The Dangers of Ethnocentrism in Gospel Communication

Introduction

 Ethnocentrism results in false assumptions due to cultural variances. Cultural anthropologists can be ethnocentric whenever they make use of their cultural norms to make judgments and generalizations on other individual’s lives and cultures. These generalizations usually lead to conscious bias hence impeding the missionary objectives[1]. Developing ethnocentric thoughts minimizes the accuracy and ability to interpret another person's way of life. Ethnocentrism tends to drive one into a misconception and distortion of communication between the locals and the missionaries. Primarily, ethnocentrism impedes effective communication between two or more people from different cultural backgrounds[2]. Ethnocentrism creates an umbrella attitude toward certain people which in turn affects perception and cultural norms or characteristics. For instance, the attitude and perception that one culture is better than the other often lead to discrimination. Some people claim that ethnocentrism is deeply rooted in human nature consequently leading to reluctance and even denial. It is good for people to respect, appreciate other people's differences while at the same time integrally engaging them.

Misunderstanding and Misinterpretation

 The first role of cultural anthropologists is assisting in the understanding of mission processes hence they play a crucial role in defining ethnocentrism in case they are biased. Among the first two aspects were linguistics and communication. Most of the early bunch of anthropologists had to learn the local dialect so as to interact with the locals without any language barriers. Thus, they forced themselves to learn not only the language but the local culture of the people living in those particular regions. Most of the time, these dialects did not have any written forms hence forcing the cultural anthropologists to device ways through which they would document them for future reference. The cultural anthropologist had to come up with ways of learning cultures and languages without the need for schooling. Furthermore, anthropologists collected evidence and later translated languages for other anthropologists. Therefore anthropologists can develop programs through which people can learn factual details on other communities. This helps to shape the perceptions and mapping out of foreign regions.

 At first cultural anthropologists handled languages in a self-directed arrangement hence each culture was treated differently from the other. Later on, they had to relate language and culture in order to understand other intricate issues. It was obvious- language dictated culture and culture shaped language and so forth and so on. On one level, the connection between language and culture led to communication mechanisms[3]. For instance, processing communication techniques and other forms of communication at the disposal in cross-cultural regions. This way, noticing the most common and effective forms of communication began to emerge and cultural anthropologists isolated these details for analysis. Communication affected socio-cultural situations.  This explains the emergence of communication concepts to the missioning mechanisms with considerable success in the long run. Additionally, the association between cultures creates questions on thinking processes[4]. Particular terms of a dialect influence the thoughts and ideals hence impacting the entire norms of the community. This way, cultural anthropologists are able to identify perceptions and societal norms. In simpler terms anthropologists understood the conscience of the cross-cultural people and how their thinking patterns worked in the long run. In summary, the first role of cultural anthropologists in cross-cultural missions is to understand and then interpret the language and mannerisms of the different cultures found within a particular region for the sake of streamlining and eradicating the language barriers that might hinder the core objectives of the missions.

