On the Profile of Intercultural Theology: A Discipline (Still) in the Making

Abstract

This article distinguishes the discipline of Intercultural Theology from other theological disciplines (exegesis, church history, Systematic Theology) and from World Christianity and Anthropology of Christianity. The main thesis is that although Intercultural Theology has a broader methodological spectrum than Mission Studies, and although it approaches its subject matter in a far more differentiated way, the discipline will need to maintain its basis in mission theology lest it dissolve into pure cultural studies. Based on this premise, the article proceeds to discuss both methodological questions and the subject matter of the discipline. Finally, it highlights the following topics as of particular relevance at present: intercultural hermeneutics and the understanding of power, theologies of mission and the understanding of universality, and theologies of religion and the understanding of recognition.