Atlas of Global Christianity 9780748632169

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ATLAS

OF

GLO B A L CHRISTIANIT Y 1910–2010

Atlas of

Global christianity 1910–2010 Editors: Todd M. Johnson Kenneth R. Ross Managing editor: Sandra S. K. Lee

Edinburgh university Press

© Center for the Study of Global Christianity, 2009 Edinburgh University Press Ltd 22 George Square, Edinburgh www.euppublishing.com Typeset in Akzidenz-Grotesk Berthold, Copperplate, Kozuka Gothic Pro EL, Kozuka Mincho Pro EL, Mrs Eaves Small Caps, Myriad Pro, Optima LT Standard, Palatino Linotype, Symbol Regular, Wingdings 3 by Gina A. Bellofatto, Bradley A. Coon, and Christopher R. Guidry. Printed and bound in Scotland by Scotprint Ltd, Haddington, East Lothian. A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 0 7486 3267 1 (hardback) The right of the contributors to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

In memory of Ogbu U. Kalu, 1942–2009, Nigerian scholar who inspired and embodied the faithful study of world Christianity

sponsors Research and production:

Center for the study of Global Christianity (CsGC) Gordon-Conwell Theological seminary The CSGC is a research centre dedicated to collating, analysing and interpreting the massive amount of data on church membership collected by over 41,000 Christian denominations. The Lausanne movement The Lausanne Movement is a worldwide movement that mobilizes evangelical leaders to collaborate for world evangelization.

Academic collaboration:

boston Theological Institute (bTI) The BTI, an association of nine theological schools in the Greater Boston area, is one of the oldest and largest theological consortia in the USA. It is the only one to include as constitutive members schools representing the full range of Christian confessions. International Association for mission studies (IAms) IAMS is an international, interconfessional and interdisciplinary professional society for the scholarly study of Christian witness and its impact in the world and the related field of intercultural theology.

Presentation assistant:

Youth With A Mission Network for Strategic Initiatives

youth With A mission, network for strategic Initiatives (nsI) NSI is a ministry that identifies, launches and coordinates global strategic initiatives – ‘big idea’ plans that are more than any one mission organisation or church would accomplish by themselves.

Production: Anglican Consultative Council (ACC)

The role of the ACC is to facilitate the co-operative work of the churches of the Anglican Communion, to exchange information between the Provinces and churches, and help to coordinate common action.

Asian Access

Asian Access is an interdenominational, evangelical organisation that works throughout Asia to identify, develop and release leaders who serve as pastors of growing and reproducing churches.

New Life Church, a Charismatic church in Colorado Springs, CO, USA, has a deep heritage of extending Christ’s kingdom to the ends of the earth through praying, giving and sending.

OC International (OC)

OC is an interdenominational faith mission in structure, interchurch in ministry, and international in vision. With more than 500 missionaries, OC is involved in evangelism, discipleship, leadership training, church growth, missions and support services.

Biola University, Cook School of Intercultural Studies

Overseas Ministries Study Center (OMSC)

First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City

St. Giles Presbyterian Church Endowment Fund

Global Mapping International (GMI)

William Carey International University (WCIU)

The Cook School of Intercultural Studies, celebrating its 25th anniversary, equips students to communicate, live and work successfully in culturally diverse societies through applied programmes in missiology, intercultural studies, linguistics and education.

The First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City has volunteers serving in partnership missions in our community, across the USA, in Europe, Africa, Central America and south-eastern Asia. Missions is a part of our congregational DNA. GMI is a non-profit organisation dedicated to furthering the cause of world evangelisation through applied mission research, mapping and publishing.

Grace Bible Church of Arroyo Grande

Grace Bible Church was founded in 1876 as the first Presbyterian church in California, joining the Evangelical Free Church in 1988.

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New Life Church

OMSC was founded to strengthen the Christian world mission by providing residential programmes for the renewal of missionaries and international church leaders, advancement of mission scholarship through research and publication, and continuing education in cross-cultural Christian ministries. St. Giles Presbyterian Church is a missions-minded community in Richmond, Virginia, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The Endowment Fund is active in local and global concerns. WCIU, located in Pasadena, California, specialises in an integrated approach to development issues. It was founded in 1977 to serve voluntary organisations involved in holistic development, many of which are religious in nature.

Editorial team

Editors:

Todd M. Johnson, MA, PhD Director, Center for the Study of Global Christianity Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Kenneth R. Ross, BA, BD, PhD Council Secretary Church of Scotland World Mission Council



Managing editor:

Associate editors:

Sandra S. K. Lee, MA, MDiv Research associate Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization Darrell R. Dorr, MA Albert W. Hickman, MS, MA David B. Barrett, MA, BD, STM, PhD



Editor emeritus:



Layout and design:



Data analysis and mapping:

Peter F. Crossing



Information design:

Bradley A. Coon



Presentation assistant design:

William T. Duggin



Senior editorial assistant:

Gina A. Bellofatto

Editorial assistants:

Natalie Crowson Justin Evans Jarrett Fontenot Woong Kim Brian McAtee Claire McAtee Margaret Niehaus Katie Rowen Paul Stadler Charles Tieszen Sarah Tieszen Perrin Werner



Kathryn Walker Magill Sergio Mazza Justin Schell Derrick Smith

Bibliographic research:

Mapping attribution:

Christopher R. Guidry

Global Ministry Mapping System Global Mapping International



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Contents x Preface xi Introduction xiv Contributors xvi Edinburgh 1910: A defining moment by Kenneth R. Ross xviii How to use this atlas

PART I: Religion

2 Socio-economic indicators 4 Health indicators

Adherents, 1910–2010 6 Religions 8 Christians 10 Muslims 12 Hindus 14 Buddhists 16 Chinese folk-religionists 18 Ethnoreligionists 20 New Religionists 22 Jews 24 Sikhs, Spiritists, Daoists, Baha’is 26 Confucianists, Jains, Shintoists, Zoroastrians 28 Agnostics 30 Atheists 32 Religious diversity 34 Religious growth Religious freedom 36 Essay: Brian J. Grim 38 Religious Freedom Index 40 Socio-governmental indicators 42 Religious violence indicators 44 Future of religions

PART II: Global Christianity

48 Christianity across twenty centuries by Andrew F. Walls

Christianity’s centre of gravity, ad 33–2100 50 Essay: Todd M. Johnson and Sun Young Chung 52 Maps The re-emergence of global Christianity, 1910–2010 54 Essay: Daniel Jeyaraj 56 Concentration of Christians 58 Distribution of Christians Dynamics of Christian change, 2010 60 Maps 62 Components of Christian change 64 Proportions of Christian change Christianity by major tradition, 1910–2010 Christianity by major tradition 66 Essay: Sandra S. K. Lee 68 Locating Christians within traditions 70 Maps Anglicans 72 Essay: Ian T. Douglas and James Tengatenga 74 Maps Independents 76 Essay: Roswith Gerloff and Abraham Ako Akrong 78 Maps Marginal Christians 80 Essay: James A. Beverley 82 Maps Orthodox 84 Essay: Viorel Ionita and Hacik Rafi Gazer 86 Maps Protestants 88 Essay: Huibert van Beek and André Karamaga 90 Maps Roman Catholics 92 Essay: Thomas G. Grenham, SPS and Margaret Eletta Guider, OSF 94 Maps

viii

Christianity by movement, 1910–2010 Evangelicals 96 Essay: Rosemary Dowsett and Samuel Escobar 98 Maps Pentecostals (Renewalists) 100 Essay: Julie Ma and Allan Anderson 102 Maps Christianity, 2010–2050 Future of global Christianity 104 Essay: Moonjang Lee 106 Maps

PART III: Christianity by continent and region Christianity in Africa, 1910–2010 Africa 110 Essay: J. N. K. Mugambi 112 Maps Eastern Africa 114 Essay: Philomena Njeri Mwaura 116 Maps Middle Africa 118 Essay: Fohle Lygunda li-M 120 Maps Northern Africa 122 Essay: David D. Grafton with Sherif Salah and Tharwat Wahba 124 Maps Southern Africa 126 Essay: Paul H. Gundani 128 Maps Western Africa 130 Essay: Ogbu U. Kalu 132 Maps Christianity in Asia, 1910–2010 Asia 134 Essay: Sebastian C. H. Kim 136 Maps Eastern Asia 138 Essay: Edmond Tang 140 Maps South-central Asia 142 Essay: Paul Joshua Bhakiaraj 144 Maps South-eastern Asia 146 Essay: Violet James 148 Maps Western Asia 150 Essay: Anthony O’Mahony 152 Maps Christianity in Europe, 1910–2010 Europe 154 Essay: David Martin 156 Maps Eastern Europe 158 Essay: Vladimir Fedorov 160 Maps Northern Europe 162 Essay: Martin Conway 164 Maps Southern Europe 166 Essay: Lluís Oviedo 168 Maps Western Europe 170 Essay: André Droogers 172 Maps

Christianity in Latin America, 1910–2010 Latin America 174 Essay: Ana María Bidegain 176 Maps Caribbean 178 Essay: Kirkley Sands 180 Maps Central America 182 Essay: Ondina E. González 184 Maps South America 186 Essay: Cecília Mariz and Eloísa Martín 188 Maps Christianity in Northern America, 1910–2010 Northern America 190 Essay: Mark A. Noll 192 Maps Christianity in Oceania, 1910–2010 Oceania 194 Maps Australia/New Zealand 196 Essay: Ian Breward 198 Maps Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia 200 Essay: Featuna’i Ben Liua’ana 202 Melanesia maps 204 Micronesia maps 206 Polynesia maps

PART IV: Peoples, languages and cities Peoples and languages Religions by peoples and languages 210 Religions 212 Christians 214 Muslims 216 Hindus 218 Buddhists 220 Agnostics Christianity by peoples and languages 222 Essay: Lamin Sanneh 224 World 226 Africa 228 Asia 230 Europe 232 Latin America 234 Northern America 236 Oceania Cities, 1910–2010 Religions in cities 238 Religion in cities Christianity in cities 240 Essay: Evelyn Miranda-Feliciano 242 World 244 Africa 246 Asia 248 Europe 250 Latin America 252 Northern America 254 Oceania

PART V: Christian mission Missionaries sent and received, 1910–2010 Worldwide 258 Essay: Dana L. Robert 260 Maps 262 From continent to continent Africa 264 Essay: Jehu J. Hanciles 266 Maps Asia 268 Essay: Lalsangkima Pachuau 270 Maps Europe 272 Essay: Kirsteen Kim 274 Maps Latin America 276 Essay: Marcelo Vargas and Antonia Lenora van der Meer with Levi T. DeCarvalho 278 Maps Northern America 280 Essay: Mary Motte, FFM 282 Maps Oceania 284 Essay: Hugh Morrison 286 Maps By peoples 288 Maps Evangelism, 1910–2010 Great Commission Christians 290 Essay: Cathy Ross 292 Maps Christian finance 294 Essay: Jonathan J. Bonk 296 Maps Bible translation and distribution 298 Essay: Bryan Harmelink 300 Bible translation 302 Bible distribution Print and audiovisual media 304 Essay: Joshva Raja 306 Maps Evangelisation 308 Evangelisation, 1910–2010 310 Evangelisation by peoples and languages 312 Worlds A, B and C 316 Personal contact between Christians and non-Christians 318 Evangelism offers 320 Responsiveness

Appendices

324 Select bibliography on world Christianity 325 Glossary 329 Country-by-country statistics 342 Enumerating global Christianity 348 Sources 349 Methodological notes 353 Index of proper names

ix

Preface

A

striking feature of the world’s religious demography over the past century has been the geographical spread of the Christian faith. Today the Christian church is present, in varying degrees of strength, in almost every part of the world. Enormous variety is also evident in the forms in which the faith finds expression. Yet there is an unmistakable commonality demonstrated in such features as reading the Bible as the foundational text for faith, finding in Jesus Christ the indispensable clue to understanding God and his purposes for the human race, and sharing bread and wine in worship to express an intimate relationship to Jesus Christ and a sense of the ultimate significance of the death he died. Apparent in a bewildering variety of circumstances and in a dazzling diversity of cultural forms, Christian faith nonetheless is marked by an irreducible unity and coherence which demands that consideration be given to global or world Christianity. When 1,200 delegates gathered in Edinburgh for the World Missionary Conference in 1910, they had great ambitions for the spread of Christianity worldwide. With very few exceptions, they were European and Northern American Protestant missionary leaders, and they looked out from what they called ‘the Christian world’ of their homelands to survey the missionary task to be completed in the ‘non-Christian world’. The fact that such a geographical division of the world into Christian and non-Christian is so anachronistic today is indicative of the great change which has taken place in the course of 100 years. In ways very different from those anticipated by the Edinburgh 1910 delegates, their fundamental vision has been fulfilled as the Christian faith has become truly worldwide in its scope. The Edinburgh 1910 Conference was organised into eight Commissions that prepared substantial reports in advance of the event. Commission I, ‘On Carrying the Gospel to All the Non-Christian World’, was the flagship of the Conference, headed by the Conference Chair, John R. Mott. This influential Commission appointed a sub-committee of its members, under the chairmanship of James S. Dennis, to prepare a Statistical Atlas representing the present status of missionary activities. The sub-committee duly completed its task, and the Statistical Atlas was presented to the Conference as an integral part of the Report of Commission I. The preparation of the Atlas of Global Christianity, 1910–2010 is inspired by the centenary of Edinburgh 1910. Yet such has been the transformation in the demography of Christianity in the succeeding years that this atlas stands in sharp contrast to its 1910 predecessor. Whereas the 1910 atlas was concerned with the Protestant missionary movement (albeit with short sections on Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox missions), this atlas is fully ecumenical, taking account of the entirety of Christianity worldwide. Whereas the 1910 atlas mapped a uni-directional missionary effort across a binary division of the world into ‘Christian’ and ‘non-Christian’, this atlas takes account of a Christian missionary movement that is ‘from everywhere to everywhere’ – all six continents both sending and receiving missionaries. Whereas in 1910 missions were understood as something quite distinct from the regular life of the church, this atlas takes account of the entire presence of the church without losing sight of the reality that the missionary dimension is vital to its life and future. The aim of this atlas is to comprehensively map ‘global Christianity’, to describe it in its entirety. Every Christian tradition in every country is examined in the context of a global Christianity. This includes every Christian denomination described under the rubric of six major Christian traditions: Anglican, Independent, Marginal, Orthodox, Protestant and Roman Catholic. Whereas, in the past, each of these would be described on its own, here these are brought together under the unifying concept of global Christianity. Another major original feature of the atlas is that it presents the first comprehensive statistical and mapping treatment of Christianity since the massive demographic shift to the Global South. Whereas, in 1910, 80% of all Christians were Europeans or Northern Americans, by 2010 only about 45% of all Christians are from the Global North. This atlas offers the first opportunity in the long history of Christian and mission atlases for a truly ecumenical atlas. In describing the history of Christianity, Andrew Walls highlights the tension between an ‘indigenising principle’ and a ‘pilgrim principle’. He acknowledges the fact that Christianity can and should go deep within each culture of the world but at the same time is never fully at home in any particular culture. Most of the emphasis in the study of world Christianity to date has been on the indigenising principle or ‘the particular’. Thus, compendiums on world or global Christianity contain case studies from different cultures around the world, emphasising their differences from Western Christianity. Some scholars go as far as defining ‘world Christianity’ as ‘Christianity in the non-Western world’. We also see an increased use of the term ‘Christianities’, as in the recent Cambridge History of Christianity volumes published by Cambridge University Press. This atlas is sensitive to the particularities of Christianity in different cultural contexts and in different ecclesial traditions. However, it is distinguished by its determination to take account also of the ‘pilgrim principle’ or universal dimension of global Christianity. This atlas is descended from a long series of some 200 major surveys, atlases, encyclopedias and dictionaries dealing with statistics of world Christianity. A number have been denominational or confessional; others have been interdenominational or ecumenical. The first major global survey came from Cosmas Indicopleustes, an intrepid Nestorian theologian and geographer who travelled the world and then, from ad 535 to 547, produced a survey, Topographia Christiana, in 12 books. It contained one

x

of the earliest and most famous of global maps. In 1630 Francesco Ingoli, secretary of the newly-founded Propaganda Fide in Rome, produced a Report on the Four Parts of the World. This was a detailed survey of missionary activity in Africa, America, Asia and Europe, and the prospects for their evangelisation – a masterful document, although devoid of statistics. The world’s first detailed statistical survey of countries, of Christianity, and of all major world religions was William Carey’s 1792 survey, An Enquiry Into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens. This enumerated global and continental populations, and Christian totals, with remarkable accuracy. From the first, the new Protestant emphasis on mission produced estimates of global statistics, then later ventured into ambitious statistical tables. Further Protestant surveys of this kind were published in 1818, 1823, 1836, 1854, 1888, 1896 and 1900. In fact, the nineteenth century produced over 100 scholars, both Protestant and Catholic, who published extensive Christian data, thereby inaugurating the independent discipline of missionary surveys and statistics. Over the two centuries following the publication of Carey’s Enquiry has thus come a steady stream of world mission atlases, world mission encyclopedias, world mission dictionaries and global mission surveys. During that time, two remarkable series evolved, one Protestant and one Catholic. On the Protestant side, the first was the 1844 Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge: Bible, Missions, followed by A Cyclopedia of Missions: Missionary Operations Throughout the World (1854), Cyclopaedia of Christian Missions: their Rise, Progress, and Present Position (1860), and the Encyclopedia of Missions: Descriptive, Historical, Biographical, Statistical (1891). Then came A Geography and Atlas of Protestant Missions (1901), 1910’s Statistical Atlas of Christian Missions, Churchman’s Missionary Atlas (1912), World Statistics of Christian Missions (1916), World Survey by the Interchurch World Movement (1920) and World Missionary Atlas (1925), culminating in the Interpretative Statistical Survey of the World Mission of the Christian Church (1938). Among several more recent surveys were the Encyclopedia of Modern Christian Missions (1967), Concise Dictionary of the Christian World Mission (1970; translated into German as the 1975 Lexikon zür Weltmission), World Christian Encyclopedia (1st edition, 1982), Philosophy, Science and Theology of Mission: a Missiological Encyclopedia (1995), Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions (2000), World Christian Encyclopedia (2nd edition, 2001), World Christian Trends (2001) and Encyclopedia of Missions and Missionaries (2008). On the Roman Catholic side, Karl Streit, SVD, began his series of statistical surveys and atlases with the 1906 Katholischer Missionsatlas in five languages. In 1913 he produced the much larger Atlas Hierarchicus, with a foreword by Pius X, then in 1929 its second edition. These massive Catholic atlases gave colour maps and statistics of every country in the world and every Catholic diocese or other jurisdiction. Both the 1968 and 1976 editions of Atlas Hierarchicus were compiled by Heinrich Emmerich, SVD (who had previously published the 1958 Atlas Missionum). This atlas series reached its fifth edition in 1992 (Zenon Stezycki, SVD). Two recent, more ecumenical Catholic dictionaries have been the 1987 Lexikon missionstheologischer Grundbegriffe and its 1997 English elaboration, Dictionary of Mission: Theology, History, Perspectives. In addition there is Bryan Froehle and Mary Gautier’s, Global Catholicism (2003), a detailed examination of Catholic statistics. While the present atlas issues from this broad stream of demographic endeavour, it owes a much more immediate debt to the work of David B. Barrett, editor emeritus of this volume. His preparation of the World Christian Encyclopedia (1982) and dedication to tracking the global demography of the Christian faith over four decades are efforts on which the atlas has been developed. In particular, it would not have been possible to conceive the atlas without the development of the World Christian Database (Brill, 2007) on which it rests. Another debt of gratitude goes to Patrick Johnstone (Operation World, 1974–2009) and his successor Jason Mandryk for their careful assessment of global Christianity in the context of a widely-used prayer guide. It is an immense privilege to be able to stand at the centenary of Edinburgh 1910 and survey, in the form of an atlas, the many developments that have occurred in the intervening 100 years. Of course, one important observation is that the 1910 meeting reflected the perspective of Enlightenment thinking and the age of empire. Nonetheless, as the work is completed, we recall the hope which John R. Mott expressed for the 1910 Statistical Atlas, that instead of being a dry and forbidding array of figures and maps, [it] may prove an inspiring index of what God Himself is doing to hasten the extension, and to insure the triumph of His Kingdom as well as an incentive to the Church to complete its task.

Todd M. Johnson Kenneth R. Ross

Introduction

T

and Afghanistan has been impacted by wars initiated between 2000 and 2005, causing in one case a dramatic increase in the Christian community (primarily ex pats) and, in the other, a mass exodus. Purely mathematical methodologies for projecting 2010 figures sometimes yield unrealistic results.

his atlas aims, through a combination of maps, tables, charts, graphs and text, to present a comprehensive analysis of Christianity in the modern world. Projecting authoritative statistics on to physical maps provides a striking visual representation of the numerical strength or weakness of Christianity in any given area. This is further elucidated by illuminating tables and charts that bring out prominent features of Christian growth or decline. Commentary and interpretation are provided by essays on key topics, each written by an expert in the field. By the use of these various tools the atlas aims to give, within one volume, an accurate, objective and incisive analysis of the worldwide presence of the Christian faith. The period with which the atlas is concerned spans from 1910 to 2010. It is framed by the World Missionary Conference held at Edinburgh in 1910 (see further pp. xiv–xv) and the celebration of its centenary in 2010. The significance of this particular conference is that it signalled a profound transformation about to occur in regard to Christianity. Whereas in 1910 it was a religion largely concentrated in Europe and Northern America with much of the rest of the world being regarded as a ‘mission field’, by 2010 it is strikingly evident that Christianity enjoys widespread allegiance and has become a dynamic force in Africa, Latin America, Oceania and parts of Asia. The atlas plots this dramatic change. Of course, the story of human engagement with religious questions is never simple. Every generalisation calls for qualification. The atlas seeks to give as nuanced a picture as possible of the history which has unfolded in regard to Christianity in different parts of the world. Nonetheless, a general pattern is unmistakable. During the past 100 years, Christianity has experienced a severe recession on the European continent that once was its primary base, while it has undergone unprecedented growth and expansion in the other continents of the world. This altered religious demography is coming increasingly to the attention of scholars in a great variety of fields. The atlas offers a definitive account of the change that has taken place and the new demographic situation that has resulted. Methodology International religious demography is a burgeoning field of study. In the past 25 years, an enormous amount of data have been collected and analysed. New sources of information include government censuses (half the national censuses in the world include a religion question), records kept by religious communities (membership rolls), and published works by individual scholars (such as monographs on new religious movements). These data have then been collated, analysed and published in a wide variety of ways, highlighting countries, regions and—in more rare cases—the globe. Given the limitations of censuses, including incomplete and irregular global coverage, potential political bias swaying the findings and the absences of many religious groups from censuses, any religious demographic analysis must consult multiple sources. The primary mechanism in the methodology behind this atlas is reconciliation of numerous sources with a special emphasis on membership figures collected by religious groups themselves. Thus self-identification is the central organising principle, whether the source of the data is from polls, censuses, surveys, or membership rolls.

United Nations classification The countries of the world are divided into a bewildering number of classifications, many created specifically for the needs of particular companies or non-governmental organisations. In constructing a global data set on Christianity and other religions, the editors of the World Christian Database felt that this analysis should not create yet another classification but rest upon the most robust and widely-accepted collection. In surveying the options, it is clear that the most careful work has been done by the United Nations. Thus, the basis for all demographic figures (not related to religion) is the United Nations Demographic Database. We have included a map and a guide to this classification in the inside back cover of the atlas. Mapping Although some of the maps in the atlas depict data by country, we have added three additional levels of data: provinces, peoples and cities. The provincial-level data allows the reader to see much more detail within countries, including regional variations related to religion. A good example is a country like Nigeria, found on the Western Africa pages (132–3), where Christians are in the majority in the south of the country and Muslims are in the majority in the north. The map below is taken from the majority religions spread (pages 6–7) in Part I.

Majority religions in Nigeria by province, 2010

Majority religion

Per cent adherents Christians Muslims

Majority religion

10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

Christianity

5

10

40

60

75

85

90

95

In a similar way, data on peoples and languages shows data that ranges across countries, such as Spanish in South America. Many maps based on peoples are presented in Part IV. Finally, data on cities is presented in an innovative design that uses small pie charts to give the religious breakdown of the world’s largest cities. These are also found in Part IV. Graphic design Throughout the2 atlas have40 designed 85 90elements 60 75graphical 95 to help the 5 we10 reader to more readily interpret massive amounts of complex data. These include custom-made graphics such as the wheels in Part III, which show the proportion of a region’s Christians as well as the distribution of Christians by country. A major featurePercent of these Christian graphics is how they facilitate quick comparisons across UN regions or religions.

Proportion of Christians in Western Asia, 2010

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Northern Cyprus Yemen Bahrain Palestine Qatar

Syria

Projections to 2010 While the atlas was prepared over the years 2005–9, it was clear that the baseline for the data presented would have to be 2010, in order to preserve the 100-year analysis. To generate 2010 data, projections were prepared utilising the year 2000 and 2005 data. Initially these projections were purely mathematical, using an average annual growth rate over the five-year period under study and extrapolating for the year 2010. However, all of these projections were reviewed for accuracy, and many were lowered or raised to take into account events or anomalies. For example, the number of Christians in Iraq

2

q

Databases An essential component of the atlas is the collection of data used to generate all maps, charts, tables, and other material. As mentioned in the Preface, this collection is largely indebted to David B. Barrett, our editor emeritus, who pioneered the techniques of collection of data from Christian denominations and analysis of that data. This eventually resulted in the first edition of the World Christian Encyclopedia (Oxford University Press, 1982). Perhaps more striking was the fact that Barrett accomplished this at a time when the academy had all but declared the death of religion. Barrett and his colleagues outlined their methodology in great detail, and this was improved over time. We include here in the Appendices an edited excerpt entitled ‘Enumerating Global Christianity’, from Barrett and Johnson’s World Christian Trends (William Carey Library, 2001), which updated the methodology to 2001. The World Christian Database (WCD, published by Brill Academic) was developed by Johnson as a continuation of Barrett’s careful documentation of Christian denominations around the world. The baseline data on churches for the World Christian Encyclopedia's first edition was 1975, while the second edition reported on 1995. When the World Christian Database was launched in October 2003, it presented updated information on churches to the year 2000. In 2007, this was extended to 2005. Estimates for all Christian denominations in 2005 were reviewed throughout 2008 to ensure accuracy. All Christian figures in the atlas are documented in the WCD. The World Religion Database (WRD) (also published by Brill) was launched in 2008. Similar to the WCD, the WRD reports more specifically on source material related to all world religions, while reconciling different estimates and presenting annotations on the analysis. The WRD is the source of all religious demographic figures for religions other than Christianity throughout the atlas.

0

Ira

Islam

ProvRelig_Christian Per cent Christian

0

2

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

xi

Christian centre of gravity, 1910 and 2010

!

1910

Christian centre of gravity

!

2010

Essays To complement the maps and demographic data, for each key topic a succinct but comprehensive analysis is provided in the form of an essay. An innovative and crucially important feature of the atlas is that the essays are written, almost invariably, by an author who comes from the region which is being discussed. It thus seeks to enable each region to tell its own story rather than be subjected to analysis from elsewhere. The essays identify significant events, indicate important trends, mention important figures, trace developments in spirituality and liturgy, assess social and political influence, explore interaction with culture, art and music, account for the growth and/or contraction of Christianity, and characterise the main Christian movements, covering all major denominations and expressions of Christian faith. It is a special feature of the atlas that both the maps and the essays maintain balance in covering the entire presence of Christianity in each area and take a synthetic approach to each topic. The authors of the essays represent a wide range of engagement with the study of global Christianity. They are drawn from a variety of disciplines and include historians, sociologists, missiologists, ecumenists, religious studies scholars, theologians and mission practitioners. The essays are therefore marked by variety in regard to approach and method, thus casting light from different angles of analysis on the realities presented by global Christianity. Some of the authors are seasoned scholars who are able to distil a lifetime’s reflection on their topic. Others are young, emerging writers who bring freshness and vitality to their treatment of their theme. Whereas it is a virtue of the maps that they follow a consistent and uniform pattern in the different sections of the atlas, the authors of the essays have exercised freedom in engaging their topic in the most appropriate way, drawing on the particular skills and gifts they bring to the task. The essays therefore bring depth and texture to the atlas, offering readers an informed commentary on trends to supplement the patterns apparent from the maps and other graphics. CHRISTIANS

Statistical centre of gravity A key concept used throughout this atlas is the statistical centre of gravity of a religion in a particular year. The concept is simple in that the geographical point is one in which an equal number of followers of a particular religion live to the north, south, east and west of this point. Most of the statistical centres of gravity are calculated by assigning all followers to a single point for each of the countries of the world and then determining the centre of all those weighted points. See ‘Methodological notes’ in the Appendices for a more detailed explanation. The statistical centre of gravity for Christianity in 1910 and 2010 is shown below. Note that in this case the shift over the 100 years is decidedly to the south and slightly east. These two points illustrate the shift of Christian followers from Europe and Northern America to Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Dynamics of religious change Turkeyreligious The atlas is arranged in five parts Another feature of the atlas is our attempt (in Part II) to describe Turkey is one of the few countries with a declining number change in terms of six dynamics: births, deaths, converts, defectors, of Christians overimmithe 100-year period. Turkey’sPart identity I concerns religion, surveying the entire world in terms of religious crisis over being European or Islamic took its toll in terms of affiliation. This sets the context within which global Christianity can properly grants and emigrants. We have a particular interest in which of these factors Christian adherence, allowing the rise of Islam to continue into thecountry. twenty-first century. be considered. It plots the current religious demography (including agnostiplays the most significant role in the annual change of Christianitywellby cism and atheism) as well as considering patterns of growth or decline and These factors also appear in Part III, where each factor is given a percentage suggesting future trends. It concludes with an important and original analysis of gain or loss. Below we have reproduced the graphic for Africa and its Northern of the worldwide situation in regard to religious freedom. five regions. Note theAfrica impact of emigration from Northern Africa on annual Although Christianity in the first century Part II takes a broad view of global Christianity. It takes account of the Christian loss. The graphs also reached Northern Africa before any other show that births are the primary factor in of the world (except Western Asia, whole sweep of Christian history across twenty centuries, with particular Christian gains region and deaths the place of its birth), the regionare saw the primary factor in Christian losses. a dramatic decline in Christians due to attention to the way in which the religion’s ‘centre of gravity’ has shifted Islamicisation in the twentieth century. over time. It then focuses on the particular period with which the atlas is Christian loss and gain in Africa, 2009–2010 concerned, 1910–2010, and the remarkable changes evident during this time. It recognises that global Christianity is not monolithic but rather finds % of Christian loss % of Christian gain expression in a number of streams or traditions. Eight of these are mapped Emigrants Defectors Deaths Births Converts Immigrants and explained in detail. Finally, the section concludes with an essay reflecting Africa on the future of Christianity. Eastern Africa Part Christian III is the corerates* of the taking account of Christianity by continent Middle Africa Christians by UN region, 1910 & 2010 growth by atlas, UN region, 100-year and 10-year Rate* (following 1910–2010 Rate* 2000–2010 and region the United Nations classification). For ease of reference, 1910 2010 Northern Africa Population Christians % 1910 % 2010 Population Christians % Population Christians % a consistent pattern is followed with the four pages devoted to each continent Southern Africa Africa 124,228,000 11,663,000 9.4 1,032,012,000 494,668,000 47.9 3.82 2.14 2.55 2.31 and region being composed of a double-page spread for the essays and Eastern Africa 33,030,000 5,266,000 15.9 332,107,000 214,842,000 64.7 3.78 2.33 2.80 2.59 Western Africa Middle Africa 19,443,000 207,000 1.1 129,583,000 105,830,000 81.7 6.44 1.91 2.93 2.86and other graphics. An innovative another double-page spread for the maps ⇐ ⇒ 100% 0% 100% Northern Africa 32,002,000 3,107,000 9.7 206,295,000 17,492,000 8.5 1.74 1.88 1.50 1.69 feature of2.95 the 2.14 atlas is that it illustrates0.92 the0.86 relative strength of Christianity not Southern Africa 6,819,000 2,526,000 37.0 56,592,000 46,419,000 82.0 Western Africa 32,933,000 557,000 1.7 307,436,000 110,084,000 35.8 5.43 2.26 but also by province, 2.65showing 2.53 only by country the provincial variations. Asia 1,028,265,000 25,123,000 2.4 4,166,308,000 352,239,000 8.5 2.68 1.41 2.38 1.18 Part IV engages some salient factors by which global Christianity can Comparative rectangles Eastern Asia 556,096,000 2,288,000 0.4 1,562,575,000 140,012,000 9.0 4.20 1.04 2.99 0.57 be analysed: languages, peoples and A marked feature of global Throughout the South-central atlas weAsiahave345,121,000 placed two rectangles depicting religious 5,182,000 1.5 1,777,378,000 69,213,000 3.9 2.63 1.65 2.49 cities. 1.60 South-eastern 94,104,000 10,124,000 594,216,000 129,700,000 21.8 2.58 is 1.86the degree to which it 1.92finds 1.34 Christianity its life through translation into demography in 1910 andAsia 2010 adjacent to each10.8 other. Each small square in Western Asia 32,944,000 7,529,000 22.9 232,139,000 13,315,000 5.7 0.57 1.97 0.42 1.90 vernacular languages. Examination of the interface of language and religion these rectanglesEurope represents the religious affiliation of 1% of the population. 427,154,000 403,687,000 94.5 730,478,000 585,738,000 80.2 0.37 0.54 0.23 0.03 is therefore Closely related language is ethnicity, so the ethnic Eastern Europe for a quick 178,184,000 159,695,000 89.6of the 290,755,000 246,495,000 84.8 0.44 revealing. 0.49 0.29to -0.47 The two rectangles allow assessment changes in religious Northern Europe 61,474,000 60,326,000 98.1 98,352,000 79,610,000 80.9 0.28 0.47 0.28 0.42 composition of Christianity is examined continent by continent. Finally, it is demographics over the 100-year76,940,000 period. 74,532,000 The Africa rectangles below show Southern Europe 96.9 152,913,000 125,796,000 82.3 0.52 0.69 0.43 0.48 recognised the impact of conversions religions Christianity and Islam Western Europe from tribal 110,556,000 109,134,000to98.7 188,457,000 133,838,000 71.0 over 0.20that 0.53we live in an urbanised -0.09 and 0.27 urbanising world. Consideration Latin America 78,269,000 74,477,000 95.2 593,696,000 548,958,000 92.5 2.05 it means for Christianity 1.27 1.28 to be urban, and the extent of its is given to2.02what the 100-year period. Caribbean 8,172,000 7,986,000 97.7 42,300,000 35,379,000 83.6 1.50 1.66 1.18 0.92 presence in the cities of the world is 1.24 mapped. Central America 20,777,000 20,566,000 99.0 153,657,000 147,257,000 95.8 1.99 2.02 1.26 100 years Africa has Religions in Africa Part V that Christianity is a missionary religion, geared to South America 49,320,000 45,925,000 93.1 397,739,000 366,322,000 92.1 2.10recognises 2.11 1.30 1.32 d the most dramatic Northern America 94,689,000 91,429,000 96.6 348,575,000 283,002,000 81.2 1.14 1.31 0.83 1.00 outreach. It examines trends in the sending and receiving of missionaries, on Religions in Africa, 1910 and 2010 Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 Religious affiliation and growth in Africa, 1910 and 2010 ligious transformaOceania 7,192,000 5,650,000 78.6 35,491,000 27,848,000 78.5 1.61 1.61 1.11 1.33 a continent-by-continent basis. 19101.29 1.57 2010 It then Australia/New Zealand 5,375,000 5,206,000 96.9 25,647,000 18,816,000 73.4 0.71considers 1.10 Rate* key resources for Christian nent. In 1910 Africa Melanesia 1,596,0002010 245,000 15.4 8,589,000 7,847,000 91.4 2.06alert to missionary responsibility, mission to3.53the1.70world: the people who are 1910 Adherents % Adherents % 2.141910–2010 2000–2010 mistic in the south Micronesia 89,400 68,600 76.7 575,000 532,000 92.5 2.07 1.88 1.44 1.47 the11,663,000 finance that active 47.9 outreach, the availability of the Bible, and Christians 9.4supports 494,668,000 2.55 Polynesia 131,000 130,000 99.2 680,000 653,000 96.0 1.63 1.66 1.00 1.043.82 he north. There were the use of media of communication. A final section on evanglisation indicates Global total 1,759,797,000 612,028,000 34.8 6,906,560,000 2,292,454,000 33.2 1.33 1.38 1.35 1.212.38 Muslims 39,695,000 32.0 417,644,000 40.5 2.25 stians and just under 0% 50% challenges 100% -2 0% 2 6 -2 0% 2 4 6 that 8 10lie12ahead in 4 *Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified possibilities Ethnoreligionists 72,090,000 and 58.0 107,016,000 10.4 0.40the future. 1.54 ms. By 2010 Christians For8,400 readers0.0who wish to know0.6 more of 6.82 the methodology used to generate Agnostics 6,183,000 2.249 med by 40 times to the data in this0.2atlas, detailed is provided Hindus 304,000 2,891,000information 0.3 2.28 1.53 in the Appendices. million, while Muslims The atlas new ground in Baha'is 240 breaks 0.0 2,176,000 0.2 a number 9.54 of ways. 2.39 It is fully ecumenical 10 times to 418 million. in its scope, seeking to portray the0.1entirety6.54 of Christianity in today’s world. Atheists 1,100 0.0 623,000 1.94 s dropped precipiIt draws on an authoritative and comprehensive database, enabling it to Buddhists 3,600 0.0 292,000 0.0 4.49 1.69 in 1910 to about 10% Christians achieve1,200 an unprecedented level of0.0 accuracy4.81 in assessing the relative strength New Religionists 0.0 132,000 2.12 ay’s presence of even a Muslims of Christianity in different areas. 0.0 It offers-1.23 interpretation and analysis, with Jews 453,000 0.4 131,000 0.47 e of ethnoreligionists Ethnoreligionists original3,700 essays0.0 written by92,100 authors0.0who belong to the area under consideraJains 3.27 2.30 d development, for Agnostics tion. With its attention to detail and diversity combined with an unusual Sikhs 2,600 0.0 70,600 0.0 3.36 1.95 y twentieth century capacity to discern the larger trends, the atlas is uniquely well-placed to offer Chinese folk 2,200 0.0 69,800 0.0 3.52 1.44 omplete disappearan objective assessment of global Christianity. Confucianists 0 0.0 20,000 0.0 7.90 0.95 aditional religions in a Spiritists 1,200 0.0 3,700 0.0 1.13 1.79 ther surprising trend Presentation assistant Zoroastrians 230 0.0 850 0.0 1.32 -0.35 e of agnostics, who It is unlikely that any of the 1,200 delegates gathered in Edinburgh for the Total population 124,228,000 100.0 1,032,012,000 100.0 2.14 2.31 = 1% of population r than 10,000 in 1910. World Missionary Conference in 1910 could have imagined the advances = All other religions y in urban centres, in global travel, information technology and communication systems that umber over six million, would be developed over the twentieth century. If those delegates had fastest current growth enjoyed access to only three of the tools available today – the personal gion’. Christians in Africa does not have xii a ence in Africa. Not only Proportion of all Christians in Africa, 2010 traditions substantially t thousands of denomiiop

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nity in Africa, 1910–2010

Christians i

computer, the video projector and the Internet – the proceedings and results of the 1910 Conference could have been quickly reported to mission agencies, churches and other organisations throughout the world. In addition, the crucial information published in the 1910 Statistical Atlas of Christian Mission could have been amplified through visual presentation to audiences large and small. Now, 100 years later, educators and church leaders have access to a wide array of resources for learning, reporting, teaching and inspiring. The editorial team of this atlas shares a common hope – that the statistics and analysis presented on these pages will be well understood and easily incorporated into teaching sessions and calls to action in classrooms, churches, conferences and other groups around the world. It is this hope that inspired the development of the interactive computer disc included in the back sleeve of this edition of the Atlas of Global Christianity. The disc allows for a greater degree of interaction with the material presented in this atlas, and provides a method for efficiently and accurately incorporating selected elements into presentation software for use in a classroom or group environment, thereby increasing its value as a teaching and communication tool. In general, all of the maps, tables, charts and graphs printed in the atlas are available on the disc, while the section text and analytical essays are not. One of the important features of the presentation assistant is the ability to isolate maps of specific countries. Due to the space limitations of the physical book, the finest level of detail available in maps, charts and tables is the 21 United Nations regions. The presentation assistant, on the other hand, offers access to data on 239 countries, often at the provincial level. Thus, if one is studying religions in Sudan, there are a number of maps showing the religious composition of the provinces of Sudan, whether by majority religions, Islam, ethnoreligions or Christianity. This feature also allows for easy setup of comparative maps, such as bringing up provinciallevel data on Christians in Cameroon and the Philippines. The other important feature of the presentation assistant is the ability to relate data from different parts of the atlas to one another. For example, one could locate a ‘top 10’ list of the growth of Christianity in Africa from Part III and then a similar list of ‘top ten’ African countries by missionary sending from Part V. These could be displayed and compared in table form or in map form or in both. Contents of the disc can be accessed in two ways: by exploring a hierarchical file structure based on the printed book’s sections, or by running an interactive application. In the first case, the structure is designed as an electronic file system

complementing the atlas itself. One can follow along in the physical copy of the atlas, locating files as needed. The interactive application represents an independent guide to the contents of the atlas, with more flexibility in locating and producing maps and other elements for presentation. In either case, the intent is to give the user quick access to areas of interest or study. The hierarchical file structure contains static images of the maps, tables, charts and graphs that can be explored on any computer equipped with a suitable disc drive. The images are stored in folders representing the five main parts and corresponding sub-sections of the atlas. Each image is suitable for display on a computer screen or for placement in any presentation software such as Microsoft PowerPoint® presentation software or Apple Keynote® presentation software. The interactive application allows the user to select specific maps, tables, charts and graphs quickly, using a variety of search parameters not possible with the printed atlas. Enter a page number from the printed atlas and a representation of that page appears in the application window; then select any of the elements on that page to isolate it for screen display. Another option is to access a list of maps contained in a particular atlas section; using the list, switch to similar maps in succession for quick comparison of different religion or language maps, for example. Also, one can browse the application’s table of contents, which mirrors that of the printed atlas, to find a particular part or section. Once a map, table, chart or graph is displayed in the application window, it can be exported easily as a fixed image for inclusion in any presentation software. Though no warranties are made regarding specific computer system compatibility, the development of the interactive application adhered to leading industry-standard technologies and programming practices in order to provide the widest possible system compatibility with personal computer platforms, including those running under Windows, Macintosh, Unix and Linux operating systems. Please consult the documentation included on the disc for a detailed list of system requirements.

Feedback and website To encourage feedback on this atlas, we have set up a special Web page at www.globalchristianity.org. We welcome your responses to the material, including your reactions, your recognition of errors, or any other comments you might have.

Home page, Atlas of Global Christianity presentation assistant

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Contributors Abraham Ako Akrong is Senior Research Fellow and Head of Section, Religion and Philosophy, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana. An ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, he also serves as Adjunct Professor of African philosophy and theology at Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon. —independents

Ondina E. González, a native of Cuba now living in the USA, is an historian studying children and childhood in colonial Latin American society. Among her publications are Christianity in Latin America: A History and Raising an Empire: Children in Early Modern Iberia and Colonial Latin America. —central america

Allan Anderson is Professor of global Pentecostal studies at the University of Birmingham, UK, where he has been since 1995. He is author of seven books, including Introduction to Pentecostalism and Spreading Fires. —pentecostals

David D. Grafton is Director for Graduate Studies at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. Earlier he served as Director for the Centre of Middle East Christianity at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo. —northern africa

Ana María Bidegain is Associate Professor in Florida International University’s Religious Studies Department and is concurrently Director of the Colombian Studies Institute at FIU’s Latin American and Caribbean Center. Earlier she founded the History Department at the University of Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, and opened the field of religious studies in the National University of Colombia. —latin america

Thomas G. Grenham, SPS is Head of the Pastoral Theology Department and Associate Dean of Student Affairs at the Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy, Dublin, Ireland. He is a member of St Patrick’s Missionary Society, Kiltegan, Ireland. —roman catholics

Ian Breward is Emeritus Professor of church history in the Uniting Church Theological Hall and a senior fellow of the History Department, University of Melbourne. He is author of A History of the Churches of Australia. —australia/new zealand James A. Beverley is Professor of Christian thought and ethics at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto, Canada. He is also Associate Director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion in Santa Barbara, California. —marginal christians Paul Joshua Bhakiaraj is Director of the Mylapore Institute for Indigenous Studies, India. A Commended Worker from the Brethren Assemblies, he was the co-editor of Missiology for the 21st Century: South Asian Perspectives and serves as Associate Editor of Dharma Deepika: A South Asian Journal of Missiological Research. —south-central asia Jonathan J. Bonk is Executive Director of the Overseas Ministries Study Center in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, and Editor of the International Bulletin of Missionary Research. He directs the Dictionary of African Christian Biography and serves as President of the International Association for Mission Studies. —finance Sun Young Chung is a graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, Massachusetts, USA. She and her husband are active at Park Street Church, an historic, multi-cultural church in Boston, Massachusetts. —statistical centre of gravity Martin Conway is former President of the Selly Oak Colleges in Birmingham. He now lives in Oxford, serves as Chair of the Diocesan Board for Social Responsibility and, nationally, as Chair of the Society for Ecumenical Studies. —northern europe Levi T. DeCarvalho is the research coordinator for COMIBAM (IberoAmerican Missions Cooperation Commission). Formerly with Wycliffe Bible Translators, he has field experience in Cameroon and has worked among the Terena tribe in south-west Brazil for over 30 years. —missionaries: latin america Ian T. Douglas is Angus Dun Professor of Mission and World Christianity at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He serves on various international commissions of the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church. —anglicans Rosemary Dowsett, an OMF International missionary since 1969, also serves several worldwide mission networks. Wife, mother and grandmother, she is an author, missiology lecturer and Bible teacher. —evangelicals André Droogers is Emeritus Professor of cultural anthropology, especially anthropology of religion and symbolic anthropology, at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He is Director of the Hollenweger Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements at the same university. —western europe Samuel Escobar from Peru served for 26 years as a missionary among university students under the International Federation of Evangelical Students in the Americas. Then for 20 years he taught missiology at Palmer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, USA. He is presently a lecturer and missiologist in Valencia, Spain. —evangelicals Vladimir Fedorov is Director of the Orthodox Institute of Missiology and Ecumenism and Associate Professor at the Russian Christian Academy for Humanities, Saint Petersburg, Russia, where he lectures on the history of Christianity. He is the author of four books and many articles on the life and witness of the Orthodox Church. —eastern europe

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Brian J. Grim is Senior Research Fellow on Religion and World Affairs at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life in Washington, DC, and a visiting Research Fellow at the Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs (CURA) at Boston University. He is a co-author of Promoting Persecution: The Consequences of Regulating Religion and a co-editor of Brill’s World Religion Database. —religious freedom Margaret Eletta Guider, OSF is Associate Professor at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. She is Past-President of the American Society of Missiology. She is a member of the Sisters of St Francis of Mary Immaculate. She served as a missionary in Goiás, Brazil. —roman catholics Paul H. Gundani is Professor of church history and currently Head of the Department of Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology at the University of South Africa (UNISA). A Zimbabwean citizen and resident of South Africa since 2004, he earlier taught at the University of Zimbabwe for 12 years. —southern africa Jehu J. Hanciles, born in Sierra Leone, is Associate Professor, History of Christianity and Globalization at Fuller Graduate School of Intercultural Studies. His major publications are Euthanasia of a Mission: African Church Autonomy in a Colonial Context, and Beyond Christendom: Globalization, African Migration and the Transformation of the West. —missionaries: africa Bryan Harmelink began field work in Latin America with SIL International in 1981. After working with the Mapuche translation team in Chile, he was trained as a translation consultant. He serves as International Translation Coordinator for SIL International. —bible translation Viorel Ionita is Professor at the Orthodox Theological Faculty of the University of Bucharest, Romania, and Director of the Churches in Dialogue Commission of the Conference of European Churches. An ordained Orthodox priest, he is the author of numerous studies on church history and ecumenism. —orthodox Violet James is a lecturer at the Singapore Bible College, where she teaches Asian church history and religions. Her doctoral dissertation was on American Protestant missions and the Viet Nam War. —south-eastern asia Daniel Jeyaraj is Professor of World Christianity and Director of the Andrew F. Walls Centre for the Study of African and Asian Christianity at Liverpool Hope University. —the christian world 1910–2010 Todd M. Johnson is Director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, Massachusetts, USA. He is a visiting Research Fellow at the Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs (CURA) at Boston University. His publications include the World Christian Encyclopedia (2nd edition) and World Christian Trends. —statistical centre of gravity Ogbu U. Kalu was, until his death in January 2009, the Henry Winters Luce Professor of World Christianity and Mission at McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago and Director of Chicago Center for Global Ministries, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago. His most recent publication is African Pentecostalism: An Introduction. —western africa André Karamaga is General Secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, based in Nairobi, Kenya. Previously he served as President of the Eglise Presbytérienne au Rwanda, as Vice-President of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and as the programme executive for Africa at the World Council of Churches. —protestants Kirsteen Kim is Associate Senior Lecturer at Leeds Trinity and All Saints College, UK, and Vice-Moderator of the Commission for World Mission and Evangelism of the World Council of Churches. She is the author of The Holy Spirit in the World: A Global Conversation and joint author of Christianity as a World Religion. —missionaries: europe

Hacik Rafi Gazer is Professor of history and theology of the Christian Orient at the Theological Section of the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Erlangen, Germany. Born in Istanbul, he studied theology in Bethel, Munich and Tubingen . He has written extensively about the theology and history of the Armenian Apostolic Church. —orthodox

Sebastian C. H. Kim holds the Chair in Theology and Public Life in the Faculty of Education and Theology in York St John University and is co-author of Christianity as a World Religion. —asia

Roswith Gerloff is an ordained minister of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) and was the founder of the Centre for Black and White Christian Partnership in the UK. Her research in Black (African and Caribbean) Christianity in Europe and worldwide has led to several publications, including the International Review of Mission 2000 ‘Open Space’ issue, and Mission is Crossing Frontiers. —independents

Moonjang Lee is Associate Professor of World Christianity at GordonConwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, Massachusetts, USA. He served earlier at Trinity Theological Seminary in Singapore and the University of Edinburgh as Lecturer in Asian theology. He is developing a curriculum for embodiment of Jesus through selftransformation in a systematic way. —future of christianity

Sandra S. K. Lee is Research Associate in Global Christianity at the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, Massachusetts, USA. She has also served as Research Assistant to the Executive Chair of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. —christianity by tradition

Dana L. Robert is Truman Collins Professor of World Christianity and History of Mission at Boston University School of Theology. She is author of American Women in Mission and co-editor of the book series ‘African Initiatives in Christian Mission’. —missionaries worldwide

Featuna’i Ben Liua’ana is an ordained minister of the Congregational Christian Church and is Vice-Principal of Malua Theological College, Samoa. He lectures in history and religion, and is the author of Samoa Tula’i: Ecclesiastical and Political Face of Samoa’s Independence, 1900 – 1962. —melanesia, micronesia, polynesia

Cathy Ross works for the Church Mission Society in Oxford, where she oversees the Crowther Centre for Mission Education. She is also J. V. Taylor Fellow in Missiology at the University of Oxford. Prior to this she taught for seven years at the Bible College of New Zealand and has been a mission partner with NZCMS in Rwanda, Congo and Uganda. —great commission christians

Fohle Lygunda li-M is the founding director of Centre Missionnaire au Coeur d’Afrique (CEMICA), based in Kinshasa, DR Congo. He lectures on missions and leadership in Theological Seminaries in DR Congo and Central African Republic. He is the French coordinator of the Dictionary of African Christian Biography. —middle africa

Kenneth R. Ross is Council Secretary of the Church of Scotland World Mission Council. Earlier he served as Professor of theology at the University of Malawi. Since 2001 he has chaired the Towards 2010 Scottish Council, focused on preparations for the centenary of the Edinburgh 1910 World Missionary Conference. —edinburgh 1910

Julie Ma was a missionary in the Philippines from 1980 to 2006, teaching at Asia Pacific Theological Seminary, and undertaking evangelism and church planting ministry. She served as Editor of the Journal of Asian Mission. Currently she is Research Tutor at the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, Oxford, UK. —pentecostals

Sherif Salah is a lecturer in the Missions Department and Head of the Lay Evangelists Program for the Presbyterian Synod of the Nile, Egypt. —northern africa

Cecília Mariz teaches sociology at Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is author of Coping with Poverty in Brazil, and of articles about Catholicism and Pentecostalism. —south america David Martin is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and Honorary Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Lancaster University. His publications include Tongues of Fire and A General Theory of Secularisation. —europe Eloísa Martín is a researcher of CONICET (Argentinian National Research Council) and author of articles about popular religiosity and Catholicism. —south america Evelyn Miranda-Feliciano is a Filipino writer-lecturer on women, culture and socio-political issues. Her recent books are A Test of Courage, Hope Away from Home, and Leadership. She lives on a two-acre farm with her husband, David, a farmer-theologian. —christianity in cities Hugh Morrison is Lecturer in social sciences, University of Otago College of Education, New Zealand. His major research interests include missionary history and New Zealand religious and social history. —missionaries: oceania Mary Motte, fmm served as a Roman Catholic consultant to the World Council of Churches Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, and as President of the American Society of Missiology and the Association of Professors of Mission. Currently she is doing a sabbatical in mission research. —missionaries: northern america J. N. K. Mugambi is Professor of philosophy and religious studies, University of Nairobi, and Professor Extraordinarius in the School of Theology and Religious Studies, University of South Africa, Pretoria. He is a prolific author and experienced researcher on contemporary theology, philosophy and religious studies. —africa Philomena Njeri Mwaura is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Kenyatta Unversity, Kenya, where she teaches courses on African Christianity. She is Africa Region Co-ordinator of the Theology Commission of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians and has also been President of the International Association for Mission Studies. —eastern africa Mark A. Noll is the Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, USA. His books include Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity and America’s God: from Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln. —northern america Anthony O’Mahony lectures on church history and contemporary theology at Heythrop College, University of London. His recent publications include Christianity in The Middle East: Studies in Modern History, Theology and Politics and Christian Responses to Islam: MuslimChristian Relations in the Modern World. —western asia Lluís Oviedo is Ordinary Professor of theological anthropology at the University Antonianum, and Invited Professor of religion and society at the Gregoriana University, both in Rome, Italy. He is an ordained Franciscan Catholic and author of books and articles on secularisation, religious crisis and revival. —southern europe

Kirkley Sands, a graduate of the University of the West Indies, the University of London and the University of Edinburgh, is an Anglican priest and a canon of Christ Church Cathedral in the Diocese of The Bahamas and The Turks and Caicos Islands. He presently serves as Chairperson and Assistant Professor, School of Social Sciences, the College/University of The Bahamas. —caribbean Lamin Sanneh is Professor of World Christianity, Professor of history, and Professor of international and area studies at Yale University. He is Director of the World Christianity Initiative at Yale Divinity School and Chair of Yale’s Council on African Studies. His books include Whose Religion is Christianity? and Translating the Message. —ethnolinguistic diversity Edmond Tang is originally from Hong Kong and was the Asia researcher at Pro Mundi Vita in Brussels and then the coordinator of the China Desk at Churches Together in Britain and Ireland until 1999, when he became Director of the Research Unit in East Asian Christian Studies, University of Birmingham. He has published extensively on churches in Asia and is editor of the China Study Journal. —eastern asia James Tengatenga has served as a lecturer in church history at Zomba Theological College and the University of Malawi and holds key leadership positions in the Anglican Communion internationally. He is currently Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Southern Malawi. —anglicans Huibert van Beek is Secretary of the Global Christian Forum. A retired staff member of the World Council of Churches, he is the editor of A Handbook of Churches and Councils — Profiles of Ecumenical Relationships. —protestants Antonia Leonora van der Meer is a Brazilian who served for ten years as a missionary in Angola during the period of the Marxist government when the country was at war. She served with the Evangelical Alliance and helped to organise a student movement. She currently serves as Principal of the Evangelical Missions Centre in Viçosa, Brazil. —missionaries: latin america Marcelo Vargas was a staff worker in IFES movements in Brazil and Bolivia. He was a pioneer and founder of the IFES movement in Bolivia and served as first General Secretary of the Comunidad Cristiana Universitaria de Bolivia. After some years of pioneering, he is now leading the Training Centre for Mission (Centro de Capacitacion Misionera) in La Paz, Bolivia. —missionaries: latin america Tharwat Wahba is a lecturer in Christian missions and Chair of the Department of Missions at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo. —northern africa Andrew F. Walls directed the Centre for the Study of Christianity in the Non-Western World, first at the University of Aberdeen and later at the University of Edinburgh, where he remains Honorary Professor. He is also Professor of the history of mission at Liverpool Hope University and Professor of mission studies at the Akrofi-Christaller Institute, Akropong-Akuapem, Ghana. —christianity across twenty centuries

Lalsangkima Pachuau is Associate Professor of the history and theology of mission and Director of Postgraduate Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary, USA. An ordained minister of the Mizoram Presbyterian Church in north-east India, he has authored and edited several books and many articles, and is the editor of Mission Studies. —missionaries: asia Joshva Raja is an ordained minister of the Church of South India and is tutor for Global Christianity and world mission at Selly Oak Centre for Mission Studies, Queen's College, Birmingham. Earlier he taught at the United Theological College, Bangalore. His books include Facing the Reality of Communication and Religion, Media and Representations. —media

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Edinburgh 1910: A defining moment

T

he period covered by this atlas is framed by the World Missionary Conference held at Edinburgh in 1910 and the celebration of its centenary in 2010. Within this 100-year span the Christian faith has undergone a remarkable transformation in its demographic shape – for reasons not unconnected with the missionary movement that found its most concentrated expression in the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference. It is therefore necessary to inquire as to what was so special about Edinburgh 1910. The idea of a great international conference to discern the next steps for worldwide Christian mission is by no means the sole prerogative of the 1910 World Missionary Conference. More than a century earlier, William Carey, the pioneer Baptist missionary in India, had proposed a decennial interdenominational world missionary conference and had suggested that the first should be held in Cape Town in 1810. Since the mid-nineteenth century Carey’s idea had found expression, not in centres close to the ‘mission fields’ of the southern hemisphere, but in the great cities of the Western world: New York and London in 1854, Liverpool in 1860, London in 1878 and 1888, and New York in 1900. Edinburgh 1910 stood in this line of succession. Through the work of its Continuation Committee which became the International Missionary Council, its inspiration was taken forward in the twentieth century with conferences being held in Jerusalem in 1928, Tambaram in 1938, Whitby in 1947, Willingen in 1952 and Accra in 1958. In 1961 the IMC integrated into the World Council of Churches, itself often regarded as a product of Edinburgh 1910, which had been formed in 1948. Under WCC auspices further great international mission conferences were held at Mexico City in 1963, Bangkok in 1973, Melbourne in 1980, San Antonio in 1989, Salvador de Bahia in 1996 and Athens in 2005. Meanwhile a stream of Evangelical mission engagement flowing from Edinburgh 1910 organised globally as the Lausanne Movement from 1974 and held conferences at Lausanne in 1974, Pattaya in 1980, Manila in 1989 and Pattaya again in 2004. Edinburgh 1910, it might seem, is but one of many. Yet none of the others in the noble succession carry such epoch-making significance as Edinburgh 1910, either in the assessment of the participants or in that of subsequent generations. John R. Mott, the Conference chairman called it ‘the most notable gathering in the interest of the worldwide expansion of Christianity ever held, not only in missionary annals, but in all Christian annals’. Temple Gairdner’s account of the conference, written from the point of view of a participant, gives a vivid sense of the breathless excitement that characterised the event for those who were present as they took part in an event quite different from any other they had known. This sense of a unique and decisive event echoed down the years and became a definitive point of reference for those concerned with the evangelisation of the world. Moreover, few would question Kenneth Scott Latourette’s judgement that ‘The World Missionary Conference, Edinburgh 1910, was the birthplace of the modern ecumenical movement’. It is worth looking in more detail both at the perspectives of participants and at the subsequent judgement of history. Participants’ perspectives A distinctive feature of Edinburgh was that it was not a rallying of the faithful. It did not make inspirational impact its primary objective. Rather, it was designed to be a working conference, reflecting and planning. It was distinguished from earlier great missionary conferences by its attempt to achieve a more unified strategy and greater coordination within the worldwide engagement of Christian mission. The participants were delegates of the missionary agencies that were assigned a quota of places in proportion to the amount of income they spent on overseas mission. The aim of the organising committee was that it should be ‘a united effort to subject the plans and methods of the whole missionary enterprise to searching investigation and to coordinate missionary experience from all parts of the world’. Very substantial content was fed into the meeting by eight Commissions that had worked over the preceding two years to produce reports on the following topics: 1. Carrying the Gospel to all the non-Christian World. 2. The Church in the Mission Field. 3. Education in Relation to the Christianisation of National Life. 4. The Missionary Message in Relation to Non-Christian Religions. 5. The Preparation of Missionaries. 6. The Home Base of Missions. 7. Missions and Governments. 8. Cooperation and the Promotion of Unity. The research and reports of the eight Commissions brought real substance to the Conference. Its enduring value is due in no small measure to the preliminary work done by the Commissions that generated a wealth of original and innovative material. To have the Reports completed and distributed to all the delegates ahead of the conference was a formidable logistical task, but the organisational genius of Conference secretary Joe Oldham was equal to it. Additionally, the Statistical Atlas of Christian Missions offered a more comprehensive empirical analysis of the Christian missionary endeavour than had ever been attempted before. Mott described the Conference as ‘the first attempt at a systematic and careful study of the missionary problems of the world’. Through surveying and analysing the accumulated experience of the missionary movement, it was hoped that a foundation would be laid from which fresh advances could be planned and executed. The methodology of the Conference furthered this sense of purpose. The substantial

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reports prepared in advance, the issue of daily papers, the venue being a hall designed for discussion and debate, the seven-minute time limit on speeches from the floor – all this was geared to the generation of clear and action-oriented thinking. Edinburgh 1910 drew part of its power from the fact that it capitalised on new possibilities for travel and communication. The steamship had revolutionised international travel so that it became possible to contemplate bringing together hundreds of people from different parts of the world for purposes of conference. Mott himself was at one time calculated to be the most widely travelled person in all of history. No one was more alert to the new possibilities. Technological advance was hailed as the handmaid to the spread of the gospel worldwide. The vast correspondence that gathered information from missionaries spread across the globe would not have been possible on anything approaching its scale at any earlier time. The Conference was also a moment of recognition for the missionary movement. Even within the church, this movement had often been regarded as peripheral and eccentric. Now its assembled delegates heard no less an ecclesiastical leader than the Archbishop of Canterbury, Randall Davidson, stating that ‘the place of missions in the life of the Church must be the central place, and none other: that is what matters’. Davidson went on to conclude: ‘Secure for that thought its true place in our plans, our policy, our prayers; and then – why then, the issue is His, not ours. But it may well be that, if that come true, there be some standing here tonight who shall not taste of death till they see the Kingdom of God come with power.’ Thus placing the missionary movement at the heart of the faith and action of the church gave a great sense of the momentousness of the event taking place. It also introduced the thought that ‘mission’ is the mission of the church – something that would be a major theme in twentieth-century developments. There was recognition also from civil authorities with George V of Britain, the German colonial office and Theodore Roosevelt, former President of the USA, sending greetings. The presence of Randall Davidson signalled also another feature of the Conference that made a deep impression on the participants. It brought together people from a wide range of theological and ecclesiological persuasion, united in a commitment that the cause of mission was so important that they could set aside their doctrinal differences in order to focus on the challenges presented by worldwide mission. Arising out of the great revivals of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the missionary movement was marked by a shared spirituality that crossed denominational boundaries. These revivals had given rise to a host of missionary organisations in which the imperative of spreading the gospel relativised doctrinal and ecclesiastical differences. The event of the Conference prompted the question of how far this mission-driven unity might be taken in the relations of the churches. Though the official aspiration of the conference was carefully restricted to increased cooperation, in the event dreams of more structured unity broke surface. The value of and need for unity among different Christian churches and agencies was evident on the mission fields, and Edinburgh 1910 suggested that moves for greater unity among the ‘younger churches’ would challenge the ‘older churches’ in the West. Again, this is a theme that would feature prominently in the coming century. The geographical location of the Conference carried a certain significance. Edinburgh was something of a backwater compared with the great cities of London and New York where earlier missionary conferences had been held. Yet, as Timothy Yates points out in his history of Christian mission in the twentieth century, Scotland had certain attributes and characteristics which made it peculiarly fitting for an epoch-making missionary conference to be held in its capital city. Yates mentions that it was the Scot David Livingstone who, above all others, had represented missionary heroism to the wider world in the nineteenth century; that in Alexander Duff Scotland had produced the first professor of missions; that Scotland had a vigorous theological tradition; and that Joe Oldham as the conference secretary brought a characteristically Scottish combination of thoroughness, scholarship and Christian devotion that was critical to the success of the event. Expectations disappointed Momentous though it was, the Conference clearly had its limitations. The delegates were, overwhelmingly, British (500) and American (500). Representatives from continental Europe were a small minority (170). Even fewer were the delegates from the ‘younger churches’ of India, China and Japan (17). There were no African participants, nor were there any from Latin America. No delegate was invited from the Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox Churches. While the participants were struck by the diversity of participants, from a longer historical perspective it is striking how limited was their range. Of course, the participants were also overwhelmingly male despite the fact that women were already making massive contributions to the missionary movement. Few though they were in number, the Asian delegates – from Burma, Ceylon, China, India, Japan and Korea – clearly exhibited the changing composition of the Christian church and demonstrated where its future might lie. Their presence was celebrated as a sign of the success of the Western missionary movement, but there was little expectation that they would wield real influence within the Conference. As it turned out, however, the most oft-quoted and perhaps the most influential speech was made by the South Indian priest V. S. Azariah, who concluded: ‘Through all the ages to come the Indian church will rise up in gratitude to attest the

heroism and self-denying labours of the missionary body. You have given your goods to feed the poor. You have given your bodies to be burned. We also ask for love. Give us FRIENDS!’ Another point at which the historical limitations of the Conference are apparent is in the fact that it was premised upon a territorial idea of Christian mission. A key distinction was that drawn between ‘fully missionised lands’ and ‘not yet fully missionised lands’. The task of mission was to ‘carry’ the gospel from the one to the other. This Christendom model of Christian expansion would be obsolete within half a century. By an extraordinary reversal, the former heartlands of Christian faith have become strikingly secular with postmodernity emerging as a challenging new frontier for Christian mission, while missionary vitality is much more evident in countries that in 1910 were regarded as ‘the mission field’. Moreover, globalisation and large-scale migration have permanently undermined a territorial idea of Christian mission. The use of the territorial principle in 1910 also meant that Latin America was excluded from the consideration of the Conference on the grounds that it was a ‘missionised land’ – a recognition of the integrity of the Roman Catholic Christianity of the continent on which Anglo-Catholics insisted as a condition of their participation. The territorial understanding of Christian expansion was allied with an activist mentality and a military metaphor. The Conference was marked by the mood of the Protestant missionary movement described by David Bosch as ‘pragmatic, purposeful, activist, impatient, self-confident, singleminded, triumphant’. This mood unfortunately was often expressed in the vocabulary of aggression, attack, conquest and crusade. Participants saw nothing incongruous in using the language of violent military campaigns to describe their missionary engagement and aspirations. The enthusiasm and drive that marked the Conference drew much more than it realised on the optimistic self-confidence of imperial expansion and technological advance. The searchlight of history exposes these weaknesses. Tactically, in order to achieve the widest possible participation, it was a stroke of genius to exclude doctrinal and ecclesial issues from the consideration of the conference. Pragmatically, it made for a conference that could find focus and energy by concentrating on the key issues facing Western missions as they engaged with the non-Western world. However, there was a price to pay. It meant that the discussion of mission was abstracted from theological debate about the content and meaning of the gospel, and from ecclesiological debate about the nature and calling of the Church. This meant that it was necessarily an incomplete discussion. When it was taken forward in the course of the century that followed the Conference, it was necessary to attempt a more integrated discussion of faith, church and mission. Insofar as Edinburgh 1910 was achieved through a papering over of the cracks, doctrinal and ecclesial divisions reasserted themselves. While the conscious thrust of Edinburgh 1910 was aimed at achieving greater unity, the structure of its discussion traded short-term gains for long-term struggles as the years ahead would see more fragmentation than integration. As a century of critique has made plain, the conference did not acquire sufficient distance from the Western imperialism that was then at its height. The fact that the Western ‘Christian’ powers dominated world affairs underlay a great deal of the optimism of the conference regarding the missionary enterprise. The enthusiasm and drive which marked the Conference drew much more than it realised on the optimistic self-confidence of imperial expansion and technological advance. Much too easily the conference bought into the colonial assumption of the inferiority of the colonised. Much too easily, for example, they accepted a colonial caricature of Africa as a savage, barbaric and uncultured continent. While abuses of colonial rule such as the opium wars or the atrocities in the Congo might be subject to criticism, there was almost no awareness that colonialism, in itself, was damaging and that there would be a heavy price to pay if Christian mission were too closely allied to it. Within a few years of the Conference, the energies of the Western ‘missionised’ nations would be consumed by a war more destructive than any experienced hitherto, and a great deal of the worldwide evangelistic effort would be put on hold. Nor was this to prove to be a temporary interruption. Edinburgh 1910, which understood itself to be on the brink of a great new surge of missionary advance, was, in fact, the high point of the movement. Never again would the Western missionary movement occupy centre-stage in the way that it felt it did at Edinburgh. For most of the mission boards and societies represented, the twentieth century would be one of remorseless decline in their operations. The scenario envisaged by the Edinburgh delegates never came to pass. Dreams fulfilled Nonetheless, despite all its blind spots and weaknesses, the twentieth century has witnessed a vindication of a fundamental conviction of Edinburgh 1910: that the good news of Jesus Christ can take root in every culture across the world and produce fruit in church and society everywhere. The great drama of the coming century, in terms of church history, would be the growth of Christian faith in Asia, Africa, Oceania and Latin America. In some respects it has surpassed even the most sanguine expectations of 1910. The extraordinary growth of Christianity in Africa, for example, was not foreseen by any of the Edinburgh delegates. Nor had they anticipated how Latin America would become the theatre of a powerful renewal of Christian faith. This worldwide flourishing of the faith stands as a demonstration of the validity of their missionary vision that the gospel

could be received and find expression in completely new contexts. Without the missionary impetus represented by Edinburgh 1910, the prospects for Christianity as a world religion might well be doubtful today, particularly as its long-time European homeland is proving inhospitable. Largely as a result of the seeds planted by missionary endeavour, vigorous and numerous expressions of Christian faith are to be found on all six continents today. Inasmuch as Edinburgh 1910 was the occasion on which the vision of the modern missionary movement found its most concentrated expression, it can be remembered as a vision fulfilled. However imperfect its conceptual equipment, the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference anticipated the transformation through which Christianity would become a truly worldwide faith. It is difficult to dispute the claim that the Western missionary movement did more to change the demographic profile of the Christian faith than anything else which occurred during the last two centuries. It has become a commonplace in any introduction to Christianity to point out how, in the course of the twentieth century, its ‘centre of gravity’ has shifted from Europe and Northern America to the great southern continents of Asia, Africa and Latin America. While we are ever more aware of how much of this movement of Christian expansion is attributable to the initiatives of indigenous people, there can be no denying the seminal role of the Western missionaries. They were at the height of their influence in the period from 1850 to 1950, and one of the reasons that Edinburgh 1910 became emblematic of the movement is that it occurred at the high point of the movement, when it already had a wealth of missionary experience but when it was still bursting with energy and ambition. Another reason for its unique significance is that the Western missionary movement was extraordinarily diverse and varied. There were a host of sending agencies in the West, often jealously aware of their own distinctive characteristics. Equally, they were working in a dazzling variety of ‘mission fields’ around the world. It was nearly impossible to pull all the threads together so as to give a coherent account of the movement. Edinburgh 1910 achieved this to a greater extent than anything else. The conference organisers set out to assemble a body of delegates who would be representative of the entire Protestant missionary movement. Thanks to intensive diplomacy in the run-up to the conference, they were even able to secure the participation of Anglo-Catholic Anglican agencies who had kept their distance from earlier Protestant conferences. The Conference also proved to be a spring from which influential currents flowed into the coming century. Its guiding conviction was that the evangelisation of the whole world was within reach if Christians would apply themselves with faith and obedience. This has continued to be energising for generations who have taken that rallying call to heart. Equally, its achievement in bringing together a wider range of Protestant traditions than had ever previously been gathered was ground-breaking. The frequently expressed conviction that effectiveness in mission calls for unity marked the inception of the modern ecumenical movement. Hence a great many Christian leaders, when they have looked for the source of their inspiration, have traced important spiritual roots to the meeting on the Mound in Edinburgh in 1910. Not only was it the occasion when John Mott and Joe Oldham emerged as world leaders of the missionary movement, but it proved to be a nursery from which some of the young men in attendance would emerge to make their mark on the coming century: William Temple, John Baillie and V. S. Azariah, to name but three. With the possible exception of the Second Vatican Council, no event was more definitive for the emerging shape of Christianity in the twentieth century than Edinburgh 1910. It was the first clear glimpse of what William Temple would describe as ‘the great new fact of our time’ – a truly worldwide Christian church. This epoch-making vision of the Church as a truly global missionary community has continued to inspire subsequent generations, making it an enduring point of reference for those who hear Christ’s call to a mission that extends to the ends of the earth. This atlas traces how the vision glimpsed at Edinburgh 1910 became a reality in the course of the 100 years that followed. Each area of the world has its own unique story. There is nothing uniform. Yet there is an unmistakable overall pattern that bears out what Edinburgh 1910 represents: the Christian faith putting down roots, growing and bearing fruit in every part of the earth and in every cultural context. The implications of this for the future of Christianity were spelled out by James Barton when he presented the Report of Edinburgh 1910’s Commission Six on ‘The Home Base’, and concluded: ‘We can never understand our own Holy Scriptures until they are interpreted to us through the language of every nation under heaven. We can never know our Lord Jesus Christ in fullness and in the length and breadth of His love until He is revealed to the world in the redeemed life and character of men and women out of every race for which He died.’

Kenneth R. Ross W. H. T. Gairdner, Edinburgh 1910: An Account and Interpretation of the World Missionary Conference (Edinburgh and London: Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier, 1910). W. R. Hogg, Ecumenical Foundations: A History of the International Missionary Council (New York: Harper, 1952). David A. Kerr and Kenneth R. Ross (eds), Edinburgh 1910: Mission Then and Now (Oxford: Regnum, 2009). Brian Stanley, The World Missionary Conference, Edinburgh 1910 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009). World Missionary Conference 1910: The History and Records of the Conference (Edinburgh: Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier, 1910).

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how to use this atlas his atlas contains a large number of maps, graphs, charts, diagrams and tables, as well as essays and text accompanying the graphics. These two pages give a brief orientation to the material one will encounter in the demographic presentations in the atlas. The core of the atlas is Part III, where the history and demographics of Christianity are presented by continent or region in a series of four-page spreads. We have chosen to highlight the second two pages of the Africa spread (pages 112–13) to comment on the elements used throughout the atlas. More than 20 different visual cues

1910 Adherents % 11,663,000 9.4 39,695,000 32.0 72,090,000 58.0 8,400 0.0 304,000 0.2 240 0.0 1,100 0.0 3,600 0.0 1,200 0.0 453,000 0.4 3,700 0.0 2,600 0.0 2,200 0.0 0 0.0 1,200 0.0 230 0.0 124,228,000 100.0

Christians Muslims Ethnoreligionists Agnostics Hindus Baha'is Atheists Buddhists New Religionists Jews Jains Sikhs Chinese folk Confucianists Spiritists Zoroastrians Total population

= 1% of population = All other religions

2010 Adherents % 494,668,000 47.9 417,644,000 40.5 107,016,000 10.4 6,183,000 0.6 2,891,000 0.3 2,176,000 0.2 623,000 0.1 292,000 0.0 132,000 0.0 131,000 0.0 92,100 0.0 70,600 0.0 69,800 0.0 20,000 0.0 3,700 0.0 850 0.0 1,032,012,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 3.82 2.55 2.38 2.25 0.40 1.54 6.82 2.24 2.28 1.53 9.54 2.39 6.54 1.94 4.49 1.69 4.81 2.12 -1.23 0.47 3.27 2.30 3.36 1.95 3.52 1.44 7.90 0.95 1.13 1.79 1.32 -0.35 2.14 2.31

Christians in Africa Eth iop ia

Proportion of all Christians in Africa, 2010 Key:

a fric th A Sou

Nig

Graph Proportion of all Christians in the continent by country

eria

Colour Percentage Christian in each country or region

Kenya

Ug

and

go Con nin Be an ast d Su ry Co Ivo nda a Rw

Ta n

Denominations Total Average size 41 1,241,000 60 345,000 12,550 8,000 230 16,000 90 510,000 1,930 71,000

100-year and 10-year growth rates* 10

10

8

8

6 4

All Christians

3.82

2 0

A C

I M O P

Church sizes, 2010

6 4

All Christians

2.55

2 0

A C

Congregations Total Average size 63,100 810 17,300 9,800 298,000 330 26,400 140 17,300 2,800 413,000 330

1,241,000

1,000,000

Average congregation size

1910

2010

Churches, 2010

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 4.86 2.68 4.46 2.85 7.95 2.40 8.57 4.26 2.21 2.27 4.23 2.87

Average denomination size

% by tradition

2010 Adherents 50,866,000 169,495,000 98,819,000 3,663,000 48,286,000 137,207,000

a

la go

Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

1910 Adherents 443,000 2,153,000 46,900 980 5,431,000 2,177,000

ni

i

Major Christian traditions in Africa, 1910 and 2010

a

An

Note: Countries with too few Christians to depict here are found in regional pages.

za

Cameroon

Map Locations of the regions

Zam bia Madag ascar

Eritrea Chad Central African Republic Togo Burkina Faso

800,000 600,000 400,000 200,000 0

I M O P

A C

10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0

I M O P

A C

I M O P

Christians in Africa, 1910 and 2010 Africa Eastern Africa Middle Africa Northern Africa Southern Africa Western Africa

Population 124,228,000 33,030,000 19,443,000 32,002,000 6,819,000 32,933,000

1910 Christians 11,663,000 5,266,000 207,000 3,107,000 2,526,000 557,000

% 9.4 15.9 1.1 9.7 37.0 1.7

Population 1,032,012,000 332,107,000 129,583,000 206,295,000 56,592,000 307,436,000

2010 Christians 494,668,000 214,842,000 105,830,000 17,492,000 46,419,000 110,084,000

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

% Christian, 1910

% 47.9 64.7 81.7 8.5 82.0 35.8 0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

112

Rate This note appears throughout the atlas to remind readers that growth is expressed as an average annual rate, regardless of the period of time under study.

xviii

Religious affiliation and growth in Africa, 1910 and 2010

2010

na

Pie charts These pie charts show the proportions of all affiliated Christians that belong to each of the traditions in 1910 and 2010. The graphs that follow compare the 100-year and 10-year rates of growth for each of the traditions.

1910

Malaw

Major traditions This table reports adherents of the six major Christian traditions in 1910 and 2010 as well as growth rates over the century and in the more recent period. It also provides a key to colours in the graphics below.

Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010

Gha

Wheel The wheel offers three essential pieces of information about each region (or continent): (1) each country’s Christian population as a proportion of all Christians in the region or continent, ordered by size around the wheel; (2) the percentage of each country that is Christian; and (3) the percentage(s) of the larger region(s) that are Christian (inside the wheel). All figures are documented in the World Christian Database.

Religions in Africa

Mozambique

Religion table The table to the right of the rectangles presents figures for followers of all religions for 1910 and 2010. The growth rate for each is calculated for the 100-year period and for the current 10-year period (2000–2010), using figures for the year 2000 that are not presented here but are found in the World Religion Database. Note that throughout the atlas we highlight 1910 data by a tan colour, while 2010 data are a light purple.

O

ver the past 100 years Africa has experienced the most dramatic demographic religious transformation of any continent. In 1910 Africa was largely animistic in the south and Muslim in the north. There were 11.7 million Christians and just under 40 million Muslims. By 2010 Christians have mushroomed by 40 times to more than 490 million, while Muslims have grown by 10 times to 418 million. Ethnoreligionists dropped precipitously from 58% in 1910 to about 10% by 2010. Yet today’s presence of even a small percentage of ethnoreligionists is an unexpected development, for many in the early twentieth century predicted the complete disappearance of these traditional religions in a generation. Another surprising trend has been the rise of agnostics, who numbered fewer than 10,000 in 1910. Found especially in urban centres, agnostics now number over six million, with one of the fastest current growth rates of any ‘religion’. Christianity does not have a monolithic presence in Africa. Not only are all six major traditions substantially represented, but thousands of denominations have grown out of African soil, most of which are Independent – the most diverse and fastest-growing movement within Christianity. The largest denominations are still Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican, but Independent churches are the most represented on a list of the 100 largest denominations in the continent. African Christians increasingly are providing leadership in global Christian forums both within and across major Christian traditions. Nonetheless, all traditions have slowed considerably in growth by the beginning of the twenty-first century. While Christianity in Africa as a whole has shown remarkable growth, Northern Africa has seen a decrease in its Christian population due to emigration and strict religious laws imposed by Islamic governments of the region. Christians in Africa now number almost 50% of the population. However, births and deaths have now become more significant than conversions or defections in the overall growth of the Christian Church in Africa. Note as well that the centre of Christian gravity within Africa continues to move south and west, reflecting both the explosive growth in the sub-Saharan regions, most notably in Middle Africa and parts of Southern Africa, and the exodus of Christians from Northern Africa. Over the past 100 years, Christianity has grown at nearly twice the population rate of Africa. Islam has grown at a slower but steady rate. The map of majority religions in Part I shows that these two religions meet today in the Sahel; countries on this boundary line are experiencing tensions that at times break into violent conflicts. For example, Sudan has gone through decades of bloody conflicts resulting in the massacre of Christians in the south and Muslims in the west. Kenya and Nigeria also have experienced violent ethnoreligious conflicts in which hundreds of Muslims and Christians have been killed.

ngo DR Co

Comparative rectangles The two rectangles offer an at-a-glance view of religious demographics for 1910 and 2010. This is often the fastest way to understand how religious adherence has changed (or not) in the 100-year period. Each of the 100 blocks represents 1% of the population.

