The Changing Face of Christianity: Africa, the West, and the World PDF
Preview The Changing Face of Christianity: Africa, the West, and the World
The Changing Face of Christianity This page intentionally left blank The Changing Face of Christianity Africa, the West, and the World edited by lamin sanneh and joel a carpenter . 1 2005 1 OxfordUniversityPress,Inc.,publishesworksthatfurther OxfordUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellence inresearch,scholarship,andeducation. Oxford NewYork Auckland CapeTown DaresSalaam HongKong Karachi KualaLumpur Madrid Melbourne MexicoCity Nairobi NewDelhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto Withofficesin Argentina Austria Brazil Chile CzechRepublic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore SouthKorea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright(cid:2)2005byOxfordUniversityPress,Inc. PublishedbyOxfordUniversityPress,Inc. 198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NewYork10016 www.oup.com OxfordisaregisteredtrademarkofOxfordUniversityPress Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced, storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans, electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise, withoutthepriorpermissionofOxfordUniversityPress LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData ThechangingfaceofChristianity:Africa,theWest,andtheworld/editedbyLaminSanneh andJoelA.Carpenter. p. cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN-13978-0-19-517727-5;978-0-19-517728-2(pbk.) ISBN0-19-517727-4;0-19-517728-2(pbk.) 1.Churchhistory—TwentiethCentury. 2.ChurchHistory—Twenty-FirstCentury. I.Sanneh,LaminO. II.Carpenter,JoelA. BR481.C472005 270.8'3—dc22 2004008859 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica onacid-freepaper To Andrew Walls In esteem and gratitude This page intentionally left blank Preface Joel A. Carpenter Oneofthemostimportantbutleastexaminedchangesintheworld overthepastcenturyhasbeentherapidriseofChristianityinnon- Westernsocietiesandcultures.In1900,80percentoftheworld’s professingChristianswereEuropeanorNorthAmerican.Today,60 percentofprofessingChristiansliveintheglobalSouthandEast. Christianthoughtandexpressionarebeingframedwithinthese regions’cultures;theyarebynomeansmerelyexportedfromthe NorthAtlanticregion.Christianpeopleandinstitutionsinplaces suchasBrazil,thePhilippines,andNigeriaareengagingtheper- sonal,social,andpoliticaldimensionsoflifeandseekingtoredirect theminlightoftheChristiangospel.Today,Christianityisaglobal faith,butonethatismorevigorousandvibrantintheglobalSouth thanamongtheworld’sricherandmorepowerfulregions.Itpre- sentsaremarkablecaseof“globalizationfrombelow”ratherthanan impositionfromtheworld’sgreatpowers. ChristianityinAfricahasbecomeasalientpartofthisstorybe- causeitposesperhapsthemostdramaticcaseofrapidgrowth,local variation,andculture-transforminginfluence.In1900,therewere onlyabout9millionChristiansinallofAfrica.By1945,however, thisnumberhadmorethantripledto30million.By1970,this numberhadmorethantripledagaintomorethan115million.To- day,thereareanestimated380millionChristiansinAfrica.1African influenceontheworldChristiansceneisgrowing,anditisbecom- ingmuchmorecommontoseeAfricansleadingChristianagencies andshapingChristianthought.Thenewlyelectedexecutiveofthe WorldCouncilofChurchesisSamuelKobia,aKenyan.Thechief viii preface officer for the World Alliance of ReformedChurches is Setri Nyomi,aGhan- aian.ThepresenteroftheprestigiousStoneLecturesatPrincetonTheological Seminaryin2003wasKwameBediako,alsoaGhanaian.Africaisfastbecom- ingaheartlandforworldChristianity,andanyonewhowouldunderstandthe dawning of this new dispensation in world religious history woulddowellto studyitsAfricandimensions. African Christianity, like Africa itself, is a huge generalization. Although thisbookmustworkwithsomesenseofwhatAfricanChristianitymightmean, itis not our intention to offereither adefinitiveora comprehensiveaccount. Rather, we have chosen some cases that are more illustrative and suggestive ofthethemesandrealitiesthatmustfactorintoanylargeraccounting.Among the themes we find are belief inanactiveanddenselypopulatedspiritworld, afaiththatdeliversthefaithfulfromthefearandpowerofthespiritworldas wellasfrompovertyanddespair,andafaiththatsustainshopeforpeaceand solidarityinastrife-riddencontinent.Ourintentistofosterinterestanddebate on the nature of Christianity in its African and other manifestations rather than to attempt any grand synthesis. Indeed, some of our authors disagree witheachother,mostnotablythetwowhofocusonGhana. We also believe that the best way to understand Christianmanifestations in Africa is to put them into a global and historicalcontext.Thusweofferan essay on the rise of new Christian cultural forms in the Caribbean amid the Africandiasporathere.Wealsopresentthreeessaysonenduringissuesinthe modern history of Christian expansion. Each of these chapters addresses a themeinWesterners’encounterswithAsiansandviceversa.Intheconclusion, we argue that the interaction between the Christianities of the West and the rest of the world will be tense and sometimes explosive. At present, it seems difficult for Western observers to find even categories in which to place the ChristianityoftheirAfricancounterparts.Asmuchasweappreciatesomeearly attempts to do this, we are convinced that labels such as “conservative” or “fundamentalist”or“medieval”distorttheAfricanChristianrealityandprob- ablyrevealmoreaboutthepost-Enlightenmenteyesofthebeholders.Uniquely African types and categories are now emerging, and they deserve their own placesontheconceptualmapsor,morelikely,theirownmaps. Just as the charts of Western modernity are inadequate for exploring Af- ricanChristianity,soarethemoderndivisionsinscholarship.Thisbookoffers athoroughlyinterdisciplinaryapproach.Itassemblestheworkofscholarsfrom avarietyofdisciplines,notablyanthropology,history,literaryandpopularcul- ture,philosophy,religiousstudies,andtheology.Moreimportant,itrefusesto partitionoffthequestionsandinsightsofChristiantheologyfromtheseother fields of knowledge. In this way, the contributors not only try to understand theoutlookofAfricanChristianitybutalsotrytoacknowledgeitsinfluence. We must acknowledge some other things as we go to press. First, this projectbeganasaresearchseminaronworldChristianitythatwasconducted
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