i
An evaluation of mass media and new technologies
as missionary tools for contextualizing church
growth in the DR Congo
MJR Mpolo
orcid.org 0000-0002-4533-3496
Dissertation accepted in fulfilment of the requirements for the
degree Masters of Theology in Missiology at the North-West
University
Supervisor: Dr LL Fohle
Co-Supervisor: Dr J Kommers
Graduation ceremony: December 2020
Student number: 31570097
ii DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this MTh dissertation: An Evaluation of Mass Media and New technologies as missionary Tools for Contextualizing Church Growth in the DR Congo, is my own work and has not been submitted either by me or another person to any other university.
MPOLO MASWAKU JEAN ROMAIN
North-West University. Potchefstroom Campus
South Africa
iii DEDICATION
I dedicate this work to my beloved wife and children for all the sacrifice they consented to see me reach this level in my life.
I also dedicate the dissertation to all scholars and writers who immersed themselves into communication, contextualization and church growth. They enlighten, broaden and shape my knowledge on these issues.
iv PREFACE
I should first thank God who made this journey possible through His breath into me. He sustained me while all things worked to break me down and discourage me. I am reassured and convinced that without His intervention, nothing would have been possible.
I am also grateful to both my supervisors, Dr Fohle Lygunda Li-M and Dr Johan Kommers; true scholars in whom I discovered a mixture of academic rigor and a servanthood heart. Through these two qualities, they motivated me and help me stand firm through this academic journey. In addition, they challenged me to think deeper in accordance with scientific exigencies.
I give recognition to all my partners: couples Aimé and Jules MANDONO, Reverend Jean Claude and Odette BAMPETA, Henri and Jacquie MUKANYA, Amedee and Sylvie MBOMA.
Finally, I am so thankful to all the people who helped me in one way or the other. I express my sincerest gratitude to you.
v Abstract
Many churches worldwide have experienced growth because of the use of new technology and mass media. This study emerged from an observation of the extent to which mass media in the Protestant churches in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) serve as tools to contextualize church growth. The assumption is that the use of mass media to contextualize church growth in the country needs a sound missiological evaluation. The key question is, “to what extent are mass media and new technologies used to contextualize the growth of the churches in the DRC?” The study focussed on the general insights of mass media and emerging technology advances due to their impact on religious spheres. The missiological orientation of the study focussed on the growth of the church in the DRC in relation with the use of mass media, including an evaluation dimension to assess the nature of mass media as means of cross-cultural communication.
Key concepts
Mass Media/New technologies
Contextualization/Church growth
Missio Dei
Missiological evaluation
vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ... ii DEDICATION ... iii PREFACE ... iv Abstract ... v TABLE OF CONTENTS ... vi
LIST OF TABLES ... xii
LIST OF FIGURES ... xiii
LIST OF GRAPHICS ... xiv
LIST OF ANNEXTURES ... xv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ... xvi
CHAPTER 1:INTRODUCTION ... 1 1.1 Background ... 1 1.2 Problem statement ... 2 1.2.1 Practical problem ... 2 1.2.2 Research problem ... 2 1.3 Research purpose ... 3 1.4 Research questions ... 3
1.5 Central theoretical statement ... 4
1.6 Methodology ... 4
1.7 Clarification of concepts ... 5
1.8 Schematic presentation ... 7
1.9 Conclusion ... 8
CHAPTER 2 : COMMUNICATION CONCEPTS ... 9
2.1 Introduction ... 9
2.2 Communication ... 10
2.2.1 Definition ... 10
2.2.2 The roles of communication ... 10
2.2.3 Components of communication ... 11
2.2.3.1 Source/Encoding ... 12
vii 2.2.3.3 Channel ... 13 2.2.3.4 Receiver/Decoding ... 13 2.2.3.5 Context ... 14 2.2.3.6 Noise ... 15 2.2.3.7 Response/Feedback ... 15
2.2.4 Characteristics of human communication ... 15
2.2.5 Types of communication ... 16
2.2.6 Forms of communication ... 17
2.2.7 Communication models ... 18
2.3 Culture and worldview ... 20
2.3.1 Definition of culture ... 21 2.3.2 Components of culture ... 21 2.3.3 Characteristics of culture ... 22 2.3.4 Levels of culture ... 22 2.3.5 The worldview ... 23 2.3.5.1 Components of worldview ... 25 2.3.5.2 Functions of worldview ... 25 2.4 Mass communication ... 26 2.4.1 Definition ... 26
2.4.2 Mass communication and mass culture ... 26
2.4.3 Mass communication influences ... 28
2.5 Mass media ... 29
2.5.1 Definition ... 29
2.5.2 Evolution of mass media ... 29
2.5.3 Mass media and media convergence ... 31
2.6 Communication technologies ... 32
2.6.1 Definition ... 32
2.6.2 New technology ... 34
2.6.3 New media ... 34
2.6.4 Old media vs. new media ... 35
2.6.5 Mass media effects ... 36
2.7 The Church, the communication and the media ... 37
2.7.1 Media literacy ... 38
viii
2.7.3 Media in the Democratic Republic of Congo ... 40
2.7.3.1 History ... 40
2.7.3.2 Old media ... 41
2.7.3.3 Internet ... 42
2.7.3.4 Digital media ... 42
2.7.4 The legislation and regulation of media in the Democratic Republic of Congo ... 43
2.7.5 Media operating difficulties ... 44
2.8 Conclusion ... 45
CHAPTER 3 : CHURCH, CHURCH GROWTH AND CONTEXTUALIZATION ... 47
3.1 Introduction ... 47
3.2 Church.… ... 47
3.2.1. Definition ... 47
3.2.2. Description of the church ... 48
3.2.3. Metaphorical description of the church ... 48
3.2.3.1 The body of Christ ... 48
3.2.3.2 The building of God ... 49
3.2.3.3 The bride of Christ ... 49
3.2.3.4 The flock of God ... 49
3.2.3.5 The garden of God ... 49
3.2.3.6 The family of God ... 50
3.2.4. Descriptive models of the Church ... 50
3.2.5. The church’s mission and missio Dei ... 51
3.3 Contextualization ... 52
3.3.1 Definition ... 52
3.3.2 The process of contextualization ... 53
3.3.3 Contextualization and theology ... 54
3.3.4 Contextualization keys ... 55
3.3.5 Models of contextualization ... 55
3.3.6 Rules of contextualization ... 56
3.3.7 Principles of contextualization ... 57
3.3.8 Contextualization, syncretism and inculturation ... 58
3.3.9 Contextualization methods ... 58
