Shaw and Burrows have gathered contributions from around the world, all of which examine the meeting point of Christianity and non-Christian religions through the lens of local ritual and worship. They present a project that asks timely questions about the place of Christianity in non-Western cultures, especially as it is precisely in local contexts that the Triune God must be encountered and inculcated. They enter into this challenge through the study of ritual and worship, acknowledging that both are adaptable and open to change. Underpinning this focus is their understanding that (a) God is always present and (b) a dynamic of ritual and worship allows cultures to grow in recognition of that presence in their midst.

The text is clearly organized and presented. In the first half of the book, traditional non-Christian rituals are revisited in light of the Christian message. This first section is itself broken into two sections, one emphasizing the nature of the pre-Christian ritual as it encounters Christian sacramental theology (specifically reconciliation and Eucharist), and the next examining such ritual within the context of established Christian faith. The second half of the book follows a similar pattern, first focusing on the meeting point of worship and Christianity in a variety of cultures, and then concentrating more narrowly on the context for such worship. The authors weave throughout the texts the challenge of inculturation to Christianity. By what means does the truth of Christianity communicate itself most powerfully within cultural ritual expression? As Gabriel Kuman notes in his chapter, “Salvation … came once and for all and at a specific point in time and history. But the redeeming and saving action of God must be intimately experienced by all people everywhere” (“The Simbu Pig-Kill Festival and the Eucharist,” 58–59).

This text is flexible and will be useful in many different academic settings. In its entirety it fits well into a graduate-level ritual studies course. It draws upon both anthropological and ritual theory and raises important questions about inculturation and Christian tradition. There are a number of chapters within this text that would enrich a course on sacraments or sacramental theology. Themes that deal with reconciliation and Eucharist abound. A discussion about worship and ritual practices presented in these chapters, in light of the Church's theology, would present students with a new and perhaps challenging viewpoint. It would surely raise fascinating questions about the role of culture, ritual, and sacrament for instructor and students alike. The same can be said of the chapters that address spirituality or scripture. These chapters proffer unexpected entry points into a variety of perspectives for those who most likely encounter Christianity primarily through a Western cultural perspective.

Shaw and Burrows have prepared a text for the challenges facing twenty-first-century Christianity as it moves beyond its Western roots. The text succeeds because its editors have recognized that the living tradition of the church has met such challenges before. Drawing on modern scholarship in anthropology and ritual theory, they have organized their project in such a way that it is accessible to scholar and student alike. While probably most beneficial for those at the graduate level, the text will yet lend itself easily to a variety of course settings and conversations.