Introducing World Christianity

This interdisciplinary introduction offers students a truly global overview of the worldwide spread and impact of Christianity. It is enriched throughout by detailed historic and ethnographic material, showing how broad themes within Christianity have been adopted and adapted by Christian denominations within each major region of the world.
Provides a comprehensive overview of the spread and impact of world Christianity
Contains studies from every major region of the world, including Africa, Asia, Latin America, the North Atlantic, and Oceania
Brings together an international team of contributors from history, sociology, and anthropology, as well as religious studies
Examines the significant social, cultural, and political transformations in contemporary societies brought about through the influence of Christianity
Discusses Protestant, Evangelical, Catholic, and Orthodox forms of the faith
Features useful maps and illustrations
Combines broader discussions with detailed regional analysis, creating an invaluable introduction to world Christianity

Dedication.
Contents.

List of Contributors.

Map of World Christianity.

Preface (Robert W. Hefner).

Acknowledgments.

Introduction (Charles E. Farhadian).

Part I: AFRICA.

1: Middle Eastern & North African Christianity: Persisting in the Lands of Islam (Heather Sharkey).

2: Christian Belongings in East Africa: Flocking to the Churches (Ben Knighton).

3: West African Christianity: Padres, Prophets, Pastors, and Pentecostals (Ogbu Kalu).

4: Christianity in Southern Africa: The Aesthetics of Well-Being (Frederick Klaits).

Part II: EUROPE.

5: Christianity in Western Europe: Mission Fields, Old and New? (Simon Coleman).

6: Christianity in Eastern Europe: A Story of Pain, Glory, Persecution, and Freedom (Peter Kuzmic).

Part III: ASIA.

7: Christianity in South Asia: Negotiating Religious Pluralism (Arun Jones).

8: Christianity in Southeast Asia: Similarity and Difference in a Culturally Diverse Region (Barbara Watson Andaya).

9: Christianity in East Asia: Evangelicalism and the March First Independence Movement in Korea (Timothy S. Lee).

Part IV: AMERICAS.

10: Christianity in North America: Changes and Challenges in a Land of Promise (Kevin J. Christiano).

11: Central America and the Caribbean: Christianity on the Periphery (Virginia Garrard-Burnett).

12: Christianity in Latin America: Changing Churches in a Changing Continent (Samuel Escobar).

13: Brazilian Charisma: Pentecostalized Christianity in Latin America’s Largest Nation (R. Andrew Chesnut).

Part V: THE PACIFIC.

14: Christianity in Australia and New Zealand: Faith and Politics in Secular Soil (Marion Maddox).

15: Christianity in Polynesia: Transforming the Islands (Ian Breward).

16: Christianity in Micronesia: The Interplay Between Church and Culture (Francis X. Hezel).

17: Christianity in Melanesia: Transforming the Warrior Spirit (Garry W. Trompf).

Conclusion: World Christianity: It's History, Spread, and Social Influence (Robert D. Woodberry).

Charles E. Farhadian is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Westmont College, Santa Barbara. His books include Christianity, Islam, and Nationalism in Indonesia (2005), The Testimony Project: Papua (2007), Christian Worship Worldwide (2007), and The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion (co-edited with Lewis R. Rambo, 2012).