3.4 Church growth ... 59
3.4.1 Definition ... 59
3.4.2 Generalities about Church growth ... 60
ix
3.4.3.1 Church growth ... 61
3.4.3.2 Church health ... 62
3.4.3.3 Emerging churches ... 64
3.4.3.4 Leadership for church growth ... 65
3.4.3.4.1 Dominant and charismatic leader ... 65
3.4.3.5 Marketing strategies for church growth, mega churches and televangelists ... 66
3.4.3.6 General principles of church growth from the book of Acts ... 67
3.5 Factors that influence church growth contextualization ... 68
3.5.1 Technical factors ... 68
3.5.2 Cultural factors ... 68
3.5.3 The openness of the milieu ... 69
3.6 The church in the DRC ... 69
3.6.1 History and development ... 69
3.6.2 The revival church of Congo (RCC) ... 71
3.6.3 The Church and mass media in the DRC... 71
3.7 Conclusion ... 72
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS ... 74
4.1 Introduction ... 74
4.2 Methods description ... 74
4.2.1 Research questions ... 74
4.2.2 Research instruments ... 75
4.2.3 Research population ... 77
4.2.4 Description of the population ... 78
4.2.4.1 Ministère la Puissance au Nom de Jésus and RTP TV(MP)... 78
4.2.4.2 Studio Sango Malamu Ministries (SSMM) TV program analysis ... 81
4.2.4.3 Siloe TV... 88
4.2.4.4 Campus Crusade for Christ... 95
4.2.5 Sampling method ... 96
4.2.6 Sample size ... 96
4.2.7 Sample techniques ... 97
4.2.8 The location of the study ... 98
4.2.9 Variables ... 98
4.2.10 Data analysis ... 101
4.2.11 Ethical considerations ... 101
4.3 Findings ... 102
x
4.3.2 The missiological objectives of mass media for the churches ... 103
4.3.3 The contribution of mass media to the growth of the church ... 104
4.3.4 How the church can use mass media to contextualize activities and missio Dei ... 106
4.4 Summary of the findings ... 107
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION ... 108
5.1 Introduction ... 108
5.2 Discussion of the findings ... 109
5.2.1 Missiological objectives of the church and the media ... 109
5.2.1.1 The importance of missiological objectives for the church ... 109
5.2.1.2 The types of media and new technologies that are used ... 110
5.2.1.3 The lack of skill and knowledge about mass media and new technologies ... 112
5.2.2 The contribution of mass media to the growth of the church ... 113
5.2.3 How the church can use mass media and new technologies to contextualize growth activities. ... 116
5.2.3.1 Setting biblical objectives for the church and the media ... 117
5.2.3.2 Choosing the appropriate and biblical church growth strategies ... 118
5.2.3.3 Addressing critically the issue of contextualization ... 118
5.2.3.4 Selecting the appropriate media tool ... 121
5.3 Missiological implications ... 123
5.3.1 The importance of missiological objectives of media and church growth ... 123
5.3.2 Communication and mission ... 125
5.3.2.1 Communication in the Bible ... 125
5.3.2.2 New technologies and mission in postmodernism ... 128
5.3.2.3 Church growth activities and principles ... 129
5.3.3 Promoting critical contextualization in glocal context ... 131
5.3.3.1 Glocal context in the Bible ... 132
5.3.3.2 Contextualization indicators in glocal context ... 132
5.3.4 Global context ... 134
5.3.5 Local context ... 137
5.3.6 Training activities ... 140
5.3.6.1 Training for church growth ... 141
5.3.6.2 Training in mass media ... 142
5.3.6.3 Training in new technologies ... 142
xi
5.4.1 Recommendation to the churches ... 143
5.4.2 Recommendation to church leaders ... 144
5.4.3 Recommendation to the media regulation authority ... 144
5.4.4 Recommendation to church members ... 145
5.4.5 Recommendation to theological institutions ... 147
5.5 Conclusion ... 147
5.6 References list ... 150
xii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2-1: The two levels of a culture from Kraft 1999:386 ... 24
Table 2-2 : Natural Life Cycle of New Media Evolution ... 30
Table 2-3: The Natural Life Cycle Model Compared to the Media Evolution Model. ... 31
Table 4-1: RTP TV programs table ... 78
Table 4-2: RTP TV programs table summary ... 80
Table 4-3: SSMM TV programs table ... 82
Table 4-4: SSMM TV programs summary table ... 84
Table 4-5: SSMM Radio programs table ... 85
Table 4-6: SSMM Radio programs table summary ... 87
Table 4-7: Siloe TV program table ... 89
Table 4-8: Siloe TV program table summaries ... 94
Table 4-9: Table of Campus Crusade for Christ for church growth contextualization ... 95
xiii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2 :1 Elements of communication ... 11
Figure 2 : 2 Process of communication ... 11
Figure 2: 3: The linear model of communication ... 19
Figure 2 : 4 Interactional model of communication ... 19
Figure 2 : 5 Transactional model of communication ... 20
Figure 2 : 6 Level of culture ... 22
Figure 2: 7 the two levels of a culture ... 24
xiv
LIST OF GRAPHICS
Graphic 4- 1: RTP TV programs graphic ... 81
Graphic 4- 2: SSMM TV programs graphic ... 85
Graphic 4- 3: SSMM Radio program graphic ... 88
xv
LIST OF ANNEXTURES
ANNEXTURES A- 1: INTERVIEW AND QUESTIONNAIRE ... 168
ANNEXTURES A- 2: INTERVIEW ... 170
ANNEXTURES A- 3: QUESTIONNAIRE ... 172
ANNEXTURES A- 4: INTERVIEW-MASS MEDIA ... 173
ANNEXTURES A- 5: QUESTIONNAIRE ... 175
ANNEXTURE B- 1: INFORMED CONSENT FOR INTERVIEWS ... 176
ANNEXTURE B- 2: INFORMED CONSENT FOR QUESTIONNAIRE ... 179
ANNEXTURE B- 3: CONSENTEMENT INFORME POUR LES ENTREVUES ... 182
ANNEXTURE B- 4: CONSENTEMENT INFORME AU QUESTIONNAIRE ... 185
ANNEXTURE C- 1: SSMM TVPROGRAM ... 188
ANNEXTURE C- 2: RTP TV PROGRAM ... 195
ANNEXTURE C- 3: SILOE TV PROGRAM ... 199
ANNEXURE D- 1 : INTERVIEW RESULTS ... 204
xvi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
DRC: Democratic Republic of the Congo
CCC: The Church of Christ in Congo
AIC: African Initiated Churches
ML: Media literacy
UN: United Nations
UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
NCD: Natural Church Development
CGM: Church Growth Movement
CPM: Church Planting Movement
LLB: Ligue pour la Lecture de la Bible
FEPACO: Fraternité évangélique pentecôtiste en Afrique et au Congo
ACIS: Africa Center for Inter-disciplinary Studies
A.S.B.L: Association Sans But Lucratif
SSMM: Studio Sango Malamu Ministries
MP : Ministère la Puissance
CB : Cité Béthel
CPC : Campus pour Christ
RTP : Radio Television la Puissance
STV : Sentinelle TV
STVs: Smart Television.