Christianity in Africa, 1910–2010

Bu ru Zim ndi ba bw Eg e yp t

Text The text that accompanies the two-page spread gives an overview of all of the elements on the pages, highlighting major and unusual findings presented in the maps, graphics and tables. In some cases, figures that are not found in the tables are introduced to point out interesting trends.

is used to indicate few or none (shown here only on the 1910 map) and yellow is used for less than 2% Christian. A similar scheme is used for other religions in Part I. The layout of the two-page spreads in Part III follows a progression, starting with the broadest picture of the status of Christianity in the continent or region, and ending with the most detailed distinctions. First, the religious demographics of the entire area are presented, with estimates of the numbers of adherents of each religion (including atheists and agnostics) in 1910 and 2010. Average annual growth rates for the 100-year period

Rate* 2000–2010

Titles Titles throughout the atlas offer brief descriptions for the two-page spreads as well as headings for the text that often follows below.

on Christianity in Africa are present. The text boxes surrounding the two-page spread offer specific information on each of the elements. The colour schemes used throughout the atlas allow for quick visual comparisons. Major religions are distinguished by colour; data about Christianity are shown primarily in blue. Shades of colour are used to represent the magnitude of a quantity, such as the percentage of the population that is Christian, shown by province in the map of Africa on the facing page. The more intense the shade, the higher the percentage of Christians. White

Rate* 1910–2010

T

Number of Christians Tables at the bottom of pages throughout the atlas give population figures and the numbers of religionists in 1910 and 2010 in the regions or countries under study. Percentages, given numerically and graphically, quickly show whether a religion has been growing or declining over the 100-year period.

Denominations and congregations Average denomination and congregation sizes are examined here in the context of the major traditions. The totals and average sizes are reported for 2010, with average sizes graphed below for quick comparisons.

(1910–2010) and for the current 10 years (2000–2010) are given for each religion and for the total population. These data summarize the status of Christianity in the area, relative to other religions. Next, the distribution of Christians in the area is summarised in a wheel, or modified pie chart, and map. These present the distribution of all Christians by country, the percentage of each country’s population that is Christian, and the percentages of the populations of larger geographic units that are Christian.

Third, the major traditions within Christianity are compared. Estimates of the numbers of adherents in 1910 and in 2010 are given for each tradition, along with 100-year and 10-year growth rates and the numbers of denominations and congregations in each tradition. For ease of interpretation these data are given in both tabular and graphical form. Fourth, more details of the trends in Christianity are given across the bottom of the two-page spread, this time classified by geographic subdivisions (regions or countries). Once again, estimates are given for 1910 and 2010,

with comparative graphs on percentages and growth rates. One other feature is the annual change in the number of Christians, broken down into gains and losses, with estimates of their three component elements. Fifth, a map showing the percentage of Christians in 2010 at the level of provinces is presented. This map includes a ‘statistical centre of gravity’ for both 1910 and 2010. A smaller map presents percentage Christian by country in 1910. Finally, a small table lists the 10 largest provinces by number of Christians in 2010.

Christians in Africa by province, 2010

Northern Africa

Four-page spreads Most of the atlas (especially Parts II, III and V) consists of a two-page essay followed by two (or sometimes more) pages of demographic information. This organisation by spreads appears in the table of contents. Data Data on maps are reported at the provincial level to offer more detail on the distribution of religionists.

Western Africa Per cent Christian 0

2

Christian centre of gravity

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none





Labels and outlines On continental maps the regions are located and labelled. Countries are labelled only on the maps of the individual regions. Borders of surrounding countries are presented in grey outline where appropriate.

1910

Eastern Africa

2010

AFRICA

Middle Africa

Tabs For Parts I–V of this atlas, coloured tabs on the right side of the essays and demographic spreads repeat the title in short-hand form. This offers a quick way to locate where the reader is in the atlas.

Centre of gravity The statistical centre of gravity of the religion or tradition under study is offered here for both 1910 and 2010. An equal number of followers of the religion or tradition live to the north, south, east and west of this geographic point. See ‘Methodological notes’ (in the Appendices) for how this was calculated.

 

Christians by country

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Province Amhara Oromiya Southern Nations Haut-Congo Rift Valley Bandundu KwaZulu-Natal Gauteng Lagos Equateur

Country Ethiopia Ethiopia Ethiopia DR Congo Kenya DR Congo South Africa South Africa Nigeria DR Congo

Population 23,071,000 31,239,000 17,305,000 9,113,000 9,900,000 8,515,000 10,364,000 9,716,000 10,662,000 7,892,000

Christians 18,561,000 13,652,000 11,075,000 8,794,000 8,474,000 8,217,000 8,084,000 7,812,000 7,485,000 7,479,000

% 80.5 43.7 64.0 96.5 85.6 96.5 78.0 80.4 70.2 94.8

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Africa Eastern Africa Middle Africa Northern Africa Southern Africa Western Africa

Legend All maps and graphics include legends indicating percentage Christian (or other religion). The scales were determined by natural breaks in the data. Note that white indicates few or none.

Southern Africa

1910 map Percentage Christian (or other religion) in 1910 for each country is shown in a small inset map to provide a contrast to the larger 2010 map.

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 11,607,000 9,845,000 21,452,000 5,641,000 3,798,000 9,439,000 2,884,000 2,342,000 5,226,000 233,200 316,100 549,300

% of Christian loss Emigrants

Rate* 1910–2010

% of Christian gain

Defectors Deaths

Births

Converts

Christian

Immigrants

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

3.82 3.78 6.44 1.74

2.14 2.33 1.91 1.88

2.55 2.80 2.93 1.50

2.31 2.59 2.86 1.69

287,000

1,100,000

1,387,000

2.95

2.14

0.92

0.86

2,561,040

2,290,000

4,851,040

5.43

2.26

2.65

2.53

100%

ˆ

0%

‰

100%

-2

0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

113

Christian change This table reports the change for the one-year period of mid-2009 to mid-2010. The net change is broken down into two components: loss and gain.

Christian loss and gain The Christian loss and gain reported in the table are further subdivided into three components each. Loss is a combination of deaths, defections and emigration, while gain is a combination of births, conversions and immigration. The graphic shows the relative proportion that each plays in losses or gains. This concept is explained further in Part II.

Provinces with the most Christians A small table presents the ten provinces with the most Christians in the area under study. In addition to the number of Christians, the total population and the percentage Christian also are reported.

Religion growth rates For each country, region and continent, growth rates for the religion of interest are reported here for two periods, 1910–2010 and 2000–2010. The growth rates for the population as a whole are also reported and depicted for comparison.

xix

Part I Religion

Socio-economic indicators

G

lobal Christianity exists within a social and economic context. Christians, along with co-religionists and the nonreligious, face monumental challenges related to human need. Thus, it is critical to view the world stage upon which global Christianity interacts through several socio-economic lenses. Moreover, it is important to look at the quality of life (or lack thereof) through different indicators. Accurately characterising a country’s socio-economic context requires consideration of more than a single factor, such as income. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), for example, can give a general sense of a country’s relation to others in terms of income generation and purchasing power. However, a high GDP per capita does not necessarily denote a better quality of life. The GDP does not factor in number of hours worked, maternity/paternity leaves, crime rates, job security, environmental waste disposal, the concentration of wealth in smaller populations within countries, or other dimensions. Measuring a country’s quality of life requires a multi-dimensional approach.

Human development

The Human Development Index (HDI) measures a country’s average achievement in health (life expectancy), knowledge (literacy and school enrolment) and standard of living (gross domestic product per capita). Countries in Europe and Northern America rank highest, along with Australia, New Zealand and Japan (the only Asian country in the top ten). Eastern European countries rank lower (some significantly so) than those from other regions of Europe. African countries generally have the lowest HDI values, with countries from the other continents falling in between. Afghanistan is the only non-African nation among the ten countries with the lowest HDI values.

For this reason, the United Nations’ Human Development Index (HDI) is also utilised as a comparative index. The HDI is a composite figure including measures of life expectancy, literacy and education as well as GDP. Countries scoring highest on this index have the resources (human, financial and technological) to extend life with both lower infant mortality rates and longer life spans. Not only can life expectancies be extended, but also resources can be allocated beyond subsistence to invest in infrastructure to advance education and literacy. This moves a country’s people from felt biological needs towards creating safe spaces and communities of learning, reinforcing self-esteem and self-actualisation. Also included in this global overview are other measures of standard of living, such as rates of corruption and percentages of Internet users. The corruption index is an important societal indicator, as social and economic growth are stunted where resources are sidetracked from their intended purposes. They are often used to benefit a few instead of the many. Authority figures betray the trust of those whose interests they are to serve.

The need for security follows closely after people’s biological needs are satisfied. Beyond biological needs and safety needs comes the human need for connection and belonging. Although there are opportunities to connect in one’s immediate vicinity, connection in the virtual world of the Internet measures a country’s ability to link its people to global communities and conversations. One of the patterns most evident in these two pages is the matrix of challenges that confronts Africa, for African countries dominate the lower rankings in most of these measurements of human need. African theologians and other leaders are well aware that the remarkable growth of Christianity in Africa over the past 100 years has been coincident with multiple disappointments in other dimensions of Africa’s social, economic and political development. (See Part III for commentary on this topic.) But Africa’s daunting array of problems should not obscure the resilience and creativity with which both Africans and expatriates are addressing developmental challenges on this continent in 2010.

High and low country values 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Country* Iceland Norway Australia Canada Ireland Channel Islands Sweden Switzerland Japan Netherlands

Index value 96.8 96.8 96.2 96.1 95.9 95.7 95.6 95.5 95.3 95.3

Mozambique Mali Guinea-Bissau Niger Burkina Faso Liberia Sierra Leone Somaliland Somalia Afghanistan

38.4 38.0 37.4 37.4 37.0 36.1 33.6 32.9 32.2 31.2

Human Development Index value CtryScan_HDI 100 90 80 70 60 30 Primary source: United Nations, 2007

HDI HDI

Income

Similar to the HDI rankings, Western European, Northern European and Northern American countries have the highest gross domestic products per capita (GDPpc); Eastern European countries are consistently lower in GDPpc than the rest of Europe. (‘Purchasing power parity’ refers to exchange rates that reflect equal buying power of currencies in their respective domestic markets.) No countries from the majority world are represented at the top of the list. Also consistent with the HDI rankings, sub-Saharan African nations have the lowest GDPpc. Again, nine of the bottom ten are found in Africa, illustrating the great challenges faced by that continent.

91 - 100 81 - 90 High and low country values

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

71 GDPpc - 80 Country* (USD PPP**) Luxembourg 61 - 70 60,228 USA 41,890 31 - 60 Norway 41,420 Channel Islands 40,000 Ireland 38,505 Iceland 36,510 Switzerland 35,633 Denmark 33,973 Austria 33,700 Canada 33,375

Guinea-Bissau Sierra Leone Niger Tanzania Somalia DR Congo Burundi Malawi Afghanistan Liberia

827 806 781 744 728 714 699 667 632 366

GDP per capita CtryScan_GDPpc (USD PPP**) 60,300 30,000 20,000 11,000 4,600 350

Primary source: United Nations, 2007

**US dollars at purchasing power parity

GDPpc

Corruption

Although corruption can be found anywhere, there are profound differences when comparing countries. The data presented here, adapted from the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), show that the most corrupt countries are in Africa and Asia (Haiti is a notable exception). Many of these countries have unstable governments and political situations. Many also have high occurrences of religious violence, as well as governmental violence. Countries in Europe (especially Scandinavia) fare best, with Singapore the only Asian country among the ten least corrupt. Caribbean countries generally score better than the rest of Latin America, while countries in Eastern Europe typically score worse than the rest of that continent.

2

30001 - 60228

High and low country values 20001 - 30000 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Country* Somalia Myanmar Iraq Haiti Afghanistan North Korea Somaliland Sahara Sudan Chad

11001 - 20000 Index

191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Canada Iceland Netherlands Aruba Finland Switzerland Singapore New Zealand Denmark Sweden

4601 - 11000 366 - 4600

value 90 87 87 86 85 85 85 85 84 84 13 11 11 10 10 10 8 7 7 7

*Country populations >100,000 Corruption 76 - 90 61 - 75 41 - 60

Corruption Index value CtryScan_Corruption 100 75 60 40 25 3

Primary source: Transparency International, 2008

Human development Northern America ranks highest among the continents in terms of HDI, with Europe not far behind. Africa ranks the lowest, at about half of the standard of the highest-ranked continents.

Income The GDPpc of Northern America far exceeds that of all other continents. Europe and Oceania follow at less than about half of Northern America’s GDPpc. Africa falls far behind, as do Asia and Latin America, all at less than half of the top three continents.

 Corruption Continents with the lowest GDPpc correspond with the continents with the highest levels of corruption, with Africa at the top, followed by Asia and Latin America. Northern America and Oceania score the lowest on the corruption index.

% population

60

 Education Northern America tops the list on education, with Europe, Latin America, Oceania and Asia not far behind. Although Africa ranks lowest among the continents, it has a relatively high education rate compared with its HDI and GDP.

50 40 30 20 10

 Adult literacy Literacy rates relate to the level of education. Europe and Northern America have the highest rates of literacy, and although Africa has the lowest rates of literacy, these have been steadily increasing across the past century.

Oceania

L America

N America

Asia

Europe

Africa

0 North Korea, 0

Oceania

L America

P

N America

Asia

20 A CSahara, E L10N 0

Europe

Oceania

L America

P

N America

10 N A Somalia, C E L 0

40

Africa

% adults

20

Asia

Oceania

L America

P

N America

Asia

10 C Sweden, E L N 7 0

70

60

40

Europe

20

60

Indices by continent

80

80

Africa

Index value

30

Africa

A

Oceania

L America

P

N America

Asia

Europe

P

Africa

10,000 A C E L N 0 Liberia, 366

Oceania

Asia

L America

L N

N America

E

Europe

Afghanistan, 31

20 A C 0

40

Europe

Index value

USD PPP**

20,000

40

Africa

Index value

50

30,000

60

80

60

Barbados, 93

100 USA, 100

100

70

40,000

80

Australia, 113

80

50,000

Iceland, 97

 Internet use Northern America far exceeds other continents in Internet users. Internet use in Oceania and Europe exceeds that ofLatin America and Asia. Africa has the least access to the Internet. China is rising quickly in the rankings.

Education

High and low country values 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Combined gross enrolment ratio (%) CtryScan_Education 120 90 80 65 45 10 Primary source: United Nations, 2007

191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Country* Australia New Zealand Denmark Finland Taiwan Ireland Canada Norway Greece Netherlands

CGER (%) 113 109 103 102 100 100 100 99 99 99

Mali Eritrea DR Congo Central African Rep Burkina Faso Angola Djibouti Niger Somaliland Somalia

37 35 34 30 29 26 26 23 10 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Country* USA Japan Germany France Britain Canada Australia Netherlands Belgium Sweden

% literate (adults) 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Sierra Leone Guinea Niger Afghanistan Chad Somaliland Somalia Burkina Faso Mali Sahara

36 30 29 28 27 25 25 22 19 10

Primary source: United Nations, 2007

High and low country values

Internet users (% of adults) CtryScan_InternetPct 100 70 40 20 10 0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Country* Barbados Netherlands Norway New Zealand Sweden Canada Luxembourg South Korea USA Japan

191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Tajikistan DR Congo Ethiopia Niger Sierra Leone Iraq Timor Myanmar Liberia North Korea

Combined gross enrolment ratio (CGER) compares actual school enrolment (from kindergarten through university) against the ‘school-age’ population in each country. Large adult enrolments in tertiary education can produce values exceeding 100%. Interestingly, Australia and New Zealand rank first and second here, and Taiwan has the highest CGER among Asian nations. Latin America as a whole scores higher in CGER (and in literacy) than in other socio-economic indicators, but sub-Saharan Africa again dominates the bottom of the list. Many of the same countries also score lowest in income, corruption and literacy – all factors that greatly influence the availability and quality of education.

Adult literacy

High and low country values

Adult literacy rateCtryScan_LitAdultPct (%) 100 95 80 60 40 10

These series of bar graphs depict the same indicators of human need mapped on these two pages. Instead of listing by countries, these graphs illustrate a more composite picture of each situation as calculated by continent. In addition to the continental data depicted on these graphs, the highest and lowest country of each indicator have been highlighted. These graphs enable one to compare continent to continent, and similar patterns are apparent from indicator to indicator. For instance, Africa has the lowest HDI, GDP, and Internet use, as well as the highest corruption index. Northern America and Europe generally represent the reverse.

% using Internet 93 86 82 79 77 77 72 71 70 68 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0

Adult literacy is one of the two knowledge components (along with combined gross enrolment ratio) in the Human Development Index. Although developed countries are ranked here as the most literate (due mainly to their large populations), that is not the complete story. Most former Communist countries in Eastern Europe and Southcentral Asia report adult literacy rates in excess of 95%, as do a number of others in the Global South (including Chile, Grenada, Mongolia and Tonga). African countries, however – along with Afghanistan – again dominate the bottom of the list. Not surprisingly, countries with low literacy rates also have low GDPs and high levels of perceived corruption.

Internet use

As with other indicators on these pages, Latin American countries have higher percentages of Internet users than do Asian countries, which in turn have higher rates than African countries. Developed countries generally have the highest percentages of Internet users, although, surprisingly, Barbados ranks first here. What is not surprising, however, is that seven of the ten countries with the lowest percentages of Internet users also rank among the ten countries with the lowest per capita GDPs, the lowest adult literacy rates, the lowest school enrolments, and/or the highest levels of corruption. The contrast between North Korea and South Korea is particularly striking.

Primary source: United Nations, 2006

3

SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Somalia, 90

Luxembourg, 60,228 100

Health indicators

T

he indicators on these two pages describe health needs and diseases, yet these charts also reflect the previous pages of economic measurements. This is not surprising, since access to health care and clean water requires financial and governmental support. If a country is lacking in these, basic health needs will not be met. The countries of sub-Saharan Africa have the least access to health care and clean water, the lowest life expectancies, the highest infant mortality rates and the highest rates for HIV and malaria. Add the low figures for HDI, GDP, education and literacy from the previous pages, and one begins to get a full sense of the poor quality of life on this continent. Since these factors are interrelated, one cannot be remedied without addressing the others. Not only does the population suffer from corrupt governments, but also their poor education and limited income contribute to their physical affliction. Just as Africa illustrates how deficiency in one area leads to deficiencies in other areas, Europe and Northern America illustrate that the opposite is also true. Europe leads the world in access to clean water, high life

Physicians

People in many countries have inadequate access to physicians, as shown by the map to the right. The greatest needs are evident in the entire continent of Africa, with the exceptions of South Africa, Egypt, Libya and Algeria. The bottom 10 list highlights the serious deficiency of physicians in Africa – all but Bhutan of the bottom 10 are African nations. Afghanistan appears toward the bottom of the lists in physicians per capita, life expectancy, infant mortality, malaria and access to safe water. Europe has the most physicians per capita.

expectancy, low infant mortality and the fewest occurrences of malaria. Factors such as high life expectancy and low infant mortality rates are inversely related. While Asia is home to the countries with the highest life expectancy (Japan) and the lowest infant mortality (South Korea, Singapore and Japan), as a continent it ranks slightly above Africa in most human need categories. This suggests a substantial range in quality of life in Asia. For example, infant mortality rates in Asia are among both the world’s lowest (Japan, Singapore) and highest (Afghanistan, second-highest in the world). However, all the regions of Asia have low rates for both HIV and malaria. In September 2000 the 189 member governments of the United Nations issued the Millennium Declaration, stating their intentions to make substantial new inroads in extreme poverty and its causes. UN leaders and others subsequently developed a cluster of eight Millennium Development Goals to be achieved by 2015 around the world:

• Halve the population of people living on less than USD 1 per day and those suffering from hunger • Ensure that all boys and girls complete primary school • Eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education • Reduce by two-thirds the mortality rate among children under age five • Reduce by three-quarters the maternal mortality ratio • Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and the incidence of malaria and other major diseases • Reverse environmental loss and halve the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water • Develop a global partnership for development The Millennium Development Goals have generated an enormous volume of discussion. While these goals are decidedly imperfect, they also represent an enormous opportunity – a minimal, shared framework for improving the lives of hundreds of millions of people.

High and low country values 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Country* Cuba Greece Belarus Georgia Russia Belgium Switzerland Lithuania Uruguay Kazakhstan

Physicians per 1,000 6.34 5.00 4.78 4.65 4.31 4.23 3.97 3.95 3.90 3.88

Liberia Sierra Leone Burundi Mozambique Ethiopia Bhutan Somaliland Malawi Niger Tanzania

0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02

Physicians per 1,000 people CtryScan_PhysiciansPerK 15 8 3 2 1 0 Primary source: World Health Organization, 2008

PhysiciansPerK

Life expectancy

Life expectancy is highest in countries in Northern America, Europe and Oceania; however, Japan leads the world with an average life expectancy of 84 years. The top 10 countries with the highest life expectancy are largely in Europe, with the exceptions of Japan (Eastern Asia), Israel (Western Asia), Australia (Oceania) and Canada (Northern America). The lowest life expectancy rates are found in Africa, with the average person living only half as long as the average in the top-ranked countries. Most African countries have high rates of either HIV or malaria or both. Once again, Afghanistan is the only non-African country to appear in the bottom 10.

15 8 High and low country values

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Country* Japan Iceland Switzerland Australia Sweden Spain Israel Canada France Italy

Years 84 82 82 82 82 82 82 81 81 81

3 2 0-1

Liberia Zimbabwe Central African Rep Afghanistan Lesotho Angola Zambia Sierra Leone Mozambique Swaziland

48 47 46 45 45 45 44 44 44 40

Life expectancy CtryScan_Life at birth (in years) 85 75 70 60 55 30

Primary source: United Nations, 2007 Life

Infant mortality

Africa is home to nine of the ten countries with the highest infant mortality rates. The majority of these African countries are found on the coasts of Eastern and Western Africa. Ranking second, Afghanistan is the only country on this list not found in Africa and has a much higher index value than those directly below it. Many of the countries with the highest infant mortality rates also have low life expectancy, such as Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Angola and Liberia. The lowest infant mortality rates can be found in Europe and a few countries in Asia (Singapore, Japan and South Korea).

76 - 85 71 - 75 High and low country values

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Country* Sierra Leone Afghanistan Angola Liberia Mali Chad Ivory Coast Somalia Somaliland DR Congo

61 - 70Deaths 56 - 60 30 - 55

per 1,000 155 147 122 122 120 112 109 107 107 106

France South Korea Switzerland Czech Republic Finland Norway Japan Sweden Singapore Iceland

4.1 4.0 4.0 3.6 3.5 3.2 3.1 3.0 3.0 2.8

*Country populations >100,000

4

InfantMortality 86 - 155 56 - 85 31 - 55

Infant mortality (deaths per 1,000 live CtryScan_InfantMortality births) 155 85 55 30 15 0

Primary source: United Nations, 2007

 Physicians Europe by far has the most physicians per capita in the world, but the country with the most physicians per capita is Cuba. Africa has the lowest number of physicians per capita.

 Life expectancy The life expectancy for the majority of the world is over 70 years, with Northern America and Europe at the top. Africa’s life expectancy rates are lower by about 20 years, likely due to the low rankings in other categories of human need.

 Infant mortality The infant mortality rate of Africa is much higher than that of any other region. Northern America has the lowest of any region even though none of its countries are in the bottom ten. Europe also has a low infant mortality rate.

 Safe water Europe tops the list with the most access to safe water, with Northern America, Oceania, and Asia not far behind, even though Asia has the country with the least access to clean water. Africa has the least access to clean water overall.

Cases per 1,000 per year

A C E L N P 0 Saudi Arabia, 0

Timor, 475

Indices by continent

250 200 150 100 50

 HIV It is no surprise that an African country has the highest occurrence of HIV in the world. Latin America and Northern America have the next highest rates after Africa, although they are significantly lower than that of Africa.

Oceania

L America

N America

Asia

Africa

Europe

0 USA, 0

Oceania

L America

P

5

N America

N

10

Asia

L

15

Africa

C E 0

20

Europe

Cases per 1,000 people

A

25

Oceania

P

20 Afghanistan, 22

L America

10 C Iceland, E L 3 N 0

40

N America

20

Asia

30

Europe

40

60

Africa

A

% population

P

Oceania

L N

L America

E

N America

A10 C 0

Asia

20

Europe

Oceania

L America

N America

Asia

Europe

0.5 A C E L N P 0.0 Tanzania, 0.02

30

Africa

Years

1.0

Oceania

40 Swaziland, 40

1.5

Africa

Per 1,000

2.0

50

L America

50

80

60

N America

2.5

70

Asia

60

Europe

70

Swaziland, 159

100 Japan, 100

80

Africa

3.0

Sierra Leone, 155 Deaths per 1,000 births

80 Japan, 84

 Malaria Malaria is primarily an African problem, as illustrated by the graph. Asia and Latin America have minuscule traces compared to Africa. Europe and Northern America have the lowest number of cases in the world.

Safe water

High and low country values 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Population with access to a safe CtryScan_Water water source (%) 100 95 80 65 50 8 Primary source: United Nations, 2008

191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Country* Japan Germany France Britain Italy Spain Poland Canada North Korea Taiwan

% population 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Kosovo Equatorial Guinea Niger Mozambique Ethiopia Bougainville Papua New Guinea Somaliland Somalia Afghanistan

44 43 42 42 42 40 40 31 29 22

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

HIV cases per CtryScan_HIVperK 1,000 people 160 65 30 10 5 0

191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Cases per 1,000 159 151 133 115 96 90 85 66 62 38

Kosovo Kuwait Albania Puerto Rico Palestine United Arab Emirates Syria Taiwan North Korea Saudi Arabia

European countries top the list with most access to clean water, but Northern America, Asia and parts of Oceania also have high levels of access. Although countries in Africa are concentrated on the bottom of the list, four countries of the bottom 10 with the least access to safe water are not found in Africa: Afghanistan in Asia, Kosovo in Europe and Bougainville and Papua New Guinea in Oceania. Interestingly, Malaysia has 90% water access, but many neighbouring countries have far lower percentages. Egypt and Libya have the highest access in Africa at 98%, strikingly different from neighbouring Chad and Sudan.

HIV

High and low country values Country* Swaziland Botswana Lesotho South Africa Zimbabwe Namibia Zambia Mozambique Malawi Kenya

These series of bar graphs depict the same indicators of human need mapped on these two pages. Instead of listing by countries, these graphs illustrate a more composite picture of each situation as calculated by continent. In addition to the continental data depicted on these graphs, the highest and lowest country for each indicator have been highlighted. These graphs enable one to compare continent to continent, and similar patterns are apparent from indicator to indicator. For instance, Africa has by far the greatest risk for malaria, HIV, lack of safe water and highest infant mortality, all resulting in the lowest life expectancy rates in the world.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

The countries with highest HIV rates are in Africa, in particular Southern, Eastern and Central Africa. The southern tip of Africa has the highest concentration of HIV in the world. However, Northern Africa has two countries with HIV rates of less than 1 per 1,000 (Egypt and Tunisia). There are several million HIV/ AIDS orphans in African nations, with 660,000 in South Africa alone (the country with the highest number of HIV-infected individuals, close to five million). Nigeria has the most HIVinfected children in the world (270,000). Haiti is the first non-African country to appear high on the HIV per capita list, ranking at number 20.

Primary source: United Nations, 2008

Malaria

High and low country values 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Cases of malaria per 1,000 people per CtryScan_Malaria year

191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

475 320 180 50 2 0

Country* Timor Burkina Faso Niger Guinea Liberia Chad Nigeria Sierra Leone Equatorial Guinea DR Congo Spain Ukraine Italy Britain France Egypt Germany Japan Russia USA

Cases per 1,000 475 434 419 410 408 399 397 396 390 389 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Similar to the pattern of HIV, countries with a high incidence of malaria are primarily found in sub-Saharan Africa, with the notable exception of Timor in South-eastern Asia. Since malaria is most prevalent in tropical countries, it is not surprising to see that the countries with the fewest cases of malaria are in the Northern Hemisphere. Most of the Western world is not susceptible to malaria largely because of geography (climate and other factors). Levels of malaria differ due to population size, climate, seasons and altitude, making much of Africa, South-eastern Asia, South-central Asia and even northern South America more vulnerable to the disease.

Primary source: World Health Organization, 2008

5

HEALTH INDICATORS

Cuba, 6.34 3.5

Religions, 1910–2010

T

Percentage majority religion by province, 2010

he map to the right depicts the world in 2010 by the religion with the most adherents in each of the world’s 3,000 major civil divisions (note that in some cases this is a plurality rather than an actual majority). Although the story of religions over the past 100 years is one of increasing pluralism in many countries, this map shows the geographic reality of the world’s major religions. Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and even agnosticism are mainly coterminous by province. These huge blocs represent to some extent cultural realities (for example, Arabs as Muslims, South Asians as Hindus), but each of these religions also has enormous cultural diversity (for example, most Muslims are not Arabs). Another feature of this map is that the relative strength of each majority religion is depicted. For example, the Muslim world can be seen to be stronger at its core (higher percentage majority Muslim) than on the periphery (lower percentage majority Muslim). Interestingly, Chinese folk-religionists are an absolute majority in no country or province, although they make up over 6% of the global population; most live in China (where agnostics dominate). Conversely, Sikhism and Judaism – although less than 0.3% of the global total each – have local majorities in the Indian state of Punjab and in Israel, respectively. India is also notable for having the most different provincial majority religions (five) in a single country. One can see two profound changes when comparing the strengths of religions in 1910 with those of 2010. First, sub-Saharan Africa was predominantly ethnoreligionist in 1910; by 2010 ethnoreligionists have been displaced as a majority bloc, as Christianity introduced from the south and Islam from the north now form the majority in almost all provinces. Second, China has gone from a majority of Chinese folk-religionists to a majority of agnostics and atheists. Third, the growth of agnostics and atheists is shown both on the world map (for example, China) and in the continental rectangles, where tan squares appear in every continent in 2010. The graphs on these two pages show the relative strengths of religions in 1910 and 2010, for both the ns%(line whole gph) world (below) and by continent (on the facing page). One can immediately see the diversification of religion by continent; in every case the situation in 2010 is less monolithic than it was in 1910. The table on the facing page is a quick-reference for comparing the global strength of each religion as a percentage of the world’s population in 1910 and 2010 as well as a way to compare a religion’s growth rate with that of other religions and with the world’s population as a whole. In addition, one can compare growth over the century (1910–2010) or over the past ten years (2000–10). A related concept is religious diversity, presented on pages 32–3. Instead of the relative strength of a single religion, the presence (or absence) of more than one religion is examined.

1910 religion Per Majority cent of total population

All other Ethnoreligionist 2.1% 7.7% Buddhist 7.8% Christian Muslim 34.8% 12.6%

Christians Muslims Hindus Agnostics Buddhists Chinese folk-religionists Ethnoreligionists Sikhs Jews

Hindu Chinese 12.7% folk 22.3%

10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

1910

Majority religion by country

2010

1910 1910

Majority religion Agnosticism Buddhism

35%

Muslims

25%

Hindus 20%

Agnostics

15%

Buddhists Chinese folk

10%

Agnostics

All other religionists

5%

1930

1950

1970

2000

2010

Year

Chinese folk-religion

 Percentage of the world that is religious The maps to the left show the dramatic change in the percentage of the world that is religious over the past 100 years. In 1910, nearly the entire world claimed adherence to some sort of religious belief. By 2010, however, religious adherence had declined in many parts of the world. The reasons for this are largely two-fold: (1) the rise of Communism and the consequent rise of agnosticism and atheism where Communism predominated, and (2) the secularisation of the Global North.

Christianity Ethnoreligions Hinduism

CtryRelig_Religious % religious

100 95 90 85 70 100,000

Least Papua New Guinea Togo Honduras Benin Bolivia Czech Republic Dominican Republic Portugal Mozambique Peru

RVI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Religious Conflict Index by province, 2010

ProvRelig_ReligiousConflict Religious Conflict Source: Brian J. Grim: Analysis of coded sources from ARDA and Pew Forum

Religion-related conflict – where one or all of the opposing sides are identified by their religion(s) – is a particularly grave impediment to religious freedom. Such conflict is involved in many of today’s most urgent security and humanitarian problems, which the index reflects. In particular, millions have been killed or displaced due to religion-related conflicts in the first years of the twenty-first century alone. These include the Sudanese Civil War that left millions dead and displaced, as well as the so-called War on Terror

42

0

1

2

3

4

5

Index value

6

More conflict

7

8

9 10

instigated by the USA after Al Qaeda’s simultaneous terror attacks on New York and Washington, DC on 11 September 2001. These attacks not only left nearly 3,000 dead, but they also triggered a series of responses including the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, where sectarian conflict has since killed many thousands and displaced more than one million. Large numbers have also been affected in the Holy Lands, where the vast majority of casualties occurred in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Religious Conflict Index 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Greatest Iraq Palestine Sudan Sri Lanka Yemen Israel Afghanistan Russia Pakistan Colombia

RCI 8.5 7.8 7.5 7.5 7.2 7.2 7.0 6.8 6.5 6.5

Countries >100,000

Least Papua New Guinea Togo Honduras Benin Bolivia Czech Republic Dominican Republic Portugal Mozambique Peru

RCI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

This page highlights three factors that impact religious violence and conflict around the world. The first of these is social persecution, where violence comes from the hands of people other than the government. The second is governmental persecution, where force is used to restrict religious activities. Both of these are surprisingly ubiquitous – found in countries in every region of the world. A third factor is armed conflict, which is where

war impacts religious freedom. All three of these are measured by country and reported as index values on the page: Social Persecution Index (SPI), Governmental Persecution Index (GPI) and Armed Conflict Index (ACI). A table at the bottom of the page presents this data by region, along with the values for religious violence and religious conflict described on the facing page. One can quickly see that

regions with near-identical values of religious violence, such as Middle Africa (3.2) and Northern Europe (3.3) have very different factors affecting these scores. In Middle Africa governments and armed conflicts are the main factors, whereas in Northern Europe it is society in which conflicts are based. The table allows for many other comparisons between regions and continents based on these interrelated indices.

 Social Persecution Index

Social Persecution CtryScan_SocialPersecution Index value 5 4 3 2 1 0

Social restrictions and persecution at the hands of non-government groups have occurred in more than 100 countries, with religionrelated acts of terror occurring in nearly 30. At the hands of fellow citizens, hundreds of thousands of people have been either killed, physically abused or displaced or have had their property damaged in the first decade of the twenty-first century due to their religious identity. By far, India is the country with the most incidents of social persecution. Levels of social persecution are particularly high in South-central Asia as well as in the Middle East. A surprisingly high level is also found in other parts of the world. For example, approximately 1,500 religiously biased hate crimes are reported annually by law enforcement officials in the USA. Conversely, other populous countries such as Japan and Brazil have very few cases of social persecution.

Social Persecution Index, 2010

 Governmental Persecution Index

Government restrictions of one sort or another occur in most countries, but governments use force or their authority to restrict religious activities in more than 75 countries. As with social persecution, these incidents are separate from religion-related civil wars and conflicts. The countries with the most documented cases of government persecution include Myanmar, China, Bhutan, Uzbekistan, North Korea, Iran, Egypt, Morocco, Eritrea and Yemen. Governments often use force to control religious groups they consider to be a threat either to their authority or to the traditional culture of the country. It is also not uncommon for some religious groups to support such government actions, especially in cases where new or rival religious groups threaten the favoured position of an existing or established religion.

Governmental Persecution CtryScan_GovernmentalPersecution Index value 5 4 3 2 1 0

Governmental Persecution Index, 2010

GovernmentalPersecution 0 1 2 3 4

Indices of religious violence, 2010

5

Armed Conflict Index value CtryScan_ReligiousCivilWar 3 2 1 0

Armed Conflict Index, 2010

 Armed Conflict Index

Religion-related armed conflict (war) adversely impacts religious freedom because enemies are, in part, identified by their religious identity, making any person perceived (rightly or wrongly) to be associated with the religious identity of the enemy a more likely target for discrimination, or worse. Such wars at the end of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty-first century have left more than two million dead, and 13 million displaced in nearly 20 countries, including in Sudan (six million), Afghanistan (two million), Bosnia-Herzegovina (two million), Iraq (1.8 million) and Lebanon (1.2 million). Religion-related wars often are instigated or perpetuated by terrorism, such as the global War on Terror resulting from the 11 September 2001 attacks on the USA by Al Qaeda. Religion-related wars can pit rival factions against one another, as was seen in the Sunni–Shi’ite sectarian conflict in Iraq. The ongoing conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis continued to destabilise the region as well.

2010 population Africa 1,032,012,000 Eastern Africa 332,107,000 Middle Africa 129,583,000 Northern Africa 206,295,000 Southern Africa 56,592,000 Western Africa 307,436,000 Asia 4,166,308,000 Eastern Asia 1,562,575,000 South-central Asia 1,777,378,000 South-eastern Asia 594,216,000 Western Asia 232,139,000 Europe 730,478,000 Eastern Europe 290,755,000 Northern Europe 98,352,000 Southern Europe 152,913,000 Western Europe 188,457,000 Latin America 593,696,000 Caribbean 42,300,000 Central America 153,657,000 South America 397,739,000 Northern America 348,575,000 Oceania 35,491,000 Australia/New Zealand 25,647,000 Melanesia 8,589,000 Micronesia 575,000 Polynesia 680,000 Global total 6,906,560,000

RVI* 4.7 3.8 3.2 6.9 2.9 5.1 7.1 7.2 7.6 6.1 4.8 3.0 3.7 3.3 2.2 2.5 2.1 0.8 4.5 1.3 2.9 1.6 2.2 0.0 0.0 0.2 5.6

RCI* 2.8 2.0 2.7 4.5 1.5 2.8 4.4 4.5 4.8 3.7 3.7 2.3 3.8 1.7 1.3 1.3 1.4 0.4 2.4 1.1 1.9 0.8 1.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 3.6

SPI* 1.0 1.1 0.7 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.9 0.0 4.0 1.2 1.5 1.1 1.4 1.4 0.4 0.8 0.4 0.0 1.4 0.0 1.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.6

GPI* 0.9 0.6 1.1 2.0 0.0 0.6 2.2 2.7 1.9 1.9 1.7 0.7 1.1 0.1 0.1 0.7 0.4 0.0 1.4 0.0 0.0 1.2 1.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.6

ACI* 0.2 0.0 0.5 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.9 0.6 1.4 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.3

*RVI: Religious Violence Index, RCI: Religious Conflict Index, SPI: Social Persecution Index, GPI: Governmental Persectution Index, ACI: Armed Conflict Index

43

RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE INDICATORS

Religious violence and conflict factors, 2010

Future of religions

F

or many, the most surprising finding of the maps, tables and graphs on these two pages is the expected resiliency of world religions into the future. A few decades ago the demise of religion was a near-accepted fact within and outside the academic community. These pages show that the global trend of religious resurgence is likely to continue into the near and, perhaps, distant future. The map on these facing pages shows the future of religious affiliation at the level of countries. Two religions – Christianity and Islam – dominate the map. In 1910 these two religions represented less than 50% of the world’s population; it appears that by 2050 they will claim over 60%. Islam will see the greatest growth, doubling its share of the world’s population in 140 years (from 13% in 1910 to a projected 27% in 2050). In the same period, Chinese folk-religionists will see the greatest decline, falling from 23% of the world’s population in 1910 to less than 6% by 2050. Another unexpected development is the projected decline of non-religionists (including both agnostics and atheists). Together these accounted for over 20% of the world’s population in 1970, falling to about 11% in 2010, and projected to fall to only 7.5% by 2050. The table below also allows for comparisons of religious growth rates over time. Only three religions are projected to have significant growth over this period. First, both Muslims and Daoists will grow at approximately 1.5 times the world population growth rate. Second, Baha’is are expected to grow at more than twice the world population growth rate. Zoroastrians, Shintoists, Confucianists, agnostics, atheists and New Religionists are projected to experience decline over the same period. South Asia is an area of particular interest in the future of religions to 2050. Note that this region includes the top three countries for both Muslims and Hindus for 2050. The addition of millions of people might add enormous pressure to a region already simmering from longstanding inter-communal tensions and recent nuclear stand-offs. A new generation of peacemakers at local, national and regional levels will be challenged to bridge the divide between religious communities. The map depicts the relative strength of the largest religion in each country. Underneath this reality is the increasing or decreasing reality of religious diversity (examined in detail here in Part I). In general, in 2050 most countries will be more religiously plural than they were in 2010. This will be particularly true in the Global North, where secularisation and immigration will continue to transform the religious landscape. However, in the Global South, many countries will continue to see growth in one religion, usually Christianity or Islam. The main losers in this competition are the indigenous religions or ethnoreligions, which are expected to decline as a percentage of world population from 3.8% in 2010 to 3.0% by 2050.

Majority religion by country, 2050

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Most Christians, 2050 USA 301,962,000 China 225,075,000 Brazil 222,469,000 DR Congo 179,432,000 Nigeria 139,000,000 Philippines 125,252,000 Mexico 122,760,000 India 113,800,000 Ethiopia 112,046,000 Russia 91,117,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Most Muslims, 2050 Pakistan 280,542,000 India 250,000,000 Bangladesh 228,477,000 Indonesia 227,738,000 Nigeria 139,000,000 Egypt 107,668,000 Iran 98,589,000 Turkey 95,727,000 Afghanistan 79,248,000 Ethiopia 62,500,000

Majority religion Percentage of total population

Christians Muslims Hindus Buddhists Agnostics Chinese folk-religionists Ethnoreligionists Sikhs Jews 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

Religions%(line gph)

2010

Majority religion by country

gnostic

Religions by global adherents, 2010–2050

hinese folk

Christians Muslims hristian Hindus Buddhists Agnostics hnoreligionist Chinese folk Ethnoreligionists ndu Atheists New Religionists Sikhs ewish Spiritists Jews Baha'is uslim Daoists Jains Confucianists Shintoists Zoroastrians Total population

2010 Total % 2,292,454,000 33.2 1,549,444,000 22.4 948,507,000 13.7 468,736,000 6.8 639,852,000 9.3 458,316,000 6.6 261,429,000 3.8 138,532,000 2.0 64,443,000 0.9 24,591,000 0.4 13,978,000 0.2 14,641,000 0.2 7,447,000 0.1 0 0.001 0.1 9,017,000 5,749,000 0.1 6,461,000 0.1 2,782,000 0.0 181,000 0.0 6,906,560,000 100.0

2050 Percentage of all adherents % 2050 % 2010 Total % 3,220,348,000 35.0 C 2,494,229,000 27.1 M 1,241,133,000 13.5 H 570,283,000 6.2B 556,416,000 6.1 Q 525,183,000 5.7F 272,450,000 3.0T 132,671,000 1.4a 63,657,000 0.7 N 34,258,000 0.4K 17,080,000 0.2 U 16,973,000 0.2J 15,113,000 0.2L 215,018,0005 0.2D10 40 60 75 7,943,000 0.1V 6,014,000 0.1 G 2,355,000 0.0S 170,000 0.0Z 9,191,294,000Npop 100.0 0

10

20

30

40

Religious growth rate,* 2010–2050 Population Religion 0.85 C 1.20M 0.67H 0.49 B -0.35Q 0.34 F 0.10 T -0.11 a -0.03N 0.83 K 0.50U 0.37 J 1.79 L 90 95 D 1.2885 0.81 V -0.18G -0.42 S -0.16 Z Npop 0.72 -1 -1

0

1

2

35%

40

60

80

Hindus

20%

Buddhists Agnostics

15%

Chinese folk

10%

0% 1910

All other Ethnoreligionists 1980

2050

 Global religious change over time Over the next 40 years, Muslims are expected to increase significantly as a share of the global population; Christians will see a slight increase as well. Agnostics’ share will decrease noticeably, while other religions will see smaller changes (mostly declines), if any, in their global percentages.

3

44 20

Muslims

25%

5%

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

0

Christians

30%

% of global population

uddhist

100

FUTURE OF RELIGIONS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Most agnostics, 2050 China 232,388,000 USA 66,400,000 India 32,000,000 Germany 18,500,000 Viet Nam 17,000,000 France 15,900,000 Japan 13,750,000 Brazil 13,000,000 North Korea 11,969,000 Tanzania 6,000,000

Most Hindus, 2050 India 1,154,330,000 Nepal 35,754,000 Bangladesh 20,700,000 Indonesia 5,500,000 Pakistan 3,700,000 USA 3,000,000 Malaysia 2,450,000 Sri Lanka 2,350,000 South Africa 1,800,000 Myanmar 1,000,000

Most Buddhists, 2050 China 270,000,000 1 Thailand 57,108,000 2 Viet Nam 54,099,000 3 Japan 51,314,000 4 Myanmar 43,552,000 5 Cambodia 20,509,000 6 India 12,800,000 7 Sri Lanka 12,443,000 8 USA 8,000,000 9 Taiwan 6,250,000 10

Most Chinese folk, 2050 China 500,000,000 Taiwan 9,159,000 Malaysia 5,755,000 Indonesia 2,550,000 Singapore 1,516,000 Viet Nam 1,100,000 Canada 1,050,000 Cambodia 760,000 Thailand 600,000 India 400,000

1-25

Major religions by UN region, 2050 Africa Eastern Africa Middle Africa Northern Africa Southern Africa Western Africa Asia Eastern Asia South-central Asia South-eastern Asia Western Asia Europe Eastern Europe Northern Europe Southern Europe Western Europe Latin America Caribbean Central America South America Northern America Oceania Australia/New Zealand Melanesia Micronesia Polynesia Global total

Population Total 1,997,938,000 692,943,000 312,672,000 310,240,000 65,050,000 617,034,000 5,265,897,000 1,591,242,000 2,536,011,000 766,611,000 372,033,000 664,184,000 221,697,000 108,177,000 146,335,000 187,974,000 769,230,000 50,388,000 202,045,000 516,797,000 445,302,000 48,743,000 33,250,000 13,833,000 808,000 852,000 9,191,294,000

Christians Total 1,055,401,000 483,266,000 266,616,000 28,102,000 53,010,000 224,406,000 595,333,000 251,337,000 130,975,000 197,185,000 15,837,000 508,439,000 196,582,000 81,004,000 115,581,000 115,272,000 694,174,000 43,071,000 188,759,000 462,344,000 331,521,000 35,479,000 21,172,000 12,788,000 723,000 796,000 3,220,348,000

% 52.8 69.7 85.3 9.1 81.5 36.4 11.3 15.8 5.2 25.7 4.3 76.6 88.7 74.9 79.0 61.3 90.2 85.5 93.4 89.5 74.4 72.8 63.7 92.4 89.4 93.5 35.0

Muslims Total 789,149,000 150,856,000 28,721,000 273,092,000 2,042,000 334,437,000 1,642,640,000 25,510,000 1,011,596,000 270,146,000 335,388,000 46,727,000 14,930,000 4,138,000 10,622,000 17,037,000 3,339,000 152,000 919,000 2,268,000 11,020,000 1,354,000 1,281,000 71,000 1,400 230 2,494,229,000

% 39.5 21.8 9.2 88.0 3.1 54.2 31.2 1.6 39.9 35.2 90.2 7.0 6.7 3.8 7.3 9.1 0.4 0.3 0.5 0.4 2.5 2.8 3.9 0.5 0.2 0.0 27.1

Hindus Total % 5,286,000 0.3 2,995,000 0.4 401,000 0.1 18,400 0.0 1,808,000 2.8 62,800 0.0 1,229,146,000 23.3 68,000 0.0 1,217,180,000 48.0 9,494,000 1.2 2,404,000 0.6 1,475,000 0.2 87,000 0.0 894,000 0.8 56,400 0.0 437,000 0.2 766,000 0.1 399,000 0.8 53,500 0.0 314,000 0.1 3,720,000 0.8 741,000 1.5 495,000 1.5 246,000 1.8 0 0.0 200 0.0 1,241,133,000 13.5

Buddhists Total % 506,000 0.0 159,000 0.0 20,000 0.0 50,000 0.0 202,000 0.3 74,500 0.0 555,279,000 10.5 335,244,000 21.1 33,575,000 1.3 185,755,000 24.2 705,000 0.2 2,881,000 0.4 708,000 0.3 464,000 0.4 184,000 0.1 1,524,000 0.8 1,658,000 0.2 25,000 0.0 152,000 0.1 1,481,000 0.3 8,751,000 2.0 1,209,000 2.5 1,155,000 3.5 28,400 0.2 23,400 2.9 1,800 0.2 570,283,000 6.2

Agnostics Total 16,335,000 3,225,000 3,051,000 3,749,000 3,147,000 3,164,000 336,580,000 260,727,000 38,776,000 29,738,000 7,339,000 84,209,000 7,054,000 16,894,000 15,856,000 44,405,000 38,096,000 3,109,000 8,858,000 26,130,000 73,412,000 7,783,000 7,530,000 198,000 22,700 33,600 556,416,000

% 0.8 0.5 1.0 1.2 4.8 0.5 6.4 16.4 1.5 3.9 2.0 12.7 3.2 15.6 10.8 23.6 5.0 6.2 4.4 5.1 16.5 16.0 22.6 1.4 2.8 3.9 6.1

Chinese folk Total 125,000 60,100 1,200 6,000 42,400 15,500 522,754,000 509,538,000 482,000 12,595,000 139,000 559,000 11,200 81,500 81,000 386,000 335,000 57,800 103,000 174,000 1,200,000 210,000 187,000 9,200 11,600 2,100 525,183,000

% 0.0 A 0.0 A1 0.0 A2 0.0 A3 0.1 A4 0.0 A5 9.9 C 32.0 C1 0.0 C2 1.6 C3 0.0 C4 0.1 E 0.0 E1 0.1 E2 0.1 E3 0.2 E4 0.0 L 0.1 L1 0.1 L2 0.0 L3 0.3 N 0.4 P 0.6 P1 0.1 P2 1.4 P3 0.2 P4 5.7 zG

% Religious adherents

Region

x 0% 0

50%

25

50

100%

75

100

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Part II Global Christianity

Christianity across twenty centuries

T

he Maori people of New Zealand speak of the future as being behind us; we cannot see it. It is the past that is in front of us: the most recent past lies before our feet, while the events of earlier times stretch back to a far horizon. If we take the Maori hint and look at the past before our feet, our eyes may rest particularly on the recently concluded twentieth century; and we may well decide that, as regards Christian history, it was the most remarkable hundred years of any except the first. When it began, Christianity appeared to most people, whether well disposed or not, to be both a Western religion and the Western religion. The great majority of people in the West professed it, and the overwhelming majority of those who professed it lived in Europe or Northern America. When the century ended, the majority of professed Christians were living in Africa, Asia, Latin America or the Pacific region. Every year, it now seems, there are fewer Christians in the West, and more in the rest of the world. Christianity is now entering a new phase of its existence, as a non-Western religion, a fact that must inevitably have implications for its expression, its ways of thinking, its theology. To continue the Maori motif, the future is behind our backs, and the next hundred years is out of sight. What we can see is the past in front of us. From the long history of Christianity stretched out before us we might perhaps be able to discern particular themes and currents that enable us to make some generalisations about Christian history. Such generalisations may enable us to consider some aspects of the Christian faith itself, and thus take us from history to theology. And the generalisations come most naturally if we carry out the survey within the historical study of religions. Serial character of Christian advance The first generalisation is that Christian advance is not progressive, but serial. To compare the history of Christianity with that of Islam is to see two religions which have much in common in their origins, have both spread across much of the world, and have both gained the allegiance of very diverse peoples. But there has been a great difference in the extent to which the two faiths have retained the allegiance of the peoples who have embraced them. Here Islam seems to have been notably more successful. It is hard to think of Arabia, for instance, without thinking at once of Islam; yet Yemen was once a Christian kingdom. Jerusalem is the mother church of all Christians; yet the name today does not immediately evoke its Christian connotations. Nor do those of Egypt, Syria, Turkey or Tunisia, all once leading centres of the Christian faith. Generally speaking (there are some exceptions), lands that became Muslim have remained Muslim. The same cannot be said of the lands that became Christian. All the places named were once the very heartlands of Christianity, centres of Christian devotion and Christian scholarship, nurseries of Christian martyrs. Today, Christians in all these places are at the margins. Nor is that the end of this story. There was a time when the greater part of the population of what is now Iraq professed the Christian faith; when from thence churches spread across much of Iran, and from thence across Central Asia. There was a time when Britain sent out more missionaries than any other country, and Europe seemed the core territory of Christianity. Yet British cities are now full of churches that no one wants, except for stores or bars or restaurants, and the European Union can devise a constitution which makes no reference to the Christianity which was once so powerful a constituent of European identity. It would seem that in this respect Christianity historically has lacked a certain resilience that Islam possesses. The reason for this we must consider later; for the moment we need notice only that in each of the cases noted, the Christian community in what was once a Christian heartland, Christian core territory, faded. But in none of the cases mentioned did the fading of the Christian heartland community issue in the fading of the Christian faith itself; rather the reverse. When the Jerusalem church, the church of the apostles, was scattered, the mission to the Greek world, begun by a few of its refugee members, spread the faith farther and faster than the Jerusalem-based church had ever done. When the churches in Iraq began to decline, those in Iran increased. As the great Christian centres in Egypt and Syria passed under Muslim rule and were eroded, so

48

the barbarians of Northern and Western and Eastern Europe were coming to appropriate the faith. In each case, withering at the centre, the focus of apparent strength, was accompanied or closely followed by blossoming at or beyond the margins. Christian advance is not a progressive process, a steady line of success. Advance may not produce further advance, but recession. Christians dare never proclaim permanent gains, of the sort that can be plotted on a map and claimed as occupied territory. There is no especially Christian territory in the sense that Muslims claim Arabia, nowhere the faith belongs by right of ownership. There is no Christian equivalent of Mecca, no cosmic centre of the faith. Christian advance is serial, rooted first in one place and then in another, decaying in one area, appearing anew in another. It would seem that there is a vulnerability at the heart of Christian faith; and indeed the Cross stands a reminder of that vulnerability. There is a fragility of another kind, also; for, as we shall see, the effectiveness of Christian faith within a culture depends on translation, and the process of translation may become inhibited or atrophied. There is no permanently Christian country, no single Christian culture, no single form of Christian civilisation. Historically, different areas of the world have provided its leadership at different times, and then passed the baton on to others. All expectation must be that this process will continue.

Once more the pattern of Christian advance appears as serial rather than progressive, withering at the centre, blossoming at the edges. The great event in the religious history of the twentieth century was the transformation of the demographic and cultural composition of Christianity brought about by the simultaneous processes of advance and recession. Between the beginning of the twentieth century and the present day, western Europe has moved from Christian heartland to Christian wasteland, and there has been a degree of withering in the West as a whole. On the other hand, there has been a massive movement towards the Christian faith in areas that a century ago had a very small Christian presence. In 1900 there were some ten million professing Christians in the whole of the African continent; when the World Missionary Conference met in Edinburgh in 1910, its world survey, while optimistic about China and Japan and India, concluded that the evangelisation of the African interior had hardly begun. Yet estimates of Christian numbers in Africa at the beginning of the twenty-first century exceeded 300 million, and most Africans have heard the gospel from other Africans. Over the intervening century Korean Protestantism, a very small factor in 1900, was transformed into the missionary phenomenon it has become today. Over the same period a whole band of Christian communities has come into being in a line that stretches from the Himalayas through the Arakan into the South-east Asian peninsula. Sixty years ago Nepal was accounted a land closed to the gospel; today it has a vigorous Church, to which the Nepali diaspora in India and elsewhere has been a major contributor. A century ago, mission magazines spoke of the intractable headhunters of North-east India; today in the Indian state of Mizoram more than 90% of the population professes the Christian faith, and the drums that Western missions once sought to ban are used mainly to call people to Christian worship. More significantly, hundreds of Mizo and Naga and Kuki missionaries are to be found working all over India and beyond. Over the borders, in Myanmar, in South-west China, and into Thailand, Christian movements among ethnically related peoples add to the significance of this Himalayan-Arakan Christianity. And though accounts of the numbers of Christians in China differ widely, by any reckoning the Christian population of the world’s most populous nation is far

greater than when Western missions there came to an end in the middle of the twentieth century. Over the past century, Christian advance and Christian recession have proceeded simultaneously – recession in the West, advance in other parts of the world. Once more the pattern of Christian advance appears as serial rather than progressive, withering at the centre, blossoming at the edges. The great event in the religious history of the twentieth century was the transformation of the demographic and cultural composition of Christianity brought about by the simultaneous processes of advance and recession. It means that the representative Christians, the Christian mainstream, now belong to Africa and Asia and Latin America, with intellectual and theological consequences still to be comprehended. At the great World Missionary Conference of 1910, European and American mission leaders took responsibility for the future of Christian mission in the world, acknowledging the presence of a handful of Asian (but no African and no Latin American) Christian leaders, but dictating the proceedings themselves. That scenario is no longer available. Whatever might happen in the economic and political and military spheres, the future of Christian operations will be determined by the Christians of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Crossing cultural frontiers The second generalisation to be drawn from Christian history is that Christianity lives by crossing cultural frontiers. The first believers in Jesus were all Jews by birth and upbringing, who saw in Jesus their Scriptures being fulfilled, giving new meaning and insight into convictions they had always possessed, truths they had always believed. They made no departure from ancestral religion or its institutions. Their acknowledgment of Jesus as Messiah caused them to love the Law and the Temple and its sacrifices more rather than less. Everything about Jesus made complete sense in Jewish terms, and for a long time, while anxious that other Jews should hear the good news about the Messiah, they seem rarely to have mentioned him to people who were not Jews, and then only in special circumstances. All that changed when (as described in Acts 11) a group of believers, forced out of Jerusalem by a period of persecution, came to Antioch and began to talk about Jesus to their Greek pagan neighbours, using in consequence a new vocabulary and a new way of presenting Jesus. It was such a departure from usual practice that the apostles sent an envoy, Barnabas, to report. That bicultural church at Antioch, which comprised people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, sent out its own mission to both the Jewish and the Gentile worlds. It was remarkably effective, but more so among Greeks than among Jews. The importance of this became clear when the Jewish war broke out, and, with the fall of the Jewish state, the Church of Jerusalem lost its natural habitat. The mother Church of Jerusalem, the Church of the Apostles and Elders, the Church led by the brother of the Lord himself, lasted (as an identifiable entity) barely two generations. After ad 70 Christianity might have been nothing but one of several struggling Jewish sects, but for one fact: it had crossed a cultural boundary and become independent of the community of its birth. When the old Church, Jewish in composition and in thought, faded from view, another, Greek in language and in thinking, was already in place. The pattern was to be repeated in later times. That Greek form of Christianity spread across the Hellenistic world and gained a dominant place in the Roman Empire, with its urban civilisation and its developed literature and technology. But a time was to come when the Arabs, with their new-found faith of Islam, assumed the rule in the eastern provinces of the Empire, and Christianity there moved slowly into eclipse; and when devastating wars decimated the Church in the western provinces. What enabled Christianity not only to survive but to grow was the crossing of another cultural frontier. This time it passed to the people whom the Romans feared would destroy their civilisation, the tribal peoples they called barbarians, unlettered and with the simplest technology. More recent times have seen another crisis and another crossing of cultural boundaries. The people descended from those that the Romans called barbarians became the core Christian community, and then, as we have seen, the faith began to

A translatable faith Another generalisation from Christian history is that transmission of the faith involves translation, and translation leads to theological expansion. Translation is fundamental to the Christian understanding of revelation, and thus of how God deals with humanity. In the Pentecost narrative of Acts 2, one of the foundational stories of Christian origins, a crowd of Jewish expatriates are gathered in Jerusalem for one of the great Jewish festivals. They come expecting to hear the sacred Hebrew of the Temple liturgy; they are astonished to hear instead the new dispensation inaugurated by an account of God’s wonderful deeds in the various languages of their neighbours in the countries from which they had come. For Christians, revelation involves translation. Revelation is centred in the person of Christ, described in the prologue to the Fourth Gospel as the Divine Word becoming flesh in Jesus. The central affirmation about the Incarnation is itself about a sort of translation. Christ is God translated into humanity, not as a loan word, but as part of the functioning system of the language. Much confusion in Christian–Muslim relations has arisen from the assumption that the Qur’an is for Muslims what the Bible is for Christians; rather, the Qur’an is for Muslims what Christ is for Christians. There is, for purposes of communication, no generalised language, only particular languages, and Christian faith of its nature raises the option for a particular language, typically the vernacular. And the vernacular, the mother tongue, introduces other specificities. Translation is not merely a matter of language, for language is only the outer skin of a much larger body of the shared mental, moral and societal processes that we call culture. Just as there is no generalised language, there is no generalised humanity, only culture-specific humanity, humanity under the conditions of particular times and places. Just as the vernacular principle is built into Christian history, so cultural diversity is built into the constitution of Christianity. In its origins, we have seen that the original Jesus community consisted entirely of observant Jews, maintaining, as Jesus himself had done, the pattern of rituals, laws and practices that marked Jews out from the rest of humanity. Faith in the Messiah Jesus issued in a converted Judaic lifestyle, a thoroughly Jewish way of following Jesus. For some time the only style of ‘Christian’ life that anyone knew (though the term ‘Christian’ was not yet in use) was adapted from observant Judaism. When the first Greeks were converted in Antioch, many must have taken it for granted that the new believers would become Jewish proselytes and adopt the Jewish lifestyle sanctified by the Lord and his family and the apostles and all the most experienced followers of the Lord. But when the Jerusalem Church fully considered the matter at the council described in Acts 15, its leaders agreed that circumcision and Torah were not required for believers in Jesus who were not ethnic Jews. These could enter the commonwealth of Israel and all its blessings, without the traditional signs of Jewish religious culture. Hellenistic ex-pagan believers were now, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to find a Hellenistic way of being Christian, changing Hellenistic social and family and intellectual life organically, from the inside. The Hellenistic way of being Christian would differ from the Jewish way of being Christian, and would involve the conversion of a different segment of social reality. Christ had so far been translated into the specific humanity of Jewish Palestine. Christ must now be re-translated into the flesh of Hellenistic East

Mediterranean society. ‘My dear children,’ Paul bursts out to the Galatian believers, ‘I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed among you.’ Some Galatian believers were adopting circumcision, taking on voluntarily a Jewish lifestyle that would take them out of their society; Paul wants to see formed among them a Galatian Christ embodying faith in culture-specific Galatian terms. The message about Christ has to penetrate beyond language, in the sense of the translation of words; it has to pass into the local systems of thinking and choosing, the networks of relationship, that make up identity. Our identity is shaped by our past. The past cannot be abandoned, nor can it be suppressed without damage. It has to be converted. In the case of the Hellenistic world, this process of vernacular conversion – thinking Christ not only into the language, but into the categories of thought and methods of reasoning built up over centuries – made possible the development of classical Christian theology. The classical doctrines of the Trinity and Incarnation were constructed from pre-existing vernacular materials. The purpose of theology Theology arises as a fruit of vernacular translation in the process of the conversion of the past. The purpose of theology is to make or clarify Christian decisions. It is about making up one’s mind, about choosing to think in a Christian way. This need arises out of the specific conditions in which believers find themselves, the settings in which Christian faith must be embodied. The theological agenda is thus culturally induced; culture necessarily sets new tasks for theology. And as the gospel crosses cultural frontiers, a whole range of new tasks opens up, each one leading to another. The theological task can never be completed while Christian mission continues; Christian mission, in culture-specific situations, constantly brings new theological issues onto the agenda.

Our identity is shaped by our past. The past cannot be abandoned, nor can it be suppressed without damage. It has to be converted. Equally, the materials for theology are culturally conditioned. The Biblical material is, of course, constant; but the same materials have to be brought to bear on the specific situation that has brought about the need for choice. And this involves using the mental materials of the time and place in which the choice has to be made. For this to be effective, these mental materials have to be converted – turned, that is, towards Christ – since they originally were designed for other purposes. The doctrines of the Trinity and Incarnation as professed by the Church at large in the historic creeds were constructed largely from the materials of middle-period Platonism, converted for a new purpose. Conversion is about turning things towards Christ. It is more about direction than about content; and it is not about substituting something new for something old, but of turning what is already there. The doctrines of Trinity and Incarnation came into being through the need to think about Christ in a Christian way. And the need was a direct result of the crossing of the first cultural frontier from the Judaic to the Greek world. When believers who saw Jesus essentially in terms of Jewish life and destiny first shared their faith with Greek-speaking Gentile pagans, they faced a difficulty. The word that best summed up the truth about Jesus was surely Messiah – the whole of the Scriptures was wrapped up in it. But the word could mean little to Greeks without a great deal of explanation that went far beyond translation. A new term was needed that would immediately speak to pagans with no background in Jewish thinking. The word they adopted, Kurios, Lord, was used among pagans for their cult divinities. To preach Jesus in these terms, knowing what the connotations would be, rather than with the riches of the term Messiah, must have seemed to many an impoverishment, if not a distortion, of the gospel. Was it not dangerous to adopt the vocabulary of pagan cults – and, in any case, should they not learn about the Messiah and

Israel’s national salvation? In fact, the change of leading term, with the change of conceptual emphasis that it brought, proved to be enriching rather than impoverishing. It made people think about Christ in a different way, because they were using indigenous categories. Every time the gospel crosses a cultural frontier, there is a new call for theological creativity. Crossing the frontier from the Greco-Roman to the barbarian world, where law turned on compensation for offences and the responsibility of kin for the offences of their family, opened the way to doctrines of the Atonement. In our own day, the crossing of yet another cultural frontier means a new call for theological creativity as the Biblical tradition interacts with the ancient cultures of Asia and Africa. It could well prove the most important period of theological development since those early centuries and the Christian interaction with the Hellenistic world. As Africa and Asia – not to mention Latin America – are increasingly the theatres of Christian mission where Christian choices have to be made, creative theology will become a necessity. And African and Asian materials will have to be used for the theological task, materials that have not been used for that purpose before. They will need to be converted, turned to Christ, as they are used in interaction with the Bible and Christian tradition. The process will be carried forward by new questions that arise about Christ and Christ’s work in the particular circumstances of Africa and Asia. There are already signs of this activity, starting in the demands of pastoral practice and opening theological questions in the process. And so mission history leads us to look to a new blossoming of mission theology, where Christ is steadily thought into the cultural frameworks of Africa, and India, and China, and Korea, and all the other Christian discourses opened up in the latest chapter of the serial Christian advance. Blossoming to the full would foreshadow the finale of the whole process referred to in the Epistle to the Ephesians as summing up all things in Christ, so that the Lord of all rules past and present. Failure to blossom at all could leave whole theatres of mission to languish in confusion, and the Church throughout the world to suffer loss. Either way, we seem to be entering a highly exciting and possibly turbulent period of Christian history. A period of theological creativity (and creativity normally involves turbulence) beckons, not inferior to that period between the second and the fifth centuries when Christian interaction with Hellenistic-Roman culture laid the foundations of classical theology. This time, however, the field of interaction will be with the cultures of Africa and Asia. Origen once pointed out that the reason the Israelites could make the gold cherubim symbolising God’s presence in the wilderness was that they had spoiled the Egyptians. It was Egyptian gold that adorned the Tabernacle, and its curtains were made of Egyptian cloth. Perhaps we may now see the signs of God’s presence fashioned from African gold, and the curtains of the tabernacle hung with cloths of Asia.

ANDREW F. WALLS A longer version of this essay was published under the title ‘Mission History as the Substructure of Mission Theology’ in Swedish Missiological Themes 93(3): 367–78, 2005. The editor’s permission to include parts of this article here is gratefully acknowledged. Kwame Bediako, Christianity in Africa: The Renewal of a Non-Western Religion (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1995). Kwame Bediako, Theology and Identity: The Impact of Culture upon Christian Thought in the Second Century and in Modern Africa (Oxford: Regnum, 1999). Lamin Sanneh, Translating the Message: The Missionary Impact on Culture (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1989). Andrew F. Walls, The Cross-Cultural Process in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission and Appropriation of Faith (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 2002). Andrew F. Walls, The Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission of Faith (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1996).

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CHRISTIANITY ACROSS TWENTY CENTURIES

wither among them. In Europe the decline has been sharp and rapid, while Northern America has long been exhibiting the signs evident in Europe at the time its own decline from Christianity began. That Christianity is not in decline in the world as a whole is due to one simple fact, that over recent centuries, and especially during the last, the gospel has been crossing cultural frontiers, in Africa and Asia, in the Americas and the Pacific. Christianity lives – one might say it survives – by crossing the boundaries of ethnicity, language and culture. Without that process, it can wither and die. In the time to come, the now-representative Christians of Africa and Asia will need to cross cultural boundaries to share their faith.

Christianity’s centre of gravity, ad 33–2100

O

ne of the most salient features of Christianity, beyond its theology, ethics and ecclesiastical structures, is the number and location of its followers. These followers are individuals who have distinct ethnic identities, speak identifiable languages, and live in specific geographic locations. Throughout the history of Christianity, the gospel of Jesus Christ has often been embraced by whole villages, tribes or peoples. Consequently, groups of followers, including their ethnicities and languages, can be named, located, listed, counted, mapped and tracked over time. As a result, Christians as a whole, at any given time in history, have a definable geographic boundary and a demographic or statistical centre. In practical terms, a single geographic point on Earth can be seen as the statistical ‘centre of gravity‘ of all Christian followers at any given date – where the number of all Christians living to its north, its south, its east and its west is exactly the same. The demographic history of Christianity is viewed precisely through this lens in the map on the next pair of facing pages. A single geographic point has been identified as the statistical centre of gravity of Christianity for each of 28 different dates in Christian history, beginning with ad 33 (the traditional date for the origin of the Church) and projecting to ad 2100 (a century into the future). The methodology, which employs current United Nations (UN) regional and country boundaries for arriving at the location of these points, is described on those facing pages. The points have been connected in order to approximate a ‘trajectory’ of the demographic centre of gravity of Christianity throughout its history. It is important to point out that a series of single points connected by a line, or a trajectory, is compatible with differing explanations of the geography of Christian growth. All historians are aware that the drama of Christian expansion has unfolded in a complex set of events, but differing interpretations are offered. Kenneth Scott Latourette explains these events in terms of expansion and recession. Ralph Winter proposes viewing the expansion in terms of the penetration of new cultural basins in 400-year increments. Andrew Walls utilises the motif of serial expansion, where Christianity moved into new areas and died out in areas of previous numerical strength. Nevertheless, utilising any of these explanations (or others), a demographic centre of all Christian followers can be identified for any date in Christian history. Locating and following the centre of gravity of Christianity as a trajectory over time helps us to visualise the demographic growth of Christian expansion. Percentages for Christians living in the North and South for 28 dates, presented in the final table on page 53, are represented in graphic form in the graph on page 51: ‘Percentage of all Christians in the Global South, ad 33–2100’. The general outline of these percentages is well known. Christians were all Asian at the time of Christ, gradually becoming more Northern until 1500, when fully 92% of all Christians were Northerners (Europeans). This percentage began to decline gradually until 1900, when it was 83%. After 1900 the Northern percentage declined precipitously while the Southern rose meteorically. By 2100 over three-quarters of all Christians will be living in the South. This represents a return to the demographic make-up of Christianity at the time of Christ (predominantly Southern) but also depicts a vast extension of Christianity into all countries as well as thousands of peoples, languages and cultures. What does the trajectory signify? Having identified a single point as the statistical centre of gravity of Christianity for each of 28 different dates, it is instructive to connect these points, resulting in a line that can be considered a trajectory or general path taken by the statistical centre of gravity of Christianity. The first application of the trajectory is as a visual marker for Christian demographics. The trajectory of the demographic centre of gravity of Christianity throughout the centuries provides a visual context to the Christian story, especially from the standpoint of Christian expansion. For example, in the earliest Christian centuries, Christianity penetrated dozens of peoples in Asia, Africa and Europe, including Jews, Romans, Greeks, Armenians, Copts, Ethiopians, Indians, Berbers, Syrians and Persians. Then Vandals, Celts, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Slavs, Turks, Russians and Chinese were added. The trajectory reveals the

50

general path and direction where the largest numbers of individuals were becoming Christians–serving as a visual marker of the centre of gravity of Christian expansion. Second, a trajectory formed by the increase in Christian followers signifies more than simply a demographic reality. Where there are more followers, there are more churches, more priests and pastors, more Christian institutions, more potential missionaries to be sent out, more theologians and so on. The trajectory, then, has ecclesiastical, missiological and theological implications. These can be examined in the context of Christian history and the future of Christianity. The trajectory of the statistical centre of gravity of Christianity can be viewed in four segments: (1) early Christian expansion in various directions from ad 33 to 600; (2) a consistent northern and western trajectory from 600 to 1500; (3) a southern and western trajectory from 1500 to 1970; and (4) a southern and eastern trajectory after 1970.

Having identified a single point as the statistical centre of gravity of Christianity for each of 28 different dates, it is instructive to connect these points, resulting in a line that can be considered a trajectory or general path taken by the statistical centre of gravity of Christianity. Following the trajectory in Christian history Christians were concentrated in or around Jerusalem at the time of the origin of the Church on the Day of Pentecost. From there Christians began to spread in several directions. The Acts of the Apostles provides an outline of Christian expansion in its initial decades. If Christians had spread out in exactly the same numbers in every direction from Jerusalem, the statistical centre of gravity of Christianity would have remained in Jerusalem. But the growth of Christianity did not follow a uniform pattern. Instead, Christianity, in its first 100 years, grew more to the north and north-west than to the south or the east. After ad 100, Christianity grew in an irregular fashion, first in one direction, and then in another, pulling the demographic centre in the direction of growth (or away from areas of decline). In fact, this is precisely what can be viewed on the trajectory map on the next pair of facing pages. After ad 100 Christianity grew to the west, then back to the east, and finally in the north-western direction that would define the bulk of Christian history. Maps of early Christian expansion unmistakably illustrate this zig-zag growth pattern. Southern Europe was the single region with the largest number of Christians in ad 100, 200, 300 and 400. Nonetheless, there were more Christians in Asia and Africa as a whole than in all of Europe for all of those dates. One of the clear features of this zig-zag pattern in early Christian history was the emergence of multiple Christian centres of theological study and missions. As churches grew all over the Mediterranean world, theologians were attracted to centres such as Hippo, Carthage, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch, Constantinople and Rome. The same was true in terms of missionary-sending centres such as Alexandria, Edessa and Rome, and some farther away, such as Merv in Central Asia and Iona in Scotland. The trajectory depicts the movement of the centrepoint of all of this activity. The fastest rate of expansion in any single direction in this period was from ad 400 to 500, when the growth of the Church of the East along the Silk Road pulled the centre of gravity to the east at a rate of 5km per year over the 100-year period. This same map illustrates an astonishingly consistent trajectory for Christianity from about ad 600 to 1500. The line moved steadily north and west after 600, reaching its northernmost point in about 1500. In 600 and 700 the region with the highest number of Christians was still deep in Asia (South-central). In 800 and 900 more Christians lived in Western Asia, and the statistical centre of gravity of Christianity was near Iconium (modern Konya, in present-day Turkey).

However, after 900 the line moved unquestionably to the north-west, and for the first time in Christian history Northern Christians were in the majority. By 1000 the statistical centre was quite near Constantinople, one of Christianity’s great ecclesiastical and spiritual centres. However, during the next 100 years the great schism between Catholics and Orthodox occurred and Catholics in Europe launched the Crusades, which ended in disaster for the Orthodox Christians of Western Asia. In 1000 and 1100, Southern Europe was, once again, the most populous Christian region. This distinction then shifted to Western Europe for 500 years, from 1200 to 1700. By 1500 the statistical centre of Christianity had reached its northernmost point. The churches in Asia and Africa had waned, and Christianity was identified almost exclusively as Northern and European. After 1500 the statistical centre of Christianity, though still moving west, slowly began proceeding south. The Age of Discovery brought Christianity to the Americas, which further pulled the Christian centre of gravity to the west. Although first Roman Catholic missionaries (1500s) and later Anglicans and Protestants (1800s) made inroads into Africa and Asia, the resulting Christian communities were numerically small. In 1500, 1600 and 1700 Western Europe still had more Christians than any other region. In 1800 and 1900 Eastern Europe held this distinction, largely due to the growth of the Russian Orthodox Church. But by 1900 Christians were located in significant numbers in most regions, and no single region would have much impact on the trajectory. Even so, by 1900 something profound was happening to the trajectory of global Christianity. The line turned precipitously southwest. As Latourette’s ‘Great Century’ was coming to a close, churches outside of Europe and the Americas that took root in the nineteenth century began to grow rapidly in the twentieth century. By around 1950 Christianity’s statistical centre of gravity crossed below 31.8° north latitude (Jerusalem) for the first time since the time of Christ. Africa, in particular, led this transformation, growing from only 10 million Christians in 1900 to 360 million by ad 2000. The move to the south accelerated greatly by the end of this period. From ad 1700 to 1800 the statistical centre of gravity of Christianity did not move at all to the south. From ad 1800 to 1900 it moved only 3.3° to the south, but over the next 100 years it shifted to the south an astounding 20°. In the same period, the trajectory moved at its fastest rate (24km/year from 1900 to 1970, then 39km/year from 1970 to 2000) of any time in Christian history. Then around 1970, in an equally stunning development, the Christian centre of gravity turned back east (still moving south) for the first time since ad 600. This was due largely to the rise of Christianity in the tropical countries of Africa and Latin America (south) and in Asia, particularly in China and India (east). Shortly after 1980 Christians in the South outnumbered those in the North for the first time in 1,000 years. Projections for the future show that the trajectory will continue to move to the south-east, as the Christian churches of the Global South (Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania) continue to acquire an increasing percentage of global Christianity. By 2100 the geographic centre of Christianity is expected to be a full 30° south of its most northern point (in ad 1500) and 20° south of Jerusalem, where it began in ad 33. It is likely that by 2100 Southern Christians (2.8 billion) will be well over three times as numerous as Northern Christians (775 million). Features of the present south-eastern trajectory What does it mean for the future of Christianity that its demographic centre of gravity continues to move on a south-eastern trajectory as the South is home to an increasing percentage of global Christianity? We have identified four areas for brief consideration here: (1) theology, (2) translation, (3) poverty, and (4) mission. Although numerous authors in the past 35 years have written about the southward shift of Christianity, we believe that tracking the trajectory of Christianity may shed new light on these areas. In recent centuries, the dominant theologies of Christianity have been written by Northern scholars, but the massive movements of Southern Christianity will likely chart the future of Christian theology. From

‘They speak in many tongues’ The rapid southern trajectory of Christianity since 1900 also suggests that the dominant languages of Christianity will shift from North to South. Already by 1980 Spanish (primarily in its Latin American forms) was the leading language of church membership in the world. But Christians in Africa, Asia and Latin America worship in numerous other languages. Thus, translation of the Christian message has become

increasingly important since all peoples, languages and cultures have a unique contribution to make to global Christianity. Northern and Western scholars, no longer at the Christian centre of gravity, will also have to recognise and seriously consider writings in nonEnglish and non-European languages. Consequently, there is a great need for Christian scholarship in Southern languages to be translated into English, French, German, Italian and other languages. Apart from the shift away from Northern languages as the dominant languages of Christianity, there is also a need for a change in the perception of missions as a Northern phenomenon. For the past several hundred years, Christians in Europe and the USA have been ‘the Church’, and the rest of the world has been ‘the mission field’. But with the shift of Christianity’s centre of gravity from Europe to the southern hemisphere, Africa, Asia and Latin America can no longer be seen as the periphery. Instead, as Samuel Escobar writes, ‘Christian mission to all parts of the globe will require resources from both the North and the South to be successful.’

