From anesthetic to advocacy through Mission as Accompaniment : towards a more effective response from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Global Mission to Mechanistic Dehumanization.
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Abstract
Mechanistic dehumanization is “the objectifying denial of essentially human attributes to
people toward whom the person feels psychologically distant and socially unrelated”
(Haslam, 2006). This condition is a source and sustainer of mass production, an excess of
consumption, and the pursuit of unrestrained economic growth, damaging both people and
the planet. This study considers how the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Global
Mission can more effectively respond to mechanistic dehumanization.
Mission as Accompaniment emerges from both Latin American theology and development
methodology; it involves “walking together in solidarity that practices interdependence and
mutuality” (ELCA, 1999) and is thus viewed in this study as a suitable starting point for the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Global Mission response to mechanistic
dehumanization. This study argues that Mission as Accompaniment has not yet offered an adequate response to
mechanistic dehumanization. It argues further that two additional elements – the African
concept of Ubuntu, and an Olive Agenda – when integrated into Mission as Accompaniment,
will better equip the ELCA Global Mission to respond more effectively to mechanistic
dehumanization.
Description
Ph. D. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2015.
Keywords
Lutheran Church in America., Neoliberalism -- Religious aspects., Liberation theology., Theses -- Theology.