Thai Comparative Theologizing: Material and Methodological Reflections

The increased attention to the study of Christianity as a worldwide phenomenon has contributed to making visible the diverse ways in which the Christian faith is interpreted and practiced around the world. Further, it has highlighted Christianity’s complex interactions and negotiations with different religious and socio-cultural contexts. Given this complexity, and taking into account that the different contexts in which Christianity as a religion finds itself present the researcher with different methodological challenges and opportunities, the question arises as to how knowledge about this field of study could be acquired and/or created. This chapter intends addressing this question by presenting and discussing the case of how Christians in Thailand are interacting with the predominantly Buddhist religious context of the country. It will present and analyze two examples of Thai comparative theologizing. The focus and discussion point will be first, how Thai Christians reflect on their faith in light of and as a response to the religious context in which they are situated, and second, how to create knowledge about this reflective practice and theologizing.