In the missionary work of the Roman Catholic Church among non-Christian peoples and cultures, the Church resorts to the use of strategies for the inculturation of Christianity, based on the establishment and development of intercultural and interreligious dialogues. Based on the analysis of the official documents of the Roman Catholic Church (declaration of the Second Vatican Council, social doctrine of the Catholic Church, encyclicals and apostolic exhortations of the pontiffs), the author attempts to reveal the problems of the inculturation of Christianity rising in the context of intercultural and interreligious dialogues and making impact on the missionary work of the Catholic Church. Thanks to the reforms and subsequent decisions of the Second Vatican Council, the aspects, goals, tasks, and instructions for the dialogue of Christianity with non-Christian religions were formulated and set out. In future, the topic of intercultural and interreligious dialogues was developed and expressed in the social doctrine of the Catholic Church, as well as in the encyclicals and apostolic exhortations of the Roman Catholic pontiffs. According to the Roman Catholic Church position, interreligious and intercultural dialogues are aimed at mutual enrichment of various spiritual cultures, and their development should prepare the ground for further evangelization.
Keywords: Roman Catholic Church, inculturation of Christianity, evangelization, missionary activity, intercultural dialogue, interreligious dialogue, evangelization, the Second Vatican Council, apostolic exhortation, encyclical, non-Christian cultures, mission ad gentes
DOI: 10.22250/2072-8662.2018.1.144-155
About the author
 |
Nikolai V. Chirkov – religious studies scholar, PhD applicant (Philosophy); 1 Velické nam, Poprad- Veľká, Slovakia, 05804; сhirkovniko@gmail.com
|