Ritual and Animism - Lutheran Society for Missiology

4 Missio Apostolica 

Articles 

Ritual and Animism: 

Liturgical Symbols and Ritual 

in an Animistic Context- 

What Do They Mean 

Douglas L. Rutt 

"It's only wood!" she exclaimed-as if that were a big surprise. We were 

visiting the ancient church of San Francisco in Antigua. Guatemala. This 

startling revelation came to our Cakchiquel Indian companion as she pondered 

the brokendfarm of the statue of St. Joseph, located in a glass case on top of 

an altar along the south wall of the cathedral. In h nt of the altar was a stand 

with a metal tray to catch the wax drippings of the scores of candles placed 

behe this statue. I soon learned that Guatemalans did not refer to the statue as 

a "statue," that is, as some inanimate object. It was a "saint* in the terminology 

of the Guatemalans, with all the honors and powers pertaining thereto. It was 

hard for our Cakchquel fiend to believe that something that possessed such 

spiritual power was dd, rotted wood on the inside. 

That observation was an introduction fbr me, as a new cross-nrltural worker, 

to the implications of what I would later recognize as the animistic world-view 

Dr. Douglas L. Rutt is the Area Secretary for Latin America of the Boardfor 

Mission Services of fie Lutheran ChurcHissouri Synod He previous@ has 

served as a parish pastor, missionary to Guatemala, and seminary profssor. 

He earned his Doctor of Missiology degree at Concordia l7aeological 

Seminary in Fort Wayne, with a concentration in the area of Xheologicai 

Education.

Ritual and Anin~ism 5 

described by R.R.Marett, that is, that inanimate objects, especially sacred 

objects, have life, will and feeling.' 

Another scene comes to mind. It is a typical Wednesday morning chapel 

service at a Lutheran seminary in the United States. As the organist plays a 

beautifilly elaborate processional on the powefil pipe organ, the officiants 

begin to march in. First come two men dressed in white albs, each cartying a 

pole with a lit candle mounted on the top. They are stiff and serious, holding 

their candle holders with great care and total concentration. A few paces behind 

comes the crucifer in a white alb, using the same care and reverence as he 

marches forward. All present immediately turn and face the crucifix, making 

adjustments as it moves forward, keeping their eyes fixed on it as it passes 

through the nave, up to the chancel where it is placed in a stand near the lectern. 

Apparently great care must be taken about how these objects are handled. Behind 

the crucifer is another young man, again in a wlute alb, carrying the Bible. It is 

no ordinary Bible, for it is cradled in a case made of highly ornamented and 

polished gold. Finally the principal officiant follows. He is wearing a white alb 

also, in addition to a highly ornate, gold embroidered cope that reaches almost 

to the floor. The ofliciants all take up their positions in the chancel area just as 

the organist completes his processional-perfect timing. The question: What 

does it mean Especially, what would it mean to someone whose world-view is 

animistic 

To better understand how a culture in which an animistic world-view 

prevails might interpret symbolism and ritual, it is first necessary to understand 

how world-view permeates every level of human understanding. As Donna Strom 

\-rote: 

While ethnographies list religion as one category of culture, I would add 

two biblical considerations. First, culture, like the human body, is one 

complex integrated whole. You may dissect a body and analyze its parts; but 

stub your toe and your whole body reacts. Similarly, though some 

anthropologists view religion as superstition or magic, they agree that 

religion affects all of culture. 

"'Primitive Religion," s.v. Lutheran Cyclopedia, ed. Erwin L. Lueker (St. 

Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1975), 639.


Why At the heart of every culture is its world-view-peoples' 

perception of themselves in relation to life and the universe. This worldview 

dominates and determines all else. The apostle Paul said of ow creator: 

"He existed prior to all things, and in him all things hold together" (Col. 

1: 17), and "In him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).' 

There are many ways of defining culture as it pertains to anthropological 

understanding and communication theory. Since we are interested more 

specifcially in world-view, Charles Kraft's unpretentious definition of culture 

will suI3ic.e: "Our culture is that m terms of which our life is organi~ed."~ Culture 

provides the organizational basis for our lives, ow actions, what is acceptable. 

World-view, on the other hand, provides the basis upon which stands our 

understanding of things, how they work, and what they mean. That is why it is 

so important to have an adequate understanding of the world-view of the society 

to which one intends to communicate the gospel. World-view comprises the 

assumptions that human beings make about realitye4 One's world-view 

determines one's concepts of time, space, the world, life, death, spiritual and 

physical things, the relationshp between them, and whether a distinction is even 

made. 

