Christian Inculturation in India

Drawing together international and Indian sources, and new research on the ground in South India, this book presents a unique examination of the inculturation of Christian Worship in India. Paul M. Collins examines the imperatives underlying the processes of inculturation - the dynamic relationship between the Christian message and cultures - and then explores the outcomes of those processes in terms of architecture, liturgy and ritual, and the critique offered of these outcomes, especially by Dalit theologians. This book highlights how the Indian context has informed global discussions, and how the decisions of the World Council of Churches, Vatican II and Lambeth Conferences have impacted upon the Indian context. Contents: Preface; Foreword; Introduction; Cultures commerce and colonies :the export factor; Redefining identities: landscapes and imperatives: 1963; Whose values; which cultures? The effects of local theologies; Art, architecture and topography: temples and churches in South India; Rites and rituals: 'lex orandi, lex credendi?'; Imperatives for a new agenda; Afterword; Liturgical texts; Bibliography; Indexes.