Practical Theology and Majority World Epistemologies

This book offers insights into the thinking of majority world practical theologians and introduces the reader to faith realities previously unknown in a quest to create a more inclusive and welcoming practical theological network. Practical theologians are situated in all corners of the globe attempting to make sense of their lived experiences and of those around them from a faith perspective. Historically, practical theology tended to be constructed from academics situated in the West and indirectly marginalized those in and from the majority world. Against this backdrop, this book is a deliberate attempt to empower practical theological voices from the further corners of the global village, based upon the conviction that sharing epistemologies creates an opportunity not only to learn about others and the contexts in which they live, but from them, enhancing the meaning making of practical theology in the present. Cognisant that epistemology as a formal discipline does not always centre lived experience, practical theology has historically prioritised the importance of wisdom, worldview, and a way of life for individual and collective knowing. The diverse issues addressed in this work offers insights into the thinking of mainly Asian and African practical theologians and introduces readers to the faith realities previously unknown to create a more inclusive and welcoming practical theological network. This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal Practical Theology.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Practical Theology and Majority World Epistemologies 1. Undisciplined! A womanist ethnography for an Africana practical theology 2. Fihavanana and Raiamandreny as the basis to construct a hybrid practical theology in the Malagasy context 3. Quest for African practical theology: lived religion, social transformation and public aspiration as organising centres 4. Don’t touch my hair: a feminist Nigerian/British reading of the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her hair in Luke 7.36-50 5. Practical theology in Arab evangelical perspective: considering a particular practice of theological reflection 6. ‘More than merry-making’: Tribal-Indigenous Baptists and their lifeworlds of festivities 7. Patungo sa pagiging maka-Diyos [Towards godliness]: how Filipino men use cultural forms of epistemology in the search for truth 8. Chaplains as hosts: balancing humility and assertiveness in spiritual care 9. Towards an Asian decolonial Christian hospitality: Shù (恕), Pachinko, and the migrant other 10. Stanley Hauerwas and ‘Chan Tai-man’: an analysis of Hong Kong laypeople’s lived theology and Hong Kong theologians’ engagement with Stanley Hauerwas’s political theology from a practical theology perspective 11. Taingyintha theology in the making in Myanmar: a public theological perspective. 12. Theology as story: reenvisioning the task and form of theology in Asia with C.S. Song

About the Author :
Alfred Brunsdon is full professor in Practical Theology at the Faculty of Theology of the North-West University, South Africa. Dr Calida Chu is Teaching Associate in Sociology of Religion at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Nottingham and Associate Editor of Practical Theology.