Southern Christians can rediscover the theological, ecclesiastical and missiological trajectory of the first Christian millennium, when Southern Christians were in the majority and the centre of gravity was in Western Asia. The poor are still with us Another daily reality for Southern Christians is poverty. Much of the Global South deals with serious issues of poverty and a lack of access to proper health care. Countries that have been hardest hit by AIDS, such as Botswana, Zimbabwe and Swaziland, are also countries where Christianity is flourishing. Without access to the necessary medical care, accounts of healing and exorcism found in the Bible are taken more seriously. The work of the Holy Spirit, exhibited in the ministry of signs and miracles of healing and deliverance from demonic powers, has exploded in the ministry of Pentecostal/Charismatic churches in the Global South. David Smith describes these churches as ‘overwhelmingly charismatic and conservative in character, reading the New Testament in ways that seem puzzlingly literal to their friends in the North’, and as ‘largely made up of poor people who in many cases live on the very edge of existence’. Thus the growth of Christianity in poorer regions implies not only an alternative reading of the Bible, but a different experience of the Bible. For the poorer Christian communities in the South, meeting the social needs of people is integral to Christian witness, theology and ministry. For the Western Church and missionaries, poverty and AIDS in the South cannot be ignored, nor can assistance be granted from a position of power, but only with humility and in acknowledgment of a crisis within the global Church.

result, Muslims and Christians are in close proximity in countries like Nigeria, Sudan, Indonesia and the Philippines. The same is true of Christians and Hindus in India and Buddhists and Christians in South-eastern Asia. Some observers see inevitable conflict in the future, while others are more hopeful. The trajectory has given Christians around the globe a new opportunity to show hospitality to non-Christian neighbours and to take a genuine interest in their religions and cultures. Finally, it is important to remember that there are at least 4,000 cultures (out of 13,000) that have not yet been reached with the Christian gospel. Most of these people are Muslims, Hindus or Buddhists who are found in the South. Who from the South (or North) will be presenting the gospel to these peoples? What cultural expectations are likely to be made for those who choose to follow Christ? Perhaps surprisingly for many Northerners (and Southerners), there are encouraging signs that people from these great religious systems might not have to entirely leave their traditions to become Christians. Nonetheless, the frontier missions task still remains unfinished in the context of Christianity’s south-eastern trajectory. The 2,000-year trajectory of Christianity reveals a fascinating story of Christianity’s demographic roots in Asia and Africa, its gradual move into Europe and its recent return to the South. Christianity’s great institutions and leaders have followed this trajectory. Therefore, the present south-eastern trajectory of Christian demographics represents a new chapter in global Christianity. What is certain is that Christianity can no longer draw on a dominant Northern cultural, linguistic or political framework for direction. Neither can the future be seen exclusively through the lenses of Southern Christianity. Global Christianity today is a phenomenon, not of uniformity, but of ever-increasing diversity. Paul-Gordon Chandler writes, ‘It is like the canvas of a beautiful painting with contrasting and complementary colors. The foundation for our unity as Christians throughout the world is not our likeness but our diversity.’ The unanswered question for Christians from both the North and the South is how well we will work, minister and grow together in the context of this astonishing diversity. Today, the south-eastern trajectory of global Christianity’s statistical centre of gravity provides clues about where one might look to find both the answers and the leadership for that quest.

TOdd M. JOHNSON aNd SUN YOUNG CHUNG This text was published in an earlier version in the International Review of Mission, Vol. 93, No. 369, April 2004, pp.166–81. Paul Chandler, God’s Global Mosaic: What We Can Learn from Christians Around the World (Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000). Samuel Escobar, The New Global Mission: The Gospel from Everywhere to Everyone (Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003). Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002). Kenneth Scott Latourette, The Emergence of a World Christian Community (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1949). David Smith, Mission After Christendom (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 2003).

Whose mission? For 100 years the trajectory has been moving away from traditionally Christian countries into both non-Christian and newly-Christian lands. As a

Percentage of all Christians in the Global South, ad 33–2100

100%

South

80% 60%

% of world’s population in the Global South 1981

50%

923

40%

% of all Christians in the Global South

20% 0% 33

500

1000 Year

1500

 Global South and North, AD 33–2100 This graph illustrates the steady decline and then more recent growth in the percentage of Christians in the Global South from the time of Christ to the present. Note that Christians in the Global South represented at least 50% of all Christians from the beginnings of Christianity until the year 923. For over 1,000 years after that, Christians in the Global North dominated Christian demographics. But in the twentieth century a dramatic turnaround resulted in the majority of Christians (since 1981) once again living in the Global South. Note as well that the current shift more closely matches the proportion of the world’s total population living in the Global South. Data for this graph are found on page 53 and on page 352 in the Appendices.

2000

51

CHRISTIANITY’S CENTRE OF GRAVITY

the standpoint of the trajectory, theological reflection has emerged along its path throughout history, from the Church Fathers in the earliest centuries to Europeans in the next 1,000 years (Roman Catholic, Anglican, Protestant and Russian Orthodox). Today, then, one would expect voices to emerge along the south-eastern trajectory. However, one unique feature of Christian demographics today is the near total geographic spread of Christianity worldwide. Therefore, one would anticipate not only contributions from near the centre of gravity in Africa, but from Southern Christians far from the trajectory, such as Filipinos, Brazilians and Chinese. Southern Christians also can locate themselves on today’s trajectory by interpreting and critiquing Northern Christianity’s 1,000-year dominance of the trajectory (ad 950–1950). Furthermore, they can rediscover the theological, ecclesiastical and missiological trajectory of the first Christian millennium, when Southern Christians were in the majority and the centre of gravity was in Western Asia. Christianity in the Global South tends to be more conservative in theology and moral teaching than Northern Christianity. The churches growing in the South, whether Anglican, Roman Catholic or Pentecostal, have a strong supernatural orientation emphasising healing, prophecy and, in some cases, prosperity. Conservative bishops and church leaders in the Global South have had an increasingly influential impact on the world’s Christian communions, opposing same-sex marriage and emphasising Scriptural authority. Some observers equate this theological conservatism among Southern Christians with Western political conservatism. But whereas Northern Christians have tended to emphasise moral conservatism, Southern churches have been equally interested in social and economic justice. Northern Christians are encouraged to practise their faith in private, while Southern Christians feel an obligation to family, community and the public square. In addition, Northern politics is heavily conditioned by strict separation of church and state as well as by strong secular ideology. Southern Christians do not generally operate under this worldview, but show greater loyalty to religious institutions than political ones. One example of Southern Christian activism is the rise of Pentecostals in Latin America. Initially thought to be politically ‘quiet’, they have become increasingly drawn into politics. Their involvement normally starts locally in social concerns, but it has gradually manifested itself in voting blocs. This bottom-up view of the Church transforming society is prevalent in Africa, Asia and Latin America. An interesting outcome might be that Christians in the Global South, given their unique position, could finally solve the problem of the artificial bifurcation between the gospel and social action so prevalent in Western Christianity.

Christianity’s centre of gravity, ad 33–2100

T

he maps and tables on these two pages take complementary approaches to summarising the demographic history of Christianity. To the immediate right is mapped the percentage Christian by United Nations region at key intervals during the history of Christianity. These maps show the overall geographic expansion of Christianity. On the facing page the statistical centre of gravity of Christianity is mapped for similar intervals. This second approach, described in the essay in the two pages preceding these, shows only the geographic point at which there are equal numbers of Christians to the north, south, east and west. The changing location of this point allows one to see the relative movement of Christianity over time. The line connecting these points can be viewed as the ‘trajectory’ of global Christianity. In the early Christian centuries the trajectory moved irregularly around the eastern Mediterranean, but after ad 600 it settled into a very consistent pattern. As the faith took hold in Europe, the trajectory moved steadily north and west until around 1500, when 92% of all Christians were European. As Europeans rediscovered the rest of the world, however, Christianity began a slow but sustained progress back towards the Global South. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the movement was more west than south, as the Christian population in Northern America swelled; by 1970 Northern America would be home to more Christians than any other UN region. After 1900, however, the pace of movement southward accelerated – the fruit of vibrant mission activity and indigenous evangelism in the Global South during the preceding centuries. The Church in the Global South continued to expand rapidly, growing throughout the twentieth century. The most vigorous growth was in Africa, exploding from 10 million Christians in 1900 to 360 million in 2000. In the second half of the century, however, the fastest-growing portion of the global Church was in Asia. For the first time in over 1,300 years the centre of global Christianity was again moving towards the east. Some time after 1980, Christians from the Global South outnumbered Northern Christians for the first time since the tenth century. The growth in the Global South shows no indication of slowing during the twentyfirst century; the Church continues to expand vigorously in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. Continued south-easterly movement is likely to carry the statistical centre of gravity of Christianity from Mali today to northern Nigeria in the twenty-second century. Christianity truly has become a global movement, expressing itself in the vast majority of the languages and cultures in the world. The face of Christianity is changing, not only in terms of worldwide adherence, but also in terms of institutions and leadership. Gone are the times when the Christian world could rely on Western (in particular, Northern American and European) theology, views of history, culture and languages. As the global Church rapidly expands in Africa and Asia, there is a growing need for theologians and leaders from these regions to bring their unique perspectives into the global Christian dialogue.

Christian expansion by UN region, ad 100–2100

100

1500

RegionCPct0100

RegionCPct1500

0.001

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RegionCPct1600

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1650

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RegionCPct1650

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RegionCPct1750

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1000

1910

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0.001

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5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95

1200 p Calculating the statistical centre The data for calculating the statistical centre of Christianity through 1850 are set out in detail in Table 7–2 of World Christian Trends (William Carey Library, 2001). That table provides estimates for the number of RegionCPct1200 Christians in each of the current United Nations regions at 22 points in history, and those estimates were used as the baseline of this analysis. The statistical centre of gravity of Christianity was estimated as follows: An approximate geographic centre was identified for each UN region, based on geography and population patterns. A weighted average was calculated for the latitudes and for the longitudes of the centres of the regions, the weight for each region being proportional to its Christian population. These weighted averages gave the latitude and longitude of the global centre of gravity of Christianity, which are given in the table on the facing page. For dates after 1850 a similar method was employed, but the data used were for each country individually rather than for UN regions. RegionCPct1350 Although there is ambiguity inherent in the definition of mean longitude, taking the Prime (Greenwich) Meridian as zero longitude assures that all centres of gravity were calculated consistently and were located correctly, and that the changes in the centre of gravity were reliable and meaningful. Note that adjusting either the geographic centre of a single UN region (or of an individual country) or the estimate of the number of Christians in a region (or country) would change the results (latitude and longitude) for any given date. 0.001

0.001

52

2

2

2010

RegionCPct2010

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95

0.001

2

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95

1350

2100

p The expansion of global Christianity The maps above depict the expansion of global Christianity over the centuries by presenting the percentage of Christians in each United RegionCPct2100 Nations region (current boundaries). This way of viewing the demographic history of global Christianity complements the approach taken by mapping the statistical centre of gravity of Christianity. One can readily see the eastern and southern orientation of Christianity in the early centuries contrasted with the northern and western orientation in the modern period. The southern orientation returns by the beginning of the twenty-first century with the explosive growth of Christianity in Africa and the significant increase of

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95

0.001

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ProvRelig_Christian Per

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95

0

2

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

Christianity in Asia. The percentage Christian displayed on these maps is scaled with the same colour scheme (depicted above) as all other Christian maps in this atlas. Comparisons thus can be made with the more detailed 1910 and 2010 maps found especially in Part III.

Trajectory of the statistical centre of gravity of Christianity, ad 33–2100  The directional change of the statistical centre of gravity of Christianity can be seen the following example: leading up to AD 200 the line illustrating the centre of gravity was headed directly west due to churches springing up in Southern Europe and Northern Africa in response to missionary efforts in those regions. After AD 200 the line abruptly headed south-east due to the rise of Eastern Orthodox churches. These directions (west and south-east) are listed in the table on the lines corresponding

to the dates that the shift ended. The rate is calculated as the distance, in kilometres, between the statistical centre of gravity of Christianity at two consecutive dates, divided by the number of years, and then presented as a rate in kilometres per year. For example, the distance between the statistical centre of gravity in AD 400 and AD 500 was 536 km; thus the rate for that 100-year period was 5 km per year. The final column of the table below provides a short

explanation for why and how the centre of gravity changed location since the previous date. This could be in the form of an advance into a new area, a retreat from an existing Christian area or simply gradual growth or decline. The table below also includes the proportion of Christians in the North and South at each date in history. These are graphed on page 51, with data in table form on page 352.

1500 1600 1700

1300 1200 1100

1900 !

CHRISTIANITY’S CENTRE OF GRAVITY

1800

1400

1000

1910

900 800 200 300 400

100

700 600 500 33

1950

Tracking the centre of global Christianity The line in the map above summarises in a different way the data presented in the maps on the page to the left. As the expansion of Chrisitanity spread throughout the Global South and East, the statistical centre of gravity largely followed suit. The most drastic change in the demographics of Christianity has been its growth in Africa (every region except Northern Africa, the majority of which is Islamic). This has caused the statistical centre of gravity line to move futher and futher south into the heart of Africa. It is highly likely that this trend will continue as Christianity continues to expand in the Global South and contract in the Global North.

1970

2000 2010

!

2025 2050 2100

Global Christianity’s statistical centre of gravity, ad 33–2100 Year Population 33 170,660,000 100 179,510,000 200 191,840,000 300 191,930,000 400 188,500,000 500 190,320,000 600 193,980,000 700 204,900,000 800 217,920,000 900 238,320,000 1000 263,650,000 1100 318,360,000 1200 357,440,000 1300 362,070,000 1400 352,390,000 1500 422,950,000 1600 545,880,000 1700 609,830,000 1800 903,650,000 1900 1,619,620,000 1910 1,759,800,000 1950 2,535,090,000 1970 3,698,680,000 2000 6,124,120,000 2010 6,906,560,000 2025 8,010,510,000 2050 9,191,290,000 2100 10,109,270,000

Christians 10,000 800,000 4,660,000 14,010,000 25,320,000 37,800,000 40,400,000 40,570,000 40,870,000 40,830,000 44,670,000 51,960,000 65,710,000 83,910,000 56,730,000 75,890,000 100,440,000 130,110,000 204,980,000 558,160,000 612,030,000 867,580,000 1,234,970,000 2,004,560,000 2,292,450,000 2,708,030,000 3,220,350,000 3,583,000,000

% 0.0 0.4 2.4 7.3 13.4 19.9 20.8 19.8 18.8 17.1 16.9 16.3 18.4 23.2 16.1 17.9 18.4 21.3 22.7 34.5 34.8 34.2 33.4 32.7 33.2 33.8 35.0 35.4

Geographic centre Approximate Latitude Longitude location 31.8° N 35.3° E Jerusalem 35.6° N 31.4° E Cyprus 35.9° N 26.1° E Crete 35.4° N 27.0° E Kassos 35.6° N 27.3° E Karpathos 35.3° N 33.2° E Lefkosia 35.7° N 33.8° E Cilicia 36.5° N 32.6° E Anamur 37.6° N 31.1° E Attalia 38.3° N 31.3° E Iconium 40.5° N 28.0° E Cyzicus 42.4° N 26.2° E Yambol 43.8° N 24.9° E Pleven 44.5° N 22.9° E Turnu Severin 45.8° N 19.7° E Subotica 47.3° N 18.0° E Budapest 46.1° N 15.2° E Ljubljana 44.4° N 12.7° E Ravenna 44.4° N 10.0° E La Spezia 40.5° N 4.6° W Madrid 39.6° N 6.1° W Cáceres 32.4° N 14.2° W Madeira 26.8° N 12.7° W El Aaiun 21.6° N 2.9° W Taoudenni 20.2° N 0.5° W Tessalit 18.2° N 3.6° E Essouk 15.5° N 7.0° E Agadez 13.5° N 8.5° E Zinder

Movement between dates Direction km km/year — — — North-west 556 8 West 480 5 South-east 99 1 North-east 35 0 East 536 5 North-east 70 1 North-west 140 1 North-west 181 2 North 80 1 North-west 375 4 North-west 259 3 North-west 188 2 North-west 178 2 North-west 290 3 North-west 212 2 South-west 252 3 South-west 272 3 West 215 2 South-west 1,278 13 South-west 160 16 South 1,078 27 South-west 642 32 South-east 1,157 39 South-east 122 24 South-east 486 32 South-east 470 19 South-east 272 5

Christian % North South 0 100 39 61 42 58 36 64 40 60 37 63 36 64 38 62 44 56 48 52 58 42 67 33 74 26 77 23 85 15 92 8 91 9 86 14 86 14 82 18 81 19 70 30 57 43 42 58 38 62 32 68 26 74 22 78

Remarks Christian followers meet in Jerusalem and surrounding Palestine Followers in Southern Europe, Western Asia and India Churches grow in Southern Europe and Northern Africa Orthodox churches grow rapidly in Syria and Mesopotamia Edict of Toleration: Roman Empire over 50% Christian for first time Church of the East follows the Silk Road; Patrick evangelises Ireland Churches strong in Central Asia; Celtic peregrini in Northern Europe Islam expands in Northern Africa, Central Asia; first Christians in China Continued expansion of Islam; Charlemagne crowned emperor Vikings convert to Christianity; Islam strong in Spain Russia and Iceland convert to Christianity Schism between Catholic and Orthodox; Norman conquest Papal and monastic reform; Crusades Nestorians grow under Pax Mongolia; Franciscans and Dominicans Black Death in Europe; Tamerlane wipes out Church of the East Conquistadors and missionaries arrive in the Americas Roman Catholic missions to India, China and Japan Christianity grows in the Americas; Muslim states declining Protestant and Anglican missions gain momentum Latourette's Great Century; new churches in Africa and Asia World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh World Wars I and II; rise of Communism Churches declining in Europe but mushrooming in Africa and Asia Independent churches in China and India grow Churches, North and South, in tension Southern churches (of all kinds) continue to grow Europe and Australia secular; Southern Christians move to the North Vast majority of Christians in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Oceania

53

The re-emergence of global Christianity, 1910–2010

T

he twentieth century began with great excitement at the bright prospect of a better world filled with peace and harmony. Unprecedented Western discoveries in science, technology, medicine, information communication, dissemination of knowledge, and transportation predicted not only progress and prosperity for all peoples, but also the end of poverty and other miseries. People hoped for a mutual sharing the earth’s resources. They anticipated equal access to knowledge, opportunities, just global markets and politics. They quickly recovered from the material and psychological devastations wrought by the Boxer Rebellion; massive earthquakes in San Francisco and Italy; assassinations of key political leaders in Italy, the USA and Japan; and the sinking of the Titanic. Albert Einstein’s theories of relativity, Sigmund Freud’s interpretation of dreams, the institution of the Nobel prizes and the invention of movies and electrified underground trains inspired fresh optimism regarding the future. The first World Missionary Conference of 1910, continuing the legacy of previous ecumenical conferences in London, Liverpool and New York, reflected the general optimism of the Western peoples, especially the mission-minded Protestant Christians in Europe, the USA, and Canada, to engage in practical purpose-driven activities. They naively equated their geographical and cultural territory to Christendom and regarded the rest of the world as non-Christian and therefore in need of urgent evangelisation. Their motives to serve others were good, but their superior attitude towards others was problematic. An immediate outcome of the 1910 Edinburgh World Missionary Conference was seen in flourishing multiplication of local, national and international ecumenical movements carried on by committed individuals who, as friends, were able to transcend the limitations imposed by European denominationalism, memories of inter-confessional wars and a territorial understanding of Christianity. Conference chairman John R. Mott infused his vision into the hearts and minds of his friends and associates in virtually all continents. V. S. Azariah’s articulate stance demanding friendship, not paternalism, of Western Christian leaders introduced a new way of doing mission. His ordination as the first Indian Anglican bishop in 1912 encouraged countless Christians in Asia to aspire to ecclesiastical leadership. The fundamentalist controversies among various denominational bodies in the USA did not interest Asian Christians. Instead, they promoted indigenous mission ventures in youth work and in medical, theological and educational institutions. These cooperative works in foreign mission fields taught the Euro-American missionaries to understand how similar they were to each other and how they could foster ecumenism in the West. During this century, Western countries produced sophisticated weapons in order to overcome the Russian Revolution (1917) and the Cold War (ending only in the 1990s). They were unable to easily conquer the Great Depression (1929–39), which in turn adversely affected the funding of Western missionaries. The rise of Nazi Germany increased the misery by imposing hardship on churches and their mission agencies. When World War II broke out, Western missionaries had to hand over power to the native Christians, whom they had failed to train for leadership tasks, and thus these could not manage the vast landed properties, huge buildings, and money- and time-consuming administrative structures the missionaries left behind. In order to generate money, many church properties were sold. Greed led to court cases, competitions and betrayals. Additionally, identities based on caste, tribe, region or language produced friction. The Arabs in the Middle East could not accept the fall of the Ottoman Empire (1299–1918) and the founding of the state of Israel (1948). They questioned why Arab civilisations lost their former influence and how Western civilisation (professing separation of state and religion) thrived. Prolonged conflicts over religion, land, language, human rights and access to Western wealth and technology devastated countless Arabs in general and the Arab Christians in particular. Many Arab Christians migrated to other countries. After World War II public manifestations of Western Christendom declined more rapidly. A deep sense of moral failure crippled Western consciousness. Astounding scientific discoveries and military superiority led to accumulation of material wealth and

54

intellectual knowledge in the West, but also to poverty and warfare elsewhere. Neglect of women, children, the aged and the sick continued as a social cancer. Racial segregation thwarted human dignity. Exploitation of nonrenewable ecological resources caused existential concerns. Becoming disappointed with the traditional expressions of Western Christianity, many Westerners became Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, agnostics or secularists. On the other hand, non-Western parts of the world experienced religious fundamentalism. British India was divided into India and Pakistan along religious lines. Fundamentalist Hindus promoted one religion, one nation, one culture, one language and one people. They shunned religious and cultural plurality. Hindu missionaries proudly established their worship centres in western Europe and Northern America but opposed Christian missionary work in India. Similar developments took place in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. It was not easy for Christians to bear witness to Jesus Christ in anti-Christian contexts. Yet a few Christians dreamt bigger dreams and tried to heal denominational wounds and breaches. They addressed the unarticulated non-theological factors that lurked deep beneath the theological or ecclesiastical controversies. Slowly, united mission concerns led to the formation of the Taizé Community (1940), the United Church of Christ in Japan (1941), the Church of South India (1947) and the World Council of Churches (WCC, founded in 1948 and then representing 147 churches in 44 countries). But Western theologians in Euro-American universities and academies had other priorities. Their historical-critical study of the Biblical texts in the light of the newly discovered Dead Sea Scrolls brought out new insights. Yet their ‘demythologised’ gospel failed to impress the common people in the pews and especially the secularists, rationalists and skeptics. Many turned away from mainline churches. Scholars like William Ernest Hocking questioned the motives and methods of most Euro-American missionaries, claiming that their commitment to God’s glory, their pre-millennial or post-millennial motifs, and their ideals of Manifest Destiny failed to sufficiently humanise those they served. Similarly, some influential scholars (such as H.  R.  Niebuhr) wanted the Northern American churches to create stable and loving local communities that were neither lost to the civil upheavals of their times nor to overseas mission. Shortly thereafter, Northern American participation in global mission suffered major setbacks. Additionally, the notion of missio Dei, proposed at the 1952 International Missionary Conference in Willingen, Germany, taught that God’s mission transcended denominational churches, professional missionaries and Christian work. The emphasis of missio Dei to discern God’s mission among all peoples seemed good but failed to motivate Western Christians to bear witness to Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord. Secular pluralist theologies taught that while Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ for Christians, other religious peoples had their own ‘Christs’. This relativist tendency, carefully engineered by those who were shaped by Western individualism, questioned the distinctiveness of Jesus Christ as the Lord of all peoples. The Cultural Revolution in China (1949–79), on the other hand, sought to abolish religions; in this process it drove much of the Church underground. The Chinese Christian Council (1980) of the Protestants, supporting the ideologies of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement promoted by Y. T. Wu, opposed the unregistered Christian groups (for example, the Family of Jesus). The Open Church and Underground Church of the Roman Catholics in China, though antagonistic to each other, have kept up their identities. Chinese religious oppression strengthened Chinese Christian mission both inside and outside of China, and Chinese Christianity experienced significant growth. Similarly, Christians in Russia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Viet Nam suffered under oppressive anti-Christian government policies, yet they asserted their Christian distinctiveness more readily than those Christians living in ‘free’ Western democratic countries. Concurrently, the process of decolonisation facilitated the growth of non-Western Christianity. NonWestern Christian leaders were no longer restrained by Western colonial masters, who for economic and political gains had overtly been supporting the interests of non-Christian counterparts. Finally, these

non-Western Christian leaders were free to bear witness. Most of them hailed from socially, economically and religiously downtrodden backgrounds. They discovered how the socio-religious systems described in the Bible resembled their own. They understood the importance of elders and the aged in the society. Blood sacrifices and initiation ceremonies gained new meaning. Existing family lines and interpersonal relationships fostered cross-cultural dissemination of Christian teaching and practices. They read and reread the Bible in their own vernacular languages and also from within their cultures. In this process, they transformed their worldviews, loyalties, relationships and communities. By critically reclaiming their preChristian heritages embodied in the primal religions, they initiated a new kind of Christian indigenisation that continues unabated, for example, in countless African Initiated Churches and in Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. In Africa, their dual identity as Christians and Africans instils in them a positive pride, self-respect and self-confidence. As they became increasingly dissatisfied with the teachings and practices of Euro-American mainline church traditions in Africa, they even called for a Western missionary moratorium. Fortunately, this moratorium was never implemented, because in the Body of Christ all members should learn from each other. Another major player in this period was Pentecostal Christianity with its modern beginnings in the USA. It promotes the ideals of Spirit-filled holy life, apostolicity and catholicity. It incorporates practical ways of leadership, training and mission that draw much inspiration not only from Western business models, but also from local socio-religious customs, hierarchies and practices. Its emphasis on tithing of financial resources and time, using personal talents in mission, and accountability to the Holy Spirit make it mostly self-sufficient and self-propagating (although its view on material wealth and good health as symbols of God’s blessings is critiqued). It attracts young people who, in an age of conflicting ideals, eagerly look for directions, role models and tangible religious experiences through conversion, immersion baptism, Bible study, fellowship, prayer, fasting, music and mission. It caters to the spiritual needs of those Christians who are dissatisfied with the ‘liberal’ teachings and practices of the mainline churches (with reference to such matters as the authority of the Bible, the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, miracles, glossalia and the ordination of women). It welcomes migrant peoples who move from rural areas into urban centres. Its ministry among neglected people groups bears fruit. Its practice of enabling ordinary women and young people to share their faith testimonies in front of large gatherings has great impact on their family members. It has already attained impressive growth in several metropolitan cities and their neighbourhoods and made deep inroads into the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches in Latin America, Africa and Oceania. During the 1960s conciliar church bodies experienced radical changes: they incorporated the International Mission Council into the WCC in 1961, believing that mission was the constitutive element of the church. The admission of the Russian Orthodox Church into membership of the WCC and the participation of Roman Catholic observers in WCC meetings broadened Christian ecumenism. Ecumenists heeded popular opinions that the world should set the agenda for the church. Salvation was not only saving souls, but also humanisation. The Church, like any other non-governmental agency, responded to human problems such as war and famine, civil conflicts, race, Communism, capitalist economies, inter-religious dialogue and ecological degradation. Ecumenists’ new understandings of mission did not impress ‘conservative’ Christians in the West. The conciliar or ‘mainline’ Protestant churches have rapidly declined in numbers, and they increasingly depend on dividends from the financial endowments made by their ancestors long ago. Their traditions, church structures, polities and earmarked endowments hinder their participation in fresh ecumenical initiatives. On the whole, they have not been able to adapt their missionary outreach so as to reach the people of their own neighbourhoods who are alienated from church life. The constitutions, declarations and decrees of the Second Vatican Council (1962–5) transformed Roman Catholic understandings of non-Christians, their religions and their cultures. Vatican II encouraged all

of those doctrines and practices and brings out the discerned consensus. Both documents have been influential in deepening ecumenical understanding and mission. Other major events in the 1980s included the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, ending the Cold War and weakening Communism. In 1991 South Africa abolished apartheid. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, shaped by Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, highlighted the absolute necessity of harmonious living of various peoples through mutual understanding, tolerance, forgiveness and determined collaboration. In 1990–1 the USSR gave way to the emergence of the Commonwealth of Independent States, introducing new possibilities for renewal of Christian faith. The conflict along tribal lines of Tutsis and Hutus in Rwanda and Burundi in 1990–4 and the civil wars along ethnic lines among the Serbs and Bosnians in the former Yugoslavia in 1991–5 shocked the world. Christians too were involved in these wars; regrettably, their tribal/ethnic identities often proved stronger than their Christian commitment. But the ongoing civil conflicts in Sri Lanka from 1983; the Gulf War between Iraq and Kuwait in 1990; the conflicts between Palestine and Israel; the horror of slavery in Sudan; the appalling conflicts in Nigeria; the brutal dictatorship in Myanmar; other ongoing conflicts in Africa, Asia and Latin America; and the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001 and the ensuing war against terrorism have destabilised the world and impoverished large sections of the world’s population. As long as Western countries profit from producing weapons and imposing them on poorer countries, a peaceful world will remain unattainable. Advances in science and technology are not fully employed to decrease poverty and injustice. Preventable diseases (especially malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS) continue to kill countless people, mostly in the developing world. Sporadic earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts, flash floods, global warming and other natural disasters devastate populations. Even the United Nations’ glamorous Millennium Development Goals have not been able to eradicate poverty, illiteracy, gender inequality, child mortality, maternal sicknesses or environmental degradation. Life has become much harder for most people in the non-Western world; many find meaning and fulfilment in the person of Jesus Christ and in the Church, the only organisation that functions to a great extent. People in the Western world seem to find the meaning of their life in politics, trade, material wealth and technology, including defence mechanisms. Most of them are the children of the Euro-American Enlightenment that underscores modern secularism, individualism, the market economy, consumerism and postmodernity filled with ambiguities. Some of them decry Western atrocities against other peoples but do little to effectively change the course of their countries. Most of them have not yet recovered from their colonial guilt. They do not differentiate greedy and violent colonialists from Christian missionaries who sought to empower the local peoples. Their suspicion of Western expressions of Christianity makes them question anything that is Christian. Their familiarity with the ongoing denominational squabbles, conflicts between liberal and conservative Christians, and inconsistent Christian approaches towards creation, evolution, abortion, gender issues, ordination of women, homosexuality and sex scandals keeps many Westerners away from the Church. They have sincerely expected the demise of Western Christianity and its institutions; the continuing presence of these institutions troubles them. They imagine that the Western form of

Christianity is practised everywhere, and they remain unaware of its parochial nature. They also do not wish to know non-Western expressions of Christianity. Yet non-Western Christianity shows signs of vitality, authenticity and hope. It is far from perfect but moves towards better manifestations of Christian beliefs in word and action. The ethos of the EuroAmerican Enlightenment does not constrain nonWestern Christians. They do not see Jesus Christ of the Bible reflected in Western theologies centred on God and God’s rule. They constitute suffering minorities in anti-Christian settings. They carry the burden of past Euro-American political colonialism and contemporary forms of economic and military neocolonialism. They seek to interpret their Christian beliefs and practices among the peoples of other living religions and ideologies who too are engaged in purposeful missionary activities. The interventions of Christians on behalf of the poor and neglected have socio-economic repercussions. Their discipleship is often a costly affair. Short-term mission initiatives are nowadays popular among Northern American and European churches. They focus their attention on learning what God is doing in the non-Western regions of the world and how they can overcome their paternalistic, ethnocentric, triumphalistic superiority complexes, on the one hand, and the reality of paralysing guilt and suspicion, on the other. They can learn much from non-Western mission agencies like the Friends Missionary Prayer Band (FMPB). Currently the FMPB employs over 700 Indian Christian missionaries who work in various places in India. Indian prayer groups support these missionaries with money and other resources, and their ministry has already produced tangible results, like rescuing the whole tribe of Maltos from extinction and transforming them into a wonderful people. These kinds of non-Western Christian experiences in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania can deliver Western Christians from their cultural captivity and give them a taste of world Christianity. In 1910 most Christians lived in Euro-American countries. After 100 years the situation has changed. Nowadays most Christians live in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania. Christianity originated in Western Asia and first developed in the Greekspeaking and Latin-speaking areas of Europe and Northern Africa. When it moved northwards, it became domesticated in Euro-American cultures for a long time. Its Asian and African expressions have not faded away; rather, they are now rejuvenated. Christian experiences from Latin America and Oceania enrich world Christianity. Christianity has indeed become – or, more preciously, regained its status as – a world religion. Comprising one-third of the global population, it is now represented to a greater or a lesser extent in all the countries of the world. It is also the most pluralistic living religion, because at any given time people worship Jesus Christ in the greatest number of languages, reflecting the diverse cultural contexts in which Christian faith finds expression.

DANIEL JEYARAJ John Bowden, Margaret Lydamore and Hugh Bowden, A Chronology of World Christianity (London: Continuum, 2008). Noel Davies and Martin Conway (eds), World Christianity in the 20th Century (London: SCM Press, 2008). Adrian Hastings (ed.), A World History of Christianity (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000). Lamin Sanneh, Disciples of all Nations: Pillars of World Christianity (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007). Andrew F. Walls, The Cross-Cultural Process in Christian History (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2002).

Christians by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 USA Russia Germany France Britain Italy Ukraine Poland Brazil Spain

Christians 84,800,000 65,757,000 45,755,000 40,894,000 39,298,000 35,330,000 29,904,000 22,102,000 21,576,000 20,357,000

Highest percentage* 2010 USA Brazil Russia China Mexico Philippines Nigeria DR Congo India Germany

Christians 257,311,000 180,932,000 115,120,000 115,009,000 105,583,000 83,151,000 72,302,000 65,803,000 58,367,000 58,123,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 % Christian Finland 100.0 Slovenia 100.0 Barbados 100.0 Netherlands Antilles 100.0 Samoa 100.0 Virgin Is of the US 100.0 Tonga 100.0 Aruba 100.0 Spain 100.0 Portugal 100.0

Fastest growth* 2010 Samoa Romania Malta El Salvador Guatemala Ecuador Costa Rica Puerto Rico Honduras Grenada

% Christian 98.8 98.8 98.0 97.4 97.3 97.0 96.8 96.6 96.6 96.6

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Burkina Faso Chad Nepal Burundi Rwanda Central African Rep Saudi Arabia Ivory Coast United Arab Emirates Oman

*Countries >100,000 % p.a. 13.58 13.44 12.13 11.86 11.80 11.54 10.60 9.55 9.33 9.18

2000–2010 Afghanistan Cambodia Burkina Faso Mongolia Timor Nepal Gambia Sierra Leone Benin Liberia

% p.a. 19.01 7.28 5.16 4.98 4.80 4.67 4.00 4.00 3.94 3.93

55

CHRISTIANITY, 1910–2010

Roman Catholic Christians to consciously participate in God’s work among non-Christians and to accept the good and noble elements of non-Christian cultures and histories. Each local parish, not only mission orders like the Jesuits, is to be considered a mission agency. Roman Catholic clergy must communicate God’s Word in the local languages and empower the laity for mission. Yet the vertical hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church remains. Its Western executives emphasise its Euro-centredness and do not seem to adequately recognise the vitality and breadth of Roman Catholic expressions in non-Euro-centric contexts. Vatican II’s changed attitudes and approaches towards non-Western peoples and their cultures initiated vernacularisation of the Bible, theology and liturgy. They critiqued exploitative socio-economic and political structures and their impact on ordinary people. For example, the Latin American bishops gathered in Medellín (1968) promoted theology of liberation. Gustavo Gutiérrez’s A Theology of Liberation (1973) articulated the need, nature and goals of a theology of liberation: God demands social change that ensures freedom, dignity and humane treatment of the poor. Some Christians are unhappy with Liberation Theology because it downplays or even negates mission among non-Christians. Others appreciate its use of Marxist and socialist ideologies to change human societies. In the course of time other liberation theologies emerged: Dalit Theology in India, Minjung Theology in South Korea, and Black Theology, Feminist Theology and Womanist Theology in the USA. Great liberation theologians epitomise people’s hopes and aspirations. Liberation theological ideals energised Christian statesmen like Oscar Arnulfo Romero of El Salvador and Hélder Câmara of Brazil. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr campaigned against racism in the USA. Their work toward justice, equality and peace is truly remarkable. Mother Teresa in India became the symbol of compassion and love towards the poor and the needy. These and countless other Christian pacesetters derived their inspiration from the incarnation and humanity of Jesus Christ. They demanded equal rights and opportunities for the marginalised and showed a way forward. Their examples have had ripple effects all over the world. In July 1969 astronauts landed on the moon. Their perspective of Earth as a single planet consisting of a single human family reiterated Christian commitments to solidarity, partnership and sharing. Conservative or evangelical Christians in the West began to realise what missionaries had known and practised: oral proclamation of the gospel must not be separated from Christian service. The first International Congress on World Evangelization, meeting at Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1974 with representatives from 150 countries, epitomised this insight. The Lausanne Committee underscored the inerrancy of the Bible in everything that the Bible affirms. It upheld the distinctiveness of Jesus Christ as the Way, Truth and Life who demands just and dignified life for all. Its congresses in Manila (1989) and Pattaya, Thailand (2004) looked into other pressing issues of world Christianity and appropriate Christian witness. Most of its leaders are non-Westerners who spearhead holistic mission models. Its congress planned for Cape Town in 2010 signifies the increasing importance of Southern Christianity in the universal Body of Christ. Western insights into holistic mission and Christian unity led the WCC to publish two landmark documents in 1982. Mission and Evangelism: An Ecumenical Affirmation reflects the obvious and implied aspects of holistic mission in our pluralistic world. Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (the ‘Lima Document’) explains the complementary and contradictory interpretations

Concentration of Christians, 1910–2010

T

Concentration of Christians by province, 2010

he map to the right, which also appears at the beginning of Part I, depicts the percentage of Christians in each province in 2010. Presenting the data in this way reveals patterns that are obscured in a country-level depiction. For example, the percentages of Christians among the total populations of Egypt and Sudan are comparable. Depicting these data only on the country level, however, would mask both (1) the strong variation in Christian percentages among provinces within each country, and (2) the fact that Sudan has a much greater inter-province variation than does Egypt. Similarly, India has a far lower percentage of Christians than does France. There are, however, individual provinces in India with larger percentages of Christians than most of, or even any province in, France. Percentages tell only one part of the story, of course. A significant factor to remember, when interpreting the province-level data on the largest map on this page, is population per province. For example, a province whose population of two million are all Christians is home to fewer total Christians than a province of 22 million that is only 10% Christian. (See the next set of facing pages for more on this factor.) The map to the right does show the relative strength of Christianity in its provincial and national context. This is most useful in comparing concentration of Christians globally. The three smaller maps on this page show the percentage Christian in each of the world’s countries in 1910, 1950 and 1970. Despite the major global changes in the distribution of Christians over the last century, Christians still represent approximately one-third of the world’s population: 34.8% of the global population in 1910, decreasing slightly to 33.2%. This is because the growth of Christianity in Africa and Asia has been offset by its relative decline (as a percentage of adherents, although usually not in absolute numbers) in most of the rest of the world. Northern America’s percentage Christian, for example, decreased by 15.4 percentage points over the past century, and Europe’s decreased by 14.3 percentage points. Africa’s, on the other hand, increased by 38.5 percentage points between 1910 and 2010. In 1910 nine of the ten countries with the most Christians were in the North; the exception was Brazil. The shift of Christianity southward over the following century has left the USA, Russia and Germany as the only Northern countries on the comparable list for 2010. Seven countries had no reported Christians in 1910, but in 2010 Christians are present in each of the world’s 239 countries. Of the ten countries with the fastest Christian growth between 1910 and 2010, six are in Africa and four in Asia. See page 8 for these top ten lists.

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

1910

Concentration of Christians by country

Evan

 Concentration of Christians by country, 1950 It has been stated numerous times that the Global South became increasingly Christian during the twentieth century. This halfway point, 1950, illustrates how Christianity was making its way into regions like Middle, Western, and Eastern Africa, as well as countries like Indonesia and South Korea. In 1910 sub-Saharan Africa was hardly Christian, but even by 1950 the percentages of Christians in these countries were on the rise. Ironically, the negative impact of two World Wars on Europe and the accompanying decline of Christianity there were also visible already in 1950.

Christian1910 0 0.001

2

5

10

40

60

75

85

90

95

1950 Legend same as above

Christian  Concentration of Christians by country, 1970

60

In the 20 years between 1950 and 1970 Christianity continued to grow in the South and contract in the North. Sub-Saharan 0 0.001 2 to see5growth10 Africa continued in the 40 Christian percentage, as did Papua New 75 85 90 95 Guinea and many South-eastern Asian nations. This map also illustrates the impact of the Soviet regime on Eastern Europe. The region was around 90% Christian in 1950, but in 20 years this percentage had shrunk to around 40% due to government persecution of all faiths. The Indian subcontinent continued to grow in Christian adherents, while other nations such as the majority in Western Asia changed little between 1910 and 1970.

56 Christian1970

60

1970 Legend same as above

75

85

90

95

100%

Latin America Northern America Europe Oceania

80% 60%

Africa 40%

World

20%

Asia 0% 1910

1930

1950

1970

1990

2010

 Concentration of Christians by continent, 1910–2010 Although the ‘World’ line on the graph above does not seem to indicate that there has been any great change in global Christianity over the past century, the internal demographic make-up of Christianity has changed dramatically. Latin America, Northern America and Europe all started out in 1910 at almost 100% Christian, but in 2010 only Latin America retains a high percentage. Northern America and Europe have dropped to around 80% Christian, and Oceania has returned to that level from its peak towards mid-century. Christianity in Africa had the most drastic change of any continent, growing from a mere 9% Christian in 1910 to almost 50% in 2010. Asia’s change, though small in terms of proportion (from 2% Christian in 1910 to just 9% in 2010), still represents strong growth in absolute numbers, especially since 1950. The growth of Christianity in Africa (and to an extent, Asia) is what held the global Christian percentage steady between 1970 and 2010.

1910

!

CONCENTRATION OF CHRISTIANS

Christian centre of gravity

2010 !

Christians by UN region, 1910 and 2010

Christian growth rates* by UN region, 100-year and 10-year

1910 Population Africa 124,228,000 Eastern Africa 33,030,000 Middle Africa 19,443,000 Northern Africa 32,002,000 Southern Africa 6,819,000 Western Africa 32,933,000 Asia 1,028,265,000 Eastern Asia 556,096,000 South-central Asia 345,121,000 South-eastern Asia 94,104,000 Western Asia 32,944,000 Europe 427,154,000 Eastern Europe 178,184,000 Northern Europe 61,474,000 Southern Europe 76,940,000 Western Europe 110,556,000 Latin America 78,269,000 Caribbean 8,172,000 Central America 20,777,000 South America 49,320,000 Northern America 94,689,000 Oceania 7,192,000 Australia/New Zealand 5,375,000 Melanesia 1,596,000 Micronesia 89,400 Polynesia 131,000 Global total 1,759,797,000

Christians 11,663,000 5,266,000 207,000 3,107,000 2,526,000 557,000 25,123,000 2,288,000 5,182,000 10,124,000 7,529,000 403,687,000 159,695,000 60,326,000 74,532,000 109,134,000 74,477,000 7,986,000 20,566,000 45,925,000 91,429,000 5,650,000 5,206,000 245,000 68,600 130,000 612,028,000

2010 % Population Christians 9.4 1,032,012,000 494,668,000 15.9 332,107,000 214,842,000 1.1 129,583,000 105,830,000 9.7 206,295,000 17,492,000 37.0 56,592,000 46,419,000 1.7 307,436,000 110,084,000 2.4 4,166,308,000 352,239,000 0.4 1,562,575,000 140,012,000 1.5 1,777,378,000 69,213,000 10.8 594,216,000 129,700,000 22.9 232,139,000 13,315,000 94.5 730,478,000 585,739,000 89.6 290,755,000 246,495,000 98.1 98,352,000 79,610,000 96.9 152,913,000 125,796,000 98.7 188,457,000 133,838,000 95.2 593,696,000 548,958,000 97.7 42,300,000 35,379,000 99.0 153,657,000 147,257,000 93.1 397,739,000 366,322,000 96.6 348,575,000 283,002,000 78.6 35,491,000 27,848,000 96.9 25,647,000 18,816,000 15.4 8,589,000 7,847,000 76.7 575,000 532,000 99.2 680,000 653,000 34.8 6,906,560,000 2,292,454,000

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

% 1910

% 47.9A 64.7A1 81.7A2 8.5A3 82.0A4 35.8A5 8.5C 9.0C1 3.9C2 21.8C3 5.7C4 80.2E 84.8E1 80.9E2 82.3E3 71.0E4 92.5 L 83.6L1 95.8L2 92.1L3 81.2N 78.5P 73.4P1 91.4P2 92.5P3 96.0P4 33.2zG 0% 0

Christians

% 2010 3.82 3.78 6.44 1.74 2.95 5.43 2.68 4.20 2.63 2.58 0.57 0.37 0.44 0.28 0.52 0.20 2.02 1.50 1.99 2.10 1.14 1.61 1.29 3.53 2.07 1.63 1.33

20

40 50% 60

80

100% 100

Population

2.14A 2.33 A1 1.91 A2 1.88 A3 2.14 A4 2.26 A5 1.41C 1.04 C1 1.65 C2 1.86 C3 1.97 C4 0.54E 0.49 E1 0.47 E2 0.69 E3 0.53 E4 2.05L 1.66 L1 2.02 L2 2.11 L3 1.31N 1.61P 1.57 P1 1.70 P2 1.88 P3 1.66 P4 1.38 zG -2 -2

2.55 2.31A 2.80 2.59A1 2.93 2.86A2 1.50 1.69A3 0.92 0.86A4 2.65 2.53A5 2.38 1.18C 2.99 0.57C1 2.49 1.60C2 1.92 1.34C3 0.42 1.90C4 0.23 0.03E 0.29 -0.47E1 0.28 0.42E2 0.43 0.48E3 -0.09 0.27E4 1.27 1.28L 1.18 0.92L1 1.24 1.26L2 1.30 1.32L3 0.83 1.00N 1.11 1.33P 0.71 1.10P1 2.14 2.06P2 1.44 1.47P3 1.00 1.04P4 1.35 1.21zG

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 88 9 10 10 11 12 12

-2 -2

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 8 9 10 11

57

0

Distribution of Christians, 1910–2010

T

Distribution of Christians by province, 2010

he large map on these facing pages aims to answer the question, ‘Where do the largest numbers of Christians live?’ It does so by depicting the Christian population of each province (or country) as a share of the total global Christian population. Country-level maps are included below to allow comparisons with similar data from 1910, 1950 and 1970. These data are best studied in comparison with the largest map on the previous pages. For example, many provinces (and even entire countries) in Latin America, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa have high percentages of Christians. Yet, as the map here shows, their small overall populations (and thus their Christian populations) contribute relatively little to the global Christian total. Two good examples are Paraguay and Norway. China and India illustrate the reverse – countries whose sizeable Christian populations are overshadowed by their much larger total populations. China is only 8% Christian, which gives it a light shading on the previous map, but that does not adequately portray the reality of over 115 million Christians in the country. The map on these pages does, however: some two-thirds of China’s provinces are home to at least one million Christians, including Henan with over 17 million. India, less than 5% Christian, is mostly lightly shaded on the previous ‘concentration of Christians’ map as well. But on the largest map on these facing pages, many provinces of India are shaded darkly – indicating many millions of Christians – especially in the south. China and India are the most populous countries in the world (over 2.5 billion people combined). Likewise, together they represent significant portions of the Christian populations both in Asia (just under 50%) and globally (nearly 7.6%). Finally, countries that appear similar on one set of maps can look quite different on the other. Argentina and Poland, for example, have similar total populations and Christian populations. All provinces in each country are highly Christian as well. Yet the distribution of Christians among the provinces in Argentina is more similar to that of China and India than of Poland, a pattern also visible in countries as diverse as Colombia, Canada, Ethiopia and Australia. The shift of global Christianity to the Global South can be traced across the twentieth century. It is therefore instructive to compare four maps in sequence: first 1910 to the right, then 1950 and 1970 below, and finally, the large map depicting 2010 by province. These maps trace the changing distribution of Christians over the 100-year period. The most obvious change at a glance is the increasing share of global Christianity of African Christians over the century. More observations can be found in the text accompanying the maps.

Population variations Surprisingly, Christian population numbers vary less between provinces in Nigeria, noted for its north–south Muslim–Christian ‘divide’, than in such ‘Christian’ nations as the USA and Brazil.

ProvRelig_C2010PctOfGlobalC Percentage of all

Christians

0 .05 10 15 25 0.5 1 0 0. 0. 0.

2

5

7 >7

= Few or none

1910

Distribution of Christians by country

Ev

0 0.050 0.10 0.15 0.25 0.50

1.0

2.0

5.0

7.0 > 7.0

1950 Legend same as above

C2010PctOfGlobalC  Distribution of Christians by country, 1970 0 1.0

2.0

5.0

By 1970 Christianity in Africa was growing rapidly in all regions except Northern Africa, where Europeans were beginning to leave Morocco, Algeria and other countries. The 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.25 0.50 map and the table to the right show the 7.0 > 7.0increasing proportion of all Christians who are African – from less than 1.9% in 1910 to 5.6% in 1950 and 11.7% in 1970. Over the same period, European Christians are falling in their total share of global Christianity – from 66% in 1910 to 51.4% in 1950 to less than 40% by 1970. These figures show that the shift was already well underway as early as 1950 and increasingly so by 1970. Nonetheless, as these maps show, there were still large numbers of Christians in Europe and Northern America, with still over three times as many Christians in Europe as there were in Africa.

58 C1970PctOfGlobalC

100%

World

80%

% of all Christians

 Distribution of Christians by country, 1950 By the middle of the twentieth century, the landscape of global Christianity was undergoing substantial change. The most significant event on the global scene was the rise of Communism, first in the Soviet Union, and, from the standpoint of 1950, just beginning in China. In the first case, Christians in Russia and in the 14 other republics were much reduced from their pre-1917 numbers. In China, promising Christian movements would stall until after 1970. Already one can see the reduction of China’s share of global Christianity in comparison to the 1910 map. At the same time, Christianity is beginning to grow in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Eastern and Middle Africa.

C1910PctOfGlobalC

60% 40%

Europe Latin America Africa Asia Northern America Oceania

20% 0% 1910

1930

1950

1970

1990

2010

 Distribution of Christians by continent, 1910–2010 The graph above shows the distribution of Christians by the continents of the world, and how that has changed in the last 100 years. The rise of Christianity in the Global South is clearly evident.

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010

1.0

1970 Legend same as above

2.0

5.0

7.0

>7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Province England São Paulo Central California Volga Texas Minas Gerais Amhara Henan New York Southern Florida Rio de Janeiro Siberia México

Country Britain Brazil Russia USA Russia USA Brazil Ethiopia China USA Russia USA Brazil Russia Mexico

Population 51,419,000 43,397,000 36,718,000 37,876,000 30,114,000 23,317,000 20,966,000 23,071,000 97,396,000 21,220,000 22,147,000 17,872,000 16,865,000 19,392,000 14,818,000

Christians 41,305,000 38,389,000 31,210,000 28,028,000 25,296,000 20,752,000 18,891,000 18,561,000 17,531,000 16,764,000 15,414,000 15,370,000 15,178,000 14,156,000 14,092,000

% 80.3 88.5 85.0 74.0 84.0 89.0 90.1 80.5 18.0 79.0 69.6 86.0 90.0 73.0 95.1

Distribution within countries DR Congo has the most even inter-provincial distribution among countries with large Christian populations. This is not due simply to its small number of provinces (11), however, as comparisons with Australia and Canada readily show.

Christians by UN region, 1910–2010 1910 Africa Eastern Africa Middle Africa Northern Africa Southern Africa Western Africa Asia Eastern Asia South-central Asia South-eastern Asia Western Asia Europe Eastern Europe Northern Europe Southern Europe Western Europe Latin America Caribbean Central America South America Northern America Oceania Australia/New Zealand Melanesia Micronesia Polynesia Global total

Population 124,228,000 33,030,000 19,443,000 32,002,000 6,819,000 32,933,000 1,028,265,000 556,096,000 345,121,000 94,104,000 32,944,000 427,154,000 178,184,000 61,474,000 76,940,000 110,556,000 78,269,000 8,172,000 20,777,000 49,320,000 94,689,000 7,192,000 5,375,000 1,596,000 89,400 131,000 1,759,797,000

Christians % 11,663,000 1.9 5,266,000 0.9 207,000 0.0 3,107,000 0.5 2,526,000 0.4 557,000 0.1 25,123,000 4.1 2,288,000 0.4 5,182,000 0.8 10,124,000 1.7 7,529,000 1.2 403,687,000 66.0 159,695,000 26.1 60,326,000 9.9 74,532,000 12.2 109,134,000 17.8 74,477,000 12.2 7,986,000 1.3 20,566,000 3.4 45,925,000 7.5 91,429,000 14.9 5,650,000 0.9 5,206,000 0.9 245,000 0.0 68,600 0.0 130,000 0.0 612,028,000 100.0

1950 Population 224,203,000 65,071,000 26,104,000 53,303,000 15,591,000 64,134,000 1,410,648,000 669,906,000 511,448,000 178,149,000 51,145,000 548,194,000 220,198,000 78,093,000 108,997,000 140,906,000 167,626,000 17,132,000 37,515,000 112,980,000 171,615,000 12,807,000 10,127,000 2,290,000 148,000 242,000 2,535,093,000

1970

Christians % 49,006,000 5.6 21,344,000 2.5 5,371,000 0.6 5,449,000 0.6 9,056,000 1.0 7,786,000 0.9 43,387,000 5.0 3,808,000 0.4 9,812,000 1.1 25,360,000 2.9 4,407,000 0.5 445,764,000 51.4 137,738,000 15.9 72,183,000 8.3 102,344,000 11.8 133,500,000 15.4 159,349,000 18.4 15,332,000 1.8 37,004,000 4.3 107,013,000 12.3 158,556,000 18.3 11,516,000 1.3 9,703,000 1.1 1,439,000 0.2 134,000 0.0 240,000 0.0 867,579,000 100.0

 =Increase in % of all Christians from previous date

                         

Population 364,135,000 109,021,000 41,289,000 85,939,000 25,462,000 102,424,000 2,138,766,000 986,626,000 777,433,000 286,762,000 87,945,000 656,670,000 276,417,000 87,358,000 127,245,000 165,650,000 287,541,000 25,420,000 69,581,000 192,540,000 231,932,000 19,639,000 15,548,000 3,426,000 242,000 423,000 3,698,683,000

Christians % 144,922,000 11.7 55,091,000 4.5 30,667,000 2.5 7,993,000 0.6 19,300,000 1.6 31,871,000 2.6 96,386,000 7.8 11,030,000 0.9 27,261,000 2.2 51,723,000 4.2 6,372,000 0.5 492,531,000 39.9 158,219,000 12.8 75,759,000 6.1 111,625,000 9.0 146,927,000 11.9 271,378,000 22.0 19,898,000 1.6 68,297,000 5.5 183,183,000 14.8 211,585,000 17.1 18,168,000 1.5 14,517,000 1.2 3,005,000 0.2 231,000 0.0 415,000 0.0 1,234,969,000 100.0

2010                          

Population 1,032,012,000 332,107,000 129,583,000 206,295,000 56,592,000 307,436,000 4,166,308,000 1,562,575,000 1,777,378,000 594,216,000 232,139,000 730,478,000 290,755,000 98,352,000 152,913,000 188,457,000 593,696,000 42,300,000 153,657,000 397,739,000 348,575,000 35,491,000 25,647,000 8,589,000 575,000 680,000 6,906,560,000

Christians % 494,668,000 21.6 214,842,000 9.4 105,830,000 4.6 17,492,000 0.8 46,419,000 2.0 110,084,000 4.8 352,239,000 15.4 140,012,000 6.1 69,213,000 3.0 129,700,000 5.7 13,315,000 0.6 585,739,000 25.6 246,495,000 10.8 79,610,000 3.5 125,796,000 5.5 133,838,000 5.8 548,958,000 23.9 35,379,000 1.5 147,257,000 6.4 366,322,000 16.0 283,002,000 12.3 27,848,000 1.2 18,816,000 0.8 7,847,000 0.3 532,000 0.0 653,000 0.0 2,292,454,000 100.0

                         

 =Decrease in % of all Christians from previous date

59

DISTRIBUTION OF CHRISTIANS

Hidden giants Both China and India are among the countries with the most total Christians. Because each country is less than 10% Christian, however, this fact is often overlooked.

Dynamics of Christian change, 2010

Total

Christian gain

Christian loss

Dynamics_NewChr Christian gain 5,700,000 3,500,000 1,500,000 700,000 200,000 0

Dynamics_CLoss Christian loss 3,600,000 1,700,000 800,000 350,000 90,000 0

CLoss p Christian gain, 2010 The map above shows Christian gain (births plus converts plus immigrants) as a raw number. 2 - 90,000 Countries that have very large Christian gains are of two kinds: (1) Countries with large populations90,001 and relatively high - 350,000 percentages of Christians. This includes the USA, Russia, Brazil and DR Congo. (2) Countries with 350,001 - 800,000very large populations and fast-growing Christian communities. This includes China, India and Nigeria. 800,001 - High 1,700,000 birth rates, high conversion rates and high immigration rates all contribute to large Christian gains. 1,700,001 - 3,600,000

000 - 700,000 - 1,500,000

01 - 3,500,000

Per 100 Christians

01 - 5,700,000

Christian gain per 100 Dynamics_NewChrRate Christians 7.4 5.0 3.9 2.8 2.0 1.0

p Christian loss, 2010 The map above shows Christian loss (deaths plus defectors plus emigrants) as a raw number. Countries that have very large Christian losses are of three kinds. (1) Countries with large populations and relatively high percentages of Christians (many Christians die every year). This includes Brazil and Russia. (2) Countries undergoing secularisation (high numbers of defectors), such as the USA and South Africa. (3) Countries with large Christian populations such as China and Nigeria.

Christian loss per 100 Dynamics_CLossRate Christians 7.5 3.8 2.5 1.9 1.3 0.4

CLossRate p Christian loss per 100 Christians, 2010 p Christian gain per 100 Christians, 2010 The map above shows a proportional view of Christian gain (births plus converts plus 0.4 immigrants). This map The map above shows a proportional view of Christian loss (deaths plus defectors plus emigrants). This map - 1.3 is a more nuanced view of Christian loss because countries around the world experience different reasons is strikingly different from the one directly above. Here one can clearly see the continued 1.4 - 1.9shift of global for Christian loss. Countries in Africa have high death rates, thus losing burgeoning Christian population in Christianity to the Global South. Africa, in particular, continues to show high rates of Christian gain. The 2.0 - 2.5 this way. Countries in Europe have higher defection rates due to ongoing secularisation. Countries such as map also reveals several recent hot spots for Christian gains such as Mongolia and Afghanistan, with small 2.6 - 3.8 Kazakhstan have high emigration rates, thus losing traditional Christian communities such as Germans and but dynamic Christian communities. Northern America and Europe score very low on 3.9 this - 7.5 map, with their Russians. Christian populations continuing to decline as percentages of global Christianity.

ate

T

he dynamics of change in Christian affiliation can be reduced to three sets of empirical population data that together enable us to enumerate the increase or decrease in adherents over time. These three sets can be considered as follows: (1) births and deaths; (2) converts and defectors; and (3) immigrants and emigrants. The first variable of each set (births, converts, immigrants) measures gain, while the second (deaths, defectors, emigrants) measures loss. All future projections of Christian affiliation within any subset of the global population (normally a country or region) will depend on these dynamics. The primary mechanism of religious change globally is births and deaths. Children are almost always considered to have the religion of their parents (this is the law in Norway and many other countries). This means that a religious population has a close statistical relationship to demography. The change over time in any given community is most simply expressed as the number of

births into the community minus the number of deaths out of it. Many religious communities around the world experience little else in the dynamics of their growth or decline. Nonetheless, it is a common observation that individuals (or even whole villages or communities) change allegiance from one religion to another (or to no religion at all). In the twentieth century, this change has been most pronounced in two general areas: (1) Tribal religionists, more precisely termed ethnoreligionists, have converted in large numbers to Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, and (2) Christians in the Western world had defected to become agnostics or atheists in large numbers. Both of these trends, however, had slowed considerably by the dawn of the twenty-first century. In fact, the main twenty-first-century trends likely will involve religious resurgence, with noticeable decreases in the percentages of atheists and agnostics. Another factor likely will be the effects of the interaction

between major religious traditions. And leadership for that interaction is increasingly in the hands of religious communities located in the Global South. At the national level, it is equally important to consider the movement of people across national borders. From the standpoint of religious affiliation this can have a profound impact. In the Central Asian countries of the former Soviet Union, for example, Christianity has declined significantly every year since 1990 due to the emigration of Russians, Germans and Ukrainians. In the twenty-first century this trend could be the most significant in relation to the religious composition of individual countries. By 2100 it might be difficult to find a country in which 90% or more of the population belong to any single religion. The diagram below shows the six dynamics of Christian change in a single formula. This is how Christian change is calculated for every country in the world.

Net Christian change formula

Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian loss Immigrants

p Christian gain Birth, conversion and immigration are positive dynamics, in that they add Christians to a population. The sum of the three constitutes Christian gain. Every population experiences Christian gain unless all three of these dynamics are zero.

60

Deaths

Defectors

Emigrants

p Christian loss Death, defection and emigration are negative dynamics, in that they remove Christians from a population. The sum of the three constitutes Christian loss. Every population also experiences Christian loss unless all three of these dynamics are zero.

Net Christian change p Christian change The difference between Christian gain and Christian loss is the net Christian change for the population. While gain and loss are always positive numbers, net Christian change can be either positive or negative.

Net Christian change Largest net Christian gain and loss, 2010** 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Net Christian change Dynamics_NetChrIncr 2,900,000 1,600,000 160,000 0 -100,000 -250,000

Country China Brazil USA DR Congo Nigeria Philippines India Ethiopia Mexico Kenya

Gain 2,876,000 2,144,000 2,103,000 1,956,000 1,615,000 1,526,000 1,297,000 1,280,000 1,127,000 879,000

Country Germany Ukraine Romania Poland Bulgaria Moldova Netherlands Georgia Iraq Hungary

Loss -248,000 -102,500 -86,000 -49,000 -43,500 -30,000 -25,000 -22,500 -13,340 -12,900

**Christian population >100,000

The table below reveals the differences by region and continent. One can see that Africa supplies 11.6 million net new Christians out of the global total of 27.8 million. Thus, Africa Christians, who represent just 21% of all Christians, produce 42% of all new Christians every year. The table above further reveals the continuing decline of net new Christians emerging in the Global North, especially Europe.

Largest net Christian gain and loss per 100 Christians 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Christian change per 100Dynamics_NetChrIncrAsPctofAllChr Christians >3 3 2 1 0 -2 100,000

hr

p Christian change per 100 Christians, 2010 The map above reveals an important trend. There is significant variation from country to country when net Christian change is measured as a percentage (per 100 Christians here instead of the standard per 100 population). This is revealed in the table below, where the global growth of Christianity is presented as a percentage (per 100 Christians) at 1.2% for the year 2009–10. Regional variations range from -0.1% in Eastern and Western Europe to 2.7% in Middle Africa. The map and the table above clearly shows that current growth

of Christianity is located in the Global South, and losses are mainly in the Global North. Of the countries with the largest net Christian gain per 100 Christians in 2010, seven of the top ten are found in Africa while the remaining three are in Asia. Six of the ten largest net losses (per 100 Christians) are in Europe. The other four are experiencing losses mainly due to emigration.

Dynamics of Christian gain and loss by UN region summed by country, 2010 Christians Total Births Africa 494,667,520 21,452,000 18,015,000 Eastern Africa 214,842,400 9,439,000 7,980,000 Middle Africa 105,829,600 5,226,000 4,556,000 Northern Africa 17,491,960 549,300 456,000 Southern Africa 46,419,200 1,387,000 1,049,000 Western Africa 110,084,360 4,851,040 3,975,000 Asia 352,239,310 10,818,200 6,282,000 Eastern Asia 140,011,800 4,471,000 1,648,000 South-central Asia 69,212,680 2,377,400 1,511,000 South-eastern Asia 129,699,600 3,676,000 2,902,000 Western Asia 13,315,230 293,500 221,000 Europe 585,738,770 11,533,000 6,006,000 Eastern Europe 246,494,530 4,399,000 2,479,000 Northern Europe 79,610,390 1,791,000 934,000 Southern Europe 125,796,315 2,687,000 1,258,000 Western Europe 133,837,535 2,657,000 1,336,000 Latin America 548,958,315 14,520,300 10,642,000 Caribbean 35,379,455 796,260 689,000 Central America 147,256,570 4,501,000 3,053,000 South America 366,322,290 9,224,000 6,900,000 Northern America 283,002,105 6,335,000 3,787,000 Oceania 27,848,105 691,400 473,000 Australia/New Zealand 18,815,936 403,700 234,000 Melanesia 7,847,260 255,200 214,000 Micronesia 531,880 14,370 10,300 Polynesia 653,029 17,400 14,300 Global total 2,292,454,125 65,348,000 45,204,000

Christian gain * Converts 3.87 3,317,000 3.98 1,459,000 4.62 670,000 2.70 93,300 2.30 218,000 3.83 876,000 1.87 4,497,000 1.24 2,821,000 2.30 866,000 2.34 757,000 1.68 52,700 1.03 2,952,000 1.00 1,420,000 1.18 518,000 1.01 563,000 1.00 451,000 2.00 3,868,000 2.00 107,000 2.14 1,438,000 1.94 2,324,000 1.37 1,301,000 1.74 95,400 1.26 47,700 2.86 41,200 2.00 3,300 2.24 3,100 2.03 16,029,000

* Immigrants 0.71 120,000 0.73 0 0.68 0 0.55 0 0.48 120,000 0.84 40 1.34 39,200 2.13 2,000 1.32 400 0.61 17,000 0.40 19,800 0.50 2,575,000 0.58 500,000 0.66 339,000 0.45 866,000 0.34 870,000 0.73 10,300 0.31 260 1.01 10,000 0.65 0 0.47 1,247,000 0.35 123,000 0.26 122,000 0.55 0 0.64 770 0.49 0 0.72 4,115,000

* 0.03 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.26 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.15 0.44 0.20 0.43 0.69 0.65 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.45 0.45 0.66 0.00 0.15 0.00 0.19

Total Deaths 9,845,000 6,995,000 3,798,000 2,781,000 2,342,000 1,744,000 316,100 123,000 1,100,000 775,000 2,290,000 1,572,000 4,065,000 2,223,000 1,499,000 919,000 964,000 535,000 1,374,000 665,000 227,500 104,000 11,151,000 6,902,000 4,580,000 3,575,000 1,544,000 786,000 2,263,200 1,236,000 2,766,000 1,306,000 7,978,000 3,169,000 455,800 260,000 2,637,000 701,000 4,884,000 2,208,000 4,034,200 2,260,000 428,500 205,000 301,000 131,000 108,400 67,200 7,700 2,900 10,900 3,400 37,504,000 21,755,000

Christian loss * Defectors 1.50 1,607,000 1.39 620,000 1.77 319,000 0.73 34,100 1.70 290,000 1.52 344,000 0.66 1,227,000 0.69 418,000 0.81 309,000 0.54 456,000 0.79 43,400 1.18 4,119,000 1.45 908,000 0.99 754,000 0.99 998,000 0.97 1,460,000 0.60 2,704,000 0.75 136,000 0.49 570,000 0.62 1,997,000 0.82 1,764,000 0.75 213,000 0.71 170,000 0.90 37,200 0.56 2,600 0.53 3,200 0.98 11,634,000

* 0.35 0.31 0.32 0.20 0.63 0.33 0.37 0.32 0.47 0.37 0.33 0.70 0.37 0.95 0.80 1.09 0.51 0.39 0.40 0.56 0.64 0.78 0.92 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.52

Emigrants 1,243,000 397,000 279,000 159,000 35,000 374,000 615,000 162,000 120,000 253,000 80,100 130,000 97,000 4,000 29,200 0 2,105,000 59,800 1,366,000 679,000 10,200 10,500 0 4,000 2,200 4,300 4,115,000

* 0.27 0.20 0.28 0.94 0.08 0.36 0.18 0.12 0.18 0.20 0.61 0.02 0.04 0.01 0.02 0.00 0.40 0.17 0.96 0.19 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.05 0.43 0.68 0.19

Christian change Net * 11,607,000 2.49 5,641,000 2.81 2,884,000 2.92 233,200 1.38 287,000 0.63 2,561,040 2.47 6,753,200 2.01 2,972,000 2.24 1,413,400 2.15 2,302,000 1.86 66,000 0.50 382,000 0.07 -181,000 -0.07 247,000 0.31 423,800 0.34 -109,000 -0.08 6,542,300 1.23 340,460 0.99 1,864,000 1.31 4,340,000 1.22 2,300,800 0.83 262,900 0.97 102,700 0.55 146,800 1.96 6,670 1.30 6,500 1.02 27,844,000 1.25

*Per 100 Christians in the corresponding region

61

CHRISTIAN CHANGE

p Net Christian change, 2010 The map above shows the net effect of all six dynamics of Christian change. While one can clearly see the growth of Christianity in the Global South (Africa, Asia, Latin America) the USA continues to provide an exception to the rule about Christian growth. Large countries with high percentages of Christians (Brazil and DR Congo) have large Christian increases due to birth rates, whereas large countries with minority Christian communities (China and India) depend also on conversions for their increases.

Components of Christian change, 2010

O

n these two pages the six components contributing to a change in the numbers of Christians are examined in more detail. The six factors are births, deaths, converts, defectors, immigrants and emigrants. Christian communities experience a constant flux through both the births and deaths of members in their churches. The change over time in any given community is most simply expressed as the number of births into the community minus the number of deaths out of it. Many religious communities around the world experience little else in their growth or decline. This means that any attempt to understand Christian affiliation must be firmly based on demographic projections of births and deaths. The impact of births and deaths on Christian affiliation can change over time. For example, the recent census in Northern Ireland revealed a closing of the gap between Protestants and Catholics over the past three decades. Protestants used to make up 65% of

the population, but by 2001 this had dropped to 53%. Catholics, in the meantime, had grown from 35% to 44% of the population. This shift is due primarily to the higher birth rate among Catholic women. One would expect that, given time, Catholics would eventually claim over 50% of the population of Northern Ireland. But the census also revealed two counter-trends: (1) the death rate among Protestants is falling and (2) the birth rate among Catholics is falling. Given these trends, forecasters believe that Protestants will likely remain in the majority in the coming decades. Conversion to a new religion involves defection from a previous one. Thus, a convert to Christianity, is, at the same time, a defector from another religion. Among Christians in the twentieth century, defections were found largely among Christians in the Western world who have decided to become agnostics. Emerging twenty-first-century trends show that ethnoreligionist

Christian loss totals

Total births toDynamics_CBirth Christians

Total deaths of Dynamics_CDeath Christians

3,600,000 2,000,000 900,000 400,000 120,000 0

2,100,000 750,000 450,000 200,000 60,000 0

The map of Christian births visually supports the reality of Christianity’s shift to the Global South, although both the USA and Russia have large numbers of ChristianCDeath births and appear in the list of ten countries with the most Christians in 2010.

120,000

0 - 60,000

60,001 - 200,000

,001 - 900,000

200,001 - 450,000

,001 - 2,000,000

450,001 - 750,000

00,001 - 3,600,000

750,001 - 2,100,000

Total converts toDynamics_CConvert Christianity

Total defections fromDynamics_CDefection Christianity

1,700,000 1,500,000 500,000 200,000 100,000 0

1,520,000 650,000 350,000 170,000 45,000 0

Conversions to Christianity occur where one would expect to find them, in Africa and Asia. But, in addition, due to the collapse of Communism, every year there is stillCDefection a large number of agnostics in the former Soviet Union who become Christians.

ert

0 - 45,000

100,000

45,001 - 170,000

,001 - 500,000

170,001 - 350,000

,001 - 1,500,000

350,001 - 650,000

00,001 - 2,700,000

650,001 - 1,520,000

20,000

,001 - 1,200,000

Total Christian Dynamics_CEmigration emigrants

1,200,000 500,000 150,000 60,000 20,000 0

1,200,000 500,000 250,000 100,000 20,000 0

0 - 20,000

20,001 - 100,000

001 - 150,000

,001 - 500,000

Total Christian Dynamics_CImmigration immigrants

Not surprisingly, the Global North seems to be the main recipient of Christian immigrants, CEmigration most of whom are from the Global South. Most countries in Europe and Northern America now have large Christian communities from Africa, Asia and Latin America.

001 - 60,000

100,001 - 250,000

62

Defection rates are highest in Global North but with large numbers of Christians in Brazil, DR Congo, China and India, these countries show up on this map because their large populations produce a significant number of defectors.

250,001 - 500,000 500,001 - 1,200,000

Christian emigrants are largely from the Global South, especially Mexico and Brazil in Latin America, and Nigeria and DR Congo in Africa. China is also increasingly a source of Christian emigrants.

Emigrants

Immigrants

,001 - 200,000

gration

One of the realities of large Christian communities in China and India is the large numbers of Christian deaths that occur in these ‘non-Christian’ countries every year. In addition, large numbers of Christian deaths still occur every year in the Global North.

Defectors

Converts

,001 - 400,000

Deaths

Births

Christian gain totals

populations will remain relatively stable while world religions experience fewer defections, with corresponding decreases in the percentages of atheists and agnostics. In a reversal of nineteenth-century European colonisation of Africa, Asia and the Americas, the late twentieth century witnessed waves of emigration of people from these regions to the Western world. The impact on religious affiliation is significant. In Western Asia, for example, Christianity has declined significantly every year since 1990 due to the emigration of Palestinians and other Orthodox Christians. In the twenty-first century this trend could have significant impact on the religious composition of individual countries. Increasing religious pluralism is not always welcomed and may be seen as a political, cultural, national or religious threat. Yet, as stated earlier, by 2100 it might be difficult to find a country in which 90% or more of its population belong to any one single world religion.

p Births The graph above shows that Africa and Latin America provide the majority of the world’s Christian births.

1.5

1.5

p Converts Conversions are most common in Africa, Asia and Latin America – the most important factor in the shift of Christianity to the Global South.

p Immigrants Christian immigrants, primarily from the Global South, are finding their way to the Global North.

Christian gain per 100 Christians

Births to Christians* Dynamics_CBirthRate 5.0 3.4 2.4 1.7 1.2 0.8

Africa, Asia, and Latin America have the highest Christian birth rates in the world. This is the major component in the widening gap in the proportion of ChristiansCDeathRate from the Global South vs the Global North. 0.1 - 0.6

1.3 - 1.6

- 5.0

1.7 - 2.2

Converts to Christianity* Dynamics_CConvertRate 4.2 2.0 1.2 0.8 0.4 0

p Defectors Defectors are located primarily in the Global North (Europe and Northern America).

0.5

Oceania

L America

N America

Asia

Europe

0.0

Africa

L America

Oceania

P

N America

Asia

Europe

N

p Emigrants Christian emigrants are primarily from the Global South (Africa, Asia and Latin America).

Christian loss per 100 Christians

Christian deaths play a significant role in the Global North, particularly in Eastern Europe. Nonetheless, Christian death rates in Africa are the highest in the world; in Africa large numbers come into churches and large numbers leave, most by death.

1.2 0.9 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.1

Asia has the highest rate of conversions to Christianity, with China as the leading country. CDefectionRate As countries become more solidly Christian (90% or more of the population), conversions play a less significant role in growth. 0.1 - 0.2 0.3 - 0.4

- 1.1

0.5 - 0.6

- 1.9

0.7 - 0.8

- 4.2

0.9 - 1.2

Christian immigrants* Dynamics_CImmigrationRate

Defectors are located primarily in the Global North (Europe and Northern America), where secularisation has been underway for more than two centuries. In all regions smaller numbers of Christians defect to other world religions.

Emigrants

Immigrants

L

Defections from Christianity* Dynamics_CDefectionRate

- 0.7

- 0.4

E

Defectors

Converts

0.9 - 1.2

- 3.3

- 0.1

A C 0.0

1.0

The continental graphs to the left show the relative strength of each of the six components (births, converts, immigrants, deaths, defectors and emigrants) in each of the continents. These graphs allow for quick comparison of the essential features of the dynamics of Christian change. The figures are shown per 100 Christians, which allows for regions with smaller populations, such as Oceania, to be compared with larger populations.

2.2 1.7 1.3 0.9 0.7 0.1

0.7 - 0.8

grationRate

0.5

Christian change dynamics

Deaths of Christians* Dynamics_CDeathRate

- 2.3

- 0.3

P

p Deaths Christian deaths play a more significant role in the Global North, but by raw numbers are largest in Africa.

- 1.6

ertRate

N

Africa

L

1.0

Oceania

E

L America

A 0.0

N America

C

Asia

0.5

Europe

P

Oceania

N

L America

L

N America

E

1.0

Africa

0.5

A C 0.0

Asia

P

Africa

N

Oceania

L

L America

E

N America

A C 0.0

Asia

0.5

1.0

Europe

1.0

Per 100 Christians

1.5

Per 100 Christians

1.5

1.5

Per 100 Christians

2.0

Per 100 Christians

2.0

Europe

Oceania

P

L America

N

N America

Asia

L

Europe

Africa

E

2.0

Africa

Per 100 Christians

0.5

A C 0.0

2.0

Christian emigrants* Dynamics_CEmigrationRate

1.8 1.3 0.9 0.5 0.2 0

6.5 3.8 2.1 1.0 0.4 0.0

Christian immigrants are finding their way to the Global North. The largest numbers are CEmigrationRate from Mexico, Brazil, Nigeria, the Philippines and South Korea. In Europe they host some of the continent’s largest congregations. 0.0 - 0.3 0.4 - 0.9

- 0.8

1.0 - 2.0

- 1.2

2.1 - 3.7

- 1.8

3.8 - 6.5

CHRISTIAN CHANGE

- 1.1

1.0

2.0

Deaths

Rate

1.5

Births

P

Per 100 Christians

2.0

Christian emigrants are primarily from the Global South (Africa, Asia and Latin America) with destinations in the Global North. While some flee persecution, most are looking for a better way of life, ironically, in a post-Christian milieu. *Per 100 Christians

63

Proportions of Christian change, 2010

A

lthough there are six components of Christian change at work in every country of the world, these six operate in different proportions in each country. This is evident in a quick glance at the bar graphs that are placed below every map in Part III. These two pages examine the components as differing proportions as percentages of either Christian gain (births, converts, immigrants) or Christian loss (deaths, defectors, emigrants). In each case the three components add up to 100%. The global table on page 61 reveals the global, continental and regional proportions of the six components. Note that these totals are calculated utilising the United Nations method of adding up each of the components from the country level to the regional level to the continental level, and finally, to the global level. Strictly speaking, immigration and emigration do not occur at the global level since no one either leaves or arrives on the planet. But the tables show the cumulative effect of the components. Thus, at the global level, the net Christian change in 2009–10 is 27.8 million, which is the result of a Christian gain of 65.3 million minus a Christian loss of

Births

Globally, 70% of all Christian gains every year can be attributed to Christian births. But there is great variation from country to country. The countries that top the list to the right see little annual gain apart from the births of infants into Christian families. On the other hand, converts and/or immigrants play a large role in the Christian gains of countries at the bottom of the list. For example, in Mongolia only 30% of the Christian gains are attributable to Christian births. The other 70% are converts (see below). In contrast, immigrants represent most of the annual gain in Singapore (also below).

37.5 million. The Christian gain can be viewed by three components and their proportions of the total. This is 45.2 million births (69% of the total Christian gain) plus 16 million converts (24.5% of the total gain) plus 4.1 million immigrants (6% of the total gain). For Christian loss, the 37.5 million is a combination of 21.8 million deaths (58% of the total Christian loss) plus 11.6 million defectors (31% of the total loss) plus 4.1 million emigrants (11% of the total loss). One interesting conclusion of the global totals is that nearly 70% of Christian gain and 60% of Christian loss can be attributed to normal demographic processes (births and deaths). These proportions are examined by continent in the table at the top of the opposite page. This table reveals interesting variations in the continental proportions, whereas the six maps below examine the proportions at the level of each country. The estimates on which these factors are based are essential for understanding the annual changes in Christian populations. Although these factors could be applied to a single congregation or a denomination, they

Highest and lowest percentages 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Country* Jamaica Saint Vincent Libya Guyana Grenada Syria Uzbekistan Suriname Israel Cape Verde

% of gain 99.9 99.8 99.8 99.7 99.6 99.6 99.4 99.3 99.1 97.9

191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Italy Sweden Estonia Luxembourg Spain Cambodia Canada Azerbaijan China Singapore

45.9 44.4 43.9 43.3 43.0 42.7 40.9 38.2 34.4 33.2

Births as a percentage of totalDynamics_CBirthAsPctofNewChr gain, 2010 100 90 80 65 50 30

CBirthAsPctofNewChr

Converts

Conversions account for 24.5% of the total Christian gain globally, but there are significant variations by country. The proportions are highest in the Global South, but there are exceptions in the Global North, most specifically in Eastern Europe, where there are residual conversions to Christianity in the wake of the collapse of Communism. Asian rates are generally higher than African because Christianity claims a higher percentage of African populations (consequently fewer non-Christians to convert). Muslim countries are prominent in the second list, where Christian communities are small or the result of immigration rather than conversion (for example, Filipinos in Saudi Arabia).

31 - 50

Highest and lowest percentages 51 - 65 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Country* 66 - 80 China 81 - 90 Azerbaijan 91 - 100 Cambodia Estonia Belarus Hungary Jordan Netherlands Antilles Canada Latvia

% of gain 65.6 61.8 57.3 56.1 52.0 50.5 50.1 49.7 49.6 49.1

Israel Suriname Uzbekistan Syria Grenada Guyana Libya Saint Vincent Jamaica Saudi Arabia

0.9 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1

Converts as a percentage of totalDynamics_CConvertAsPctofNewChr gain, 2010 70 40 25 15 5 0

CConvertAsPctofNewChr

Immigrants

While only 6% of global Christian gains can be attributed to immigration, this component plays an essential role in many countries. Singapore, at the top of the first list – and one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world – has both a large indigenous Christian population and a large expatriate Christian population, including Filipinos. UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain also have large populations of guest workers who are Christians. On the second list are countries where births and converts provide well over 99% of all Christian gains.