ERC: Eglises de Réveil au Congo
RCC : Revival Church in Congo
1
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
For the past decade, the Churches in the DRC, as many others around the world, have seen technology as an indispensable means for evangelism, church planting, church growth and disciple making. However, authors point out that mass media are powerful tools for the church, if they are used with care and attention. In this regard, B. E. Davis (2004:82) observes that:
The mass media are powerful, but only under certain conditions; these conditions must be delineated so that wise choices may be made in order to achieve maximum results. While believing strongly in the power of the gospel, this second group of media users feels that maximum effectiveness in proclaiming the gospel can be achieved only through a thorough understanding and wise use of the mass media. They believe not only that some media activities may be worthless, but that unwise or uninformed usage of the media may even produce harm to the evangelistic effort. Thus, true stewardship would demand considerable research and planning, before media efforts are initiated.
Davis’ observation is revelatory of the malaise surrounding the use of mass media in whatever setting. As far as church growth is concerned, an evaluation to determine the conditions and the motivation for their use by any selected church among Protestantism and some independent churches is a legitimate preoccupation. The aim is to proceed on the evaluation of the impact of mass media on church growth, including its effectiveness and fairness.
In the DRC, Protestantism would probably comprise two main subgroups: The Church of Christ in Congo (CCC), which resulted from Western mission societies and the African Initiated Pentecostal Churches that emerged from the Roman Catholic Church and CCC in 1980s1. This study took into account these two groups due to the similarities of their shared organizational and liturgical practices.
1
There is an ongoing debate about whether or not AIC can be considered as part of Protestantism. Cfr George P. Atido.
2 1.2 Problem statement
1.2.1 Practical problem
During the last decades, churches in the DRC have become great users of mass media and have experienced the emergence of a spectacular growth and church planting with the rise of a new generation of leadership that demonstrates a readiness to improve the use of technology in their ministries. While some of them own radio and TV stations, others use private or public broadcasting channels. This study was concerned with the way in which they use mass media tools, including the kind of truth they promote. Some preoccupations flow from this situation: How does the church consider theology and mission in the context of evangelism through mass media? What are the missiological goals of the church in such a context? What kind of message has been spread regarding with regard to the nature and task of the church? How is the truth spread and contextualized by means of mass media tools? To what extent does the use of technology advance and mass media enhance evangelism and church growth?
1.2.2 Research problem
This study focussed on the extent to which some churches in the DRC use mass media to contextualize church growth in the era of globalization. The trend is that many of these churches and leaders emphasize the use of mass media in their ministry. However, despite their apparent success in the mission field, not much has been done in terms of evaluating the use of mass media as tools to contextualize church growth. According to Ed Stetzer (2012:1-2), the use of mass media should relate to and support a well-defined objective. Churches in the DRC have been using mass media for a long period without determining if the appropriate tools have been used according to their missiological objectives. Furthermore, there is a need for an evaluation that is based on reliable data. This evaluation will concentrate on the impact of mass media on church growth, including their effectiveness and fairness.
The concept of growth is biblical and connected to church development according to Inge Jan Jenssen (2015:3). The researcher concentrated his work on McGravan and the church growth derivative works. McGravan himself noticed this biblical authority which no criticism rejected (McGavran, 1990:20). A preliminary literature review would certainly provide more light on the various aspects of the debate relating to this study.
3 1.3 Research purpose
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which mass media in the Protestant churches in the DRC serve as tools to contextualize church growth.
Nowadays, using mass media as tools in the mission field is both a challenge and an opportunity for those leaders who rely on them to improve their ministry and for church members who follow them. The concept of church growth is one of the keys of God’s mission and it is obvious that the success of the process in this globalization era needs an effective contextualization through mass communication as tool. Christians should use communication because gospel, culture and communication are interlinked. Therefore, it is important to note that cultural changes have affected the methods of communicating the gospel. It is true that, for every age, there is a corresponding method for accomplishing a given purpose. However, it is helpful to modify the methods of reaching people over the ages to suit the specific surroundings and time. Present-day conditions require the adjustment of evangelistic methods of presenting the gospel to the circumstances and attitudes of mind. Therefore, the effectiveness of mass media depends on the conditions under which they are used. These conditions should allow the Gospel to change cultures and not the other way around.
As previously noticed, the churches in the DRC are users of mass media but not enough attention is given to the issue. The result of this study will help churches to find out more about the way the use of mass media in the DRC has helped to contextualize church growth and its missiological objective.
1.4 Research questions
Previous studies have concluded that mass media is a powerful tool which the church worldwide can use to contextualize mission and church growth. However, a number of researchers warn against propaganda because it is interconnected with technology (Stanley, J. Baran & Dennis, K. Davis, 2012:73-76). The central research question for this study is: To what extent are mass media and new technologies used to contextualize the growth of churches in the DRC? A discussion of the following sub-questions will help to address the central question.
1. What are the missiological objectives of the churches in the DRC in using mass media as tools of cross-cultural communication?
2. What have the contributions of mass media been to the church growth process in the DRC?
4
3. How can churches in the DRC use mass communication to contextualize their activities in relation to missio Dei?
Therefore, the aims of this study were:
- To determine the missiological objectives for churches being studied in using mass media.
- To establish the contribution of mass media to the process of church growth.
- To set plans on how churches in the DRC can use mass communication to contextualize their activities related to missio Dei.
1.5 Central theoretical statement
The church today lives in the era of globalization, an era during which the worldwide population has significantly increased. This situation requires the church to relate its missional tool of evangelism and disciple making to the large and immediate contexts by means of mass media and emerging technology tools.
