Ulog #22 : Religion and Acculturation

When I did my Master Degree in Thailand, every wednesday campus offered an inter-religious dialogue class. Usually the class was attended by friends of different religions. Students of different religions were presented. Most of them fron Africa, South Korea, from Malaysia and some from India and other countries. In the discussion, Korean friends explained that Christian missionaries are acculturating when preaching their religion to a region, nation or culture. This means that the religion can be accepted by society then it must be adapted to the local culture. Friends from Africa set an example in Africa You have to describe Jesus as black, otherwise the people will not be easy to accept Christianity.

My curiousity on this issue is not without reason. For now there are various assumptions that Islam is culturized with various cultures. In Java Indonesia, Islam adapts to Javanese culture to become Javanese Islam. In Lombok became Islam Time Telu. As a result, there are now many Muslims. Cheryl Bernard, in his suggestions to liberalize Islam needs to be created American Islam, European Islam, Islam Pakistan and so on. Acculturation seems to be a means of supporting social and theological pluralism.

3 years ago when Giving A Speech in Inter-Religious dialoge class

But how far the acculturation for religions is possible, needs a long discussion. In the American Quarterly Journal Laura Levitt writes articles entitled Impossible Assimilations, American Liberalism, and Jewish Difference: Revisiting Jewish Secularism. There he stated that Jews can not be liberalized. That may be just a social inclusion or tolerance attitude. If the Jews force themselves to adapt to the local culture (West) then the Jews are more or less the same as others. (Jews are just like everybody else more so.) Further, Levitt declares that the containment of Jewish differences within the narrators required by liberal pluralism is no longer viable.

Do Muslims engage in acculturation or Islamization? When Islam was practiced in Yathrib, it had Jews and Arab tribes and certainly had a pluralistic culture. However, the Prophet did not necessarily acculturize. Unheard of in Islamic history of Islamic term Mecca or Islamic Madinah, Kufa Islam or Basrah Islam etc.

The city of Yathrib was renamed Medina. The tribal traditions that brought about the conflict in Islam replaced by the universal human values ​​of Islam in the form of the Medina Charter. Who convert to Islam must understand ukhuwwah Islamiyah. The meanings of marriage, sustenance, worship, karim, happiness etc interpreted in Islam.

When I was studying in Thailand I heard the argument of Islamization, and not the acculturation. The argument is simple, "it is natural that the secular West to secularize or liberalize, Christianize Christianity, and Islam Islamization".

It seems reasonable. Historically, a dominant civilization will affect a less dominant or weak civilization. When the West is now dominant, many westernized nations, cultures and religions. Where many westernized Muslims, cultures or ways of thinking. When Islam was dominant in the 8th to 14th centuries many cultures were Islamized.

A culture can be adopted as part of religion, but Religion cannot be forced to adjust to a culture. Conversely, a culture must adjust to a religion.