Indigenization, Inculturation, and Interculturation(The Bonds Created by Religion: The Meaning and Potential of Fellowship through Faith,Public Symposium,THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTIETH ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE JAPANESE ASSOCIATION FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES)

Abstract

Inter-religious dialogue is an inevitable part of the peace-building process in our society where all parts of the globe are so interlinked and face tension. However, Christianity is a religion of mission, and it has claimed that it has the one and only truth. A question remains whether Christianity is entitled to participate in an inter-religious dialogue in the first place. At the same time, we should not forget the past history in Japan where a super ideology (Emperor Imperialism) surpressed religions in Japan by oppressing and eventually engulfing them under the requirement of total obedience to this Emperor Imperialism. We need a new theology of mission if Christianity is to maintain its identity and at the same time deepen inter-religious dialogues and cooperation with other religions. In the development of religious theology, Christian missiology has changed its key concepts from "indigenization" to "inculturation" and then to "interculturation." There is a possibility of building human bonds and a challenge for the birth of a new theology in the concept of interculturation.