How Do Colonizing Forces Shape Religion?
Theological Doctrines are shaped just as much by the forces of
colonization as other works of law and social policy. It is important to
consider how these forces shape our response to marginalized populations such
as women and children, and other races and ethnicities. Have we done all that we
can to create an equitable environment within our churches that brings together
all of the voices of those belonging to subaltern realities?
Our use of language,
metaphor and cultural ideology is shaped by who we are. Inviting the use of
other cultural metaphors through storytelling creates a learning environment
that is safe for everyone.
Published on Apr 4, 2012
Lizette spoke at the World Council
of Churches gathering in the Philippines on mission and evangelism last
March 24, 2012 at the Traders hotel. John 4 is about the encounter of
Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well.
Definitions of Key Terms:
Cultural Imperialism: Imperialism and colonialism function
within economic processes, political maneuvers, and culture; these forces are
part of the tactics used to make domination possible. Bruce and Yearly (2006) explain:
This is the imposition of American or western values upon
non-western societies, largely through the export of mass media products. US-based trans-national media
and communications now dominate so much of the world that scholars talk seriously of a
threat to weaker nation-states. It is certainly true that US media products dominate the market but
it does not automatically
follow that they are persuasive. (...) Even when there is a positive
correlation between western media penetration and social change (for example, an increase in
individual assertiveness) this need not mean that the first caused the second. At least some of
what are called western values (e.g. a desire for greater personal freedom) are quite likely to
become more popular as increasing
prosperity allows their expression, and increasing prosperity
permits greater consumption of electronic media products. Some of what is taken to be cultural
imperialism may be internally driven change.
Alterity: The term alterity is defined as “otherness.” More can
be read about the development of this term in the works of Emmanual Levinas
(2001), who wrote about the term in his work titled Alterity and Transcendence,
which describes the trading of one’s position of that of the other. In social
science and ethinic studies, the term is used to define the construction of
cultural or racial other/s.
Minority: Minority is usually defined as a subordinate or
marginal group. When we define a group as a minority, another group becomes a
majority by default. Perpetuating a constant state of minority creates perceptions
of power imbalance which can compound the effects of injustice in some cases. Isajiw (1992) states that minority is related to power dynamics instead
of numbers or ethnicity (Cordova-Quero, 2012).
References:
Bruce, Steve, and Steven Yearley. 2006. The Sage Dictionary of Sociology. London: Sage.
Cordova-Quero, H. (2012) Lecture
Notes from Post Colonial Gender Issues in Religion Course, Pacific School
of Religion, Berkeley, California.
Isajiw, Wsevolod W. 1993. Definition
and Dimensions of Ethnicity: A Theoretical Framework. In Challenges of Measuring an
Ethnic World: Science, politics and reality: Proceedings of the Joint
Canada-United States Conference on the Measurement of Ethnicity April 1-3, 1992, eds. Statistics Canada and U.S.
Bureau of the Census. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, pp.
407-427.
Lévinas, Emmanuel. 2001. Alterity and Transcendence. Trans. Michael B. Smith. New York,
NY: Columbia University Press.
