Understanding Folk Religion (bookreview)

"Understanding Folk religion: A Christian Response to Popular Beliefs and
Practices" by Paul G. Hiebert, R. Daneil Shaw and Tite Tienou.

According to the authors,
The purpose of this book is not to present ready answers to the questions folk religions pose. Rather, it is to sensitize Christians to the need to deal with folk religions, and to understand them. It is to challenge Christian leaders to think biblically in responding to them. (10)
Critically analyzing about the nature and reasons of folk religion will be articulated based on biblical, theological, and missiological perspectives in each chapter. Moreover, the authors also address it based on cultural, anthropological, philosophical and scientific observations.
Chapter 1 deals with the problem of new believers going back to their former religious practices while attending church services. This “two-tier Christians” are the concern of missionaries and pastors today. This was because “they were not consciously dealt with; they went underground…So, these ways became a part of the new Christian’s hidden culture (19).” Thus, we need to do phenomenological analysis of the cultures, ontological and evaluative approaches of their religious worldview with Christian theology and the gospel message, and provide them explicit information to transform. It is also very important to note that “the gospel is not simply to be communicated. It is a message to which people must respond (27).”
Chapter 2 discusses the importance of knowing the structures or levels of anthropological life which affect the core belief systems of a person. One has to critically look the social, psychological, spiritual, and personal dimensions of the recipients of the gospel so that it will be helpful to understand the genuine nature of the people. Moreover, the worldview and interpretation about their beliefs, values and feelings should be understood in order to contextualize the gospel effectively.
Chapter 3 presents the comparison and contrast between organic and mechanical metaphors which are existed in the world. One must analyze the reality of the organic living beings which can be seen and mechanic beings which cannot be seen but are active in the society. These beings are so real to the life of people that missionaries or pastors have to elaborate and address based on the biblical information.
Chapter 4 examines the reasons why the folk and formal religions exist together in a society. Formal religion sees things in term of “ultimate origin, purpose, and destiny of the universe, society and self but folk religion sees based on the meaning of life, problem, fortune, righteousness, injustice.” (74) That is why people who converted into Christianity from animistic beliefs are facing the two philosophical worldviews. Besides, scientific understanding of the supernatural and natural world trouble them what to follow. Thus, Christian ministers should teach people not just to be christianed but to transform the whole person into Christ.
Chapter 5 explains the question, how do people find meaning in life on earth, how do they explain death? To understand the meaning of life on earth based on the concept of folk religious people, one has to look the diachronic which tells the story of people’s past, present and future and the synchronic which explains the nature and structure of the human beings. (95f) In folk religion, meaning can be found in proper relationships (living and dead), rites, belongings, and properties. But Jesus Christ is our meaning for life.
According to chapter 6, human well-being depends on how they treat their ancestors and supernatural forces around them. Folk religious people believe that misfortune and luck are caused by their ancestral spirits and other spirits. Thus, they have to serve these spirit forces in order to receive blessings and good fortune. But the Bible says that every thing happens according to the will of God. The holy Scriptures do not talk about luck but God’s blessing, provision, mercy, and grace upon human beings.
Chapter 7 talks about the uncertainty of human future and the search for guidance. Knowing the future becomes man’s most desired attraction to cope up with what life has to offer. This desire leads them to consult people who are specialized in communicating with spirits for any cost. It is very important to teach how to seek the will of God to people, even Christians in the church. Ministers of the word of God should guide people to transform their misconception about future into the biblical perspective.
Chapter 8 presents what is right and what is wrong both in folk religious comprehension and Christian theological and biblical understandings. Based on the cultural folk religious norms and biblical theological concept, ministers of the word of God should distinguish and teach good and bad, holy and righteous, sin and holiness, purity and pollution, righteousness and law, and salvation and judgment because people have to understand clearly so that they will totally commit their lives to Christ and to the word of God.
Chapter 9 articulates about sacred signs and symbols in religions. Every religion has sacred signs and symbols which carry and convey special meaning and are significant to the people. Certainly, signs and symbols can effectively communicate but someone has to know the meaning. Obviously, we can see signs and symbols such as driving signs, religious symbols, commercial signs, etc., in the society. They transform the reality of things which they depict. Thus, when presenting the gospel we should not compromise the sacred signs and symbols we have.
Every society has myths and rituals which relate with their cosmological, anthropological and theological understandings. Chapter 10 reveals us about sacred myths which people inherit them from their forefathers to meet their religious desires and practices. The writers do not only articulate the functions and the sources of these myths but also explain the types of myths which folk people believe in the society. Thus, Christians must understand them in order to deliver God the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Judge who lives eternity to eternity, who is omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, who loves the world, and wants to have fellowship with human beings.
Rituals, festivals, and ceremonies are the folk religiosity in the society. Chapter 11 discusses how rituals are significant and meaningful to folk religious people. Every religious ritual conveys and communicates messages to the spiritual and physical life of the people as individual and a group. We should not compromise these folk rituals but rather critically evaluate them so that we can properly impart our Christian rituals which are founded on the word of God.
Chapter 12 looks how religious leaders and institutions construct and operate in order to meet the needs of the people, develop their religious organization and their ministries. These folk specialists and leaders function as both spiritual and physical healers, and teachers in the society. They are radically different from Christian leaders and Christian institutional structure because most of these animistic people are in living culture where people emphasize social community relationship. Thus, missionaries and pastors should not enforce the western structures right away for the people. Rather Christian leaders should lead local people for indigenous church organizations.
