Reviewed Book: Rausch, David A. World religions: our quest for meaning. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress; Valley Forge, Pa: TPI, 1989

Wehrfritz-Hanson, Garth

English

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 18Issue 2 Word and Worship: Essays on Preaching andLiturgyArticle 2111-1-1992World religions: our quest for meaningGarth Wehrfritz-HansonFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationWehrfritz-Hanson, Garth (1992) "World religions: our quest for meaning," Consensus: Vol. 18 : Iss. 2 , Article 21.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol18/iss2/21140 ConsensusThis book will be of interest to anyone who is sensitive to the inter-religious realities within today’s global village. Given the nature of itscontents, this text will be of particular value to students in religious stud-ies, to seminarians (who can no longer be regarded as adequately trainedfor pastoral ministry if they know only their own religion and tradition),to professors in religious studies and theology, to clergy and laity servingin today’s pluralistic world. This book’s instrumental and educative valuewill, of course, be realized most fully if its contents can be engaged withinthe contexts of interreligious dialogue.Arnold D. WeigelWaterloo Lutheran SeminaryWorld Religions: Our Quest for MeaningDavid A. Rausch and Carl Hermann VossMinneapolis: Fortress Press, 1989XV + 212 pagesFourth in a series on world religions, the purpose of this volume is tosurvey faith traditions for students and laity. The authors presuppose that“No one can understand the human race without having encountered thefaiths of humanity” (xii).Rausch and Voss purport that they are writing out of a wealth of first-hand study, teaching and encounters in relation to adherents of the worldreligions. They profess to have studied their subject matter in a “value-free” manner; but, alas, the attentive reader discovers numerous examplesof Caucasian, male. North American, middle-class influences.According to the authors, all major religions share the common groundof: ritualistic and belief systems, ethical codes, rites of passage, a preferen-tial language of origin, influence upon social, political, economic and legalinstitutions.Rausch and Voss ponder the origins of shamanism; unravel the intrica-cies of the Hindu caste system; observe the misogynistic beliefs and prac-tices in Jainism; clarify the differences between Theravada, Mahayana andZen Buddhism; provide biographical tidbits of Confucius and Lao Tsu; dis-cuss the emperor worship of Shinto; elaborate on the significance of EretzYisrael for Judaism. In addition they focus on the universal, inclusive na-ture of Jesus’ teachings and practices; underscore that Muhammad, accord-ing to Muslim scholars, married a Jewish woman and a Coptic Christianfor compassionate reasons. They do all of this and a great deal more; yetthe volume has several lacunae.The authors fail miserably in their chapter devoted to Christianity.They seem oblivious towards the significant contributions of contemporaryBook Reviews 141feminist and liberation theologies as well as the key role Protestant churchesplayed in organizing the World Council of Churches. Indeed, throughoutthis work, Rausch and Voss do not give adequate attention to women’s rolesand their contributions to the world religions. Moreover, if the audience isstudents and laity, then why did the authors not spice up their presentationwith anecdotes in order to communicate their first-hand encounters withadherents of each religion? After all, story-anecdotes are often one of thebest methods of teaching.The reader will need to supplement this work with other surveys for amore comprehensive, thorough presentation of the world religions.Garth Wehrfritz-HansonCalgary, AlbertaLiturgies of the Future: The Process and Methods ofInculturationAnscar J. Chupungco, OSBNew York: Paulist Press, 1989220 pages $13.45 Cdn. paperbackThis book is about inculturation, which along with globalization, willbe a major theme for theology in the 1990s. Here, Father Chupungco,professor of Liturgical History and Liturgical Adaptation at the PontificalLiturgical Institute in Rome, carries forward the work he began in his “Cul-tural Adaptation of the Liturgy” (PauHst Press, 1982). He writes from thecontext of the Roman liturgy and its changes since Vatican II. With thefirst stage of recovering the classical shape of the liturgy now complete, thesecond challenge emerges, to inculturate the liturgy.What is “inculturation”? He defines it as “the process whereby thetexts and rites used in worship by the local church are so inserted in theframework of culture, that they absorb its thought, language, and ritualpatterns— inculturation allows people to experience in liturgical celebra-tions a ‘cultural event’ whose language and ritual forms they are able toidentify as elements of their culture” (29).He begins by comparing what must happen in worship today to whathappened historically when the early Roman liturgy moved north and wasadapted to the Franco-Germanic style of expression. Today the sobrietyand simplicity of the early Roman liturgy has again been recovered; butthis is not the cultural style of all peoples today, any more than it was inthe eighth century! Although uniformity may be a blessing, it should notpreclude cultural variation and adaptation.Realizing that there are pitfalls in inculturation, Chupungco warns oftwo dangers: liturgy imposing a meaning on culture which is alien to cul-ture; culture overcoming liturgy so that it assimilates the original meaning

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