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.