An Encounter Between Theology and Shamanism
Kai Ngu
Indonesian Journal of Theology December 25, 2025 DOI: 10.46567/ijt.v13i2.661 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key points | Argues that Fung's theological engagement with indigenous religious communities illuminates the secular assumptions of anthropology's "more-than-human" turn and how that turn remains tied to the "human" even in attempts to exceed it. |
Abstract
Inspired by Joel Robbins’s call for theology and anthropology to collaborate as theoretical partners, in this article, I examine the theologian Jojo M. Fung’s recent books, Sacred Sustainability, Polyhedral Christianity and Cosmic Challenges (2025) and A Shamanic Pneumatology in a Mystical Age of Sacred Sustainability (2017) from the point of view of an anthropologist. In these books, Fung builds a theoretical bridge to connect the Creative Spirit in the creation narratives of Genesis to spirits of nature in indigenous religious practices, in what he calls “creational pneumatology.” I argue that Fung’s theological engagement with indigenous religious communities in Southeast Asia illuminates the secular assumptions of the “more-than-human” turn in anthropology and beyond, and how such a turn remains inextricably tied to the “human” even in attempts to exceed it. Yet, I also point out that theologians like Fung can benefit from anthropology’s epistemic tools in explicitly highlighting how one’s interpretive lens colors one’s perception of the Other. Orchestrating this interdisciplinary dialogue between theology and anthropology illuminates the premises and assumptions embedded in each discipline, which will ultimately sharpen their respective aims.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cognitive Neuroscience, Shamanism and the Rock Art of Native California | 1998 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From Culture to Experience: Shamanism in the Pages of the Soviet Anti-Religious Press | 2020 | Historical analysis | |
| Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation | 2010 | Reflective essay or personal narrative |