Bunkowske has provided a valuable model for understanding culture and the 

importance ofworld-view.5 His model is similar to that of Hiebert; however, he 

arranges several domains in sequential order. He compares culture and worldview 

to he various skin layers of the onion, beginning with artifacts as the outer 

layer and proceeding inward to the center, with behavior, values, beliefs, and 

2Dcmna Strom, ''Cultural Practices-J3atth or Bridges" Evangelical Missions 

Quarterly 23 (1987): 249. 

3Charles H. Kraft, Christianity in Culture: A Study in mnamic Biblical 

Theologizing in Cross-Cultural Perspective (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 

1979), 47. 

4Paul G. Hiebert, Anthropoiogicai Insightsfor n/iissionarie (Grand Rapids: 

Baker Book House, 1985), 45. 

'Eugene W. Bunkowske, "Booting Up for Receptor Oriented Gospel 

Communication," in Receptor Oriented Gospel Comnicatioti: Making the 

Gospel User Friendly, ed. Eugene W. Bunkowske and Richard French 

(Fullerton, CA: R.C. Law & Co, 1989), 29.

Ritual and Animism 7 

world-view matcJxd with what is collected, what is done, what is goodhad, what 

is true, and what is real. By means of visualizing the onion in this manner, it is 

possible to see how one could institute a change of outward behavior among 

those to whom one is witnessing, without sigruficant change having taken place 

at the levels represented by the inner circles. A Christian symbol such as a cross 

can substitute a pagan reIigious artifact, for example, an amulet. This does not 

necessarily signifj, howem, that an accompanying change has taken place in the 

domain of values, beliefs, and least of all, world-view. Outward behavior can 

undergo alteration, such as attendance at Sunday morning Christian worship 

services, without meaningfi~l transformation at the levels related to issues of 

goodhad or huth. 

World-view controls one's assumptions about what is real. It is at that level 

that one's ultimate reality is determined. and in effect, the level of ultimate 

allegiance. True Christian conversion, therefore, must take place at the worldview 

level, for only at that level are the issues of ultimate truth settled. 

If evangelistic attempts focus on the external levels of culture, and if 

conversion is based upon the use of certain e c t s or compliance with certain 

religious practices, such as was the case of the Spanish conquest of Latin 

America, the way is open for a syncretistic blending of old and new customs, 

which in actudty lnay not have made a substantial difference in world-view, or 

at least may not have effected conversion at the world-view level. Countless 

examples of syncretism are available fiom the Latin American context. Carrasco 

has briefly summarized the effects of syncretism as follows: 

Throughout Mesoamerica today groups carry out ceremonies combining a 

wide range of native and Catholic symbols and beliefs into new pattems of 

meanings. And it is primarily within the experience of ritual action that 

syncretism becomes an authentic dimmion of life. For the rituds create the 

legitimate setting and charged atmosphere for the placing of incongruent 

objects, symbols, sounds, and ideas together in an acceptable way. This 

results in new versions of the older patterns. The images of Christ and the 

Saints have received a rich series of innovations in Mexico. A good example 

are the many colonial church-yard crosses that still stand in Mexico. Many 

appear, on first glance, to be symbols of a European Christian presence. But 

on cIoser view it is clear that many echo preconquest designs, emotions, 

conceptim of spahal arrangement, and style. Further reflection leads to the 

realization that these crosses ate neither Eutopean nor Indian, but 

Mexi- fluid syncretic image of new power, dsmticm, and combined


meanings. 

It is beyond the scope of this article to elaborate additional examples of 

syncretism. Suff~ce it to say that when it occurs, by defdtion, adequate gospel 

communication has not taken place. McGam has written: "When, in adjusting 

to culture, Christianity becomes unlike itself, takes on the color and genius of 

another religion and loses its soul, then its power to save is destroyed."' 

While syncretism is always a threat, it is not necessarily only those 

attempting to Christianize old symbols or ritual forms fiom a non-western host 

culture who bring it about, as did the Spanish conquerors, who often constructed 

their cathedrals on the holy grounds of the indigenous inhabitants. Syncretism 

can also be caused by attempts to preserve Christian forms that have no meaning 

or misunderstood meanings in tile new cultural context. 