The issue of contextualizing church growth through mass media has its roots in the following domains. Firstly, hermeneutics, as it deals with biblical interpretation that intentionally or unintentionally can be twisted. Secondly, it is a missiological matter because the church growth concept and contextualization are rooted in the process and the concept of mission and missio Dei. Thirdly, the question relates to mass media deontological norms of using, which determines the conditions that can enhance or harm people.
To figure out what message is being spread through mass media by selected churches and how they use these tools for evangelism and disciple making, deductive reasoning is the efficient method to be applied.
1.6 Methodology
According to some authors (John W. Creswell, 2014:16-17; Fohle Lygunda, 2017:60), research method includes the framework that involves the forms of data collection, analysis and interpretation that researchers propose for their studies in order to address the identified problem. Edgar J. Elliston (2011:67, 76-77) contends that the purpose of missiological evaluative research is to provide useful information based on values for decision-making. This study evaluated the extent to which mass media in the Protestant churches in the DRC serve as tools to contextualize church growth.
5
To collect data, the study used interviews (both structured and semi structured) and questionnaires. Participants were selected from church leaders and their media managers, as they were the appropriate people to hold the expected official information. The questionnaires were distributed to other members of related churches for the purpose of data triangulation. As authors Cresswell and Plano Clark (2011) advise, participation depends on participants’ willingness, accessibility and availability. Therefore, all participants were residents of Kinshasa from where almost all the target media channels broadcast. This research also used primary sources (documents from the related churches) and secondary sources (any literature addressing the issue under study).
To analyse data, the researcher codified and presented respondents’ answers considering the emerging ideas or trends.
During the course of the study, the researcher applied each ethics procedure according to North West University requirements. For instance, a letter that indicates the purpose and the procedures of the study was provided to the participants in order to get their consent.
1.7 Clarification of concepts
The key words for this study are Mass Media, Contextualization, Church growth, Missio Dei, Missiological evaluation and Churches in the DRC.
Mass media and mass communication are generally considered synonymous and design
technology that is intended to reach a mass audience. The key concept in these two processes is “communication”. This refers to the complex process through which people interact in a comprehensible way. To achieve this goal, communication uses messages that are collections of symbols. According to some scholars, mass media represent the technological devices that are used to convey mass communication (Peyton Paxson, 2010:2-3, 17); Turow, 2009:17 and Baran & Davis, 2012:5). Therefore, mass media have enormous advantages. They shape the society through the diverse forms of communication like propaganda, persuasion and manipulation. Nonetheless, the mass media technology can influence the message and vice versa. The church as an institution has played a key role in the development of new technologies of mass communication.
Contextualization. The word “contextualization” is not a Biblical term, but the concept is very
evident in the Scriptures. It is one of important issues in mission today. Contextualization describes the process of adapting the unchanging gospel message to various cultural contexts in
6
the world today. It is defined as a tool that enables an understanding of what it means that Jesus Christ, the Word, is authentically experienced in each human situation. Thereby, contextualization is an attempt to present the Gospel in a culturally relevant way by adapting the communication of the gospel to the forms and expression of another culture so that obstacles to the gospel may be overcome. Some authors also state that contextualization is an inescapable and fundamental element that gives meaning to mission and theology through its dynamism (Dean Flemming, 2005:2; Sarojini Nadar, 2007:237; Christ Ian Baden, 2010:21).
Missiology. Stefan Paas (2016:37) understands missiology as “the systematic study of all aspects
of mission”. From this understanding, missiology has been defined as “a scientific and applied study based on the word of God and on other disciplines of social sciences in order to understand and orient the conceptualization, the teaching and the practice of God’s global and holistic mission entrusted to the church”(Ligunda, 2018:28). Directly or indirectly, authors recognize that effectiveness in missiology involves a best understanding of missio Dei and contextualization. Kim Kirsteen (2009:2) argues that, “Missiology draws its life-blood from the experience of crossing cultures and from the church worldwide in its global and local expressions of missio Dei “.
Missio Dei is a theology, which emphasizes both the imperative for mission and the sovereignty
of God (Thomas Schirrmacher, 2017:9). Therefore, the church’s mission is a subset of a larger whole mission that is both part of God's mission to the world and not the entirety of God's work in the world. This definition introduces the concept of missio Dei that states essentially that the mission of the church is a subset of the work of God in the world, rather than something with an independent existence. JR Rozko (2012:1, 6-7) considers missio Dei as a doctrine that increases in importance among missiologists and affects all theological work and churchly practice. God is a missionary by nature; all true theology is to be missionary theology by definition and in praxis.
Missio Dei is “God’s glocal and holistic mission to save humankind in Christ through the sent
Church”. Therefore, missio Dei is a very influential and enduring concept. It subsumes other biblical concepts of mission because it is based on a sound biblical and theological grounding (Pachuau Lalsangkima, 2009:4-5).
Missiological evaluation: The Merriam Webster dictionary defines “Evaluation” as the process
or the act of determining the significance of the nature, quality, ability, extent, worth, or condition through a careful and an appraisal study. Applied to missiology, it is about forming a
7
critical opinion of the content, the purpose, the method, the ethos, the context and the people of mission.
Church growth, though not literally Biblical term, is a concept of the Bible and of God’s will
(Jenssen
,
2015:3). In this study, we align with the views of Thom S. Rainer (1990) and Wayne Edward Neely (1981) who consider church growth as the building of the church through evangelism, resulting from new discipleship making. There are also scholars (McGavran, 1991) who suggest that church growth is the science, an emerging discipline that investigates the nature and the function, the planting, the multiplication and the health of Christian churches.The church and the Church in the DRC. Howard A. Snyder (2004:13, 52; 2010:1), Jerry Pillay
(2017:1) and Gary Teja and John Wagenveld (2015:8-9) use church models to describe the multidimensional mystery nature of the church of Jesus Christ. Models, Snyder says, “help for illuminating mystery’s aspects through their theoretical and a practical dimension”. Models typically carry implications for application and further research.
According to the church in the DRC, materials connected the inception of the protestant church with the Congo mission at San Salvador, in 1878 (Peter Falk 1979:374; Bengt Sundkler & Christopher Steed, 2004:303). Nowadays, the church comprises numerous groups under which they operate: Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and others. The Protestantism group comprises two main subgroups: The Church of Christ in Congo which resulted from Western mission societies and the African Initiated Churches (AICs) that emerged from Roman Catholic and CCC, l’Eglise de Réveil au Congo (ERC) or the Revival Churches in Congo (RCC) 1980s. This study took into account these two subgroups.
