The Pyramid Beneath a Church: Causing Muted Signs to Speak in Inculturation

Standing at the historic center of Cholula, Mexico, is a Spanish medieval Catholic church built over a decidedly larger ancient Aztec pyramid, memorializing the latter’s conquest under the power of the cross. In the art of inculturation, the sign of the “vanquished pyramid” and its resonances in postcolonial cultures of the Global South, kindle the interpretive impulse to drill down on anthropological and religio-cultural layers that had been silenced by the sentence of colonial missionary history. What are some creative analytical approaches in a contextual theologian’s tool chest to cause muted signs to speak anew? The apostolic exhortation Querida Amazonia (2020) advocates for a “renewed inculturation” where the Church is admonished to listen to ancestral wisdom, the voices of the elders, and the rich stories of the original communities. This study proposes a semiotic moment toward Pope Francis’ reconciling vision of inculturation.

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Antonio D. Sison, CPPS, is Professor of Systematic Theology and Culture, and Vatican Council II Chair of Theology, at Catholic Theological Union. His latest authored books are The Art of Indigenous Inculturation: Grace on the Edge of Genius (Orbis Books, 2021) and Deep Inculturation: Global Voices on Christian faith and Indigenous Genius (as editor and contributor; Orbis Books, 2024).