Latest Culture Test Results Once Again Show Africa is 'Honour-Shame-dominant'

The latest Culture Test results are out!

Almost 50,000 people have now taken the test worldwide and the results are VERY interesting.

Over the last 60 years or so the cultures of the world have been divided anthropologically (and also missiologically) into the three categories of fear/shame/guilt cultures - stemming from the work of Ruth Benedict (1934,1946) --who categorised Asia and the West as shame and guilt respectively, and Eugene Nida (1954) who later also referred to an additional fear category of tribal/African groups. 

However despite these categories, our own observation over the last almost 2 decades, and specific research over a decade, has been continually confirming the ‘shame’ focus of Africa, and there is a growing reference by scholars (both African and non-African) to the ‘shame’ elements of African culture, as well as more suggestion that it is actually predominantly ‘shame’ not ‘fear’.

Kenyan theologian Martin Munyao stated in his PhD thesis (2017) on the topic, that:

…on the surface, fear and power are evident in African cultures, but digging

deeper reveals a more dominant and pervasive cultural value, namely, honor

and shame. Prevailing theology seems to have failed to address the people’s

fear of censure (shame) and desire for honor in the community.

I also have had a growing suspicion about fear being an equal partner in this assumed trio. Yes I believe there are elements of all three in all cultures, but is ‘fear’ an equal partner, or an emotive response of a different category altogether that partners with guilt and shame? I am working on a book draft that I would like to publish one day that begins to examine this further.

It is interesting that with each stage of the Culture Test results there has not been a continent or large overall people grouping that has come out as predominantly ‘fear’ even though the Culture Test has been designed to differentiate between ‘fear’ shame’ and ‘guilt’ emphasis cultures.

The latest culture test map results reveals two interesting results for me:

1. in using country rather than ‘global regions' results as the first result graph did back in 2015, still no whole region is coming up ‘fear’ dominant, and at a country specific level in the latest results, only one country (Surinam, in South America) in the whole world is coming up ‘fear’ dominant?

2. No-where in Africa is there a fear dominant country showing up, and apart from South Africa and Zimbabwe (which I will comment on in a moment), the whole continent is coming up ‘shame’.  It is interesting to note that Botswana for example is coming up equal ‘shame’ emphasis to what have long been considered strong ‘shame’ cultures like Saudi Arabia and China and Japan.

Now I want to just clarify why on the Culture Test results for Africa, that South Africa and Zimbabwe are coming up as ‘guilt’ (blue) emphasis in their total results.

This interactive map is wonderful as it gives opportunity to see how different sectors have influenced total country results.

So in South Africa and Zimbabwe, if you only select the results of the indigenous ethnicities and leave out those from various European backgrounds, both South Africa and Zimbabwe  suddenly give results of high levels of shame. And similarly, Botswana goes from medium shame to high shame.

(see tribal groups selected at right hand side of screen for each screenshot below)

So what does this tell us?

Noting the limitations and purpose of this Culture Test, the results are never-the-less very revealing.

The results continue to confirm the overall ‘shame’ emphasis of Africa.  And this confirms that evangelism and discipleship that targets the ‘guilt’ areas that Westerners are comfortable and familiar with, and the ‘fear’ areas that have been assumed as the predominant dynamic directing life in Africa, is missing the largest and greatest motivator and director for life decisions, priorities, perspectives etc….ie the African worldview ‘core’ (as Kenyan theologian Mbuvi put it), is rooted in honour-shame, including a primarily ‘shame’ response to sin and an understanding of sin defined by shame. An African believes that to avoid shame (as culture defines it, before people), is to avoid sin.

Unless ‘we’ as Christians in Africa (whether citizens or missionaries or visitors) recognise this, we won’t be sharing the depth and full truth of the gospel with people. At best we will cheat Christians of understanding victory over sin in daily life, and at worst we will hinder them from understanding the truth of salvation for sin and being able to truly place their faith, trust and allegiance in Christ.

