WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA, December 28, 2001: This story appearing on the web site of Christian Week is an interesting look into how missionaries deal with the ancestral religious practices of the native American Indians who convert to Christianity. Hindus are familiar with attempts of Christians in India to “inculturalize” their religion by incorporating features of Hindu puja, devotional songs and even dance. Here is the same deceptive process as applied to native American religions. The report states in part, “The complexity of making the Christian gospel culturally relevant to native North Americans is getting some serious study. Nearly 150 Christians from throughout North America came to Winnipeg in late November to probe the issue at a Native North American Missiological Symposium. Participants, including native and non-native missionaries, theologians, pastors and scholars from many denominations, wrestled with vexing questions about cultural practices that may water down spiritual truths, and teachings by Christians that unnecessarily denigrate native culture. In the past, missionaries fashioned the aboriginal church in a European image. They discouraged native languages and names, built square buildings that shut out the natural world, exchanged drums, rattles and native chants for pianos, organs and western hymnology and replaced native dress and dance with European garb and processions. The symposium attempted to navigate a middle road between assimilation (cultural genocide) and syncretism (blending incompatible beliefs).”
A daily summary of world news for Hindus and non-Hindus alike