Communication 

World-view, then, deeply affects the meaning far the receptor of any 

particular communication. Therefore it is of paramount importance as it relates 

to cumnndcation rbary. Not only does true conversion take place at the worldview 

level, but also communication, if it is to be effective, must be aimed at the 

world-view of the hearer. As Charles Kraft has stated it with characteristic 

simplicity: "It is the receptor who has the find say concerning what is 

~ommunicated."~ The receptor will need to make sense of the signs hdshe 

receives, and again, that depends on world-view.' 

6David Carrasco, Religions ofMesoamerica: Cosmovision and Ceremonial 

Centers (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 19901, 126. 

-Donald A McGavran, ''The Bible Base from which Adjustments are Made," in 

Christopaganism or Indigenous Christianity, ed. Tetsunao Yamamori and 

Charles R. Taber (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1975), 45. 

'Charles H. Kra€t, Communicntron Theoryfor Christian Witness (Nashville: 

Abingdon Press, 1983),49. 

'James W. Vdz, "Receptor Oriented Interpretation of the HoIy Scriptures," in 

Receptor Oriented Gospel Comunication: Mahg the Gospel User Friendly, 

ed. Eugene W. Bunlcowske and Richard French (Fullerton, CA: R.C. Law k 

Co., 1988), 53.


There has been much debate over the relationd~ip between fonn and 

meaning in Lutheran circles.1° Tlle receptor orientation of communication can be 

carried to the exwme so that form is viewed as having little to do with meaning. 

Some might say that it is necessary to completely rewrite the Bible, for example, 

to look for "dynamic equivalence" in conveying meaning. Wl~ile dynamic 

equivalence as described by Nida has validity as a translation principle, it too 

has its limits." As Smalley has said: 

To say that language structure and meaning are different is not to sa, that 

they can ever be divorced from each other. But they are different. and the 

ability to keep this diffcrence in mind is of great importance to the linguist 

who works with a variety of languages in an analytical way. It can make his 

understanding of both form and meaning clearer as it separates out the 

variables which are found fioxn language to language.12 

Viewing liturgical s)mbolism and ritual as communicafion (altl~ough it 

certainly can be more than that), the same principle would apply regarding the 

fondmeaning distinction. This would ntean that the significance or meaning for 

those observing liturgical practice or symbolism is finally in the hands of the 

receptor. That is not to say. however, that there is no connection between the 

form of liturgics and its meaning. Returning to Bunkowske's "onion skin" 

example of culture, we note that there is an interrelationship or movement of 

understandmg flowing in both directions between the levels. In other words, the 

use of certain artifacts, or the adjustments of certain behaviors, could have an 

effect upon the inner. deeper levels, even as far as world-view. Similarly, a 

change in world-view certainIy can cause great adjustments in behavior or 

artifacts. The external and the internal levels cannot be segmented, separated or 

''David S. Luecke's Evangelical Style and Lutheran Substance (St. Louis: 

Concordia Publishing House, 1985) is an example of an attempt to separate form 

from substance. 

I1 

Eugene A. Nida, Message andMission: The Communication of the Christian 

Faith (Pasadena: Williani Carey Library, 1960), 155. 

''Paul Abrecht and William A. Smalley, "The Moral Implications of Social 

Structure," in Readings in Missionary Anthropology, ed. William A. SmaIIey 

(Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1974), 120. Emphasis addcd.


compartmentalized so neatly. l3 

The challenge, then, as it relates to the communication of the gospel, 

whether it be by words or actions, is to convey the conceptualization of the 

ammmicator to the hearer with as little noise or interference as possible, so that 

what the hearer conceptoafizes &er the commdcation proximates, in as much 

as humanly possible, what the communicator intended. 

Importance of Ritual 

For some modern* Christians the idea of ritual in and of itself is almost 

taboo. The practices of the Lutheran church, for example, came under frequent 

criticism by those of the Evangelical missionary community in Guatemala due 

to its use of liturgical ritual and symbolism. Any kind of worship activity that 

emplays objects such as a cross, an alb or stole, or follows a traditional liturgical 

order, is branded as "idolatry." Often the charge is made: "The Lutherans rue just 

like Catholics lnI4 

Lutherans in Guatemala, however, believe that ritual and symbols ought not 

be rejected so quickly and read!ly Ritual is an effective and powerful element of 

religion, especially m Latin American context^.'^ Human beings need ritual to 

help satisfy many cravings and yearnings for meaning. Even the secular 

anthropologists recognize the validity of ritual as an integrating fbctor that 

promotes religious commitment: 

