Fulfilling the Mission of the Church in Ghana in the 21st Century: Lessons from India in the 16th and 17th Centuries

Fulfilling the Mission of the Church in Ghana in the 21st Century: Lessons from India in the 16th and 17th Centuries

Seth Asare – Danso

Issue: Vol.6 No.5 August 2020 Article 1 pp. 243-252
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.2020081 | Published online 10th August 2020.
© 2020 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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ABSTRACT

This historical study examines the spread of Christianity in India in the 16th and 17th centuries, and lessons to be drawn by Christian churches in Ghana in the 21st century. Personal interview and content analysis of primary and secondary source documents were used for data collection. The grounded theory design was used to develop four theories, namely: “cultural rejection approach”, “cultural replacement approach”, “cultural sharing approach” and “cultural transformation approach” to mission. The research findings revealed that Christianity was introduced in India to liberate the people from ignorance. The Jesuit understood the motives of mission to be cross-cultural, international, co-operative and holistic in nature. It further revealed that the Jesuit used the “cultural transformation approach” to mission, which required the use of “radical identification”, “culture transfer”, “indigenization”, “inculturation” and “primal religion” as evangelistic methods to fulfill the mission mandate. The study recommended that churches in Ghana adapt the “cultural transformation approach” to mission to suit their cultural environments, so that the use of “radical identification” and “culture transfer” will reduce inequality, in fulfilment of
UN SDG 10; while the use of “indigenization”, “inculturation” and “primal religion” will provide inclusive and equitable quality (theological) education, in fulfilment of UN SDG 4.

Keywords: Church, Mission, Jesuit, Indigenization, Inculturation, Primal Religion

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AUTHOR(S)

Seth Asare-Danso (PhD) is an Associate Professor, Head of Department – Arts Education, Vice Dean and Protestant Chaplain of University of Cape Coast. His research interests are in the areas of Curriculum, Pedagogical and Historical issues in Religion; Educational Management and Policy issues; and Theological Education.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Asare-Danso, Seth., “Fulfilling the Mission of the Church in Ghana in the 21st Century: Lessons from India in the 16th and 17th Centuries 6, no.5 (2020): 243-252 https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.2020081