Faith and Culture: Elochukwu Uzukwu and the Making of an African Sacramental Theology: 20 (African Christian Studies Series)

The recognition of the intersection of faith and culture has become a significant trend in contemporary theology. Cultures are locations of divine activity. The Sacramental Theology of Elochukwu Uzukwu in Light of Vatican II and Its Application in African Context brings freshness to the dominant Catholic sacramental thinking by offering an African appropriation of the Christian faith through African cultures. It demonstrates the historical interaction of the Christian faith with multiple anthropologies that resonates with different peoples to celebrate rituals that convey divine activity. This work engages the theology of Elochukwu Uzukwu, a recent African sacramental/liturgical theologian whose work reflects the elements of sacramental and liturgical renewal of the Second Vatican Council, especially in its openness to a plurality of cultures. This book retrieves resources from the African universe to offer a contextual appropriation of the interface between faith and African cultures. It highlights the African view of the body in its expressive worship and significance of relationality as an undergirding existential philosophy of life. Consequently, it offers a flexible theological methodology that avoids polarities. It provides an additional resource to the philosophical and theological approach to the perennial problem of duality and theologies constructed on this template. This study moves beyond monocultural sacramental expression to engage symbols and indigenous resources to articulate an African sacramental theology.