The World's Christians Who they are, Where they are, and How they got there

by Jacobsen, Douglas

• ISBN13: 9781405188876
• ISBN10: 1405188871
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-05-06
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Written by an award-winning author, this well-organized and comprehensive introduction to global Christianity illuminates the many ways the worlds Christians live their faith today. Covers the entire globe: Africa, Asia, and Latin America as well as Europe, North America, and the Pacific Provides impartial, in-depth descriptions of the worlds four major Christian traditions: Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, and Pentecostal/Charismatic Utilizes the best available sources to produce an up-to-date profile of demographic trends in the Christian population Blends history, sociology, anthropology, and theology to create a rich, multi-layered analysis of the world Christian movement Features clear maps and 4-color illustrations throughout the volume

Author Biography

Douglas Jacobsen is Distinguished Professor of Church History and Theology at Messiah College. He is author of numerous books, including Thinking in the Spirit: Theologies of the Early Pentecostal Movement (2003), which received the Pneuma Award from the Society for Pentecostal Studies, and The American University in a Postsecular Age (with Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen, 2008), winner of the 2009 Lilly Fellows Book Award.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations.

Preface.

Introduction.

Part I: Who They Are.

Introduction.

1 The Orthodox Tradition.

2 The Catholic Tradition.

3 The Protestant Tradition.

4 The Pentecostal/Charismatic Tradition.

Part II: Where They Are.

Introduction.

5 The Middle East and North Africa: Barely Surviving.

6 Eastern Europe: Nationalism and New Mission.

7 Central and South Asia: Confidence and Complexity.

8 Western Europe: Thin, but Alive.

9 Sub-Saharan Africa: Hope and Despair.

10 East Asia: Piety and Politics.

11 Latin America: After Monopoly.

12 North America: Faith in a Free Market.

13 Oceania: Experiments in Identity.

Part III: How They Got There.

Introduction.

14 The Ancient Tradition: Beginnings to 500.

15 The Great Division and the Age of the East: 500 to 1000.

16 The Rise of the West and Decline of the East: 1000 to 1500.

17 Christianity in a Global Era: 1500 to the Present.

Index.