Receptivity to an outside Religion: Light from Interaction between Sociology and Missiology

Abstract

Since missiology is a more comprehensive discipline than the social sciences, it is especially important for missiologists to mark transitions from one discipline to the other. As an example of the utility of the social sciences for missiology when the integrity of the former is maintained, a social scientific perspective, recently developed in Europe, is applied to the topic of receptivity to Christianity or to any religion or ideology introduced from outside a society. It is theorized that receptivity will be affected by the perception of the contribution the new religion or ideology makes to social identity. This perception, in turn, is affected by intergroup relations. Cases are considered and then implications for missiology discussed.

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