Generation of Culture Differences

            The second factor of an anthropologist is defining the cultural differences and ensure. Mission strategists are usually concerned about the human variations brought about by cultural differences. Apart from these human variations, cultural anthropologists also encountered religious variations. These challenges forced them to come up with ways of integrating Christian values in non-Christian areas[5]. Cultural anthropologists had to find creative ways of establishing religion based on already existing cultural truths. Cultural anthropologists had to face cultural variations and find a solid foundation for their objectives. For instance, locals had different ways of building houses, spoke in various dialects, lived under different family units, possessed varying moral principles, and exhibited different values. These variations generated first-hand challenges to cultural anthropologists. This led to cultural shock. Misinterpretations emerged among missionaries’ interactions with the locals and the missionaries had to teach themselves the specific ways of life associated with certain communities. Subsequently, cultural differences led to theoretical and religious concerns. It seems like all cultures depended on providing order, and influencing a purpose-driven life. Hence, no culture is better than another. Besides, the manner used to compare and analyze cultural norms varied and was also brought to question. The missionaries also questioned if they had a right to change other people’s way of life. These questions led to cultural relativism, where all societies are at par with each other and none was evil in any way. Nevertheless, cultural relativism brought about other challenges as it compared the missionaries with the locals who they were to convert into Christianity. Thus, their role was compromised. They had to define Christianity and western culture. Turning people into Christians meant adopting the western culture of wearing clothes, application of western medication, marrying one wife, and leaving behind racial norms. Hence differentiating between western culture and Christianity was a hard task. Even though shaping the Christian message to fit into the culture was an uphill task, they had device friendly ways of dealing with these cultural differences in order to introduce Christianity without disrupting the community normal way of life[6]. One of the ways they achieved this task was by using local dialect to teach Christian principles or expressing Christian norms via culture terms. Besides, the use of traditional symbolism and routine practices helped in imparting knowledge and shaping the message without distorting cultural practices or the message itself. Moreover, the cultural anthropologists had to confirm that their message was universal and above culture or reproach. One of the theological queries emerged due to cultural differences. These are the Biblical events which occurred in particular cultural situations. Hence, shaping the Christian message so that it would have a universal appeal was at the top of the list for the cultural anthropologists. A universal message would transcend borders and pass through cultural and language barriers. Then, isolating the message to fit the needs of people within a particular region became another uphill task which the cultural anthropologists had to deal with in the long run. For instance, not all Biblical content is equally applicable to everyone. Some contemporary Christians punish adultery while some stone them. Thus, aligning cultural differences to the streamlined acceptance of Biblical messages across all the cultures was key. The cultural anthropologists had to ensure that various cultures related to the teachings and found them relevant in their day to day lives. Relating to something helped in interpretation and understanding the meaning which later eased its way into the community. It is vital to note that cultural anthropologists had to integrate Christian believes with other cultural norms in order not to judge foreign cultural norms as strange or absurd. In other words, cultural anthropologists avoided discriminating against other cultural practices or norms. In the end, relating with fundamental cultural variances maintained relationships and sustained social interactions hence helped in cross-cultural missions.

Evaluation And Manipulation of Other People’s Cultures

 The third factor was recognizing that the basic cultural differences forced them to evaluate individual cultures separately in order to bring to light the fundamental information on certain cultures[7]. Usually evaluating other people’s cultures exposes ethnocentrism. As cultural anthropologists began analyzing individual cultures, they realized that the underlying factors integrating the cultures. Each cultural part has different functionalities such as meeting certain community needs within the entire society. Thus, the holistic study of cultures impacted cross-cultural missions and ethnocentrism[8]. For example, realizing that cultures are integrative unveiled that changing culture impacted different areas differently. For instance, converting to Christian norms affected societal routines, economics, and political structures found within that specific culture. More so, one cannot predict the cultural changes that might take place due to Christianity. Therefore cultural anthropologists had to be aware of the up and downside of converting people into Christianity. Hence, they had to be concerned with all the aspects of individual's lives, or converting locals to Christianity would destroy their entire lives and drive them into extinction.

Culture Shock

To comprehend culture shock and intercultural communication challenges, the first one needs to define culture. Culture is a set of integrative systems of beliefs, emotions and values, and other connected symbols. As long one lives in the confines of his or her culture, he or she is accustomed to the practices[9]. Whenever one encounters a new culture, one becomes aware of the new customs hence chances of discrimination against the new culture are high. For example, one sees the differences in clothing, dressing, dialect, and character. Then one gets to learn the variances in values and belief systems. Cultural variation is in the middle of missionary work and the core function of missionary tasks is ministering to other people. Hence, the first danger of ethnocentrism is perceptive misinterpretations[10]. For instance, some missionaries encountered challenges while relating to some of the African people. More so, some missionaries may shudder whenever they enter into a restaurant and find other people eating without forks and spoons. In other words, humans tend to alter their behavior whenever they encounter a strange situation. This alteration leads to stereotypes and discrimination.

 The underlying cause of discrimination is human nature and the tendency to react to issues based on assumptions and emotions. Feelings may drive one to react with approval or disapproval whenever encountered with another culture. This might lead to avoidance of certain issues or manipulation of subject matters in order to fit certain perceptions. Thus, ethnocentrism takes place whenever culture variance exists[11]. For instance, Americans fear whenever they see poor people living in streets and slums while on the other hand, other people might be equally shocked to learn how the aged are isolated and placed in nursing homes. The lack of empathy sometimes leads to negativity.

