What Can Theology Contribute to Cultural Anthropology?

After considering the author’s personal history engaging theology and anthropology, this chapter examines the consequences of Robbins’ influential 2006 article on the disciplines’ relationship. Robbins’ decision to focus on theologian John Milbank to make the case unintentionally discouraged consideration of other theologians who draw upon anthropological theory. Informed by the author’s own research on missionary activity in Africa and how theological understanding yielded insights into it, the chapter turns to two frameworks that consider the outcomes of Christian missionary practices: anthropological writings by Kenelm Burridge and theological essays of Andrew Walls. Both consider the dialectical relationship between the Christian message that missionaries bring and the reception of that message by those evangelized. It explores the similarities and differences between their two approaches and then considers what this comparison reveals about the potential mutual fruitfulness of bringing theology to bear on anthropological study.