Abstract
Ernst Troeltsch argued that churches characteristically become accommodated to culture, perceive a vested interest in preserving and extending the culture, and thereby forfeit their capacity for prophetic witness in the culture on behalf of the poor. The assumption with which I begin is that Western Christianity in general manifests this thesis, if we modify “culture” to refer to dominant or ruling class culture. The Western church, a part of the culture, has characteristically become accommodated to the dominant culture of the ruling class rather than to “people’s culture.” Western churches are characteristically part of and
support the status quo, identifying with, collaborating with, and casting their lot with the dominant social forces and structures in society. This is a matter of identity (who we are), social location, and loyalty.