From Ethnocentrism to Inculturation. Culture and Civilization in the History of Catholic Mission

Abstract

Three models — the ethnocentric model, the adaptation model and the inculturation model — characterize the missionary approaches of the Catholic Church during the whole of its apostolic activity. The article examines the problems of cultural reception in the Catholic missions from a historical perspective. The author shows the formation and development of the diverse forms of cultural accommodation and how the theological, social-political and cultural concepts of various epochs influenced them. He also examines the problem of parallel coexistence of these forms as mental constructions which have overstepped the boundaries of the historical context within which they were formatted. The article specifically examines the evolution of views on the «Gospel-Culture» dichotomy — from the tabula rasa conception to inculturation, which is one of central points of the contemporary Catholic theological reflection. In the adaptation model, one can see, with certain reservations, the elements of inculturation. However, in the true sense and meaning of the word, inculturation is a reality of the second half of the 20th century, whereas its first half can be characterized by the transition period from the cultural triumphalism to the new perception of the local, national cultures and to the new interpretation of its drastically different ontological status in the process of evangelization. In the article, the author only brushes the too extensive theme of the inculturation, observing it from a Christological perspective and proposing consequently an orientation for further theological reflection in this fi eld.

Keywords

• Catholic Church
• mission
• christianization
• theology
• culture
• civilization
• ethnocentrism
• cultural adaptation
• cultural perception
• inculturation