Inculturation of Catholic Social Teachings in China: A Study of Xu Zongze's Thought

Many research projects have been devoted to the "inculturation", "indigenization", "contextualization" or "localization" of Christianity in China. However, many of these basic terms, including "inculturation" particularly, are not well defined. Besides, among the academic studies of history of Catholicism in China, the history of Catholic thought of the Chinese Catholics in republican China (1911--1949) is probably one of the least studied areas.;Based on a case study of the Catholic thought of Xu Zongze (1886--1947), a Jesuit and prolific Chinese theologian, this thesis attempts to demonstrate how Chinese Catholic scholars defended their religion in response to the challenges and issues facing Catholicism in modern China. Through making references to the models proposed by major theorist of contextual theology, this thesis also aims at arguing that "inculturation" concerns not only the encounter of cultures or philosophical ideas, but also the social, economic and political issues of a particular society.;The documents left by Xu Zongze indicates that he responded to various historical events taking place in modern China, such as woman liberation, labour movement, anti-Christian movement and anti-Japanese war. In all these cases, Xu Zongze attempted to give his responses, which assumed the Catholic doctrinal tradition as the basis, to defend the Catholic official positions. This can be shown through analyzing Xu's thought against the background of the historical development of Catholic Social Teachings. The case of Xu Zongze indicates that the inculturation of Catholicism involves inevitably the tension between the authority of Vatican and the adjustment made by the local church. It is because Vatican, which tends to focus on preserving the Catholic identity and the Papal authority, often emphasizes the continuity and consistency with the Catholic tradition. This tendency is particularly clear before Vatican II.;According to the comparison made, one may find that Xu did not intend to propose any argument deviated from the official positions. Although probably due to the particular situation of China at that time he actually adopted some ideas or positions which the official teachings of the Catholic Church had not yet accepted or mentioned, some of his ideas are actually quite similar to the positions adopted by the Catholic Church later. In other words, some of Xu's adjustments might be merely a little ahead of his time and are arguably in line with the spirit of Vatican II in the long run. This implies that the effort of inculturation made by the local church is not necessarily a challenge to the Papal authority or a departure from the official position of Vatican. On the contrary, inculturation can enrich the Catholic tradition and demonstrate the Catholicity of the Christian religion.