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.

The Revd Dr Paul M. Collins is Reader in Theology at the University of Chichester, UK. A priest of the Church of England, he has worked in theological education for twenty years, first at Chichester Theological College, then at the Queen's Foundation, Birmingham and presently at the University of Chichester. His research interests include the doctrines of the Trinity, Theosis and the Church, and inculturation, especially in South India. He is currently a member of the Faith and Order Advisory Group of the Church of England.