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Government
Four Faces of Global Christianity
Religion's Influence in International Politics
by
Q Ideas
Christianity may be wheezing in America, but the faith is expanding around the world. In countries of various economic levels and racial make-up, there is a resurgence of religion. Scholars for some time have been observing the shift of Christianity’s epicenter from the Western world to the “global South” (Africa, much of Asia, and Central and Latin America). Prominent examples include
The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity
by Philip Jenkins and
Kingdom Without Borders: The Untold Story of Global Christianity
by Miriam Adeney.
[For statistics and opinions, also see
The Center for the Study of Global Christianity
.]
Yet, few seem to be talking about the cultural and political implications of such a shift in countries around the world. A
recent article in
Foreign Affairs
by Scott Thomas, however, probed the political effects of global Christianity on international politics.
“[Christianity] is now returning to its roots by becoming a post-Western religion dominated by the peoples, cultures, and countries of the global South,” Thomas writes. “For U.S. policymakers—many of whom currently consider Islam to be the most urgent religious challenge to Washington’s foreign policy—the politics of global Christianity may soon prove just as pivotal.”
Surveying Christianity’s growing effect on regions around the world, the piece gives numerous examples of the faith’s influence on global politics.
India:
The second most populous country in the world is home to over 1.2 billion people and more than 80 percent of them are Hindu. One wouldn’t expect a minority religion to create much of a stir there, but Christianity is. This is because India is made up of numerous states, and several in the Eastern part of the country are predominately Christian. When these local governments vie for national policies based on different value systems, the tension rises.
Additionally, Christians have been very successful in evangelizing member of the lowest caste. “This has angered Hindu nationalists, leading to Hindu Christian tensions,” Thomas says. Look for future religio-political conflicts in this massive giant of a nation.
Latin America:
Long considered a fortress of Roman Catholicism, Christianity in its evangelical and Pentecostal forms has expanded rapidly in Latin America. Experts estimate that more than 15 percent of Latin Americans have converted to evangelical Christianity. And they aren’t a silent minority. They are vocal and politically active.
Christian political engagement in these regions is both good and bad. On the one hand, they lobby for democracy and religious freedom. On the other hand, they are often perceived as intolerant. “Either way,” Thomas says, “Pentecostals and evangelicals will be a major religious, social, and political force in the coming century.”
Muslim Nations:
Tensions between Christians and Muslims should come as no surprise. Still, no list on such a subject would be complete without mentioning recent developments in these regions. Today, countries with large Muslim populations such as Nigeria and Indonesia also have significant Christian minorities. Thomas notes that “Muslim-Christian tensions have recently risen in those nations.” For an example, look no further than Nigeria’s burst of
sectarian violence
earlier this year, which left 500 dead.
China:
It’s no secret that the Christian faith has been exploding in China, albeit often in underground communities. The Communist country has kept tight constraints on religious freedoms in the past, but is loosening its grip considerably. “Now primarily concerned with its economic development, China tacitly allows established religions…to operate freely,” writes Thomas.
But he adds that if the Christian population explodes, it could “fundamentally alter China’s political fabric.” As political scientist
Walter Russell Mead
has pointed out, Christians seem to favor policies supporting religious freedom and democracy. Such advocacy could create serious tension in a country staunchly resistant of such things.
As Christianity expands in non-Western countries, there will doubtlessly be tensions. But whether or not global Christians will repeat the mistakes of Western Christians in the political arena remains to be seen. Are these tensions being exacerbated by aggressive Christian communities or are they the natural growing pains of emerging multiculturalism? It's hard to tell. Regardless, they are four faces of global Christianity that must not be ignored.
-----
Are there other significant examples of global Christianity's influence on international politics that aren't mentioned here? Does the shift of Christianity's center away from the Western world make you excited, nervous, afraid, etc.
-----
Editor's Note: Artwork quoted
from PBS.org
.
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Comments
Justin Salters
Loved this post. As a student of International Relations, one of the biggest "topics" we are studying is the current power transition experienced at the international level. Power is shifting from West to East, and power is diffusing from state to non-state and substate actors. Could it be that the Church is experiencing a transition as well? I think it is highly likely and possible for much Kingdom work to be accomplished through believers in the Global South.
