Om prosjektet

The purpose of this study is to ciritcally examine Christians’ participation in the Gadamoji ritual of the Borana culture and its inference on the current missionary enterprise of the church. The study further seeks to investigate traditional Borana Oromo religion and culture from the perspectives of contextual and inculturation theology and to create contextual missiological insights through an in-depth study of Christians’ participation in the Gadamoji ritual of the Borana Oromo Culture. This study is therefore placed at the intersection of the following research areas: cultural and religious studies, inculturation and contextualization theology and mission studies.

The main research question of the study is to what extent do Christians in the EEMCY participate in the Gadamoji ritual of the Borana Oromo culture, and how does this practice influence the current missionary enterprise of the church?

The methodological approach foreseen combines desk research and qualitative research (interviews, focus group discussion, and observation). The results of the empirical study will enhance the knowledge discovered from the literature review. For instance, although the fact that many studies have been done on the Borana Oromo culture, but the knowledge of the theological significance of the main rituals of Borana Oromo traditional religion is still lacking. The current study also aims to fill this gap.

This thesis is article-based. The first article will be a scoping review of previous studies on inculturation and contextual theology in African contexts. The second article will be an empirical or ethnographic study of the Gadamoji ritual of the Borana Oromo culture. The third article will be on inculturation and how the Gadamoji ritual is evaluated theologically.

Bakgrunn

Mastergrad i systematisk teologi fra Mekane Yesus Seminary College of Theological Studies, Addis Ababa, 2020.

Forskningsgruppe

RethinC