Inculturation of the Catholic Church in Kikuyu Religious Space
Abstract
From the Christian theological perspective, inculturation is understood to be
the process whereby the faith already embodied in one culture encounters
another culture. In this encounter, the faith becomes part and parcel of this new
culture. It fuses with the new culture and simultaneously transforms it into a
novel religious-cultural reality. In practical terms, this process involves the inter-
action of mutual critique and affirmation. It entails acceptance or rejection of
thought forms, symbolic and linguistic expressions and attitudes between the
faith-cultures in question. This process is usually primarily instinctive and popular, without much systematic planning and arrangement to it. But it can also
be promoted and enhanced by institutional study and direction.