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Document Details :

Title: The Persistence of Ancestor Veneration
Subtitle: A Dialogical Relationship between Christianity and Indigenous Religions in Indonesia
Author(s): SETIO, Robert
Journal: Studies in Interreligious Dialogue
Volume: 29    Issue: 2   Date: 2019   
Pages: 205-226
DOI: 10.2143/SID.29.2.3287307

Abstract :
Death does not mark the end of the relationship between the dead and the living. The bereaved family members receive help, strength and memories of the past, as well as an awareness of being part of a family lineage, from the deceased. The deceased receive respect, sustainability, and higher status than another human from their descendants. In social life, ancestor veneration functions as a type of social glue, maintaining social identity, even projecting meanings amid social fragmentations. This study will show the persistence and function of ancestor veneration among modern Christians in Indonesia, the resistance of local culture against the hegemony of modern culture, as well as the 'the antithetic stance of the church'. At the same time, this study will also reveal changes in theology impacted by encounters with the indigenous culture in which ancestor veneration is kept. The encounter will be deemed dialogical.

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