Withholding Crucial Information

            Shared value systems on life make communication and societal reality possible despite the assumptions and lack of attention to detail. Shared on beliefs on reality offers individuals the rationality needed to understand ways of life. Subsequently, this might lead to premature judgments and misinterpretations on rational matters. More so, while evaluating cultures, missionaries are too quick to judge and dismiss hence leading distortion of Biblical messages. The initial assessment usually is inferior an ignorant because it depends on biased opinions. It is vital to note that ethnocentrism is at play everywhere[12]. For instance, Romans believed that they were more special and powerful than other societies. The same logic applied to Greeks and English. Thus, missionaries should always make use of polite and effective language during communication. There one thing which the Bible and science agree on and that is humans came from the same parents. Thus equality is important while preaching to other people. As stated earlier, ethnocentrisms may lead to ignoring facts on other cultures. Besides, ethnocentrism facilitates negative stereotypes application to different societies all over the world which in turn leads to disrespect and even slander[13]. Collecting information from other people’s background and cultures normally fail to give a holistic perspective on various aspects of life. In the end, this might create inaccuracies between the community members and misinform effective communication mechanisms all over the world. 

 At the center of each culture is the mutual value systems and community of individuals. Through experiences, individuals can interpret images or derive perceptions from desperate situations. The recognition of the basic social system developed sociologists and academic institutions as a venue for integrating and introducing learning opportunities for the locals for the evaluation of learning mechanisms. Hence, the evaluation of how people learn and acquire social interactions and conformity to society. The analysis of social structures helps in the analysis of several societal issues[14]. At the lowest stages of life, missionaries can study how people associate with each other. For instance, relating to locals is important for cementing relationships and receiving the message of the gospel. Thus, the structure of the society dictates the fate of new converts as they move from one phase of life into another. The missionary systems, have to be aligned to the people's perspectives and culturally recognized standards so that converts can easily transition into the normal society. The missions have to establish a relationship with locals churches and society at large. One of the most critical questions among contemporary day missionaries is structuring cultural relationships to meet the daily needs of society and the church. If harmony does not exist between the church and the society, then Christianity won’t be able to survive and transfer its values to other areas of life.

Distortion of Cultural Context

 In terms of contextual interpretation, cultural anthropologists have to communicate in ways that define the thoughts of their audience or listeners even if it means forcing false interpretations. The most important thing to take note of is the audience’s social and cultural characteristics. The missionary's statements should be filtered, interpreted, and comprehended based on the defined social and cultural identities. Besides, teaching or preaching with a certain goal in mind assists in unveiled only specified information to the audience[15]. That is, cultural anthropologists should only arouse specific emotions hence triggering only selected actions.  With one term cultural anthropologists have to ensure that their messages have a specific message and at the same time be culturally sensitive to the people. The nonlinguistic culturally influence the translation of the message into culturally appropriate messages. The cultural anthropologist must try as much as possible to express his or her words in another culture. Perhaps in the current society, Christian churches are dependent on translation and this the reason translation is important.

 In summary, most cultural anthropologists focus on various aspects of culture. Anthropologists can analyze economic activities in relation to culture to find out how various cultures use their resources within the communities. These economic resources are finances, land, and other valuable assets. Even though missionaries also use such resources, there is nothing that can be done to explore such cases further. Apart from economics, cultural anthropologists can also study political entities within the community in an attempt to clarify any messages.   Any missionary or cultural anthropologist should set aside his or her differences and objectively communicate with other people despite the language barriers. Ethnocentrism may give rise to discrimination and manipulation of people's own culture. The ability to accept other people's norms and customs helps to understand their way of life. Cultural anthologists sometimes are forced to force themselves into the lives of for the sake of creating a relationship and a rapport.

 

 

[1] Conner, Dustin. "Biblical and cultural exegesis: twin components for contextualized ministry in the great commission enterprise." (2015).

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[8] Alawode, Dr, Akinyemi Oluwafemi, Rev Umukoro, And Joy Eno. "Missiological Challenges Encountered By The Cross-Cultural Missionary: Man-Made Or Natural? The Way Forward."

[9] Garnica, Rebeca. "Discussion of How to Effectively Communicate the Gospel Considering Generations, Cultures, and Paul’s Biblical Example." (2016).

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[12]Sanou, Boubakar. "Missiological perspectives on the communal significance of rites of passages in African traditional religions." Journal of Adventist Mission Studies 9, no. 2 (2013): 039-052.

[13] Robertson, Melva B. "FOSTERING UNITY WITHIN A GLOBAL ORGANIZATION." Journal of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership 8, no. 1 (2018): 248-253.

[14]Phiri, George Allan. Social-cultural anthropology: Communication with the African society. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2009.

[15] Livermore, David A. Serving with eyes wide open: Doing short-term missions with cultural intelligence. Baker Books, 2012.