| Traditional religion on Tanna (Vanuatu) comprises a number of elements that are characteristic of animism: an extensive cosmology and mythological corpus, sorcery, divination, sacrifice, and a particular system of totemism. Early missionaries to Tanna deemed Christianity to be incompatible with traditional religion and attempted, with limited success, to displace it with Christianity. However, with the rise of cargo cults, nationalism, and the enculturation of the church in the mid-twentieth century, many Tannese began to consider Christianity and traditional religion as 2 roads to the same end. More than a dozen denominations have since arrived, each idiosyncratic in its response to traditional religion. Some denominations have leaned toward syncretism; others have dismissed outright much of the indigenous culture along with kastom, proscribing practices associated with animism, but not attempting to address the underlying animistic worldview. Still others have made a more conscious effort to contextualize Christianity, avoiding both separatism and syncretism.;This research attempts to uncover how Christians from animistic backgrounds decide which aspects of kastom to relinquish and which to retain. What do they find appealing about the churches that promote a clean break from animism? What distinguishes kastom-retainers from kastom-relinquishers? Alternately, what is the allure of the churches that are more accepting of traditional religion? In a largely homogenous society, how is it that there can be such diverging attitudes about the relationship between animism and Christianity? Interviews were conducted with members of numerous denominations in order to develop a grounded theory that suggests 20 factors that contribute to 4 ecclesiastical approaches toward animism on Tanna: mixing, separating, transplanting, and contextualizing.;This study contributes to an ongoing discussion among church leaders in Vanuatu about animism, syncretism, and contextualization. While missionaries on other continents may find that Tannese Christians' responses toward animism diverge from their own contexts, the model for integrating Gospel and culture in this study may help church leaders to develop their own context-specific approach toward animism. |