It is through ritual tbat religion is able to impress on people a commitment 

to their system ofreligious beliefs. Participants in a religious ritual are able 

to expms group soIidanty and loyalty. Emile Durkheim argued that the true 

nature of religion was ritual participation. of course, history abounds with 

examples of the importance of the individual expexiaw in religious; yet 

there is no denying the overwhelming effect of group participation. As 

WilIiam Howells h4ls pointed out, ritual helps individuals but does so by 

I3Compare James 3: 1-1 1 with Matthew 5: 19 

I4This, even though the Lutheran understandings of grace, justihtion, and 

conversion are not nearly as close to those of the Catholic church as are the 

lmderstandings ofthe individuals making that charge. Obviously it is a problem 

of communication and world-view. 

'Wida, Message and Mission, 23.

Ritual and Animism 1 1 

treating then1 as a whole group: "tl~ey arc like a tangled head of liair. and 

ritual is the comb." 

Ritual in this sense contirms socio/religious status and helps to maintain 

appropriate relationships. 

Hiebert has pointed out the value of religious symboIism and sacred ritual 

in terms of bracketing, that is, time or space is set aside for significant religious 

experience, or "bracketed," by using symbols or ritual.16 It is a mechanism by 

\vhiclt one knows it is time to concentrate on Utings eternal and of transcendental 

importance. He maintains that the Ioss of sacred language or symbols would 

mean the loss of our ability to talk in a meaningful way of ultimate reality. 

Another element of value in ritual is its ability to coi~ununicate and teach. 

Liturgical ritual is beneficial because it formulates and expresses tlieological 

trudis in precise, orgmved tern~inology. The rcpctitiveness of these formulations 

assists in tl~e process of assimilation. This writer has visited many elderly, 

otl~erwise seniIe, men and women who were yet able to express their faith and 

11ope using the words of tl~e Apostles' Creed or another liturgical statement that 

had long ago been ingrained in their minds. 

Liturgical ritual and symbolism are important because they assure that the 

essence of the gospel is communicated during each worship service. When a 

worslup service takes place without the benefit of a liturgy, tlze burden of clear, 

precise and adequate enunciation of the gospel rests on t l shoulders ~ of the 

preacher or others who perhaps huniedly organized the order of worship. In the 

same way, liturgy can preserve the Gospel during times of spiritual darkness or 

doctrinal apostasy on the part of church leadership. No doubt the essence of the 

gospel was presewed before the time of the Reformation, in part, because it was 

expressed in many orders of mass, though the priest may not have clearly 

articulated it homiletically. 

Liturgical ritual and symbolism are more, however, than simple 

communicaticm. While the western world-view tends to see religious experience 

as a matter of words, information, or message, it is much more than that. Ritual 

and symbolism can have impact beyond that of mere words when it is understood 

as performance as well." When ritual is seen as performance, not only is a 

16Paul G. Hiebert, Phenomenologv and Institutions ofFalk Religions, course 

syllabus, Pasadena: Fuller School of World Missions, 1988 

"Hiebert, Phenomenology, 1 14.

12 Mis.~io Apostolica 

message con~inunicated. but a change indeed takes place. While not all 

evangelical Christians wti\.ill agree ~i~illi illis illustration, an example would be the 

practice of absolution. The officiant states something like: "As a called and 

ordained servant of the word, 1 forgive you all of your sins." This statement is 

problematic even for man!, Lutl~enns of a western mindset. They ask, what right 

does the minister have to forgive sins Lutheran theology esplains it as a right 

that Christ did give to the church (Joim 20.23, Matthew 16: 19; 18: 18). Tl~e 

minister is exercising that right on behalf of and in the name of the church. The 

point is, howeyer, that a change is taking place: The worship participant is 

actually receiving the forgiveness of sins through that act of absolution (based, 

of course, upon Cllrist's vicarious atonement). 

