WHAT IS INTERCULTURAL ABOUT INTERCULTURAL THEOLOGY?

Abstract

This article explores what is intercultural about intercultural theology. It starts with some of the founding fathers of intercultural theology who sawit as a new form of missiology. The author argues that intercultural theology and missiology can enrich each other but that they must not be confused. Intercultural theology is based on intercultural hermeneutics which has along tradition of understanding the relation between sameness and otherness. Based on intercultural philosophy, the author defines interculturality in terms of cultural overlaps between “us” and the “others”. From this perspectivehe argues that much of what is presented as intercultural theology is more comparative than intercultural, and suggests new fields of research: the genetic and linguistic links between people of different continents; information-processing of the brains; and the primal beliefs that underlie particular traditions. He suggests that the Dialogical Self Theory offers an fruitful perspective for such research.