1.8 Schematic presentation
The following chart displays the correlation between the research questions, aims and objectives and research method of this work.
Research question Aim and objectives Research method
What are the missiological objectives for churches under study in using mass
Through the church history, it is possible to gather precious information according to the missiological objectives of the
Books and literature about the church if available. Additionally, interviews and questionnaires will be
8
media? church under study. driven.
What is the mass media contribution to church growth process?
The aim is to find out the types of mass media the church is using and their contribution to the growth of the related church.
Through observation, interviews and
questionnaires to the leaders as the visionary and those who serve as journalist.
How can the church in the DRC use efficiently mass communication tools to
contextualize church
growth?
At this step the research question is somehow an evaluative contribution of this study. The aim is to describe how mass media has been used and suggest some required corrections.
The use of evaluative methodologies will help to found out the correct use of the tool or some potential distortion techniques.
1.9 Conclusion
After this introductory chapter on the research problem and core research questions, the second chapter develops the concepts related to communication and mass communication.
The third chapter focuses on the related concepts of church, church growth and contextualization. The aim was to figure out how these concepts would enable constituting a foundation for appropriately addressing the issue under study.
The fourth chapter describes the research methodology for a qualitative and quantitative research project with church leaders and members among selected churches.
The fifth chapter reports the results of the research project and finally, the sixth chapter introduces the researcher’s own analysis of the study.
9
CHAPTER 2
COMMUNICATION CONCEPTS
2.1 Introduction
The first chapter provided the rationale of conducting a missiological evaluation on the way in which mass media is being used as tool to contextualize church growth in the context of the churches in the DRC during the last decades. The study also formulated and sustained a central question and its related sub-questions.
In this chapter, the key concepts related to communication such as mass communication, mass media and new technologies are developed. The purpose was to gather theoretical insights as basis for further answer to the question: What are the objectives of the churches in using mass
media as tools of cross-cultural communication?
Linked to this question is the fundamental interrogation about the concrete nature of all variants of communication (mass communication, mass media) and their role in the society in general and particularly in the churches in the DRC.
Indeed, the concept of communication in all its forms and types (mass communication, mass media) is dependable of technology advances, which is expressed today in terms of new technologies. The influence of technology as a communication tool has evolved in such a way that the world today has become media-saturated and obliged to rely on technology as primary bounding force and the main source of information, entertainment and education. It is only through technology that communication and their forms exist.
Despite rejoicing and still relying on the technological advances of communication, some authors warn about the speed by which these new technologies are advancing. They call us to be cautious and ponder some fundamental questions about new communications technology (R. G. Jones, 2013:675). It is imperative, instead of instantly becoming familiar to the modes of communication, to be aware and prudently looking at them objectively (Oroles Florescu, 2014:350; Deepak Nayyar, 2007: 64-65).
Such an effort will allow us to manage the framework for addressing the specific case of the churches in the DRC in further chapters. The issues on the remaining sub-questions will also be developed in this chapter.
10 2.2 Communication
2.2.1 Definition
Communication is such a complex concept that its best understanding is fundamental for a good knowledge of all related concepts such as mass communication and mass media (Denis McQuail, 2010:20). Communication is based on a process in which messages, whether intentional or unintentional, create meaning. During this reciprocal and on-going process, a sender (source) transmits a message to a receiver (respondent) through a channel. All parties are involved in creating a shared meaning process.
Culturally, communication is described as a symbolic process whereby reality is produced, maintained, repaired and transformed. Therefore, communication represents the social process in which individuals employ symbols to establish and interpret meaning in their environment (Stanley J. Baran, 2014:4-7; Richard West and Lynn H. Turner, 2018:5 and Joseph Turow, 2009:7). People interact in ways that each party organizes the symbols of messages purposefully to be understood.
2.2.2 The roles of communication
Communication, according to D. J. Hesselgrave (1991:27, 39, 40-43), is fundamental to human beings who are the only creatures on earth able to interact by means of symbols. Hesselgrave further denotes some meaningful key roles of the communication process. Communication is fundamental to all our psychological and social processes. Communication sustains and enables human beings to develop the mental processes and social nature that distinguish us from other forms of life by carrying on thousands of organized group activities and leading our interdependent lives.
Through its third role, communication enables humankind to generate meaning and to send and receive verbal or nonverbal symbols and signs in the everyday life of the community. Communication, as the foundation of the culture, informs the way we perceive, understand and construct our worldview that is the view of reality and the world.
The ultimate importance of communication is that God’s relationship with humans and Christian mission is based on this concept. What is of fundamental importance in Christian communication is that we keep a clear distinction between divine revelation and human experience. It is the message of divine revelation that must be passed on from person to person, from the people in one culture to the people in another culture and from one generation to another.
11 2.2.3 Components of communication
The communication process involves a variety of elements. Each element represents a critical issue for the success of the process (Phil Venditti & Scott McLean, 2012: 13-17). Hesselgrave (1991: 40-53) speaks of three elements that contribute to the implementation of communication: the source (primary, secondary and tertiary), the message and the respondent.
Figure 2-1: Elements of communication
Source: Hesselgrave (1991: 41)
This basic schema is to be improved with the additional elements of the communication process: feedback, noise, context and environment. Thus, the entire communication process composition depends on the authors. Nonetheless, every component of communication can be influenced by multiple social contexts (Ronald B. Adler &George Rodman, 2006:24; Aurel Codoban,
2014:151; Jowett S. Garth & Victoria O’Donnell, 2012:30).
Figure 2-2: Process of communication
12 2.2.3.1 Source/Encoding
The sender or source of communication is the person or organization who initiates the communication process. This initiative is practically enabled through an encoding process that puts together thoughts, ideas and information into a symbolic form (such as languages, words or gestures) to communicate a message. This process translates the ideas or concepts into the coded message that will be communicated. The source is initially responsible for the success of the message. It is important for the sender to use symbols that are familiar to the intended receiver.
2.2.3.2 Message/media content
The message is the information or meaning the source or sender hopes to convey. This message can take a variety of forms and may include qualitative and quantitative symbolic forms or signs. Pamela J. Shoemaker and Stephen D. Reese (1996:29) contend that quantitative data helps to measure information in order to summarize and analyse the occurrence of things, people or events found in media content. These kinds of information provide helpful insights about content patterns as key for understanding their individual and organizational source of production. The systematic repetitive patterns of content reveal some underlying cultural pattern or organizational logic. Media content represents both the culture and the source of that culture as the main provider of information about the social realities worldwide.