5

Highest and lowest 15 percentages 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Country* 25 Singapore 40 United Arab Emirates 70 Kuwait Luxembourg Norway Malta Spain Sweden France Thailand

% of gain 57.3 49.8 49.1 44.3 40.2 39.8 39.6 39.1 38.2 35.1

Argentina Ukraine Colombia Ethiopia India DR Congo Nigeria Philippines China Brazil

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

*Christian population >100,000

64

CImmigrationAsPctofNewChr 0-5 6 - 15 16 - 30

Immigrants as a percentage of totalDynamics_CImmigrationAsPctofNewChr gain, 2010 65 45 30 15 5 0

are perhaps most useful when applied to the Christian situation in a country. As is shown below, birth rates play a major role in annual gains in Christian demographics at a global level (near 70% of all gains), but the data ranges below from almost 100% in Jamaica to only 33% in Singapore. Conversion is the second-most significant factor in gains, ranging from over 65% in China to less than 1% in Saudi Arabia. Finally, immigrants account for only 6% of gains on the global level but range from a high of 57% in Singapore to almost none in Brazil. Annual losses in Christian demographics is a similar story. First, the most significant factor is death, which accounts for nearly 60% of all losses but ranges from a high of 89% in Russia to only 11% in Jordan. Second in proportion is defection, which accounts for approximately a third of all losses globally but ranges from almost 70% in the United Arab Emirates to just over 1% in Iraq. Finally, emigration is the cause of about 11% of all losses globally but ranges from over 86% in Iraq to virtually none in Russia.

Christian loss and gain by continent (summed by country), 2010 Defections Emmigrants Africa Asia Europe Latin America Northern America Oceania Global total

Percentage of Christian loss Deaths Defectors Emigrants 71.1 16.3 12.6 54.7 30.2 15.1 61.9 36.9 1.2 39.7 33.9 26.4 56.0 43.7 0.3 47.8 49.7 2.5 58.0 31.0 11.0

Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

Percentage of Christian gain Percentage of Christian loss Percentage of Christian gain Emigrants Defectors Deaths Births Converts Immigrants Births Converts Immigrants 84.0 15.5 0.6 Africa 58.1 41.6 0.4 Asia 52.1 25.6 22.3Europe 73.3 26.6 0.1America Latin 59.8 20.5 19.7America Northern 68.4 13.8 17.8Oceania 69.2 24.5 6.3 Global Total 100%

Christian loss

⇐

0%

Christian gain

⇒

100%

Christian change by continent

The continental table to the left shows the relative proportion of each of the six components (births, deaths, converts, defectors, immigrants and emigrants) in each of the continents, which is the sum of each of these dynamics by country. The table allows for quick comparison of the six components of Christian change. The figures are shown as proportions, which allows for regions with smaller populations, such as Oceania, to be compared with the more populous continents. Note that these proportions are reported for every country in Part III.

Deaths as a percentage of totalDynamics_CDeathAsPctofLoss loss, 2010 100 75 60 45 30 8

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Country* Russia Burundi Botswana Mozambique Benin Guinea Ukraine Burkina Faso Belarus Sierra Leone 90 100

Israel Iran Tajikistan Oman Nicaragua Mexico Turkey Micronesia Iraq Jordan

% of loss 89.0 88.6 87.6 87.3 84.8 83.9 83.2 82.9 82.4 82.3 26.3 25.4 24.3 23.8 23.8 23.3 21.1 20.3 12.1 11.7

Deaths

Similar to births as a proportion of gains, Christian deaths are the major component in Christian loss, accounting for 58% of the total Christian loss each year. The countries in the first list experience little defection or emigration (of Christians). As a result, Christian losses in Afghanistan are almost all attributable to deaths of Christians. Note that most countries in the first list have corresponding high conversion or high birth rates. Countries in the second list tend to have high losses because of Christian emigration.

ofLoss

Highest and lowest percentages

Defectors as a percentage of totalDynamics_CDefectionAsPctofLoss loss, 2010 70 45 30 20 10 0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Country* United Arab Emirates Kuwait New Zealand Canada France Australia Sweden Switzerland French Guiana Denmark Zambia Liberia Angola Azerbaijan Lesotho Sierra Leone Central African Rep Guinea-Bissau Swaziland Iraq

% of loss 68.6 61.7 58.5 57.4 57.3 56.0 54.3 52.7 51.7 51.6 8.6 8.5 8.0 7.6 7.5 7.5 7.4 6.0 5.2 1.3

Defectors

Defections account for 31% of all Christian losses globally, but defection rates are generally higher in Western countries, especially in Europe. Gulf States such as UAE and Kuwait top the first list because of defections of Muslim family members from Christianity back to Islam. Otherwise Christians generally defect to agnosticism. In the second list are countries where there is little happening in Christian communities, or, in the case of Iraq, Christians are leaving the country in large numbers.

PctofLoss

AsPctofLoss

Highest and lowest percentages

Emigrants as a percentage of totalDynamics_CEmigrationAsPctofLoss loss, 2010 90 55 35 20 5 0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Country* Iraq Jordan Tajikistan Azerbaijan Micronesia Uzbekistan Iran Kyrgyzstan Israel São Tomé & Príncipe Australia Canada Argentina South Africa Spain France Italy Britain Germany Russia

% of loss 86.5 79.3 64.3 63.6 63.1 61.1 60.6 60.6 59.2 58.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Emigrants

Globally, emigration is the cause of about 11% of all Christian losses. The countries in the first list are experiencing cataclysmic change, as in the wars in Iraq or Palestine, or are in proximity to such conflicts, as with Jordan. In some cases, the Christian communities leaving these countries are from particular ethnic communities. The countries in the second list experience little emigration of their Christian communities. Most of these countries have significant Christian populations as immigrants.

65

CHRISTIAN CHANGE

Highest and lowest percentages

Christianity by major tradition, 1910–2010 ‘One of the most striking facts of our time is the global extension of Christianity.’ —Kenneth Scott Latourette ‘Christians agree that the church is one. They do not agree on how to make this oneness evident and visible to the world.’ —William Richey Hogg ‘The full-grown humanity of Christ requires all the Christian generations, just as it embodies all the cultural variety that six continents can bring.’ —Andrew F. Walls

F

rom the very beginning of the early Church, Christians have grappled with the challenge of unity as a body while being exceedingly diverse in ethnicities, theologies, traditions and practices. The New Testament records instances of early believers dividing along ethnic, economic and leadership lines but being corrected by Scripture and the Spirit to be united as one body. This tension between unity and diversity has continued through the centuries. History reveals that the births of new Christian traditions were often accompanied by controversy, strife, division and even bloodshed, but also by renewed attempts to bring greater unity among Christians. Navigating this tension between unity and diversity has been a challenge through the twentieth century and will continue to grow more difficult with the increase of fragmentation and the formation of postmodern identities. Over the last twenty centuries, Christians have divided into six major streams, which are included here chronologically as follows: Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Protestant, Independent and Marginal Christian. Evangelicals and Renewalists (Pentecostals, Charismatics and Neocharismatics) are identities that are found across each of these six streams of Christianity. Evangelicals and Pentecostals have grown dramatically in numbers and in the extent of their geographical distributions over the course of the past century. Each tradition has within it organised denominational expressions. Each ecclesiastical tradition has the tendency to regard itself as the true Church and the truest expression of Christianity. Early twentieth-century mission and cooperation At the turn of the twentieth century, prior to the Great War, there was a powerful sense of hope and of the unlimited potential of humanity. Leading up to 1910, the perspective of European Christendom was still prevalent, with little cooperative interaction between ecclesiastical traditions. Each tradition had its own perspective and method of engaging in Christian mission, with the predominant pattern going from the West to the East, focusing on Africa and Asia. With increasing missionary activity, interactions with other traditions on mission fields were inevitable, as were opportunities for creative and cooperative engagement. The oldest of church traditions, the Orthodox tradition, includes both the Eastern Orthodox (Russian, Greek, other Eastern European traditions) and the Oriental Orthodox (Coptic, Armenian, Syriac, Indian, Assyrian). Although these two church families are separate communions, they both consider themselves in historical continuity with the early church of the Apostles. Since 1996 they mutually recognise each other as confessing the same faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They also have maintained a close sense of community between church families. However, over all they have not been actively involved in cross-cultural mission. The Roman Catholic Church is the largest of all Christian bodies, and its worldwide organisational control and efficacy are unparalleled among Christian traditions. Part of this great efficacy is their method of sending missionaries and counting membership. Roman Catholics do not have parishes sending missionaries abroad but rather have religious orders taking on that responsibility. Additionally, unlike most Protestant denominations, membership is recorded as all baptised into the Catholic faith rather than only those received and maintained in active church membership. With access to personnel, financial resources, and ministries in education and literature, the Roman Catholic tradition has experienced tremendous growth and influence through its missionary efforts. At the start of the twentieth century, Roman Catholics experienced much success in their

66

missionary efforts in Africa, especially in both Eastern and Southern Africa. Roman Catholic tradition, which tends to value mystery and miracles more highly than cognition, was more readily received than Protestantism in areas where religion is understood in terms of spiritual power encounters rather than creedal authority. Because Roman Catholics experienced much missionary success in the early part of the century, there was little interaction with other traditions until midcentury. For example, from the 1910 World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, until the Second Vatican Council (1962–5), there was little interaction between Roman Catholics and Protestants. Following Vatican II, interactivity between Roman Catholics and other traditions increased dramatically, especially with Protestants. The Anglican tradition has its origins in the ancient Church of England, which broke away from the Roman Catholic tradition, renouncing papal authority and instituting the English sovereign as the head of the church under the Elizabethan Religious Settlement with the Act of Supremacy of 1559. Initial growth in the number of Anglican churches around the world was the result of British and USA colonialism. This growth involved both migration of Anglican communities and strong voluntary missionary societies such as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and the Church Missionary Society. The Protestant tradition arose from the various European Reformation movements of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, separating from the Roman Catholic Church in particular, and distinct from Orthodox and Anglican traditions. Protestants hold that Scripture alone (sola scriptura) is revealed truth, salvation is through God’s grace alone (sola gratia) and justification is by faith alone (sola fide). They include groups such as Lutherans, Presbyterians, Reformed, Methodists, Baptists, Brethren, Mennonites, Quakers and Adventists. Protestants historically have been heavily involved in cross-cultural mission. They pioneered new models of mission from voluntary missionary societies, ‘faith missions’, and nondenominational missionary efforts including missionary conferences, such as the historic 1910 World Missionary Conference. Organised by Joseph Oldham and chaired by John R. Mott, the 1910 Edinburgh World Missionary Conference called together into unity many major Protestant denominations and missionary societies from Northern America and Northern Europe for the purpose of world evangelisation. Unfortunately, Edinburgh 1910 had no representatives of the Orthodox or Roman Catholic traditions, and only a very limited representation of leaders from mission-founded Protestant or Independent churches from non-Western lands (for example, there was not one black African delegate, with only a few African Americans), as representation was based on the annual expenditures of missionary societies rather than on the demographic realities of the Church. Although leaders from mission-founded Protestant churches or Independent churches from non-Western lands were few in number at Edinburgh 1910, by that time Christianity was firmly rooted in Africa and Latin America with its own indigenous leadership. For example, the African Initiated Churches (AICs) have their origins from the late nineteenth century, when African leaders desired greater range in responsibilities and indigenous expression in their churches, often resulting in separation from their respective mission churches. The AICs desired to promote indigenous leadership in their churches, African methods and means of evangelising Africans, and further indigenisation of the Christian faith in the African context. The Native Baptist Church in Nigeria was established as one of the first African Indigenous Churches in March 1888 after seceding from the Lagos Baptist Church, and by the second decade of the rise of the AICs, they were known as the Aladura churches in Nigeria. The Aladura churches saw tremendous growth with their focus on healing and prophecy, bringing the Christian faith to the African grassroots. From Nigeria, the Aladura movement spread through missionary activity to other Western African countries – one of the first examples of African indigenous missions. In the later part of the twentieth century, the spirit of independent indigenous mission continued to grow in strength numerically and organisationally, as exemplified by groups such as the Nigeria Evangelical Missions Association (NEMA) and Cooperación Misionera Iberoamericana (COMIBAM),

as well as through Independent nondenominational groups such as the Vineyard movement. A dynamic minority of Protestants are Evangelicals, even more vigorously missionary than the majority and rapidly growing in many parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Evangelicals started new denominations but also have always been found within a wide range of denominational families. Most of the Protestant churches have Evangelicals within their memberships. Evangelical hallmarks include emphasis on the authority of the Bible, justification of sinners by faith in the work of Christ alone, personal conversion, a life of disciplined piety, and evangelistic zeal. Evangelicals were aligned with the spirit of Edinburgh 1910, ‘Taking the Gospel to all the Non-Christian World’. Their shared faith and values have enabled them to work quite comfortably across denominational lines. Attempting unity in diversity – ecumenical interactions In the mid-twentieth century nearly all ecclesiastical traditions increased their efforts to engage cooperatively with each other. Some efforts were more localised to specific mission fields or home fronts, and others were more global in scope. In particular, many traditions, even those historically more removed from interacting with other traditions, began to participate in the Ecumenical Movement – which found expression in the series of international gatherings begun with the Edinburgh 1910 World Missionary Conference. Although at the beginning of the twentieth century Orthodox churches had little contact with those of other traditions, from the middle of the twentieth century this posture gradually changed. Consultations with Roman Catholics began in 1971 and, with the exception of the Russian Orthodox Church, most Orthodox churches have participated in the Ecumenical Movement as members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) since 1948. Several Orthodox churches were among the founding members of the WCC, and with their participation in the WCC they have had increasing interaction with Protestant churches on both local and international levels. Following their origins in separation and division from the Roman Catholic Church during the various European Reformation movements, Protestants have witnessed much diversification, fragmentation and brokenness within their own family in the last century. For example, Korea, one of the most celebrated successes of Protestant missions in the twentieth century, was not free from the strife of fragmentation, competition and brokenness. Although South Korea witnessed the astonishing growth of Christianity after World War II, growth was unfortunately accompanied by schisms leading to the existence of around 100 Presbyterian denominations. Despite their origins in separation and division, Protestants have been at the forefront of initiatives to overcome divisions, often as an outgrowth of their extensive missionary activity. Where Christians were few in number, they often worked cooperatively across denominational lines to engage in larger projects in education and medicine. A number of church unions have formed across denominational lines. Early examples include the United Church of Canada, formed in 1925 with the merger of Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian churches; the Church of South India in 1947, which brought together Protestants and Anglicans; and a most impressive union in the Church of North India in 1970, which included Anglican, Baptist, Brethren, Congregational, Disciples, Methodist and Presbyterian churches. A number of nondenominational, non-church agencies of Christian cooperation also arose, including the World Alliance of YMCAs, the World Student Christian Federation and the United Bible Societies. Both Protestants and Anglicans have been active in the Ecumenical Movement, which emerged some forty years following the 1910 World Missionary Conference. The formation of a continuation committee following Edinburgh 1910 led to the establishment in 1921 of the International Missionary Council (IMC), a precursor to the World Council of Churches. At the founding of the WCC in 1948 at Amsterdam, 117 of the 145 churches represented were Protestant. Eighty-seven of these 145 founding churches were from the Global North; however, in the 1960s many Protestant churches from Africa, Asia and Latin America began to join the WCC. Protestant churches have played major roles in the WCC and the wider Ecumenical Movement. However,

Rise of non-Western Christianity Although Christianity has gradually expanded since its earliest days, in the centuries leading up to the twentieth century it was rooted primarily in Europe. As the result of vigorous mission activity prior to 1900, the Church in the Global South began to expand rapidly in the twentieth century. At the same time, the global Church also continued to grow westward until 1970, when Northern America had the highest percentage of Christian adherents of any region. Some time after 1980, Christians in the South outnumbered Northern Christians for the first time since the first few centuries after Christ. There is no indication that the vigorous growth in the Global South will slow down during the twenty-first century, as the Church continues to see tremendous growth in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. For example, the Anglican Communion currently comprises 38 regional or national churches known as ‘provinces’ spread over 160 countries. Most of their growth has occurred during the twentieth century and is also highly reflective of the demographic shift in global Christianity from the Global North to the Global South. Today the typical Anglican is from the Global South rather than an English-speaking Western country. The challenge facing Anglicans mirrors that of the global Church as a whole: affirming the unique expressions of the faith held by and in diverse localities and traditions, while at the same time seeing them as a part

of, and even incorporating them into, the wider life of the Church as a whole. How can we both celebrate and maintain the tension between unity and diversity? This challenge is also felt acutely because the composition of Protestant mission and influence changed dramatically during the twentieth century. Changing composition has made the challenge to work cooperatively only more complex. In 1910 two-thirds of Protestant missionaries originated from the mission societies of Europe (especially Britain), and the remaining third came from Northern America. In less than 50 years the proportion was reversed, with Northern American churches supplying two-thirds of the world’s Protestant missionaries. This initial heavy outpouring of missionaries and material wealth, unprecedented in the history of Christianity, has given rise to an association of Protestant Christianity with Western affluence and ideology. More recent decades have seen increasing Western financial resources gradually being dedicated to non-Western churches and to strengthening their leadership rather than solely supporting individual missionaries from the West. Resources are being invested in national and international institutes of theological education, centres for studying non-Christian religions, publications of significant books by Christian nationals, and funding for indigenous Christian leaders to examine the role of Christianity in their societies. One notable hallmark of Christianity is indigenisation of the faith. The indigenisation of Christianity in the panoply of cultures around the world took place over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries at different times and in different ways. It is also likely to be the wave of the future. An example in South Africa just after the turn of the twentieth century saw a blend of European Protestantism, newer forms of Holiness teaching and Pentecostal healing creating the Zionist movements as indigenous expressions of faith. How newer expressions of Christianity, such as Zionism, interface with older traditions remains to be seen. However, as history demonstrates, they too will most likely face controversy and strife, resulting either in acceptance or further fragmentation. Pentecostalism has been another primary factor in reshaping global Christianity from a predominantly Western to a predominantly non-Western phenomenon during the twentieth century. The most dramatic growth has been in Pentecostal and Charismatic churches, many of which are independent of both Western ‘mainline’ and Western-founded ‘classical Pentecostal’ denominations. In the Global South, Protestant churches have responded to the immense influence of Pentecostalism by adopting many of its features (such as forms of worship) as their own. This blurring of boundaries between traditions has allowed for the unprecedented burgeoning of Protestant Pentecostal churches in the Global South. Pentecostalism, with its emphasis on spiritual experience and ‘power encounters’, has been effective in attracting people who mix shamanistic and animistic beliefs and practices with their ‘main religion’, whether non-Christian (such as Buddhists, Confucianists, Hindus and Muslims in many parts of the world) or Christian (as folk Catholics with syncretistic expressions such as Santería and Candomblé). Christianity as expressed in Pentecostalism has thrived in the Global South amongst peoples marginalised from power precisely because it both incorporates their cultural values (emphasis on the emotional and the spiritual world) and responds to their deeply felt needs for healing and a voice in the midst of great poverty and socioeconomic and political marginalisation. Pentecostalism has become a powerful missionary movement. As mentioned above, it is able both to attract people from other world religions and to

effectively influence other Church traditions. Its nearsimultaneous origins at multiple places in the Americas and Africa have also contributed. Pentecostalism has had a significant impact upon Independent churches, especially in Africa, India and China. With Pentecostalflavoured Independent and Protestant churches as well as Catholic Charismatics blending into existing Christian traditions as well as establishing new ones in nearly every country of the world, Pentecostalism was one of the most influential forces of Christianity in the twentieth century. On the other hand, a panoply of non-Pentecostal groups has formed independently of historic organised Christianity. Some have formed in response to specific socio-economic contexts (such as among the dalits of India); some are indigenous spiritual movements (such as the Aladura movement); and some are postdenominationalists who create an amalgamation of historic ecclesiology and theology with newer indigenous expressions (such as the house-church movements). The most notable feature of these churches is how they both adopt and adapt the Christian faith in their particular situations. Thus this movement can be called either ‘independent’ or ‘indigenous’. In contrast to missionary churches that have mimicked the teachings, accoutrements and organisational structures of their sending bodies, these new churches have developed their own ways of both ‘doing church’ and ‘being the Church’. Ironically, the independent and indigenous natures of these movements have led to their being both celebrated (as inheritors of the apostolic faith and practices of the early Church) and marginalised (precisely because they fall outside the ‘accepted’ boundaries of the ‘traditional’ churches in both the North and the South). The reality of global Christianity in the early twenty-first century is that it simultaneously incorporates, blurs and transcends national and cultural boundaries. It is not centred in any one location or tradition. Rather, it challenges the historically Western domination of both faith and practice. The challenge to celebrate both the unity and diversity of global Christianity, especially with the rise of Christianity in the Global South, will be in the successful blending of diverse traditions, transcending boundaries and granting hope to a fragmented people in postmodern times, with spiritual renewal from the ground up. Global Christianity, by its very polycentric nature, challenges the (waning but still powerful) influence of Western Christianity. Although global Christianity is growing dramatically at the peripheries of power and affluence, it is not only located there but is found at their centres as well. With globalisation and the gradual ‘flattening’ of the earth, the migration of non-Western peoples and ideologies has greatly increased the influence of the South upon the Northern landscape. This global cross-pollination of the new with the old gives life, fresh interpretation and vigour to often-dwindling Northern churches. This remarkable movement of peoples, cultures and ideas from the Majority World into the Global North creates opportunities for dynamic interaction, and the unprecedented Christian identities that are thus formed and energised are also empowered to engage an increasingly complex world.

SANDRA S. K. LEE David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Trends (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2001). William Richey Hogg, One World, One Mission (New York: Friendship Press, 1960). Donald M. Lewis (ed.), Christianity Reborn: The Global Expansion of Evangelicalism in the Twentieth Century (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004). Mark A. Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1997). Timothy Yates, Christian Mission in the Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996).

Christianity by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 USA Russia Germany France Britain Italy Ukraine Poland Brazil Spain

Christians 84,800,000 65,757,000 45,755,000 40,894,000 39,298,000 35,330,000 29,904,000 22,102,000 21,576,000 20,357,000

Highest percentage* 2010 USA Brazil Russia China Mexico Philippines Nigeria DR Congo India Germany

Christians 257,311,000 180,932,000 115,120,000 115,009,000 105,583,000 83,151,000 72,302,000 65,803,000 58,367,000 58,123,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 % Christian Finland 100.0 Slovenia 100.0 Barbados 100.0 Netherlands Antilles 100.0 Samoa 100.0 Virgin Is of the US 100.0 Tonga 100.0 Aruba 100.0 Spain 100.0 Portugal 100.0

Fastest growth* 2010 Samoa Romania Malta El Salvador Guatemala Ecuador Costa Rica Puerto Rico Honduras Grenada

% Christian 98.8 98.8 98.0 97.4 97.3 97.0 96.8 96.6 96.6 96.6

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Burkina Faso Chad Nepal Burundi Rwanda Central African Rep Saudi Arabia Ivory Coast United Arab Emirates Oman

*Countries >100,000

% p.a. 13.58 13.44 12.13 11.86 11.80 11.54 10.60 9.55 9.33 9.18

2000–2010 Afghanistan Cambodia Burkina Faso Mongolia Timor Nepal Gambia Sierra Leone Benin Liberia

% p.a. 19.01 7.28 5.16 4.98 4.80 4.67 4.00 4.00 3.94 3.93

67

CHRISTIANITY BY MAJOR TRADITION

the overall missionary activity of mainline Protestant missions started to decline after 1960. Protestants who cannot in good conscience participate in the Ecumenical Movement often describe themselves as ‘Evangelical’ or ‘Fundamentalist’. Many Evangelicals did not align themselves with the structures that emerged from Edinburgh 1910, notably the WCC, due to theological reservations. Neither did Evangelicals draw together structurally on a global basis until 1951, with the establishment of the World Evangelical Fellowship (now the World Evangelical Alliance). This fellowship has drawn together national Evangelical churches, agencies and individuals across denominational divides. In 1966 a Congress on Evangelism was convened by Billy Graham in Berlin to reflect on the global development of the Evangelical movement and culminated in the International Congress on World Evangelization in 1974 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Unlike Edinburgh 1910, where only 17 of the 1,200 delegates were from the non-Western world, many of the delegates at the Lausanne Congress came from the Global South and were full contributors and leaders. It showed, especially in the decades that followed, that Latin Americans, Africans and Asians were prophetic voices that must be heard. Marginal Christian groups are distinct from the other Christian traditions (Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Protestant, Independent). They include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Jehovah’s Witnesses, Unification Church and certain Church of Christ movements. Each of these movements consider themselves to be Christian. For the most part, though Protestant in flavour, Marginal Christians differ in significant ways from classical Christian doctrine. Aside from the few Catholic bodies, they are nonTrinitarian, tending to emphasise the divine nature of each human, and viewing Christ as an example rather than a divine Saviour. They retain the language of Christian faith even though the substance radically differs. Additionally, each group has been established and shaped by an authoritarian leader, viewing itself exclusively as faithful to the original Christian gospel and so refusing to form ecumenical associations with other groups.

Locating Christians within traditions

2010

Major traditions

abloc

Minor traditions

Major CtryScan_CountMegabloc traditions, 2010

Minor CtryScan_CountTradition traditions, 2010 155 80 50 35 20 10 0

6 5 4 3 2 1 0

CountTradition

1910

 Major Christian traditions by country, 2010 1 - 10 In 2010, the six major Christian traditions are found all over the globe. Every continent is home to all six of 11 - 20 the major traditions. Nineteen of the 21 UN regions contain all six traditions, while two regions have at least 21 - 35 five traditions. The least diverse regions in terms of the major Christian traditions are found in Latin America 36 - 50 (because of so many Catholics) and Asia (because of so few Christians). This is not unique; 16 UN regions claim 51 - 80 Roman Catholicism as the largest major Christian tradition. Northern Europe is the only region that is majority 81 - 151 Anglican, largely due to Britain.

Major CtryScan_CountMegabloc traditions, 1910

 Minor Christian traditions by country, 2010 In 2010 the world’s largest minor tradition is Latin-rite Catholicism – the largest in 15 of the 21 UN regions. Other large minor traditions include Coptic Orthodox (Northern Africa), Zionist African (Southern Africa), Chinese Charismatic (Eastern Asia), Georgian Orthodox (Western Asia) and Lutheran (Northern Europe). In some regions where non-Catholic major traditions are the largest, their largest minor tradition is Latin-rite Catholic (such as Western Africa, Melanesia and Polynesia). The map above illustrates that much of Northern Africa, Western Asia and Eastern Asia have lower counts of minor traditions than the surrounding regions.

Minor traditions, 1910 CtryScan_CountTradition 155 80 50 35 20 10 0

6 5 4 3 2 1 0

abloc1910 CountTradition1910

 Major Christian traditions by country, 1910  Minor Christian traditions by country, 1910 0 - 10 In 1910 two of the major Christian traditions, Independents and Marginals, had little representation globally. Countries with few major traditions in 1910 also had few minor traditions. Countries such as India, Argentina, 11 - 20 These two traditions were found largely in the USA (which was home to all six traditions in 1910). Egypt, the USA, France and Australia, however, had many minor traditions represented. By 1910 India was home to 21 - 35 South Africa and some select central European countries were home to at least four traditions (Anglicans, many Baptist, Lutheran and Methodist missionaries, in addition to historic Orthodox and Catholic traditions 36 - 50 Catholics, Orthodox and Protestant). Many countries had extremely small Christian communities, which such as Eastern Syrian, Latin-rite and Eastern-rite Catholics. Evangelicals, Pentecostals and various other 51 - 68 mitigated against diversity in traditions. In 2010, however, many countries that only had one major tradition minor traditions were present in Argentina. South Africa was one of the few places outside the USA where 69 - 150 in 1910 (such as Saudi Arabia, Cambodia, Peru and Bolivia) now have at least three or four. Mormons (Marginal minor tradition) were working in 1910.

T

he major Christian traditions are Anglicans, Independents, Marginal Christians, Orthodox, Protestants and Roman Catholics in any given area (country, region, continent, world). The following pages discuss the six major Christian traditions in depth for the period 1910–2010, including the changes that have occurred within those traditions over the century. The discussion of each major tradition includes a table listing the minor traditions that it encompasses. Minor traditions fit within the overarching major tradition but often differ in terms of historic development, ethnic classification or specific doctrine. There are 300 minor traditions in the world that serve as subsets of the major traditions. Denominations, then, fit within the larger framework of minor traditions. It is on the denominational

level that most doctrinal differences are found between Christians. Examples of large denominations are the Russian Orthodox Church (Russian Byzantine minor tradition, Orthodox major tradition), Zion Christian Church (Zionist African minor tradition, Independent major tradition), and Southern Baptist Convention (Baptist minor tradition, Protestant major tradition). Churches and denominations within minor traditions sometimes have drastically different, or even opposing, practices of the Christian faith. The last subset for locating Christians is congregations. Congregations are the number of churches within a denomination, of which there are nearly five million in the world in 2010. Congregations are the local expressions of overarching denominations, which can also take on different forms depending on the

context. For example, the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt might act and serve differently from the Coptic Orthodox Church in Sudan. Congregations range in size from a small gathering of individuals often meeting in a home to several thousand meeting in a large building. Congregation size is examined in more detail by United Nations region in Part III. The diagram below illustrates how an individual Christian fits into the schema by belonging to a congregation that is part of a denomination in a minor tradition located in one of the six major traditions.

Locating an individual Christian within traditions

68

Major tradition

Minor tradition

1 of 6

1 of 300

Denomination 1 of 41,000

Congregation 1 of 4,850,000

Individual Christian 1 of 2,300,000,000

Denominations

Congregations

2010

Denominations, CtryScan_CountDenom 2010

Congregations, CtryScan_CountCong 2010

5,700 2,500 1,000 200 100 50 0

1,400,000 550,000 160,000 60,000 15,000 5,000 0

 Christian congregations by country, 2010 Of the 4.8 million Christian congregations in the world in 2010, two million of them are found in Asia (1.4 million of which are found in Eastern Asia, primarily in China). Other countries with large numbers of congregations are the USA, Brazil, India and South Africa, all countries with large Christian populations. Much of Africa and areas in Asia (Western Asia, Mongolia and Laos, among others) have few congregations, but many are experiencing significant growth early in the twenty-first century.

1910

Denominations, 1910 CtryScan_CountDenom

Congregations, 1910 CtryScan_CountCong 1,400,000 550,000 160,000 60,000 15,000 5,000 0

5,700 2,500 1,000 200 100 50 0

CHRISTIANITY BY TRADITION

CountCong

 Christian denominations by country, 2010 1 - 5,000 Africa is the continent with the most Christian denominations (14,898), but the map above illustrates that 5,001 - 15,000 these denominations are not distributed evenly. Countries like South Africa and Nigeria 15,001 have more denomi- 60,000 nations than other countries in Africa, though these two countries also generally have higher Christian 60,001 - 160,000 populations. Regions that are majority Orthodox have the fewest denominations, while 160,001 Northern America - 550,000 has the most denominations of any UN region (6,244). Of note is India, which is only 4.8%550,001 Christian, but has - 1,400,000 over 1,000 denominations.

CountCong1910

 Christian denominations by country, 1910  Christian congregations by country, 1910 0 - 5,000 In 1910, there were relatively few denominations. Since Independents and Marginals grew rapidly during the The map above shows that even though the number of denominations in the world was small in 1910, many 5,001 - 15,000 twentieth century, denominations within those major and minor traditions were few in15,0011910. The Catholic countries with significant Christian populations had many congregations. In Russia, the Russian Orthodox - 60,000 Church in the USA has been present since the sixteenth century and continued to be one of the largest Church was (and still is) the largest denomination, which probably accounts for the large numbers of 60,001 - 160,000 denominations in the country in 1910 and through to 2010. Other large USA denominations in 1910 and congregations in the country in 1910. The same holds true for Brazil and Roman Catholicism. Large numbers 160,001 - 550,000 2010 include the Southern Baptist Convention and National Baptist Convention. The only of Christians in large countries leads to higher numbers of congregations, even if they are within the same 550,001 other - 1,400,000 countries with significant numbers of denominations in 1910 were South Africa, India and Canada. denomination.

Christian diversity by UN region, 2010 2010 Population Christians Africa 1,032,012,000 494,668,000 Eastern Africa 332,107,000 214,842,000 Middle Africa 129,583,000 105,830,000 Northern Africa 206,295,000 17,492,000 Southern Africa 56,592,000 46,419,000 Western Africa 307,436,000 110,084,000 Asia 4,166,308,000 352,239,000 Eastern Asia 1,562,575,000 140,012,000 South-central Asia 1,777,378,000 69,213,000 South-eastern Asia 594,216,000 129,700,000 Western Asia 232,139,000 13,315,000 Europe 730,478,000 585,739,000 Eastern Europe 290,755,000 246,495,000 Northern Europe 98,352,000 79,610,000 Southern Europe 152,913,000 125,796,000 Western Europe 188,457,000 133,838,000 Latin America 593,696,000 548,958,000 Caribbean 42,300,000 35,379,000 Central America 153,657,000 147,257,000 South America 397,739,000 366,322,000 Northern America 348,575,000 283,002,000 Oceania 35,491,000 27,848,000 Australia/New Zealand 25,647,000 18,816,000 Melanesia 8,589,000 7,847,000 Micronesia 575,000 532,000 Polynesia 680,000 653,000 Global total 6,906,560,000 2,292,454,000

% 47.9 64.7 81.7 8.5 82.0 35.8 8.5 9.0 3.9 21.8 5.7 80.2 84.8 80.9 82.3 71.0 92.5 83.6 95.8 92.1 81.2 78.5 73.4 91.4 92.5 96.0 33.2

Major traditions Total Largest 6 Roman Catholics 6 Roman Catholics 6 Roman Catholics 6 Orthodox 6 Independents 6 Protestants 6 Independents 6 Independents 6 Roman Catholics 6 Roman Catholics 6 Orthodox 6 Roman Catholics 6 Orthodox 6 Anglicans 6 Roman Catholics 6 Roman Catholics 6 Roman Catholics 6 Roman Catholics 6 Roman Catholics 6 Roman Catholics 6 Roman Catholics 6 Roman Catholics 6 Roman Catholics 6 Protestants 5 Roman Catholics 5 Protestants 6 Roman Catholics

Minor traditions Total Largest 129 Latin-rite Catholic 81 Latin-rite Catholic 59 Latin-rite Catholic 58 Coptic Orthodox 72 Zionist Independent 76 Latin-rite Catholic 177 Latin-rite Catholic 83 Chinese charismatic 104 Latin-rite Catholic 102 Latin-rite Catholic 81 Georgian Orthodox 170 Latin-rite Catholic 91 Russian Orthodox 115 Lutheran 78 Latin-rite Catholic 87 Latin-rite Catholic 126 Latin-rite Catholic 78 Latin-rite Catholic 75 Latin-rite Catholic 108 Latin-rite Catholic 163 Latin-rite Catholic 93 Latin-rite Catholic 76 Latin-rite Catholic 47 Latin-rite Catholic 33 Latin-rite Catholic 31 Latin-rite Catholic 302 Latin-rite Catholic

Denominations Total Per million 14,898 14 3,149 9 1,554 12 265 1 5,610 99 4,320 14 6,131 1 1,461 1 2,187 1 1,616 3 867 4 6,175 8 1,204 4 1,695 17 1,411 9 1,864 10 6,561 11 1,592 38 1,313 9 3,655 9 6,244 18 1,074 30 521 20 256 30 148 258 148 218 41,082 6

Congregations Total Per million 835,000 809 347,000 1,044 126,000 976 15,200 73 83,500 1,476 263,000 856 2,098,000 503 1,432,000 917 366,000 206 277,000 466 22,500 97 493,000 675 143,000 492 91,500 930 139,000 908 120,000 637 783,000 1,319 50,500 1,195 172,000 1,122 560,000 1,408 581,000 1,667 60,100 1,693 25,800 1,006 30,600 3,564 1,300 2,283 2,300 3,455 4,850,000 702

69

Christianity by major tradition, 1910–2010

C

hristianity can be divided into six major traditions based on major ecclesiastical and cultural differences. These traditions are Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Protestant, Independent and Marginal. The Orthodox tradition includes all ethnic divisions of the Orthodox Church (such as Serbian and Russian). Roman Catholics include both the Western church (Latin Rite) and Eastern Catholic churches. Anglicans here are defined as those within the Anglican Communion, meaning in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury. Protestants are all the denominations that developed from the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century; they reject the papal authority of the Roman Catholic Church. Independents are Christians who choose to disassociate from any other tradition. Marginals are Christians who have different, sometimes unorthodox, views on specific Christian doctrines such as the nature of Jesus Christ and the Trinity. Over the past 100 years the sizes and distributions of these traditions have changed. In 1910 90% of Christians throughout the world were affiliated with Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy or Protestantism. The 1910 map to the right indicates that the traditions were not as globally widespread as they are today. By 2010 Roman Catholicism remains the largest tradition, but Protestants have replaced Orthodox in the second position, followed closely by Independents. The diffusion of traditions over the twentieth century is due to two primary reasons: missionary activity and migration. Independents are the fasting-growing tradition over the last century, comprising only 1.5% of all Christians in 1910 but 16.1% in 2010. Marginal Christians are the second fastest, growing from 0.1% to 1.5%. The two most well-known Marginal denominations are the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Orthodox Christians once comprised 20.4% of all Christians, but now represent only 12.0%. This significant decrease can be attributed to Communism in Eastern Europe that repressed all kinds of religious thought and practices. MostReligions%(line continents now have gph) most, if not all, the traditions represented, whereas no continent could claim this in 1910. In 1910 Christians in Africa were primarily Orthodox, but Orthodox Christians are now one of the least-represented traditions on the continent, due more to the evangelisation efforts of other traditions than to a decline in Orthodox believers. In 1910 Northern America was primarily Protestant, but by 2010 Roman Catholicism has become the majority with Independents and Protestants well represented. Europe and Latin America have experienced little change in the proportional representation of traditions; the biggest change in each continent has been the emergence of Independent Christians.

Largest major Christian tradition by province, 2010

Major Christian traditions Anglican

Independent

Marginal

Orthodox

Roman Catholic

Protestant

1910

Largest major tradition by country

Anglican

2010

1910

1910

Megabloc1910

Largest minor traditions by membership, 2010

Independent Marginal

Bloc1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Minor tradition Latin-rite Catholic Russian Orthodox Baptistic-Pentecostal or Keswick-Pentecostal Anglican Chinese Charismatic Lutheran Independent Baptist Marginal United church (different traditions) Reformed, Presbyterian Orthodox Ethiopic, Ethiopian Orthodox, Ge’ez-speaking Protestant Ukrainian Orthodox

Orthodox

Members 1,137,204,000 119,973,000 77,423,000 76,816,000 60,410,000 58,205,000 48,152,000 47,389,000 37,395,000 30,397,000 Protestant

Roman Catholic

Roman Catholic

Largest Christian traditions Minoratraditions are a church’s or denomination’s main tradition, family, rite, churchmanship, or other grouping with which it is most closely connected i historically. Christianity’s southward shift evidences itself in the largest Christian traditions, especially among those traditions with the largest m number of individual congregations.

o minor traditions by congregations, 2010 Largest 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

70

Minor p tradition Chinese Charismatic r Latin-rite Catholic Baptistic-Pentecostal or Keswick-Pentecostal Baptist Chinese Neocharismatic Reformed, Presbyterian Jehovah's Witnesses (Russellites) Methodist (mainline Methodist) United church (different traditions) Lutheran

Congregations 873,000 532,000 338,000 177,000 149,000 112,000 108,000 104,000 104,000 98,900

 Christian percentage of population by major tradition, 1910 – 2010 5.4% 1.5%tradition into Roman Catholics continue to be the majority Christian 0.2% the twenty-first century, largely due to their prominence in Latin America and Europe. Independents and Marginals both grew significantly throughout the century. 20.4%

20%

47.6% 18.8% Roman Catholic

15%

5.4% 1.5% 0.2%

2010 3.8% 16.1%

mAC 47.6% AAC

20.4%

50.4%

18.8%

1.5%

12.0% 18.3%

OAC

10% Protestant Independent Orthodox

5%

0% 1910

1910

Anglican Marginal 1930

1950

1970

1990 1995 2010

Major traditions by denominations, 2010 Anglican Independent Marginal Orthodox Protestant Roman Catholic

Denominations Total Average size 169 514,000 27,010 14,000 1,800 19,000 1,030 268,000 10,840 39,000 239 409,000

Congregations Total Average size 103,200 840 2,496,100 150 157,800 220 120,320 2,280 1,404,900 300 568,200 2,030

 Major traditions by denominations, 2010 The average size of Roman Catholic denominations is an average size of dioceses. Denominations and congregations are calculated by country, and a detailed methodology is found in the Appendices. Megabloc Anglican Independent Marginal Orthodox Protestant

PAC Anglican

Independent

Marginal

IAC Orthodox

Roman Catholic

Protestant

RAC

 Major traditions – percentage of global population Despite the growth of this tradition over the past 100 years, Marginals are still the smallest in percentage of the Christian traditions in 2010. Orthodox have seen a sharp decline, and Anglicans have had a gradual decline throughout the century.  Largest major tradition by country, 2010 The map below portrays Christian tradition by country instead of province. The patterns are largely the same.

Legend same as above

CHRISTIANITY BY TRADITION

Major Christian traditions, by percentage of all affiliated Christians by continent, 1910 and 2010 Africa

1910

Asia

2010

1910

= 1% of population

Europe 2010

1910

= 1% of population

Latin America

2010

1910

= 1% of population

Traditions Anglicans Independents Marginals Orthodox Protestants Roman Catholics Movements Evangelicals Renewalists

80,192,000 1,203,000

4.6 0.1

13.1 0.2

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

3.8 8.9

Oceania

2010

1910

= 1% of population

2010

= 1% of population

Growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year

2010 Adherents Global % Christian % 86,782,000 1.3 3.8AAC 369,156,000 5.3 16.1IAC 34,912,000 0.5 1.5 mAC 274,447,000 4.0 12.0OAC 419,316,000 6.1 18.3PAC 1,155,627,000 16.7 50.4RAC

263,464,000 614,010,000

1910

= 1% of population

Adherents in major Christian traditions and movements, 1910 and 2010 1910 Adherents Global % Christian % 32,920,000 1.9 5.4 9,269,000 0.5 1.5 1,070,000 0.1 0.2 124,923,000 7.1 20.4 115,013,000 6.5 18.8 291,440,000 16.6 47.6

Northern America

2010

Rate* 1910–2010 % 1910

11.5EAC 26.8ZAC 0%

50%

100%

Population

Tradition

% 2010

Rate* 2000–2010

0.97 3.75 3.55 0.79 1.30 1.39

1.38 AAC 1.38 IAC 1.38 mAC 1.38 OAC 1.38 PAC 1.38 RAC

1.49 2.42 1.93 0.68 1.68 1.00

1.21 AAC 1.21 IAC 1.21 mAC 1.21 OAC 1.21 PAC 1.21 RAC

1.20 6.43

1.38 EAC 1.38 ZAC

2.06 2.42

1.21 EAC 1.21 ZAC

-2

0%

2

4

6

8

10

12

-2

0%

2

4

6

71

Anglicans, 1910–2010

I

n 1985 the Most Revd Robert Runcie, then Archbishop of Canterbury, in an address to the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the USA, prophesied about global Anglicanism: ‘We have developed into a worldwide family of churches. Today there are 70 million members of what is arguably the second most widely distributed body of Christians. No longer are we identified by having some kind of English heritage. English today is now the second language of the Communion. There are more black members than white. Our local diversities span the spectrum of the world’s races, needs and aspirations. We have only to think of Bishop [sic] Tutu’s courageous witness in South Africa to be reminded that we are no longer a Church of the white middle classes allied only to the prosperous western world.’ Archbishop Runcie’s words were forward-looking in that they emphasised the increasingly multicultural and plural reality of today’s Anglicanism. From its origins in the Church of England, the Anglican Communion is now made up of 38 regional or national churches known as ‘provinces’ (with an additional six other smaller ‘extra-provincial’ churches), located in over 160 countries, with approximately 80 million members. Most of this growth and change has occurred during the twentieth century. It might be argued that of all the major Christian traditions, the worldwide family of churches known as the Anglican Communion has experienced the realities of the demographic shifts in global Christianity more acutely than any other Christian tradition. The reason for this is not because Anglicans are more enlightened or better global citizens than any other Christian group. Rather, the growth in the number of Anglican churches around the world in the wake of British and USA colonialism, combined with the particular ecclesiology of Anglicanism that is decentralised yet holds to catholic ideals, has uniquely positioned the Anglican Communion to rise to the challenges and possibilities of unity and diversity as a global Christian community. Post-colonial changes in Anglicanism To fully appreciate the changes that the Anglican Communion has experienced from 1910 until the present day, a brief historical review of Anglicanism is in order. The origins of Anglicanism lie in the early ventures of Western Christian missionary activity located in Celtic expressions of Christian experience and the expanding reach of the Roman Church. In 597, Pope Gregory sent Augustine and his monks to England, where Augustine established a monastery in Canterbury, later to become the first seat of an English bishopric. From the sixth to the sixteenth centuries, Christian witness in England was characterised by a creative tension between a close connection with the Bishop of Rome and identification with the English monarch and people. The Reformation in the sixteenth century resulted in a Church of England that was politically and ecclesiologically distinct from the Church of Rome. At its heart, the founding of the self-governing Church of England was based upon the desire of the English monarch and people to have a national church ‘of their own soil’. From the late sixteenth century to the present day the Church of England has been the established church in England, with the monarch being its supreme governor and the Archbishop of Canterbury its ecclesial head. With the colonial advance of English political and economic interests to other parts of the world in the seventeenth through to the nineteenth centuries, the Church of England likewise expanded beyond the British Isles as both a chaplain to, and a criticiser of, colonialism. In 1785, as a result of the War of Independence, Anglicans in the new United States of America separated themselves from the Church of England, becoming the ‘Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America’ and the first self-governing Anglican church outside of the British Isles. In the same manner, the coming into being of other self-governing, self-supporting and self-extending Anglican churches in post-colonial circumstances, particularly in the second half of the twentieth century, has resulted in what is now known as the worldwide Anglican Communion. A cursory glance at a map of the Anglican Communion today thus reveals that the growth of Anglicanism around the world was closely linked first

72

with the colonial project of England and then later with that of the USA. The contributions of missionaries, however, from older ‘sending’ Anglican churches in the West to ‘mission fields’ in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific cannot be underestimated. Generally speaking, Anglicans have followed two organisational forms of mission engagement. In the Church of England voluntary societies such as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the Church Missionary Society and the Universities’ Mission to Central Africa supported dedicated missionaries who gave their lives to extend the gospel particularly across Africa and south Asia. In other Anglican Churches such as the Episcopal Church in the USA and the Anglican Church of Canada, the missionary society was an extension of the church’s ‘official’ organisational structure. In recent decades, with the initiative for primary evangelism and social outreach moving increasingly to local, post-colonial Anglican churches in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific, the efforts of older Western Anglican churches, be they through voluntary societies or ‘official’ agencies, have been transformed from an emphasis on missionary sending to mission partnership with the ‘younger’ churches of the Anglican Communion.

The challenges before the Anglican Communion today are very similar to, and not unrelated to, the challenges of globalisation, where local and global realities continually need to be negotiated. Struggle for unity within diversity The radical changes in demographics of the Anglican Communion in the last half of the twentieth century, with the significant increase in the number of new Anglican churches in the ‘Global South’ over the last three decades, has meant that Anglicanism is no longer primarily identified with the English-speaking West. There is no typical Anglican today, but if pushed to describe such, she would be a poor, young, African woman for whom English is not her first language, if she speaks English at all. Anglicanism has indeed broken free from Anglo-American hegemony and begun to blossom into a multi-cultural, multi-racial, multi-ethnic expression of a new Pentecost. As a result of these radical changes, Anglicanism is struggling to find unity and coherence amid the diversity and differences now embodied across the global Anglican Communion. Anglicanism does not have a confession or statement of belief and doctrine as a point of unity. Anglicans the world over, however, generally hold the Book of Common Prayer (in its various forms) as a shared point of unity and find commonality in an ordered liturgical life as enunciated in the Prayer Book. While the Book of Common Prayer has always emphasised its translatability ‘according to the various exigency of times and occasions’, Prayer Book translation into local vernaculars and efforts toward enculturated liturgies have only begun to emerge in the last few decades across the new plural Anglican Communion. In the best of circumstances, the Book of Common Prayer (or Books of Common Prayer) stands as a common defining gift that fosters a theological method of lex orandi lex credendi (the law of prayer determines the law of belief). At the same time, the three principles of Scripture, reason and tradition inform an Anglican theological method that values comprehensiveness and provisionality. It is in the local worshipping community, be it in London, Lagos, Lahore or Los Angeles, where the baptised gather to hear the Word of God proclaimed and to celebrate the sacraments, that the integrity of Anglican life is made incarnate. As Anglicanism has not had a confession, similarly it has not had a single juridical structure to arbitrate difficult relationships that might emerge across the Anglican Communion. Each church within Anglicanism is ostensibly free to determine its own beliefs and practices according to its own polity structures and processes. At the same time, any Anglican church should be mindful of how its actions affect relationships with other Anglicans globally. These

relationships are often described as ‘bonds of affection’ that tie Anglican churches together into a mutually responsible and interdependent global communion. The ‘bonds of affection’ have developed over time such that the common life of Anglicanism is expressed in a great variety of both historic and contemporary expressions, increasingly known as ‘instruments of unity’ or ‘instruments of communion’. The oldest expression or ‘focus of unity’ in Anglicanism is that of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and he is the titular head of the Anglican Communion, the ‘first among equals’ of all the bishops within Anglicanism. The Archbishop of Canterbury does not, however, have direct canonical authority over other bishops in the Anglican Communion beyond the Church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury’s recognition of bishops as being in communion with the See of Canterbury, combined with his presidential authority to extend invitations to various interAnglican gatherings and make appointments to Communion-wide commissions, give him significant, and increasingly challenged, power and authority within global Anglicanism. One of the oldest and most significant gatherings within Anglicanism, initiated by invitation from the Archbishop of Canterbury, is the meeting of the bishops of the Anglican Communion known as the Lambeth Conference. Approximately every ten years since 1867, the Archbishop of Canterbury gathers together Anglican bishops from the four corners of the globe to pray, to worship and to take counsel together. Although not able to make binding pronouncements for the churches of the Anglican Communion as a whole, the gathering of bishops from around the world has symbolically articulated expectations for beliefs and practice in Anglican life, worship and mission. From the beginning, however, Lambeth Conferences have never been free from dispute and contention. With the increasing diversity of bishops across the Anglican Communion in recent decades, the bonds of affection expressed at the Lambeth Conference have become increasingly stretched. While the 1988 Lambeth Conference saw for the first time more bishops coming from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific than from Europe and Northern America, the power and presence of these bishops from the Global South were not too keenly expressed or felt until the 1998 Lambeth Conference. It was in 1998 that bishops from the Global South, in cooperation with more theologically conservative bishops from the West, led the way in passing a resolution upholding a more traditional view of sexuality, thus alienating gay and lesbian Anglicans and their supporters. The Lambeth Conference of bishops is but one form of an international gathering within Anglicanism. In the twentieth century three significant Pan-Anglican Congresses brought together lay people, priests and bishops from around the Anglican Communion to focus on Anglican faithfulness and action in mission. While the first Anglican Congress was held in London in 1908, the Anglican Congresses of 1954 in Minneapolis (USA) and 1963 Toronto (Canada) marked the emerging global nature of the Anglican Communion beyond England. The 1963 Anglican Congress was particularly influential. Its declaration entitled ‘Mutual Responsibility and Interdependence in the Body of Christ’ presented a vision for Anglican mission beyond the old one-way giving and receiving norms of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century missionary practices. The need for increased communication and consultation in the expanding family of churches of the Anglican Communion resulted in 1971 in a new body in Anglicanism known as the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC). The ACC is a representative assembly of lay people, priests and bishops from every church in the Anglican Communion who meet approximately every three years to pray, worship and take counsel together for the common good of the Communion. Although much smaller numerically than either the Lambeth Conference or an Anglican Congress, with no national or regional church in the Communion having more than three representatives, the ACC functions as a coordinating body for the Anglican Communion. Once again, the ACC cannot make a binding pronouncement on any church in the Anglican Communion unless a particular Anglican

Anglican challenges in a globalised world The challenges before the Anglican Communion today are very similar to, and not unrelated to, the challenges of globalisation, where local and global realities continually need to be negotiated. While some might see the key issue before the Anglican Communion today as that of human sexuality, the real question before Anglicans around the world is: how can a global family of separate national or regional churches learn to live together as one unified communion in all of their different localities and expressions of the gospel? In other words: how can the particularities and contextual realities of any one national or regional Anglican church be embraced and celebrated within the global witness of the Church catholic as expressed in the wider Anglican Communion as a whole? And equally so the converse: how can the global witness of the Church catholic as expressed in the wider Anglican Communion as a whole be embraced and celebrated within the particularities and contextual realities of any one national or regional Anglican church? Recent debates in the Anglican Communion with respect to women’s ordination and the place of gay and lesbian people in the Church have focused these questions and exacerbated the tensions between the local and the global in the Anglican Communion. The first woman ordained priest in the Anglican Communion was Florence Li Tim-Oi in Hong Kong in 1944. But it was not until the consecration of the Rt Revd Barbara C. Harris as Suffragan Bishop of Massachusetts in the Episcopal Church in 1989 that the controversy over women’s ordination became an international concern for the Anglican Communion.

Two decades later there is now a variety of accepted practices with respect to women’s ordination across the different churches of the Anglican Communion. Such living with difference, however, does not characterise contemporary debates over human sexuality. The 2003 election and consecration of the Rt Revd Gene Robinson, a homosexual man living in a committed relationship with another man, as Bishop of New Hampshire in the Episcopal Church, as well as the authorisation of the development of rites for the blessing of same-sex unions in the Diocese of New Westminster in the Anglican Church of Canada, show how local decisions have geopolitical ramifications for the Anglican Communion at the worldwide level. While the dioceses of New Hampshire and New Westminster were responding to leadership and pastoral concerns within their own particularities and contextual realities, their decisions have caused great consternation in global Anglicanism. What has resulted is the classic globalisation struggle over identity and authority. In the globalised world, who is in charge and who has the power are central questions. Is it the local, or is it the global? Who gets to say who is a faithful Anglican, or what is good and right in the increasingly diverse Anglican Communion? Recent attempts to negotiate the local and global realities across the Anglican Communion have been primarily text-oriented. In 2003 the Archbishop of Canterbury called together a commission to study and make recommendations as to how the ‘highest degree of communion’ might be maintained in the Anglican Communion given the elevation of Bishop Robinson to the episcopate. Released in 2004, the commission’s findings, known as the Windsor Report, is a wideranging and complex ecclesiological study of how unity might be maintained given the increasing diversity of the Anglican Communion. Not surprisingly, the many recommendations of the Windsor Report have been critiqued by some across the Anglican Communion, while others have advanced uncritical assent to the Windsor Report as the identifying mark of true Anglicanism today. One recommendation of the Windsor Report that has continued to gain attention across the Anglican Communion is the development of an Anglican Covenant. The proponents of the Anglican Covenant hope to identify key elements of doctrine, belief and practice around which all Anglicans can agree and thus provide a common vehicle for unity in diversity. Whether an Anglican Covenant can be developed that would satisfy both those who prefer greater centralisation of authority in the Anglican Communion and those who prefer a more diverse and plural Anglican Communion is yet to be seen. Any attempt to enforce a global norm on the work of the Holy Spirit in any one locality, whether it means canonising the Windsor Report or advancing some form of an Anglican Covenant, runs the risk of advancing a hegemonic, mono-cultural view of the Anglican Communion. On the other hand, the super-assertion of the experience and decisions of any one local church, without regard for the reality of the Church catholic, runs the risk of fomenting separation and schism. So what is an Anglican or the Anglican Communion to do? Are there any positive models of communion in Anglicanism where local particularities and global realities interact in a mutually beneficial and life-affirming manner?

There are at least four recent examples of Anglicans addressing the local/global challenge of globalisation by coming together in relationships across difference to serve God’s mission of reconciliation. The first example of Anglicans coming together in mission is the united witness of Anglicans around the world to support the efforts of South African Anglicans and others in combating the sin of apartheid. The Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, the Most Revd Desmond Tutu, has said often that without the Anglican Communion standing behind him, he never could have been so bold as he was in confronting the evils of apartheid. A second example of how Anglicans have come together in relationships across difference to serve God’s mission is the way churches of the Anglican Communion, at the invitation of the 1988 Lambeth Conference of bishops, undertook efforts ‘to make Christ known’ in each of their local contexts under the auspices of a Communion-wide Decade of Evangelism from 1990 to 2000. Thirdly, Anglicans rallying behind the Jubilee 2000 campaign came together to address the crushing burden of international debt on the highest-indebted poor countries of the world. Following the Lambeth Conference of 1998, Anglican bishops and other church leaders from across the Anglican Communion cooperated with ecumenical and government leaders in moving the USA Congress and President Bill Clinton to enact a debt relief package that immediately cancelled one billion dollars in bilateral debts and leveraged an estimated additional 27 billion dollars in debt relief. And finally, led by the All Africa Anglican AIDS Planning Framework, the churches of the Anglican Communion have begun to come together in relationships across differences to overcome the scourge of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. These efforts to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic have grown into a larger vision for the Anglican Communion as the churches have coalesced around efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) embraced by all of the countries of the United Nations. Whether it is in combating apartheid in South Africa, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ in new cultural realities through the Decade of Evangelism, lobbying for international debt relief, or working to meet the MDGs, the Anglican Communion offers a positive response to the local/global challenge of globalisation. Anglicans coming together in relationships across difference to serve God’s mission in the world is a vision of hope for a divided Church and a divided world. Given its shared history and professed commonality in the Triune God, the contemporary Anglican Communion can be a model of unity in diversity for a Church and a world so much in need of peace and reconciliation.

IAN T. DOUGLAS AND JAMES TENGATENGA Ian T. Douglas and Pui Lan Kwok (eds), Beyond Colonial Anglicanism: The Anglican Communion in the Twenty-first Century (New York: Church Publishing Inc., 2001). Miranda K. Hassett, Anglican Communion in Crisis (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007). Bruce Kaye, An Introduction to World Anglicanism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008). Kevin Ward, A History of Global Anglicanism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006). Andrew Wingate, Kevin Ward, Carrie Pemberton and Wilson Sitshebo (eds), Anglicanism: A Global Communion (New York: Church Publishing Inc., 1998).

Anglicans by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Britain USA Australia Canada India New Zealand Jamaica Ireland South Africa Barbados

Anglicans 26,016,000 1,852,000 1,586,000 669,000 600,000 379,000 321,000 260,000 254,000 149,000

Highest percentage* 2010 Britain Nigeria Uganda Kenya Australia Tanzania South Africa Sudan USA Rwanda

Anglicans 25,900,000 21,500,000 12,100,000 4,300,000 3,900,000 3,350,000 2,780,000 2,350,000 2,250,000 1,150,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Saint Vincent Barbados Channel Islands Britain Bahamas New Zealand Jamaica Australia Grenada Virgin Is of the US

% Anglican 75.5 74.9 71.0 64.5 46.0 39.2 39.0 36.0 35.1 28.3

Fastest growth* 2010 Channel Islands Britain Uganda Solomon Islands Barbados Australia Saint Vincent New Zealand Vanuatu Bahamas

% Anglican 43.7 42.1 35.5 32.2 28.8 18.3 15.7 14.9 14.8 14.2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Rwanda Burundi Sudan DR Congo Zambia Philippines Namibia Angola Saudi Arabia Kenya

*Countries >100,000

% p.a. 12.36 11.88 11.61 11.47 10.70 10.06 9.23 8.65 7.90 7.82

2000–2010 Papua New Guinea Cameroon Burundi Czech Republic Taiwan Rwanda Liberia Mauritania DR Congo Afghanistan

% p.a. 6.53 4.52 4.14 4.14 3.82 3.70 3.63 3.63 3.46 3.42

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ANGLICANS

church chooses to endorse such through its own local polity and legislative processes. In addition to Lambeth Conferences, Anglican Congresses, and the Anglican Consultative Council, another regular meeting in the Anglican Communion has recently emerged. Beginning in 1979 the ‘prime’ bishop or primates of the national and regional churches in the Anglican Communion, variously known as Archbishops, Presiding Bishops or Metropolitans, have come together regularly for prayer, worship and counsel. Like other inter-Anglican gatherings, the potential influence of the Primates Meeting resides not in legislative authority over the Communion but in relationships engendered and solidarities developed between the heads of the churches. In these changing times when old understandings of Anglican identity are being challenged, there are some in the Anglican Communion who would like to see the Primates Meeting exercise increased control and authority by articulating clear ‘limits of Anglican diversity’. And true to the diversity of Anglicanism, there are as many across the Anglican Communion who are sceptical of the increasing role of the primates. Finally, there are a wide variety of both official and unofficial commissions, committees and networks across the Anglican Communion that also embody different forms of common life and witness in Anglicanism. Relationships in mission fostered by these networks as well as bilateral ‘companion’ or ‘link’ diocese-to-diocese partnerships offer hope and possibility for the search for unity amid diversity in the Anglican Communion. Some might even argue that these mission relationships offer more to the future of global Anglicanism than any meeting of bishops, representatives or primates.

Anglicans, 1910–2010

A

nglicans have experienced a more profound Anglicans by country, 2010 demographic transformation than other Christian traditions over the past 100 years. In 1910 the vast majority (near 80%) of all Anglicans lived in Britain, and there were over one million Anglicans both in the USA and in Australia, countries with very close ties to Britain. Although by 1910 the southern location of Australia and a few other British colonies in the Caribbean, Asia and Africa had begun to pull the Anglican centre of gravity south, by 2010 the centre of gravity of the Anglican Communion is located in Chad. This is largely due to the meteoric rise of Anglicans in African countries, especially Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. In addition, during the century Anglicans continued their missionary outreach in Latin America and Asia, where thriving Anglican churches have resulted. Over half of all Anglicans are found in Africa in 2010, which is representative of the global shift of Christianity southward. Whereas in 1910 the only African country in the top ten Anglican countries was South Africa, by 2010 seven of the top ten are African countries. Anglicanism has experienced growth in most of the Global South while declining in the North. The three largest Anglican countries of 1910 experienced a decline as a percentage of the country’s population over the 100-year period. One exception to southern growth is South-central Asia, where Anglicans disappeared through the merger of Anglican churches with other Protestant churches in India, first in the south in 1947 and then in the north in 1970. Despite this decline, large numbers of Anglicans are found in Northern America CtryAnglican Per cent Anglican and Europe, and this is unlikely to change in the near future. 0 2 5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 The table on the opposite page compares and = Few or none contrasts Anglican growth with population growth in each of the United Nations regions and continental areas. Here one can see that Anglicans have run ahead of population growth, sometimes dramatically, in 14 of the 21 regions in the table for the period 1910–2010. These, once again, are mostly located in the Global South. The Anglican Communion (those in communion with the Church of England) is the structure connecting most Anglican churches worldwide. Full communion means that churches agree on essential doctrines and participate in the same sacramental offices. The Communion represents a wide theological spectrum, though, from liberal to conservative. The Anglican Communion is the third largest communion in the world (after Roman Oceania Oceania Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy) with over 86 million adherents. All of the above demographic trends have North Latin Asia America Asia Europe served to transform the Anglican Communion’s internaEurope North Oceania North America America tional profile. Recent decadal meetings held at Lambeth Asia America Asia Palace in Britain have given increasing prominence to AfricaLatin Latin 1910 Europe Africa issues raised by Anglican bishops from the Global South. America America 2010 Anglicans by country: percentage of total population 1910 The continued rise of Anglicanism 1910in the Global South is like to result in both global fellowship and international tension in the Communion. 2010 1910

Latin America

North America

Oceania Africa

Africa Europe

2010

Anglican1910

Anglican traditions, 2010 Minor tradition Low Church Evangelical Mixed Central or Broad Church High Church Anglo-Catholic Ecumenical

0 0.001

2

5

10

Members % of Anglicans 24,042,000 27.7 22,133,000 25.5 20,356,000 23.5 80.1% 9,457,000 10.9 8,133,000 9.4 2,320,000 2.7 341,000 0.4

 The Anglican Communion Members of the Anglican Communion are autonomous churches with no single head or central authority. Instead, what binds them together is the status of full communion each has with the Church of England – that is, national or regional churches enjoy mutual recognition with the Church of England of all church rites. Not all Anglican churches are members of the Communion, however, just as not all members of the Communion are Anglican (for example, the united churches in South-central Asia). 0.001 2 5 10 40 60 75 Many of the ‘independent’ or ‘not-in-communion’ Anglican churches were formed through schisms over doctrine and/or practice. Such churches often term themselves ‘continuing’ because they claim to uphold historic Anglican doctrine and practice. In a somewhat different vein, churches such as the Anglican Church of India have been formed by congregations that did not want to become part of a new union church. Other ‘not-in-communion’ churches, however, have origins independent of the Anglican Communion. More recently, churches with no connection to historic Anglicanism have arisen, adopting Anglican vestments, liturgy, and doctrine in addition to the Anglican name.

Anglican 0

7.7% 2.4%

6.0% 1.4% 2.4%

74

40

60

75

85

90

95

7.7% 2.4%

6.0% 1.4% 2.4%

3.3% 5.9% 1.0%

3.3% 5.9% 1.0%

30.2%

58.6%

30.2%

58.6%

80.1%

1.0%

Legend same as above

Africa

Asia

Europe

Latin America

Northern America

Oceania

 Anglicans by continent In 1910 Europe and Northern America held respectively 80.1% and 7.7% of all Anglicans, but by 2010 their shares had declined to 30.2% and 3.3% respectively. The complementary increase has been in Africa, which had just over 1% of all Anglicans in 1910 but by 2010 had more than 58% of the global total. If current trends continue, Africa’s share will soon be over 60% and could eventually reach 80% of the global total. AnglicanOfAC

0 0.001

85

90

2

5

10

40

60

95

Anglican denominations, 2010 Africa Asia Europe L America N America Oceania

Total 41 33 30 44 3 18

75

85

 Anglicans by country, 2010: Percentage of Christian population The map above illustrates the proportion that Anglicans claim of the total number of Christians in the world’s countries. They have a significant presence in both Eastern and Western Africa and in the Western world in Britain, Canada and Australia. In some countries with very few Christians, such as Turkey, Anglicans represent a sizeable proportion.

90

95

Anglican congregations, 2010

Average size 1,241,000 A 26,000 C 874,000 E 20,000 L 955,000 N 282,000 P

0 00 00 00 00 00 0,0 00,0 00,0 00,0 00,0 20 4 6 8 1,0

1.0%

A C E L N P

Africa A AsiaC Europe E L America L N America N Oceania P

Total 63,100 2,100 20,800 2,600 7,700 6,900

Average size 810 A 410 C 1,300 E 340 L 370 N 740 P

0

00

2,0

00

4,0

00

6,0

00

8,0

0

,00

10

1910 !

ANGLICANS

Anglican centre of gravity

!

2010

South-central Asia Anglicanism ‘disappeared’ in this region through the merger of Anglican churches with other Protestant churches, first in South India in 1947 and then in North India, Bangladesh and Pakistan in 1970.

Anglicanism, 2010 The ‘most Anglican’ country in 2010 is tiny Saint Helena (70%), located in the Global South. Britain, the birthplace of Anglicanism, is approximately 42% Anglican. Not surprisingly, the ‘most Anglican’ countries tend to be current or former British territories.

Anglicans by UN region, 1910 and 2010 1910 Population Africa 124,228,000 Eastern Africa 33,030,000 Middle Africa 19,443,000 Northern Africa 32,002,000 Southern Africa 6,819,000 Western Africa 32,933,000 Asia 1,028,265,000 Eastern Asia 556,096,000 South-central Asia 345,121,000 South-eastern Asia 94,104,000 Western Asia 32,944,000 Europe 427,154,000 Eastern Europe 178,184,000 Northern Europe 61,474,000 Southern Europe 76,940,000 Western Europe 110,556,000 Latin America 78,269,000 Caribbean 8,172,000 Central America 20,777,000 South America 49,320,000 Northern America 94,689,000 Oceania 7,192,000 Australia/New Zealand 5,375,000 Melanesia 1,596,000 Micronesia 89,400 Polynesia 131,000 Global total 1,759,795,000

Anglicans % Population 443,000 0.4 1,032,012,000 98,500 0.3 332,107,000 0 0.0 129,583,000 14,200 0.0 206,295,000 257,000 3.8 56,592,000 73,700 0.2 307,436,000 778,000 0.1 4,166,308,000 43,500 0.0 1,562,575,000 675,000 0.2 1,777,378,000 47,300 0.1 594,216,000 11,700 0.0 232,139,000 26,384,000 6.2 730,478,000 1,600 0.0 290,755,000 26,365,000 42.9 98,352,000 13,900 0.0 152,913,000 3,200 0.0 188,457,000 800,000 1.0 593,696,000 704,000 8.6 42,300,000 23,300 0.1 153,657,000 72,600 0.1 397,739,000 2,536,000 2.7 348,575,000 1,980,000 27.5 35,491,000 1,966,000 36.6 25,647,000 14,700 0.9 8,589,000 0 0.0 575,000 0 0.0 680,000 32,920,000 1.9 6,906,558,000

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

Anglican growth rates* by UN region, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

2010 % 1910

Anglicans % 50,866,000 4.9A 23,108,000 7.0A1 561,000 0.4A2 2,355,000 1.1A3 2,996,000 5.3A4 21,846,000 7.1A5 864,000 0.0C 176,000 0.0C1 55,100 0.0C2 537,000 0.1C3 96,600 0.0C4 26,219,000 3.6E 6,000 0.0E1 26,099,000 26.5E2 31,900 0.0E3 81,600 0.0E4 891,000 0.2 L 569,000 1.3L1 86,200 0.1L2 235,000 0.1L3 2,864,000 0.8N 5,078,000 14.3P 4,541,000 17.7P1 534,000 6.2P2 1,500 0.3P3 2,200 0.3P4 86,782,000 1.3zG 0% 0

% 2010 4.86 5.61 11.56 5.24 2.49 5.86 0.10 1.41 -2.47 2.46 2.13 -0.01 1.33 -0.01 0.83 3.29 0.11 -0.21 1.32 1.18 0.12 0.95 0.84 3.66 5.14 5.54 0.97

20

40 50% 60

80

100% 100

Anglicans

Population

Rate* 2000–2010

2.14A 2.33 A1 1.91 A2 1.88 A3 2.14 A4 2.26 A5 1.41C 1.04 C1 1.65 C2 1.86 C3 1.97 C4 0.54E 0.49 E1 0.47 E2 0.69 E3 0.53 E4 2.05L 1.66 L1 2.02 L2 2.11 L3 1.31N 1.61P 1.57 P1 1.70 P2 1.88 P3 1.66 P4 1.38 zG -2 -2

2.68 2.31A 3.11 2.59A1 3.41 2.86A2 1.62 1.69A3 0.51 0.86A4 2.67 2.53A5 1.33 1.18C 0.83 0.57C1 0.02 1.60C2 1.83 1.34C3 0.50 1.90C4 -0.04 0.03E 2.05 -0.47E1 -0.04 0.42E2 -0.09 0.48E3 0.36 0.27E4 0.50 1.28L 0.34 0.92L1 1.29 1.26L2 0.57 1.32L3 -0.35 1.00N 0.39 1.33P 0.00 1.10P1 4.59 2.06P2 1.44 1.47P3 1.48 1.04P4 1.49 1.21zG

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 88 9 10 10 11 12 12

-2 -2

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 8 9 10 11

75

Independents, 1910–2010

T

he twentieth century has witnessed the emergence of a new form of Christianity quite distinct from the earlier categories of Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican and Protestant. A large segment of the rapidly-growing Christian movements in the Global South is ‘Independent’, sometimes described as the ‘churches of the Spirit’. Most Western churches and theologies continue to regard the development as schismatic, meaning an aberration from the norms of traditional Christianity. Because these movements originated among Chinese, Indians, Africans, or Blacks in the Caribbean, they often have been dismissed as sectarian, separatist, cultic, millenarian, messianic, magico-religious, tribal, spiritist, syncretistic, quasiChristian, post-Christian or similar. In contrast, most of them perceive themselves as part of a global renewal of the faith and the driving force in Christian mission today. Independents cannot be pressed into one category. Besides the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement, there is a tremendous variety of non-Pentecostal groupings and ministries in response to diverse socio-economic contexts, varying conceptual accents and mission strategies. There are protest groupings completely independent of historic, organised Christianity (such as Caribbean resistance groups, the Ethiopian churches and converted Dalits). There are indigenous spiritual movements (such as prophetic and healing churches, Aladura, Kimbanguists and Zionists, in both Africa and the Caribbean). There are post-denominationalists who reject the names of historical missions but indeed blend some of the older traditions, doctrines and liturgies with new indigenous expressions and practices (such as the house church and Restoration movements and indigenous Pentecostals). There are radical Christians, disillusioned with historical Christianity, who consciously go back to the original biblical ‘Apostolic’ roots of the early church, disregarding past confessional controversies and opting for undivided reliance on the Holy Spirit’s guidance in present situations (such as the historic peace churches, African Apostolics and the Pentecostal Apostolic [Oneness] movement in the Americas). And there are the three ‘waves’ of the Pentecostal/Charismatic renewal: Classical Pentecostalism with Black roots in the Azusa Street Revival; the Charismatic renewal within the older denominations; and neo-Charismatic churches that emphasise the power and Charismata of the Holy Spirit, embrace the full range of spiritual gifts, reject established Christianity and are home to non-Western Christians eager to know the saving, healing, Spiritbaptising power of the Christ of the Bible. Indigeneity Prominent in this diverse movement is local appropriation and interpretation of the Christian faith. Hence it is a matter of debate whether ‘independent’ or ‘indigenous’ is the best description. Roger Hedlund has argued that ‘indigenous Christianity is as old as Christianity itself’ and that ‘Acts 15 established for all time the principle of full cultural diversity and validity’ of the Christian mission with ensuing diversification. In India, Western denominations established their imported dogmas, rituals and organisational patterns. In contrast, Indian indigenous churches developed their ‘own structures and cultural expression which are frequently outside the orbit of the traditional churches’, hence ecclesiastically as well as academically overlooked. Yet, contends Hedlund, contemporary indigenous Christian movements are ‘legitimate heirs of this biblical drive’ towards both diversification and unity in diversity. This development of a transcultural, transnational and polycentric pattern of Christianity poses a challenge to the historical, often ethnocentric and monocultural ways of doing theology and of being ‘church’. Hence some scholars in religious studies and the history of religion regard the movement not only as an equivalent to the renewal in Islam, but also as a mirror of the global change of religion as such – a message which in the successful blending of diverse traditions transcends barriers, grants hope to frustrated and fragmented people in postmodern times, and introduces a cultural and religious renewal from below. This new dimension of Christian mission also mirrors a kind of ‘internal ecumenicity’, not only in recovering impulses from the early Church and the Reformation, but also from Eastern churches such as in India.

76

Causes These movements are powered by Christianity’s capacity for cross-cultural transmission or cross-cultural transplantation, expressing itself in multiple membership and fluent alliances. Lamin Sanneh calls it the ongoing ‘translatability of the gospel’. The cultural, religious and social contextualisation of the Christian faith in the South is linked to language and the vernacularisation of the gospel. Evangelists spread the biblical message to the farthest regions, and converts heard and understood it in their own tongues. This not only opened doors for specific interpretations but also granted a voice and status to dialects that previously were spoken but not written. Oral traditions carry the message not in abstracts and statements, but in story-telling, testimonies, music, songs and dance, dreams and visions, healing and miracles. This experiential spirituality and practice is certainly nearer to the worldview and ethos of the New Testament than Western rationalism. It implies that conversion to the Christian faith is not to a particular denomination but is sustained by an intense encounter with God in different and contrasting cultures and religions. At stake is the recovery of the Christian gospel for the basic re-interpretation of human life in the overall breakdown of traditional paradigms and the failure of social and political mechanisms. Some aspects of oral transmission are a theology of spiritual experience and renewal of society – the Holy Spirit as both personal and cosmic power, penetrating, filling, directing and controlling life; the Bible as fundamental directive as well as corrective for life here and now, a narrative model beyond the confines of both sacred and abstract propositions; attending to the issue of power, as evil spirits are perceived as confronted by the much stronger power, the Spirit of Christ; worship, prayer, and ecstatic utterances as vessels of unmeditated divine encounter and celebration of life; healing in the widest sense, personal and communal, as God’s central promise for a redeemed world; and God’s affirmation of sustenance under poverty and misery – a re-interpretation of salvation not as otherworldly but as saving people in the here and now. Another cause of Independent growth is urbanisation, or the development of mega-cities and megachurches. Independent Christians are active in most of the world’s 3,300 large metropolises, not any longer located in the former European centres, but in ‘supergiants’ or ‘world-class cities’ that are marketplaces for the exchange of knowledge and information. These modern realities demand new patterns of commitment and new ways of discipleship, evangelism, pastoral care and mega-ministries. Indigenous Christians work among slum-dwellers and the socially marginalised at the outskirts of glamour and capital, but they also develop their potential and create a large educated middle class. In particular, young Charismatics actively seek solutions for society’s instability, cultural paradoxes, generational conflicts, environmental changes, health hazards, violence and wars. Today’s Independent Christianity is found not at the centre of political power and economic wealth but at the periphery. This poses a challenge to white-dominated Christianity. The intercontinental departure of nonWestern populations to other geo-cultural regions in the context of globalisation has also effected the arrival and settlement of indigenous religions from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia in Europe and the USA, and with it the presence of religious traditions quite alien to white Christianity: African Instituted Churches, black Caribbean Pentecostals, Asian Pentecostals, Neo-Charismatic churches, movements with traditional beliefs and groups in cross-fertilisation with older Christian interpretations. Contemporary studies in anthropology and sociology of religion speak of ‘religions on the move’, referring to processes of transmigration and transculturation, which unleash dynamic, reciprocal, transitory and multidimensional creations in shaping a ‘poly-contextual world’. In many parts of Europe and Northern America, Independent churches, the majority Pentecostal/Charismatic, grow in strength, gaining steadily in assertiveness and evangelism in societies that lost faith during two World Wars. The case of Africa Independence in the literature on African Christianity usually describes the indigenous churches that emerged on the African continent from the nineteenth century

to the early parts of the twentieth century and beyond. Some of these groups broke away from missionary churches, while others came into being independently. Their worship styles, teachings, ecclesiastical structures and organisation differed from the former churches, although one can detect traces of missionary influence on them. The phenomenon of Independence in African Christianity has been variously described as spiritual churches, separatist movements or schismatic groups. This characterisation of African Independence tends to make African Independence too dependent on missionary Christianity, thus missing the essential African elements in African Independence. The term ‘independence’ in African Christianity refers to the churches that came into being independently of missionary Christianity, and therefore can properly be described as African Indigenous Churches. Their unique characteristic is their persistent efforts to ‘Africanise’ and transform Christianity into a religion of salvation that has brought renewal and revival of Christianity in Africa. Historical, political, economic, social and religious factors have played a part in the emergence of Independent churches in Africa. But by far the single most important cause of this phenomenon is the desire of Africans to liberate Christianity from its captivity to European cultural imperialism and colonialism in order to see in Christianity a religion of salvation that can address African needs and concerns. These efforts at the liberation of Christianity from its western European cultural forms and its integration into the African worldview, culture and spirituality set in motion a movement of indigenisation of Christianity that has found concrete expressions in many different movements of renewal and revival in African Christianity: the weary but gradual indigenisation of Christianity in the former mission churches, the rise of the African Indigenous Churches (AICs), and African Pentecostal spirituality found in the Pentecostal, NeoPentecostal and Charismatic Churches. It is noteworthy that this movement of indigenisation of Christianity also inspired and initiated corresponding social and political movements for independence in some parts of Africa – for example, for freedom from colonial oppression, especially in Eastern and Southern Africa. As the nineteenth century saw the vigorous missionary activities that brought Christianity to many parts of Africa, the movement for Independence started with a group of African prophets who believed they were called by God to bring the gospel to their peoples and lead them to Christianity. In the course of their various ministries, they initiated the African Independence process that set in motion the various indigenous movements in African Christianity. In different parts of Western Africa they helped the missionaries in their ministries and in many ways complemented their work. Others established their own African Indigenous Churches. Powerful movements of renewal in the early twentieth century are represented by such prophetic figures as William Wade Harris, Garrick Braide, John Swatson, Josiah Ositelu, Jemisimiham Jehu-Appiah and Sampson Oppong in Western Africa, Simon Kimbangu in the Congo and Isaiah Shembe in South Africa. All these prophets are precursors of Independence and in a way set the tone for the renewal and revival of Christianity in Africa as a whole. The AICs in a way institutionalised the indigenisation process set in motion by the prophets as a unique and permanent feature of African Christianity. Strikingly, most of the founders of the AICs were prophets themselves who set out to formalise the indigenisation process. The point of departure of this indigenisation movement was the interpretation and appropriation of Christianity on the basis of the African worldview. This opened up the resources of Christianity as a religion that could deal with spiritual issues that affect human life which hitherto were at the periphery of missionary theology. Even more importantly, in addition to the hermeneutics of Christianity based on principles of African spirituality, the AICs used African cultural concepts, categories and symbols in their indigenisation project, which was able to engrain Christianity into the fabric of African life and thought. This turned Christianity into an African religion of salvation based on the patterns of African traditional religion, capable of dealing with issues that missionary theology could not or did not handle. The modern Pentecostal movement emerged at Azusa Street in California about the same time as

The case of the Caribbean Independence in the Caribbean, often overlooked in church history, began effectively in the eighteenth century with the pre-emancipation movement, which resisted slavery and protested against the dehumanisation

of the natives and imported Africans. This first black theology of liberation and inculturation is linked to names such as George Liele, Sam Sharpe, Paul Bogle and William Gordon, leaders in the Native Baptist tradition, which referred to the God of the Bible as the God of the ‘African cosmos’ who would turn oppression and suffering into victory – a first synthesis of African traditional elements with historical experience. With a sense for reality, black Christians understood sin as sorcery which interrupts the community, and they resisted injustice, greed, immorality and the double standards manifest in the prevailing system. People would be liberated by conversion, cleansed through baptism, and redeemed by salvation in Christ. Many of the early features of black Baptist theology in the nineteenth century can be compared with the African roots of Pentecostalism and traits in the AICs in the twentieth century. Especially the Jamaican Great Revival of 1860–1 sparked unstoppable religious, social and political development in the area. For the period between 1900 and the political independence of the Caribbean islands from 1962, we observe four streams in the struggle for self-determination. First, political campaigns concentrated on the hardships between the two World Wars, which made workers vulnerable, caused popular unrest, and stimulated trade unions and national labour movements. As sustained development became discussed merely in terms of international relationships, the dependency on the ‘advanced’ economies of the USA and Europe became all too obvious and affected the Christians. Second, the religious quest for freedom therefore can be observed in the emerging Revivalism which carried redemptionism into the streets and backyards of Jamaica. ‘Zion Revival’, desiring to heal self and community, became a blending of central Christian elements with specific African-creole notions. All these movements abandoned organised religion and gave fresh, even unusual, articulations to biblical practice, autonomy ‘in the Spirit’ and faith in human salvation. Healing gifts, dreams and visions, spirit possession, prophecy, secret languages, songs and dance, and baptism by immersion also became part of the light baggage carried by Caribbean migrants to Britain from 1952. The Spiritual Baptists, a synthesis between Christianity and Yoruba religion in competition with Pentecostalism, still have large congregations in London. Third, from 1900 new evangelical missions arrived from Northern America (the Salvation Army, Sabbatarians and Holiness churches); these struggled to become indigenised, transmuting into genuinely Caribbean movements, based on local empowerment, community orientation and an understanding of evangelism as social care. Especially the Holiness tradition thrived on the anti-slavery tradition of working with the poor, non-hierarchical structures of the church, and emancipation of women. Fourth, a theologically motivated philosophy of political liberation developed in Garveyism, similar to the development in South Africa (where the AICs include ‘Spiritual churches’ and Ethiopian churches). As Gayraud Wilmore has argued, Garvey’s black nationalism had a precursor in the black theology of missionary emigrationism and racial destiny of PanAfricanists, who with others in African America had established a firm connection between the African ‘homeland’ and the African diaspora. His influence on the cultural and political scene in the Caribbean and overseas cannot be overestimated, but also religiously he cultivated a biblical vision. Under his auspices, the African Orthodox Church (with impact on Uganda and Kenya) was founded. Moreover, the Rastafari movement in Jamaica from the 1930s began to hail him as

one of their foremost prophets. When by 1973 their maxim ‘Africa for the Africans’ had been internalised as the ‘Kingdom within’, Rastafarians also migrated to Europe and invited the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, one of the oldest African Christian churches, to England and the Caribbean. The Pentecostal explosion in the Caribbean has long been interpreted as a white American importation by historical studies and academic theology, insignificant for politics and renewal. Nothing could be further from the truth. As Diane Austin-Broos analyses, in the wake of the Baptist withdrawal ‘the lower classes were in need of a powerful organisation that would promote revitalization of their lives.’ Pentecostalism, together with Adventism, is the most powerful force in Caribbean Christian migration today. It has to be interpreted as a positive force for coping with the radical social and cultural changes after independence: technical developments, urbanisation, wealth and materialism, social mobility, expansion of the middle class, and democratic politics. World War II had put an end to European domination and forced Britain to dismantle a vast empire. Black Caribbean Pentecostalism must be seen as an integral part of these indigenous struggles to defy and transcend, under widening horizons, former hegemonial powers.

