Honor and shame are important, but they are not the only game in town: Players from Culturology

Abstract

Missiologists have given considerable attention to honor and shame (to a lesser extent, guilt and innocence, fear and power, individualism versus collectivism, and power distance) and have neglected other aspects of culture. Because of this neglect, many have an unbalanced perspective of culture. The discipline of Culturology provides a more balanced view of culture (while also capturing the aspects mentioned above). This article explores some of the often neglected “players” of Culturology: monumentalism versus flexibility, long-term versus short-term orientation, self-stability versus self-adaptability, assertion versus the Middle Way, and absolutist versus dialectical beliefs. This work also discusses the well-known players (honor and shame, individualism versus collectivism, etc.) to provide a contrast. The conclusion of this article has suggestions to help mission practitioners apply more cultural aspects in their ministries and have a better balanced cultural perspective.