To conclude this section, it should be noted that two main sources of influence of media content exist: factors inside and outside the organization. The factors inside the organization comprise the media practices and the individual media professionals. In effect, the professional experiences shape the communicators' professional roles and ethics, which in turn have a direct or indirect effect on mass media content. Secondly, there are also factors outside the organization that represent a substantial influence because it is ideological and hegemonic. Its effects are broad and pervasive.
In the communication process, media content has three main functions in the society. Firstly, media content is the surveillant of the environment by informing and reporting events, for instance. Secondly, mass content, dissimulated into the surveillance function, plays a correlation function. Therefore, correlative content includes any content that influences the interpretation of the news in purposive direction with the attempts to persuade. The last function relates to the transmission of social heritage from one generation to another.
All media content is both different and similar in very important ways. All of them provide a symbolic environment to the consumers and the ways in which they function. Both news and
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entertainment for example, tell who is important, how to behave and what new trends there are in speech, manners and dress. Both take us to places we have never been before (Shoemaker & Reese, 1996: 25-27, 34). They not only bring us somewhere, they also canalize our attention towards people according to their importance and cultural behaviours. The predominant patterns like political and criminal that biases the ways in which they depict the world can also distort the media content.
Media also influences the society by deliberately biasing news content through ideological censorship stories, through propaganda media filters like the size, advertising and reliance to official sources and the use of distortion practices such as omission, selectivity, placement, labelling, false value and false balancing, deceptive embellishments and surfacing for misrepresenting news (Kirk Hallahan, 1987:53-56).
2.2.3.3 Channel
The channel is the method, medium or the means used to convey the message. Most channels are either oral or written. The effectiveness of the various channels depends utterly on the characteristics of the communication.
Media as channel can influence media content by simply imposing its own structure and logic on events in creating a media world according to their intrinsic affordance capabilities. It can also manipulate reality by highlighting certain elements of the content over others. Hence, media content structures a symbolic environment and produces a manipulated version of the reality. These manipulations can be quantitative time, place or events occurrence for example and qualitative when it relates to the quality of the image, for instance due to the camera angle etc.
Hence, the technology of media is the fundamental source of media’s influence towards the society through the ways in which they create and distribute symbols. The limitation of types and number of symbols each medium can create or convey determine the way in which it affects the message. There are also conventional rules and routines of each media that influence the process of media towards the society. Therefore, the impact of the media is more rooted in the type of media used than in the content per se (Hallahan, 1987: 10-13).
2.2.3.4 Receiver/Decoding
The receiver is the person(s) with whom the sender shares thoughts or information. Decoding is the process of transforming and interpreting the sender’s message back into thought. Thus, the receiver’s frame of reference or field of experience can heavily influence the process. This
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process of decoding is driven by the receiver’s brain interpreting the sender’s message through stimulus. The aim of the decoding process is to assign some type of meaning to the sender message. The core activity of this stage is the interpretation of the symbols sent by the sender and translating the message accordingly to proper experiences in order to make the symbols meaningful. Therefore, successful communication takes place when the receiver correctly interprets the sender's message without the influence of their experiences, attitudes, knowledge, skills, perceptions and culture.
2.2.3.5 Context
Context plays a determinant role in communication. The context of the communication includes the setting, scene and expectations of the individuals involved. One aspect is country, culture and organization. Contexts can also relate to the internal or external stimuli that motivate the sender to initiate the communication or the respondent to react. Each context influences the communication process.
Authors identify numerous sets as context. According to S. McLean (2010), all five forms of communication (intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, public and mass communication) are contexts that affect the communication process. Indeed, according to the author, the various people involved in each communication drastically change the way and the effectiveness of communication. The way in which one proceeds in intra-personal communication as it is a self-communication will differ as he enters into mass self-communication. The process will provide another environment that will influence people involved. F. Du Plooy-Cilliers and M. Louw (2014) identify five additional forms of context:
Historical Context takes place when the sender and receiver(s) exchange messages in regular situations such as annual reports.
Psychological Context refers to the humour and feelings of the audience, as well as the speaker. How the audience and the speaker are feeling will have a mutual and revulsive impact on their respective attitude.
Cultural Context is one of the most obvious factors of communication, but it is also one of the most important. Culture relates to the beliefs and values of a group. It is always critically important that the sender understands the cultural expectations of the respondent.
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Social Context involves the relationship of the speaker and the audience as well as the expectations involved in that relationship. The way in which an individual communicates with his employer will be different from the way in which he communicates with his spouse.
Physical Context involves the actual location, the time of day, the lighting, noise level and related factors.
The concept of contextualization is a key issue to be addressed for all areas of life where communication is involved. Indeed, the reality of globalization and digitization has immersed communication into a context of various cultures. The mission of God can take place even without moving from the original place due to the phenomenon of migration, which brings people with their culture closer to us. The phenomenon of globalization has also opened a large market and created a consumerism society of culture. Thus, the process of communication, whatever the circumstance, needs contextualization for being culturally relevant.
2.2.3.6 Noise
Noise consists of the external factors in the channels, the internal perceptions and the experiences within the source and the receiver that affect communication. Noise can occur during the encoding, the transmission, or the decoding of a message. Noises can also be physical, physiological, psychological and semantic (G.B. Shaw, 2011; Eisenberg, 2010).
2.2.3.7 Response/Feedback
Feedback is part of the receiver’s response. It provides the sender with a way of monitoring how the target audience decodes and receives the message. Feedback is very important for communication. Firstly, as a key component in the communication process, it allows the sender to evaluate the effectiveness of the message. Feedback enables the sender to confirm that the receiver has interpreted the message correctly. Secondly, feedback provides an opportunity to the sender to take corrective action to clarify a misunderstood message. Thus, feedback allows identifying significant communication barriers such as differences in background, different interpretations of words and differing emotional reactions.
2.2.4 Characteristics of human communication
Human communication brings out the specific characteristics. The basic elements of communication are codes or symbols that feed the processes of encoding and decoding. Communicating through symbols is an ability devoted only to human beings. A symbol is an instrument by which we label and manipulate our conceptions (Hesselgrave, 1991:45-46).
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Furthermore, communication processes of encoding and decoding require establishing “commonness” with one another. Finally, human communication is only partially effective even in the most ideal of circumstances because the "commonness" between encoder and decoder is not complete. The encoding and decoding processes constitute the key issues which influence the contextualization of the gospel.
