Christianity as a World Religion: An Introduction

Description

Now in its second edition, Christianity as a World Religion locates Christianity within its global context. Structured by geographical region, it covers Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, and Oceania. It deals with four dimensions of Christianity in each context: Christian history, churches and society, interreligious relations, and distinctive worship and theology. Study questions and further reading suggestions are provided in each chapter. Fully updated throughout, this second edition now includes: - A new chapter covering Christianity in Oceania - Further analysis of the early growth of Christianity in Asia and Africa - Coverage of research trends in migration, theologies of prosperity, and the role of local agents in evangelization - Coverage of global interconnections and networks, new movements, global Catholicism, Christian political engagement and persecution of Christian communities - A thorough revision of the conclusion, including reflection on the discipline of world Christianity and its implications for theology - 40 images and maps - Chapter summaries - Extra resources online including a timeline and weblinks - New text design and layout, making the text more student-friendly and accessible Christianity as a World Religion is ideal for courses on World Christianity, Christianity as a Global Religion, the History of Christianity and contemporary Christian theology.

Sebastian Kim holds the chair in Theology and Public Life at York St John University, UK. He is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society and author of In Search of Identity: Debates on Religious Conversion in India (2003), and Theology in the Public Sphere (2011). Kirsteen Kim is professor of Theology and World Christianity at Leeds Trinity University, UK, and author of many publications. She edits the journal Mission Studies and the Regnum Edinburgh Centenary Series. Sebastian and Kirsteen Kim are co-authors of A History of Korean Christianity (2015).

Offers a refreshingly globalized primer to diverse Christian traditions... Consistently thoughtful in its approach. * Reading Religion * A healthy book for the Church with regard to the advancement of biblical interpretation and the development of biblical scholarship ... Well-balanced, providing adequate space for key concerns on the level appropriate for an introductory course on Global Christianity. * International Journal of Public Theology * The arrival of a second and revised edition of this splendid book is excellent news. It provides, in accessible form, a comprehensive continent guide to the Christian faith and its history in different parts of the world, with guidance for further reading and thinking. It will be a boon to teachers and to many general readers. * Andrew F. Walls, Honorary Professor, University of Edinburgh, UK; Professor of the History of Mission, Liverpool Hope University, UK; and Emeritus Professor, Akrofi-Christaller Institute, Ghana * In 2008, I warmly recommended the first edition of this book; I am equally enthusiastic about its successor. In this updated, expanded and partially re-ordered volume the authors press home their major point: 'that all aspects of Christian studies, including church history, theology, interreligious and societal relations, must be reshaped and revised in light of the nature of Christianity as a world religion'. Indeed they must. * Grace Davie, Professor emeritus of Sociology, University of Exeter, UK * A detailed, evenhanded and magisterial survey of the past and present stories of world Christianity...an ideal text for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students looking for a truly global one-volume history of Christianity. * J.J. Carney, Assistant Professor of Theology, Creighton University, USA * In this lucid text, Kim and Kim demonstrate how Christianity - like other world religions - is both an agent of globalization and a product of it. More precisely, they articulate the myriad different ways in which the Christian faith has been received in different parts of the world, and how believers of all kinds have made it their own. I recommend it warmly to specialists and non-specialists alike -- On the first edition, Grace Davie, Professor of Sociology, University of Exeter, UK This book presents a wealth of information about Christianity across the globe. It looks at present as well as past, and brings the story up to the present day. It is an ideal resource for anyone looking for a compendium of reliable information presented clearly and concisely. -- On the first edition, Linda Woodhead, Department of Religious Studies, Lancaster University, UK This book represents a remarkable achievement. Not only does it demonstrate, accessibly and succinctly, the global character of the Christian faith, it shows how that faith has over centuries become embedded in different regions and diverse cultures. It not only provides information; it provokes thought. It will be abundantly useful. Professor Andrew Walls, Centre for the Study of Christianity in the Non-Western World, University of Edinburgh and Centre for the Study of African and Asian Christianity, Liverpool Hope University, UK -- On the first edition, Professor Andrew Walls, Centre for the Study of Christianity in the Non-Western World, University of Edinburgh and Centre for the Study of African and Asian Christianity, Liverpool Hope University, UK Very clear account [with an] interesting and important perspective that takes Christianity away from its usual focus in the Latin West. [It's] the only volume of its type that manages this successfully. * Jack Cunningham, Bishop Grosseteste University, UK *