Inculturation

Inculturation is a term used in Christian referring to the adaptation of the way the Gospel is presented for the specific cultures being evangelized. It is attuned - but not identical - to the term used in Sociology. The term was popularized by the encyclical of Pope John II (1990), but predates that encyclical. In fact St Paul's speech to the Greeks at the Aeropagus of could rightly be considered as the first inculturation attempt. The speech was not well received, according to verse 32: "Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked" (ESV). ( All through its long history, as and when necessary, the message of the Gospel was inculturated. Problems arose when some tried to stop this natural inculturation movement, as when Latin was made a quasi sacred language, when translation of the Bible in the vernacular languages was condemned, when customary veneration of the ancestors (so called 'Chinese Rites') was forbidden in China, etc. Early practitioners of inculturation in the history of missions include in Ireland, for the Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe. From after the Council of Trent (1545-1563) the movement became more systematic: for the indigenous people of Brazil,

"Inculturation" has been defined different ways - Pope John Paul II addressed the issue in several encyclicals and public appearances. "The incarnation of the Gospel in native cultures and also the introduction of these cultures into the life of the Church." [1] "The intimate transformation of authentic cultural values through their integration in Christianity and the insertion of Christianity in the various human cultures." [2] "It is now acknowledged that inculturation is a theological term which has been defined in Redemptoris Missio 52 as the on-going dialogue between faith and culture."