Charles E. Farhadian 
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

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Illustrations vii

List of Contributors viii

Foreword ix
Robert W. Hefner

Acknowledgments xi

Map 0.1 Percentage majority religion by province, 2010 xii

Introduction 1
Charles E. Farhadian

Part I: Africa 5

1 Middle Eastern and North African Christianity: Persisting in the Lands of Islam 7
Heather J. Sharkey

2 Christian Belongings in East Africa: Flocking to the Churches 21
Ben Knighton

3 West African Christianity: Padres, Pastors, Prophets, and Pentecostals 36
Ogbu Kalu

4 Christianity in Southern Africa: The Aesthetics of Well-Being 51
Frederick Klaits

Part II: Europe 63

5 Christianity in Western Europe: Mission Fields, Old and New? 65
Simon Coleman

6 Christianity in Eastern Europe: A Story of Pain, Glory, Persecution, and Freedom 77
Peter Kuzmic

Part III: Asia 91

7 Christianity in South Asia: Negotiating Religious Pluralism 93
Arun Jones

8 Christianity in Southeast Asia: Similarity and Difference in a Culturally Diverse Region 108
Barbara Watson Andaya

9 Christianity in East Asia: Evangelicalism and the March First Independence Movement in Korea 122
Timothy S. Lee

Part IV: Americas 137

10 Christianity in North America: Changes and Challenges in a Land of Promise 139
Kevin J. Christiano

11 Central America and the Caribbean: Christianity on the Periphery 154
Virginia Garrard-Burnett

12 Christianity in Latin America: Changing Churches in a Changing Continent 171
Samuel Escobar

13 Brazilian Charisma: Pentecostalized Christianity in Latin America’s Largest Nation 186
R. Andrew Chesnut

Part V: The Pacific 201

14 Christianity in Australia and New Zealand: Faith and Politics in Secular Soil 203
Marion Maddox

15 Christianity in Polynesia: Transforming the Islands 218
Ian Breward

16 Christianity in Micronesia: The Interplay between Church and Culture 230
Francis X. Hezel

17 Christianity in Melanesia: Transforming the Warrior Spirit 244
Garry W. Trompf

Conclusion: World Christianity – Its History, Spread, and Social Influence 259
Robert D. Woodberry

Index 272

Über den Autor

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, forthcoming).