November 4-Elsa Marty: Inculturation or Christian Unity? Competing Visions for the Church among Lutheran Adivasis in Chotanagpur (India)


Monday, November 4, 2013 12:00 noon-1:30 pm Swift 106

Join us for Elsa Marty’s paper, “Inculturation or Christian Unity? Competing Visions for the Church among Lutheran Adivasis in Chotanagpur (India)”

The Lutherans in the Chotanagpur region of North India are predominantly adivasi (indigenous) and come from many different tribes. Since 1977, they have been divided into two churches: the Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church (GELC) and the North-Western Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church (NWGELC). These two churches emphasize different aspects of Christian community. The GELC focuses on Christian unity and is comprised of members from all of regional tribes. The NWGELC was formed in 1977 by members from the Oraon tribe and stresses the importance of inculturation and contextualization. This paper explores the difficulty of “inculturating” into a multi-cultural community and various visions of Christian unity in such an environment.

Rick Elgendy will respond.

A light lunch will be served.

We recommend that you read the paper in advance of the workshop; you can find it here. If you are planning on attending the workshop and are not affiliated with the University of Chicago, please email contact-theology@lists.uchicago.edu to request access to the paper.