2.2.5 Types of communication
Communication, according to McQuail, is a complex concept to define and describe since it deals with human. For this study, the terms information, persuasion and propaganda represent all the types of communication. The purpose is not to proceed with an exhaustive study in communication, but to discover any insights for best understanding of the concept.
Informative communication is all informative messages that affect receivers and enable them to acquire information, understand their world and learn through mutual understanding of data that are considered accurate, concepts that are considered indisputable and ideas that are based on facts (Jowett S. Garth & Victoria O’Donnell, 2012:31). Modernity knowledge establishes a sort of similarity between education and persuasion (Aurel Codoban, 2014:152).
Persuasive communication is a common term that is interchangeably used as ‘persuasion’, ‘propaganda’ and ‘rhetoric’ (Ivana Marková, 2008:37-40 and Garth & O’Donnell, 2012:32). Both propaganda and persuasion cannot be understood in isolation from the communication process even if they are involved in different forms of communication.
However, a message is persuasive when it contains a point of view that the recipient adopts willingly. Myers (2005:247) said:
Persuasion is neither inherently good nor bad. It is a message’s purpose and content that determines judgements of good or bad. The bad we call ‘propaganda’. The good we call ‘education’ because it is more factually based and less coercive than propaganda.
Persuasion is interactive and attempts to both satisfy the needs of the persuader and persuade through a reciprocal process in which both parties are dependent on one another.
Manipulative communication, according to Teun A. Van Dijk (2006:17) and Arifkhanova (2010), represents a discourse or a simple action. Manipulation is a communicative and interactional practice in which a manipulator exercises control over other people, usually against their will or against their best interests. In everyday usage, the concept of manipulation has negative associations. Manipulation is bad because such practice violates social norms.
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Manipulation not only involves power, but specifically abuse of power, that is, domination through the strategies of generalization and more specifically seduction. Manipulation is effective in political communication and in marketing. Seduction, on the other hand, is affective in advertising although for most people this concept is to understood in a moral and religious perspective.
Mediated- communication includes communication between a few or many people who use technology as a medium.
Propaganda is a form of communication that attempts to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist. Some scholars view propaganda as inherent thought and practice in mass culture. Propaganda, in the most neutral sense, means to disseminate or promote particular ideas. The purpose of propaganda is to convey an ideology with the objective to reinforce or modify the attitudes, the behaviour, or both, of an audience (Garth & O’Donnell, 2012:1-2, 45-75). Thus, as a form of communication, propaganda can be informative and persuasive (when it uses information to explain something) such as during the expansion of Christianity with the Roman Empire (Jacques Ellul, 1965:15). The technological devices of sending messages available in a given time influence propaganda itself as a form of communication. The development of new technologies affects the nature of propaganda and constitutes the major factor in the use of propaganda (Garth & O’Donnell, 2012:364).
2.2.6 Forms of communication
The forms of communication vary in terms of participants, channels used and contexts. Most authors agree with five main forms of communication: intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, public and mass communication. Jones (2013: 9-13) and Adler and Rodman (2006:26-31) give following explanations of each form. Firstly, intrapersonal communication takes place when one uses internal vocalization or reflective thinking. This form of communication helps to build and to maintain our self-concept and enhancing our well-being. Secondly, communication is
interpersonal when it involves more than one person whose lives mutually influence one
another. Interpersonal communication is planned, interactive and more structured and influenced by social expectations than intrapersonal communication. Communicating interpersonally supposes that one has a concrete goal and relational need to satisfy. Thirdly, group
communication occurs when three or more people intentionally and formally interact to achieve a
shared goal. Fourthly, through public communication, one person is typically responsible for conveying information to an audience. This is a sender-focussed form of communication. Once
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public communication uses print or electronic channels for transmission, it becomes mass communication. Finally, mass communication2 differs from other forms of communication in terms of the personal connection between participants. In mass communication there is no relational dimension like in interpersonal and group communication. There also exist neither immediate verbal nor nonverbal feedback loop.
2.2.7 Communication models
The concepts of communication and media are complex and connected to technological change. At the same time, mass media have always been vehicles for informing, as we said previously, entertaining and orienting the masses, according to the parameters established by the dominant ideology of the day. Due to its complexity, the different models explain the human communication process under study. Communication models simplify complex interrelationships of elements in the communication process. Several models exist and this study focussed on three of them, namely communication as action, communication as interaction and communication as transaction (West & Turner, 2018:8-12).
Communication as action: this refers to the transmission or the linear model of communication initiated by Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver in 1949. Communication as a linear process is based on radio and telephone technology for explaining how information passes through various channels. A source sends a message to a receiver who makes sense out of the message. All of this takes place in a channel.
Communication also involves noise, which is anything that interferes with the message. In the linear model, a person plays only the role of sender or receiver who sends the meaning to another.
Transmission or the linear model describes communication as a linear, one-way process in which a sender intentionally transmits a message to a receiver without any interaction between the actors. With a linear process, a sender encodes ideas and feelings into some sort of message and conveys them to a receiver who decodes them. The two important elements in this process are the communication channel (the method by which a message is conveyed between people) and the concept of noise that represents any force that interferes with effective communication (Adler & Rodman, 2006:32; McQuail, 2010:58).
2Mass communication will be developed in a further section .
19 Figure 2-3: The linear model of communication
Source: West &Turner, 2018, p 5, adapted from Shannon & Weaver, 1949
Communication as interaction: the interactional model of communication as initiated by Wilbur Schramm (1954) describes communication as a process in which participants alternate positions as sender and receiver and generate meaning by sending messages and receiving feedback within physical and psychological contexts. The interactional model of communication represents a bi-directional communication process between sender and receiver (Figure 2:4). Communication moves in two directions: from sender to receiver and from receiver to sender alternatively (not simultaneously). Thus, one key element to the interactional model of communication is feedback. Feedback helps actors involved in the communication process to verify the effectiveness of the process. In the interactional model, the feedback of a sender and a receiver achieves the meaning.
Figure 2-4: Interactional model of communication
Source: West &Turner, 2018, p 7
Communication as transaction: the transactional model differs significantly from the previous models in the conceptualization of communication, the role of sender and receiver and the role of
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context. This model underscores the simultaneous sending and receiving of messages in a communication process (Figure 2:5). According to Jones (2013:25-30), this model of communication favourites exchanging messages, sharps the way in which we communicate about our realities and helps to construct our realities. Communication becomes effective when we learn about it and understand the related culture and context frames. In the transactional model, the process of communication is obtained through the cooperation of the sender and the receiver who are equally responsible for the effect and the effectiveness of communication. Contrary to the two previous models, in the transactional model, people build shared meanings. Furthermore, people’s experiences influence greatly what they say during a transaction. Transactional communication also enables the interdependency between and among the components of communication and the influence of one message on another. Furthermore, in the transactional model, communicators negotiate meaning as they simultaneously send and receive messages with the help of verbal and nonverbal elements of a message. Nonverbal communication is just as important as verbal communication in such a transactional process.
