Robert W. Hefner 
Conversion to Christianity 
Historical and Anthropological Perspectives on a Great Transformation

One of the most striking developments in the history of modern civilizations has been the conversion of tribal peoples to more expansively organized ‚world‘ religions. There is little scholarly consensus as to why these religions have endured and why conversion to them has been so widespread. These essays explore the phenomenon of Christian conversion from this world-building perspective. Combining rich case studies with original theoretical insights, this work challenges sociologists, anthropologists and historians of religion to reassess the varieties of religious experience and the convergent processes involved in religious change.


This title is part of UC Press’s Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1994.

One of the most striking developments in the history of modern civilizations has been the conversion of tribal peoples to more expansively organized ‚world‘ religions. There is little scholarly consensus as to why these religions have endured and why conv

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Robert W. Hefner, Introduction

Howard Clark Kee on the Early Church

Terence Ranger on Southern Africa

Robert W. Hefner on Java

William L. Merrill on Mexico

Donald K. Pollock on Amazonia

John Barker on Papua, New Guinea

Aram A. Yengoyan on Australia

Charles F. Keyes on Thailand

David K. Jordan on China

Peter Wood, Afterword

Über den Autor

Robert W. Hefner is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Associate Director of the Institute for the Study of Economic Culture at Boston University.