Inculturation in Modern Zambia

Abstract

This article discusses the significance of inculturation and why Christianity in Zambia should be inculturated. It analyses the concept of inculturation and gives a brief background on how Christianity came to Zambia and how the Zambian Traditional Religions were rejected and considered barbaric by the early Missionaries. The paper goes further to recommend ways on how the Church in Zambia could carry out the inculturation process. The article also suggests how the Church in Zambia could ensure that the process of inculturation is addressed throughout the country. The paper asserts that Christianity in Zambia will remain half-baked and incomplete for as long as it is not contextualized to meet the needs of the Zambian people. The paper also discusses a few contemporary challenges which should be put into serious consideration in the entire process of inculturation in Zambia. The paper suggests that meaningful values in the Zambian culture should be identified and adopted into Christianity in order to add value to the worship of God by the Zambian Christians. In conclusion, the article states that if Christianity in Zambia is to survive, inculturation is inevitable. If a truly Christian religion is to be achieved in Zambia, then Christianity must adapt and allow the Zambian Christians to express their faith in God in their own way, in their own languages, in their own cultures! Without inculturation, Christianity in Zambia will remain widely spread but not truly practiced by the Zambian Christians.
This study was carried out in order to suggest how the hermeneutical gaps for Zambian interpreters of Scripture could be significantly reduced. The Catholic Church, the United Church of Zambia, the Reformed Church of Zambia and Pentecostal churches were visited and some members interviewed, in order to seek their views on whether Christianity has adapted to Zambian cultures.
Keywords: Inculturation, Religion, Christianity, Church, Culture.