@justinsalters
Mike
You start you blog entry off with a zinger..."Christianity may be wheezing in America..."
Really? Just curious how you're measuring that...merely width? (Butts in seats, number of church buildings, $$ given...) or depth (missional activity, depth of discipleship, service in love, spiritual gifts employed to feed/serve the body, solid biblical teaching on the rise...)
I can "fill" a church if I water down the Gospel and water down my Christology. But how is that proper "church?"
Jesus made some pretty radical claims about himself and winnowed his numbers down radically...what his movement "wheezing" at that point?
We need to be very careful of what and how we are measuring before painting with too broad a brush.
Mike
You start you blog entry off with a zinger..."Christianity may be wheezing in America..."
Really? Just curious how you're measuring that...merely width? (Butts in seats, number of church buildings, $$ given...) or depth (missional activity, depth of discipleship, service in love, spiritual gifts employed to feed/serve the body, solid biblical teaching on the rise...)
I can "fill" a church if I water down the Gospel and water down my Christology. But how is that proper "church?"
Jesus made some pretty radical claims about himself and winnowed his numbers down radically...what his movement "wheezing" at that point?
We need to be very careful of what and how we are measuring before painting with too broad a brush.
Mike
sorry about that double entry...
Steven Bailey
Yeah, Mike, put the focus back on America. We need it. :(
Aaron Brown
This shift from the West to the East makes me excited as well as it should make all Christians excited while finding this article intriguing, energizing, and challenging.
I hope it challenges myself and the Church to go out and not just preach the Gospel, but make disciples. I hope it challenges both young and old to hit the missions field whether through traditional means, humanitarian means, BAM (business as missions), etc. I hope it stirs something in our hearts to want to be on the forefront of advancing the Gospel. And then, with that stirring, look around our communities where we are at and go on mission to bring the Gospel to those around us.
I think it will be interesting to see how the Church in the West responds to such a global onslaught of discipleship with deep introspection as to what we need to do more in the West to make disciples.
We are truly living in exciting times. Hopefully the West can get back in the mix and partner with our Christian brethren in the East in advancing the Kingdom.
David Osborne
I serve in a church in VA. I'm typing this comment from a hotel in Kampala, Uganda. Last week we were in Nairobi, Kenya. We've learned East Africa is Africa's "bible belt" in a good way!
The gospel is spreading like WILD FIRE through the continent, especially within the younger generation.
As I've been listening to young leaders here, they're model is become committed in their faith and then educating the 20's & 30's in the gospel so that as they enter the new formed political and societal place of influence Christ is central in how they serve the different tribes, villages, towns & cities. It's Incredible and it's happening!
Global Xtian influence will be raised up from the Global South I'm sure of it!
Christopher Robertson
We are now a global community, a global church. There are multiple Christian centers and varied expressions of Christianity. For the first time since Constantine, it is the poor that are the majority representatives of Christianity. Many in the Western church are reacting in a number of ways, but instead of being reactive, the Western church needs to be proactive and dialogue with the many perspectives that emerging as the message of Christ is translated among cultures. Every culture adds to and takes away form our understanding of God, but for the first time in history, we can dialogue with all of these perspectives and gain a more complete understanding of God and God’s mission.
In the West, we believe that our narrative is superior, but we must now recognize, appreciate, and even engage the other narratives that are emerging. In doing so, we obtain a more complete understanding of God and God’s mission in the world. The Christian center is no longer limited to the West. It's inevitable, exciting, and healthy for the West.
S. Wesley Mcgranor
The concepts inclusion and lack of distinction are one: a grouping of those that are not Protestant, due to another's non-trinitarian beliefs and practices (not mentioning those who have an apocrypha); as well as including those that have a new-age aspect. Point number two; is the grouping of Protestantism, with not only false-Protestantism, but with Roman Catholicism and Eastern/Oriental Orthodoxy. This is not only the worldliness of man, but also the wiles of Satan.
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