Towards an Intercultural Mission : A postcolonial feminist theological analysis of the international mission in the Uniting Church in Sweden

The statement and the title of the thesis "Towards an intercultural mission" is the starting point for the essay's purpose and examination. Interculturalism is an ideal in which equality and re-ciprocity are characterized by cross-cultural relationships, which is also an objective of international mission. For an intercultural mission, it is therefore necessary to examine which factors may hinder an intercultural approach, which, for this study, justifies searching for underlying unequal structures. The theoretical frame of reference for the analysis is postcolonial theory and feminist theology, which makes it possible to visualize such structures. The purpose of the thesis is therefore to analyze the intention of the international mission work in the Uniting Church in Sweden based on postcolonial feminist theology, and to propose criteria that need to be found for the mission work to be characterized by an intercultural approach. In order to achieve the purpose, it is necessary to answer the following general questions: 1. Is there an awareness of unequal power structures in the culture-crossing relationships in the intentional discourse on mission in the Uniting Church in Sweden? 2. How does interculturalism appear in the international mission in the Uniting Church in Sweden?And; 3. What criteria need to be found for the mission work to be characterized by an intercultural approach?With the help of qualitative content analysis of the Church's public text material, which constitutes the study object; six thematic areas have emerged; gender equality, woman's vulnerability, patriarchal structures, mission and worldview, postcolonial structures, and cooperation and reciprocity. The result has been analyzed on the basis of the concept of interculturality and a proposal for criteria for an intercultural approach has been prepared, among other things, with proposals for clarification of unequal power structures and a critical self-awareness about their own history and cultural values