Research on transcultural adaptability in the Malaysian Church

Jul 21, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR (Herald Malaysia): The Catholic Church is universal, with common precepts, beliefs and liturgy. However, Catholic communities in different regions have adapted and incorporated elements of their culture into their worship, making the local church’s identity and practices unique. This is especially true in Malaysia, with its multi-ethnic heritage.

Thus, a team of researchers, headed by Associate Professor Dr. Shanthini Pillai from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), will be conducting a joint venture research project with the Catholic Research Centre of Malaysia, under the auspices of its Director, Fr Dr. Clarence Devadass. The aim of the project is to study patterns of transcultural adaptability and engagement among the Malaysian Catholic community, which refers to the intersections between Roman Catholic culture, ethnic culture (specifically Indian and Chinese) & national culture.

The researchers aim to examine elements of transcultural adaptability in the Malaysian Catholic Church from its historical foundation in 19th century Malaya until today. They intend to be able to determine how local communities inherited transcultural adaptability and investigate its evolution into practices by modern-day Malaysian Catholic communities. Subsequently, the researchers hope to be able to ascertain the role transcultural adaptability has played in developing and sustaining nationhood among the Malaysian Catholic community.

The project significantly contributes to the historiography of Catholics in Malaysia by showing how transcultural adaptability has been an integral element of Malaysian Catholic identity and expressions of Malaysian nationhood. It will also provide comprehensive insights and specific details of socio-historical and socio-cultural aspects of communal parish life, which will complement existing texts on the Malaysian Catholic Church.

Other members of the research team include Dr Melissa Shamini Periasamy from UKM, as well as Dr Pauline Leong and Ms Angeline Wong from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar). Two UKM Catholic undergraduates, Ms Jennifer Phun and Ms Joanna Gonsalvez, have been engaged as research assistants in this project.

The team will engage in a cross-peninsular investigation of churches in the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, the Diocese of Malacca and Johor, as well as Penang Diocese. Churches to be included in the sample are those that have been identified to have strong elements of transcultural adaptability, based on the review of existing literature on the Catholic Church in Malaysia. Field trips will then be conducted on the selected churches to gather data from church records as well as interviews with clergy and parishioners.

The researchers hope to collate the findings for a future publication by the Catholic Research Centre, and would appreciate any assistance from parishioners in the churches identified in the sample, especially in terms of old photographs and folk memory.

For inquiries on the project, please email [email protected]