Inculturation seeks to remake Christianity within African culture rather than graft elements

Evidence

The traditionalists broke away from the mainstream Christian churches and established what is variously known today as African Independent Churches (AIC), Ethiopian churches or messianic churches. According to Magesa (2010, p.122), these churches are known for “articulating the best of the fundamentals of Africans’ belief systems and integrating them with and within their perception of Christianity”. They are found everywhere in Africa, including the DRC, where they are known as “Kimbanguists”. With respect to the modified group, some also broke away from mainstream Christianity, but the majority continued to argue for reform from within. Most have become ardent proponents of inculturation, the intellectual movement that seeks to make Christianity part of the African culture rather than just adopting African elements here and there, as the church once demanded. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 163

Categorization

• DEFINE: Inculturation is defined as an intellectual movement making Christianity part of African culture rather than merely adopting African elements.
• QUESTION: How does inculturation’s project of re-grounding Christianity differ from Bantu philosophy’s own constructive ambitions? Worth tracing across the book.