Figure 2-5 : Transactional model of communication
Source: West and Turner, 2018, p 9
2.3 Culture and worldview
Communication, whatever its form and model, is connected to culture. This mutual influence has been described by Larry A. Samovar et al. (2013:37) as follows: “Culture is communication and communication is culture.” Communication helps both understanding culture and serving as the mirror of culture. As the gospel intervenes, communication is termed as intercultural because the
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difference of the cultural perceptions and the symbol of systems of people involved in the process are enough to influence the communication event (Samovar et al., 2013:8).
Mass media enables and simplifies human interaction in the construction of the culture. Therefore, communication in general, is responsible of the creation, the modification and the transformation of the culture (Hallahan, 1987:4).
Samovar et al. (2013:6) contend that the change brought by information technology (IT) and the continuing growth of digital technology in the contemporary society influences the intercultural communication. The noticeable result of globalization and the information technology revolution represents the area of connectivity with the software and hardware such as Google, Facebook, iPad etc.
Furthermore, most experts agree that these three concepts, namely communication, culture and worldview are interconnected in their development. According to them, worldview provides a common perception and the nature of reality as experienced by individuals who share a common culture. Haviland et al. note that “Worldview is the collective body of ideas that members of a culture generally share concerning the ultimate shape and substance of their reality” (W.A. Haviland et al. 2008:298). Hence, analysing the concepts of communication naturally leads to the study of all of these relating concepts.
2.3.1 Definition of culture
Culture is a multifaceted, relative and complex term, which can be defined accordingly to a given context. Meanwhile, culture generally refers to the shared values, attitudes, beliefs and practices that characterize a social group, organization or institution. Most authors agree that culture is a process that delivers the values of a society through products or other meaning-making forms (B.E Davis, 1976: 21-25; Baran, 2014:9). Since culture remains a process of sharing, it is also the on-going negotiation of learned and patterned beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviours or as symbols of expression that individuals, groups and societies use to make sense of daily life and to articulate their values (Richard Campbell et al., 2012:6).
2.3.2 Components of culture
Culture evolves in three major components: beliefs and values, rituals and customs and cultural artifacts. Beliefs and values represent opinion about truth and judgements in relation to what is good or bad. Beliefs and values become ideology if all people consider them as true or important. Rituals and customs are part of the cultural heritage of a society. Cultural artifacts
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represent any observable thing that is an expression of a culture. Artifacts include gestures, actions, words, images, languages, handmade crafts or manufactured goods. Virtually all forms of media content are cultural artifacts.
Communication is a process based on symbols and signs. These symbols and signs are dynamic and relate to the different cultures, which provide their meaning. Thus, culture itself and symbolic meanings are dynamic. They can change over time and can shape our perceptions of the world. Therefore, communication and culture reciprocally influence each other. Inside a society, the culture shapes the way in which people communicate and the way in which people communicate can change the culture (Hallahan, 1987:3-7).
2.3.3 Characteristics of culture
The essential characteristics of culture are learnability, shareability, entirety and dynamism. These characteristics can be expressed throughout the technological, sociological and ideological level of culture. Technological culture includes artifacts and activities designed to manipulate the material world. The sociological culture focuses on the relationship and behaviour that govern interaction between individuals and groups. Ideological culture includes the knowledge, beliefs, worldview and values of people.
Effectiveness in communication may focus on the change at the deeper levels of values, beliefs and worldview in order to establish a supra culture into the respondent culture (Hesselgrave, 1991:103-105).
Culture itself is both a human product and the arena of continued divine and satanic intervention and penetration. Thus, this knowledge helps to distinguish theoretically between divine supra-cultural entities and the demonic.
2.3.4 Levels of culture
There are two types of culture: the global or general culture and the sub-culture. These two types of culture are expressed through three levels as described below. Firstly, the surface level: visible elements such as cultural products, pattern of behaviour, signs, rituals etc. exist. Secondly, the middle level: below the surface level, beliefs, such as myths, rituals, dramas and songs exist which give the conscious feelings, beliefs and values of a culture. These are embedded in social norms and values. Finally, the deep level holds the unseen structures such as worldview themes, categories, logics and epistemology (Hiebert, 1985).
23 Figure 2-6: Level of culture
Source: Hiebert (2008:33)
2.3.5 The worldview
Worldview, as every concept related to culture, has different definitions according to different authors. For some, it is a “basic assumptions about reality which lie behind the beliefs and behaviour of a culture” (Hiebert, 1985:45). For others it is a set of glasses through which each of us sees the world and addresses the threefold assumption about God, the human and nature (William E. Brown et al., 2008:9-15). Hence, worldview is the heart of culture but not a biological heritage; it passes from generation to generation. It is the way in which a culture sees and expresses its relation to the world around it. It is the visible aspects of culture, which gives the reasons for customs.
Fundamentally, a worldview represents the fundamental perspective from which one mentally addresses every issue of life. Therefore, worldview is a framework that supplies a comprehensive view of what a person considers real, true, rational, good, valuable and beautiful (James W. Sire, 2015:24).
According to Charles H. Kraft (1999:385), culture comprises learned and patterned assumptions (worldview), concepts and behaviour, plus the resulting artifacts (material culture). It is a deep level of culture and the culturally structured set of assumptions (including values and commitments). The following analogy of a river underlines how culture helps people perceive and respond to reality under the influence of the deepest worldview (Figure 2:7 and Table 2:1). The surface of the river is both a response to external phenomena and a manifestation of the deep-level characteristics of the river.
24 Figure 2-7: the two levels of a culture
Source: Kraft (1999:385)
In culture, human behaviour represents the surface and the worldview is its deep level. What affects the surface of a culture may also change the worldview level.
Table 2-1: the two levels of a culture
Source: Kraft (1999:386)
Nevertheless, the limits and the nature of that change depend on the influence of the worldview structure inside the culture. The worldview influences all cultural sub-systems (Figure 2:8).
Figure 2-8 : Worldview and sub systems
