"[This book] charts the transformation of one of the world's great religions during an age marked by world wars, genocide, nationalism, decolonization, and powerful ideological currents, many of them hostile to Christianity"--Amazon.com.

Christianity.

A specific focus and intent of this final volume of A People's History of Christianity is to delve behind the global phenomenon of Christianity to glimpse some of the very rich and dynamic lifeways within it. Ranging over the whole century and across several continents, the scholars in this volume probe Christians' creative encounters with popular culture, liturgy and spirituality, social change and Marxism, intrareligious and interreligious dialogue, and changes in gender expectations and roles. Includes 50 illustrations, maps, bibliographies, and an 8-page color gallery. Contributors include Mary Farrell Bednarowski; Mercy Oduyoye, Ghana; Patrick Henry, St. John's University; Bruce Forbes, Morningside College; Valerie Demarinis, Upsaala University; Rosetta E. Ross, Spelman College; Ada Mariacute;a Isasi-Diacute;az, Drew University; Mark Noll, Wheaton College; Ann Pederson, Augustana College; Eleazar Fernaacute;ndez, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities; Victoria Barnett United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; Margaret Bendroth, American Congregational Association; Oscar Cole-Arnal, Waterloo Lutheran Seminary; Paul Mojzes, Rosemont College; Luis Rivera-Pagaacute;n, Princeton Theological Seminary; Ethan Sanders, University of Cambridge; Christina Traina, Northwestern University; Jean-Paul Wiest, University of San Francisco.

In 1900 many assumed the twentieth century would be a Christian century because Western "Christian empires" ruled most of the world. What happened instead is that Christianity in the West declined dramatically, the empires collapsed, and Christianity's center moved to Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific. How did this happen so quickly? Respected scholar and teacher Scott Sunquist surveys the most recent century of Christian history, highlighting epochal changes in global Christianity. He also suggests lessons we can learn from this remarkable global Christian reversal. Ideal for an introduction to Christianity or a church history course, this book includes a foreword by Mark Noll.

Offering an essential historical overview of the chief developments in Christian mission, this should become a standard textbook.

In a context of globalization, socioeconomic disparity, environmental concerns, mass migration, and multiplying political and social upheavals, Christians from different parts of the world are forced to ask complex questions about poverty, migration, race, gender, sexuality, and land-related conflicts. Scholars have gradually become aware that world Christianity has a public face, voice, and reason. This volume stresses world Christianity as a form of public religion, identifying areas for intercultural engagement. It proposes a conversation that includes voices from South and North America, Europe, and Africa, highlighting differences and commonalities as Christian scholars from different parts of the world address concerns related to world Christianity and public responsibility. Divided into five sections, each formed by two chapters, this volume covers themes such as the reimagination of theology, doctrine, and ecumenical dialogue in the context of world Christianity; Global South perspectives on pluralism and intercultural communication; how epistemological shifts promoted by liberation theology and its dialogue with cultural critical studies have impacted discourses on religion, ethics, and politics; conversations on gender and church from Brazilian and German perspectives; and intercultural proposals for a migratory epistemology that recenters the experience of migration as a primary location for meaning.

This book is a short introduction to one of the most remarkable transformations in the modern world that many people still do not know about. In 1900 more than 80 percent of the world's Christians lived in Europe and North America and nearly all of the world's missionaries were sent out "from the West to the rest." In a dramatic turn of events Christianity experienced a decidedly "Southern shift" during the twentieth century. Today nearly 70 percent of the world's 2.5 billion Christians live in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, while nearly half of all missionaries are being sent out into all the world from places like Brazil, Ethiopia, and South Korea. This book is intended to change the way readers think about the church and challenge the way the Western Christians engage in contemporary missions.