Highest percentage*

Fastest growth*

Waves of new understanding The process of indigenisation is the crucial and critical element in Christian mission globally. Therefore Independence in the history of Christianity equals the movement of its indigenisation, as the prodigious attempt to create a spiritual space for people’s needs and concerns in different and contrasting cultures. With new theological discoveries, hermeneutic principles and ecclesiastical structures, salvation becomes tangible in the here and now. Hence the overall scene on all continents, including the migration of African, Asian or Caribbean Christians to Northern white-dominated societies, displays a reticulate structure – the vast variety and pluriformity of Christian families including traditional elements which overlap denominationally, culturally and linguistically. This phenomenon of an increased superabundance of different activities and traditions, and ‘overlays’ of indigenous with Western concepts, has been described by Kevin Ward as a kind of Christianity that ‘was and is created and re-created at the margins, the boundary, the periphery; and so doing challenges the validity of all boundaries and peripheries’. They are waves of a new post-denominational understanding of religion and faith. Historic confessional structures and their past arguments give way to the presence of the Holy Spirit in everyday life and to self-expression. In this way, Christ’s Church in a particular cultural context meets the Church in other cultures and socio-political milieus. Current trends suggest that this mobilisation of the masses in the South will be the driving force in Christian mission, with all promises and risks.

ROSWITH GERLOFF AND ABRAHAM AKO AKRONG Afe Adogame, Roswith Gerloff and Klaus Hock (eds), The Shaping of Christianity in Africa and the African Diaspora: The Appropriation of a Scattered Heritage (London: Continuum, 2008). Roswith Gerloff, ‘The African Diaspora in the Caribbean and in Europe from Pre-emancipation to the Present Day’, in Hugh McLeod (ed.), The Cambridge History of Christianity: World Christianities c. 1914 –c. 2000 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), pp. 219–35. Roger E. Hedlund, Jesudas M. Athyl and Joshua Kalapati (eds), Dictionary of South Asian Christianity (Chennai: Mylapore Institute for Indigenous Studies, 2008). Ogbu U. Kalu (ed.), African Christianity: An African Story (Pretoria: University of Pretoria, 2005). Jacob K. Olupona and Regina Gemignani, African Immigrant Religions in America (New York: New York University Press, 2007).

Independents by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 USA Philippines India Switzerland Jamaica Austria Tonga South Africa Liberia Japan

Independents 6,771,000 2,184,000 98,300 42,900 23,000 20,400 19,400 18,400 13,400 11,300

2010 China USA Nigeria Brazil Philippines South Africa India DR Congo Indonesia Kenya

Independents 85,000,000 72,700,000 26,500,000 21,330,000 19,500,000 19,050,000 18,200,000 15,132,000 6,800,000 6,720,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 % Independent Tonga 82.0 Philippines 23.7 USA 7.7 Liberia 3.6 Jamaica 2.8 Switzerland 1.2 Gabon 1.0 Trinidad & Tobago 0.5 Panama 0.5 Bahamas 0.4

2010 Swaziland Zimbabwe South Africa Botswana Chile USA Saint Vincent DR Congo Tonga Philippines

% Independent 47.9 43.1 38.7 37.4 23.3 23.1 22.1 21.9 21.3 21.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 DR Congo Kenya Zimbabwe Chile Mexico Argentina Guatemala Zambia France Russia

*Countries >100,000

% p.a. 15.29 14.36 14.22 13.77 13.68 13.35 12.86 12.86 12.69 12.66

2000–2010 Afghanistan French Polynesia Sudan Albania Viet Nam Tajikistan Bosnia-Herzegovina Chad Cambodia Burundi

% p.a. 16.65 9.50 8.15 8.15 6.59 5.97 5.92 5.74 5.67 5.63

77

INDEPENDENTS

most African prophets founded the AICs. Beyond this historical affinity, and black participation in early Pentecostalism, both movements were inspired by the quest for a tangible experience of the Spirit in the life of the believer. This happened against the backdrop of a modern Christian tradition articulated in rational concepts of the Enlightenment and secular categories that do not allow for the language of experience of the Spirit. This is all the more reason why some scholars in Pentecostalism suggest an African source for the modern Pentecostal movement. As Kingsley Larbi has argued, the waves and ripples of the Azusa Street Revival experience also reached the African continent and became instrumental in the founding of a number of indigenous churches, therefore contributing to the spirit of Independence in African Christianity. When Pentecostalism came to Africa, Africans found in it a form of Christian expression that resonated with aspects of African spirituality. They therefore discovered in Pentecostal spirituality a form of Christianity that owns categories and concepts that can capture the main elements of African spirituality. The similarity African Christians saw between African spirituality and Pentecostalism led many to describe both the nascent Pentecostal churches and the AICs as ‘Spiritual churches’. Indeed the early African Pentecostal movements combined the emphasis on personal holiness in classical Pentecostalism with an emphasis on the experience of the Spirit through dreams, prophecies, deliverance and healing in the lives of the believers. Usually, the Neo-Pentecostal/Charismatic variety of expressions in African Christianity is not included in the phenomenon of Independence initiated by the AICs. Indeed, these churches make strenuous effort to distinguish themselves from the AICs. But when viewed from their mode of interpreting and appropriating the Christian faith, one finds great similarity between them. This applies especially to their use of categories of African spirituality, to their interpretation of African Christianity, and indeed to all the features displayed in their assemblies. Although their worship style is influenced by western European and American faith movements, they remain deeply rooted in African culture and worldview. The Neo-Pentecostal/Charismatic movement addresses its message to African Christians who find themselves caught up in the challenges of modernity who are promised the necessary spiritual resources to deal with these challenges. In this sense they present their version of Christianity as the type suited for present-day African Christians trying to cope with the predicaments of modernity. However, interestingly, they are also traditional in the sense that they invoke and use spiritual tools to deal with modern problems. This traditional tendency gives them the freedom to use spiritual categories and concepts deeply rooted in African traditional culture and religion, which affirms their continuity with traditional religion and the AICs. Herein lies their qualification for African Independence. They can therefore be described as movements with traditional as well as modern or postmodern features that promise new life possibilities through the power of the Holy Spirit. Their message promises success in life and victory over negative forces that may disrupt human life. This is the focus of their message on prosperity, understood as abundant life, which has made them popular among many Africans.

Independents, 1910–2010

I

Independents by country, 2010

ndependent Christians are defined as believers who do not identify with the major Christian traditions (Anglican, Orthodox, Protestant, Roman Catholic). They are independent of historic, organised, institutionalised and denominationalist Christianity. In 1910 there were relatively few Independent Christians worldwide. At that time, Polynesia and Northern America had the largest Independent populations, 15% and 7.2% respectively. Most regions in 1910 had no communities at all. The USA had the largest number of Independents with over 6.7 million, with the Philippines following at 2.1 million. India, Switzerland and Jamaica were next, but with relatively small populations of Independents. By 2010 Independents had grown to over 369 million. Largely the result of indigenous initiative, Independents had spread to every continent, region, and country in the world. House church movements have also contributed to the increasing numbers of Independents globally. Essentially, wherever there are traditional Christians, Independent believers are represented. Of particular note is Africa, which experienced tremendous Christian growth over the past century and also witnessed the development of numerous Independent churches. In 2010 the four countries with the highest percentages of Independent believers were all in Africa (Swaziland, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana) with the USA now ranking sixth in the world. Africa also has the most Independent denominations (12,551), though Asia still has the largest average size of Independent denominations (137,000). Of special interest is China, which now surpasses the USA in numbers of Independent believers: 85 million compared to 72.7 million. Independents have made huge strides over the past 100 years. The growth rates for many regions are extremely high, and it is not unreasonable to presume that similar trends will continue into the future, as more Christians break away from mainline denominations. With few exceptions, Independents have been growing faster than the general population in all regions both in the 100-year period (1910–2010) and in the 10-year period (2000–2010). The 100-year Independent growth rate in Africa was nearly four times greater than that of the general population. In Eastern Africa it was almost five times as fast. This is not surprising as Africa has been one of the centres of Independent movements. What is perhaps unexpected is that the 100-year Independent growth rate in Europe was 10 times faster than the general population. This trend continues even in the present. One reason is the presence of large African Independent congregations in major European cities, Europe North North Africa Asia but there are also Asiaan increasing number of white-led America America Independents across the continent.

Central America Central America had virtually no Independents in 1910 but 7.5 million by 2010 (an average annual growth rate of 9.05%), the fruit of American missionaries in the region.

CtryIndependent Per cent

0

Latin

Oceania

2

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

Europe

Latin Africa Europe America

0 0.001

0

78

Latin Africa Asia Europe America

Oceania

1910 2010 Independents by country: percentage of total population 1910

2

5

North America

Africa Asia

Oceania

2010

2010

1910 10

40

60

75

85

90

95

Members 0.9% 76,816,000 0.4% 23,548,000 21,555,000 18,737,000 16,636,000 12,723,000 12,686,000 11,248,000 10,940,000 9,880,000 8,834,000 8,355,000 8,185,000 8,086,000 6,939,000 60 6,290,000 75 6,123,000 4,740,000 4,626,000 3,831,000 3,824,000 3,432,000 3,238,000 3,041,000 2,834,000

0.3%

0.3%

0.2% 0.5%

Largest 25 of 201 Independent traditions, 2010 24.8%

Independent

North America

Latin

America America traditions Largest Independent Independent1910 Christianity’s southward shift, fueled by the rise of Independent and Renewlist movements, evidences itself in the largest Independent 0.5% 0.2% traditions.

Minor tradition 1 Chinese Charismatic 2 African Independent Pentecostal 73.1% 3 Independent Baptist 4 African Independent Apostolic 5 Brazilian/Portuguese Pentecostal 6 White-led Charismatic 7 Chinese Neocharismatic 8 African Independent Neocharismatic 9 New Apostolic, Catholic Apostolic, Old Apostolic 10 Black American Pentecostal 11 Latin American Pentecostal 12 Independent Reformed, Presbyterian 13 Zionist African Independent 14 White-led Pentecostal 15 Independent Methodist 0.001 2 5 10 40 16 Filipino Neocharismatic 17 Reformed Catholic, retaining Catholic claims 18 Independent Disciple, Restorationist, Christian 19 Independent Fundamentalist 20 African Independent Charismatic 21 Hidden Hindu believers in Christ 22 Latin American grassroots 23 Conservative Catholic (schism ex Rome) 24 Indian Neocharismatic 25 African Neocharismatic of mixed traditions

Independent

= Few or none

1910

Oceania

!

1910

20.0%

24.8% 0.9% 0.4%

73.1%

20.0% 11.3%

11.3% 2.9%

2.9%

38.7%

Asia

Europe

Latin America

Northern America

Oceania

 Independents by continent The global Independent population has shifted drastically over the past 100 years. In 1910 Northern America and Asia held most of the Independent population, but by 2010 it was more evenly distributed worldwide. Asia continues to be a hub of Independent activity, primarily due to the massive numbers of Independent believers in China. IndependentOfAC

0 0.001

90

2

5

10

40

60

75

95

Independent denominations, 2010 Africa Asia Europe L America N America Oceania

Total 12,550 3,850 2,270 3,340 4,670 330

85

90

 Independents by country, 2010: Percentage of Christian population This map shows Independents as a percentage of all professing Christians. Of China’s Christian population the Independent tradition accounts for an astounding 98%. In Algeria Independents make up 85%; a law in 2006 made all non-Muslim worship in Algeria illegal, thus causing much of the small Christian community to become ‘secret believers’ and break away from mainline churches. 95

Independent congregations, 2010

Average size 8,000 A 37,000 C 5,000 E 13,000 L 16,000 N 4,000 P

38.7%

Legend same as above

Africa

85

26.8%

26.8%

0 00 00 00 00 00 0,0 00,0 00,0 00,0 00,0 20 4 6 8 1,0

A C E L N P

Africa A AsiaC Europe E L America L N America N Oceania P

Total 298,000 1,674,000 58,200 173,000 284,000 8,900

Average size 330 A 90 C 180 E 240 L 260 N 140 P

0

00

2,0

00

4,0

00

6,0

00

8,0

0

,00

10

!

China Since the middle of the twentieth century, many Chinese believers have opted to worship outside of the government-sanctioned Protestant and Catholic churches. These believers worship in house churches and number in the millions.

2010

Africa The continent has been the source of many Independent movements throughout the twentieth century. Many of these now operate under the Organization of African Instituted Churches, which claims over 50 million members.

Secret believers Around the world there are many millions of believers following Christ without the knowledge of their governments. These range from isolated radio or TV (or Internet) believers to large, organised fellowships of Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists whose primary allegiance is to Christ.

Independents by UN region, 1910 and 2010 Population Africa 124,228,000 Eastern Africa 33,030,000 Middle Africa 19,443,000 Northern Africa 32,002,000 Southern Africa 6,819,000 Western Africa 32,933,000 Asia 1,028,265,000 Eastern Asia 556,096,000 South-central Asia 345,121,000 South-eastern Asia 94,104,000 Western Asia 32,944,000 Europe 427,154,000 Eastern Europe 178,184,000 Northern Europe 61,474,000 Southern Europe 76,940,000 Western Europe 110,556,000 Latin America 78,269,000 Caribbean 8,172,000 Central America 20,777,000 South America 49,320,000 Northern America 94,689,000 Oceania 7,192,000 Australia/New Zealand 5,375,000 Melanesia 1,596,000 Micronesia 89,400 Polynesia 131,000 Global total 1,759,795,000

INDEPENDENTS

Independent centre of gravity

Independent growth rates* by UN region, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

1910 2010 Independents % Population Independents % 46,900 0.0 1,032,012,000 98,819,000 9.6A 470 0.0 332,107,000 24,446,000 7.4A1 4,200 0.0 129,583,000 19,000,000 14.7A2 2,300 0.0 206,295,000 396,000 0.2A3 19,700 0.3 56,592,000 20,814,000 36.8A4 20,300 0.1 307,436,000 34,163,000 11.1A5 2,301,000 0.2 4,166,308,000 142,737,000 3.4C 12,400 0.0 1,562,575,000 93,002,000 6.0C1 101,000 0.0 1,777,378,000 20,734,000 1.2C2 2,188,000 2.3 594,216,000 28,498,000 4.8C3 50 0.0 232,139,000 503,000 0.2C4 87,200 0.0 730,478,000 10,703,000 1.5E 0 0.0 290,755,000 3,499,000 1.2E1 5,300 0.0 98,352,000 2,992,000 3.0E2 0 0.0 152,913,000 1,345,000 0.9E3 81,900 0.1 188,457,000 2,868,000 1.5E4 34,200 0.0 593,696,000 41,876,000 7.1 L 27,500 0.3 42,300,000 1,712,000 4.0L1 1,300 0.0 153,657,000 7,506,000 4.9L2 5,400 0.0 397,739,000 32,659,000 8.2L3 6,779,000 7.2 348,575,000 73,759,000 21.2N 20,900 0.3 35,491,000 1,262,000 3.6P 1,200 0.0 25,647,000 733,000 2.9P1 110 0.0 8,589,000 468,000 5.4P2 0 0.0 575,000 23,000 4.0P3 19,600 15.0 680,000 37,700 5.5P4 9,269,000 0.5 6,906,558,000 369,156,000 5.3zG

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

0% 0

% 1910

% 2010 7.95 11.47 8.78 5.28 7.21 7.71 4.21 9.33 5.47 2.60 9.65 4.93 13.62 6.54 12.53 3.62 7.37 4.22 9.05 9.10 2.42 4.19 6.63 8.71 8.05 0.66 3.75

20

40 50% 60

80

100% 100

Independents

Population

Rate* 2000–2010

2.14A 2.33 A1 1.91 A2 1.88 A3 2.14 A4 2.26 A5 1.41C 1.04 C1 1.65 C2 1.86 C3 1.97 C4 0.54E 0.49 E1 0.47 E2 0.69 E3 0.53 E4 2.05L 1.66 L1 2.02 L2 2.11 L3 1.31N 1.61P 1.57 P1 1.70 P2 1.88 P3 1.66 P4 1.38 zG -2 -2

2.40 2.31A 2.21 2.59A1 2.96 2.86A2 3.90 1.69A3 1.67 0.86A4 2.69 2.53A5 3.47 1.18C 4.18 0.57C1 3.48 1.60C2 1.51 1.34C3 1.12 1.90C4 1.76 0.03E 1.42 -0.47E1 2.70 0.42E2 2.33 0.48E3 1.04 0.27E4 1.76 1.28L 1.89 0.92L1 2.79 1.26L2 1.53 1.32L3 1.12 1.00N 1.85 1.33P 1.38 1.10P1 2.66 2.06P2 2.42 1.47P3 1.07 1.04P4 2.42 1.21zG

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 88 9 10 10 11 12 12

-2 -2

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 8 9 10 11

79

Marginal Christians, 1910–2010

S

een globally and from the span of twenty centuries, the vast majority of the Christian story involves the narratives of Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians. While each tradition retains its own sense of exclusivity, the last century has witnessed a growing ecumenical spirit in the relations of these three Christian communions. In each body there is common commitment to a Trinitarian perspective, the authority of Scripture, the centrality of Jesus and an ecclesiology broad enough to affirm ‘one holy catholic church’. Yet these three Christian traditions do not capture the whole story of groups that claim to be Christian. For want of a better term, there are also Marginal Christian groups that are distinct from the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant options. The most well-known include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Jehovah’s Witnesses, Unification Church, Family International, People’s Temple, Branch Davidians and various non-traditional Church of Christ movements (like the Iglesia ni Cristo in the Philippines). The above groups retain a Protestant ethos about them even as they depart in various ways from classical Christian doctrine. There are also Marginal Christian groups shaped by Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy. Many marginal Catholic groups arose out of protest of Papal Infallibility adopted at the First Vatican Council in 1870. Other marginal Catholic groups include the Army of Mary (a group based in Quebec and centred on Marie-Paule Giguère), the Apostles of Infinite Love (Pope Gregory XVII) and the Vatican in Exile (Pope Michael I). Lastly, there are marginal Christian groups shaped more by the Western esoteric tradition than by specific Protestant or Catholic motifs. The most significant groups in this regard are Christian Science, Unity, New Thought and the various Swedenborgian churches. These metaphysical movements have achieved even greater distance from classical Christian understandings of God, Jesus, divine revelation and humanity, though often expressed in obtuse language. What do all these groups have in common? First, apart from the few Catholic bodies, they share a non-Trinitarian perspective to a greater or lesser degree. For example, Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the deity of Christ, but remain monotheistic. Mormons affirm the deity of Christ, but in a context of affirming the possibility of human exaltation to a similar divine status. The Unification Church teaches that Jesus is the Son of God but also that Jesus is really subordinate to founder Sun Myung Moon. Esoteric Christian groups tend to emphasise the divinity in each human so that Christ becomes an example more than a divine Saviour. Second, each group retains the language of Christian faith even if the substance is not retained on particular matters. In Christian Science the Second Coming of Christ is the emergence of the work of founder Mary Baker Eddy. Members of the Family International view holiness through the perspective of a radical sexual libertarianism. Salvation in Mormonism involves obedience to temple rituals that were borrowed in part from founder Joseph Smith’s experiences in the Masonic Lodge. Last, and most important, each group has been shaped by an authoritarian and often narcissistic leadership, particularly at inception. This may explain to some degree how new and even radical templates are created in the ongoing Christian narrative. It is as if the Roman Catholic obedience to the Pope or the Protestant submission to Scripture is duplicated in allegiance to a new leader, whether Joseph Smith, Mary Baker Eddy, Sun Myung Moon or Pope Michael. The darkest extremes of authoritarianism find expression in the violent deaths associated with Jim Jones (People’s Temple) and David Koresh (Branch Davidians) or in the sexual abuse of followers, as in the case of David Berg (The Family International). Of course, the story of these Marginal Christian groups is expressed best by discontinuities rather than common themes. The groups are so distinct that they each amount to a new understanding of Christian faith, as seen from the older and larger Christian traditions. Of course, each Marginal group views itself as faithful to the original Christian gospel and central to the ongoing work of God’s kingdom, so much so that they believe it is wrong to form ecumenical associations with anyone else. Given this,

80

each marginal group has to be understood through its own unique narrative. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, but originated in upstate New York in 1830 under the inspiration of Joseph Smith, its founding prophet. Smith was born on 23 December 1805 in Sharon, Vermont, and moved with his family to Palmyra, New York, in 1816. Church followers, known commonly as Mormons, believe that God the Father and Jesus revealed themselves to Smith in the spring of 1820 and told him to restore the one true Church. Mormons also claim that on 21 September 1823 an angel named Moroni told Smith of gold plates buried in the hill Cumorah (near Palmyra) that told the story of God’s dealing with America’s ancient inhabitants. Smith claimed that he was guided by God to translate the ancient writing into The Book of Mormon. This work, along with the Holy Bible, Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price constitute Mormon Scripture.

Most Marginal Christian groups celebrate the distancing from classical Protestant, Catholic or Orthodox perspective even as each group views its work as central to God’s providence and will for humanity. During the early 1840s there was both internal dissent and external criticism about Smith, particularly because of his practice of plural marriage, which Smith denied. Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by an angry anti-Mormon mob on 27 June 1844. After Smith’s death the Mormon community split into several factions, with most following Brigham Young (1801–77), who led them westward to Utah in 1846, arriving in the Salt Lake Basin in 1847. The Church officially promulgated plural marriage in 1852, but it was renounced in the 1890 Manifesto by Wilford Woodruff, the fourth LDS president. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that all spirit beings, including God, are subject to laws of eternal progression. This has led to the common Mormon view, now being downplayed by LDS leadership, that Elohim, the God of planet Earth, used to be a man and progressed to godhood. The same principle of exaltation is said to apply to worthy Mormon males. Exaltation to the highest of three heavens involves obedience to Mormon temple ordinances, including eternal marriage and baptisms for the dead. By 1910 the Utah-based church had survived decades of controversy over polygamy and was established as one of America’s alternative religions. The missionary impulse in Mormonism increased considerably under David O. McKay, president from 1951 through 1970. The Church had reached almost three million members by his death, passed eight million by 1991, and might pass 15 million soon after 2010. Thomas S. Monson became the Church’s sixteenth president in 2008. By the end of the twentieth century the LDS church had become known for its family values, conservative politics and the famed Mormon Tabernacle Choir. However, its controversial past continues to influence the present, as in the failed 2008 bid of Mitt Romney, a prominent Mormon businessman and former governor of Massachusetts, for the presidency of the USA. Also, reports about polygamy in fundamentalist Mormon groups impact the image of the mainstream LDS, most notably in the raid on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints compound in Eldorado, Texas, in April 2008. Jehovah’s Witnesses Jehovah’s Witnesses are most famous for their door-to-door evangelism and their stance against blood transfusion. The movement, part of the larger Adventist tradition, can be traced to 1879 and the leadership of Charles Taze Russell, a one-time Presbyterian. Russell was born on 16 February 1852 in Old Allegheny, Pennsylvania. He was drawn to

the Adventist world in 1868. Russell abandoned the doctrine of the Trinity in 1882 but continued his focus on Biblical eschatology until his death in 1916. By then his followers had become known as Bible Students, and Russell’s teachings were available in a six-volume series, Studies in the Scriptures. After Russell’s death in 1916 Joseph Franklin Rutherford won control of the movement. Rutherford was a dynamic, authoritarian leader who concentrated power in himself and in the Watch Tower organisation. In 1931 the group adopted the name Jehovah’s Witnesses. Nathan Knorr led the movement from 1942 until his death in 1977. Since 1971 leadership has been invested in a group known as the Governing Body. Witnesses believe that they constitute the one true Church of Jesus Christ. In addition to adopting an Arian view of Jesus, members teach that Jesus was originally Michael the Archangel, and that the Second Coming took place in 1914. The group denies the physical resurrection of Jesus and the personal nature of the Holy Spirit. They believe that only a select 144,000 Witnesses will go to heaven, with Paradise Earth as the reward for other followers of Jehovah. The group bans Christmas and Easter celebrations, observance of birthdays, participation in the military and saluting the flag of any nation. Religious liberties have often been expanded because of Witness court cases throughout the world. Notable Witness victories occurred in Canada in the 1940s, in Italy in 2000 and in Russia in 2001. Witnesses have won 43 cases at the USA Supreme Court. Ironically, as ex-member M. James Penton has argued, the Watch Tower organisation has often crushed the liberties of its own membership, especially in relation to blood transfusion and bringing pedophiles before judicial authorities. Unification Church The Unification Church is the most famous new religion of Korea and has established itself in most countries in just over five decades of existence. It is founded and led by Korean native Sun Myung Moon, who was born on 6 January 1920. His followers believe that Jesus appeared to Moon on 17 April 1935 and instructed him to complete the mission of Jesus. Moon began his Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity in 1954, after a decade of personal persecution, including imprisonment in North Korea. In 1960 he married Hak Ja Han, after a divorce from his first wife in the early 1950s. Mrs Moon was born on 6 January 1943 and has given birth to 13 children, who are regarded as sinless at their birth. The 1960 marriage is regarded as the fulfilment of the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9). The members refer to them as True Father and True Mother and together as True Parents. The USA government charged Moon with incometax evasion on 15 October 1981. Though powerful religious groups protested Moon’s indictment, the Korean leader was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months in prison. He began his term in a prison in Danbury, Connecticut, in the summer of 1984 and was released from a Brooklyn halfway house on 20 August 1985. The Unification Church focuses on the need to liberate humanity from the impact of the Fall into sin. Moon teaches that Satan seduced Eve sexually and then she engaged in sex with Adam before the providential time allowed by God. According to Divine Principle (the Unification Bible), Jesus was not sent to die on the cross but was supposed to have found a true Eve to restore humanity. The fact that Jesus was not married during his earthly life led to the necessity of a new messiah. Unificationists claim that Moon presided over a marriage ceremony for Jesus at one of the Church’s famous mass weddings. Since 1995 Unification members have been participating in renewal and liberation workshops at a Unification retreat centre at Chung Pyung Lake in South Korea. These are led by Mrs Hyo Nam Kim, who claims to receive messages from Moon’s deceased mother-in-law, who is given the honorific title of Dae Mo Nim. Disciples are urged to liberate their ancestral lineage from demonic influence and from the toll of human iniquity that plagues generations. Sun Myung Moon gained credibility when he founded the Washington Times in 1982, as he was facing income-tax charges by the US government.

Family International The Family International is the current name of the group known formerly as the Children of God, the Family of Love, and the Family. This controversial movement was started by David Berg in 1968 and has been the target of frequent police action, litigation and media scrutiny worldwide. Berg is known affectionately in the movement as Dad, Father David and Moses David. David Brandt Berg was born in 1919. His mother was an evangelist and had an enormous influence on him, particularly in relation to his psycho-sexual identity. Berg married Jane Miller in 1944 and four years later became a minister in a Christian and Missionary Alliance church in Arizona. He was forced out in 1951. Berg moved with his wife and four children to Huntington Beach, California, in 1968. He reached out to the hippies of southern California and soon had a small group of followers. Berg and his family moved to London, England, where he was joined by his mistress, Maria. She was born as Karen Zerby in New Jersey in 1946. Berg communicated with his followers through what were known as MO Letters or MLs. ML 273 was issued in January 1974 and encouraged the membership to engage in sexual activity with strangers in order to win them to Jesus. This was known as ‘flirty fishing’ and constituted one of the most notorious parts of Berg’s ideology. The teaching was elaborated in 1976 in a string of MO Letters known as ‘King Arthur’s Nights’. Though Berg died in 1994, both Maria and her new husband Peter Amsterdam (b. 1951 as Steven Douglas Kelly) claim to receive revelations from him. Maria states of Berg: ‘Dad was an iconoclast, and his revolutionary, unconventional, untraditional ways, including his radical vocabulary, helped to drive a wedge between the Family and the System. He wanted to break us out of our churchy System ruts! He wanted to separate us from the world! He wanted to shock us and shock society!’ Maria and Peter instigated major policy changes in Family practice, including warnings against physical, emotional and sexual mistreatment of children. They also adopted a somewhat more relaxed model of church leadership, expressed in the Family’s ‘Love Charter’ that was released in 1995. These changes led the British judicial authorities to adopt a more

open attitude to the Family in its rulings about child custody. David Berg had unorthodox understandings of the Trinity, biblical authority and the nature of the Church. He wrote of his group’s identity: ‘We are not Protestants or Catholics or Jews. We are not coming out of anything. We are a new body, a new creation, New Jerusalem, a new man, a new Church!’ The Family obviously departed from traditional Christian teaching in their radical sexual views. In 1995 Maria claimed on the basis of revelation from heaven that both males and females should think of Jesus as a love partner while engaging in self-gratification. On 8 January 2005 Ricky Rodriguez, Maria’s son, killed long-time Family member Angela Smith and then shot himself. Rodriguez (known in the group as Davidito) taped a video before his death and blamed the Family for the rage that led to the murder-suicide. He was once championed as the future leader of the movement but left it in 2001. Family leaders blame the media and the anti-cult movement for fuelling Ricky’s anger and violence. The Family International now faces major pressure from second-generation members who have exited and become the group’s most significant critics. The group has entered its fifth decade of existence, claiming 10,000 members in over 100 nations. Whether the group will be able to bridge the divide between insiders and ex-members represents its most significant challenge. Christian Science Christian Science is the popular designation for the Church of Christ, Scientist, a Christian esoteric movement founded by Mary Baker Eddy in Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1879. Eddy published Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures in 1875, and it is the central defining text of the religion. Eddy was born in Bow, New Hampshire, on 16 July 1821. The movement traces its core identity to Mrs Eddy’s claim of healing after she sustained lifethreatening injuries from a fall on the sidewalk in February 1866. Mrs Eddy stated that her injuries were reversed when she discovered the healing methods of Jesus. Critics not only dispute her account of the whole episode but also the underlying ideology of her view of sickness and health. Eddy started public teaching of her method of healing in 1870, her church in 1879, and the Massachusetts Metaphysical College in 1881. The movement grew rapidly in the final two decades of the century in spite of widespread criticism in the media and from religious leaders like A. J. Gordon. The Mother Church in Boston was dedicated in January of 1895, and the movement published the first issue of The Christian Science Monitor in 1908. Mrs Eddy died on 3 December 1910, at age 89, in her home in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Christian Science represents Mrs Eddy’s metaphysical understanding of Christian faith. She was influenced by idealism and the Mind Science tradition that was popular in America in the 1800s, most notably through the work of Phineas Parkhurt Quimby (1802–66), a pioneer in the field of mesmerism. Eddy turned to Quimby in 1862 for medical assistance but later minimised his influence on her theories of divine healing. Mrs Eddy’s version of idealism led her to teach that matter is not real and that sin, disease and death

are illusions. This notion is captured in one of the most famous lines from Science and Health: ‘There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all.’ The text also states that ‘man is not matter, he is not made up of brain, blood, bones, and other material elements’ and that ‘man is incapable of sin, sickness, and death’. The movement has faced crisis in the last few decades. Doug and Rita Swan blamed Church ideology and practice for the death of their son Matthew from spinal meningitis. They formed an organisation named CHILD (Children’s Healthcare Is a Legal Duty) that monitors Christian Science and other groups accused of putting children at risk. Caroline Fraser, a prominent ex-member, also created considerable controversy when she chronicled the death of Christian Science children in The Atlantic Monthly in 1995 and in her work God’s Perfect Child, published in 1999. Christian Science has appealed in recent years to those attracted to the New Age movement and to esoteric versions of spirituality. Virginia Harris, the former chairperson of the Board, campaigned aggressively for a fresh image of the movement. She appeared on the television networks CNN and PBS in the USA and was interviewed by The New York Times, Forbes Magazine and The Los Angeles Times. Mrs Harris was also on the Board of the Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity, opened in September 2002. Cults and brainwashing Most Marginal Christian groups, including those noted above, celebrate the distancing from classical Protestant, Catholic or Orthodox perspective even as each group views its work as central to God’s providence and will for humanity. The LDS Church remains the most powerful Marginal group, along with Jehovah’s Witnesses. There are no other marginal groups that have a very significant presence worldwide, even though some of the newer groups have experienced enormous media attention because of concerns about brainwashing and violence. After the mass suicide involving Jim Jones and his People’s Temple members in 1978, it became fashionable to argue that some religious groups engage in brainwashing and members need to be kidnapped in order to be deprogrammed. With this paradigm various marginal religions, including Christian ones, became targeted as ‘cults’. The word ‘cult’ had been used earlier to describe groups that deviated from traditional Christianity, but since the late 1970s the word has been increasingly used in relation to alleged mental coercion of followers. While deprogrammers or exit counsellors no longer engage in kidnapping, the brainwashing model retains enormous popularity even as it has been largely discredited in the academic community, especially in Northern America.

JAMES A. BEVERLEY Catherine Albanese, A Republic of Mind and Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical Religion (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2006). James A. Beverley, Nelson’s Illustrated Guide to Religions (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2009). J. Gordon Melton, Encyclopedia of American Religions (Detroit, MI: Gale, 2003). Richard Ostling and Joan Ostling, Mormon America (San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins, 1999). M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah’s Witnesses (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997).

Marginal Christians by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 USA Romania Belgium Canada Britain Germany Netherlands Hungary Australia Denmark

Marginals 926,000 61,700 21,000 18,000 10,600 8,000 3,400 3,200 2,300 2,200

Highest percentage* 2010 USA Mexico Brazil Philippines Nigeria Japan Peru Chile Colombia South Korea

Marginals 11,300,000 2,828,000 2,800,000 1,100,000 950,000 770,000 750,000 735,000 720,000 700,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 French Polynesia USA Samoa Romania Belgium Canada New Caledonia New Zealand Denmark Netherlands

% Marginal 2.3 1.1 1.0 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1

Fastest growth* 2010 Tonga Samoa French Polynesia Chile Micronesia Guadeloupe USA Uruguay Zambia New Zealand

% Marginal 53.9 36.5 13.6 4.3 4.0 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.4 3.2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Philippines Nigeria Japan Peru Chile South Korea Russia Venezuela Zambia Ecuador

*Countries >100,000

% p.a. 12.31 12.14 11.91 11.88 11.86 11.80 11.43 11.26 11.26 11.12

2000–2010 Pakistan Nepal Angola Rwanda Azerbaijan Burundi Afghanistan Gabon Iraq Cameroon

% p.a. 11.14 10.84 10.49 10.47 10.16 9.83 9.60 9.55 8.45 7.91

81

MARGINAL CHRISTIANS

He also owns the Segye Times (South Korea) and the Middle East Times (Cairo) and in 2000 took over United Press International (UPI). Moon is the founder of the International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences, the Professors World Peace Academy, the Summit Council for World Peace and the World Media Conference, among other educational and political enterprises. The Unification Church attracts a large following in both South Korea and Japan, with memberships in the hundreds of thousands. The movement has received widespread media attention in the USA, Canada and Europe, but the numbers of followers are not proportional. There are fewer than a thousand followers in Canada, and only a few thousand in both the USA and Europe. Sun Myung Moon appointed his youngest son, Hyung Jin, leader of the movement in April 2008. What remains to be seen is whether the son will distance the movement from his father’s all-embracing presence once the father passes on.

Marginal Christians, 1910–2010

M

Marginal Christians by country, 2010

arginal Christian groups differ from mainstream Christianity over the nature of Jesus Christ and the existence of the Trinity. Many Marginal groups also profess divine revelation in addition to the Bible and/or offer altered states of consciousness. Such doctrinal differences date to the earliest centuries of Christianity. Despite opposition by church (and often civil) authorities, however, some Marginal bodies from the first millennium (for example, Paulicians) survive into the twenty-first century. Others (for example, Unitarians and Swedenborgians) grew out of the Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment. Nineteenthcentury individualism produced new Marginal traditions from both its Revivalist and Restorationist (for example, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses) and its Romantic (for example, Spiritualists, New Thought) expressions, primarily in the USA and Britain. In 1910 the centre of gravity of Marginal Christianity was in the USA, home to nearly 87% of all Marginal Christians. Most of the remainder were in Europe. Marginal Christian groups were found in some 40 countries, but membership exceeded 10,000 in only five. Marginal Christians also made up more than 1% of the population in only three countries (French Polynesia, the USA and Samoa). The twentieth century saw the globalisation of Marginal Christian traditions; at least one is found in all but about 20 countries. Jehovah’s Witnesses and Latterday Saints (Mormons) – both of which include numerous groups – have been most successful. Together they account for over 85% of Marginal Christians in 2010. The Unification Church, organised in South Korea in 1954, also has members worldwide, though most live in South Korea or Japan. Polynesia has the largest concentration of Marginal Christians (almost 27% of the total population, compared to 5% in second-ranking Micronesia). Ten of the 12 countries with the largest shares of Marginal Christians are in Polynesia (six, including the top five) or Micronesia (four). Marginal Christians form the majority of the population in one country, Tonga (54%), and at least 10% of the population in Samoa and French Polynesia. Marginal Christians also constitute at least 10% of all Christians in three countries that are less than 2% Christian: Japan (26%), Mongolia (19%), and Mayotte (12%). Northern America still has the most Marginal Christians, although its share has shrunk to 34% of the global total. Latin America, home to five of the ten countries with the most Marginal Christians, has almost as many. In every Africa Africa country in which Marginal Christians 0.1% are found in 0.1% 2010, they constitute a larger share of the Oceania general population than they did in 1910. Asia Latin Asia Europe 0.0% Marginal0.0% Christians grew faster than the general popAmerica ulation in every United Nations region over theNorth 100-year North period. America This trend continues in all regions in the present America 1910 except Australia/New Zealand and Northern Europe.

1910

Marginal centre of gravity

2

Latin America Latin America, with only a few thousand Marginal Christians in 1910, now claims almost as many as Northern America and is home to five of the ten countries with the largest Marginal Christian populations.

Per cent Marginal

CtryMarginal

0

2

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

Oceania

10

Oceania

Latin North America America

Europe

Africa

North Europe America

Asia

1910 2010 Marginal Christians by country: percentage of total population 1910

40

60

75

85

90

95

Africa

Latin America

Europe

Asia

2010

1.9%

1.9%

0.5%

0.5%  Marginal Christian traditions 0.4% Over 85% of Marginal Christians belong to just two traditions: Jehovah’s 10.7% Witnesses and Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Both originated in the USA in the nineteenth century, both include a ‘mother’ denomination and smaller daughter groups, and both are aggressively missionary. The next-largest traditions have fewer than one-tenth as many adherents. One of these, however, the Holy Spirit Association (Unification Church) 88.2% has grown to over 900,000 in only 60 years.

Oceania Latin America

2010

1910 5

!

2010

Marginal1910 0 0.001

USA The USA is the birthplace of the two largest Marginal Christian traditions, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and had the largest Marginal Christian population in both 1910 and 2010.

!

10.7%

0.4%

10.5%

10.5%

9.0%

9.0% 33.9%

33.9%

88.2%

12.1%

12.1% 32.6%

32.6% Legend same as above

Africa

Asia

Europe

Latin America

Northern America

Oceania

Largest Marginal traditions, 2010 Minor tradition Jehovah's Witnesses (Russellites) Latter-day Saints, including schismatics Metaphysical science Unification Church Unitarian, Universalist, Free Christian Spiritualist, Spiritist, psychic, occult 0.001 2 5 10 Schism from Orthodoxy Gnostic, esoteric, anthroposophical Christadelphian Swedenborgian Liberal Catholic (Masonic) Paulician, Bogomil Theosophist, Theosophical, synthesist Divine Science Apocalyptic, eschatological

Marginal 0

82

Members % of Marginals 17,034,000 48.8 15,091,000 43.2 1,086,000 3.1 945,000 2.7 294,000 0.8 156,000 0.4 40 75 88,500 60 0.3 67,500 0.2 56,600 0.2 39,800 0.1 38,700 0.1 6,800 0.0 5,500 0.0 1,400 0.0 740 0.0

 Marginal Christians by continent Marginal Christianity grew on every continent between 1910 and 2010 (including, perhaps surprisingly, Europe). Its global spread dropped Northern America’s share from almost 90% in 1910 to only one-third in 2010. The greatest growth occurred in Latin America, where numbers now approach those in Northern America. Oceania, although home to just 2% of the global total, contains five of the ten countries with the highest concentrations of Marginal Christians. MarginalOfAC

0 0.001

85

90

2

5

10

40

60

75

95

Marginal denominations, 2010 Africa Asia Europe L America N America Oceania

Total 230 130 530 320 460 120

85

 Marginal Christians by country, 2010: Percentage of Christian population Marginal Christians exceed 10% of all Christians in ten countries: seven in Oceania (around 90% Christian each) and Japan, Mongolia, and Mayotte (less than 2% Christian each). In most countries, however, Marginal Christians are less than 1% of all Christians.

90

95

Marginal congregations, 2010

Average size 16,000 A 24,000 C 8,000 E 35,000 L 26,000 N 5,000 P

0 00 00 00 00 00 0,0 00,0 00,0 00,0 00,0 20 4 6 8 1,0

A C E L N P

Africa A AsiaC Europe E L America L N America N Oceania P

Total 26,400 13,700 27,800 48,400 38,600 2,900

Average size 140 A 230 C 150 E 230 L 310 N 230 P

0

00

2,0

00

4,0

00

6,0

00

8,0

0

,00

10

MARGINAL CHRISTIANS

Polynesia Regionally, Polynesia has the highest percentage of Marginal Christians and is home to Tonga, the country with the highest concentration (54% of the total population and 58% of all Christians).

Global spread Marginal Christianity has spread from only 40 countries in 1910 to around 220 in 2010.

Marginal Christians by UN region, 1910 and 2010 1910 Population Africa 124,228,000 Eastern Africa 33,030,000 Middle Africa 19,443,000 Northern Africa 32,002,000 Southern Africa 6,819,000 Western Africa 32,933,000 Asia 1,028,265,000 Eastern Asia 556,096,000 South-central Asia 345,121,000 South-eastern Asia 94,104,000 Western Asia 32,944,000 Europe 427,154,000 Eastern Europe 178,184,000 Northern Europe 61,474,000 Southern Europe 76,940,000 Western Europe 110,556,000 Latin America 78,269,000 Caribbean 8,172,000 Central America 20,777,000 South America 49,320,000 Northern America 94,689,000 Oceania 7,192,000 Australia/New Zealand 5,375,000 Melanesia 1,596,000 Micronesia 89,400 Polynesia 131,000 Global total 1,759,795,000

Marginals 980 0 0 0 860 120 290 0 200 60 30 115,000 64,900 14,600 860 34,500 4,600 0 2,100 2,500 944,000 5,000 3,500 100 0 1,400 1,070,000

Marginal growth rates* by UN region, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

2010 % Population 0.0 1,032,012,000 0.0 332,107,000 0.0 129,583,000 0.0 206,295,000 0.0 56,592,000 0.0 307,436,000 0.0 4,166,308,000 0.0 1,562,575,000 0.0 1,777,378,000 0.0 594,216,000 0.0 232,139,000 0.0 730,478,000 0.0 290,755,000 0.0 98,352,000 0.0 152,913,000 0.0 188,457,000 0.0 593,696,000 0.0 42,300,000 0.0 153,657,000 0.0 397,739,000 1.0 348,575,000 0.1 35,491,000 0.1 25,647,000 0.0 8,589,000 0.0 575,000 1.1 680,000 0.1 6,906,558,000

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

% 1910

Marginals % 3,663,000 0.4A 1,192,000 0.4A1 738,000 0.6A2 4,600 0.0A3 281,000 0.5A4 1,447,000 0.5A5 3,159,000 0.1C 1,662,000 0.1C1 167,000 0.0C2 1,253,000 0.2C3 77,500 0.0C4 4,212,000 0.6E 1,361,000 0.5E1 778,000 0.8E2 893,000 0.6E3 1,180,000 0.6E4 11,371,000 1.9 L 647,000 1.5L1 3,834,000 2.5L2 6,890,000 1.7L3 11,842,000 3.4N 666,000 1.9P 385,000 1.5P1 71,300 0.8P2 28,500 5.0P3 181,000 26.6P4 34,912,000 0.5zG 0% 0

% 2010 8.57 12.40 11.86 6.32 5.96 9.85 9.74 12.77 6.96 10.46 8.17 3.67 3.09 4.06 7.19 3.60 8.13 11.71 7.80 8.24 2.56 5.01 4.81 6.79 8.28 4.98 3.55

20

40 50% 60

80

100% 100

Marginals

Population

Rate* 2000–2010

2.14A 2.33 A1 1.91 A2 1.88 A3 2.14 A4 2.26 A5 1.41C 1.04 C1 1.65 C2 1.86 C3 1.97 C4 0.54E 0.49 E1 0.47 E2 0.69 E3 0.53 E4 2.05L 1.66 L1 2.02 L2 2.11 L3 1.31N 1.61P 1.57 P1 1.70 P2 1.88 P3 1.66 P4 1.38 zG -2 -2

4.26 2.31A 4.31 2.59A1 5.93 2.86A2 2.48 1.69A3 2.20 0.86A4 3.91 2.53A5 1.54 1.18C 0.77 0.57C1 3.89 1.60C2 2.28 1.34C3 3.07 1.90C4 1.08 0.03E 2.44 -0.47E1 0.34 0.42E2 0.87 0.48E3 0.31 0.27E4 2.66 1.28L 1.60 0.92L1 2.42 1.26L2 2.90 1.32L3 1.13 1.00N 1.22 1.33P 0.96 1.10P1 2.43 2.06P2 2.12 1.47P3 1.18 1.04P4 1.93 1.21zG

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 88 9 10 10 11 12 12

-2 -2

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 8 9 10 11

83

Orthodox, 1910–2010

T

he expression ‘Orthodox Churches’ describes two distinct church families, the Eastern Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox churches, which are not in Eucharistic communion with one another. Therefore, these two church families are presented here in two separate sections. Both these church families consider themselves to be in unbroken continuity with the church founded by the Apostles. The official theological dialogue between these two church traditions (1985–93) underlined that in spite of some differences in their theological terminologies and of different emphases in their theological understandings, they both confess the same faith in the one Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The Oriental Orthodox Churches All decisions of the first three Ecumenical Councils  –  Nicea (325), Constantinople (381) and Ephesus (431) – serve the Oriental Orthodox churches as a basis for their teachings and confessions. They are all in communion with each other. It is characteristic also that the origins of their churches date back to the missionary activities of the Apostles. Their great age, their very rich liturgical traditions in their own languages (Ge’ez, Armenian, Coptic, Aramaic, Arabic, Malayalam) as well as their suffering for centuries are further characteristics. To commonly designate them as ‘monophysite’ churches is historically and theologically incorrect and should therefore be avoided. Since 1964 these churches have been in ecumenical dialogue with the Orthodox Churches of the [Eastern] Byzantine tradition. Since 1971 theological consultations have been held with Pro Oriente, a Roman Catholic institution. All churches are members of the World Council of Churches. In 1996 the Oriental Orthodox churches and the Eastern Orthodox churches reciprocally attested their Orthodox Christology and thus took an important step towards overcoming the schism of 1,500 years. Since the founding of the World Council of Churches, the Oriental Orthodox churches have met with Protestant churches of Lutheran, Reformed and United denominations on the local (since 1988), regional (since 1983) and international (since 1993) levels. During the first half of the twentieth century the Ethiopian Orthodox Church was faced with serious challenges. The submission of Emperor Haile Selassie (ruled 1930–74) to the Italians in 1936 created a rift within the Church because the Italians succeeded in winning over part of the clergy to their side. At a provincial synod in 1937 this group split from the leadership of the Coptic Church and unilaterally proclaimed the autonomy of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, while part of the episcopate remained loyal to the Copts. In 1942 the Emperor, with the help of the British, freed the country from the Italians and at the same time excommunicated the separatist bishops. After 1949 the clergy, loyal to the Emperor and close to separatist Bishop Qerillos, promoted the idea of independence from the Coptic Church, leading to the breaking off of relations with the Copts. As the Ethiopian state supported the endeavour of the Church, the Copts gave in. In 1951 Coptic Patriarch Yousab II reluctantly appointed Abuna Basilios as the first Ethiopian archbishop of the country. He asserted himself against the canonically illegitimate Bishop Qerillos. The age-old tradition of a Copt being appointed head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church had come to an end. The formal jurisdictional separation took place in 1959, when Archbishop Basilios was elevated to the rank of Patriarch. The See of the Patriarch-Catholicos is located in Addis Ababa. There are 17 eparchies subordinate to him in Ethiopia, and one each in Nubia (Sudan), Jerusalem and the USA. The Armenian Apostolic Churches has two Catholicoi – the Catholicos of All Armenians, who resides in Etchmiadzin, Armenia, and the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, who has his see in Antelias/Beirut, Lebanon. In addition, there are two Patriarchates of the Armenian Church, one in Istanbul and the other in Jerusalem. After the Armenian Genocide of 1915–16 the Patriarchate in Istanbul shrank to one eparchy with its see in Istanbul. Catholicos Sahak II of Cilicia took refuge in his only remaining eparchy in Aleppo. The Armenians were driven away from the other 11 eparchies under the jurisdiction of the Catholicosate. Consequently the Catholicosate lost its own see and its mother monastery in Sis. After more than ten years

84

of wanderings in Syria, in the early 1930s Catholicos Sahak II succeeded in rebuilding, together with the Armenians who had survived the deportations from Cilicia, the former Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia at Antelias near Beirut. In 1920 the Catholicosate of Etchmiadzin found itself under the political authority of the Soviet Armenian Republic and was subject to an extremely repressive religious policy. In 1924 a small group of clergy and laity began the movement of Azat Ekeleci (free church), parallel to the Russian Zivaja cerkov (living church). From 1928 the alliance of the godless Anasdvac subjected the population to atheistic propaganda. The climax of this offensive was the assassination of Catholicos Choren Muradbekyan at his office in Etchmiadzin in April 1938. In 1945 Joseph Stalin received the locum tenens, Archbishop Georges Tschörektschjanz, in the Kremlin. Permission was given to hold a synod in Etchmiadzin from 16 to 24 June 1945. Archbishop Tschörektschjanz was elected Catholicos and took the name of Georges VI. He died on 2 May 1954 in Yerevan. His successor Vasken I (1955–94) was able to rebuild much of the Church’s life thanks to the support of Armenians from the diaspora. The present head of the Coptic Orthodox Church is Shenouda III, who is the 117th in the line of St Mark the Evangelist and bears the title of Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All Africa. This church is very active in provision of social services and development of youth work. Monasticism has a very special meaning for this church, the monastic tradition having its roots in Egypt. The Coptic Orthodox Church has a widespread diaspora in Africa, Europe, Northern and South America as well as Australia. In 1998 Pope Shenouda III recognised the autocephaly of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Until then this church was part of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which does not recognise such an autocephaly. In 1924 the Patriarchate of the Syriac Orthodox Church was moved from Mardin to Homs and finally transferred to Damascus in 1959. Because of the instability of the region, many of the faithful have emigrated, so that the Church now has many dioceses in the diaspora. The Holy Synod of this Church decided in 2000 to change the title from Syrian Orthodox Church to Syriac Orthodox Church. The Church is active in social witness and strives to maintain the faith and identity of her faithful. The Indian Orthodox Church of Malabar split during the twentieth century into two churches – the autocephalous (independent) Orthodox Syrian Church of Malabar with its own catholicosate and the Jacobite Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Both are subject to the Patriarchate of Antioch. Many St Thomas Christians have ’reconfessionalised’ to become Roman Catholic, Anglican or Evangelical. However, the Orthodox tradition continues in its two branches, maintaining the liturgical language of Malayalam and nurturing its theological tradition, notably at the seminary in Kottayam. The Assyrian Church of the East or the Apostolic Church of the East does not trace its origin to Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, but to the missionary activities of the Apostle Thomas. In the 1960s the Church split into the ‘Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East’ with its see in Chicago and the ‘Old Apostolic and Catholic Church of the East’ with its see in Baghdad. The Church was hard hit by the conflicts in the Middle East and is scattered across Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, the USA and Australia. Eastern Orthodox churches This church family is most naturally referred to as Eastern Orthodox churches or as the Eastern Orthodox Church. The plural form relates to the 14 autocephalous (independent) local Eastern Orthodox churches, which together belong to the one Eastern Orthodox Church. These 14 churches are the: • Ecumenical Patriarchate or the Patriarchate of Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey); • Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa (Egypt); • Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East (Damascus, Syria); • Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, Israel);

• Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow, Russia); • Serbian Orthodox Church (Belgrade, Serbia); • Romanian Orthodox Church (Bucharest, Romania); • B u l g a r i a n O r t h o d o x C h u r c h ( S o p h i a , Bulgaria); • Orthodox Church of Georgia (Tbilisi, Georgia); • Church of Cyprus (Nicosia, Cyprus); • Church of Greece (Athens, Greece); • Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Poland (Warsaw, Poland); • Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania (Tirana, Albania); and • Orthodox Church in the Czech Lands and Slovakia (Prague, Czech Republic). The following four churches are only autonomous, not autocephalous, which means not completely independent: • Autonomous Holy Monastery and Archdiocese of Sinai (Egypt); • Orthodox Church of Finland (Kuopio, Finland); • Orthodox Church in Japan (Tokyo, Japan); and • Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church (Tallinn, Estonia). Several churches – for example in the Ukraine, Macedonia and the USA – have declared themselves autocephalous, but they are not recognised as such by the other Eastern Orthodox churches. All autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches are both independent from each other and equal to each other. Nevertheless, according to the old tradition, the Ecumenical Patriarch is considered as the first among equals (primus inter pares), which quality gives him the competence to convene and to lead pan-Orthodox meetings (meetings of all Eastern Orthodox Churches). Eastern Orthodox believers dispersed worldwide mainly during the twentieth century. They organised their own parishes and dioceses in the diaspora outside the traditional territory of the Eastern Orthodox churches. Nowadays there are Eastern Orthodox Christians living on every continent. The Eastern Orthodox parishes or dioceses in the diaspora belong to their respective ‘mother churches’; they fall under the jurisdictions of the churches of their original countries. Today Eastern Orthodox dioceses cover Western Europe, the USA and Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Africa belongs to the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria; therefore, the Eastern Orthodox living on this continent do not belong to the Eastern Orthodox diaspora. Several theological seminaries have been established by Eastern Orthodox in the diaspora: 11 in the USA, four in Canada, two in Australia and one in Asia. The presence of Eastern Orthodox congregations of different traditions in the same places in the diaspora leads unavoidably to competitions and problems between the different jurisdictions. Since 1993 the Eastern Orthodox churches have been attempting to achieve better coordination of the relationships between the different congregations in the diaspora. From the beginning of the twentieth century the Eastern Orthodox churches have been very concerned about their relationships with the other Christian churches. A starting point for the modern Eastern Orthodox engagement in the Ecumenical Movement was the 1920 Encyclical Letter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate addressed Unto the Churches of Christ Everywhere. According to this letter, a rapprochement between the various Christian churches around the world is useful for each particular church ‘and also for the preparation and advancement of that blessed union which will be completed in the future in accordance with the will of God.’ The Eastern Orthodox churches joined the World Council of Churches when it was established in 1948, with several Eastern Orthodox churches being among the founders of this ecumenical body. During the last century the Eastern Orthodox churches were confronted with great difficulties, since a large number of them were living in countries governed by Communist regimes, like the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia. The Communists considered religion to be an enemy of the people and

Orthodox churches. Up to that time the Eastern Orthodox churches were following the Julian calendar. Afterwards different Eastern Orthodox churches adapted their calendars in order to follow the civil one adopted by the governments of the respective countries according to the decision of the League of Nations. Some Eastern Orthodox churches like the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church still follow the Julian calendar. Therefore, the Orthodox churches do not all celebrate the feasts of the Christian year at the same time. Since the most important feast according to the Orthodox tradition is the resurrection of the Lord, which is always celebrated on a Sunday, the Orthodox Churches still all celebrate Easter together according to the Julian calendar. As long as there is no unanimity in relation to the calendar, it will be difficult to find a solution for a common date of Easter to be celebrated by all churches on the same day. Another significant pan-Orthodox meeting took place at the monastery of Vatopedi, at Mount Athos, Greece, in 1930. This marked the beginning of a discussion regarding the preparation of a synod of all Eastern Orthodox churches to take binding decisions for all of them. These discussions continued up to the pan-Orthodox pre-conciliar conferences from 1976, 1983 and 1986, all at Chambésy, Switzerland. As pan-Orthodox gatherings we should also mention the Congress of Orthodox Theological Schools, which offered theological reflection about the relationship of their churches to other Christian churches in the world as well as to society. The pan-Orthodox conferences of 1961, 1963 and 1964, held at Rhodes, Greece, and 1968 at Chambésy, Switzerland, elaborated criteria for the orientation of the Eastern Orthodox churches in their dialogues with other Christian churches around the world as well as with the Ecumenical Movement. Following these criteria, the Eastern Orthodox churches started official dialogues with a large number of churches or church families, such as the Oriental Orthodox churches, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Old-Catholic churches (the Utrecht Union), the Lutheran World Federation and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. Besides these dialogues at the world level, the Eastern Orthodox churches are also involved in a series of bilateral dialogues mainly with Protestant churches at the regional or national level. The ultimate goal of these dialogues is to establish unity between the respective churches. Orthodox theologians have recommended the unity of the Church in the first Christian millennium as the model and goal for the unity all churches should seek or as the way for re-establishing the visible unity of the churches. This is not intended to mean a return back, in time, but an effort to achieve the presence of Christ in the inner life of all believers of all churches. Following the Apostle Paul, the Orthodox speak more about life in Christ and not so much about following Christ. In this respect the search for the visible unity of the Church is not merely an external matter, but an internal one, which seeks the confessing of faith in the integral Christ and of his revelation and not only a part of it. Faith in Jesus Christ brings the believers into the communion of love with God the Father and in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. The Orthodox theology is therefore not simply christological, but rather trinitarian. Eastern Orthodox theological thinking is based on the Holy Scripture, on the decisions of the seven Ecumenical Councils (from 325 to 787) as well as on the writings of the Holy Fathers. Therefore, one of the directions of Eastern Orthodox thinking

during the last century was the rediscovery of the Holy Fathers of the first Christian millennium. The writings of the Fathers were never forgotten in the Orthodox churches, but for a long period of time under the influence of other theological traditions their interpretation followed a so-called ‘scholastical way’, which involves a rather speculative view cut off from the spiritual and liturgical life of the believers. The rediscovery of the Holy Fathers during the twentieth century in the Orthodox churches led to an approach which included all aspects of the Christian life and which was very instructive for the spirituality of the believers. The rediscovery of the Fathers is reflected also in very intensive activity of translating their works into such national Orthodox languages as Modern Greek, Russian, Serbian and Romanian. Orthodox spirituality can be described as the feeling or the conscious experience of God’s grace manifested in a lifestyle in which the spirit of each human being is coming to its full freedom and accomplishment. More simply, spirituality means life according to the Spirit. This spirituality is the way to holiness and through holiness to theosis as the fulfilment which each human being can achieve in God’s likeness. According to the Orthodox understanding, spirituality is like a ladder with many steps, summarised in three stages: (1) purification of sins and reaching of virtues; (2) contemplation of the divine ‘grounds’ or rationes (logoi) of all creatures; and (3) direct experience of God’s presence or even unification with God in grace. Another important development in Orthodox theological thinking during the twentieth century was in relation to mission. In the Orthodox perspective, mission is exclusively a task of the Church and not of individual Christians. The Church is both the instrument and the purpose of mission. In this respect the purpose of mission is to bring people to Christ and to help them grow into the Body of Christ, which is the Church. If the preaching of the gospel is not bringing new people into the Body of Christ, it is not enough. The real mission is not simply to bring new people into the Church, but also to continue to accompany them for their whole life. Therefore, the pastoral task of the Church is an integral part of her mission. Finally, mission is the task of the whole Church, both of ordained and lay people, of men and women, of old and young believers. Therefore, the Orthodox understanding of mission is often summarised in the following four points: (1) Kerygma, or the proclamation of the gospel; (2) Leiturgia, as public service for the praise of God; (3) Martyria, or the witness to the faith as a lifestyle; and (4) Diaconia, or the service to the neighbour, the service to the whole world. On this ground Orthodox theology has offered a large theological basis for the relationship of the Orthodox Churches with the world and the whole creation.

Highest percentage*

Fastest growth*

VIOREL IONITA AND HACIK RAFI GAZER John Binns, An Introduction to the Christian Orthodox Churches (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002). Daniel B. Clendenin, Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western Perspective (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003). Harold E. Fey (ed.), Ecumenical Advance: A History of the Ecumenical Movement, Vol. 2, 1948–1968, 2nd edn (Geneva: World Council of Churches Publications, 1986). John Anthony McGuckin, The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to the History, Doctrine, and Spiritual Culture (Oxford: WileyBlackwell, 2008). Kallistos T. Ware, Orthodox Way (Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1997).

Orthodox by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Russia Ukraine Romania Belarus Ethiopia Bulgaria Turkey Greece Serbia Egypt

Orthodox 59,522,000 21,804,000 10,497,000 4,313,000 3,288,000 3,250,000 3,200,000 3,087,000 2,811,000 2,084,000

2010 Russia Ethiopia Ukraine Romania Greece Egypt USA Bulgaria Serbia Belarus

Orthodox 110,904,000 35,570,000 31,562,000 19,340,000 10,320,000 9,300,000 6,200,000 6,055,000 5,406,000 5,215,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Cyprus Moldova Romania Montenegro Armenia Macedonia Georgia Greece Bulgaria Serbia

% Orthodox 98.2 88.9 88.2 88.0 87.8 86.0 85.0 84.4 76.1 75.9

2010 Moldova Greece Romania Cyprus Georgia Bulgaria Russia Armenia Montenegro Ukraine

% Orthodox 92.9 92.0 91.5 84.9 82.9 81.0 79.0 75.8 70.9 69.9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Kenya Libya United Arab Emirates Somalia Saudi Arabia Ivory Coast Nigeria Cuba Venezuela Uganda

*Countries >100,000

% p.a. 11.80 9.19 9.12 8.99 8.91 8.78 8.74 8.74 8.35 8.30

2000–2010 China Norway Iceland Madagascar Ivory Coast Chile Nepal Eritrea Kuwait Ireland

% p.a. 13.35 10.78 10.31 4.96 4.49 4.44 3.87 3.83 3.82 3.81

85

ORTHODOX

tried to eradicate any religious belief. Religion had no place in the public sphere. Religious education in public schools was no longer allowed, and public expression of religious belief was strictly forbidden. Theological seminaries for the formation of ministers in the Eastern Orthodox churches were reduced to a minimum. The official education system as well as the media was tasked to implement at all levels the materialistic, dialectical ideology, which considered religion as an instrument of oppression and a matter of the past. Many simple Christians as well as priests and bishops were imprisoned, and many gave their lives for their faith in Jesus Christ. Over time Communist regimes learned to nuance their relationships towards religious communities, at least in some of the former socialist countries. Under Communist oppression many Orthodox Christians, and even some leaders, agreed to cooperate with the ruling powers in order to protect their faith. The compromises made by some Christians with the Communist regimes in that period provoked major difficulties, first of all within the respective churches. After the collapse of the Communist regimes, the Orthodox churches faced great difficulties in relation to the question of alleged compromise with Communism in the past. Paradoxically, all these difficulties could not extinguish the faith of the believers. When the Communist regimes disappeared in central and eastern Europe, the Orthodox churches in that part of the world appeared sufficiently strong to continue their mission without interruption. In spite of these difficulties, the Eastern Orthodox churches developed their theological thinking to a very impressive extent not only in the diaspora but also at home. Despite limited possibilities and a few institutions for training their ministers, the Eastern Orthodox churches did not suffer much from lack of priests. After the political changes in central and eastern Europe, many theological seminaries and faculties were re-opened or established anew, and they still cannot take all those who would like to study theology. Recently an important change in relation to theological training was the granting of permission for women to study theology; for example, in the 14 Orthodox faculties in Romania currently the majority of the students are female. Women theologians in the Eastern Orthodox churches are nowadays teaching religious education in public schools, exercising diaconical work or even teaching theology. A very important role in the life of the Eastern Orthodox churches is played by the monasteries. For this reason the monks and the nuns were the most persecuted Christians during the Communist era. In the Orthodox world, monasteries are first of all guardians of the true Orthodox tradition, as well as the most representative centres of Orthodox spirituality. These monasteries are also places of pilgrimage, which attract many believers not only from the surrounding regions but also from far away. In this respect the Orthodox monasteries exercise great influence upon the believers, sometimes in a rather conservative and anti-ecumenical way. Taking into account the long negative experience in their relationships with other Christian traditions, Orthodox monasteries still consider that ecumenical relations could lead to the destruction of the Orthodox faith. Another important development in the life of the Eastern Orthodox Church during the twentieth century was the growing cooperation between all the local churches through pan-Orthodox gatherings. One of the first meetings of this kind was the consultation organised by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1923, which launched the calendar reform in the Eastern

Orthodox, 1910–2010

D

uring its early centuries, Christianity developed in Orthodox by country, 2010 the context of theological disagreements concerning Trinitarian doctrine. The Church split into Western Orthodoxy (which remained the Roman Catholic Church) and Eastern Orthodoxy, often referred to simply as Orthodox. This historic split was not only theological, but also geographical and cultural: Roman Catholicism dominated Western Europe with Latin as its lingua franca and Orthodoxy grew in the East with Greek as its main ecclesiastical language. This pattern has persisted through the centuries until 2010. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the official name for the largest church in Egypt. Tradition holds that the apostle St Mark founded the church as early as AD 42. Of affiliated Christians in Egypt, 90% are Orthodox, and this population is what largely gives Northern Africa its Christian percentage (8.5%). Egypt’s Christian population accounts for 58% of Northern Africa’s Christian population. More specifically, Egypt’s Orthodox population is 53% of all of Northern Africa’s Christian population. Figures for Eastern Europe show modest growth from 58% Orthodox in 1910 to 61% in 2010. This hides Diversity in the USA the fact that shortly after 1910 the Church went largely Nearly all of the ethnic streams of Orthodoxy are found underground and only reemerged after the collapse of in the USA. Not all of these congregations are growing; Communism in the early 1990s. for example, the Albanian and Bulgarian Orthodox Many countries and regions that reported small or Churches experienced decline between 1970 and 2000. no Orthodox populations in 1910 contained communities in 2010; these include Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, the Arabian Peninsula and most of Africa. The Caribbean reflects a pattern of growth found in many areas: no CtryOrthodox Per cent Orthodox adherents in 1910 and over 50,000 in 2010. Although the growth rates are high in such regions, however, the frac0 2 5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 tion of the population that is Orthodox remains less than = Few or none 1%. A similar pattern has occurred in Western Africa, although there are still many countries on the continent with no Orthodox presence. Kenya experienced significant growth over this 100-year period: no Orthodox believers in 1910 and over 620,000 in 2010. Such growth reflects the fact that in light of renewed Orthodox interest in missions, the total global population of Orthodox Christians has doubled over the past 100 years. Yet there also has been Orthodox decline in some regions. For example, between 1910 and 2010 the Orthodox population disappeared altogether from Myanmar and Indonesia. (The Dutch relinquishmentOceania Oceania 0.0% of power in Indonesia and the subsequent civil unrest0.0% North prompted manyNorth Orthodox to flee the country.) In America America several regions, including most of Africa Asia and Oceania, the Africa Asia Asia Europe Latin Europe Latin Orthodox population is not keeping up with the overall America America population growth rate. Some regions in Oceania still 0.0% 0.0% report no Orthodox whatsoever, and it is uncertain that Northern Africa Latin America Oceania this will change in the near future.

 Orthodox traditions Orthodox minor traditions classify themselves according to their nation of origin. Although many Orthodox communities are now inOrthodox1910 the Global South and West, adherents still identify themselves by their traditions’ original ethnic and geographic titles. 0 0.001

Minor tradition Russian Orthodox Ethiopic, Ethiopian Orthodox Ukrainian Orthodox Romanian Orthodox Greek Orthodox Coptic Orthodox Serbian Orthodox Bulgarian Orthodox Armenian Orthodox (Gregorian) Belarusian Georgian Orthodox Moldovan Orthodox Syro-Malabarese (Eastern Syrian) Old Ritualists, Old Believers Reformed Orthodox 0.001 2 5 10 Arabic- or Arabic/Greek-speaking Macedonian Orthodox Syrian Orthodox or Syro-Antiochian Polish/Slavonic-speaking Orthodox Assyrian or Nestorian (Eastern Syrian) Albanian/Greek-speaking Orthodox True Orthodox Old Calendarist, Authentic Orthodox Latvian Orthodox Estonian Orthodox

Orthodox 0

86

Europe

1910 America 2010 Orthodox by country: percentage of total population 1910

1910

Largest Orthodox traditions, 2010

Orthodoxy in Western Europe Orthodoxy was confined to Eastern Europe for centuries, but over the past 100 years the Orthodox population has grown more than tenfold in Western Europe. Nevertheless, Western Europe continues to be dominated by Roman Catholicism.

2

5

10

60

75

85

90

95

Members % of Orthodox 119,973,000 43.7 89.2% 37,395,000 13.6 30,397,000 11.1 19,305,000 7.0 15,198,000 5.5 9,747,000 3.6 7,355,000 2.7 6,249,000 2.3 5,913,000 2.2 4,937,000 1.8 2,969,000 1.1 2,758,000 1.0 2,663,000 1.0 1,724,000 0.6 1,368,000 0.5 40 60 75 1,311,000 0.5 1,237,000 0.5 1,134,000 0.4 573,000 0.2 421,000 0.2 377,000 0.1 372,000 0.1 297,000 0.1 281,000 0.1 209,000 0.1

2.6% 17.6%

17.6%

5.8%

5.8%

73.3%

73.3%

89.2%

Legend same as above

Africa

Asia

Europe

Latin America

Northern America

Oceania

 Orthodox by continent The pie charts above show that Orthodox Christians were concentrated in Europe during the period 1910–2010. Eastern Europe remains the hub of Orthodoxy, though there has been notable growth in Africa over the past century. In 1910 only 4% of Orthodox were found in Africa (Coptic Christians in Egypt and Ethiopia), but by 2010 this had risen to 17.6%, largely due to the increase of Orthodox missions to Africa. The pie charts also show the spread of Orthodoxy to Northern America and Oceania, chiefly due to emigration from Eastern Europe. OrthodoxOfAC 0 0.001

85

90

2

5

10

40

60

95

Orthodox denominations, 2010 Africa Asia Europe L America N America Oceania

Asia

Europe

2010

2.6% 4.3% 6.1%

4.3% 6.1%

Africa

2010

1910 40

Asia Northern America Oceania

Latin America

Total 90 250 470 80 70 50

75

85

 Orthodox by country, 2010: Percentage of Christian population The map above shows the percentage of Orthodox among all affiliated Christians. The patterns are similar to those in the main map above, reflecting the fact that where the Orthodox are they tend to outnumber the other traditions. Such is the case in Ethiopia, where the population is 58% Christian and 60% of affiliated Christians are Orthodox. A few countries do not have high Christian populations, yet the small communities that do exist are Orthodox. For example, 96% of affiliated Christians in Somalia are Orthodox.

90

95

Orthodox congregations, 2010

Average size 510,000 A 63,000 C 430,000 E 13,000 L 98,000 N 17,000 P

0 00 00 00 00 00 0,0 00,0 00,0 00,0 00,0 20 4 6 8 1,0

A C E L N P

Africa A AsiaC Europe E L America L N America N Oceania P

Total 17,300 10,800 87,700 560 3,500 460

Average size 2,800 A 1,500 C 2,300 E 1,900 L 2,100 N 2,000 P

0

00

2,0

00

4,0

00

6,0

00

8,0

0

,00

10

Orthodox centre of gravity

! 1910 ! 2010

ORTHODOX

Communism and Orthodoxy The Russian Orthodox Church suffered much from the antireligious propaganda of the Communist regime in the Soviet Union. Many clergy and believers were put to death or sent to labour camps. The Orthodox Church was under strict governmental control, which caused the number of adherents to drop at an alarming rate, but since the collapse of Communism it has rebounded significantly. Growing in South Africa Orthodox Christianity is growing five times as fast as any other Christian tradition in South Africa. However, the Orthodox population is small: 32,000 adherents comprising only 0.06% of the population.