Turning the 'ordinary' into the 'awe-dinary'

This is a bit of a follow-on from the previous post - like a Part 2….

I have continued to ponder on the fact that my 'ordinary' moments of life are no less God designed than any other times. Of course I know that…but day by day I come to k-n-o-w that more and more!  God is in (what we call) ordinary!

But like I talked about in the previous post in relation to the 'ordinary' black and white butterflies, I am caused to ask myself if I should even look at life as having 'ordinary' moments.

In language expression we use a whole bunch of words — like ordinary, regular, normal, routine, usual,    — in order to say that nothing has happened which we would rate as 'special' or 'significant' or 'unusual'.

In some ways life is full of the 'ordinary' - just plodding along and pressing on with the daily life tasks that have to be repeated day after day, week after week, year after year.  And God has created life on this earth to be on a repeated constant schedule of -

days (sunrise and sunset, evening and morning), 

weeks (creation, and institution of sabbath rest), 

months (the moon's magnetic effect on the earth), 

and years (the cycle of seasons).

I'm not saying we ought to do away with, or ignore these divine patterns put in place for our good. It is always going to be good to live according to God's design.  And we need words to describe life, and so yes, words like 'normal' and 'ordinary' do get used.

However, what my challenge is to myself, and to you with me, is that these patterns and life's repetitive functions and activities are not ordinary, in the sense that they are not less significant or less vital, or less divine, than any other moment or task.  

Every aspect of life, every moment of life, every decision of life is significant, important, and a place where we can either glorify God or fail to glorify Him.

'Doing all to the glory of God' (1 Cor 10:31) means ALL moments are significant and important opportunities to do that. 

God is looking for every one of our moments and thoughts to be ones in which we acknowledge him (Proverbs 3:5-6), seek him, welcome him, honour and obey him, submit to him, trust him, look to him, love him, follow him, rest in him and rejoice in him….because we need him. Without him, we are nothing and can do nothing (John 15:5).  And yet, I know how easy it is to go through what we think are 'ordinary' moments, less aware of all that than we should be.

AWE is something that we don't think a lot about. I know I mostly think about it when someone uses the word 'awesome' ..again! But though its 'overuse' has often irritated me, I am caused to re-think my irritation.  Everything ought to be awesome!  

We are apt to rate our life, and compare ourselves and our experiences to those of others, or ours of yesterday, or our own expectations, so we don't think too many things rate as 'awesome'. But the only 'rating' that really matters is God's  - not others, and not our own.  And we are meant to line up our rating, our view, our opinion, with God's. 

….that brings me to one quick aside - there is only one thing in this world that is totally not awesome and not God's design for his creation, not his plan, not his purpose, not his will and desire, and that thing is sin in all its forms and effects.  That is neither ordinary nor awesome. Sin is sad, horrific, distorting, disgusting, abhorrent, disgraceful...

Thus everything in God's design and purposes - every moment, every aspect of his creation as he made it, is awesome!  It's just a process for us to recognise the 'awesomeness' that is already present in God's plans and purposes. Our entire day, every day, should be that of awe—of living in the greatness of the presence, power and provision of God. 

We need to bring the 'awe-some' into the ordinary, not to cheapen it or trivialise the awesome, but to enliven the 'ordinary' to the level God wants it to be. 

This doesn't mean that we need to have to live on the constant high adrenalin of physical and emotional expressions of perpetual excitement. It just means a level of heart-filling, mind-inspiring, life-transforming thankfulness to God that changes our perspective on life…. which can be in quiet contemplative contentment, and thoughts of thankfulness, without any need for constant exuberance….not that we might still at times be exuberant in how we express it!

This is when I am once again caused to realise how far short I fall in honouring God as I should, of how finite I am—my head feels like it couldn't contemplate or contain thoughts of so much awe.  But our goal should be to see life more and more from God's perspective and less and less from our own.

  He doesn't want me to live like life is 'ordinary' but to see life as AWE-dinary - filled with AWE—of him!