Carlos Valle spoke to this when he compared three worsl~ip services that he 

attended in a Latin American city. The fmt two services were in different ancient 

Roman Catholic church buildings. One Catholic inass was with poorer 

wvorslipers, the other with a more duent group of people in attendance. Typical 

deficiencies were found, yet something was happening. A performance was 

taking place that seemed to have great meaning to the wvorshipers.'ihe third 

worship service .tvhicl~ Valle attended was in a Protestant church. The worship 

setting for that senrice was a large hall with almost no aesthetic qualities, 

symbolism or architectural uniqueness. Tile entire service was, according to 

Valle, a rally around words. As he reported: 

There is a total absence of symbols. except for a Bible verse which attracts 

the congregations' attention. People are dressed up as for a party. Words 

dominate the meeting. Words are used to explain words. A central pulpit 

commands the attention of all participants. A long emotional speech 

becomes the morning's main experience.18 

Considering Hiebert's discussion of "bracketing," it seems that such a group of 

worslupers is running the risk of losing much of its ability to talk about ultimate 

reality in a meaningfir1 way. Perhaps bracketing is taking place, but it is barely 

perceptible. At ary rate, the sense of performance in worship is greatly reduced. 

The worship service of this group was conducted in such an austere way, 

according to the author, because it was a form imported from the North American 

world-view. Valle concluded that the worshipers were being denied a mly 

'Varlos Valle. "Historical and Cultural Elements in Christian Communication." 

Latin American Pastoral Issues, 15, no. 1 (July 1988): 7.


integrating religious experience. 

Attempts to differentiate between form and meaning notwithstanding, in 

many cultures, especially in animistic cultures. form and meaning are much more 

readily equated.19 Ritual as perfomlance nieans that its significance is much 

deeper than simple comnunication: it is the acting out and establisluuent of 

truth-of ult~nlate reality, in a transcendental sense, far beyond what could be 

done with mere words. It is something that impacts upon the whole person. 

Again, Valle described his experience in the Catllolic masses he attended that 

morning: 

It has often been said that every audiovisual experience is an emotional 

experience and what we had witnessed that morning was an audiovisual 

experience that Christianity has been providing all along its history. The 

sanctuaries, the rites, the gestures and the sounds encolnpassed a unity, each 

part expressing something of the Christian faith. The experience of 

everythmg, the sights and sounds, acquired a value and a relevance of which 

we were hardly conscious. It is like saying: the e.xperience of what 

Christianity is actually comes, not through doctrinal questions, no matter 

how crucial, but through facts which are seen and 

Ritual and symbolism can play an important part in the totality of the 

Christian experience. Without them something is lost. The concern over what is 

transmitted by ritual, however, remains. Ritual cannot be used uncritically. lie 

world-view of tile receptor must be considered. 

Caveats for the Use of Ritual and Symbolism 

What is known about world-view and communication theory must now be 

brought to bear upon particular ritualistic practices or use of symbols. While 

ritual and symbols are valuable, they can be misunderstood or meaningless if 

they are not understood or interpreted by the host culture according to their 

original intent. 

One example of the lack of formal correspondence was described by Ilkka 

I9Hiebert, Anthropological Insights, 39. 

20Valle, 7.

~akkuri.~' A Haitian divinity student who accompanied him to a worship service 

in the U. S. startled him when they studied the inipressive cross in the chancel 

area of the church. He said he would never use a cross in a church in Haiti. The 

reason was that Haitians viewed the cross as an instrument of slavery. When the 

French wried out punishment, they would say they were doing it "because of the 

cmss." The cross m Haitt has become a synibol of esil rather than good. It is 

used in Voodoo as are almost all Christian symbols. According to Vakkuril's 

Haitian fiiend, nearly all traditional Christian symbols are used for the purposes 

of Voodoo. The only way to avoid misunderstanding, he said, is to avoid the use 

of those symbols in Christian churches. 

Here, the animistic world-vlew of the Ha~tian sees artifacts as possessing a 

great deal of spiritual power in and of themselves. That power may be organic 

or mechanistic, it may be good or bad or have no intrinsic moral values. It 

certainly is not, however, inherently good, as the cross is for many Christians. 

The missionary who intends to communicate the gospel in such a setting would 

have to be very careful about how religious symbolism and ritual are usd to 

avoid miscommunication. The problem is that the cross is a fhdamentaI 

Christian symbol that teaches (and acts out) an important Christian truth. Yet for 

Haitians it has been used in pagan religious practices, as well as an instrument 

of oppression. Does he importance of the cross as a Christian symbol outweigh 

its negative connotations It is not the simple matter of "education" that some 

would like to think. The world-view of people cannot be changed so easily, as 

if one were shooing away a fly. It is an integral part of one's seIf---~ne's very 

being. 