Orthodox by UN region, 1910 and 2010

Orthodox growth rates* by UN region, 100-year and 10-year

1910 Population Africa 124,228,000 Eastern Africa 33,030,000 Middle Africa 19,443,000 Northern Africa 32,002,000 Southern Africa 6,819,000 Western Africa 32,933,000 Asia 1,028,265,000 Eastern Asia 556,096,000 South-central Asia 345,121,000 South-eastern Asia 94,104,000 Western Asia 32,944,000 Europe 427,154,000 Eastern Europe 178,184,000 Northern Europe 61,474,000 Southern Europe 76,940,000 Western Europe 110,556,000 Latin America 78,269,000 Caribbean 8,172,000 Central America 20,777,000 South America 49,320,000 Northern America 94,689,000 Oceania 7,192,000 Australia/New Zealand 5,375,000 Melanesia 1,596,000 Micronesia 89,400 Polynesia 131,000 Global total 1,759,795,000

Orthodox 5,431,000 3,342,000 50 2,086,000 1,800 0 7,607,000 60,000 898,000 5,200 6,645,000 111,391,000 102,815,000 625,000 7,793,000 159,000 8,200 0 1,200 7,000 481,000 4,900 4,900 0 0 0 124,923,000

Rate* 1910–2010

2010 % Population 4.4 1,032,012,000 10.1 332,107,000 0.0 129,583,000 6.5 206,295,000 0.0 56,592,000 0.0 307,436,000 0.7 4,166,308,000 0.0 1,562,575,000 0.3 1,777,378,000 0.0 594,216,000 20.2 232,139,000 26.1 730,478,000 57.7 290,755,000 1.0 98,352,000 10.1 152,913,000 0.1 188,457,000 0.0 593,696,000 0.0 42,300,000 0.0 153,657,000 0.0 397,739,000 0.5 348,575,000 0.1 35,491,000 0.1 25,647,000 0.0 8,589,000 0.0 575,000 0.0 680,000 7.1 6,906,558,000

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

Orthodox 48,286,000 38,682,000 15,300 9,463,000 32,100 93,600 15,787,000 102,000 7,381,000 9,800 8,294,000 201,197,000 177,352,000 2,088,000 19,562,000 2,196,000 1,068,000 58,600 118,000 891,000 7,180,000 928,000 928,000 400 0 0 274,447,000

% 1910

% 4.7A 11.6A1 0.0A2 4.6A3 0.1A4 0.0A5 0.4C 0.0C1 0.4C2 0.0C3 3.6C4 27.5E 61.0E1 2.1E2 12.8E3 1.2E4 0.2 L 0.1L1 0.1L2 0.2L3 2.1N 2.6P 3.6P1 0.0P2 0.0P3 0.0P4 4.0zG 0% 0

% 2010 2.21 2.48 5.89 1.52 2.92 9.58 0.73 0.53 2.13 0.64 0.22 0.59 0.55 1.21 0.92 2.66 4.99 9.06 4.70 4.97 2.74 5.38 5.38 3.76 0.00 0.00 0.79

20

40 50% 60

80

100% 100

Orthodox

Population

Rate* 2000–2010

2.14A 2.33 A1 1.91 A2 1.88 A3 2.14 A4 2.26 A5 1.41C 1.04 C1 1.65 C2 1.86 C3 1.97 C4 0.54E 0.49 E1 0.47 E2 0.69 E3 0.53 E4 2.05L 1.66 L1 2.02 L2 2.11 L3 1.31N 1.61P 1.57 P1 1.70 P2 1.88 P3 1.66 P4 1.38 zG -2 -2

2.27 2.31A 2.62 2.59A1 1.96 2.86A2 0.94 1.69A3 0.65 0.86A4 3.87 2.53A5 0.15 1.18C 6.83 0.57C1 0.63 1.60C2 1.55 1.34C3 -0.31 1.90C4 0.35 0.03E 0.38 -0.47E1 0.18 0.42E2 0.09 0.48E3 0.80 0.27E4 2.38 1.28L 1.89 0.92L1 1.17 1.26L2 2.57 1.32L3 1.19 1.00N 1.70 1.33P 1.70 1.10P1 2.26 2.06P2 0.00 1.47P3 0.00 1.04P4 0.68 1.21zG

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 88 9 10 10 11 12 12

-2 -2

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 8 9 10 11

87

Protestants, 1910–2010

T

he sixteenth-century Reformation and the various Reformation movements of the fifteenth century were essentially European. Today the Protestant churches which came into being as a result of the Reformation exist in all parts of the world. The main factors behind this geographical spread have been colonial expansion, missionary activities and migration. Protestantism has become a global reality. Different groupings or families of churches exist within Protestantism. These include the Lutheran, Reformed/Presbyterian, Baptist, Brethren, Churches of Christ, Congregational, Disciples, Friends (Quakers), Mennonite, Methodist and Moravian churches. Parts of some of these families – for example, Baptist, Brethren, Mennonite, Methodist – may consider themselves closer to the Evangelical than the Protestant form of the Christian faith. From mission to church At the time of the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference of 1910, the majority of the missionfounded Protestant churches outside Europe were still under the authority of the missionary societies and boards. The shift to autonomy or self-governance of these churches has been one of the major developments in Protestantism in the past 100 years. This shift came to its height at a rapid pace after World War II with the political independence of the former colonies, for example, in Africa. For the indigenous church leaders the issue of autonomy was a theological imperative. In the sending or ‘mother’churches this issue brought about a fundamental questioning of the understanding of mission, in which the ‘younger’ churches took an active part. New concepts emerged such as Missio Dei, partnership in mission, and mission from the South to the North and from South to South. In many Protestant churches in Europe and Northern America it was recognised that mission is of the essence of the Church, and consequently the old missionary societies and boards were replaced by new structures integrated into the Church. Protestant churches have been leading missiological reflection in the twentieth century and have pioneered new models of churches in mission in which the former sending churches and the mission-founded churches participate as equal partners. The daring call for a moratorium on missionary assistance – in finance and personnel – in the early 1970s was voiced by visionary Protestant leaders in Asia and Africa. The idea was to provide a time for the mission-founded churches to learn to rely on their own resources. Protestant churches also played a leading role in the creation of national missionary conferences that later developed into National Christian Councils or Councils of Churches (Protestant Federations in some Catholic-majority countries) and in the 1961 merger of the International Missionary Council with the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Ecumenical developments Protestant churches were at the forefront of the early ecumenical developments that emerged from the 1910 World Missionary Conference: the Commission on Faith and Order, the Commission on Life and Work and the International Missionary Council. Protestant leadership has been theological and organisational as well as in terms of personalities. Suffice it to mention the names of John R. Mott (Methodist, USA), Joseph H. Oldham (Presbyterian, Britain), Nathan Söderblom (Lutheran, Sweden) and Willem A. Visser ‘t Hooft (Reformed, Netherlands). Of the 145 churches represented at the 1948 founding assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC), 117 were Protestant, of which 87 were from Europe, Northern America and Australia/New Zealand. These Protestant churches, together with those who joined later, have played major roles in the WCC and the wider ecumenical movement and continue to do so. An illustration of their impact is the concept of the ‘responsible society’ that was at the heart of socio-political thinking in many Protestant churches in Northern America and Europe and shaped the discussions on ecumenical social thought for decades. In the 1960s many newly autonomous Protestant churches from the nonWestern world were joining the WCC. In Latin America a strong ecumenical movement was developing in Protestant circles. In the USA the Protestant historic black churches were deeply involved in the civil rights movement. These new voices criticised

88

the ‘responsible society’ concept as too academic and not conducive to the changes they were advocating. Following the 1966 Conference on Church and Society, the WCC initiated new, more radical programmes, such as the Programme to Combat Racism and Churches in Solidarity with the Poor, with which Protestant churches in the South readily identified. On the other hand, in some Protestant churches in the North, for example, in Germany and Switzerland, the Programme to Combat Racism met with serious criticism. Beginning in the 1970s Protestant churches were instrumental in promoting new developments in the ecumenical movement, such as the role and place of women in the church and in society, the ordination of women, liturgical renewal, and the concern for creation as an integral part of the search for peace and justice. During and after World War II inter-church aid emerged as a new area of work in which Protestant churches had a central role. Such aid began with relief, reconstruction and refugee services in postwar Europe. The churches in Europe, Northern America and Australia/New Zealand established special organisations for this purpose, which have become agencies for subsequent expressions of development aid, disaster relief and refugee relief. In the Protestant world these agencies are the main suppliers of financial resources for the WCC and many regional and national ecumenical structures, especially in the South. Many Protestant churches in the South have set up structures for development and social action. During the Cold War in Europe the Protestant churches in the West came to the aid of the churches in the Soviet bloc. In the last 100 years many Protestant churches have demonstrated their readiness to overcome divisions. A number of organic unions have taken place. Early examples are the United Church of Canada, formed in 1925 through the merger of Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian churches, and the Church of Christ in China in 1927, which brought together seven Congregational and Presbyterian denominations. In 1947 the Church of South India came into being as the first example of a union involving Protestants and Anglicans. The most comprehensive union is the Church of North India in 1970, composed of Anglican, Baptist, Brethren, Congregational, Disciples, Methodist and Presbyterian churches. Some remarkable examples exist of mission-founded churches that entered into unions only a few years after they became autonomous, for example, those that formed the United Church of Zambia in 1965 or the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar in 1968. A unique case of unity involving Protestants and Anglicans is the China Christian Council, which calls itself a post-denominational church. Sadly, Protestant churches have also been party to brokenness and fragmentation in the past century. In Korea splits began to occur in 1945 in the Presbyterian Church. Coinciding with the phenomenal growth of Christianity in South Korea after World War II, a succession of schisms has led to the existence of around 100 different Presbyterian denominations in that country. A group broke away from the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands for doctrinal reasons in the middle of World War II while the country was occupied by Nazi Germany. In the second half of the twentieth century new ecumenical methodologies of bilateral and multilateral theological dialogues have emerged in which Protestant churches have been active participants. One of the oldest is the Leuenberg Agreement of 1973, which has achieved full communion between 100 Reformed, Lutheran and Methodist churches in Europe and five in Latin America. The Lutheran churches in the Nordic and Baltic countries have entered into full communion with the Anglican churches in the British Isles (the Porvoo Common Statement, 1993). Agreements of full communion also exist between Lutheran and Anglican churches in the USA and Canada, and between Reformed and Lutheran churches in the Middle East and in Indonesia. The Protestant church families each have their own global organisation. Most of these were founded in the twentieth century. These bodies, now called Christian World Communions, have established together with the Anglicans and the Old Catholics a Conference of Secretaries which has met annually

since 1957. It has been joined over time by the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox churches, the World Evangelical Alliance, the Salvation Army, the Seventhday Adventists and Pentecostals. Global Protestant organisations have affirmed themselves as important actors on the ecumenical scene in the second half of the twentieth century Relations between Protestants and Catholics have changed spectacularly since the Second Vatican Council of 1962–5, when the Catholic Church joined the ecumenical movement. Since then, virtually all the global Protestant organisations are involved in bilateral dialogues with the Catholic Church. In 1999 the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, a major agreement on one of the key theological issues of the Reformation. The World Methodist Council affirmed its agreement with the document in 2006. Protestant–Catholic dialogues are also conducted at the national level in many countries and have in several cases resulted in mutual recognition of baptism. In countries where the Catholic Church is the majority church, the Protestant minority churches have sometimes maintained a more critical attitude. This is the case in Latin Europe (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal), Poland, Latin America, the Caribbean and some of the Francophone and Lusophone countries in Africa. Protestant churches have responded in a variety of ways to the Evangelical and Pentecostal/Charismatic movements of the twentieth century. In Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Protestant churches have experienced the competition of these movements and have responded by ‘Pentecostalising’ their worship and practice. This has resulted in a gradual blurring of distinctions and has favoured the growth of the Protestant churches in the South. In the USA at the beginning of the twentieth century, many Protestant denominations rejected the Pentecostals and opposed Evangelical fundamentalism. The rise of the ‘New Evangelicalism’ in the middle of the century and later the rise of right-wing religious ‘Moral Majority’ have led to a sharp separation between mainline Protestants and Evangelicals in the USA. In the Protestant denominations Evangelical pressure groups are active, challenging the leadership of the churches on moral and ecumenical issues. In Europe the impact, in terms of converting members to Evangelical and Pentecostal churches, has been limited because most of the Protestant churches have Evangelical and Charismatic groups within their membership. Protestantism in society The place of the Protestant churches in society has changed significantly. In most of the European countries of the Reformation, the Protestant churches enjoyed until the middle of the twentieth century the status of national or folk or state church as a heritage of the past. It usually meant also being the majority church. From the middle of the twentieth century onwards the Protestant churches in Europe have experienced a marked decrease of their institutional and economic power and a considerable loss of membership, caused by the secularisation of society and the loss of relevance of institutionalised religion. The percentage of the population actively involved with the Church has diminished dramatically, in particular among the younger generations. In the face of these constraints, the Protestant churches in Europe have sought to develop new ways of being church and engaging with society. They have actively participated in the processes of European integration since the 1960s. At the time of the political changes caused by the disintegration of the former Soviet bloc, some leaders called for a stronger ‘Protestant voice’ in Europe. In response to the desire to strengthen the Protestant witness, the Leuenberg Fellowship was transformed into the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe in 2003. In Northern America and Australia/New Zealand the Protestant churches that were imported through colonisation and immigration became important actors in society. These churches have seen their positions weakened over the same period and for similar reasons as in Europe. In the USA, less affected by secularisation, some of the specific causes for weakening have been the emergence of nondenominational churches and mega-churches, the demographic

twentieth-century experiences of dictatorial regimes and, to a lesser extent, of secularisation in the Western societies have given new meaning to the ongoing debate in the Protestant churches on the question of the confessing church versus the folk church. Theology and ethics Protestant theology was profoundly renewed in the first half of the twentieth century by theologians such as Karl Barth, Reinhold Niebuhr and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Their work brought new theological paradigms and has had an impact far beyond Protestantism. With the shift of vitality to the South, a new era of contextualising theology opened in the second part of the twentieth century. In Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific, Protestant theologians have sought to develop theologies that are relevant to the cultural, social and religious contexts and equip the churches in responding theologically to the specific challenges they are facing. Theologians like José Miguez Bonino and Elza Tames in Latin America, John Mbiti in Africa and Kim Young Bok in Asia have been leaders in this regard. Protestant women theologians in the North and the South have given leadership to feminist theology. Contextual theology is increasingly being done ecumenically, for example, in the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians, in which Protestants and Catholics work closely together. The work of the Protestant sociologist Max Weber was foundational for Protestant social ethics in the twentieth century. In the debate on the capitalist and socialist systems and Christian-Marxist dialogue before and after World War II, Protestant ethicists and theologians such as Josef Hromadka made important contributions. With the rise of neo-liberalism the emphasis has shifted to the issues of globalisation. The positions of Protestant churches on moral issues such as human sexuality have evolved significantly in the last decades, especially in Europe and Northern America. Several churches have admitted homosexuals as clergy and now allow the blessing of same-sex unions. These questions have caused new tensions and divisions within the churches and within the Protestant world between North and South. Missionfounded Protestant churches in Africa, Asia and elsewhere have tended to defend the traditional views on sexuality, marriage and family, which they see as being betrayed by the liberal churches in the North. Two major Protestant contributions to ecumenical action in the twentieth century have been the concepts of ‘covenanting’ and ‘status confessionis’ as theological paradigms that make action a binding matter of faith. The conciliar process of covenanting for justice, peace and integrity of creation, adopted by the WCC Assembly in 1983, is one example, as are the actions of the Lutheran World Federation and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches declaring apartheid a sin and its theological legitimation a heresy. The Barmen Declaration was the first statement in the twentieth century that spoke of status confessionis. The Protestant peace churches, for example, the Mennonites, have contributed their faith commitment to non-violence in actions towards peaceful resolution of conflicts, reconciliation and overcoming violence. Globalisation Protestant churches have begun to grapple with the far-reaching consequences of the globalising world. The Protestant tradition of applying the Word of God to the practice of life requires a whole new understanding of the interrelationship between the local situation of the church’s life and ministry and the globalised world. Through the confessional and

ecumenical world bodies of which they are members, the Protestant churches have begun to deal globally with issues such as economic justice and care for the Earth. Migration has contributed to the changing face of Protestantism in the twentieth century. It has led to the formation of new churches, by Asian workers in the Persian Gulf region, by Pacific Islanders in Australia and New Zealand and by African, Asian, Caribbean and Latin American migrants in Europe and Northern America. New relationships between these communities and the Protestant churches are developing and can become sources of renewal. In some situations migrant communities are integrated into the local church, for example, in the small Protestant churches of Italy. On each Sunday morning the Uniting Church of Australia worships in 41 languages besides English, 25 of which are spoken by migrants, the other 16 by Aboriginals. The plea of indigenous peoples is another new element in the life of Protestant churches such as in Australia and New Zealand, in the Andean countries of Latin America, in Norway, in Canada and elsewhere. In the last quarter of the twentieth century Protestant churches opened up to inter-religious dialogue. In many countries of the Global North the new multi-religious reality of society has led the churches to relate to other world religions, in particular Islam. In Asia and the Middle East the Protestant churches have begun to move from dialogue to interreligious cooperation. In Africa the relationship of the Protestant churches with Islam has been one of searching for dialogue and peaceful co-existence but also of militant confrontation and missionary competition. In some Muslim-majority countries Protestant churches have experienced harassment and persecution. A new reflection on the theological meaning of the plurality of religion has begun in which Protestant theologians take part. The Holocaust and the creation of the state of Israel have brought a new interest in some Protestant churches, particularly in Europe, in the relation between Christianity and Judaism. Protestantism has affirmed itself over the past 100 years as an integral part of Christianity worldwide. It is marked by great diversity in its confessions and its relationships with society. Within Protestantism, and within each Protestant family and church, theologically conservative and progressive forces co-exist and interact, sometimes confronting one another. The Protestant emphasis on the public witness of the church is counter-balanced by groups that attach more importance to individual piety. Opposing views on contemporary ethical and moral issues can be found within the same Protestant church and even more within Protestantism as a whole. Protestantism has evolved from an establishment position in nineteenthcentury Europe to a multi-faceted global reality. Yet it has maintained a common identity based in the theological convictions of the Reformation: Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, which is its unique and irreplaceable contribution to the Church worldwide.

HUIBERT VAN BEEK AND ANDRÉ K ARAMAGA E. Theodore Bachmann and Mercia Brenne Bachmann (eds), Lutheran Churches in the World (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 1989). Jean-Jacques Bauswein and Lukas Vischer (eds), The Reformed Family Worldwide (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999). Hans J. Hillerbrand (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Protestantism, 4 vols (New York: Routledge, 2004). Nicholas Lossky, José M. Bonino, John Pobee, Tom F. Stransky, Geoffrey Wainwright and Pauline Webb (eds), Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement (Geneva: WCC Publications, 2002). Huibert van Beek (ed.), A Handbook of Churches and Councils (Geneva: WCC Publications, 2006).

Protestants by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 USA Germany Britain Sweden Netherlands Finland Canada Denmark Norway Switzerland

Protestants 40,508,000 28,350,000 9,648,000 5,751,000 3,560,000 2,849,000 2,738,000 2,716,000 2,384,000 1,999,000

Highest percentage* 2010 USA Brazil Germany China Nigeria India Indonesia DR Congo Ethiopia Kenya

Protestants 58,000,000 31,000,000 25,800,000 25,000,000 23,800,000 21,100,000 17,100,000 14,500,000 14,400,000 12,000,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 % Protestant Sweden 100.0 Iceland 99.4 Norway 99.4 Denmark 99.2 Finland 97.1 Samoa 87.7 French Polynesia 72.1 Fiji 72.0 Germany 61.1 Netherlands 60.1

Fastest growth* 2010 % Protestant Norway 87.1 Iceland 85.4 Finland 84.7 Denmark 82.1 Sweden 81.0 Vanuatu 64.0 Bahamas 60.9 Namibia 59.4 Samoa 59.4 Papua New Guinea 59.3

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Rwanda Ivory Coast Uganda Burkina Faso Sudan Burundi Chad Viet Nam Central African Rep Congo

*Countries >100,000

% p.a. 13.02 12.89 12.86 12.73 12.58 12.54 12.46 12.36 11.79 11.45

2000–2010 Afghanistan Armenia Cambodia Burkina Faso Iraq Guinea-Bissau Nepal Mongolia Albania São Tomé & Príncipe

% p.a. 27.81 9.70 9.09 7.20 6.27 6.23 5.60 5.60 5.50 5.36

89

PROTESTANTS

changes due to immigration, and moral issues. The mainline Protestant churches have found themselves competing for visibility in a changing religious and public environment where they are no longer a dominant force as they used to be. Contrary to the decline in numbers and influence in the Global North, the Protestant churches in the Global South have flourished over the past century. In the period leading up to decolonisation many of the mission-founded churches had contributed to the formation of a national awareness and of future leaders of society. As autonomous churches in the newly independent nations, they have participated actively in nation-building, education, development and social care. In the second half of the twentieth century the Protestant churches in sub-Saharan Africa have acquired a great amount of moral, social and political weight and credibility. In the processes of democratisation that took place in the 1990s the Protestant churches had leading roles in the national conferences that were convened to establish new models of governance, for example, in the former Zaïre and in Madagascar. There is probably no region in the world where the Protestant churches have become as much a part of society and culture as in the island nations of the Pacific. They have taken a stand on such issues as nuclear testing and climate change. In the Caribbean, the Protestant churches instigated a movement of renewal and social involvement in the 1970s that resulted in the creation of region-wide instruments for action. In Asia most of the Protestant churches have learned, as minorities in an environment of other majority religions, to be actively involved in social transformation and communal co-existence. The tiny minority Protestant churches in the Middle East have taken clear stances on issues such as peaceful relations with Muslims and the Palestine/Israel conflict. The Protestant churches in Latin America have become lively communities that seek to respond to the needs of society. All these churches have made major efforts to identify with the culture, the hopes and the struggles of their people. Many of them have grown tremendously in the twentieth century Under the ideological regimes of the past century Protestants have acted in a variety of ways. In Nazi Germany the German Christians (Protestants and Catholics) collaborated with Hitler. But there was also a group of Protestants opposing the Nazi ideology; they formed the Confessing Church and issued the Barmen Declaration in 1934. In 1945 the German Protestant churches made a confession of guilt in the Stuttgart Declaration. In central and eastern Europe under Communism, Protestant leaders started the Christian Peace Conference as an instrument for dialogue with Marxism and action for peace amidst the nuclear threat of the Cold War. In East Germany and Hungary some Protestant churches attempted to be church in a socialist society. Protestants also opposed oppression; for example in Czechoslovakia Protestant dissidents were among the signatories of Charter 77. At the time of the dictatorships in Latin America many Protestants were courageously involved in the defence of human rights. The Protestant churches in China formed the Three-Self Patriotic Movement in 1951 to become a Chinese church in Communist China. South Africa under the apartheid regime stands out as a case where Protestant identity was defended against heresy. The white Dutch Reformed churches had developed a heretical theology to justify and support apartheid. The black Reformed churches in Southern Africa, which had grown out of the missionary work of the white churches, stood up against apartheid and rejected it on sound theological grounds in the Belhar Confession adopted in 1986. The

Protestants, 1910–2010

P

Protestants by country, 2010

rotestants are distinct from both Anglicans – whose origins are in early English history – and Independents – many of whom have arisen through renewals or schisms from Protestant bodies and who typically seek to distance themselves from Protestant denominationalism. From its sixteenth-century origins in Western Europe, Protestantism had spread to nearly 80% of the world’s countries by 1910. This expansion continued over the next hundred years, and in 2010 Protestants are found in almost every country. Though tracing the spread of Protestant churches is fairly straightforward, assessing the number of Protestants and their share of the population can be more complicated. For example, an individual can be reported as a member of more than one church (as in Scandinavia, where a member of a free church might also be reported as a member of the state church). Consequently, the number of reported Protestants might exceed the number of Christians, or even the total population, in a country. Europe was home to over half of the world’s reported Protestants in 1910, mostly in Western and Northern Europe. Most of the rest lived in Northern America. The USA had more reported Protestants (over 40 million) than either Germany, the birthplace of Protestantism (28 million), or the next eight countries combined (32 million, all – except Canada – in Northern or Western Europe). A century later Africa is home to a third of all reported Protestants. Asia, Europe, Latin America and Northern America each are home to about one-sixth. This is reflected in the shift of the Protestant centre of gravity from the North Atlantic Ocean in 1910 to Niger (about 680km southeast of the Christian centre of gravity) in 2010. The USA (58 million) still has by far the most Protestants, but Brazil (31 million) has passed Germany (down to 26 million) as second on the list. The other countries in the top ten are in Africa (four) or Asia (three). Protestant growth exploded in much of Africa during the twentieth century. Namibia, for example, contained only 10,000 (5.7%) Protestants in 1910, but by 2010 had surged to over 1.2 million (59.4%). It was primarily before 1970 that most countries in these regions of Africa embraced Christianity, especially Protestantism, initially due to missionary efforts. Despite the globalisation of Protestantism, the countries with the greatest proportions of reported Protestants in their populations are little changed. For Latin Latin both 1910 and 2010 they are split between Nordic counAmerica America tries (where Lutheranism is or was Oceania the state religion) and Africa North Pacific Island states. However,America while four countries Asia were Europe 99–100% Protestant in 1910, none is in 2010. While Protestants continue to grow faster than the general population, it is Latin America and Africa where the most profound changes continue 1910 to this day.

 Protestant traditions Protestant churches can be divided into 26 distinct traditions based on Protestant1910 theology and polity. Almost 70% of reported Protestants are affiliated with the five largest Protestant traditions listed1.9% below. 0 0.001

1.6%

2

5

10

USA The USA, with 58 million reported Protestants, has more than the next two countries (Brazil and Germany) combined.

Highest percentages of Protestants In both 1910 and 2010 island nations in the Pacific joined the Nordic countries of Europe in having the highest percentages of reported Protestants among both Christians and the general population.

CtryProtestantP er

0

2

cent Protestant

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

Oceania Africa North Latin Asia America Europe America

60

75

85

90

95

0

90

2.0% 14.7%

14.7% 37.6%

13.6%

16.1%

16.1%

20.8%

0.9%

Asia

Europe

Latin America

Northern America

Oceania

 Protestants by continent Protestants are distributed fairly evenly over all continents in 2010. Asia, Europe, Latin America and Northern America each are home to between 13% and 21% of the world’s reported Protestants. Africa has nearly 33%, up from only 1.9% in 1910. Nearly half of Africa’s Protestants live in Eastern Africa; this region ranks second only to Northern America in number of Protestants. ProtestantOfAC

0 0.001

2

5

10

40

60

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95

Protestant denominations, 2010 Africa Asia Europe L America N America Oceania

20.8%

Legend same as above

Africa

90

32.7%

32.7%

13.6%

56.1%

85

Europe

2010

2.0%

1.6%1.9%1.8%

Largest Protestant traditions, 2010

Protestant

Asia

North Oceania America Africa

2010

1910 40

Asia Latin America Europe

North Oceania America Africa

1910 2010 Protestants by country: percentage of total population 1910

1.8%

Minor tradition Members % of Protestants 37.6% Baptistic- or Keswick-Pentecostal 77,423,000 18.5 56.1% Lutheran 60,410,000 14.4 Baptist 58,205,000 13.9 United church 11.5 0.9% 48,152,000 Reformed, Presbyterian 47,389,000 11.3 Adventist 23,561,000 5.6 Methodist (mainline Methodist) 21,883,000 5.2 Lutheran/Reformed united church 17,781,000 4.2 Holiness-Pentecostal: 3-crisis-experience 11,884,000 2.8 Holiness, Wesleyan, Free Methodist 11,334,000 2.7 Protestant Evangelicals 10,613,000 2.5 Nondenominational 5,420,000 1.3 Congregational, Congregationalist 4,176,000 1.0 Christian Brethren (non-exclusive) 3,918,000 0.9 Oneness-Pentecostal, Jesus Only 3,841,000 0.9 Apostolic or Pentecostal Apostolic 3,427,000 0.8 0.001 2 5 10 40 60 75 Mennonite, Anabaptist 2,686,000 0.6 Salvationist (Salvation Army) 2,239,000 0.5 Disciple, Restorationist 1,925,000 0.5 Moravian (Continental Pietist) 1,053,000 0.3 Friends (Quaker) 755,000 0.2 Dunker (Tunker), Dipper, German Baptist 682,000 0.2 Fundamentalist 286,000 0.1 Exclusive Brethren 196,000 0.0 Waldensian 56,000 0.0 Community/union congregation 21,000 0.0

1910 !

Total 1,930 1,820 2,820 2,720 1,030 520

0 Average 200000 400000 size 600000 800000 1000000 0 71,000 A A 48,000 C C 24,000 E E 21,000 L L 60,000 N N 16,000 P P 0 00 00 00 00 00 0,0 00,0 00,0 00,0 00,0 20 4 6 8 1,0

85

 Protestants by country, 2010: Percentage of Christian population The world’s 419 million reported Protestants are 18% of all Christians. In 2010, as in 1910, Protestants make up the largest percentage of Christians in Nordic countries (where Lutheran state churches enrol large shares of the population) and some Pacific Island states (sites of vigorous Protestant missionary activity). Their shares are lowest in Southern and Eastern Europe, where Catholic and/or Orthodox churches predominate.

90

95

Protestant congregations, 2010 200000 400000 0 2000 600000 4000 800000 6000 1000000 Total8000 10000 Africa A AsiaC Europe E L America L N America N Oceania P

413,000 299,000 112,000 326,000 217,000 37,900

330 A 290 C 600 E 180 L 280 N 220 P

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2010

PROTESTANTS

Protestant centre of gravity

!

Asia Just three countries in Asia – China, India and Indonesia – are home to more than two-thirds of all Asian Protestants. These three are also in the ten countries with the most Protestants in 2010.

Africa Africa, home to less than 2% of the world’s Protestants in 1910, now has one-third of the global total and four of the ten countries with the most Protestants.

Protestants by UN region, 1910 and 2010 Population Africa 124,228,000 Eastern Africa 33,030,000 Middle Africa 19,443,000 Northern Africa 32,002,000 Southern Africa 6,819,000 Western Africa 32,933,000 Asia 1,028,265,000 Eastern Asia 556,096,000 South-central Asia 345,121,000 South-eastern Asia 94,104,000 Western Asia 32,944,000 Europe 427,154,000 Eastern Europe 178,184,000 Northern Europe 61,474,000 Southern Europe 76,940,000 Western Europe 110,556,000 Latin America 78,269,000 Caribbean 8,172,000 Central America 20,777,000 South America 49,320,000 Northern America 94,689,000 Oceania 7,192,000 Australia/New Zealand 5,375,000 Melanesia 1,596,000 Micronesia 89,400 Polynesia 131,000 Global total 1,759,795,000

1910 Protestants 2,177,000 566,000 62,500 61,200 1,313,000 175,000 2,119,000 475,000 856,000 705,000 82,200 64,557,000 4,723,000 24,541,000 282,000 35,011,000 1,091,000 529,000 109,000 453,000 43,259,000 1,811,000 1,557,000 126,000 36,800 91,800 115,013,000

Protestant growth rates* by UN region, 100-year and 10-year % Population 1.8 1,032,012,000 1.7 332,107,000 0.3 129,583,000 0.2 206,295,000 19.3 56,592,000 0.5 307,436,000 0.2 4,166,308,000 0.1 1,562,575,000 0.2 1,777,378,000 0.7 594,216,000 0.2 232,139,000 15.1 730,478,000 2.7 290,755,000 39.9 98,352,000 0.4 152,913,000 31.7 188,457,000 1.4 593,696,000 6.5 42,300,000 0.5 153,657,000 0.9 397,739,000 45.7 348,575,000 25.2 35,491,000 29.0 25,647,000 7.9 8,589,000 41.2 575,000 70.1 680,000 6.5 6,906,558,000

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

2010 Protestants 137,207,000 60,481,000 26,467,000 1,974,000 12,020,000 36,265,000 87,379,000 35,974,000 23,998,000 27,184,000 224,000 67,703,000 7,879,000 25,809,000 848,000 33,167,000 57,114,000 5,307,000 10,646,000 41,161,000 61,511,000 8,403,000 3,193,000 4,686,000 197,000 328,000 419,316,000

Rate* 1910–2010 % 1910

% 13.3A 18.2A1 20.4A2 1.0A3 21.2A4 11.8A5 2.1C 2.3C1 1.4C2 4.6C3 0.1C4 9.3E 2.7E1 26.2E2 0.6E3 17.6E4 9.6 L 12.5L1 6.9L2 10.3L3 17.6N 23.7P 12.4P1 54.6P2 34.3P3 48.2P4 6.1zG 0% 0

% 2010 4.23 4.78 6.24 3.53 2.24 5.48 3.79 4.42 3.39 3.72 1.01 0.05 0.51 0.05 1.11 -0.05 4.04 2.33 4.69 4.61 0.35 1.55 0.72 3.68 1.69 1.28 1.30

20

40 50% 60

80

100% 100

Protestants

Population

Rate* 2000–2010

2.14A 2.33 A1 1.91 A2 1.88 A3 2.14 A4 2.26 A5 1.41C 1.04 C1 1.65 C2 1.86 C3 1.97 C4 0.54E 0.49 E1 0.47 E2 0.69 E3 0.53 E4 2.05L 1.66 L1 2.02 L2 2.11 L3 1.31N 1.61P 1.57 P1 1.70 P2 1.88 P3 1.66 P4 1.38 zG -2 -2

2.87 2.31A 2.92 2.59A1 3.28 2.86A2 2.51 1.69A3 0.35 0.86A4 3.47 2.53A5 2.31 1.18C 3.37 0.57C1 1.88 1.60C2 1.41 1.34C3 2.62 1.90C4 -0.29 0.03E 0.46 -0.47E1 -0.17 0.42E2 0.96 0.48E3 -0.57 0.27E4 2.52 1.28L 1.85 0.92L1 2.79 1.26L2 2.54 1.32L3 0.09 1.00N 2.05 1.33P 0.42 1.10P1 3.51 2.06P2 1.43 1.47P3 0.63 1.04P4 1.68 1.21zG

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 88 9 10 10 11 12 12

-2 -2

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 8 9 10 11

91

Roman Catholics, 1910–2010

F

ounded upon the traditional missionary mandate of Matthew 28:19–20 (the Great Commission), the Roman Catholic missionary endeavours of the early twentieth century were marked by the condemnation of modernism by Pope Pius X, on the one hand, and a renewed commitment to missionary activity, human service and the establishment of Catholicism throughout the world, on the other. In Africa, European missionaries, while often identified with colonial powers, devoted themselves to increasing the number of converts; advancing medical missionary efforts to prevent, treat and curtail disease; and building educational networks. In the Americas, while the emphasis on the missio ad gentes (‘mission to the nations’) remained the driving force behind missionary zeal, a new brand of de facto missionaries left their European homelands to accompany millions of emigrants to Canada, the USA, Brazil, Argentina and elsewhere. In 1908, as the USA ceased to be a mission territory, Catholics from this region of the world contributed to the development of a powerful missionary-sending movement that demanded both respect and recognition from the Church in Europe. In the Middle East, endeavours to forge bonds of communion between the Eastern patriarchates and Rome were reinforced by Pope Benedict XV’s establishment of the Sacred Congregation for the Oriental Churches in 1917. In Asia, the number of Chinese Catholics had more than doubled within a period of two decades, and native clergy were being ordained to serve their own people. Though many foreign missionaries held fast to Western protection and privilege in countries such as India, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Viet Nam and the Philippines, some innovative clergy and religious embodied in their own lives and witness an incarnational gospel of love as they valued cultures not their own and grew in their understanding of the religious traditions of the East. Opening itself to a new historical moment, the Roman Catholic Church remained theologically moored in the teaching of ex ecclesia nulla salus (‘no salvation outside the Church’) as well as the prejudices and ways of proceeding shaped by the past. The modes of missionary activity included two methods: the traditional model that focused on the conversion of individuals and groups, and the social organisation model of plantatio ecclesiae (‘planting the Church’) advanced by the Jesuit Pierre Charles. In the mission fields of Africa, Asia, Oceania, Eastern Europe and the Americas, control and competition were often the order of the day. Protestants and Orthodox Christians were viewed as heretics and schismatics. Among Roman Catholic hierarchy, traditional missionary activity was largely viewed as the work of the great religious orders, who themselves were often in competition with one another for converts and vocations. Tensions increased as newly established missionary societies of men and women invested themselves in the building up of local dioceses, presenting themselves in ways that sometimes ran counter to those preferred by the orders. In addition to challenging the control of empires and colonial powers on so-called foreign missions, the Propaganda Fide (established by Pope Gregory XV in 1622 and renamed the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples by Pope John Paul II in 1982) endeavoured to guarantee the Romanisation of the Universal Church as advocated by Pope Pius IX and the First Vatican Council (1869–70) by working to bring Roman Catholic missionary activity under the jurisdiction of the Vatican rather than the discretionary control of the religious orders or members of the hierarchy in various regions of the world. The localising of leadership Directly impacted by the devastating effects of war, natural disasters, disease and ideological shifts that ravaged the European continent, the papacy of Benedict XV was characterised by solidarity and generosity. His sense of mission-mindedness gave rise to a new consciousness that communicated a vision for the Church that extended beyond the so-called ‘Old World’. In 1919 Benedict XV issued his famous missionary encyclical Maximum Illud. He challenged the fact that Western missionaries were often slow to respect the cultures of the people whom they served and frequently failed to recognise the values and leadership abilities of native clergy (religious and laity). Five years earlier, with the exception of the consecration of four native bishops from India, the Roman Catholic church had yet to call forth bishops

92

who were born in Africa and other parts of Asia. Slowly, the Church was coming to terms with the fact that the effective transmission of Christian beliefs and the meaningful translation of the gospel involved not only word and sacrament but also the embodiment of the faith in and through the lives of indigenous Catholic Christians in so-called ‘mission territories’. Pius XI attempted to redress longstanding ecclesiastical attitudes and missionary resistance to the raising up of local leaders to serve their local churches by internationalising the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church and increasing the number of non-European bishops . Through his 1926 mission encyclical Rerum ecclesiae and the appointment of indigenous priests to the episcopacy, he acknowledged the importance of world mission for the spread of the gospel and building up of the Universal Church as well as the unanticipated implications of world mission on the Church of Rome. In his 1931 encyclical Non Abbiamo Bisogno, Pius XI addressed the leadership of Catholic laity in civil society and the Church not only in Europe but also throughout the entire world. The significance of this encyclical for the advancement of lay missionary movements in subsequent decades cannot be underestimated. In a similar fashion, the 1937 encyclical Divini Redemptoris, in which Pius XI addressed the threat of atheistic ideology, underscored and advanced the importance of zealous and courageous missionary activity as a means of prevention, engagement and correction of atheism for years to come.

Some Roman Catholic theologians and missiologists are developing the paradigm of ‘interculturation’ as a response to the needs of Christian mission in the twenty-first century. In 1951 Pope Pius XII issued his mission encyclical, Evangelii Praecones, noting the importance of respect for all cultures and races, the need for a renewed missionary zeal, and the urgency of developing new missionary methods capable of responding to the spiritual hungers and humanitarian needs of the world. As in previous decades, fund-raising for missionary activity, along with the recruitment and sending forth of a new generation of Catholic missionaries – both men and women – was key to the spread of the gospel and the growth of the Church internationally. The Cold War era posed unprecedented missiological challenges not only from Marxism and Maoism, but also from secularism, science, technology, mass communication and political struggles for national independence from colonial rule. In 1957 Pius XII issued another mission encyclical, Fidei donum, in which he drew attention to the needs and realities of Africa. In 1959 Pope John XXIII wrote Princeps Pastorum, yet another mission encyclical, taking as his focus the needs and realities of Latin America. Through the establishment of the Pontifical Commission on Latin America and in the wake of Fidel Castro’s takeover of Cuba, Roman Catholic missionary endeavours shifted both resources and personnel from ad gentes missionary efforts in Asia and Africa to reevangelisation efforts in Latin America in the twofold hope of halting the spread of Communism and curbing the growth of Protestantism throughout this culturally Catholic continent. In the 1960s Roman Catholic missionary endeavours were profoundly challenged by the Second Vatican Council (1962–5). Convoked by the visionary John XXIII, Vatican II attempted to address many aspects of life in the Roman Catholic Church. The most significant feature was its capacity to reconcile and mend the relationship between Catholics and Protestants as well as configure a new atmosphere of openness toward other cultures and religions. The Council had an enormous influence on the strategy of mission among various cultures around the world. For about ten years after the Council there was much confusion, resistance and chaos among Roman Catholics as to how to proceed in mission. In 1975 Pope Paul VI’s mission encyclical Evangelii Nuntiandi ignited and renewed enthusiasm as the purpose and objectives of mission were guided by a reading of the ‘signs of the times’.

Indigenisation and inculturation Prior to and including the first half of the twentieth century, the frequent failure of missionaries to indigenise the Christian faith and its expression in the local church from the outset was an impediment to evangelisation and an obstacle to Christianity really taking root in many Asian contexts such as Japan and China. In sub-Saharan Africa, African traditional religions were not taken seriously as pathways to salvation. It was only in the second half of the twentieth century that missionaries began to reflect upon their methods and to see the potential of local culture and religious experience in carrying forward the Christian faith. Vatican II spawned reflection on the necessity of Christianity being lived out alongside traditional African religions. Following the Second Vatican Council’s groundbreaking insights into the nature and essence of culture for integral human development, the theological concept of ‘inculturation’ emerged. Though the Reformed Protestant tradition had spoken previously of ‘indigenisation’, and the term ‘accommodation’ had been used in the Roman Catholic tradition since the sixteenth century, new perceptions came into view with regard to the way in which the vision of the Christian gospel could become an intrinsic transformative component of cultures with diverse religious perspectives. After the Second Vatican Council, the policy and practice of accommodation made a significant turn that called for ‘profound adaptation’. The interpretation of this adaptation led to the unfolding of subsequent concepts such as ‘incarnation’ and ‘inculturation’ of gospel values. Though never mentioned in the documents of the Second Vatican Council, the neologism ‘inculturation’ became dominant in mission discourse and was appropriated in different ways by noted missionaries such as the renowned Jesuit Father General, Pedro Arrupe (1907–91: Japan), Franciscan priest Placide Tempels (1906–77: Belgian Congo, now Democratic Republic of Congo), Bishop Peter Sarpong (1933– : Ghana), Spiritan Vincent Donovan (1926–2000: Tanzania) and Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910–97), among others, who made determined efforts to dialogue in the midst of other cultures with diverse religious perspectives on the world. These visionary missionaries perceived in these non-Christian cultures the capacity for God’s saving love. These missionaries practised what they believed was the essence of ‘inculturation’. However, was their encounter a two-way process of mutual transformation? Did the ‘other’ who was not Christian need the Christian encounter to ultimately find authentic salvation? These remain important theological and missiological questions for Roman Catholic mission in the twenty-first century. The move from accommodation and adaptation, what the Council referred to as a ‘profound adaptation’ in its Decree on Missionary Activity (Ad Gentes), led to new understandings of God’s revelation in the faith of every person, in every culture and in every religion. The Christian message had to be ‘made flesh’ (incarnated) in every culture. This anthropological understanding of incarnation was confused with the principal theological concept of incarnation – God made human in Jesus. There was only one incarnation, and having a plethora of incarnations around the world would obfuscate both theological and missiological intentions. A clear articulation of the theological concept was necessary. Thus, in 1979, when Pope John Paul II made use of the word ‘inculturation’ in the Apostolic Exhortation Catechesi Tradendae (‘On Catechesis in Our Time’) the term was defined and explained and became widely used. Though this new theological concept of ‘inculturation’ helped to bring some insight into Roman Catholic missionary methods and strategies, it too was flawed, given the fact that the concept came out of a dominant Christian perspective that in practice proved to be about Christianity accommodating another culture and religious perspective. Yet the concept did not lend itself well to a two-way process of evangelisation and mutual transformation. Diversity and dynamism As noted before, for many Roman Catholic missionaries, the encyclical Evangellii Nuntiandi remained a key document for the understanding of Roman Catholic perspectives on mission in the latter part of the twentieth century. The liturgical renewal that subsequently

a response to the needs of Christian mission in the twenty-first century. In 1980 Bishop Joseph Blomjous (1908–92) introduced the idea of ‘interculturation’ alongside of ‘inculturation’ as a new and perhaps more adequate theological concept for the twentyfirst century. While ‘interculturation’ builds upon ‘inculturation’, it goes further in that it acknowledges fully the existence and legitimacy of other religions alongside Christianity. Dialogue – or more broadly, an intentional and inclusive conversation grounded in persuasive arguments – is the method most favoured in the paradigm of ‘interculturation’. As diverse manifestations of Roman Catholic missionary activity find expression in different contexts throughout the world, including those contexts described as post-Christian, the Church’s perspectives on both the ‘where’ of ‘mission fields’ and the ‘who’ of ‘missionaries’ for the twenty-first century continue to be enlarged by new and changing realities. For example, the Church in Brazil has the largest number of Catholics in the world, one of the largest Roman Catholic bishops’ conferences and one of the largest percentages of expatriate missionaries in a local church. Evangelisation efforts during the past decade have been shaped simultaneously by diverse theological perspectives and distinctive pastoral directions. In some quarters, these efforts continue to be influenced by the socially progressive mission legacy of Catholic Action, Vatican II, the Latin American Episcopal Conferences of Medellín (1968) and Puebla (1979), liberation theology, Christian base communities and the Conference of Latin American Religious. In other quarters, these efforts are influenced by a more ecclesiastically traditional mission heritage that finds its contemporary expression in the theological perspectives of the papal writings of Pope John Paul II; the documents of the Episcopal Conferences of Santo Domingo (1992) and Aparecida (2007); and ‘ecclesial movements’ such as the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, the Neocatecumenate Way, and ‘new communities’ such as Canção Nova and Toca de Assís. Despite major differences in theology and ecclesiology, it is important to note a renewed zeal for participation in the missio Dei (mission of God) that is common to all. In this regard, it is important to underscore the impact of the worldwide visits of John Paul II, the memories of contemporary martyrs and missionaries, the enthusiasm generated by international gatherings such as World Youth Day, and the emphasis placed on the permanent validity of missionary activity in the Apostolic Exhortations, such as Ecclesia in America, written subsequent to the continental Bishops’ Synods convened by John Paul II during the final decade of his papacy. In 2010 and beyond, there is no way of knowing with any certainty which methods for sharing the Christian faith will emerge as the most adequate and appropriate ways of proceeding for Roman Catholic missionaries. What is known for certain, however, is that the missionary activity of the Church will not only be affected by the forces and consequences of globalisation, secularisation and relativism, but also by those of dehumanisation, desecularisation and extremism. Predictably, the demographic shift of Christianity towards the so-called ‘mission territories’ of Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia has contributed and will continue to contribute to a distinctive non-European missionary consciousness. As the city of Nairobi in Kenya continues to be characterised by some as ‘the little Vatican’, the strong presence of many religious orders and congregations around the world is felt due to the numerous foundations that have been established

there. As non-Western congregations, religious orders and missionary societies establish themselves in the southern hemisphere and extend themselves in global mission endeavours, they are emerging as the future of the World Church. Will these developments impact the traditional seat of the church in Rome? Will a polycentric Catholicism emerge with Nairobi, Manila, Mexico City or São Paulo as the new centres of gravity for the Catholic Christian world?

Highest percentage*

Fastest growth*

The meaning of ‘mission’ Looking to alternative scriptural foundations for mission, we can see that Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well (John 4:27) points to a different approach to mission strategy for the emerging world church of the twenty-first century. The intimated strategy presented by the Evangelist offers the option of empowering people to discover for themselves who this Jesus of Nazareth is for them on their own personal, cultural and religious terms. This particular strategy of the Samaritan woman leaves it to the receivers of the message to discover for themselves how they want to be in relationship with the Reign of God proclaimed by Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Has the example of this woman missionary evoked a fresh awakening for Roman Catholics in a post-Vatican II church influenced by the legacy of Pope John Paul II? Will this dialogical strategy be the mainstay of missionaries? Or do current ecclesiological trends suggest that earlier methods associated with the Great Commission will continue to hold appeal? Given the enormous changes culturally, politically, economically and religiously, Roman Catholic missionary activity in the twenty-first century inevitably faces the opportunities and challenges associated with the intercultural and inter-relational demands of the contextual praxis of love and service for all. To the extent that the message of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:34–40) inspires an interreligious and interdenominational vision of hope capable of empowering the peoples of the world toward peace, reconciliation and solidarity, the future of Roman Catholic missionary activity remains open to the Spirit. Hope for the person-in-context is essential. The ecological environment surrounding that person in their context is crucial to preserve and maintain the hope of all God’s people and indeed to support all God’s creation. In this vision of hope consists the challenge for future mission in the twenty-first century and beyond. As Pope Benedict XVI reminded us in his 2007 encyclical Spe Salvi: Redemption is offered to us in the sense that we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey.

THOMAS G. GRENHAM, SPS AND MARGARET ELETTA GUIDER, OSF Stephen B. Bevans and Roger Schroeder, Constants in Context: A Theology of Mission for Today (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2004). Angelyn Dries, The Missionary Movement in American Catholic History (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1998). Peter Phan, In Our Own Tongues: Perspectives from Asia on Mission and Inculturation (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2003). Lamin Sanneh, Disciples of All Nations: Pillars of World Christianity (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007). Robert J. Schreiter (ed.), Mission in the Third Millennium (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2002).

Roman Catholics by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 France Italy Brazil Spain Poland Germany Mexico USA Philippines Czech Republic

Catholics 40,506,000 35,384,000 21,428,000 20,350,000 18,752,000 16,580,000 14,276,000 12,471,000 7,256,000 7,121,000

2010 Brazil Mexico Philippines USA Italy France Colombia Spain Argentina DR Congo

Catholics 144,000,000 98,500,000 72,065,000 70,550,000 55,652,000 45,240,000 43,700,000 41,630,000 36,311,000 35,600,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Spain Italy Portugal Puerto Rico Guam Costa Rica Argentina France Guadeloupe Cape Verde

% Catholic 100.0 99.9 99.8 99.7 99.5 98.7 98.4 98.4 98.4 98.0

2010 Peru Italy Malta Spain Poland Colombia Ecuador Equatorial Guinea Martinique Mexico

% Catholic 94.6 94.3 93.0 92.3 91.6 91.3 91.0 90.6 89.6 89.3

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Burkina Faso Burundi Chad Rwanda Liberia Saudi Arabia Central African Rep United Arab Emirates Sudan Oman

*Countries >100,000

% p.a. 12.89 12.63 12.07 11.19 10.56 10.41 10.21 9.56 9.56 9.33

2000–2010 Sierra Leone Greece Azerbaijan Kyrgyzstan Guinea Estonia Macedonia Iceland Liberia Gambia

% p.a. 12.23 9.81 9.60 8.84 7.26 6.55 5.38 5.29 4.94 4.92

93

ROMAN CATHOLICS

developed out of the Second Vatican Council, coupled with Pope Paul VI’s suggestions in Evangelii Nuntiandi, gave rise to significant liturgical modifications and innovations. For example, the approval of the Zairean ‘Rite’ in 1988 reinforced the church’s commitment to follow through on encouraging and fostering culturally distinct local churches. Other rites for India, the Philippines and Latin America were considered as well. These changes reflected the fact that the Catholic church was taking seriously the plurality of cultures and religions. People were given the freedom to express their faith through their own distinctive cultural manifestations. The significance of the move from the language of Latin to vernacular languages cannot be over-estimated. This change gave expression to more than semantic and literary meanings. It also was expressive of the anthropological, cultural and spiritual realities of every people and had a profound effect on Roman Catholic mission everywhere. Clearly, the conciliar documents of Vatican II (such as Ad Gentes and Nostra Aetatae) reflected fresh Church thinking in relation to how mission might be conducted in the future as well as offering insights into the fostering of good relations between Christianity and non-Christian religions. Nostra Aetatae particularly has given new direction to how non-Christian religions can be understood as sources of salvation and redemption. In 1990 Pope John Paul II issued a significant Roman Catholic mission encyclical, entitled Redemptoris Missio, which focused on the importance of Christ in the salvation of the world. John Paul II wanted to emphasise the importance of proclaiming the gospel to those who might not have heard it. The document Dialogue and Proclamation (1991), published by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, recognised the need for dialogue with non-Christian religions. The issue of the relationship between Christianity and the other religions has been a challenging question for missionaries and will be so well into the twenty-first century. As much as the Church of the latter part of the twentieth Century wanted to dialogue with other religions, the fear of relativism crept into its consciousness. In response, the document Dominus Iesus, issued by the Congregation for Evangelisation of Peoples in 2000, offered some reassurance and provided clear and distinct non-negotiables to be adhered to by missionaries dialoguing and witnessing to the Christian faith in the midst of religious pluralism. The wide-ranging influence of John Paul II on the mission of the Church during the 27 years of his papacy (1978–2005) left a mark on the world. He travelled extensively, reflecting a sense of global mission and global Christianity from the Roman Catholic perspective. The Pope’s travels fostered a sense of a ‘World Church’ that was both universal and local at the same time. Yet for the Church, with its centre of gravity located in Rome, Europe remained the point of reference. As changes in demographics altered the face of Christianity in the latter part of the twentieth century, the challenges inherent in these shifts have yet to be fully acknowledged or addressed, as the majority of Christians are now to be found in the southern hemisphere. In the twenty-first century Roman Catholic missionary agents are engaged in a pluralistic world made up of diverse religious and cultural experiences. Coming to terms with the fact that cultures and religions need to encounter each other in intentional conversations for the betterment of humankind everywhere, some Roman Catholic theologians and missiologists are developing the paradigm of ‘interculturation’ as

Roman Catholics, 1910–2010

O

Roman Catholics by country, 2010

ver the past 100 years Roman Catholicism has seen a great increase in numbers of adherents. In 1910 about 291 million individuals claimed loyalty to the Roman Catholic Church worldwide, and this grew to well over 1.1 billion by 2010. Although these numbers indicate an enormous increase, the annual growth rate over the century was only 1.39%, much lower than all other Christian traditions (except the Orthodox at 0.79%). In 1910 Roman Catholics comprised 16.6% of the total global population; this increased only to 16.7% by 2010, although these percentages are still higher than other Christian traditions. In 1910 the two countries with the largest Roman Catholic populations were France and Italy, with over 35 million adherents each. By 2010 the top two countries were Brazil and Mexico, with 144 million and 98.5 million, respectively. This reflects not only the global expansion of Roman Catholicism, but also the shift of global Christianity southward. Africa has seen the greatest annual growth rate of Roman Catholics during the twentieth century (4.46%), and this was double the general population growth (2.14%). Brazil has also seen remarkable growth of its Roman Catholic population: in 1910 there were only about 21 million church members, but in 2010 they surpassed 140 million. Latin America has the largest Roman Catholic average denomination size (617,000) and Africa has the largest average congregation size (9,800). Although Brazil currently has the most adherents, there are many smaller countries with larger percentages of believers, including Wallis & Futuna Islands at 95.3% and Peru at 94.6%. Other countries have seen extremely high Roman Catholic growth rates over the past century, and during the past decade Catholics have grown in Sierra Leone at a surprising 12.23% p.a. One issue in Roman Catholic demographics is that of double affiliation; especially in Latin America, which purports to be a 80.5% Roman Catholic population, many believers are also affiliated with Protestant, Evangelical or Pentecostal denominations. While Roman Catholic populations in the Global North continue to decline, Roman Catholics from the Global South continue to fill leadership positions in religious and secular orders and dioceses. Catholicism has grown significantly during the twentieth century, but the Church has also experienced deep trials. In some Oceania locations, sex scandals have caused immense distrust of 0.4% Northern Africa clergymen. There has also been a decrease of enrolment America 0.7% Asia at Catholic seminaries and an increase in the average age Latin of priests and clergy. As Roman Catholicism continues to America spread worldwide, the Church faces tremendous challenges to maintain membership, affiliation and trust.

Decline in Western Europe During the twentieth century Catholicism in Europe saw an annual decline in its share of the total population. Western Europe saw the largest decline rate. Although 49.3% of Western Europe’s population still claims Catholic loyalty, this percentage is much lower than the 66.4% of 1910. Faces of Roman Catholicism in Latin America In Latin America, Roman Catholicism expresses itself in several ways: • Traditional church: traditional values based on historicity of the church • Reflection of Vatican II: more ecumenical and contemporary • Pop culture church: Roman Catholicism as ingrained in culture; more cultural than religious CtryCatholic Per

0

2

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

Oceania 0.4%

0 0.001

Europe

2

5

10

94

Europe

60

75

85

90

95

Members % of Catholics 1,137,204,000 98.4 4,399,000 0.4 4,368,000 0.4 3,229,000 0.3 1,436,000 0.1 1,126,000 0.1 756,000 0.1 523,000 0.0 376,000 0.0 374,000 0.0 321,000 0.0 317,000 0.0 40 60 75 306,000 0.0 192,000 0.0 190,000 0.0 182,000 0.0 138,000 0.0 107,000 0.0 62,800 0.0 10,100 0.0 6,700 0.0 2,300 0.0

Asia

Latin America

Europe

2010

2010

1910 40

5.2% 4.5%

0.8%

0.8% 7.3%

7.3% 14.7%

14.7% 12.0%

12.0%

24.3%

Largest Roman Catholic traditions, 64.9% 2010

10

Asia

Latin America

1910 2010 Roman Catholics by country: percentage of total population 1910

Roman Catholic traditions Catholic1910 The two principal traditions of Roman Catholicism are Latin-Rite and Eastern-Rite. The Latin-Rite developed in Western Europe and North 5.2% 4.5% Africa and is often referred to as the ‘Western Church’. Eastern-Rite Catholicism was historically located in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and India. Both are under the authority of the Pope. Differences lie largely in particular customs such as priestly celibacy, confirmation and 24.3% the Eucharist.

0

Africa

Africa

1910

Catholic

Northern Oceania America

Northern Oceania America

Northern Africa America 0.7% Asia

Latin America

Europe

Minor tradition Latin-rite Catholic Ukrainian (Byzantine rite) Syro-Malabarese (Eastern Syrian) Maronite (Western Syrian) Melkite (Byzantine rite) Dual Latin-rite and Eastern-rite Romanian (Byzantine rite) Ruthenian (Byzantine rite) Armenian (Eastern-rite Catholic) Malankara (Eastern Syrian) Chaldean (Eastern Syrian rite) Coptic (Alexandrian rite) 0.001 2 5 Hungarian (Byzantine rite) plural Oriental Slovak (Byzantine rite) plural Byzantine-rite Syrian (Western Syrian) Ethiopic (Alexandrian rite) Italo-Albanian (Byzantine rite) Russian (Byzantine rite) Bulgarian (Byzantine rite) Greek (Byzantine rite)

cent Roman Catholic

41.4%

64.9%

41.4%

23.9%

23.9%

Legend same as above

Africa

Asia

Europe

Latin America

Northern America

Oceania

Catholics by continent The pie charts above illustrate the great demographic shift that has occurred in Roman Catholicism over the past century. In 2010 Latin America contains the largest bloc of adherents at 41.4%, contrasted with Europe, now with only 23.9% of global Catholics. Roman Catholicism in 2010 is much more global than it was in 1910; percentages in Asia, Africa, and Oceania have at least doubled. CatholicOfAC

0 0.001

85

90

2

5

10

40

60

75

95

Roman Catholic denominations, 2010 Africa Asia Europe L America N America Oceania

Total 60 50 51 46 5 27

Average size of Diocese 345,000 A 275,000 C 380,000 E 617,000 L 319,000 N 144,000 P

0 00 00 00 00 00 0,0 00,0 00,0 00,0 00,0 20 4 6 8 1,0

85

90

 Roman Catholics by country, 2010: Percentage of Christian population South America and Western Europe not only have very high percentage Catholic populations, but Catholicism is the dominant Christian tradition represented. Regions such as Western Asia have smaller Christian populations but are shaded darker on this map because a large proportion of their Christian population is now Roman Catholic. For example, Saudi Arabia is only 4% Christian, but Roman Catholics account for 84% of the Christian population. 95

Roman Catholic congregations, 2010 A C E L N P

Africa A AsiaC Europe E L America L N America N Oceania P

Total 17,300 98,300 187,000 232,000 30,600 3,000

Average size 9,800 A 1,400 C 1,500 E 2,100 L 2,800 N 3,000 P

0

00

2,0

00

4,0

00

6,0

00

8,0

0

,00

10

1910 !

ROMAN CATHOLICS

Roman Catholic centre of gravity

2010 !

Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican Vatican II opened in Rome under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and concluded under Pope Paul VI in 1965. Subjects of discussion were the Catholic Church in relation to ecumenism and other religions, contemporary culture, renewal and liturgy. The conclusions of this council redefined the Catholic Church in ways that made it more accessible to lay people and also changed the way the Church viewed mission.

Growth in Africa Africa has seen the largest annual growth of Roman Catholics over the past century. Much of this is due to mission on the continent (of both ‘pagans’ and ‘nonCatholics’) in conjunction with European colonisation. Vatican II and decolonisation changed the way missions were conducted, giving great emphasis to religious understanding and appreciation.

Roman Catholics by UN region, 1910 and 2010 1910 Population Africa 124,228,000 Eastern Africa 33,030,000 Middle Africa 19,443,000 Northern Africa 32,002,000 Southern Africa 6,819,000 Western Africa 32,933,000 Asia 1,028,265,000 Eastern Asia 556,096,000 South-central Asia 345,121,000 South-eastern Asia 94,104,000 Western Asia 32,944,000 Europe 427,154,000 Eastern Europe 178,184,000 Northern Europe 61,474,000 Southern Europe 76,940,000 Western Europe 110,556,000 Latin America 78,269,000 Caribbean 8,172,000 Central America 20,777,000 South America 49,320,000 Northern America 94,689,000 Oceania 7,192,000 Australia/New Zealand 5,375,000 Melanesia 1,596,000 Micronesia 89,400 Polynesia 131,000 Global total 1,759,795,000

Catholics 2,153,000 867,000 125,000 936,000 70,300 155,000 13,185,000 1,244,000 2,645,000 8,669,000 628,000 189,056,000 41,842,000 7,786,000 66,068,000 73,361,000 70,675,000 6,109,000 19,007,000 45,560,000 15,146,000 1,225,000 1,112,000 67,200 31,400 14,200 291,440,000

Catholic growth rates* by UN region, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

2010 % Population Catholics 1.7 1,032,012,000 169,495,000 2.6 332,107,000 67,344,000 0.6 129,583,000 57,478,000 2.9 206,295,000 4,267,000 1.0 56,592,000 4,841,000 0.5 307,436,000 35,565,000 1.3 4,166,308,000 138,702,000 0.2 1,562,575,000 20,991,000 0.8 1,777,378,000 24,905,000 9.2 594,216,000 88,590,000 1.9 232,139,000 4,216,000 44.3 730,478,000 275,820,000 23.5 290,755,000 56,517,000 12.7 98,352,000 12,541,000 85.9 152,913,000 113,809,000 66.4 188,457,000 92,953,000 90.3 593,696,000 478,211,000 74.8 42,300,000 26,337,000 91.5 153,657,000 134,172,000 92.4 397,739,000 317,702,000 16.0 348,575,000 84,485,000 17.0 35,491,000 8,914,000 20.7 25,647,000 5,982,000 4.2 8,589,000 2,388,000 35.1 575,000 351,000 10.8 680,000 193,000 16.6 6,906,558,000 1,155,627,000

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

% 1910

% 16.4A 20.3A1 44.4A2 2.1A3 8.6A4 11.6A5 3.3C 1.3C1 1.4C2 14.9C3 1.8C4 37.8E 19.4E1 12.8E2 74.4E3 49.3E4 80.5 L 62.3L1 87.3L2 79.9L3 24.2N 25.1P 23.3P1 27.8P2 61.0P3 28.4P4 16.7zG 0% 0

% 2010 4.46 4.45 6.32 1.53 4.32 5.59 2.38 2.87 2.27 2.35 1.92 0.38 0.30 0.48 0.55 0.24 1.93 1.47 1.97 1.96 1.73 2.00 1.70 3.64 2.44 2.64 1.39

20

40 50% 60

80

100% 100

Catholics

Population

Rate* 2000–2010

2.14A 2.33 A1 1.91 A2 1.88 A3 2.14 A4 2.26 A5 1.41C 1.04 C1 1.65 C2 1.86 C3 1.97 C4 0.54E 0.49 E1 0.47 E2 0.69 E3 0.53 E4 2.05L 1.66 L1 2.02 L2 2.11 L3 1.31N 1.61P 1.57 P1 1.70 P2 1.88 P3 1.66 P4 1.38 zG -2 -2

2.85 2.31A 2.95 2.59A1 2.81 2.86A2 1.57 1.69A3 0.93 0.86A4 3.18 2.53A5 1.68 1.18C 2.11 0.57C1 2.34 1.60C2 1.41 1.34C3 1.56 1.90C4 0.07 0.03E -0.14 -0.47E1 0.32 0.42E2 0.29 0.48E3 -0.11 0.27E4 0.78 1.28L 1.15 0.92L1 1.17 1.26L2 0.58 1.32L3 1.00 1.00N 1.05 1.33P 0.63 1.10P1 2.13 2.06P2 1.15 1.47P3 1.46 1.04P4 1.00 1.21zG

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 88 9 10 10 11 12 12

-2 -2

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 8 9 10 11

95

Evangelicals, 1910–2010

T

he Evangelical movement that reached global dimensions during the nineteenth century and flourished during the twentieth has its roots in the Puritan movement and the Wesleyan revival in the English-speaking world as well as the Pietistic movement in continental Europe. As such, it took from these sources the emphasis on a recovery of the message of the Protestant Reformation, especially the authority of the Bible and justification of sinners by faith in the work of Christ alone. From both sources came also the emphasis on personal conversion, a life of disciplined piety, a special creativity of pastoral structures to respond to new social situations, a sensitivity to the needs of the poor and disenfranchised, and an evangelistic zeal that is matched by impatience with or suspicion of formal ecclesiastical structures. However, Evangelicals did not start a series of new denominations but remained as a ferment within historical denominational families. In the final decade of the eighteenth century and the first two decades of the nineteenth century Baptist, Anglican and Methodist mission societies as well as the British and Foreign Bible Society were created in the British Isles. All of them had the mark of an Evangelical ethos in their beginnings. During the same period several denominational mission societies were also created in the USA, along with the American Bible Society. Intense activity from these societies was the core of the missionary movement that flourished during the nineteenth century and reached a new stage at the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference of 1910. The historical frame for this Evangelical activism was the advance of the British Empire and the development of the Manifest Destiny idea in the USA, and in some cases Evangelicals shared the spirit of national expansion interpreting such historical developments as providential. Evangelicals and Edinburgh 1910 The origins and ethos of Evangelicalism explain why Evangelicals were always in two minds about Edinburgh 1910. On the one hand, John Mott’s adopted watchword, ‘The evangelisation of the world in this generation’, resonated naturally with their activism, with their passionate belief in the calling of the Church to world mission, with their own history and theology, and with their enthusiastic embrace during the preceding century of burgeoning opportunities to take the gospel where it had not previously been heard. Further, Evangelicals had become deeply involved in initiating inter-agency and cross-denominational mission conferences, and were already practising comity and ecumenical co-operation in many so-called mission fields long before the churches ‘back home’ were willing to work together, so it was natural for them to support Edinburgh 1910. They contributed fully to all the commissions and in presentations at the conference itself. They brought energy and unashamed vision married to reflection on the practice of mission in every continent. On the other hand, Evangelicals were deeply troubled that there was little theological debate allowed at Edinburgh 1910, and certainly no biblical consensus reached. They were dismayed by the decision, with all the theological assumptions behind it, that Latin America, Europe and Northern America (apart from the ‘native Indians’) and other traditional Roman Catholic or Orthodox territories must not be regarded as legitimate mission fields. They were aware that in all these places huge numbers of people were totally disengaged from the churches. For Evangelicals, the world did not divide into territorial Christendom with ‘no further mission needed’ and the rest of the world considered as ‘mission fields’, but into people anywhere who did not have personal faith in Christ and people anywhere who did. Evangelicals could not accommodate the rising tide of Higher Criticism, already affecting some Edinburgh 1910 players, and what they saw as betrayal of biblical authority, of the centrality of the atoning death of Christ, and of the necessity for personal conversion. They believed all of these to be nonnegotiable for authentic mission. Pentecostalism, springing up at the start of the twentieth century, shared many common roots with Evangelical movements such as the Holiness movement. However, its growth among the poor classes marked it with notes from the culture of poverty, such as orality, uninhibited emotionalism in worship and a strong sense of belonging. Similarly, the Charismatic

96

movement of the mid-twentieth century quickly penetrated to the heart of many mainline denominations as well as a variety of independent church groupings. Evangelicals have always been found within a wide range of denominations rather than being confined to distinct Evangelical denominations. From early in the nineteenth century, as well as serving within denominational mission agencies Evangelicals came together in interdenominational missionary agencies also known as ‘faith missions’. Among the largest and most influential agencies have been the China Inland Mission (founded in 1865), now the Overseas Missionary Fellowship; the Sudan Interior Mission (founded in 1893), now the Society for International Ministries; the Worldwide Evangelisation Crusade (founded in 1913), now WEC International; and the Christian and Missionary Alliance (founded in 1887), which eventually became a denomination. As K. S. Latourette pointed out, this complex cross-fertilising means that a very high proportion of professing Christians in today’s Global South, even where their denominations would not be classified as Evangelical, show the characteristics of Evangelicalism. Many of the churches birthed during the twentieth century, beyond the boundaries of classical Christendom, began through Evangelical mission. Evangelicals proved the true heirs of the spirit and intention of Edinburgh 1910, though not of the structures which emerged thereafter, most notably the World Council of Churches nearly 40 years later in 1948.

The ability to engage in mission without the development of complex ecclesiastical structures facilitates forms of co-operation and consultation within a multifaceted global Evangelical fellowship. Today the Evangelical family can be found all around the world, and Evangelicals continue to be at the forefront of mission to people groups and subgroups where Christ is least known. Developments: post-1910 to c. 1970 Two World Wars, in which supposedly ‘Christian’ nations slaughtered each other – and, in the case of the Second World War, encompassed huge swathes of the world – deeply undermined the credibility of the Christian faith in the eyes of many, both in the traditional heartlands of Christianity and also in those parts of the world where the church was young and often fragile. Among the survivors, especially after World War II, were thousands who vowed to return to the countries they had seen in war, this time as ambassadors of the gospel of peace. The 1920s and 1930s were not a very good time for Evangelicals, or for many other sectors of the world church for that matter. Some, unable to respond adequately to attacks on the one hand from evolutionary science and on the other from increasingly confident theological liberalism, became anti-intellectual, although some of the most able and thoughtful continued to give themselves to missionary service in the Global South. The rise of Communism, first in Russia, paralysing the ancient Orthodox church, then in China, where the young churches looked too frail to survive ferocious persecution, followed by eastern Europe and parts of Asia and Africa, gave way to the acute tensions of the Cold War. Meanwhile, in the emerging regions described as the Third World a growing resentment of Western colonialism developed, and hence of the Christian faith with which European powers were associated. This left many Evangelical churches and missions very vulnerable and frequently disheartened. Some responded by becoming ghettoised rather than staying true to their missional roots. Some, faced with huge political and cultural tensions they didn’t know how to handle, became reactionary. After World War II there were several factors that turned the tide. Evangelical students had a long and significant history of commitment to world mission,

and from the 1920s onwards a revived InterVarsity movement led to a renewed stream of Evangelical missionaries and church leaders. In 1947 ten national student movements joined together as the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES). Today some 150 affiliated national movements continue to disciple succeeding generations of students all around the world, contributing to evangelism in their own countries, to a growing band of highly educated leaders – ministerial and lay – in their churches, and to cross-cultural mission. Further, reversing the antiintellectual trend of some Evangelicals, IFES member movements have produced Christians competent and able in the professions, university teachers, authors, theologians and missiologists. Already in 1846 British Evangelicals concerned at the fragmentation of Protestantism had formed the Evangelical Alliance. Evangelicals in other countries soon followed suit. Although initial attempts in 1846 to form a worldwide alliance foundered, in 1951 the World Evangelical Fellowship (now the World Evangelical Alliance, WEA) came into being. It draws together national alliances of Evangelical churches, agencies and individuals to foster co-operation, unity across denominational divides and concerted global action. Over the decades the WEA has provided a valuable forum in which the expanding global Christian family has been able to meet, to listen to one another and to learn from one another. From the late 1940s, first within Northern America and then on an increasingly global platform, Billy Graham engaged in mass evangelism. Many others were to take up similar ministries in the decades that followed. Though it is debatable whether or not such an approach to evangelism is appropriate in much of the world in the twenty-first century, at the time Graham’s ministry had significant impact and raised the profile of the Christian message. This was especially true among those who had nominal Christian heritage but who had become disaffected from the churches. Many who traced their personal conversion to Billy Graham Crusades, as they were then known, went on to become denominational ministers or missionaries or lay leaders. The same could be said about persons who were reached through American movements birthed in the 1950s such as Operation Mobilization, Campus Crusade for Christ, and Youth for Christ. Evangelicals have always placed a very high value on Scripture being available to people in their own heart language, so that they can encounter God directly through Word and Spirit, without the necessary intervention of a priest or minister. Thus the Wycliffe Bible Translators, founded in 1934, and the bringing together of many national Bible Societies in the United Bible Societies in 1946, were largely the outcome of Evangelical vision and action. These ministries continue to serve the world church and remain key to ongoing evangelisation. Alongside translation and distribution of the Scriptures, a variety of Evangelical publishers have resourced the church with everything from books of high scholarship to popular literature. In an unexpected way Bible translation led to the preservation of languages that would probably otherwise have disappeared and to the revitalisation of native cultures in all continents. Literacy rates are higher among Christians than among those of other faiths in many parts of the world, and church diversity has flourished as people have contextualised the Scriptures in their own settings. From c. 1970 to the present By 1970 many parts of the world which 60 years before would have been regarded as ‘mission fields’ had well-established Evangelical churches. Because most Evangelical mission had not been tied to denominational structures back in the West, it was sometimes, though not always, easier for Evangelicals than for others to expect nationals rather than foreign missionaries to lead churches in a post-colonial world. On the other hand, since Evangelicals were often pioneering in unevangelised territory, transfer of leadership was not always as straightforward or as speedy as might have been wished. Nonetheless, by around 1970 there were many able Evangelical national leaders, amongst them a growing community of theologians and missiologists reflecting on the contextualisation of the Christian faith in their specific environments. Many of these environments were profoundly different from those from which missionaries (of all streams)

defied all predictions and exploded into growth despite persecution. Many have become eager participants in crosscultural mission: the India Missions Association is the largest cross-cultural missionary association in the world despite frequent suffering of Indian believers at the hands of Hindu militants. Brazilians and other Latin Americans work, pray and witness in the Muslim world and in post-Christian Europe. Korean missionaries may be found in all continents. Africans criss-cross their continent with the gospel, sometimes intentionally, sometimes as refugees. African and Filipino nurses gossip the gospel as they care skilfully for patients in British hospitals. Migration, voluntary or enforced, takes Christians across every geographical boundary. The Asian, African and Latin American diasporas are contributing to the revitalisation of churches and denominations in Europe and Northern America. Rubbing shoulders with others In 1910 most professing Christians kept largely within their own communities, and Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and infant Pentecostal streams had little to do with each other. Protestantism was itself fractured into many sub-divisions, and these did not always relate well among themselves. Yet since the eighteenth century Evangelicals have worked together cross-denominationally in interdenominational agencies and have also played a full part within theologically-mixed denominations, such as the Anglican, Lutheran and Reformed communions. Structural church unity has not been of such high importance among Evangelicals as it has been among some others, particularly non-Evangelical Protestants. Further, Evangelicals focus on Word and Spirit rather than being sacramentalist, they recognise only baptism and the Lord’s Supper as sacraments, and they do not regard ministerial ordination as essential for church leadership. Therefore, the gap between Evangelical ecclesiology and Roman Catholic or Orthodox ecclesiologies is even wider than would be the case for some non-Evangelical Protestants. Some Evangelicals practise infant baptism of believing parents, on the grounds of covenantal theology; some practise only believer’s baptism. The true Church is seen as the company of those who have personal faith in Christ, not those who have undergone a particular rite. Apostolic doctrine, not apostolic succession, is the basis of unity. Many Evangelicals practise inter-communion, welcoming to the Lord’s Table ‘all those who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ’; others follow a more restrictive practice. This makes cross-denominational unity among like-minded Evangelicals comparatively straightforward, but presents fundamental barriers to unity with non-Evangelicals configured on sacramental grounds or dependent on apostolic succession of ordination. Now, in the early years of the twenty-first century, the picture worldwide is very complex. Churches in the Global South quite rightly do not wish to be crippled through inheriting long-ago or far-distant theological tangles from Western church history. Where they find themselves as a small minority, even a persecuted minority, in the face of a dominant and possibly hostile world religion, some of the church differences, in both theology and praxis, may assume less importance than has been the case in the North. This may lead to co-operation in ways of which their Western counterparts would still be wary. At the same time, Protestantism in general, including Evangelicalism, is inherently vulnerable to fragmentation. In the Global South, this has sometimes taken the form of break-ups along tribal lines, or in

traditionally Confucian cultures churches or even denominations may cluster around strong leaders. It is a short step after that to phenomena such as the African Independent Churches, or some of the Chinese house churches, which, with little accountability to the wider Church, can vary from the very orthodox to profoundly heretical. Evangelicals continue to wrestle with issues of appropriate, biblically faithful contextualisation. For Latin Americans, that also inescapably involves how to relate to the Roman Catholic Church. For Greek, Russian, Ethiopian or Egyptian Evangelicals, among others, the question is how to relate to the Orthodox churches of those nations. The difficulty in these relationships becomes all the more poignant when set alongside issues of relating to other world faiths, from whom distance is far greater. In a way not possible a century ago, Evangelicals have for a long time been engaged in deep and mutually respectful conversations with Roman Catholics. Missionaries and academic missiologists from several traditions have benefited from each other ’s writings and research. This attempt at civilised conversation has not always reached down to the grass roots, and it would in any case be foolish to suggest that all matters of disagreement – some of them quite fundamental – have been resolved, or will be resolved any time soon. Nonetheless, in some parts of the world, in the face of aggressive secularism or another world faith, Evangelicals and Roman Catholics have worked hard at giving common voice wherever possible, especially on ethical issues or issues of human rights. Evangelicals are not one tidy monochrome body. There is great diversity among them. But then today there is also great diversity among all the other branches of the Christian family – Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Pentecostal. Yet, wherever in the world they may be, Evangelicals experience fellowship in a spiritual bond based upon personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, a desire to be shaped by the Scriptures and a commitment to obedience to Christ´s missionary mandate. The ability to engage in mission without the development of complex ecclesiastical structures facilitates forms of co-operation and consultation within a multifaceted global Evangelical fellowship. Today the Evangelical family can be found all around the world, and Evangelicals continue to be at the forefront of mission to people groups and sub-groups where Christ is least known. Evangelicals would affirm the desire to bring the gospel to all peoples, everywhere. In today’s world, with its swirling migration and mass media, as well as its acute social needs, war and suffering, Evangelicals have become global citizens as never before. World faiths are no longer ‘over there’ but everywhere. Evangelicals believe that it is in this context that those who name the name of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour must give themselves once again, and with renewed commitment, to ‘the evangelisation of the world in this generation’: not to extend a human empire, even that of the Church, but so that the one and only King of kings may be honoured as he alone deserves.

ROSEMARY DOWSETT AND SAMUEL ESCOBAR David W. Bebbington and Mark A. Noll (eds), A History of Evangelicalism, 5 vols (Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 2004). David Claydon (ed.), A New Vision, A New Heart, A Renewed Call, 3 vols (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2005). C. René Padilla (ed.), The New Face of Evangelicalism: An International Symposium on the Lausanne Covenant (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1976). John Stott (ed.), Making Christ Known: Historic Mission Documents from the Lausanne Movement 1974–1989 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996). William D. Taylor (ed.), Global Missiology for the 21st Century: The Iguassu Dialogue (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2000).

Evangelicals by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 USA Britain Germany Sweden Australia Netherlands Canada Norway South Africa Finland

Evangelicals 37,114,000 19,698,000 4,257,000 3,246,000 1,826,000 1,777,000 1,682,000 1,447,000 1,165,000 595,000

Highest percentage* 2010 USA Brazil Nigeria Ethiopia Britain Kenya India South Korea Indonesia Tanzania

Evangelicals 42,000,000 29,500,000 28,376,000 11,640,000 11,600,000 10,600,000 10,100,000 10,000,000 7,750,000 6,560,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 % Evangelical Samoa 75.1 French Polynesia 62.3 Norway 60.3 Fiji 60.0 Sweden 59.4 New Zealand 51.9 Britain 48.8 USA 42.2 Australia 41.4 Virgin Is of the US 40.1

Fastest growth* 2010 % Evangelical Vanuatu 35.4 Bahamas 30.3 Barbados 29.3 Solomon Islands 28.2 Kenya 26.1 Central African Rep 24.6 Papua New Guinea 22.7 Saint Vincent 21.9 Angola 20.8 South Korea 20.5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Rwanda Ivory Coast Burkina Faso Chad Burundi Viet Nam Central African Rep Nepal Sudan Philippines

*Countries >100,000

% p.a. 12.92 12.73 12.61 12.53 12.50 12.45 12.34 11.33 11.32 10.65

2000–2010 Armenia Tunisia Burkina Faso Sahara Niger Mauritania Albania Guinea-Bissau Cambodia Mongolia

% p.a. 13.54 12.79 6.67 6.58 6.22 5.97 5.78 5.60 5.53 4.90

97

EVANGELICALS

had come, and therefore raised different and often very urgent questions if the Christian faith were to be faithfully incarnated. At the initiative of Billy Graham, a Congress on Evangelism was convened in Berlin in 1966, followed by a series of similar regional conferences that showed the global development of the Evangelical movement and the ongoing questioning about Western missionary action and theology. The process of consultation and reflection culminated in 1974 in Switzerland in what came to be known as ‘the Lausanne Congress’. In many respects this was a natural successor to Edinburgh 1910, bringing together Evangelicals who longed to see ‘the evangelisation of the world in this generation’. What was entirely different from 1910 was that at Lausanne many of the delegates came from the Global South and were full contributors, such as René Padilla, Gottfried Osei-Mensah and Saphir Athyal. In fact, it was their passionate input that shaped the abiding legacy of the Lausanne Congress and the movement that emerged from it. The Evangelicalism of the Global South had not only come of age, it pointed to what would become increasingly clear in the following decades – that Latin Americans, Africans and Asians were to hear and voice out God´s prophetic word for a rapidly changing world. In particular, Latin Americans became the means through whom Evangelicals were called back to their wholistic roots. For Latin Americans, merely pietistic faith and reductionist evangelism were a travesty of the gospel. Authentic mission must engage with the whole of life in every dimension, including issues of structural injustice, political repression, Marxism, exploitation of the poor by the powerful (who are often associated with church structures), and the acute suffering engendered by rapid urbanisation and industrialisation. Sin and salvation took on reenlarged dimensions, without losing sight of the need for individual men and women and children to be reconciled with God through faith in Christ. The Lausanne Covenant became one of the most significant mission statements of the twentieth century, with its call to re-unite evangelism and social action. Not that the discussion finished there. On the one hand, certain sectors of Evangelicals continued to insist that evangelism must always be primary and that social action that did not serve evangelism was a distraction. This group within Evangelicalism continue to generate plans and strategies that focus on telling the gospel to everybody who has not yet heard it within the shortest possible timeframe. This emphasis is heightened by the conviction that the Lord’s return is imminent and can be hastened, and by the conviction that the present world is so doomed for destruction that nothing in it is worth bothering about. On the other hand, other Evangelicals have increasingly engaged in wholistic mission, or, sensing an implicit dualism in the relationship between evangelism and social action as expressed in the Lausanne Covenant, have moved beyond that to integral mission, for example, as expressed in the Micah Declaration. Today, with two out of every three professing Christians located in the Global South, and with a large percentage of these believers struggling with acute poverty, disease, natural disaster and injustice, the comprehensiveness of the gospel is as live an issue as ever among Evangelicals. Yet out of suffering and weakness, new patterns of discipleship have arisen as mission follows the pattern of the Lord Jesus’ own achievement through suffering and weakness. Some of the churches of the Global South are vibrant and growing fast. Some, like the Chinese Church, have

Evangelicals, 1910–2010

H

ere ‘Evangelicals’ are defined as a subdivision mainly Evangelicals by province, 2010 of Protestants and Anglicans consisting of all affiliated church members calling themselves Evangelicals, or all persons belonging to Evangelical congregations, churches or denominations. Others use this term to refer to a broader phenomenon, sometimes with few or many evangelicals outside of the Protestant tradition. Thus, estimates for the current global total range from 263 million here to 700 million (Great Commission Christians in Part V). Of the world’s current 239 countries, almost 25% (58) had no reported Evangelicals within their borders in 1910, whereas only seven had no Christians at all. Evangelicals were concentrated in Northern America (over 48% of the global total) and Northern Europe (43%), primarily in the USA and Britain (46% and 25% of the global total respectively). Another 8% lived in Western Europe. In the Global South, Evangelicals were found mostly in British colonies. By 2010, however, Evangelicalism has undergone a transformation similar to that of Christianity in general. The USA and Britain have seen their shares of the global total fall to 16% and 4%, respectively. Today 75% of Evangelicals live in the Global South. Eastern Africa, Latin America South America and Western Africa collectively were Between 1910 and 2010 Evangelicals as a share of all home to less than 1.3% of the world’s Evangelicals in Christians grew tenfold in Central and South America (as 1910; that figure is now over 45%. Evangelical populawell as in Northern Africa), while falling by more than half in tions in Brazil, Nigeria and Ethiopia have exploded. nine other regions. Each now has more Evangelicals than Britain (where Evangelicals declined by more than 40% over the last century). Reflecting this, the Evangelical centre of gravity ProvRelig_Evangelical Per cent Evangelical has shifted from the North Atlantic Ocean in 1910 to eastern Burkina Faso in 2010, some 750 km (460 miles) 0 2 5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 south of the Christian centre of gravity in Mali. = Few or none Despite this worldwide expansion and a more than threefold increase in numbers over the last century, Provincial data for Evangelicals are estimated by applying national percentages to provincial there are relatively fewer Evangelicals today than 100 data on all Christians. years ago. Their share of the general population has dropped from 4.6% in 1910 to 3.8% in 2010. Likewise, the proportion of all Christians who are Evangelicals has fallen from 13.1% in 1910 to 11.4% today. The situation is similar on a regional basis. In 1910 Evangelicals exceeded 40% of the total population not only in Northern America and in Northern Europe but also in Australia/New Zealand and in Polynesia (where just over 50% of residents were Evangelicals). At least 40% of all Christians were Evangelicals in Southern Africa and Melanesia as well. A century later, although they have seen great growth in some areas, Evangelicals make up no more than 20% of the total population of any region except in Melanesia. In only two do they constitute more than 20% of the Christian population: Latin Northern Northern Western Africa (where, at 33%, their share is virtually unAmerica Asia Oceania Asia America Africa America 1910 changed from 1910) and Eastern Africa (where it almost Europe Evangelicals by country:Asia percentage of2010 total population Europe Africa Oceania Asia Latin Europe Europe 1910 Africa Latin tripled, from 8% to Oceania 22%). Northern 1910 Northern

Largest Evangelical traditions by membership, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Evangelical1910 Tradition Tradition size 2.4% Baptistic-Pentecostal or Keswick-Pentecostal 72,092,000 3.1% 1.8% Baptist 31,790,000 Reformed, Presbyterian 12,632,000 Holiness-Pentecostal: 3-crisis-experience 11,810,000 Low Church Anglican 43.1% 11,681,000 48.4% Holiness (Wesleyan, Free Methodist) 10,466,000 Protestant Evangelicals 10,447,000 Evangelical Anglican 9,490,000 1.1% Lutheran 8,353,000 Anglican, of plural or mixed traditions 7,436,000 0 0.001

2

5

10

 Evangelical traditions

Evangelical Evangelicalism’s southward shift, fuelled by the rise of Independent

and Renewalist movements, evidences itself in the largest Evangelical traditions. A comparison of size and congregation count shows smaller bodies of believers in Evangelicalism than in other Christian traditions.