Chapter 13 explains the constant evolution of religious beliefs and the reforming of religious organizations. The growth and spread of Christianity, Muslim, Buddhism, and Hinduism impact the societal culture of the life of the people. Moreover, the colonization of the West has enormously effect some pluralistic religious societies in the world. Thus, new religious ideologies, sects, and philosophies emerge in the world. Even in Christianity, there are crazy sophisticate false ideas and false beliefs appear claiming to posses the truth. Therefore, we must study the word of God not to distract by these new religious movements.
Chapter 14 examines Christian theological principles for encountering and answering the questions and needs of folk religion. Understanding the language and beliefs and practices of people will help us in contextualizing our theology of God, creation, sin, salvation, and the second coming of Christ. We should critically build theology in a way people could easily understand and obey God. Missionaries, leaders and pastors have to avoid syncretism in the ministry so that these “two-tier Christians” will forsake their old beliefs.
Chapter 15 provides the effective procedures for transforming the hearts of these folk Christians to the authentic Christian life and to be witnesses in their respective contexts. Every contextualized theology must be constructed based on the biblical truths by the guidance of the Holy Spirit who teaches us all truth, and performed hermeneutic interpretation as church community. Besides, our aim should not be to destroy the folk religion but to regenerate their spirit-centered belief systems to Christ-centered belief in the Bible. To explicitly teach them about the triune God, His redemptive work through Christ, and our church offices and functions will be essential because these folk religious people must understand them. Pastors and missionaries in the churches have to conduct discipleship and follow-up ministries to the newly converts and their church members.
This book critically deals with the problem of folk religious people who intentionally or unintentionally practice the split level Christian life in the world. The authors have presented the crucial importance for explicitly teaching the biblical truths them by properly contextualizing according to their respective contexts in the mission fields and in the churches. The methodologies, strategies and responses they discussed in the book will be effective to apply in the ministry. Is it appropriate to demythologize scriptures? (269) The authors have phenomenologically, philosophically, theologically and missiologically communicated how to confront the folk beliefs and practices.
First, the practice of “split level” “two-tier” Christianity has interrelationship with the whole articulation of the authors in this book. Then, second, “critical contextualization” figure 1.2 has conveyed the whole process of missiology. (22; cf.391) Third, “formal religions focus on what happens to people after death. Folk religions answer the question of death by seeking to maintain relationships with the dead.” (118) This statement gives us to consider why people who professed to be Christians still go to their old religious beliefs. Therefore, to understand the people from “emic” and etic” perspectives will be essential for every missionary and leaders in the mission fields. As result, we will also figure out their “new Christian’s hidden culture” which they still keep and practice in their lives. These hidden practices which are mentioned on page 19 are the starting point for people to live “two-tier” Christian life.
First, I agree with this idea, “this process of cross-cultural task means that missionaries, by the very nature of their task, must be theologians.”(26) It is true that missionaries and leaders have to learn language, culture, societal life of the folk people to bridge the divine revelation and human contexts effectively. Missionaries must think theologically when dealing with these folk religious people in the mission fields.
Second, the authors correctly pointed out that “the heart of the gospel is not abstract philosophical systems, complex institutions, or large programs. It is people, common people.” (91) The will of God is to save human beings through His Son Jesus Christ so that they will receive eternal life. The gospel is not for programs, institutions and philosophy but people. When pastors, leaders and missionaries concentrates more on things rather than people, the passion for mission will be diminishing.
Third, “Christians need a theology of suffering, illness and pain.”(164) One of the reasons why there are split level Christians is that people have a tendency to perceive Christianity does not believe in suffering, illness and pain in this world. Though, people search and approach their old religious specialists to consult for their problems. In the western society, people just buy medicine before they even pray but people go to the folk specialists in the animistic cultures. We have to deal with the whole person.
Fourth, it is crucial that “the study of symbols, their meaning, and their uses in different contexts is essential for missionaries to understand the worldview underlying a culture.” (253) Since we have different symbols and signs which portray various meanings and interpretations, missionaries and leaders should critically evaluate them what to present and display before the recipients because “the ultimate meanings of fundamental sacred symbols help people understand the ultimate truth and norms of their society.”(253) Moreover, “It is important to study the questions, data, and methods that lie behind explicit manifestations of religious life” (40). In doing so, we will understand the interconnection and configurations of cultures, worldviews, beliefs, society systems and their relations to one another in the society.
Fifth, “one measure of godliness of a church is the way it treats the marginalized.” (390) As Jesus Christ our Lord did, Pastors, leaders and missionaries should develop ministries for “the oppress, the poor, battered, jobless, lonely, orphaned, widowed, aged, disabled, and displaced.”(390) We have to meet their physical as well as spiritual needs because when they feel empty people tend to search for result from anywhere. When we meet with our Lord, I believe, He will ask us how we treat these people in the ministry.
The authors of this book have utilized some significant theological, anthropological and missiological terminologies which are effective vocabularies to describe, convey and communicate the word of God to the people. The book presented the philosophical and biblical understandings of both folk and Christian religions. Models and transformational approaches to folk religion which are mentioned in the book can be practically applied in the churches in the world. I recommend this book to be used as a text book in Biblical schools and pastoral meetings because we must distinguish what folk religion and Christianity in the churches.