Contextualization in Theological Formation

One German’s Perspective

Abstract

Since I am speaking about contextualization at a conference in India, it goes without saying that my perspective will be a very limited one. It’s a German perspective and I will focus on formation, assuming that formation is (has to be) holistic (as opposed to a content-based theological instruction,
whereby one learns solely through hearing).
In addition to my own research and experiences, I will be referring to a survey on the ministry of foreign priests in Germany. The Survey was commissioned by the German Bishops Conference in 2007 and was published in 2011.1 It indicated that issues such as language capability, psychological training, adaptability, and sensibility to cultural and religious issues are crucial for this kind of contextualization.