0 0.001

2

5

10

40

60

Largest traditions by congregations, 2010

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

98

Tradition Baptistic-Pentecostal or Keswick-Pentecostal Baptist Holiness (Wesleyan, Free Methodist) Holiness-Pentecostal: 3-crisis-experience Protestant Evangelicals Reformed, Presbyterian Methodist (mainline Methodist) Lutheran Independent Baptist Independent Disciple, Restorationist, Christian

75

Congregations 341,000 97,400 62,700 49,500 34,000 31,700 23,200 21,000 19,700 17,300

60

Latin America

Oceania Africa

2010

2010

1910 40

!

America

America America

America

1910

75

85

90

95

2.4% 3.1% 1.8%

1.9%

1.9%

16.7%

16.7%

39.7%

39.7% 18.3%

18.3%

43.1%

48.4%

15.2%

15.2% 8.3%

1.1%

Africa

Asia

Europe

Latin America

Northern America

Oceania

1.2%  Evangelicals by continent 3.1% Northern America and Europe were home to over 90% of all Evangelicals in 1910. By 2010 that figure had shrunk to 25%, largely due to secularisation and the global shift southward of Christianity. In 2010 Africa is the continent with the highest percentage of Evangelicals, 40% of the global total. Most of these live in Eastern or Western 85nearly 90 95 Africa. Latin America also has a larger percentage of Evangelicals than Northern America, and Asia has almost twice as many as Europe.

1.2%

EvangelicalOfAC

0 0.001

2

5

10

40

60

75

1910

Evangelicals by major tradition 1910 Adherents % Anglican 10,695,000 13.3 Catholic 1,001,000 1.2 Independent 13,049,000 16.3 Marginal 8,000 0.0 Orthodox 109,000 0.1 Protestant 55,329,000 69.0

8.3%

Legend same as above

2010 1910–2010 Adherents13.3% % Rate* 34,087,000 12.9 0.99 2,741,000 16.3% 1.0 0.84 37,895,000 14.4 0.89 69.0% 109,000 0.0 2.45 820,000 0.3 1.87 187,812,000 71.3 1.01

85

90

39.7%

 Evangelicals by country, 2010: Percentage of Christian population 1.9% One special3.1% feature of Evangelicalism is that a Christian from any tradition can embrace it in any region of the world. It is not subject to any national or traditional boundaries like most other Christian traditions (for example, Orthodoxy and Catholicism). More than 15% of Christians in Morocco are Evangelicals. The figure is near 50% in Nepal and South Korea. In 43 countries (26 of which are in Europe), however, Evangelicals are less than 2% of all Christians. San Marino has no known Evangelicals. 95

2010

1910

2010

1910

12.9%

13.3%

14.4%

16.3% 69.0%

71.3%

 Evangelicals by major Christian tradition, 1910–2010

Evangelical centre of gravity

2010 !

EVANGELICALS

Island nations Historically, island nations have been the most Evangelical. They claimed the top two spots and five of the top ten in 1910. This continues in 2010 (the top four and six of the top ten), although first-place Marshall Islands is only 45% Evangelical.

Falling percentages Between 1910 and 2010 Evangelicals’ shares of both the total and Christian populations fell from about 42% to less than 15% in each of Australia/New Zealand, Northern America and Northern Europe.

Evangelicals by UN region, 1910 and 2010 Population Africa 124,228,000 Eastern Africa 33,030,000 Middle Africa 19,443,000 Northern Africa 32,002,000 Southern Africa 6,819,000 Western Africa 32,933,000 Asia 1,028,265,000 Eastern Asia 556,096,000 South-central Asia 345,121,000 South-eastern Asia 94,104,000 Western Asia 32,944,000 Europe 427,154,000 Eastern Europe 178,184,000 Northern Europe 61,474,000 Southern Europe 76,940,000 Western Europe 110,556,000 Latin America 78,269,000 Caribbean 8,172,000 Central America 20,777,000 South America 49,320,000 Northern America 94,689,000 Oceania 7,192,000 Australia/New Zealand 5,375,000 Melanesia 1,596,000 Micronesia 89,400 Polynesia 131,000 Global total 1,759,797,000

1910 Evangelicals 1,943,000 444,000 58,800 41,200 1,212,000 186,000 1,465,000 387,000 634,000 381,000 62,800 34,565,000 1,582,000 26,213,000 81,500 6,688,000 895,000 429,000 97,400 369,000 38,803,000 2,522,000 2,328,000 105,000 22,700 65,700 80,192,000

Evangelical growth rates* by UN region, 100-year and 10-year % Population 1.6 1,032,012,000 1.3 332,107,000 0.3 129,583,000 0.1 206,295,000 17.8 56,592,000 0.6 307,436,000 0.1 4,166,308,000 0.1 1,562,575,000 0.2 1,777,378,000 0.4 594,216,000 0.2 232,139,000 8.1 730,478,000 0.9 290,755,000 42.6 98,352,000 0.1 152,913,000 6.0 188,457,000 1.1 593,696,000 5.2 42,300,000 0.5 153,657,000 0.7 397,739,000 41.0 348,575,000 35.1 35,491,000 43.3 25,647,000 6.6 8,589,000 25.4 575,000 50.2 680,000 4.6 6,906,560,000

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

2010 Evangelicals 104,475,000 47,619,000 12,129,000 2,291,000 5,100,000 37,336,000 40,140,000 13,319,000 11,919,000 14,648,000 253,000 21,778,000 4,020,000 14,297,000 632,000 2,829,000 48,118,000 3,478,000 7,409,000 37,231,000 44,000,000 4,953,000 2,965,000 1,862,000 74,400 50,600 263,464,000

Rate* 1910–2010 % 1910

% 10.1A 14.3A1 9.4A2 1.1A3 9.0A4 12.1A5 1.0C 0.9C1 0.7C2 2.5C3 0.1C4 3.0E 1.4E1 14.5E2 0.4E3 1.5E4 8.1 L 8.2L1 4.8L2 9.4L3 12.6N 14.0P 11.6P1 21.7P2 12.9P3 7.4P4 3.8zG 0% 0

% 2010 4.07 4.79 5.47 4.10 1.45 5.45 3.37 3.60 2.98 3.72 1.40 -0.46 0.94 -0.60 2.07 -0.86 4.07 2.11 4.43 4.72 0.13 0.68 0.24 2.92 1.19 -0.26 1.20

20

40 50% 60

80

100% 100

Evangelicals

Population

Rate* 2000–2010

2.14A 2.33 A1 1.91 A2 1.88 A3 2.14 A4 2.26 A5 1.41C 1.04 C1 1.65 C2 1.86 C3 1.97 C4 0.54E 0.49 E1 0.47 E2 0.69 E3 0.53 E4 2.05L 1.66 L1 2.02 L2 2.11 L3 1.31N 1.61P 1.57 P1 1.70 P2 1.88 P3 1.66 P4 1.38 zG -2 -2

2.79 2.31A 2.85 2.59A1 3.32 2.86A2 1.95 1.69A3 0.85 0.86A4 2.89 2.53A5 2.31 1.18C 2.34 0.57C1 2.57 1.60C2 2.08 1.34C3 1.93 1.90C4 0.30 0.03E 1.32 -0.47E1 0.05 0.42E2 0.95 0.48E3 0.09 0.27E4 2.77 1.28L 1.52 0.92L1 2.68 1.26L2 2.91 1.32L3 0.55 1.00N 1.58 1.33P 0.42 1.10P1 3.79 2.06P2 2.11 1.47P3 0.49 1.04P4 2.06 1.21zG

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 88 9 10 10 11 12 12

-2 -2

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 8 9 10 11

99

Pentecostals (Renewalists), 1910–2010

P

entecostalism began in the early 1900s, so when the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference convened in 1910 Pentecostalism was just a few years old. Although it had already spread into some 50 countries, numbers of adherents were comparatively small and marginal. For the Pentecostals, the Edinburgh event was hardly noticed: they were not invited to attend, and their work was unrecognised, but these were very early days. By 1920 Pentecostalism was already a global movement operating in at least 40 countries outside the Western world, and the phenomenon of independency was already beginning to unravel. A prevailing assumption at Edinburgh was that Christianity would not flourish without white missionary control; Pentecostalism proved this wrong and probably became the main contributor to the reshaping of Christianity from a predominantly Western to a predominantly non-Western phenomenon during the twentieth century. The global proliferation of Pentecostalism and the essential characteristics that made it ultimately the most successful Christian missionary movement of the twentieth century will be outlined here. Pentecostalism has polynucleated origins, a global orientation and network, and inherent migrating tendencies that, coupled with its strong individualism, made it fundamentally a multidimensional missionary movement. Pentecostalism has always been a missionary movement in foundation and essence. It emerged with a firm conviction that the Spirit had been poured out in ‘signs and wonders’ in order for the nations of the world to be reached for Christ before the end of the age. Its missionaries proclaimed a ‘full gospel’ that included individual salvation, physical healing, personal holiness, baptism with the Spirit, and a life on the edge lived in expectation of the imminent return of Christ. Pentecostals today are among the most significant players in Christian missions, with perhaps three-quarters of Pentecostals in the Majority World. It is not only in terms of overall numbers and geographic distribution that there have been fundamental changes in Christianity. The most dramatic growth has been in Pentecostal and Charismatic churches, many of which are independent of both Western ‘mainline’ and ‘classical Pentecostal’ (Western-founded) denominations. Whereas older Protestant churches bemoan their ever-decreasing memberships and possible demise in the West in the early twenty-first century, a dramatic church growth continues to take place in Pentecostal and Independent Pentecostal-like churches outside the Western world and in migrant communities in the West. The variety in culture, religion, politics and economy is so enormous that global Pentecostalism defies simple explanation. A century ago, the developing world suffered through the hardships of poverty and lack of access to healthcare and education, and these led to a reach towards religion as an escape from the problems of life. Although the economy has improved a great deal in some Asian countries, many in the Majority World suffer from extreme poverty. Pentecostal beliefs and practices were welcomed among the poor from the beginning of the movement, when its rapid growth came from its distinctive teaching on empowerment by the Spirit, accompanied by external signs such as speaking in tongues or healing. The latter in particular was an important reason for conversions in many Pentecostal churches in various countries, because medical care services were (and still are) often inadequate or non-existent. Pentecostalism has grown among the socially neglected and the poor because it promises a better way of life for them. The message of God’s blessings and hope was developed through the influence of social conditions. In many countries, upward social mobility has taken place among Pentecostals. Society now tends to be more open and provides a window of opportunity for Pentecostal-Charismatic believers to be involved in social and political matters. Buddhism, Confucianism and Hinduism in Asia, folk Catholicism in Latin America, and Christianity and Islam in Africa are mixed with ancient shamanistic beliefs and an emphasis on a world of spirits. Pentecostalism’s stress on spiritual experience and its understanding of the spiritual world has attracted many young people, and ‘power encounters’ practised by Pentecostals have been an effective instrument in bringing people to Christ. Emotional experiences and expressions in one’s religious life and the central need

100

for healing are significant in the Majority World, which may help explain why Pentecostalism has thrived there. Pentecostalism’s lively music and enthusiastic singing accompanied by diverse instruments attract many young people in particular. With eyes closed during worship and arms often raised heavenwards, the desire of numerous worshippers in the Pentecostal tradition is to be overwhelmed by the presence of God. Pentecostalism’s holistic spirituality, its dynamic worship, the exercising of spiritual gifts, prayer with fasting, dawn prayer and all-night prayer meetings have contributed to its growth. Pentecostals also emphasise an involved community life – at regular small-group and prayer meetings, believers discover their identity as members of the church. The involvement of women and laypeople in ministry, seldom available in non-Pentecostal churches in the past, was one of the important factors in early progress. Other growth factors included active participation in mission, other-worldliness as a form of escape from harsh realities, and a premillennial eschatology that posited the imminent end of an evil world.

Pentecostalism has polynucleated origins, a global orientation and network, and inherent migrating tendencies that, coupled with its strong individualism, made it fundamentally a multidimensional missionary movement. Charismata or ‘spiritual gifts’ and ecstatic or ‘enthusiastic’ forms of Christianity have been found in all ages, albeit sometimes at the margins of the ‘established’ Church, and they have often been a characteristic of the Church’s missionary advance, from the early Church to the pioneer Catholic missionaries of the Middle Ages. It took new revival movements in the nineteenth century, especially of the Methodist and Holiness type and among radical Protestants who espoused similar ideas, to stimulate a restoration of spiritual gifts to accompany an end-time missionary thrust. The Azusa Street Revival in downtown Los Angeles (1906–9), led by the African American preacher William Seymour, was undoubtedly the most significant of these early twentieth-century revival movements in the USA that were formative in the process of creating a distinct Pentecostal identity. An outpouring of the Spirit, accompanied by spiritual gifts with a pneumatological emphasis on dependence on the leading of the Holy Spirit, provided a distinctive stance toward mission in the world. The publication of magazines and periodicals like Azusa Street’s The Apostolic Faith and their international distribution, informed people of the news of the revivals and reports from missionaries. The interracial and intercultural features of the revivals boosted essential aspects of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, especially the empowerment and reconciliation of believers. The Azusa Street Revival was the main cause for the rapid internationalising of American Pentecostalism, and missionaries from the USA went out to Africa, Europe, India, China and Latin America within two years. From 1912 to 1916 American Pentecostalism began to split into many different denominations on theological and racial grounds, a schismatic tendency that was exported with its missionaries. But there were other similar movements at this time, the most noteworthy of which was the revival in the Mukti Mission near Pune, India (1905–7) under the famous Brahmin Christian woman Pandita Ramabai. This revival lasted for a year and a half and resulted in 1,100 baptisms at Ramabai’s school and the witnessing of some 700 of the young women who had experienced Spirit baptism spreading themselves out to preach in the surrounding villages in teams, about 100 going out daily and sometimes for as long as a month at a time. These ‘praying bands’ spread the revival wherever they went, and some remarkable healings were reported. The revival, in which many of these women also spoke in tongues, had at least four far-reaching consequences. First, it is clear that witnesses of the Los Angeles revival such as Frank Bartleman, William Seymour

and the writers of The Apostolic Faith saw the Indian revival as a precedent to the one in which they were involved. But these revivals, also including the Welsh Revival from 1904–5, the revival in the Khassi Hills in North-East India in 1905, the Korean revivals beginning in 1903 and 1907, and the Manchurian Revival of 1910 were probably simultaneous rather than sequential events in a general period of revival in the evangelical world accompanying the beginning of the century. Second, women played a more prominent role in the Indian revival than in the American one; in fact, the Indian revival was almost entirely led by and promoted by women. This illustrates Pentecostalism’s early social activism, empowering the marginalised and oppressed for service and bestowing dignity on women. The third consequence was that both Ramabai in her ministry and the revival she led demonstrated an openness to other Christians, an ecumenicity and inclusiveness that stand in stark contrast to the rigid exclusivism of most subsequent Pentecostal movements. This was undoubtedly one result of the pluralistic context of India and of Ramabai’s indebtedness to her own cultural and religious training in Brahmin philosophy and national consciousness, despite her later Christian fundamentalism. Ramabai was to use the revival to illustrate the need for a truly Indian form of Christianity. It has been Pentecostalism’s ability to adapt to different religious and cultural contexts that has been one of its strengths. And fourth was the impact of the Indian revival on Latin American Pentecostalism. Minnie Abrams, Ramabai’s close associate, contacted a friend and former Methodist Bible school classmate in Valparaiso, Chile, May Louise Hoover and her husband Willis, with a report of the revival in Mukti. That report was contained in a booklet Abrams wrote in 1906, titled The Baptism of the Holy Ghost and Fire, which included a discussion of the restoration of speaking in tongues – the first written Pentecostal theology of Spirit baptism. As a result of Abrams’ booklet and her subsequent correspondence with the Hoovers, the Methodist churches in Valparaiso and Santiago were stirred to expect and pray for a similar revival, which began in 1909. The Hoovers became leaders of the new Chilean Methodist Pentecostal Church that resulted from their being expelled from the Methodist Episcopal Church. Chilean Pentecostalism has its roots in the Mukti Revival and was specifically a Methodist revival that did not promote a doctrine of ‘initial evidence’, a belief that speaking in tongues would invariably follow Spirit baptism, the dominant doctrine of Northern American Pentecostalism. An alternative to the ‘initial evidence’ form of Pentecostalism was developing globally, and Mukti was its earliest expression. Pentecostalism has always had revival centres for international pilgrimage, and Azusa Street and the Mukti Mission were probably the most prominent of the earliest centres. A revival known as the ‘Korean Pentecost’ began in 1907 in P’yongyang, North Korea, and the fire of the Spirit spread around cities as people continued to come to God. Movements of the Holy Spirit were led by Sun-Joo Gil with an emphasis on eschatological faith, by Ik-Doo Kim underscoring divine miracles such as healings, and by Yong-Do Lee focusing on the suffering Jesus. The nature of these meetings was exactly like Pentecostal gatherings. In March 1928 the first Pentecostal missionary, Mary C. Rumsey, arrived in Korea to work with a Salvation Army worker, Heong Huh, who became the first Korean leader of the Korean Assemblies of God. Yonggi Cho’s ministry from the late 1950s has had an enormous influence on the growth of Pentecostalism in South Korea. By the early 1990s his church had become the largest single congregation in the world, with a reported membership of 700,000. The various revival movements were all part of a series of events that resulted in the emergence of global Pentecostalism. Missionaries from these movements went out into faith missions and independent missions, some joining Holiness and radical evangelical organisations like the Christian and Missionary Alliance, and then became Pentecostal. Another very important aspect of early Pentecostalism was its impact upon Independent churches, especially in Africa, India and China. The evidence that Pentecostalism converged with and strongly influenced the

churches that form the majority of Christians has much to do with early Pentecostal missions. There are indications that Pentecostal missionaries tapped into a new phenomenon that was particularly strong in South Africa. Clearly, many of the early Pentecostal ‘converts’ in South Africa were already members of Christian churches, especially African Independent ones. Although many of the largest Independent churches in Southern Africa may no longer be described as ‘Pentecostal’ without further qualification, the most characteristic features of their theology and praxis are overwhelmingly Pentecostal. In the case of South Africa, this was also influenced by the Zionist healing movement of John Alexander Dowie, whose Zion City near Chicago was supposed to be a utopian theocracy at the close of the nineteenth century, but which had a spectacular demise at the time Pentecostalism was born. Africans began to create their own cities of Zion. Healing, prophecy, speaking in tongues, baptism by immersion (usually threefold), and even the rejection of medicine and the eating of pork are some of these features that remain among these African churches. Whatever their motivations might have been, early Pentecostal missions were unwittingly catalysts for a much larger movement of the Spirit that was to dominate African Christianity for the rest of the twentieth century. Pentecostalism has survived in a history of revivals throughout the twentieth century. John Sung’s charismatic healing evangelism in China and throughout South-eastern Asia from 1927 to 1940 had a great impact upon Chinese Christianity in the region. From the 1930s to the 1960s the Hong Kong actress, Kong Duen Yee (Mui Yee), played a significant role in a Pentecostal revival movement. Her stress on the baptism of the Spirit and speaking in tongues created quite a stir among the Chinese people. In the Indonesian island of (west) Timor a revival started in a congregation of the Gereja Masehi Injili di Timor (Evangelical Christian Church of Timor). On 25 September 1965 the whole region experienced an outpouring of the Holy Spirit; the Church in Timor doubled in size within six years. This revival was accompanied by reports of gifts of discernment, revelations through visions and dreams, speaking in tongues, divine healings, and water turning into wine. In the Philippines Pentecostalism was first established by migrant Filipinos who had met with the movement in the USA. In 1953 Assemblies of God missionary Lester Sumrall established Bethel Temple in Manila (now known as the Cathedral of Praise); the church grew rapidly with Pentecostal gifts and an emphasis on Spirit baptism. In 1978 Eddie Villanueva formed the Jesus is Lord Church, an independent Filipino Pentecostal church that has grown rapidly and steadily with a particular emphasis on holistic mission. The Bread of Life was founded in 1982 by Butch Conde and has actively grown as a prayer movement, having its own prayer mountain, Touch of Glory. El Shaddai, a Charismatic Catholic group in the Philippines led by Mariano (‘Mike’) Verlarde, claims some 7–8 million followers in the country and another one million outside the Philippines. It supported the candidacy of Joseph Estrada for president in 1998 and has supported other candidates in more recent years. Eddie Villanueva stood as a candidate for the presidency in 2003, an example of the growing interest of Pentecostals in public affairs. Filipino Pentecostal leaders are involved in writing a column for one of the major national newspapers and run a

weekly television show which discusses religious, social and political issues. Healing evangelists have had an impact on global Pentecostalism. The American Oral Roberts was one of the most prominent, beginning a healing ministry in 1947 as a Pentecostal but eventually becoming a Methodist. His services were characterised by a huge tent and massive crowds. He also began an influential television ministry and the Oral Roberts University, and he became a promoter of the interdenominational Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International. More recently, Lebanon-born Benedictus (Bennie) Hinn has conducted monthly miracle crusades around the world through which countless people have come to Christ and had healing experiences. German Pentecostal healing evangelist Reinhard Bonnke has had phenomenal international success, especially in African cities. Latin America has proportionately the largest number of Pentecostals. There are more Pentecostals in Brazil than any other country. Luigi Francescon (1866–1964) established Italian congregations in the USA and Argentina in 1909 and then in 1910 formed the Christian Congregation in São Paulo, the first Pentecostal church in Brazil. The formation of the Assemblies of God in Brazil, the largest non-Catholic church in Latin America, began with two Swedish immigrants, Gunnar Vingren and Daniel Berg, who went to the northern Brazilian state of Pará in 1910. A second phase of 20–30 new Brazilian Pentecostal denominations arose in the 1950s, the most important being Brazil for Christ Evangelical Pentecostal Church, God is Love Pentecostal Church and the Foursquare Gospel Church. After about 1975, a third type of Pentecostal movement began, the largest being the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, a prosperity-oriented movement founded in 1977 in Rio de Janeiro by Edir Macedo that by the 1990s had a thousand churches, well over a million members and operations in over 50 countries. The countries of Brazil, Chile and Argentina have the biggest Pentecostal churches on the continent, but nearly every other Latin American and Caribbean country has also been affected by this phenomenon, often with the aid of Western missions. In countries like Guatemala, Pentecostalism may soon become more numerous than Catholicism. Pentecostalism in all its multifaceted variety, including ‘Pentecostal-like’ Independent churches and Catholic Charismatics, is one of the most significant forms of Christianity in the twentieth century. The Charismatic Movement that began in an Episcopalian church in California in 1960 and spread into the Catholic Church by 1967 was ultimately to have the greatest impact on global Christianity. Found in almost every country in the world and spanning all Christian denominations, in less than a century Pentecostal, Charismatic and associated movements have become a major new force in world Christianity.

Highest percentage*

Fastest growth*

JULIE MA AND ALLAN ANDERSON Allan Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004). Allan Anderson and Edmond Tang (eds), Asian and Pentecostal: The Charismatic Faces of Christianity in Asia (Oxford: Regnum Books, 2005). Stanley M. Burgess (ed.), New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003). Harvey Cox, Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-first Century (London: Cassell, 1996). Donald E. Miller and Tetsunao Yamamori, Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2007).

Renewalists by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Renewalists South Africa 989,000 Nigeria 111,000 USA 53,400 Germany 22,000 Trinidad & Tobago 11,800 China 2,100 India 2,000 France 1,000 Canada 1,000 North Korea 1,000

2010 China Brazil USA Nigeria India Philippines South Africa DR Congo Mexico Colombia

Renewalists 95,316,000 82,000,000 76,000,000 43,920,000 30,000,000 27,000,000 22,150,000 21,000,000 14,800,000 14,507,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 % Renewalist South Africa 16.4 Trinidad & Tobago 3.6 Nigeria 0.6 Bahamas 0.2 Guyana 0.2 Liberia 0.1 Jamaica 0.1 USA 0.1 Costa Rica 0.1 Germany 0.0

2010 Swaziland Zimbabwe South Africa Brazil Botswana Saint Vincent Vanuatu Ghana Chile DR Congo

% Renewalist 50.6 46.4 44.9 41.2 38.4 35.0 33.7 33.2 32.7 30.4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Brazil Philippines DR Congo Mexico Colombia Kenya Ghana Uganda Ethiopia Zimbabwe

*Countries >100,000

% p.a. 17.26 15.96 15.67 15.27 15.24 14.83 14.60 14.51 14.42 14.30

2000–2010 Laos Afghanistan Cambodia Burkina Faso Bangladesh Sahara Viet Nam Israel Niger India

% p.a. 13.32 12.44 8.76 6.54 6.31 5.99 5.92 5.61 5.36 5.21

101

RENEWALISTS

phenomenon of independency is incontrovertible. Pentecostal missionaries had direct contact with leaders of Independent churches, and often these leaders were members of Western Pentecostal churches or in association with them. In its emphasis on the supernatural, Pentecostalism was in sync with Chinese folk-religion; Pentecostalism’s offer of spiritual power to everyone regardless of status or achievements, and its deep suspicion of hierarchical and rationalistic Christianity, encouraged the development of new, anti-Western Independent churches. Pentecostal missionaries frequently interacted with Chinese Independent churches in this period. Their policy of creating self-supporting Chinese churches assisted in developing independency. The two largest Chinese Pentecostal denominations to arise in the 1920s and 1930s were the True Jesus Church and the Jesus Family, both of which came under both foreign and domestic influences. Strong nationalist forces formed churches totally independent of Western missions and developed a Pentecostal spirituality that was distinctively Chinese. Presently, the house church movement in China has Pentecostal and Charismatic characteristics in its worship and spirituality, and there is evidence that the majority of Chinese Christians embrace this form of Christianity. In South India, several Indian preachers associated with American Pentecostal missionary Robert Cook were instrumental in starting what are now the largest independent Pentecostal churches. These preaches include K. E. Abraham, who joined Cook in 1923, was ordained by Ramankutty Paul of the Ceylon Pentecostal Mission in 1930, and founded the Indian Pentecostal Church of God in 1934; this church is (with the Assemblies of God) one of the two largest Pentecostal denominations in India. Paul and his associate Alwin de Alwis were connected with missionaries Anna Lewini and Walter Clifford in Colombo, Ceylon, before, in 1921, commencing the Ceylon Pentecostal Mission, a unique independent Pentecostal church that encouraged celibacy for its pastors and community living for its members. There are now many large independent Pentecostal churches throughout India, even in the predominantly Hindu north. The pressures of religious change occurring in colonial Africa at the end of the nineteenth century resulted in many movements of resistance to Western colonial ideologies. The ‘Ethiopian’ secessions that began in South Africa and Nigeria towards the end of the nineteenth century were to set a pattern for the next century. Secession was not a peculiarly African phenomenon, as Africans were simply continuing what had become commonplace in European Protestantism. The entrance of Pentecostalism into the African melting pot had the effect of stimulating new and more radically transforming forms of Independent churches. The first ‘Ethiopian’ Independent churches were overshadowed in the early twentieth century by new, rapidly growing ‘prophet-healing’ churches or churches of the Spirit – so named because of their emphasis on the power of the Spirit in healing, prophecy and speaking in tongues. Along the coast of west Africa, churches associated with the Liberian prophet William Wade Harris and the Nigerian healing revivalist Garrick Sokari Braide emerged. They were later followed by churches in south-western Nigeria known by the Yoruba term Aladura (‘owners of prayer’) from the 1920s onwards, where the emphasis was on prayer for healing. In Southern Africa today, the existence of large and strong ‘Zionist’ and ‘Apostolic’ Independent

Pentecostals (Renewalists), 1910–2010

O

ver the past 100 years the Renewalist movement Renewalists by province, 2010 (a shorthand term for the worldwide Pentecostal/ Charismatic/Neocharismatic Renewal in the Holy Spirit) has grown at almost five times the rate of global Christianity. Renewalists came in three waves over the twentieth century. The First Wave are Pentecostals, individuals who are members of Pentecostal denominations. The Second Wave are Charismatics, members of nonpentecostal churches who have been filled with the Holy Spirit. Thus, individuals do not have to leave their home denomination or Christian tradition to embrace the beliefs of the Renewalist tradition. One can easily be a Lutheran Charismatic, Catholic Charismatic, or any other kind of Charismatic. Such adherents still follow the tenets of their respective Christian traditions but Azusa Street Revival also incorporate the doctrine of the modern-day power In 1906 William J. Seymour, an African American of the Holy Spirit, often including the spiritual gifts of preacher, led a series of revival meetings in Los tongues, prophecy and supernatural healing. Lastly, Angeles, California that sparked the rapid spread neocharismatics are followers of the Third Wave, usually of Pentecostalism not only in the USA, but to the entire world. found in Independent churches, experiencing the same gifts of the Holy Spirit but without accepting the same terminology or polity. In 1910 the largest three Renewalist populations were in South Africa, Nigeria and the USA. South Africa contained a much higher concentration of Pentecostal Christians than any other country after missionaries founded numerous churches under that authority in the early twentieth century. Wherever Christianity reached during the twentieth century, to a large extent the Renewal did as well. Countries where large populations held to animistic and spiritist traditions generally ProvRelig_Renewal Per cent Renewalist embraced the Renewal due to its emphasis on signs, wonders and miracles – phenomena compatible with 0 2 5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 those in their former tribal religions. One example of = Few or none this is sub-Saharan Africa, which moved largely from ethnoreligions to Christianity in the past century. Provincial data for Renewalists are estimated by applying national percentages to provincial By 2010 the centre of gravity of global Christianity data on all Christians. had moved southward, but the centre of gravity for Christian Renewalists actually moved toward the Global North. This is due to concentrations of Pentecostals, Charismatics and Neocharismatics growing in regions outside of South Africa. Many regions saw up to 15–17% growth rates where both Christians and nonbelievers embraced this form of Christianity. In 1910 there were just over one million Renewalist Christians worldwide, but by 2010 there are upwards of 614 million. This huge influx of adherents comes from a variety of ethnicities and Christian backgrounds. The Renewal is likely to continue growing in a similar fashion. The Catholic Charismatic movement is making huge strides, especially in South America. Brazil currently Latin Northern Latin Latin Africa has the largest concentration of Catholic Charismatics. America America Europe Northern America Europe America Europe Northern Oceania Africa See ‘Methodological notes’ in the Appendices America Americafor a Africa 1910 more detailed description of Renewalists.

Renewal1910

Oceania 2 5 10 40 0.0% Adherents

1.3% 4.5% 2.2%

0 0.001

Latin-rite Catholic Baptistic-Pentecostal or Keswick-Pentecostal Asia Chinese Charismatic 0.5% African Independent Pentecostal African Independent Apostolic 91.5% Brazilian/Portuguese Pentecostal White-led Charismatic Chinese Neocharismatic Holiness-Pentecostal: 3-crisis-experience African Independent Neocharismatic

60

133,130,000 77,423,000 Asia 0.5% 76,816,000 23,548,000 18,737,000 16,636,000 12,723,000 12,686,000 11,884,000 11,248,000

2

5

10

40

60

75

Largest Renewalist traditions by congregations, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Minor tradition Chinese Charismatic Baptistic-Pentecostal or Keswick-Pentecostal Chinese Neocharismatic African Independent Pentecostal Indian radio/TV believers White-led Charismatic Latin-rite Catholic Holiness-Pentecostal: 3-crisis-experience Latin American Pentecostal African Independent Apostolic

Third Wave 295 million

First Wave 65 million

Congregations 1,055,000 362,000 148,000 83,300 71,300 71,000 62,400 49,900 48,100 45,200

90

95

1.3% 4.5% 2.2%

2010

0.8%

0.8%

12.9% 26.5% 25.4%

25.4%

Wave 1

29.3%

91.5% 5.2%

Legend same as above

Africa

Asia

Europe

Latin America

Northern America

Oceania

 Renewalists by continent The pie graphs above illustrate the change among Renewalists that has occurred over the past century. Because of the concentration in South Africa, in 1910, 91.5% of adherents lived in Africa, but by 2010 this had dropped to 26.5% due to the rapid global spread of the tradition. RenewalOfAC

0 0.001

85

90

Asia

Africa Oceania

26.5%

Largest Renewalist traditions

0 0.001

85

12.9%

Renewal Many of the largest Renewalist traditions are also among the largest

Independent traditions. Comparison of these two lists reveals both the major role Independents and Renewalists play in the southward shift of global Christianity and the trend towards smaller bodies of believers in these traditions.

75

Latin America

2010

1910

Largest Renewalist traditions by adherents, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910

Renewalists by country: percentage of 2010 total population 1910

1910

Oceania Minor tradition0.0%

Asia Northern America Europe

2

5

10

40

60

75

95

2010 Adherents 19,267,000 139,210,000 313,048,000 3,000 4,817,000 137,665,000

90

29.3%

Wave 3

5.2%

 Renewalists by country, 2010: Percentage of Christian population The Christian Renewal movement has grown to such an extent that 18 countries now have a majority (over 50%) Renewalist presence among their Christians. North Korea (88.3%), Nepal (86.9%) and China (81.1%) top this list; 15 out of the 18 are located in Asia or Africa. 95

2010 Waves of renewal, 2010

Renewalists by major tradition 1910 Adherents % Anglican 1,000 0.1 Catholic 12,000 1.0 Independent 1,164,000 96.8 Marginal 0 0.0 Orthodox 0 0.0 Protestant 26,000 2.2

85

Wave 2

% 3.1 22.7 51.0 0.0 0.8 22.4

1910–2010 Rate* 10.18 9.67 5.46 5.80 11.21 8.65

Neocharismatics Pentecostals

Charismatics

First Wave 94,383,000

Second Wave 206,579,000

Third Wave 313,048,000

 Waves and traditions of Christian Renewal The Christian Renewal movement expanded in three waves or surges. The First Wave is known today as Pentecostalism. The Second Wave is the Charismatic Movement and the Third Wave consists of neocharismatic renewal outside the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements.

102 Wave 1

Wave 2

Wave 3

Yonggi Cho Yonggi Cho is the pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church (Assemblies of God) in Seoul, South Korea. This church is the world’s largest Christian congregation, with hundreds of thousands of attendees. The World Assemblies of God Fellowship has over 60 million adherents in 140 countries, with its headquarters in Seoul.

RENEWALISTS

2010 !

Renewalists centre of gravity

1910

Waves of Renewal 1. Old/Classic Pentecostalism: beginning of the Holiness movement characterised by speaking in tongues (early 1900s) 2. Charismatic Renewal: renewal in all Christian traditions, especially Roman Catholicism (mid-1900s) 3. Signs and Wonders Movement: presenting the gospel through ‘power evangelism’ (late 1900s)

!

Renewalists by UN region, 1910 and 2010 Population Africa 124,228,000 Eastern Africa 33,030,000 Middle Africa 19,443,000 Northern Africa 32,002,000 Southern Africa 6,819,000 Western Africa 32,933,000 Asia 1,028,265,000 Eastern Asia 556,096,000 South-central Asia 345,121,000 South-eastern Asia 94,104,000 Western Asia 32,944,000 Europe 427,154,000 Eastern Europe 178,184,000 Northern Europe 61,474,000 Southern Europe 76,940,000 Western Europe 110,556,000 Latin America 78,269,000 Caribbean 8,172,000 Central America 20,777,000 South America 49,320,000 Northern America 94,689,000 Oceania 7,192,000 Australia/New Zealand 5,375,000 Melanesia 1,596,000 Micronesia 89,400 Polynesia 131,000 Global total 1,759,797,000

Renewalist growth rates* by UN region, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

1910 2010 Renewalists % Population Renewalists % 1,101,000 0.9 1,032,012,000 162,664,000 15.8A 0 0.0 332,107,000 48,087,000 14.5A1 0 0.0 129,583,000 30,067,000 23.2A2 0 0.0 206,295,000 1,600,000 0.8A3 989,000 14.5 56,592,000 24,177,000 42.7A4 112,000 0.3 307,436,000 58,733,000 19.1A5 5,800 0.0 4,166,308,000 179,624,000 4.3C 3,700 0.0 1,562,575,000 104,289,000 6.7C1 2,000 0.0 1,777,378,000 32,852,000 1.8C2 100 0.0 594,216,000 41,676,000 7.0C3 0 0.0 232,139,000 807,000 0.3C4 26,300 0.0 730,478,000 31,649,000 4.3E 600 0.0 290,755,000 10,044,000 3.5E1 2,200 0.0 98,352,000 9,133,000 9.3E2 0 0.0 152,913,000 6,661,000 4.4E3 23,500 0.0 188,457,000 5,810,000 3.1E4 15,300 0.0 593,696,000 156,117,000 26.3 L 12,900 0.2 42,300,000 6,209,000 14.7L1 700 0.0 153,657,000 24,228,000 15.8L2 1,700 0.0 397,739,000 125,680,000 31.6L3 54,400 0.1 348,575,000 79,067,000 22.7N 500 0.0 35,491,000 4,889,000 13.8P 500 0.0 25,647,000 2,950,000 11.5P1 0 0.0 8,589,000 1,758,000 20.5P2 0 0.0 575,000 93,600 16.3P3 0 0.0 680,000 87,000 12.8P4 1,203,000 0.1 6,906,560,000 614,010,000 8.9zG

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

0% 0

% 1910

% 2010 5.12 16.63 16.09 12.73 3.25 6.46 10.89 10.79 10.19 13.81 11.96 7.35 10.21 8.69 14.35 5.66 9.67 6.37 11.02 11.86 7.55 9.62 9.07 12.84 9.58 9.50 6.43

20

40 50% 60

80

100% 100

Renewalists

Population

Rate* 2000–2010

2.14A 2.33 A1 1.91 A2 1.88 A3 2.14 A4 2.26 A5 1.41C 1.04 C1 1.65 C2 1.86 C3 1.97 C4 0.54E 0.49 E1 0.47 E2 0.69 E3 0.53 E4 2.05L 1.66 L1 2.02 L2 2.11 L3 1.31N 1.61P 1.57 P1 1.70 P2 1.88 P3 1.66 P4 1.38 zG -2 -2

2.50 2.31A 2.17 2.59A1 3.14 2.86A2 2.41 1.69A3 1.42 0.86A4 2.94 2.53A5 4.08 1.18C 4.64 0.57C1 5.02 1.60C2 2.25 1.34C3 1.68 1.90C4 0.63 0.03E 1.02 -0.47E1 0.60 0.42E2 0.47 0.48E3 0.21 0.27E4 1.60 1.28L 1.48 0.92L1 1.86 1.26L2 1.55 1.32L3 1.39 1.00N 2.30 1.33P 1.45 1.10P1 4.01 2.06P2 2.34 1.47P3 0.74 1.04P4 2.42 1.21zG

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 88 9 10 10 11 12 12

-2 -2

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 8 9 10 11

103

Future of global Christianity

A

t the beginning of the twenty-first century, Christianity has certainly become a global phenomenon. At the same time, it is said that Christianity is in crisis. The external environment is hostile; the internal situation is chaotic. Given the many variables, it is a very complicated task to talk about the future of global Christianity. However, a careful observation of the present will provide us with practical wisdom for tomorrow and also a platform to predict the future course of global Christianity. This essay will first identify current signposts for the future of Christianity, both positive and negative, both internal and external. It will then venture to predict what global Christianity will look like in the foreseeable future. Positive signposts First, the growth of non-Western Christianity has been phenomenal. The most positive signpost for global Christianity today is the cross-cultural expansion of Christianity in the non-Western world. Christianity in Africa, Asia and Latin America has grown at an amazing speed in recent decades. Now we have become accustomed to speaking of a shift in Christianity’s centre of gravity from the Western world to the non-Western world. It is even said that Christianity is now a non-Western religion. The cross-cultural expansion of Christianity in the non-Western world has ushered in a new era in Christian history – an era of world Christianity. There has been a recession of Christianity within its old centre in the Western world. The de-Christianisation of the West has made the West a post-Christian society. This, however, does not indicate the end of Christian history. Christianity has advanced into and blossomed at the former edges of Christianity – Africa, some parts of Asia and Latin America. The churches in some Western countries are now experiencing revitalisation due to the presence of non-Western Christian immigrants. The worldwide Christian resurgence, particularly in the non-Western world, opens a new chapter in Christian history, challenging the mental and theological habits of the Christendom era, supplying new blood for reshaping or renovating world Christianity and neutralising the attacks from secular intellectual sectors. Second, the encounter of the non-Western world with the gospel will enrich global Christianity. The global expansion of Christianity implies the global expansion of Christian theology. As the gospel is transmitted and translated into the vernacular cultures and languages of the non-Western world, the understanding of the Christian truth is enriched. The most significant aspect of the encounter of the non-Western world with the gospel will be the reformulation of Christian scholarship. Andrew Walls has compared the formulation of theological scholarship in non-Western Christianity to what happened to early Christian scholarship after Christianity entered the Greco-Roman world beyond the inspection and supervision of the Jerusalem Church, and says that ‘we can expect a change of similar magnitude in the way in which the faith of Christ is carried on’. As the encounter between Hebraism and Hellenism laid the foundation for Western Christianity and theologies in early Christian history, a new form of Christian scholarship may be expected to emerge from the nonWestern encounter with the gospel. Third, the resurgence of other religions can serve as an opportunity for global Christianity. A significant factor in the worldwide religious environment today is the resurgence of Hinduism, Buddhism and other traditional religions. The growth of Islam and its Islamisation drive in Asia and in other parts of the world is particularly noticeable. These religions offer people a meaningful hermeneutical apparatus for understanding and appreciating the world in which they live and touch the spiritual aspects of their lives. At least at the grassroots level, the resurgence of religions indicates that people need their spiritual felt-needs to be satisfied. The growth of these religions even in the West contrasts with the decline of Christianity there. This can pose a grave challenge or threat to Christianity, but it may also serve as a great opportunity for Christianity. Competing with the resurging religions, global Christianity may be pressed to reflect self-critically in order to achieve spiritual maturity and attract people to the churches. A fourth positive aspect about global Christianity is that the churches in the non-Western world are

104

mostly conservative, evangelical and spiritual. As Tan  Kang  San has observed, Christians in the nonWestern world differ from their Western counterparts by ‘their belief in the Bible as authoritative, their proclamation of Christ as the only way for salvation, and their reliance of the power of the Holy Spirit to bring renewal’. Speaking of the Singaporean context, Suppiah Dhanabalan, a prominent political leader, has said ‘Though many churches in the 1950s and 1960s were affected by liberal theologies denying some of the fundamentals of the faith, the Protestant Church in Singapore has become almost entirely evangelical in belief and teaching.’ Reflecting from within the Korean context, Sung-Ho Kim observed that ‘liberal Protestantism will continue to decline in Korea’. Worldwide, spiritual openness is seen in the growth of the Pentecostal-Charismatic churches. The Pentecostal-Charismatic movement is particularly strong in Africa, Asia and Latin America, where the lives of the people were not shaped primarily by the post-Enlightenment scientific worldview and the rationalistic intellectual tradition. Although Pentecostal-Charismatic movements may be in danger of growing without depth and of preaching a shallow ‘wealth, health and prosperity’ gospel, these movements are successful because they touch the ‘super-

World evangelisation in the twentyfirst century will be cross-generational and cross-intellectual. The challenge for the twenty-first century is to transform every aspect of society, and the worldviews of people deeply affected by secularism and pluralism, through the power of the gospel.

natural dimension’. The churches in the non-Western world are experiencing a great revival. Fifth, global Christianity attempts to communicate with the contemporary generation. The desire to indigenise the gospel in a given cultural, political and social context is said to be the ‘unvarying feature’ of Christianity. Much effort has been made to inculturate, indigenise or contextualise Christianity in recent decades. Many innovative attempts have been made to bring the Church closer to contemporary people by adopting a more culture-friendly approach in worship and church life. The challenge for Christianity is to sustain the intrinsic power of the gospel without ignoring cultural engagements. It is a positive sign that scholars not only in missiological circles but also in theological discourses pay attention to the need to contextualise theology and the Church. Today we see the rising of a global awareness that Christianity needs to engage proactively with contemporary cultures to find contact points with postmodern people. Such an effort is made at the ecclesial level, too; the emerging church movement is one example. Though in danger of becoming captive to cultural expectations, the emerging church movement at least attempts to restore the impact of the gospel upon the lives of the contemporary postmodern generation. We will see more new adventures, initiatives and experiments in missiological, theological and ecclesial circles to communicate Christian truth in ways that make sense to contemporary people within their own cultural and intellectual milieus. Negative signposts – external factors Global realities in the twenty-first century include several negative aspects that will pose a serious challenge to Christianity. These encompass both external and internal factors. The first negative signpost for global Christianity is the anti-Christian sentiment spreading globally. This anti-Christian sentiment is generated from two different fronts. One is the geopolitical front of antiWestern sentiment. After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York on 11 September 2001 and the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, anti-American and anti-Western sentiment was

generated in many parts of the non-Western world, and this has led to a series of anti-Christian terrorist attacks. In Asia, Christianity faces a hostile environment, and non-Christian Asians are becoming less tolerant towards both foreign and local Christians. The second front is the intellectual front of atheism that attacks the validity of the Christian faith. Discernible today is a globalisation of secularism and pluralism, which are becoming the Zeitgeist in the postmodern West and beyond. Second, the image of Christianity as a Western religion is globalised. It was through the modern missionary movement that Christianity became a worldwide phenomenon, and in that process Christianity came to acquire the image of a Western religion. The subsequent globalisation of the image of Western Christianity poses a problem for non-Western Christianity. Though we talk about a post-Christian West and a post-Western Christianity, the prevailing forms of Christianity in most parts of the non-Western world are still dominated by Western influences. The historical association of Christianity with the Western world is not easy to erase. Non-Western Christians are concerned about the Western image of Christianity because it is one of the stumbling blocks for evangelism in their world. The de-Westernisation of the image of Christianity is now an uphill battle for the sake of the future of non-Western Christianity. Paradoxically, the third negative external signpost is both positive (as mentioned previously) and negative. Other world religions are resurgent in the twenty-first century. Islam is engaged in an aggressive promulgation of its faith in the global context. Christianity may have to monitor closely how the former Christian territories are encroached upon by other religions and by Islam in particular. In the Asian theatre, the resurgence of religions is intricately related to the revival of neo-nationalism accompanied by rising interest in local cultures and traditions. Asians have come to take pride in things Asian, cashing in on the postmodern ethos, and they are eager to rediscover their own cultural roots, which are largely intertwined with religious traditions. Negative signposts – internal factors First, Christianity has become too fragmented. Existing in a fragmented world, churches fail to show a united front. There are so many divisions within Christianity that it is an intriguing task to clarify a Christian identity. At the beginning of Christian history, the designation of a person as a ‘Christian’ was sufficient to tell about his or her social, religious and cultural identity. Today, however, we have to supply subcategories to tell about who we are as Christians, for there are many different and conflicting forms of church life. A heavy compartmentalisation of Christianity into many churches, denominations, groups and sects has made Christianity almost an amorphous entity. The question for global Christianity over the next century is how to restore the theological and ecclesial unity within the Christian faith and the spirit of love and tolerance in Christ. The churches are intolerant towards each other and become exclusive and divisive over small differences. It is urgent for global Christianity to overcome the division, confrontation and fragmentation of Christianity. Second, the Church has become secularised. Two opposing trends can be discerned within the Western intellectual tradition. One is the stream of secularisation, and the other is that of spiritualisation. A new phenomenon we witness at the beginning of the postmodern era is the religious revival that replaces the worship of reason and rationality. Yet secularisation still poses a consistent threat to the Christian faith as secular values are globalised. Situated in the post-Enlightenment secular intellectual environment, Western Christianity and its theologies have felt the impact of secularisation. The secularisation of Christianity is observable in three areas: (1) Christian theology has become truncated, and various forms of liberal theology have been developed, questioning even the very foundations of the Christian faith, including the authority of the Bible; (2) Liberal churches and theologians embrace religious pluralism and relativism as the norms for theological reflection and for religio-cultural engagement. This threatens the confidence of Christians in their faith; (3) The spread and success of the ‘worldly church’ damage the integrity of Christian truth. Many

The future of global Christianity First, the future of global Christianity will live by world evangelisation. Andrew Walls has observed that Christianity lives by crossing cultural frontiers and suggests that in the twenty-first century the new players of non-Western Christianity will have to cross cultural boundaries, even Western cultural boundaries, for the continued life of the Christian faith. However, once the era of Western Christendom is replaced by the era of world Christianity, a further shift in the centre of Christian gravity might no longer be anticipated, as the ‘centre-periphery’ division within world Christianity would no longer be considered relevant. From now on, global Christianity will either live or die as a whole depending on its success in worldwide evangelisation. Global churches will be mobilised for global mission. In the previous dispensation, world evangelisation meant the spread of the gospel in the geographical sense. However, the evangelisation of the world in the twenty-first century will face two new frontiers. One is the intellectual barrier of secularism and pluralism. World evangelisation in the twenty-first century will be cross-generational and cross-intellectual. The challenge for the twenty-first century is to transform every aspect of society, and the worldviews of people deeply affected by secularism and pluralism, through the power of the gospel. As Tan Kang San has pointed out, ‘Unless there is a total infusion of the gospel that leads to transformation of societies, Christianity will only be a veneer.’ The second and new frontier is the spiritual barrier of other religions. Christianity has to deliver the gospel to people in other religious traditions by embodying the spirit of Christ, not by employing a militant or crusading approach. Global Christianity in the new century is challenged to engage in a tacit evangelisation by embodying Christlikeness, extending an open invitation and leaving the choice to the religious others. Second, global Christianity will face internal battles. Global Christianity will have to first settle the splits within the Christian world. Global Christianity will suffer from internal bleeding due to continued ‘regional battles’ over the purity of Christian faith. It is expected that the global Church will work out

ecclesial unity in diversity and tolerate acceptable differences among various traditions for the sake of the gospel. However, the major split between ecumenical and evangelical groups will be more difficult to reconcile, though it has a significant bearing on the future of global Christianity. The ugly ditch between these two camps seems deep and wide. Ecumenical churches discredit the evangelical movements and call for their participation in the missio Dei in the world by working for the construction of just societies. Evangelical churches criticise the missiological and theological stances of ecumenical churches for damaging Christian integrity. They suspect that ecumenical churches espouse religious pluralism and regard other religious traditions as equal partners in the kingdom of God. Evangelical churches are holding on to their traditional stance of bringing the gospel to the nations for the salvation of humanity, even though they attempt to establish social justice through their holistic mission. A dialogue between these two groups will be more imperative and urgent than the inter-religious or inter-faith dialogues that the ecumenical churches have promoted. The polarisation of the Christian world between evangelical and ecumenical groups will not be healed easily, and the battle between these two sides over the integrity of the Christian faith will continue and will damage global Christianity, draining much of the energy and resources of the global churches. It should be noted that the voice of non-Western Christianity will grow louder and louder as a pacesetter. Third, other religions will clash with global Christianity. Religions in the world have to foster mutual respect and learn to exist side-by-side in a peaceful way while maintaining their respective religious identites and the integrity of their truth claims. Insofar as religions are intertwined with political powers, however, a clash between religious communities looks unavoidable. Though it is to be hoped that Samuel Huntington’s thesis of the clash of civilisations will prove to be incorrect, the clash between the Christian world and the Muslim world seems set to loom large in the years to come. There are at least two layers in the clash between the two worlds: the layer of international politics and that of the grassroots. The ironic phenomenon is that in the domain of international realpolitik, the Islamic world seems to be on the defensive. On the grassroots level, however, it is Christians who are persecuted and victimised by Muslims. We hear more cases of ethnic violence against Christian groups intertwined with religious antagonism worldwide. As Islamic identity is inseparable from ethnic, cultural and political identity, the encounters between Christianity and Islam exclusively in the religious arena do not seem plausible for the time being. Though Christian leaders may often claim their separation from state authority, Islam and other religions are ready to clash with Christianity. In this sense, there are few options for achieving religious harmony and co-existence in the global religious market. The discourse on religious pluralism or the initiative for inter-faith or inter-religious dialogue on the scholarly level may not serve as a viable solution for this dilemma. The discourse of ‘theology of religions’ may also prove to be impractical in sorting out actual religious confrontations and massacres at the grassroots level. For religious harmony and co-existence in the world, we might have to wait until the day when a new religious

world order is established after many bloody clashes between the ‘Christian world’ and countries dominated by other religions. Fourth, global Christianity will be reshaped. Andrew Walls has already predicted that ‘southern expressions of Christianity are becoming the dominant forms of the faith’ and ‘non-Western Christianity will become representative of the Christian faith.’ Christianity is seen to take a new shape in the hands of non-Western Christians. New trends are apparent in three areas: (1) Non-Western Christians read and appreciate the Bible from within their own frameworks of thought and perception of the world; (2) Non-Western Christians reflect on local themes and issues based on the teachings of the Bible, and thus contextual theologies are articulated; (3) Non-Western churches are alive with spirituality. The growing churches in the non-Western world are mostly Pentecostal-Charismatic, as seen in the Pentecostal movements in Latin America, Independent Churches in Africa, and Charismatic movements in Asia. These new trends will be only the precursor for the reshaping of Christianity. It will be in the context of global evangelisation and mission in the twenty-first century that global Christianity will be pressed to renovate and restructure. The global Church will realise that global Christianity is actually situated in a missionary context, as early Christianity was in the same missionary context. Global Christianity will also realise that Christianity cannot survive in anything like its present form. Therefore, the global Church may be awakened to rediscover its primitive form by embodying the logos and charisma of Jesus and his first followers. The immediate task will be a radical revision of theological education to produce holistic spiritual leaders for the Church in the twenty-first century. The cry from the churches is that theological schools fail to produce the kind of spiritual leaders the churches need. Many innovative ideas have been proposed to renovate theological education. In the near future, the curricula of theological schools may be reconfigured to meet the demand of the churches. The future leaders of the global churches will be those who are immersed in the Bible, integrate theological insights and embody Christian spirituality. These leaders will be the agents who renew and reshape global Christianity by restoring the four main features in the Christian tradition within the Church: an intimate relationship and mystical union with God (monastic tradition), a thorough immersion in God’s Word (modern biblical scholarship), the practice of self-denial and self-mortification (Puritan spirituality), and the expression of the gifts and powers of the Holy Spirit (Pentecostal-Charismatic movement). As the global Church embodies these four features, Christianity will be able to show Christlikeness in word and in deed.

MOONJANG LEE Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003). Tan Kang San, ‘Will Asian Christianity Blossom or Wither?’ in Mission Round Table: The Occasional Bulletin of OMF Mission Research, Vol. 1 (January 2005), pp. 11–16. Lamin Sanneh, Whose Religion is Christianity? The Gospel Beyond the West (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003). David Smith, Mission After Christendom (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 2003). Andrew F. Walls, The Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission of Faith (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1996).

Christianity by country, 2050 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 USA Brazil Russia China Mexico Philippines Nigeria DR Congo India Germany

Christians 257,311,000 180,932,000 115,120,000 115,009,000 105,583,000 83,151,000 72,302,000 65,803,000 58,367,000 58,123,000

Highest percentage* 2050 USA China Brazil DR Congo Nigeria Philippines Mexico India Ethiopia Russia

Christians 301,962,000 225,075,000 222,469,000 179,432,000 139,000,000 125,252,000 122,760,000 113,800,000 112,046,000 91,117,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 Samoa Romania Malta El Salvador Guatemala Ecuador Costa Rica Puerto Rico Honduras Grenada

% Christian 98.8 98.8 98.0 97.4 97.3 97.0 96.8 96.6 96.6 96.6

Fastest growth* 2050 Romania Samoa Poland Moldova Guatemala DR Congo Solomon Islands Bougainville Burundi Malta

% Christian 99.2 97.9 97.5 97.4 96.5 96.0 96.0 95.8 95.7 95.6

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2050 Burkina Faso Chad Nepal Burundi Rwanda Central African Rep Saudi Arabia Niger Ivory Coast United Arab Emirates

*Countries >100,000

% p.a. 10.39 10.30 9.44 9.20 8.93 8.56 8.04 7.24 7.24 7.09

2010–2050 North Korea Cambodia Liberia Nepal Benin Mongolia Niger Chad Burundi Burkina Faso

% p.a. 4.69 3.20 3.09 3.01 2.94 2.94 2.89 2.83 2.83 2.79

105

FUTURE OF GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY

churches borrow ideas, insights and techniques from the business world and other secular sciences for church growth. Third, Christianity in the West suffers from an image problem. Christianity has ceased to be an attractive religion among the younger generation. Recent research by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons has shown that Christianity is perceived, particularly among young Americans between the ages of 13 and 29, to be ‘hypocritical, [proselytising], anti-sinner or anti-homosexual, sheltered, boring, oldfashioned, too political and judgmental’. Even many young Christians share these negative images of the churches. The churches are seen to be superficial and truncated in their belief and practice, lacking spiritual maturity and genuine transformation. As missiologist Lesslie Newbigin pointed out, Christianity in the West has become domesticated under the impact of the post-Enlightenment rationalistic worldview, losing the dynamics of the gospel. The churches fail to create a community of the faithful, a field of life where Christian truth is tested and proved. Non-Christians and Christians alike are asking the churches to be the true embodiment of the Christian truth.

2

Future of global Christianity

P

rojecting the future of global Christianity has been greatly aided by the recent availability of large data sets on demography and religious affiliation. Foundational demographic data for every country in the world are available for the years 1950–2050 through the United Nations Demographic Database. Data on religions and Christianity for every country are available through the World Christian Database (WCD), developed for the World Christian Encyclopedia, first edition (1982), and continuously updated. Data for this section were obtained by using the year 2010 as a base from which to project all future figures, using only demographic tools. The resulting country and regional total populations thus reflect United Nations projections, while all religious percentages within a country or region remain unchanged. An observer can then examine how natural growth or decline alone within a particular country or region affects populations

of religious adherents. This yields remarkable insights into what one might expect from the most consistent sources of growth and decline in religious and nonreligious adherence – births and deaths. Three major areas beyond natural growth were then utilised to improve the future projections. First, birth and death rates vary among religious communities within a particular country. Second, increasing numbers of people are likely to change their religious affiliations in the future. Third, immigration and emigration trends will impact a country’s population over time. The results of incorporating all three of these dynamics are presented in the maps and tables below. In Africa, DR Congo is of special note in the projections below for countries with the largest numbers of Christians in 2050. From a 2010 baseline of 65.8 million Christians, by 2050 DR Congo will overtake Nigeria for the top spot in Africa.

In Asia, Christian communities in China and the Philippines are expected to continue to grow into the future, taking the number one and two spots with 225 million and 125 million Christians, respectively. In the first case Christians are a small minority. Note as well that by 2050 eight of the top 10 countries globally will be in the Global South; the list in 1910 included only Brazil from the Global South. It should also be noted that the 300 million Christians projected for the USA in 2050 includes large numbers of Christians who have immigrated from the Global South. In Europe, it should be noted that four Orthodox countries – Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Greece – are expected to be in the top ten in 2050. This would have been unexpected from the vantage point of 1970 or 1980 when Communism was still flourishing in Eastern Europe.

Christians by country, 2050

Religions%(line gph) Countries with the most Christians, 2050 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Country USA China Brazil DR Congo Nigeria Philippines Mexico India Ethiopia Russia

Christians 301,962,000 225,075,000 222,469,000 179,432,000 139,000,000 125,252,000 122,760,000 113,800,000 112,046,000 91,117,000

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

Northern America

2

cent Christian OceaniaAsia

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

2010

Africa

Adherents in millions

1.5% 400

2050

2010

4.4%

_Northern America

20.0%

Latin America Asia 49.9% Europe

15.8%

Northern America

_Europe 11.7% _Asia 1.5%

8.4%

49.9%

45.5%

2.1%

15.8%

19.6%

_Africa

200 0 1910

Christians by country

11.7%

Europe

17.9% _Latin America

17.9%

600

2050

2010

3.7%

3.7%

800

Latin America

Latin America

Europe

1,000

2010

Latin Asia Oceania America

_Oceania

1,200

90 95

Europe

Europe Northern Latin America America

Oceania 1945

1980

2015

2050

Anglican

Independent

Marginal

Orthodox

Roman Catholic

Protestant

Year

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95

 Christian percentage by country, 2010 The map above displays the current percentage of Christians in each of the world’s countries. This map has the same scale as the main map above, and can be used to compare the present situation in 2010 with the projected situation in 2050.

 Global Christian growth by continent, 1910–2050 Christianity is projected to continue growing fastest in the Global South. Northern America continues to grow at a steady pace, along with Oceania, Latin America and Asia. Africa’s Christian population is likely to more than double, exceeding Latin America’s as well as Europe’s within only a few years after 2010.

1910

 Major traditions worldwide, 2010–2050 The pie charts above illustrate the expected proportions of the total Christian population that each of the six major Christian traditions will claim in 2050. Of note are the declining fortunes of Roman Catholics and Orthodox. Independents (in particular), as well as Marginals, are likely to constitute increasing portions of the whole.

2010

1910

2010

Countries with the most Christians by continent, 2050 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Africa DR Congo Nigeria Ethiopia Uganda Kenya Tanzania South Africa Angola Ghana Madagascar

106

Christians 179,432,000 139,000,000 112,046,000 79,526,000 73,546,000 51,666,000 44,672,000 42,365,000 27,828,000 27,285,000

Asia China Philippines India Indonesia South Korea Viet Nam Pakistan Myanmar Malaysia Timor

Christians 225,075,000 125,252,000 113,800,000 42,008,000 18,397,000 13,571,000 6,604,000 5,498,000 4,064,000 3,134,000

Europe Russia Britain Germany Spain Italy France Poland Ukraine Romania Greece

Christians Latin America Christians 3.7% 15.8% 91,117,000 Brazil 222,469,000 1.5% 50,192,000 Mexico 122,760,000 46,687,00049.4%Colombia 58,478,000 11.7% 40,460,000 Argentina 45,876,000 40,050,000 Venezuela 38,717,000 45.5% 38,820,000 Peru 36,838,000 29,513,000 Guatemala 26,509,000 17.9% 28,927,000 Chile 17,176,000 15,807,000 Ecuador 17,036,000 9,842,000 Haiti 14,340,000

Northern America 4.4% USA Canada 49.4% Greenland Bermuda St Pierre & Miq

Christians Oceania Christians 4.4% 3.7% 15.8% 301,962,000 Australia 18,020,000 1.5% 19.6% 19.6% 29,444,000 Papua New Guinea 10,182,000 11.7% 59,300 New Zealand 3,149,000 2.1% 2.1% 50,200 Solomon Islands 917,000 5,800 Fiji 45.5% 579,000 8.4% 8.4% Vanuatu 431,000 Bougainville 395,000 17.9% 20.0% French Polynesia 321,000 20.0% New Caledonia 285,000 Guam 215,000

Roman Catholic

Roman Catholic

Protestant

Protestant

Anglican

Anglican

Christian growth rate, 2010–2050

FUTURE OF GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY

Rate*, 2010–50 Growth_CGrPct_2010_2050

5 2 1 0 -1 -2 5

T

he map above shows at a glance where Christianity is expected to grow over the next 40 years. The Christian growth rate is calculated by adding births, conversions and immigration while subtracting deaths, defections and emigration. As observed earlier in Part II of this atlas, these dynamics differ from country to country. Some countries have high birth rates among Christians, others are experiencing high conversion rates, and yet others experience immigration of Christians from other countries. While the map supports the idea that Christianity will continue to grow in the Global South and contract in the Global North, there are notable exceptions. One is the USA, where Christianity continues to grow in part because of immigration of Christians, especially Hispanics. In the Global South, prospects for Christian growth in Uruguay are not good due to the continued strength of agnosticism and atheism. SubSaharan Africa has the highest expected rates, with three countries expected to have over 100 million Christians by 2050 (DR Congo, Nigeria and Ethiopia). CGrPct_2010_2050_lessPopGrowth >-2 -2 -1 1 2

>2

 Non-natural Christian growth, 2010–50 The map to the left shows the growth of Christianity in each country relative to population growth. Excluding births and deaths thus emphasises the dynamics of conversion and defection as well as immigration and emigration. This map has the advantage of highlighting countries where Christianity is growing faster than the general population. For example, China, with its large population, contributes significantly to the demographic growth of global Christianity. Also notable are many countries in Eastern Europe, where high death rates overshadow growth from conversion and immigration.

Legend same as above

In many countries the rapid growth of Christianity is due largely to a high birth rate among Christians. This is especially true where the vast majority of a country’s population is Christian. Significant growth in the number of Christians in such countries must come by having children and/or by accepting Christian immigrants.

Christians by UN region, 2010 and 2050

Christian growth rates* by UN region, 140-year and 40-year

2010 Population Christians Africa 1,032,012,000 494,668,000 Eastern Africa 332,107,000 214,842,000 Middle Africa 129,583,000 105,830,000 Northern Africa 206,295,000 17,492,000 Southern Africa 56,592,000 46,419,000 Western Africa 307,436,000 110,084,000 Asia 4,166,308,000 352,239,000 Eastern Asia 1,562,575,000 140,012,000 South-central Asia 1,777,378,000 69,213,000 South-eastern Asia 594,216,000 129,700,000 Western Asia 232,139,000 13,315,000 Europe 730,478,000 585,739,000 Eastern Europe 290,755,000 246,495,000 Northern Europe 98,352,000 79,610,000 Southern Europe 152,913,000 125,796,000 Western Europe 188,457,000 133,838,000 Latin America 593,696,000 548,958,000 Caribbean 42,300,000 35,379,000 Central America 153,657,000 147,257,000 South America 397,739,000 366,322,000 Northern America 348,575,000 283,002,000 Oceania 35,491,000 27,848,000 Australia/New Zealand 25,647,000 18,816,000 Melanesia 8,589,000 7,847,000 Micronesia 575,000 532,000 Polynesia 680,000 653,000 Global total 6,906,560,000 2,292,454,000

The small map above shows the projected non-natural growth rate of Christianity into 2050, highlighting countries with rapid Christian growth or decline that is unrelated to births or to deaths.

Rate* 1910–2050

2050 % 2010

% Population Christians % 47.9 1,997,938,000 1,055,401,000 52.8A 64.7 692,943,000 483,266,000 69.7A1 81.7 312,672,000 266,616,000 85.3A2 8.5 310,240,000 28,102,000 9.1A3 82.0 65,050,000 53,010,000 81.5A4 35.8 617,034,000 224,406,000 36.4A5 8.5 5,265,897,000 595,333,000 11.3C 9.0 1,591,242,000 251,337,000 15.8C1 3.9 2,536,011,000 130,975,000 5.2C2 21.8 766,611,000 197,185,000 25.7C3 5.7 372,033,000 15,837,000 4.3C4 80.2 664,184,000 508,439,000 76.6E 84.8 221,697,000 196,582,000 88.7E1 80.9 108,177,000 81,004,000 74.9E2 82.3 146,335,000 115,581,000 79.0E3 71.0 187,974,000 115,272,000 61.3E4 92.5 769,230,000 694,174,000 90.2 L 83.6 50,388,000 43,071,000 85.5L1 95.8 202,045,000 188,759,000 93.4L2 92.1 516,797,000 462,344,000 89.5L3 81.2 445,302,000 331,521,000 74.4N 78.5 48,743,000 35,479,000 72.8P 73.4 33,250,000 21,172,000 63.7P1 91.4 13,833,000 12,788,000 92.4P2 92.5 808,000 723,000 89.4P3 96.0 852,000 796,000 93.4P4 33.2 9,191,294,000 3,220,348,000 35.0zG

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

0% 0

% 2050 2.00 2.20 2.00 1.64 1.62 2.12 1.17 0.75 1.43 1.51 1.75 0.32 0.16 0.40 0.46 0.38 1.65 1.31 1.64 1.69 1.11 1.38 1.31 1.55 1.58 1.35 1.19

20

40 50% 60

80

100% 100

Christians

Population

Rate* 2010–2050

3.27A 3.28 A1 5.25 A2 1.59 A3 2.20 A4 4.38 A5 2.29C 3.41 C1 2.33 C2 2.14 C3 0.53 C4 0.16E 0.15 E1 0.21 E2 0.31 E3 0.04 E4 1.61L 1.21 L1 1.60 L2 1.66 L3 0.92N 1.32P 1.01 P1 2.87 P2 1.70 P3 1.30 P4 1.19 zG -2 -2

1.67 1.86 2.23 1.03 0.35 1.76 0.59 0.05 0.89 0.64 1.19 -0.24 -0.68 0.24 -0.11 -0.01 0.65 0.44 0.69 0.66 0.61 0.80 0.65 1.20 0.85 0.57 0.72

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 88 9 10 10 11 12 12

1.91A 2.05A1 2.34A2 1.19A3 0.33A4 1.80A5 1.32C 1.47C1 1.61C2 1.05C3 0.43C4 -0.35 E -0.56E1 0.04E2 -0.21E3 -0.37E4 0.59 L 0.49L1 0.62L2 0.58L3 0.40N 0.61P 0.30P1 1.23P2 0.77P3 0.50P4 0.85zG -2 -2

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 8 9 10 11

107

Part III Christianity by continent and region

Christianity in Africa, 1910–2010

I

n this essay the phrase ‘African Christianity’ is used as a general term referring collectively to the whole range of African expressions of the Christian faith. The numerical increase of adherents to Christianity in tropical Africa during the twentieth century is unprecedented. There was a time during the early centuries of Church history when Northern Africa (especially Alexandria and Carthage) had the strongest and the most outspoken apologists for Christian doctrine, but the numbers of ordinary believers were few in comparison with the Christians in most countries of tropical Africa today. Alexandria and Carthage were the homes of the famous early Church Fathers who defended the core of Christian doctrine against errant deviations, and without these men Christianity probably would have taken different content, organisational form and institutional structure. These famous defenders of the faith included Clement, Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian and Augustine of Hippo. Today the capital cities of the countries of tropical Africa are the headquarters of numerous Christian denominations, most of which were introduced into the continent from Europe and Northern America through the modern missionary enterprise, especially after the World Missionary Conference at Edinburgh in 1910. This missionary legacy still lingers on. African Christianity is vibrant at home but does not show corresponding vigour in missionary outreach. The factors inhibiting missionary expansion from Africa are various, including self-awareness, policy, personnel, resources and immigration restrictions. It is ironic that the continent with such rapid growth in Christian adherents has the least involvement in missionary outreach, while Europe and Northern America continue to make the largest missionary outreach into tropical Africa and other regions. This anomaly can perhaps be attributed to the availability of surplus capital in the North Atlantic and its absence in tropical Africa. Without surplus capital, missionary outreach is likely to be limited in its scope. It is important to note also that Northern Africa remains solidly Islamic in both rural and urban areas. The Coptic Church is strong in Egypt, though its members are a minority of the total population. The Orthodox Church is also strong in Ethiopia and Eritrea, with a long history predating Islam. Within the whole continent the African cultural and religious heritage is the bedrock of religious consciousness for everyone except the few descendants of migrants who have retained the cultural and religious heritage brought from the North Atlantic, Asia or Arabia. African expressions of Christianity, irrespective of denominational identities, are shaped and influenced by the African worldview, which is often implicit and unarticulated. African worship is liturgically fluid, with emphasis on spontaneity, lay participation and liturgical song and dance. African Christian communities have become for many adherents the new focal points for mutual social responsibility, especially in urban areas, replacing the extended family, which is breaking down under the strains of urbanisation, labour mobility and secularisation. Historical context This essay is ecumenical in scope and international in coverage. A religion reflects the cultures in which it has been nurtured. Any attempt at abstracting a religion from its various cultural expressions will distort that religion because believers are at the same time citizens or residents of their respective nations. Thus the histories of all religions are intertwined with the secular histories of the peoples and nations where those religions have thrived or declined. This essay focuses on Christianity in the continent of Africa as it has taken shape during the twentieth century. It is important to emphasise that the geographical, denominational and numerical expansion of Christianity in Africa is intertwined with the colonial, post-colonial and missionary history of this continent. For this reason it is essential to relate missionary and ecclesiastical history

with secular history in order to appreciate the twoway influence between the two respective sequences of events. The history of African Christianity in the twentieth century begins much earlier, in 1885. In February of that year the Berlin Conference on Africa was concluded. The conference had been convened by Chancellor Bismarck of Germany and attended by representatives of all the European nations with imperial interests in Africa. These included Germany, Britain, France, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Spain and Turkey. The outcome was a treaty committing each interested nation to mutually respect the ‘spheres of interest’ of all other nations with territorial interests in Africa. Although religion was not specifically mentioned in the treaty, there was tacit understanding that each imperial power would refrain from seeking to convert or proselytise the subjects outside its ‘sphere of influence’. Prior to the Berlin Conference there was free movement and involvement of missionary societies and agents across the continent of Africa without any regard to the possible negative consequences of open competition and rivalry between missionary interests in the ‘mission field’ of Africa. Despite the Berlin Treaty, competition for African souls continued throughout the twentieth century and still continues into the third millennium. The partition of Africa into imperial spheres of influence led to the establishment of commonwealths which remain intact, even after the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963 and its successor, the African Union, in 2003. The distribution of Christian denominations in Africa has been shaped largely by the imperial spheres of influence entrenched by the Berlin Conference. The 60 nations of Africa belong to four commonwealths, reflecting the colonial history of the continent. Each of the four commonwealths has a corresponding imperial language, which is used outside Africa by other nations within the same commonwealth: English, French, Portuguese and Arabic. Anglophone Africa comprises Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and southern Sudan in the east; Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia in the north-east; Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia in the south; Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Gambia in the west; and British island possessions of Saint Helena (in the South Atlantic) and the British Indian Ocean Territory. Francophone Africa comprises Djibouti in the north-east; Rwanda, Burundi, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic and Chad in the centre; Cameroon, Benin, Togo, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso in the west; as well as the Indian Ocean islands of Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion, Comoros, Mayotte and Seychelles. Lusophone Africa comprises Angola and Mozambique in the south; Guinea-Bissau in the west; and the Atlantic islands of São Tomé & Príncipe and Cape Verde. Arabic-speaking Africa comprises Somalia and Somaliland in the east; and Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, northern Sudan, Morocco, Mauritania and Sahara in the north. Not falling in any of these commonwealths is Spanish North Africa, territory controlled by Spain along the coast of Morocco. The distribution and concentration of Christian denominations across Africa has been deeply shaped by the imperial spheres of influence partitioned by the Berlin Treaty, which in practice ensured that missionary agencies operated in countries where they could enjoy the protection and patronage of their respective imperial governments. Former British colonies have a higher concentration of Anglican and Protestant denominations and adherents, while Roman Catholicism is more dominant in former French, Belgian and Portuguese colonies. Countries that were predominantly under Islamic influence in the nineteenth century have remained as such. Islam has more followers in Northern Africa, particularly where Arabic is also the official language. Liberia, which was 100

100

Area (sq. km): 30,380,000 Population, 2010: 1,032,012,000 Population density (per sq. km): 34 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.14 Life expectancy (years): 56 (male 55, female 57) Adult literacy (%): 61

Christians, 1910: 11,663,000 % Christian, 1910: 9.4 Christians, 2010: 494,668,000 % Christian, 2010: 47.9 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 3.82 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.55

0

0

% Christian

1910

1910

110

2010

2010

established as the home for repatriated slaves from Northern America, has more denominations from the USA than any other country. Orthodox Christianity is more established in Egypt, Ethiopia and Eritrea, dating from the early centuries of Christian mission in Africa. Types of churches There are many ways of categorising churches. Every organisation that claims for itself the honour to be called a Christian ‘church’ will cite biblical references to justify the claim. The canonical books of the New Testament contain evidence of at least five forms of ecclesial formation: episcopal; presbyterian; congregational; charismatic; and pentecostal. Any church today can identify with, and fit itself into, one of these five ecclesial forms. The Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox churches fit into the episcopal category. The Lutheran, Reformed and Methodist churches are within the presbyterian category. Baptist and Congregational churches emphasise the autonomy of congregations, and the pastor of a congregation in this category is a servant and employee of that congregation. Episcopal churches are centralised in their organisational structure, whereas congregational churches are decentralised. Charismatic churches are closely associated with their founders, and they tend to fragment when the founders leave or die. Sometimes the leader of a charismatic church is demoted or expelled when charismatic uniqueness is no longer evident to the members. Pentecostal churches emphasise the power of the Holy Spirit. Social status is subordinated to possession of the Spirit. Thus in pentecostal churches it is common to find adherents from high and low social status much more integrated than in other categories. Africa was a mission field throughout the twentieth century. Missionaries flocked to the continent from Europe, Northern America and Asia to win converts. Most of these mission initiatives have produced African replications of the mother denominations abroad. This replication of foreign expressions of Christianity has created a reaction in the formation of numerous ‘Independent churches’ in Africa. This continent has the largest number of such denominations in the world. Some of them belong to the Organization of African Instituted Churches (OAIC). African expressions of Christianity have spread to other parts of the world through adherents who take residence especially in Europe and Northern America because of studies, migrant labour and political exile. Quite clearly, imperial and cultural domination is one of the most significant factors contributing to church independency. Conversely, the gospel is a catalyst for liberation and has provided theological and conceptual justifications for liberation movements. During the second half of the twentieth century, particularly after the 1960s, missionary outreach was extended beyond the former colonial enclaves. There was an influx of congregational, Charismatic and Pentecostal missionaries and evangelists into various African countries with the objective of winning African souls to Christianity. Some of these focused on African schools, colleges and universities. Their presence influenced the cultural values of African youth to the extent that many youth longed to study and work abroad, especially in Northern America. Thus the contemporary Christian missionary enterprise in Africa has contributed to schooling in various African countries at the same time as it has alienated African youth from their cultural and religious heritage in favour of Europe and Northern America. Whether by design or by accident, this is a fact that African nations cannot evade. Social concerns The following concerns characterise African Christianity across denominations and across nations: (1) Cultural identity: Inevitably, every Christian mission agency from outside Africa introduces into the continent cultural and religious values from the home country of that agency. This cultural invasion is an integral part of the general encroachment on Africa’s cultural space by the more powerful nations, especially those of Europe and Northern America. Interestingly, African countries import many goods and gadgets from Asia, but the flooding of African kiosks with Asian goods has not led to African absorption of Asian cultural norms. The consumer and capital goods flooding African markets from Asia are almost always cheap

scramble for converts in Africa, and the competition continues unabated. The modern ecumenical movement was started by European and Northern American visionaries who foresaw the dangers of too much competition in the mission fields, where duplication of efforts undermined rather than enhanced missionary outreach. The World Missionary Conference in 1910 at Edinburgh was the greatest achievement of these visionaries. It paved the way for the eventual launch of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in 1948. African branches of the major Protestant North Atlantic denominations are members of the WCC and its affiliate national and regional ecumenical councils. However, there are many African churches that stay out of the modern ecumenical movement. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member of the WCC, although through its Ecumenical Relations office it has representation on the WCC Commission on Faith and Order. At the continental level ecumenical relations in Africa are facilitated by the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), whose headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya. The AACC membership includes most major Protestant denominations and a few of the African Instituted Churches (AICs). The Organization of African Instituted Churches (OAIC) also has its headquarters in Nairobi and serves many of the churches established outside the modern missionary enterprise. Africa has hosted two of the nine conferences of the WCC. The fifth Assembly was held at Nairobi, Kenya, in November 1975, and the eighth Assembly was at Harare, Zimbabwe, in December 1998. (5) Mission outreach: Books on the establishment of Christianity in tropical Africa give credit to the pioneer missionaries from the North Atlantic who introduced their respective denominations to this continent. However, it is important also to appreciate and honour the first and second generations of African lay leaders who took the trouble to spread the gospel beyond the confines of the mission stations where the foreign missionaries worked. Without the dedicated efforts of such local lay leaders, the missionaries would not have succeeded in their efforts. Indeed, there is ample evidence that wherever the missionaries failed to win a nucleus of local converts, the missionary initiative collapsed. (6) Pastoral training: The long-term sustainability of Christian churches depends greatly on the effectiveness of pastoral training. In tropical Africa most pastoral training has been conducted by missionaries, the majority of whom know little or nothing about the inner dynamics of the African cultural and religious heritage. This situation persists because of the high cost of residential pastoral formation and the lack of contextualisation of the training curricula. To cut costs, African bishops are prepared to invite foreign missionary instructors to conduct training in their pastoral diocesan institutes, even without regard to contextual considerations. As long as the syllabi of African theological colleges are imported from elsewhere, pastoral training will continue to be out of tune with the cultural and religious dynamics of African societies among whom the trainees are expected to work after graduation. Curriculum development is a professional undertaking, which must begin from the context of the learners and proceed to discern the texts that can provide relevant knowledge, skills and experience appropriate for each particular context. From this perspective the pedagogy of Jesus is exemplary. The dissonance between pastoral training and contextual relevance leads to the burden of a pastoral workforce that cannot deliver relevant contextual service to the congregations, in both rural and urban areas. The foregoing outline of social concerns is not exhaustive. However, it provides a glimpse of the crisis

facing African Christianity in general with regard to its contextual relevance in a rapidly changing society. Christianity in the North Atlantic countries faces the problem in reverse. Whereas tropical Africa has numerous churches without enough adequately trained theologians, churches in the North Atlantic countries have an excess of trained theologians without enough Christians to serve. Whereas the churches in tropical Africa lack finances and other resources to serve their congregations adequately, those in North Atlantic countries are relatively well endowed and seek outlets for surplus capital abroad within the framework of the foreign policies of their respective governments. Under these circumstances it remains an open question how the churches in the affluent nations should best relate with those in the pauperised nations of tropical Africa and elsewhere. Debates on this question in the various World Christian communions indicate that the question will not be solved easily, because cultural presuppositions and power relations tend to overshadow any chances of unanimity in matters of doctrine, institutional structure, pastoral care and conceptual clarity. In view of the fact that most countries of Northern Africa remain predominantly Islamic, there is a tendency to lump those countries with those of Western Asia. In terms of national population, the largest Islamic nations are neither in the Arabian Peninsula nor in Northern Africa. This fact should remind us all that taken as a whole, Africa is far from the description of a ‘Christian’ continent. It is in Africa, perhaps more than anywhere else, that religious diversity is most clearly evident. Diversity today Perhaps the greatest mistake we could make in assessing African Christianity today would be to generalise too much, for diversity is the order of the day. Among the churches wide differences can be discerned in cultural identity, doctrinal standpoint, social concern, pastoral approach, mission strategy and ecumenical commitment. Christians are among the wealthiest and the poorest, among the most politically conservative and among the most politically transformative, among the most ethically exemplary and among the most scandalous, among the most Westernising in cultural values and among the greatest champions of African tradition. Mission outreach of African churches meets some of the most receptive situations and some of the most resistant. African Christianity is a source of conflict, and it is a source of reconciliation. It is the most visible agency of social cohesion and at the same time the most divisive. Denominational identity has sometimes replaced and sometimes reinforced ethnic identity. Many of the civil conflicts in post-colonial Africa have denominational overtones and undertones. Political parties have often been associated with particular denominations, and political leaders have often manipulated churches for votes. African Christianity is not homogeneous. Nor is it by any means static. It is a dynamic movement today, and its future will depend on which strands in its diverse composition strengthen and which weaken in years to come.

