Globalization and Inculturation an African Perspective

Abstract

Abstract I feel very challenged to tackle this topic. The reason is simple. Both key words in the topic, namely inculturation and globalizat ion, need volumes in order to make oneself fully understood. I shall, therefore, g ive my working definit ion and understanding of the two concepts and then strongly argue that they can and indeed must creatively live together in a marriage that is both ratified and consummated! The entire article is based on six main argu ments. In the first place I argue that in defining globalization, we must clearly distinguish the positive fro m the negative nature and content of globalization. I shall deal with globalizat ion fro m the point of view of its effects on the poor, the vulnerable, the marginalised and the powerless, in a word the v ictims of society, who are easily exp lo ited, oppressed, suppressed and alienated and isolated. I shall use views and perceptions of these victims to show what they consider positive and negative in globalization and what their hopes and fears are in this regard.The second argument, which runs through the paper, concerns the radical move fro m the narrow and classical understanding of inculturation to a new, dynamic, holistic and rich defin ition of inculturation. The fifty years of the inculturation movement, if we are to begin fro m 1953, Lea Pretres No ir S'lnterrogent, have seen great strides in the concept and reality of inculturation. Incultuaration is no longer a concept found in universities, but one on the ground among people and in their daily lives and concrete situations. It is this new understanding of inculturation wh ich will be analyzed in view o f globalization.In the third p lace, I argue that the five models of inculturation currently in place can each absorb the positive elements of globalizat ion, while at the same time strongly and powerfully resisting the negative elements. Globalization in this view is simply one of the factors to the context in place, which context should be taken into account in any effective and relevant inculturation. The fourth argument is directly addressed to those who would wish to use the excuse of globalization to re-impose the oppressive uniformity of some so-called developed countries or Older Churches on Africa and those who think that globalization means some people and some societies must think, create, and plan for others. This is not a new reality but a very old one. Within the Catholic Church, this thinking is often linked to the group of Cardinal Ottaviani during the Vatican II. It stands for Semper Idem: One universal church, one universal theology, philosophy, liturgy, spirituality, education, one mode of th inking and acting, one vision and one ethos! This so-called g lobalized thinking is neither universal nor o rthodox. The fifth and last arguments relate to the creative manner in wh ich authentic incultration should be done and promoted taking into serious account of what is taking place with in Africa, within each country and community in Africa and in the world at large. Globalization only challenges the method in which inculturation should be conceived, the method in which it should be imp lemented in a fu lly relevant way. It is therefore not a question of either choosing inculturation or globilisation, but rather of how inculturation must control the negative aspects of globalization, shine cut clearly over globalization and relate with it relevantly, creat ively and profitably