation – convergent or divergent trends of African Theology?

Abstract

With the shift of the centres of Christianity towards the South it hasbeen increasingly noticeable that talking about Christian theology characterized bya geographical adjectives different from “European /Western” becomes acceptable.However, Christianity in Africa has still been considered by many Europeans asa hybrid of secondary importance. It will take some time before the EuropeanChristians will come fully to terms with accepting the contribution of Africantheology to the world Christianity.In describing African theology, especially its origins, quite a lot depends on theinitial assumptions taken by the researcher – whether one would consider onlyacademic theology as theology as such (then there is no African theology before1960s) or one would consider as theology also African oral and ritual input (thenthe Africans have been theologizing almost from the moment they became Christians).Application of European standards and perceptions led to seeing two major trendsin African theology – black theology and African theology (cultural/inculturation theology). With the work of African theologians of the younger generations one can discover that both trends have not been so much antagonistic to each other as rather complementary because both have been concerned with liberation, though approached from different angles and understood in different ways.

Keywords

• chrześcijaństwo w Afryce
• czarna teologia
• teologia afrykańska
• teologia wyzwolenia