One possible solution to this dilemma would be to not we the cross as a 

symboI, while at the same time preaching it (I Corinthians 1 :23). Yet, if ritual 

is indeed irnpmt, it seems that some type of functional substitute would have 

to be sought so as to not reduce worship and religious experience to a "rally 

around words. " 

Returning to the example of the worship service mentioned at the beginrung 

of this article, it is possible to see analogous misunderstandings or 

miscommunications were it to be conducted in a similar way in a place like 

Guatemala. The animistic world-view of most Guatemalans, whether Latins or 

''Ilkka Vakkuri, "A Case Study of A Cross-Culturaf Problem," unpublished 

case study for the course "Scripture, Christianity, Culture," Fort Wayne, IN: 

Concordia Theological Seminary, 1991.


Mayans, sees objects as having spirittial power. as having onimns. In the 

language ofdie people, everytlling has a nnhuol, that is, a spirit. The nation has 

a spirit. a house has a spirit. the corniield (milpal has a spirit, the earth has a 

spirit. The dichotomy between the physical and n~etapl~ysical, material and 

spiritual, does not esist. 

In dealing with the spiritual powers present evcq~+rhcre, great care must be 

taken. Manipulation of tlie spirit~tal forces, whether organic or meclianistic. if 

done in an improper or inadequate way, could result in hann or disaster for the 

religious practitioner It is not dificult to imagine, then. ho~v a traditional 

Guatemalan would view the c!~apel service. will1 the processional of religious 

artifacts. Those objects would be understood as possessing a great deal of 

spiritual power. flus is evidenced by the seriousness, the reverence, the care. tlie 

formalip, the ornateness and majesty with which both the ofliciants and worship 

participants handle and treat them, It is true that the Bible, and even the 

symbolism of the cross, according to Lutheran understanding, do possess power 

as the means of grace: It is the power of the Holy Spirit that works through the 

Word. But that is not the same kind of spiritual power evidenced to an animist 

through the ritual practice described here. A European or North American may 

be able to see powerfill symbolism and performance in the ritual, but would 

probably not interpret the objects as possessing innate spiritual force. This is 

because ofhisn~er segmented world-view. A traditional Guatemalan, on the other 

hand, would not diGerentiate form and meaning to the same degree. Therein lies 

the difEiculty for effective conimunication of the gospel and true religious 

e'xperience. For the receptor. God's love and Cluist's forgiveness are not being 

coxnmunicated and perfonned. rather something else is taking place. 

Conclusion 

Liturgical ritual and symbolisn~ are powerful instruments of the gospel that 

can and do senle the cause of God's kingdom. They effectively and forcefully 

co~nmunicate spiritual trutll. When religious ritual and synbolism are viewed as 

performance, their use takes on an added dimension of changing reality. The 

absolution, the celebration of the Lord's Supper, Christian baptism, are 

examples of tlie change that can take place tllrough ritual. 

While Nida recognizes tl~e importance of symbols in Latin American


religious experience, he advocates the use of "compensatory verbal substitute^."^^ 

Words, however, as meaningful as they are in a western world-view, cannot be 

expected to replace ritual and synibolisn~ in the Guatemalan setting. There is too 

much at stake, and really no good reason to deny people the kind of holistic 

religious experience the Creator would make available to them. 

Ritual and symbolism, however. ~tlust be used with the receptor world-view 

in mind. Liturgial practice and use of symbols should be evaluated to ascertain 

the impact that they may have on, and the interpretation they may be given by, 

the host culture. This means a careful analysis of ~vorld-view must take place. 

Observation of the use in the culture of Cluistian and non-Christian religious 

ritual and artifacts should take place to gain an understanding of the possible 

implications of liturgical practice in the Christian context. 

In Guatemala, for example, where an animistic world-view pervades almost 

every level of society, the Lutheran churches generally follow a traditional 

liturgy, albeit often with musical settings more appropriate to the instruments 

and style of Latin America. Some sjmbolism is used, such as vestments for the 

officiants, the cross, crucifix, and, in some instances, a statue of the ascending 

Christ. This provides the needed seriousness and holistic worship experience. 

The type of worship service mentioned at the beginning of this article would 

most likely create a significant amount of confusion, perhaps even 

communicating an erroneous message that would detract or distort the true 

message of the gospel. 

Ritual can be useful, but it must be used in an informed way. One should 

always ask the question, wherever it is used: What does it mean here. in this 

contea, according to the world-view of this culture 

22Eugene A. Nida, "Mariology in Latin America," in Readings in Missionary 

Anthropology, ed by William A. Smalley (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 

1974), 24.


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Ritual and Animism - Lutheran Society for Missiology

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