Clifford Geertz's Account of Culture as a Resource for Theology

Abstract

Culture is a major category of analysis in contemporary theology, as in all of the humanities. In clarifying the idea of culture, a number of theologians, particularly those engaged in the theology of inculturation and postliberal theologians like Frei and Lindbeck, have drawn on the work of cultural anthropologist, Clifford Geertz (1926–2006). This article outlines Geertz's definition of culture and his proposals for how culture is best studied, especially through his concepts of local knowledge, thick description and culture as text. It then offers suggestions as to why his approach, which sees culture in terms of meanings embodied in symbols, may be of use for theology.