Cultural Transformation and Religious Practice
Cultural Transformation and Religious Practice
The book sets out to address and answer three questions from the point of view of Christian theology. The first is, from where does theology speak? The second is, what are the mechanisms whereby cultures change? The third is, how might we conceive the relationship between the contemporary production of theological discourse and the transformation of cultures more generally? Drawing upon the work of standpoint epistemologists, cultural anthropologists and social scientists, the book argues that public acts of interpretation are involvements in renegotiating the future direction of cultural change. Though the enquiry is conducted from one particular standpoint - Christian theology - the observations and suggestions it makes regarding cultural transformation and the defense it makes of syncretism have more general application.
- This is original: no one has examined the processes of cultural transformation and theology's involvement with them so systematically
- It offers a profound theological engagement with cultural studies and social theory from a theological perspective.
- It opens the way for a theological apologetics of a postmodern kind
Reviews & endorsements
'The book's great strength lies in its rehabilitation of religious discourse as a legitimate challenge to 'the secular logics of Western global capitalism'. So its focus is 'the negotiation between Christian living and thinking and the contemporary world'.' Church Times
'… erudite and challenging … highly commended. It is a well-researched, discerning and insightful piece of work. … any 'student' with a heart for apologetics and cultural transformation will find it most illuminating.' Expository Times
'Graham Ward is one of the best known representatives of Radical Orthodoxy … [provides] a more general model for understanding how cultures change, especially whether and how religious practice can shape the cultural transformation. … well written, demonstrating Ward's admirable mastery of the theories from various fields.' Ars Disputandi
' … this is a book about the essential criteria for theological 'credibility' in general … here is a project which I think certainly demands to be taken very seriously indeed.' Theology
Product details
December 2004Paperback
9780521540742
194 pages
229 × 152 × 11 mm
0.29kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Governing Question I: From what place does theology speak?
- Governing Question II: How do cultures change?
- Governing Question III: What is the relationship between religious practices and cultural transformation?