J. N. K. MUGAMBI Allan Anderson, African Reformation: African Initiated Christianity in the 20th Century (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2001). Valentin Dedji, Reconstruction and Renewal in African Christian Theology (Nairobi: Acton Publishers, 2003). Laurenti Magesa, Anatomy of Inculturation (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2005). J. N. K. Mugambi, Christian Theology and Social Reconstruction (Nairobi: Acton Publishers, 2003). Diane B. Stinton, Jesus of Africa: Voices of Contemporary African Christology (Nairobi: Paulines Publications Africa, 2004).

Christianity in Africa by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Ethiopia South Africa Egypt Madagascar Algeria Nigeria Uganda Mauritius DR Congo Tunisia

Christians 3,431,000 2,446,000 2,262,000 1,115,000 641,000 206,000 204,000 134,000 132,000 130,000

Highest percentage 2010 Nigeria DR Congo Ethiopia South Africa Kenya Uganda Tanzania Angola Ghana Malawi

Christians 72,302,000 65,803,000 52,477,000 40,260,000 33,393,000 28,923,000 23,690,000 17,327,000 15,309,000 12,001,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 % Christian Saint Helena 100.0 Cape Verde 99.0 Seychelles 97.1 Spanish North Africa 89.9 Reunion 52.0 British Indian Ocean 41.2 South Africa 40.7 Madagascar 39.1 Ethiopia 38.0 Mauritius 33.5

Fastest growth 2010 % Christian Seychelles 96.2 Saint Helena 95.7 São Tomé & Príncipe 95.7 DR Congo 95.4 Cape Verde 95.0 Angola 93.7 Burundi 92.9 Lesotho 92.4 Namibia 91.2 Gabon 90.5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Burkina Faso Chad Burundi Rwanda Central African Rep Ivory Coast Kenya Niger Zambia Sudan

% p.a. 13.58 13.44 11.86 11.80 11.54 9.55 9.05 9.04 8.69 8.17

2000–2010 Burkina Faso Gambia Sierra Leone Benin Liberia Chad Burundi Guinea Eritrea Sahara

% p.a. 5.16 4.00 4.00 3.94 3.93 3.91 3.90 3.79 3.74 3.71

111

AFRICA

replications of European and Northern American machines, tools, implements, textiles, foods, utensils, cutlery and stationery. The marketing of these goods is driven by the principles of supply and demand, not ideology and theology. In contrast, the interactions of tropical Africa with the North Atlantic have been primarily through schooling and indoctrination. The curricula in schools, colleges and universities have been overloaded with cultural values from Europe and Northern America at the expense of the African cultural and religious heritage. Christian instruction has reinforced this cultural alienation, and the use of foreign languages as the media of instruction has reinforced this alienation of African youth from their culture. (2) Doctrinal identity: There is nothing specifically African in the doctrines professed by African branches of various denominations – Anglicans, Catholics, Lutherans, Moravians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalists, Mennonites, Quakers and so on. Yet in practice African Christians in these denominations remain rooted in their respective cultural traditions. Christianity in tropical Africa remains largely a Sunday affair, with little or no direct impact on the political, economic, ethical and aesthetic norms of the wider society. This inconsistency between doctrinal identity and actual conduct among African Christians brings to question the significance of the rapid numerical increase in church membership in tropical Africa. If the numbers are swelling but there is no direct impact of that membership on social norms and attitudes, of what good is conversion to Christianity in a continent burdened with civil strife, administrative inefficiency and economic failure? It appears that many Africans are turning to the Church for refuge, hoping that through the Church they might perhaps survive the collapse of social institutions that evidently are not serving the majority of the population. The post-colonial political crises in various African countries listed as predominantly ‘Christian’ are illustrations of this observation, for example, Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe. (3) Social engagement: The numerical strength of African Christianity does not match its social engagement in any African country. Generally, Christianity has been introduced to the continent as a religion whose aim is to secure eternal life for believers after their death. Anything that the believers do now is not for the purpose of ensuring better livelihood on earth, but insurance for the life to come. The predominance of this other-worldly teaching has led to abdication of social responsibility on the part of clergy and laity, especially with regard to political and economic affairs. Priests have access to the pulpit every week, but the content of their sermons is often so other-worldly that the worshippers cannot relate it to daily life. Consequently, ordinary Christians daily have to decide on their own what is in their best interest to do, since there is no relevant guidance from the religious leadership. During social and political crises both the clergy and the laity find themselves unable to distinguish themselves from the rest of society on the basis of their faith. Instead, churches are often the focal points for fomenting social strife. Thus African churches, especially those that are extensions of foreign denominations, remain largely detached from the daily social concerns of the nations to which their members belong. This problem has to do with pastoral training and in-service upgrading, which will be discussed below. (4) Ecumenical relations: The modern Christian missionary enterprise has been negatively competitive since the establishment of missionary societies in the eighteenth century. This competition led to the

Christianity in Africa, 1910–2010

O

Religions in Africa Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

Christians Muslims Ethnoreligionists Agnostics Hindus Baha'is Atheists Buddhists New Religionists Jews Jains Sikhs Chinese folk Confucianists Spiritists Zoroastrians Total population

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

5

Percent Christian = 1% of population = All other religions

2010 Adherents % 494,668,000 47.9 417,644,000 40.5 107,016,000 10.4 6,183,000 0.6 2,891,000 0.3 2,176,000 0.2 623,000 0.1 292,000 0.0 132,000 0.0 131,000 0.0 92,100 0.0 70,600 0.0 69,800 0.0 20,000 0.0 3,700 0.0 850 0.0 1,032,012,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 3.82 2.55 2.38 2.25 0.40 1.54 6.82 2.24 2.28 1.53 9.54 2.39 6.54 1.94 4.49 1.69 4.81 2.12 -1.23 0.47 3.27 2.30 3.36 1.95 3.52 1.44 7.90 0.95 1.13 1.79 1.32 -0.35 2.14 2.31

Christians in Africa iop ia Eth

Proportion of all Christians in Africa, 2010 Key:

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Proportionofofaall Christians Proportion country’s Graph Graph in the continent by country Christians inofthe region Proportion a country’s Proportion of a country’s Christians the region Colour in Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Christian Per cent Christian in in Per cent Christian in country or region aeach country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Map Christian of region Map Location and Per cent Location and Per cent Locationsofofregion the regions Christian Christian of region

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All All Christians Christians

2.55

2

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

2.55

r Cameroon

ia

gasca

Zam b

10

40 60

75

Congregations Total Average size 63,100 810 17,300 9,800 298,000 330 26,400 140 17,300 2,800 413,000 330

85 90

Church sizes, 2010

% Christian

1,000,000 1,000,000

1,241,000 1,241,000

800,000 800,000

95 100

10,000 10,000

Average congregation size

8

6

2

Denominations Total Average size 41 1,241,000 60 345,000 12,550 8,000 230 16,000 90 510,000 1,930 71,000

Average denomination size

8

6

3.82

Mada

Zim

8

Rate* 2000–2010

10

la

10

go

1910

10

na

100-year and 10-year growth rates* 10

a

Churches, 2010

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 4.86 2.68 4.46 2.85 7.95 2.40 8.57 4.26 2.21 2.27 4.23 2.87

0

% by tradition

2010

2010 Adherents 50,866,000 169,495,000 98,819,000 3,663,000 48,286,000 137,207,000

ni

i

Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

1910 Adherents 443,000 2,153,000 46,900 980 5,431,000 2,177,000

Gha

Major Christian traditions in Africa, 1910 and 2010

Malaw

Note: Countries with too few Christians to depict here are found in regional pages.

a

An

Bu

za

Mozambique

ru nd ba i bw Eg e yp t

Eritrea Chad Central African Republic Togo Burkina Faso

8,000 8,000

600,000 600,000

6,000 6,000

400,000 400,000

4,000 4,000

200,000 200,000

2,000 2,000

0 0 A AC CI M I MO OP P

0 0 A AC CI M I MO OP P

Christians in Africa, 1910 and 2010 Africa Eastern Africa Middle Africa Northern Africa Southern Africa Western Africa

Population 124,228,000 33,030,000 19,443,000 32,002,000 6,819,000 32,933,000

1910 Christians 11,663,000 5,266,000 207,000 3,107,000 2,526,000 557,000

% 9.4 15.9 1.1 9.7 37.0 1.7

Population 1,032,012,000 332,107,000 129,583,000 206,295,000 56,592,000 307,436,000

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

112

1910 Adherents % 11,663,000 9.4 39,695,000 32.0 72,090,000 58.0 8,400 0.0 304,000 0.2 240 0.0 1,100 0.0 3,600 0.0 1,200 0.0 453,000 0.4 3,700 0.0 2,600 0.0 2,200 0.0 0 0.0 1,200 0.0 230 0.0 124,228,000 100.0

2010

Rate* 1910–2010

2

Religious affiliation and growth in Africa, 1910 and 2010

ngo DR Co

ver the past 100 years Africa has experienced the most dramatic demographic religious transformation of any continent. In 1910 Africa was largely animistic in the south and Muslim in the north. There were 11.7 million Christians and just under 40 million Muslims. By 2010 Christians have mushroomed by 40 times to more than 490 million, while Muslims have grown by 10 times to 418 million. Ethnoreligionists dropped precipitously from 58% in 1910 to about 10% by 2010. Yet today’s presence of even a small percentage of ethnoreligionists is an unexpected development, for many in the early twentieth century predicted the complete disappearance of these traditional religions in a generation. Another surprising trend has been the rise of agnostics, who numbered fewer than 10,000 in 1910. Found especially in urban centres, agnostics now number over six million, with one of the fastest current growth rates of any ‘religion’. Christianity does not have a monolithic presence in Africa. Not only are all six major traditions substantially represented, but thousands of denominations have grown out of African soil, most of which are Independent – the most diverse and fastest-growing movement within Christianity. The largest denominations are still Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican, but Independent churches are the most represented on a list of the 100 largest denominations in the continent. African Christians increasingly are providing leadership in global Christian forums both within and across major Christian traditions. Nonetheless, all traditions have slowed considerably in growth by the beginning of the twenty-first century. While Christianity in Africa as a whole has shown remarkable growth, Northern Africa has seen a decrease in its Christian population due to emigration and strict religious laws imposed by Islamic governments of the region. Christians in Africa now number almost 50% of the population. However, births and deaths have now become more significant than conversions or defections in the overall growth of the Christian Church in Africa. Note as well that the centre of Christian gravity within Africa continues to move south and west, reflecting both the explosive growth in the sub-Saharan regions, most notably in Middle Africa and parts of Southern Africa, and the exodus of Christians from Northern Africa. Over the past 100 years, Christianity has grown at nearly twice the population rate of Africa. Islam has grown at a slower but steady rate. The map of majority religions in Part I shows that these two religions meet today in the Sahel; countries on this boundary line are experiencing tensions that at times break into violent conflicts. For example, Sudan has gone through decades of bloody conflicts resulting in the massacre of Christians in the south and Muslims in the west. Kenya and Nigeria also have experienced violent ethnoreligious conflicts in which hundreds of Muslims and Christians have been killed.

2010 Christians 494,668,000 214,842,000 105,830,000 17,492,000 46,419,000 110,084,000

% Christian, 1910

% 47.9A A1 64.7 A2 81.7 A3 8.5 A4 82.0 A5 A5 35.8 0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Africa by province, 2010

Northern Africa

Western Africa ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

Christian centre of gravity

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

!

!

1910

Eastern Africa

2010

AFRICA

Middle Africa

1910

Christians by country

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Province Amhara Oromiya Southern Nations Haut-Congo Rift Valley Bandundu KwaZulu-Natal Gauteng Lagos Equateur

Country Ethiopia Ethiopia Ethiopia DR Congo Kenya DR Congo South Africa South Africa Nigeria DR Congo

Population 23,071,000 31,239,000 17,305,000 9,113,000 9,900,000 8,515,000 10,364,000 9,716,000 10,662,000 7,892,000

Christians 18,561,000 13,652,000 11,075,000 8,794,000 8,474,000 8,217,000 8,084,000 7,812,000 7,485,000 7,479,000

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Africa Eastern Africa Middle Africa Northern Africa Southern Africa Western Africa

% 80.5 43.7 64.0 96.5 85.6 96.5 78.0 80.4 70.2 94.8

Southern Africa

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 11,607,000 9,845,000 21,452,000 Africa 5,641,000 3,798,000 9,439,000 Eastern Africa 2,884,000 2,342,000 5,226,000 Middle Africa 233,200 316,100 549,300 Northern Africa 287,000

1,100,000

Southern Africa 1,387,000

2,561,040

2,290,000

Western Africa 4,851,040

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

Immigrants

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

3.82 2.14A 3.78 2.33A1 6.44 1.91A2 1.74 1.88A3 2.95 2.14A4 5.43 2.26A5 ⇐

0%

⇒

100%

-2

2.55 2.31A A1 2.80 2.59 2.93 2.86 A2 1.50 1.69 A3 A4 0.92 0.86 A5 2.65 2.53 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

113

Christianity in Eastern Africa, 1910–2010

T

hough European missionaries, notably David Livingstone, had made their marks in Eastern Africa from the mid-nineteenth century, in 1910 Christians were still a tiny minority in the region. By this time European colonial rule had been established in much of the region, with ambivalent results for the missionary enterprise. Missions and their work benefited from improved security and communication networks, and the missionaries trained teachers and clerks for employment by the colonial administrations. The administrations allowed missionaries to establish and run schools, and even supported them with financial grants. On the other hand, tensions characterised their relationships, and this hindered the growth of the Church. This tension occurred where colonial governments dictated to the missionaries where they could or could not work, especially among Muslim populations. Colonialism also hurt missionary efforts because of European rivalries. This caused many missions in rival territories to close down during the World Wars. The wars disrupted African communities and missionary work due to the demand for recruits and porters to serve in Europe. The war years were fraught with physical conflict, insecurity, economic deprivation, epidemics, famine, and burdens in labour and taxation. Conversions increased, however, as Africans took responsibility for evangelising their communities. In the post-War years, missionaries found themselves in an ambivalent position, wanting to protect the Africans from injustice and at the same time collaborating with the colonial governments. They did not always speak out on social change, especially on issues of land rights and racism, that culminated in liberation struggles in all Eastern African countries in the 1950s. Missionaries often were caught in the crossfire between African nationalists and colonial governments. Throughout Eastern Africa, missionaries represented the forces of progress and change. Wherever missionaries went, they established stations containing a church, missionary house, school, farm, workshop, hospital and (in Catholic missions) convent. This model relied heavily on the guidance of missionaries who acted as supervisors, with trained Africans running the outstations and bearing the greater responsibility of evangelising and preparing catechumens. Africans reacted to the new social order by demanding more schools, and soon nearly all missionaries began to recognise that formal education was essential for the transmission of Christianity. Mission education through ‘bush schools’ before 1920, and though a more structured form supported by government grants-inaid after 1924, opened doors for social mobility and jobs in the government and private enterprises. Soon, however, Africans were to realise that the educational content, aims, assumptions and modes of transmission clashed with their traditional values and worldviews. They consequently demanded a higher form of literary education and less religious instruction. As the century progressed, secondary schools and colleges were established. Education was a catalyst for the growth of Christianity between 1910 and 1960. While initially medical work was regarded as an auxiliary to evangelism, it later came to be regarded as a means of consolidating Christian life among the baptised. All missions engaged in medical work, and some, like the White Fathers in Zambia, had medical teaching in their novitiate. Catholic sisters devoted to the charism of healing, like the Medical Missionaries of Mary and the Medical Missionary Sisters, enjoyed the confidence of African women and through maternity and child care visibly reduced mortality rates of infants. Medical training institutions for nurses also were established. This pioneering medical mission work formed the bedrock of all health care provision in Eastern Africa. Missionary practice of medicine provided a challenge to traditional medical practice, which missionaries viewed as evil. The inevitable confrontation was to result in the formation of African churches that would privilege prophet-healing and the use of ritual.

Missionaries engaged in economic development on a minor scale. Constraints included lack of funds and colonial policies that prohibited Africans from engaging in business or cash crop farming, which was the preserve of settlers, especially in Kenya and Tanganyika. Nevertheless, these efforts at social transformation, combined with the power of the gospel, contributed to Christianity being felt in the grassroot communities and expanding tremendously. Indigenous Christianity As Africans encountered the gospel, they responded in a variety of ways, developing new forms of religious expressions and demonstrating innovative and creative ways of dealing with problems that arose from their cultural context and that were neglected by Western Christianity. The earliest responses were the Ethiopian or nationalist churches exemplified by the Providence Industrial Mission of John Chilembwe, Malawi; by Joshua Kate Mgema and Malaki Mussajjakawa’s Society of the Almighty God (Bamalaki) in Uganda; by the African Orthodox Church of Reuben Mukasa Spartas, Uganda; and by the Gikuyu Independent churches and schools of central Kenya in the 1920s and 1930s. Ethiopian churches also spread from South Africa to Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique due to the influence of migrant workers who brought the faith there on returning home. These movements of religious independency articulated a radical political consciousness. They emerged as a response to missionary paternalism, the tensions created by colonialism, and the economic mode of industrial capitalism. In these communities, Africans created an independent Christian faith that was dominated by a desire to reassert local control and the rejection of values that were considered destructive of communalism. From the end of World War I to the early 1960s, nationalist churches yielded to prophet-founded religious movements, also known as Zionist or Apostolic in Zimbabwe and Spiritual or Roho churches in Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika. Drawing their membership largely from among the poor, these churches changed the face of Christianity at the time due to their challenge to white theology, pneumatic use of the Bible, innovative liturgy, emphasis on communality and healing, a strong focus on spiritual gifts and powers, strong understanding of sin and ritual purity, and incorporation of aspects of African religion and culture. The churches emerged as a response to revivalism, the perceived lethargy of missionary Christianity, and indifference to the African experience of the Holy Spirit. The Roho movement commenced as a Charismatic movement among young people within the Anglican Church in western Kenya in 1912. Zionist and Apostolic churches spread to Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, again through migrant labour. Other churches, like those founded by Johane Masowe, Johane Maranke and Mai Chaza of Zimbabwe and Alice Lenshina Mulenga of Zambia, catalysed the growth of Zionism into national religious movements that then became transnational. These churches offered ‘a place to feel at home’, especially in the soulless, anonymous urban areas defined by individualism, secularism and a hostile industrial environment. Some were also in the forefront of liberation struggles. The nationalist churches in Kenya and the Zionists in Zimbabwe rendered spiritual and sometimes material support to the Mau Mau and Zimbabwe liberation struggles in the 1950s and 1970s, respectively. Other churches were offshoots of the Great East African Revival Movement, which started in Rwanda in 1928, spreading to Uganda, the (Anglican) Church Missionary Society area of Tanzania, Sudan and Kenya. Though this movement had its deepest roots in the deep convictions and missionary vision of two young English missionaries, A. C. Stanley Smith and Leonard Sharp, it developed strongly African characteristics and became largely indigenous, influencing the life and growth of the Church in Eastern Africa for over 50 years. Revivalists emphasised the need for salvation 100

as a personal encounter with Jesus, the need for public confession of sins to attain forgiveness, asceticism, moral rectitude, and cleansing and power for believers through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Revival’s informal, spontaneous character and egalitarian ethic promoted participation by the laity, especially women and youth. However, the self-righteousness of its members led to conflict with the wider society and non-revivalist Christians. Youth nurtured in the Revival were to become leaders in the Pentecostal/Charismatic churches that emerged in the 1970s revival. The early 1960s signalled the end of an era of missions, leading to the juridical autonomy of local churches. Decolonisation inevitably impacted the religious sphere. The missionaries responded to the process with anxiety, fear and reluctance, but the process of training local clergy, initiated earlier in a low-key manner, gained momentum. There was anxiety about the resilience of primal religion in the midst of cultural nationalism and resurgent nationalism and the side effects of missionary control, sometimes including weak churches characterised by disunity, dependency and poor human resource development. Nonetheless, during the 1960s almost all the Protestant missions in the region handed over major responsibilities to the local churches. The relationship of the former missionary societies to the local churches was also something to be negotiated. In some cases, mission societies wisely handed over their property and responsibility from the beginning, while in others an uneasy partnership existed, sometimes resulting in an acrimonious relationship. Over time, most local churches have come to develop a positive relationship to their ‘mother churches’ and have also developed links with churches in other parts of the world. Meanwhile, the Roman Catholic Church, due to its hierarchical structure under the authority of Rome, did not have the pattern of autonomy evident among her Protestant counterparts. The process of forming local clergy and bishops increased in the 1950s, but it was riddled with racism, intolerance and rejection of African values. There were, however, several orders of local sisters. By 1969 the Church was virtually declared autonomous with the abolition of the right by which the Pope entrusted the mission territories to mission societies (Ius Commissions). Nevertheless, it was dependent on expatriate missionaries for the running of parishes, schools and hospitals. From early in the century efforts were made to promote church unity. For example, missionary conferences were held in Kenya between 1908 and 1918 with the aim of developing a united indigenous church. An Alliance of Protestant Missions was eventually formed that was to cooperate in education, medical work, theological education and general evangelistic outreach, especially in urban areas. After several transformations, this was to become the National Council of Churches of Kenya. In Zambia, similar challenges facing the missions, which included Presbyterians, Baptists, Congregationalists, Anglo-Catholics and Brethren, led to the formation of the United Missions on the Copperbelt, which promoted education and social welfare. This shared engagement helped to stimulate the idea of a United Church of Zambia, which became a reality in 1965. Most former mission churches, classical Pentecostals and some African Instituted Churches (AICs) in virtually all Eastern Africa belong to the national councils of churches or other associations of evangelicals or AICs, and they have made significant contributions to development, social welfare, social and political justice, poverty alleviation, education, health care, working with refugees, Bible translation and religious education. These national activities and initiatives are also jointly addressed on the continent level through the All Africa Conference of Churches. Though the Catholic Church was never initially part of the church unity effort, the Second Vatican Council’s change of attitude towards Protestants resulted in the development of dialogue and ecumenical cooperation, especially in service provision and adoption of a common stand on issues of human rights, social justice and opposition to state extremism in the region.

100

Area (sq. km): 6,401,000 Population, 2010: 332,107,000 Population density (per sq. km): 52 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.33 Life expectancy (years): 54 (male 52, female 55) Adult literacy (%): 58

Christians,1910: 5,266,000 % Christian, 1910: 15.9 Christians, 2010: 214,842,000 % Christian, 2010: 64.7 Christian 100-year growth rate,% p.a.: 3.78 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.80

0

0

% Christian

1910

1910

114

2010

2010

Gender and power The Church in Africa has a feminine face and owes much of its tremendous growth to the agency of women. Women were among the pioneer converts and have been the most ardent adherents and enthusiastic evangelists to the present day, even sacrificing their resources in propagating the gospel. Christianity gave

women autonomy and a place on which to stand and challenge the male-dominated sacred world and negative traditions that impinged on their well-being and dignity. However, this autonomy was perceived by the society as challenging gender relations, traditional authority and the stability of the family and society. Very often, women were driven to the Church by suffering and misfortune and to seek protection against accusations of witchcraft. Whereas in the mission churches women were excluded from power or leadership and where they experienced the brunt of the condemnation of polygyny, in the AICs they became agents of religious innovation, founding churches and functioning as leaders, healers, prophetesses, evangelists and composers of hymns. Prominent women founders of AICs in Eastern Africa were Alice Lenshina of the Lumpa Church in Zambia, 1955; Mai Chaza of Guta La Jehova in Zimbabwe, 1955; Gaudencia Aoko of the Legio Maria Africa Church in Kenya, 1963; and Mary Akatsa of the Jerusalem Church of Christ of Kenya, 1985. Women were also prominent in the revival movements in the colonial period and the 1970s. They currently feature prominently in the Pentecostal and Charismatic ministries and churches that emerged in the 1990s, serving as founders, pastors, evangelists and teachers. Women’s involvement in mainline churches, Charismatic churches and AICs also takes the form of the innumerable church women’s organisations (manyanos). In the Catholic Church, African congregations of nuns were founded in Tanganyika, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and elsewhere. In the 1920s and 1930s a large number of African women’s orders were founded, often, though not always, by bishops. Examples include the Banabikira and the Little Sisters of St Francis, Uganda; the Congregation of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate, Kenya; and the Daughters of Jesus the Good Shepherd, Zambia. Their work in education, pastoral work, health care, justice and peace advocacy is remarkable.

The Catholic Church generally has acted with caution, preferring to concentrate on its pastoral responsibilities but issuing pastoral letters critical of state extremisms, injustice and corruption, and also taking firm stands on religious or moral principles relating to reproductive health. The Jesuit Center for Theological Reflection in Zambia is an example of a Christian organisation that is providing theological leadership on issues of social justice not only to Zambia but also to others in Eastern and Middle Africa. Since the 1994 genocide the Church in Rwanda has faced the challenges of authenticity and recovering her moral authority, having been indirectly implicated in the tragedy. This problem also bedevils the churches in Kenya due to their perceived failure to provide moral leadership in the face of the ethnic conflict provoked by the presidential election of 2007. Justice, peace, reconciliation and healing are the most urgent needs in the Rwandan nation. The Church there and in other conflict areas in Eastern Africa, like Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, faces the challenge of building sustainable and transformed Christian communities characterised by justice and love for the poor. Though the Church is active in nation-building through its many development programmes, it faces the challenge of contributing to construction of national identities and national consciousnesses in countries where ethnicity has been a divisive element. In regard to indigenisation, the Second Vatican Council ignited liturgical and pastoral renewal in the Roman Catholic Church, with Tanzanians leading the way in Eastern Africa. Kiswahili became an important liturgical language, as did other vernacular languages. The indigenisation process builds on work by pioneer missionaries like Johan Krapf of the Church Missionary Society and Arthur Barlow of the Church of Scotland Mission, who translated portions of the Bible into local languages. The ordination of indigenous clergy, establishment of autonomous churches and development of African Christian contextual theology have all contributed to the inculturation of Christianity in the region. Eminent scholars include Laurenti Magesa and Charles Nyamiti of Tanzania, Jesse Mugambi of Kenya, and John Mary Waliggo and Peter Kanyandago of Uganda. The late twentieth century witnessed the founding of Christian universities in many Eastern African countries, continuing the tradition of investing in education as a primary way of impacting society. Despite progress on many fronts, the Church in Eastern Africa still, however, faces challenges of being the ‘salt of the earth’ and the ‘light of the world’. The numerical growth is yet to be matched by deep, faithful commitment to the gospel. The faithful need to be aware that peace, justice and reconciliation are integral to evangelisation. The leadership is challenged to exercise its prophetic voice in speaking out against injustice and in favour of reconciliation. The future of the Church in Eastern Africa in the next 100 years will depend on how it faithfully lives out the gospel in the midst of these and other challenges, how it develops its self-understanding and how it mobilises its spiritual and material resources to work together as the Body of Christ.

PHILOMENA NJERI MWAURA William B. Anderson, The Church in East Africa 1840–1977 (Nairobi: Uzima Press, 1977). John Baur, 2000 Years of Christianity in Africa: An African History 62–1992 (Nairobi: Paulines Publications Africa, 1994). Elizabeth Isichei, A History of Christianity in Africa From Antiquity to the Present (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995). Ogbu U. Kalu (ed.), African Christianity: An African Story (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2007). Bengt G. M. Sundkler and Christopher Steed, A History of the Church in Africa (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000).

Christianity in Eastern Africa by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Ethiopia Madagascar Uganda Mauritius Tanzania Reunion Eritrea Zimbabwe Seychelles Mozambique

Christians 3,431,000 1,115,000 204,000 134,000 106,000 96,700 84,600 26,600 21,300 20,000

Highest percentage 2010 Ethiopia Kenya Uganda Tanzania Malawi Mozambique Madagascar Zambia Zimbabwe Burundi

Christians 52,477,000 33,393,000 28,923,000 23,690,000 12,001,000 11,925,000 11,030,000 10,775,000 9,512,000 8,879,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 % Christian Seychelles 97.1 Reunion 52.0 British Indian Ocean 41.2 Madagascar 39.1 Ethiopia 38.0 Mauritius 33.5 Eritrea 15.9 Uganda 6.7 Zimbabwe 3.8 Tanzania 2.4

Fastest growth 2010 % Christian Seychelles 96.2 Burundi 92.9 Reunion 87.4 Zambia 85.3 British Indian Ocean 85.0 Uganda 85.0 Kenya 82.2 Malawi 79.8 Rwanda 79.1 Zimbabwe 69.1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Burundi Rwanda Kenya Zambia Malawi Mozambique Somaliland Zimbabwe Tanzania Uganda

% p.a. 11.86 11.80 9.05 8.69 6.75 6.60 6.29 6.06 5.56 5.08

2000–2010 Burundi Eritrea Uganda Tanzania Madagascar Kenya Rwanda Malawi Ethiopia Mozambique

% p.a. 3.90 3.74 3.27 3.17 3.03 2.86 2.80 2.70 2.67 2.64

115

EASTERN AFRICA

Contemporary Christianity From World War II to the present, Christianity has experienced tremendous growth, making it the largest religion in Eastern Africa. As old missions have declined, new ones have emerged, targeting such marginalised groups as pastoral and Muslim communities in northern Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia. Social and political disturbances (caused by World War II and liberation wars thereafter) and disillusionment with Christianity, due to its perceived collusion with colonialism, did lead some converts to fall away. Nevertheless, the same conditions acted as catalysts for growth as the faithful witness of Christian people created strong and enduring Christian communities. For example, since World War II in Kenya and Tanzania, Catholics have increased greatly in numbers; they nearly doubled their membership in the first ten years after World War II, and today they are the largest Christian denomination in these two countries. Competition generated by an influx of new mission groups and churches has been an impetus to growth. Christian independency appealed to those offended by an apparently foreign and intellectual Christianity that ignored pneumatic experiences. From the 1970s to the beginning of the twenty-first century there has been Charismatic renewal, resulting in the formation of NeoPentecostal or Charismatic churches or ministries, some indigenously initiated and others with transnational connections within Africa and in Asia, Latin America and Northern America. These have posed challenges to the older AICs, which are now in decline or have been forced to reinvent themselves to be relevant by imbibing some of the theological and cultural elements of Neo-Pentecostals.

The fast-growing Charismatic Christianity is a predominantly urban phenomenon, attracting upwardly mobile youth and women. It is characterised by nondenominationalism, crusade evangelism, stress on the conversion experience confirmed through oral testimonies, vibrant worship, use of media technologies, and emphasis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The movement has created a ‘Pentecost outside Pentecostalism’ by charismatising mainline Protestant, Catholic and Evangelical churches. Pentecostalism provides adherents with a space and discourse for reflecting upon the pitfalls of modernity and also spiritual resources derived from the Bible and traditional African spirituality to deal with these pitfalls. The churches and ministries also exhibit awareness of social, political and economic challenges bedeviling the region and seek to address them through spiritual means. However, this approach is often criticised for spiritualising problems and not being proactive. A significant trend in Eastern African Christianity, despite the efforts at self-reliance and creation of an African Church, is the increasing influx of foreign missionaries of all Christian traditions from the USA, India, South Korea, the Philippines and other countries. Some are long-term missionaries, while others, especially among Evangelicals, are short-term. Contacts with needy local churches often are established through the Internet, an approach that circumvents mission agencies in ‘sending’ countries. These efforts at evangelism and development are complemented by the activities of Christian non-governmental organisations like Christian Aid, World Vision and Catholic Relief Services. They are involved in a wide range of activities, from rehabilitation of the justice system to strengthening food security; nutrition outreach programmes; health and water sanitation; HIV/AIDS education, prevention and care; conflict resolution; and agricultural productivity. These activities, though noble, reinforce the dependence of the African Church on foreign agencies. In the post-independence period churches became more actively engaged with the political sphere. At independence, the main Christian denominations (Catholics and Anglicans) in Uganda were allied to the main political parties, but their influence markedly decreased after independence. The tyrannical rule of Milton Obote (1962–71) and Idi Amin (1971–8) propelled the churches to suspend their old rivalries and seemingly portray a united voice of protest. In Tanzania, Julius Nyerere’s socialist ideology (Ujamaa), and policies for villages did not affect church growth and even received support from the Catholic Bishop Christopher Mwoleka of Rulenge, who ran his household in an Ujamaa style. Ujamaa was perceived to closely agree with the true spirit of ‘Christ and the Church’. The oil crises of the 1970s, the war with Amin of Uganda and the depreciation of coffee, the country’s main export, created a climate of poverty, fear and insecurity that facilitated the planting and growth of Charismatic churches. In Kenya, Malawi and Zambia, the churches played an important role in the movements for multiparty democracy in the 1990s, having previously been acquiescent. In Kenya this movement was spearheaded by the national council of churches and individual Anglican and Presbyterian clergymen, some of whom suffered violence and even death at the hands of the state. The churches in this region acted as alternatives to political parties and civil society organisations that were banned at the time. The churches mobilised the faithful through education, lobbying and advocacy on issues of social justice, human rights, civic education and democracy. They also have been in the vanguard of agitation for constitutional reform, even acting as mediators between the state and citizens.

Christianity in Eastern Africa, 1910–2010

E

Religions in Eastern Africa Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

2

1910 Adherents % 5,266,000 15.9 4,242,000 12.8 23,256,000 70.4 242,000 0.7 0 0.0 220 0.0 20 0.0 3,700 0.0 3,500 0.0 2,300 0.0 12,500 0.0 1,500 0.0 0 0.0 230 0.0 0 0.0 33,030,000 100.0

2010

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

5

Religious affiliation and growth in Eastern Africa, 1910 and 2010

Percent Christian

Christians Muslims Ethnoreligionists Hindus Baha'is Agnostics Atheists Jains Buddhists Sikhs Jews Chinese folk New Religionists Zoroastrians Spiritists Total population

2010 Adherents % 214,842,000 64.7 72,436,000 21.8 40,640,000 12.2 1,577,000 0.5 1,150,000 0.3 1,054,000 0.3 121,000 0.0 90,100 0.0 75,800 0.0 53,600 0.0 34,400 0.0 28,200 0.0 3,400 0.0 850 0.0 660 0.0 332,107,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 3.78 2.80 2.88 2.68 0.56 1.40 1.89 1.89 12.36 2.48 8.84 2.77 9.10 2.50 3.24 2.32 3.12 2.54 3.20 2.06 1.02 0.88 2.98 1.67 6.00 1.26 1.32 -0.35 4.28 1.30 2.33 2.59

= 1% of population = All other religions

Christians in Eastern Africa Ken ya

Proportion of all Christians in Eastern Africa, 2010

Somaliland Somalia Seychelles

Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Graph Proportion a country’s Proportioninofthe a country’s Christians region Colour Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in cent Christian in each country or region aPer country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian and of region Map Location Per cent Location and Perregion cent Locationof ofregion the Christian Christian of region

Mauritius Reunion

a

a

d Ugan

Eritrea da

Rwan

di

Ta n

run

Bu

za

e bw

m

Zi

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 5.61 3.11 4.45 2.95 11.47 2.21 12.40 4.31 2.48 2.62 4.78 2.92

Madag

% by tradition

100-year and 10-year growth rates* 10

1910

2010

0

2

5

Rate* 1910–2010

2010 Adherents 23,108,000 67,344,000 24,446,000 1,192,000 38,682,000 60,481,000

i law Ma

Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

1910 Adherents 98,500 867,000 470 0 3,342,000 566,000

e

Major Christian traditions in Eastern Africa, 1910 & 2010

nia

ba

Zam

British Indian Ocean

pi

10

10

11.47

8

8

6

6

4

4

11.47 12.40

0

2

10

10

8

8

6

6

All All 4 Christians Christians

40 60 2

12.40

Rate* 2000–2010

Comoros

Key: Graph Key:MayotteGraph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s

ascar

Djibouti

io

bia

Mayotte

Et h

Mayotte British Indian Ocean Comoros Somaliland Djibouti Somalia Seychelles

Key:

Mozambiqu

astern Africa has experienced a profound transformation of its religious landscape over the past 100 years. Ethnoreligionists, although increasing from 23 to 40 million, have nonetheless decreased as a percentage of the population, from over 70% in 1910 to less than 13% by 2010. The main gains have been made by Christians, increasing from five million to 215 million, or from 16% to 65% of the population, over the same period. Muslims have also grown steadily, from 13% to 22% of the population. Among the Christian traditions, Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Protestants all grew at more than twice the population rate over the century. But it was Independents and Marginal Christians who had the highest growth rates, five to six times faster than population growth. The Orthodox (who date their presence in the region back to the fourth century) showed modest growth in the twentieth century, and they maintain an important presence, especially in Ethiopia. The Orthodox represented almost 70% of all Christians in 1910, but they are less than 20% today. Christian growth has varied greatly from country to country in Eastern Africa. In the Seychelles and Mauritius, Christians grew at essentially the same rate as the population over the century. In Burundi, Kenya and Rwanda, Christian growth rates ranged between 9 and 12% per year, far exceeding population growth rates. The rapid growth of Christianity in these countries was the result of several revivals in the region. The most significant revival began in Rwanda and Uganda in the 1930s, when numerous people converted to Christianity with mystical experiences. Such spiritual movements met with opposition from the colonial authorities, but they helped create and define many African Christian communities both inside and outside of the traditional churches. One such movement that came out of the 1930s revival was the Balokole Movement, which sought to reform the corrupt Protestant establishment in the region, and it spread to Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. However, the widespread corruption of the pro-Christian government in Kenya, the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, and corresponding ethnic and religious tensions in Burundi are warning signs against overconfidence in church growth. Five countries – Comoros, Djibouti, Mayotte, Somalia and Somaliland – are still less than 2% Christian; they are predominately Muslim. Like Northern Africa, several of those countries lost expatriate Christians through emigration after independence. The statistical centre of gravity of Christianity in Eastern Africa has moved markedly to the south and west over the century, pulled by conversions of tribal groups in inland provinces throughout the region. Although African Independent Churches (or African Initiated Churches) continue to provide leadership in establishing African communities of Christians, mainline churches (Catholic, Anglican, Protestant, Orthodox) should not be overlooked as they remain part of the strength of Eastern African Christianity.

75

3.78

3.78 2

85 90

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

% Christian

0

4

95 100

2

All All Christians Christians

2.80

2.80

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

Christians in Eastern Africa, 1910 and 2010 Eastern Africa British Indian Ocean Burundi Comoros Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Madagascar Malawi Mauritius Mayotte Mozambique Reunion Rwanda Seychelles Somalia Somaliland Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe

Population 33,030,000 570 1,206,000 81,400 25,100 532,000 9,035,000 3,362,000 2,849,000 982,000 399,000 11,900 3,117,000 186,000 1,232,000 21,900 713,000 227,000 4,371,000 3,028,000 947,000 703,000

1910 Christians 5,266,000 240 120 110 150 84,600 3,431,000 5,800 1,115,000 17,500 134,000 30 20,000 96,700 120 21,300 710 0 106,000 204,000 2,600 26,600

% 15.9 41.2 0.0 0.1 0.6 15.9 38.0 0.2 39.1 1.8 33.5 0.3 0.6 52.0 0.0 97.1 0.1 0.0 2.4 6.7 0.3 3.8

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

Population 332,107,000 2,000 9,553,000 773,000 877,000 5,323,000 89,566,000 40,645,000 21,299,000 15,037,000 1,289,000 130,000 22,635,000 836,000 10,601,000 87,600 5,407,000 4,079,000 43,542,000 34,040,000 12,625,000 13,760,000

2010 Christians % 214,842,000 Region64.7 total 85.0 British1,700 Indian Ocean 8,879,000 Burundi 92.9 3,800Comoros 0.5 14,100 Djibouti 1.6 2,512,000 Eritrea 47.2 52,477,000 Ethiopia 58.6 33,393,000 Kenya 82.2 11,030,000 51.8 Madagascar 12,001,000 Malawi 79.8 435,000Mauritius 33.7 940 Mayotte 0.7 Mozambique 11,925,000 52.7 731,000 Reunion 87.4 8,390,000 Rwanda 79.1 Seychelles 84,300 96.2 59,200 Somalia 1.1 Somaliland 4,400 0.1 23,690,000Tanzania 54.4 28,923,000 Uganda 85.0 10,775,000 Zambia 85.3 Zimbabwe 9,512,000 69.1

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

116 0

20

40

60

80

100

Eritrea

Christians in Eastern Africa by province, 2010

Djibouti Somaliland Ethiopia

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Province Country Amhara Ethiopia Oromiya Ethiopia Southern Nations Ethiopia Rift Valley Kenya Eastern Kenya Nyanza Kenya Tigray Ethiopia Central Kenya Western Kenya Antananarivo Madagascar

Population 23,071,000 31,239,000 17,305,000 9,900,000 6,563,000 6,223,000 5,230,000 5,277,000 4,759,000 6,218,000

Christians 18,561,000 13,652,000 11,075,000 8,474,000 5,657,000 5,451,000 4,969,000 4,564,000 4,045,000 3,757,000

% 80.5 43.7 64.0 85.6 86.2 87.6 95.0 86.5 85.0 60.4

Somalia Uganda !

1910

Christian centre of gravity

Rwanda !

Burundi

2010

British Indian Ocean Territory (off page)

Kenya Seychelles

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

Tanzania Malawi

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

Zambia Comoros

EASTERN AFRICA

Mayotte

Mozambique Mauritius Reunion Zimbabwe

Madagascar

1910

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Eastern Africa British Indian Ocean Burundi Comoros Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Madagascar Malawi Mauritius Mayotte Mozambique Reunion Rwanda Seychelles Somalia Somaliland Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 5,641,000 3,798,000 9,439,000 Eastern Africa 10 30 British Indian40 Ocean 341,900 141,100 483,000 Burundi 60 70 130 Comoros 20 400 420 Djibouti 74,500 46,100 120,600 Eritrea 1,280,000 886,000 2,166,000 Ethiopia 879,000 572,000 1,451,000 Kenya 310,700 123,000 433,700 Madagascar 291,800 204,500 496,300 Malawi 5,960 3,840 9,800 Mauritius -2 32 30 Mayotte 263,200 255,500 518,700 Mozambique 8,600 7,200 15,800 Reunion 235,600 179,600 415,200 Rwanda 310 900 1,210 Seychelles -70 2,640 2,570 Somalia -20 220 200 Somaliland 733,300 355,700 1,089,000 Tanzania 873,000 568,000 1,441,000 Uganda 233,400 237,400 470,800 Zambia 110,000 213,500 323,500 Zimbabwe

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

Immigrants

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

total 3.78Region 2.33 British Indian1.26 Ocean 2.00 11.86 Burundi 2.09 3.62 Comoros 2.28 4.65 Djibouti 3.62 Eritrea 3.45 2.33 2.77 Ethiopia 2.32 Kenya 9.05 2.52 2.32Madagascar 2.03 6.75 Malawi 2.77 1.19 Mauritius 1.18 3.50 Mayotte 2.42 6.60 2.00 Mozambique 2.04 Reunion 1.51 11.80 Rwanda 2.18 1.39 Seychelles 1.40 4.52 Somalia 2.05 6.29Somaliland 2.93 5.56 Tanzania 2.33 5.08 Uganda 2.45 8.69 Zambia 2.62 6.06Zimbabwe 3.02 ⇐

0%

100%

⇒

-2

Region2.59 total 2.80 British Indian Ocean -0.05 0.00 12.30 3.90 Burundi 3.66 2.19 Comoros 2.61 0.46 Djibouti 1.86 3.74 Eritrea 3.75 2.67 Ethiopia 2.59 2.86 Kenya 2.66 3.03 2.78 Madagascar 2.70 Malawi 2.61 1.19Mauritius 0.85 0.92 Mayotte 2.49 2.64 2.21 Mozambique 1.41 Reunion 1.45 2.80 Rwanda 2.63 0.72Seychelles 0.77 0.64 Somalia 2.86 -0.73 3.20 Somaliland 3.17 Tanzania 2.55 3.27 Uganda 3.26 2.14 Zambia 1.91 1.10Zimbabwe 0.84

0%

2

4

6

8

-2

8

-2 -1 0

0%

2

4

117 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90 100

-2 -1 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Christianity in Middle Africa, 1910–2010

T

he countries comprising Middle Africa are diverse in size, history and character. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) dominates the region in terms of both size and population, while São Tomé & Príncipe is one of Africa’s smallest countries. So far as colonial history is concerned, the Republic of Congo (Congo), Central African Republic, Chad, Gabon and east Cameroon were ruled by the French; DR Congo by the Belgians; Angola and São Tomé & Príncipe by the Portuguese; and Equatorial Guinea by the Spanish. Independence came to all countries in the region in 1960 with the exception of Equatorial Guinea (1968) and Angola and São Tomé & Príncipe (1975). The predominant political development following independence was the development of presidential republics, with power concentrated in the presidential office and parliament usually neutralised. Ideological and ethnically-based conflict prevented the emergence of unified national identities, while the interests of foreign powers in the abundant natural resources of the region brought a further element of instability. As a result, the region’s economic potential has been largely unrealised, as its resources have benefitted external interests and internal elites while the great majority of the population has experienced deepening levels of poverty, disease and violence. Christian mission has therefore been undertaken in a context of large-scale abuse of power and extensive human suffering. Contemporary Christianity in Middle Africa can be divided into three main groupings: Roman Catholic churches, Protestant churches and African Initiated Churches (AICs). Each grouping, however, contains different elements, and there are important continuities running across the different groupings. While Roman Catholic churches retain the traditional stress on the unity and authority of the Church, Protestant churches tend to stress the authority of the Bible and the need for an individual relationship with Jesus Christ as personal Saviour. Protestant churches range from the churches of the Anglican Communion, which have much in common with the Roman Catholic community, to Pentecostal mission churches under African leadership, which have much in common with African Initiated Churches. On their side, African Initiated Churches (or African Independent Churches, or African Indigenous Churches) range from independent versions of Western Protestant churches to highly syncretistic Christian versions of traditional African religions, which may use Christian language in reference to God without having any distinctive role for Jesus Christ. They emphasise the Charismatic influence of the Holy Spirit and the visionary role of their leaders. They often have a vividly spiritualistic view of reality, with demons and witches, in which diseases have spiritual causes and cures. This African appreciation of unseen spiritual realities is closer to the Biblical world than to the Western world and created a constant tension with the view of Western missions, which was based on a strictly scientific approach to disease and misfortune. The AICs led the way in the introduction of a biblically-based practice of exorcism, faith healing and rainmaking through prayer. While having much in common with historic Christianity, Kimbanguism, originating from the Democratic Republic of Congo, recognises its founder Simon Kimbangu as a prophet and incorporates African traditional beliefs, such as relating to the ancestors as the ‘living dead’. A theme common to all three groupings during the twentieth century has been the emergence of autochthonous leadership. An important spur to this process was the visit of John R. Mott, who brought the influence of the 1910 Edinburgh World Missionary Conference to the region in 1936. When most mission societies thought that it was premature to entrust ministry responsibility to nationals, Mott encouraged them to ordain autochthones to the ministry. A parallel dynamic came from the explosion of indigenous Christian movements, often led by messianic figures like Simon Kimbangu. Political independence in the

second half of the twentieth century ushered in a period when both national and church leaders tended to be the products of Christian missionary education. With Western missionary agencies meeting crises of their own, by the end of the century national church leaders had accepted full responsibility for the life and witness of their churches. The story of Christianity in Middle Africa is the story of very different groups radiating out, first from Western mission stations and missionaries, and secondly from African Initiated Churches founded by Africans and functioning without any financial dependence on Western missions or churches. Religious pluralism Throughout Middle Africa, Christian mission has occurred in a context of religious pluralism that is grounded on the ethnic and linguistic pluralism of the region and the policy of colonial governments to assign particular missions to a designated geographical area or ethnic group. The Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, is often regarded as a Christian country, but there is also substantial Muslim presence, while many continue to practise traditional indigenous religions. Minority religious groups include Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and Coptic (Orthodox) Christians. Religious organisations are required by law to undergo a process of official recognition, but, once recognised, they are free to establish places of worship and train clergy. Throughout the country, there has been a proliferation of churches and training schools for clergy. Syncretistic religions include Bundu dia Kongo, which is concentrated predominately in Bas Congo province. Muslims are concentrated mainly in the eastern provinces of Kivu and Maniema, and in Kinshasa, the capital. At times the government has sought to promote inter-religious understanding by supporting and consulting with the country’s five major religious groups: Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim and Kimbanguist. Islam is widespread throughout the region, with a concentration in certain countries. In Cameroon, Muslims can be found in large numbers in every province. In large cities mosques and churches are often located near each other. The Fulani (or Peuhl) ethnic group in the north is mostly Muslim, as is the Bamoun ethnic group in the western province. In the northern provinces, especially in rural areas, there is evidence of discrimination against non-Muslims. High levels of poverty and unemployment make young people susceptible to fundamentalism promoted by activists trained in Pakistan and Sudan. Tensions between Muslims and Christians do arise and are not always easily resolved, though leaders of both communities act quickly to encourage their congregations to respect religious diversity and promote religious tolerance. The northern part of the Republic of Chad is predominantly Muslim, while many in the south profess Christian faith or traditional indigenous religious belief. The vast majority of Muslims are adherents of a moderate branch of mystical Islam (Sufism) known locally as Tijaniyah, which incorporates some local African religious elements. A small minority of the country’s Muslims hold more fundamentalist practices, associating with Saudi-oriented belief systems such as Wahhabism or Salafism. Itinerant Muslim preachers primarily come from Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Saudi Arabian funding supports social and educational projects and extensive mosque construction. While the government is legally committed to treat all faiths or denominations equally, Islamic congregations have continued to be viewed as having preferential status. A large portion of senior government officials are Muslim, and some policies favour Islam in practice. Religious leaders are involved in managing the country’s wealth. A representative of the religious community sits on the Revenue Management College, the body that oversees the allocation of oil revenues. The seat rotates between Muslim and Christian leaders 100

100

Area (sq. km): 6,612,000 Population, 2010: 129,583,000 Population density (per sq. km): 20 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.91 Life expectancy (years): 49 (male 48, female 50) Adult literacy (%): 64

Christians, 1910: 207,000 % Christian, 1910: 1.1 Christians, 2010: 105,830,000 % Christian, 2010: 81.7 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 6.44 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.93

0

0

% Christian

1910

1910

118

2010

2010

every nine years. In 2007 the Christian representative, a Catholic priest, stepped down; he was replaced by a Muslim professor in 2008. Religious instruction is prohibited in public schools; however, all religious groups are permitted to operate private schools without restriction. Many Islamic schools are commonly believed to be financed by Arab donors (governments, non-governmental organisations and individuals), particularly from Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia. Egypt provides a number of Egyptian teachers for Islamic educational institutions operating at the high school and university level. Libya is also known to financially support teachers at Qur’anic and Arab-language schools throughout Chad. Because of the poor quality of Chad’s educational system, many Muslim families look to Islamic schools as an opportunity for educating children who otherwise would have little or no access to formal schooling. Among the numerous private radio stations broadcasting throughout the country, six are owned by Christians and two by Muslims. There are regular meetings between key religious leaders to discuss problems of peaceful coexistence, tolerance and respect for religious freedom. These dialogues, of which the government is generally supportive, are usually initiated by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace. Throughout the region, the pluralistic character of the religious landscape is a consistent feature, with the relative strengths of the different religious movements varying from country to country. It is also apparent that many people are influenced by more than one religious tradition. In particular, many Christians and Muslims continue to practise some elements of African traditional religion. In Equatorial Guinea, for example, almost the entire population was baptised Catholic during the period of Spanish colonial rule, but many continued to practise their traditional religion. Much of the theological work in the region has been concerned with the interaction of Christian faith and the traditional African religion that remains a substratum in the lives of most converts. By and large, there is religious freedom, though there are cases where in practice the government appears to favour a particular religious community. For the state it is a challenge to keep abreast of the mushrooming of religious movements and to guarantee public peace in situations where there are tensions between competing groups. Churches usually are required to undertake a process of official registration, and this can give rise to tension between the state and Christian churches. In the Central African Republic, for example, 34 Protestant churches were suspended in 2003 for failure to register properly. In order to re-open, the churches had to demonstrate that they had more than 1,000 members and that their leaders had graduated from a biblical or theological school. Religion and education are closely related, with many of the schools throughout the region being run by religious organisations. Many religious groups also are involved in broadcasting, both through being allocated time on national television and radio and through developing their own independent broadcasting stations. It is in this dynamic and plural religious environment that the churches seek to extend their influence. Despite significant efforts to promote an ecumenical approach over the past century, competition rather than cooperation often marks the relationships between churches. Effective ecumenical work is seen in national councils of churches, in institutions of theological training and in the work of Bible translation. Church and society The end of colonial rule throughout the region in the mid-twentieth century brought the challenges of building the nations and establishing just and peaceful societies. Given their strength, religious movements across the region have had major roles to play. Western missionary work has had a major focus on responding to human need, often through medical work. This approach was sometimes criticised for lack of engagement at the spiritual level. The acute poverty apparent in the late twentieth century has provoked a renewed commitment to a holistic approach in mission, attempting to engage at both the physical and spiritual levels. Serving people confronted by diseases such as malaria, typhoid, leprosy and HIV/AIDS has challenged churches to develop medical programmes as expressions of Christian ministry. They have set up

the USA, to prepare Christians to exercise leadership guided by biblical principles in their societies. At moments of crisis in a number of countries, it is the churches and their leaders that have emerged as the key players. In Angola, for example, efforts to achieve peace and national reconciliation after decades of civil war were led by the Ecumenical Inter-Church Committee for Peace in Angola, a joint initiative of the Council of Christian Churches in Angola and the Roman Catholic Pro-Peace Movement. Dynamics of mission The mid-twentieth century saw great advances in terms of the expansion of churches throughout the region, but cultivating depth of faith and discipleship was identified as a primary challenge by many church leaders. This was addressed during the second half of the twentieth century through attempts to promote a more authentically African expression of Christian faith. Often this took effect at the liturgical level. The African Initiated Churches led in introducing African music and dance to their worship. This lead has been followed by almost all of the Western-related churches so that their worship has come to have an unmistakably African character. Following the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church took the lead in Francophone Africa in the development of a liturgy that would meet the African soul. After many years of experimentation, a rite zaïrois was granted official recognition. In all Christian traditions church choirs have been attractive, especially to young people, and they have become a powerful vehicle for expressing Christian faith in African idiom. Often on the leading edge of the local musical scene, church-based choirs not only have been a mainspring of liturgical renewal but also have proved their worth as a key instrument of evangelism, reaching many people with an attractively expressed Christian message. Certainly one of the major developments in Christianity in the Middle Africa region during the twentieth century has been the introduction of African music to worship as a vivid expression of the entrance of the faith into the rhythms of African life. In parallel with liturgical developments, indigenous African theology has been developed in the region, with the Catholic Theological Faculties in Kinshasa and Yaoundé being significant centres of influence. The starting point for African theology in the region has been the imperative to relate the Christian faith to the African cultural heritage. A significant figure in this enterprise was Tshibangu Tshishiku, who advocated the necessity of doing African theology while studying in the Catholic Theological Faculty in Kinshasa. Another pioneer was Father Vincent Mulago, the founder and director of the Centre d’Etudes des Religions Africaines (Centre for the Study of African Religions) in Kinshasa, which, in 1967, launched the influential periodical Cahiers des Religions Africaines. Other distinguished contributors to the emergence of an African theology within this region include Oscar Bimwenyi-Kweshi, Ngindu Mushete, Bénézet Bujo, Masamba ma Mpolo, Kimpianga Kia Mahaniah, Jose Chipenda, Engelbert Mveng and Jean-Marc Ela. Several of these theologians played a leading role in the establishment of the Ecumenical Association of African Theologians in 1977 and contributed to its journal, the Bulletin of African Theology. Their early work was concentrated on a recognition of the integrity of the African cultural and religious heritage and an exploration of how this could be integrated with a profession of Christian faith. Without departing from this central concern, as this theology developed it became increasingly engaged also with questions of social justice. Drawing creatively both on the African tradition and on the prophetic dimension of biblical Christianity,

these theologians began to mount a serious challenge to the abuse of power, corruption and exploitation that were creating intense human suffering in much of the region. Among Protestants, the Congo Protestant University in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangui Evangelical School of Theology in the Central African Republic, and Yaoundé Theological Faculty in Cameroon have sought to lead students towards contextual articulations of Christian faith. This indigenised Christian faith has spread in popular culture through the media, first through radio broadcasts and later through television, cassette tapes and compact discs. African Initiated Churches took the lead in this area, but Western-related churches were equally active by the end of the century. In Cameroon, for example, the Pentecostal Radio Bonne Nouvelle is complemented by the Roman Catholic stations Radio Reine and Radio Veritas. The state television station devotes two hours to Christian programmes on Sunday mornings, one hour for a Roman Catholic programme and one hour for a Protestant programme, while one hour on Friday evenings is dedicated to a Muslim programme. The missionary impetus of Christianity has often been dissipated in Middle Africa through internal competition, division and conflict. Earlier denominational differences were compounded from the mid-twentieth century by the growing split between those who identified themselves as ‘ecumenical’ and those who understood themselves as ‘evangelical’. Much energy has been expended through different groupings entering into competition with one another at the expense of outward missionary engagement. With the turn of the twenty-first century came growing antagonism between the ‘historic’ churches and a new wave of ‘Charismatic’ churches, with each side roundly denouncing the other. In recent years attempts have been made to break down barriers and to mobilise Christians for the missionary task, for example through the Movement of African National Initiatives (MANI) that began at the African Millennium Consultation held in Jerusalem in 2001. MANI aims to ‘catalyse, mobilise and multiply the resources of the Body of Christ in Africa for the fulfilment of the Great Commission.’ Its vision is to permeate the grassroots in each African nation and so to influence the continent and the wider world. The efforts of local leaders are augmented by a continuing presence of foreign missionaries, often engaged in specialist ministries such as Bible translation. In a context like the eastern DR Congo, where many people have been displaced through ethnically-based conflicts and civil wars, the credibility of the churches’ witness will depend on how far they are able to remain alongside people in their dislocation and provide a basis on which just and peaceful communities can be built. In both the colonial and the post-independence periods, the churches have occupied an ambiguous position, sometimes compromised by association with the status quo and sometimes a prophetic force for change. Amidst sometimes catastrophic social breakdown, they face the question of whether they can uphold basic Christian values, faithfully announce the gospel of justice and peace, and offer healing and hope amongst a sorely afflicted people.

FOHLE LYGUNDA LI-M John Baur, 2000 Years of Christianity in Africa (Nairobi: Paulines Publications Africa, 1994). Oscar Bimwenyi-Kweshi, Discours Théologique Négro-Africain: Problème des Fondements (Paris: Présence Africaine, 1981). Reuben Ezemadu, Models, Issues and Structures of Indigenous Missions in Africa (Ibadan: ACCLAIM, 2006). Edward Fasholé-Luke, Richard Gray, Adrian Hastings and Godwin Tasie (eds), Christianity in Independent Africa (London: Rex Collings, 1978). Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Histoire de l’Afrique Noire: D’hier à Demain (Paris: Hatier, 1978).

Christians in Middle Africa by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1910 Christians DR Congo 132,000 Gabon 23,000 Angola 18,200 Congo 14,600 Cameroon 10,600 Equatorial Guinea 7,400 São Tomé & Príncipe 1,400 Central African Rep 55 Chad 0

Highest percentage 2010 Christians DR Congo 65,803,000 Angola 17,327,000 Cameroon 11,161,000 Congo 3,607,000 Central African Rep 3,048,000 Chad 2,986,000 Gabon 1,258,000 Equatorial Guinea 483,000 São Tomé & Príncipe 158,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1910 % Christian Gabon 7.4 Equatorial Guinea 5.4 São Tomé & Príncipe 3.2 Congo 2.5 DR Congo 1.4 Angola 0.6 Cameroon 0.4 Central African Rep 0.0 Chad 0.0

Fastest growth 2010 % Christian São Tomé & Príncipe 95.7 DR Congo 95.4 Angola 93.7 Gabon 90.5 Congo 89.9 Equatorial Guinea 88.6 Central African Rep 66.4 Cameroon 56.8 Chad 25.5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1910–2010 Chad Central African Rep Cameroon Angola DR Congo Congo São Tomé & Príncipe Equatorial Guinea Gabon

% p.a. 13.44 11.54 7.21 7.10 6.41 5.66 4.84 4.27 4.08

2000–2010 Chad DR Congo Angola Equatorial Guinea Congo Cameroon Central African Rep Gabon São Tomé & Príncipe

% p.a. 3.91 3.13 2.89 2.36 2.30 2.29 1.92 1.63 1.57

119

MIDDLE AFRICA

health-care centres while also spending time curing the souls of their patients through chaplaincy and healing ministries. This has had a tremendous impact, since spiritual health and physical health are intimately connected in the African understanding. However, Western missionaries often lacked the understanding of African cultural dynamics that would have allowed them to minister to the most deeply felt needs of the people. African Initiated and Pentecostal churches have been distinguished by their engagement at the level of spiritual power. Witchcraft and sorcery are practised widely throughout the region, often with very damaging effects on individuals, families and communities. The capacity of Christian faith to engage and overcome witchcraft has been a key test of its authenticity. Another long-established feature of Christian missionary practice that has retained its relevance is commitment to education. Western missionaries stressed literacy and education from the very beginning of their work in the region. One of the first tasks for missionaries in a new mission field was to translate the Bible into the language of the people among whom they lived. Converts had to learn to read so they could read the Word of God. The work of translation exercised great influence in many cultures, codifying languages and enabling people to write down and preserve elements of their oral history and literature. Literacy also gave individual Christians great power in the new colonial world. Mission schooling was probably the secondmost-important source of Christian converts in Africa. Following independence most governments took over the schools that had been developed by Christian missions. This led to a dramatic decline in the quality of the education offered. Christian churches meanwhile remain committed to sustaining networks of schools, now run on a private basis. In this way they promote literacy and enable their children to be equipped to participate in the modern economy. Through this commitment they make a massive contribution to national development throughout the region. Sadly, in much of the region national development has been severely retarded by ethnic tension, civil wars and bad governance. Most countries are rich in terms of the treasures of their soil and their abundant natural resources, but foreign interference, systematic corruption and politically motivated ethnic conflict have ensured that the majority of the population remains poor and vulnerable. Often, church members have become implicated in conflicts, with their ethnic identity apparently taking priority over their Christian faith. Some Christians have betrayed their fellow church members because of their ethnic or political identities. Lay people and clergy have been killed because other ‘Christians’ betrayed them. When it has turned its attention to the challenge of reconciliation and peacemaking, the Church has had to begin by looking at itself. This self-examination has led to prophetic engagement with society. Churches have raised questions, for example, about the proliferation of small arms, which has caused great suffering and loss of life in many parts of the region. This has involved exposing the sources of the weapons and questioning who benefits from the arms trade as well as challenging the motivation of the combatants, most of whom are professing Christians. In a context of endemic violence, prophetic church leaders have sought to apply Christian beliefs in love, forgiveness and compassion to the societies in which they live. An outstanding proponent of prophetic witness was Cardinal Joseph Malula (1917–89), Archbishop of Kinshasa, who offered firm opposition to the dictatorial approach of the Mobutu government. In recent years, efforts have been made through such initiatives as the Haggai Institute and the International Leadership Institute, both based in

Christianity in Middle Africa, 1910–2010

T

Religions in Middle Africa Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

5

Christians Muslims Ethnoreligionists Agnostics Baha'is Hindus Atheists New Religionists Buddhists Chinese folk Jews Total population

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

2010 Adherents % 105,830,000 81.7 12,403,000 9.6 9,840,000 7.6 769,000 0.6 493,000 0.4 105,000 0.1 95,500 0.1 40,900 0.0 5,700 0.0 450 0.0 400 0.0 129,583,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 6.44 2.93 2.69 2.89 -0.62 2.00 11.91 3.79 11.41 3.02 9.70 3.26 9.60 2.40 8.67 2.48 6.55 2.86 3.88 2.84 3.76 -1.39 1.91 2.86

Percent Christian = 1% of population = All other religions

Christians in Middle Africa DR Co ng o

Proportion of all Christians in Middle Africa, 2010 Key:

Key: Graph Key: Key: Graph

Proportionofofaall Christians Proportion country’s Graph Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Proportion a country’s Proportion of a country’s Christians the region Colour in Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Christian Per cent Christian in in Per cent Christian in country or region aeach country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Map Christian of region Map Location and Per cent Location and Per cent Locationof ofregion the region Christian Christian of region

São Tomé & Príncipe Equatorial Guinea

Gabon

Chad

ep an R fric ral A t n Ce go

roo

n

n Co

a

Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

2010

Adherents 0

Adherents 561,000

125,000 4,200 0 50 62,500

57,478,000 19,000,000 738,000 15,300 26,467,000

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 11.56 3.41 6.32 8.78 11.86 5.89 6.24

2.81 2.96 5.93 1.96 3.28

1910

0

2010

2

5

Rate* 1910–2010

1910

10

10

10

8

8

6

6

4

4

11.56

11.56 11.86

10

10

8

8

6

40 60 2 2 0

11.86

Rate* 2000–2010

Major Christian traditions in Middle Africa, 1910 & 2010 % by tradition

75

0 %A Christian C AI CM IO MP

All All 4 Christians Christians

85 90 6.44 6.44 2

O P

0

6 4

95 100

2

All All Christians Christians

2.93

2.93

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

The two largest Protestant denominations in the region are the Baptist and the Brethren churches, both of which were started by Northern American missionary societies following World War I. The first Catholic mission was opened in 1894, and the Roman Catholic Church is now organised into five dioceses under an African archbishop. In terms of indigenous churches, a schism by Mandja tribesmen out of Baptist Mid-Missions in 1956 resulted in the Comité Baptiste, which has since received missionaries from France and Switzerland. There are also numerous adherents of Independent churches from DR Congo living and working in Central African Republic; there has been little missionary outreach from this country. There are fewer than a dozen Catholic and Protestant missionaries sent out from Central African Republic.

Christians in Middle Africa, 1910 and 2010 Middle Africa Angola Cameroon Central African Rep Chad Congo DR Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon São Tomé & Príncipe

Population 19,443,000 3,175,000 2,915,000 857,000 1,826,000 585,000 9,596,000 136,000 310,000 43,400

1910 Christians 207,000 18,200 10,600 55 0 14,600 132,000 7,400 23,000 1,400

% 1.1 0.6 0.4 0.0 0.0 2.5 1.4 5.4 7.4 3.2

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

120

1910 Adherents % 207,000 1.1 871,000 4.5 18,365,000 94.5 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 19,443,000 100.0

2010

Ca me

2

Religious affiliation and growth in Middle Africa, 1910 and 2010

ol Ang

he religious composition of Middle Africa has changed drastically since 1910, when the region was almost 95% ethnoreligionist. Christians were found in small numbers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and São Tomé & Príncipe. Today over 80% of the region’s population are Christian adherents, with the more populous southern area 95% Christian. Muslims have increased from 4.5% of the region’s population in 1910 to 9.6% in 2010. As a result, ethnoreligionists have fallen precipitously to only 7.6% of the population in 2010. All six major Christian traditions experienced strong growth over the century. Independents represented about 2% of all Christians in 1910, but by 2010 they had grown to 18%. The largest Independent denomination in Middle Africa is in DR Congo – the Church of Jesus Christ on Earth by His Special Envoy Simon Kimbangu. This denomination is also the largest in the Organization of African Instituted Churches (AIOC, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya) as well as a member of the World Council of Churches. Roman Catholic Christians continue to represent over half of all Christians in the region. Marginal Christians, over 700,000 in 2010, have the fastest current growth rate, buoyed primarily by the growth of Jehovah’s Witnesses in DR Congo and Angola. Christians are the majority in every country of this region except Chad. The two most populous countries, DR Congo and Angola, encompass more than 75% of all Christians in the region. In DR Congo, the Church of Christ in the Congo (ECC) includes not only Protestant communities but also African Initiated Churches (AICs). In addition to having the most Christians in the region, Angola and DR Congo also experienced the greatest Christian growth over the century: from 0.6% to 93.7% Christian and from 1.4% to 95.4% Christian, respectively. Angola is notable for the relative absence of African Initiated Churches, due in part to government suppression of such movements. In the 1990s the Pentecostal/Charismatic renewal continued to spread rapidly across most older churches in Angola, and renewalists numbered over two million (most of whom are Independent Charismatics). Nonetheless, Christians in DR Congo and in Angola have faced enormous challenges at the end of the twentieth century due to civil war, famine and the AIDS pandemic. The growth of Christianity in the region is marked by a clear north-south divide, with a diminishing percentage of Christians as one travels north, culminating in a Muslim majority in the northern provinces of Chad. If current trends continue, the percentage of Christian adherents is unlikely to grow much further, with few animists left to convert, with enormous competition between the numerous denominations in the region, and with a standoff between Christians and Muslims in the North.

Population 129,583,000 18,493,000 19,662,000 4,592,000 11,715,000 4,011,000 69,010,000 545,000 1,390,000 165,000

2010 Christians % 105,830,000 Region81.7 total 17,327,000 Angola 93.7 11,161,000 56.8 Cameroon 3,048,000 Central African66.4 Rep 2,986,000 25.5 Chad 3,607,000 Congo 89.9 65,803,000 95.4 DR Congo 483,000 Guinea 88.6 Equatorial 1,258,000 Gabon 90.5 95.7 São 158,000 Tomé & Príncipe

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Middle Africa by province, 2010

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Province Haut-Congo Bandundu Equateur Kinshasa Katanga Kasai Oriental Nord-Kivu Kasai Occidental Sud-Kivu Bas-Congo

Country DR Congo DR Congo DR Congo DR Congo DR Congo DR Congo DR Congo DR Congo DR Congo DR Congo

Population 9,113,000 8,515,000 7,892,000 7,838,000 6,754,000 6,271,000 5,835,000 5,463,000 4,647,000 4,642,000

Christians 8,794,000 8,217,000 7,479,000 7,148,000 6,517,000 6,051,000 5,543,000 5,272,000 4,437,000 4,410,000

% 96.5 96.5 94.8 91.2 96.5 96.5 95.0 96.5 95.5 95.0

Chad

Cameroon

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

Central African Republic

Equatorial Guinea

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 São Tomé & Príncipe

DR Congo

MIDDLE AFRICA

= Few or none

Christian centre of gravity

Gabon

1910

!

!

2010

Congo

Angola

1910

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Middle Africa Angola Cameroon Central African Rep Chad Congo DR Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon São Tomé & Príncipe

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 2,884,000 2,342,000 5,226,000 Middle Africa 454,900 404,400 859,300 Angola 223,700 199,200 422,900 Cameroon 59,400 78,400 137,800 Central African Rep 85,500 58,100 143,600Chad 73,200 75,800 149,000 Congo 1,956,000 1,497,000 3,453,000 DR Congo 10,690 8,610 19,300 Equatorial Guinea 18,000 17,600 35,600 Gabon 2,250 3,400 5,650 São Tomé & Príncipe

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

Immigrants

total 6.44Region 1.91 7.10 Angola 1.78 7.21Cameroon 1.93 11.54African 1.69 Central Rep 13.44 1.88 Chad 5.66 1.94 Congo 6.41 DR 1.99 Congo 4.27 Guinea 1.40 Equatorial 4.08 1.51 Gabon 1.34 São4.84 Tomé & Príncipe ⇐

0%

⇒

100%

-2

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

Region2.86 total 2.93 2.89 Angola 2.87 2.29Cameroon 2.17 1.92 Central African1.74 Rep 3.91 3.30 Chad 2.30 Congo 2.28 3.13DR Congo 3.13 2.36 Guinea 2.38 Equatorial 1.63 Gabon 1.63 1.57& Príncipe 1.65 São Tomé 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

121

Christianity in Northern Africa, 1910–2010

N

orthern Africa has become known as the ‘land of the Vanished Church’. The generally accepted thesis explaining the demise of the great centres of Christianity in Northern Africa, the land of Tertullian, Cyprian and Augustine, was the Church’s failure to thoroughly ‘indigenise’. W. H. C. Frend proposed that it was not so much the fact that the Church of Northern Africa was never indigenous, however, but that its Berber ‘Mediterranean’ culture was never fully accepted by classical Latin culture and civilisation. The Donatist controversy was perhaps as much a ‘protest movement’ against Latin culture as it was about theology. While Coptic tradition and theology flourished separately from Rome and Byzantium, Carthage and the Maghreb (that is, Northern Africa west of Egypt) would always be dominated by Rome. Thus, by the time of the Arab conquest, Coptic and Berber communities were able to identify with the Arab cause against either Greek Byzantine or Latin Roman control. While the Copts continued to live and function under Islam, the Church in the Maghreb was completely eradicated. In the twentieth century the Copts continued to assert their own identity in the face of conservative Arab Islamic radicalism and Western Evangelical mission, and have undergone an indigenous cultural and religious revival. Meanwhile, Christianity in the Maghreb became associated with French and Italian colonial domination. For the purpose of analysis, Northern Africa needs to be divided between (1) the traditional See of St Mark – the Nile Valley area from Alexandria up into northern Sudan, and coastal Libya (the Pentapolis or Cyrenaica) – and (2) the Bishopric of Carthage and the Maghreb. The two areas were under very different Christian influences, Coptic Orthodoxy and Latin Catholicism. Three major issues have affected the Christian communities in Northern Africa since 1910 and haunt the future of a Northern African Church: (1) Western colonial occupation; (2) the rise of Islamic radicalism and its subsequent pressures; and (3) Christian emigration from Northern Africa. Colonial occupation France occupied the former ‘Barbary State’ of Algiers in 1830, Tunisia in 1881, and Morocco in 1904. The influx of French colonists to Algeria prompted a ‘culture war’ between the ‘West’ and indigenous Islamic cultures. Although the 1905 Law of Separation in France imposed a secular state, religious institutions in the colonies were considered to be promoting ‘public utility’ or ‘mission civilatrice’. While in some cases the institutions were seen as helpful to colonial order, in others colonial administrators impeded Catholic missions. Catholic administrative dioceses were organised according to the colonial administration to utilise the infrastructure. During the bloody Algerian war for independence, 1954–62, which according to Algerian estimates cost 1.5 million lives and created two million Algerian refugees, most Catholic institutions were closed. It is clear that the Christian community was tied to the foreign French establishment and declined rapidly after independence. Not even the rise of Algerian radical Islamist pressure can account for such a dramatic drop in the Christian population in the twentieth century. Unlike in Egypt, or other parts of the Middle East, there was no indigenous Catholic Church to continue working. In 1911 Italy occupied Libya, where there was talk of the extension of Pax Romana to Northern Africa. Although Italy was in the throes of fascism and Communism, numerous Catholic churches were erected in Libya during the occupation. After Muammar Ghaddafi’s coup in 1969, all foreigners were expelled from Libya, and the government confiscated 35 Catholic buildings. In British-occupied Northern Africa we find a similar case, with the Anglican communities being associated with the colonial establishment. The British withdrawal in 1952 left a hole in the Anglican community. In 1910 there were an estimated 12,000 Anglicans

with 24 congregations, but by 1996 there were only ten functioning congregations. The current Anglican congregations in Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco all have their origins in this colonial era, and they include only small numbers of Anglican expatriates. The exception to the Anglican rule in Northern Africa is the Sudan. There the Church Missionary Society was successful in creating a Southern Sudanese church that has thrived. The major unrest of the Sudanese civil war has prompted thousands of these Anglicans to flee to neighbouring countries. Twentieth-century Islamic perspectives have viewed this colonial period as the great ‘collusion’ between the Crusaders (salibiyyun) and Imperialism (isti‘mar). On the whole, however, the British did not support missionary endeavours and favoured the status quo of the predominantly Muslim majority, which caused a great deal of anger among the Coptic elite. While it cannot be claimed that there was a premeditated Church–State collusion to occupy Northern Africa, however, the colonial occupation created an infrastructure that made it possible for missionary societies to function. Most Catholic and Anglican work was able to function with institutional support until 1952 in Egypt, 1963 in Algeria, 1964 in Sudan and 1970 in Libya. Rise of Islamic radicalism After World War II Arab nationalist movements began to take on religious tones. The ‘Cultural Islam’ of the secular-minded independence movements was pressured by Islamist opposition parties who called for a strict implementation of shari‘a law. The radical Islamist movement became violent throughout the 1960s and reached its peak during the late 1990s. The popularity of Islamist political opposition was also accompanied by a general non-violent social movement toward conservative interpretations of Islam. This conservative trend put increased public strain on Christians, who had to adapt to a rising Islamist culture. The Evangelical and Catholic communities in Northern Africa have felt pressure of being ‘guilty by association’ because of strong ties to their respective churches in the West. Anti-Christian rhetoric in the Arabic newspapers continues to view Christianity as a Western religion. This overpowering Islamic/ nationalist atmosphere has contributed to Christian emigration. The radical Islamist trend reached its crescendo in Algeria, where in 1991 the Islamist Salvation Front (FIS) won a majority of seats in the general popular parliamentary elections. The military then responded by cancelling the elections and imposing martial law. This sent the country into a bloody civil war in which hundreds of thousands of civilians have been murdered, primarily by the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) and splinter organisations. In Egypt the rise of the Ikhwan al-Muslimin (Muslim Brotherhood) has served to strengthen the Coptic renaissance in the twentieth century. Growing conservative Islamic social pressures and the problems of poverty have led to thousands of conversions to Islam. Thus, the Church has responded by providing not only spiritual but also economic and social services for its members. Other radical Islamist groups in Egypt, including al-Gama‘at al-Islamiyya, carried out violent activities against the government, foreign tourists, and Christian communities in Upper Egypt throughout the 1990s, prompting further Coptic retrenchment from society. The Presbyterian Synod of the Nile, through the work of Samuel Habib (1928–97), who founded the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services, have created development projects to bring Christian and Muslim communities in poorer urban and rural areas together, while the Catholics have striven to engage in positive Christian-Muslim dialogue. Independent from Britain since 1956, Sudan has struggled with civil war (from 1955 to 1972 and again from 1983 to 2005) between a largely Muslim, Arabic100

100

Area (sq. km): 8,530,000 Population, 2010: 206,295,000 Population density (per sq. km): 24 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.88 Life expectancy (years): 70 (male 68, female 73) Adult literacy (%): 67

Christians, 1910: 3,107,000 % Christian, 1910: 9.7 Christians, 2010: 17,492,000 % Christian, 2010: 8.5 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.74 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.50

0

0

% Christian

1910

1910

122

2010

2010

speaking north and the Christian and Animist south. In 1983 the Khartoum government declared shari‘a to be in effect, even for the Christian communities. The conflict has become very complex, pitting Muslims against one another in the north, Christian tribes against each other in the south, and Marxist militias against all. The conflict has left millions dead and at least four million displaced Sudanese, many of them Christians who have fled as refugees to neighbouring countries. Christian emigration The last major issue facing Christians of Northern Africa since 1910 has been that of massive emigration, due primarily to unemployment and Islamic social pressures. Northern African economies have not been able to cope with dramatic population growth. This has created rising unemployment and lack of educational opportunities, leading to an ‘Arab brain drain’, as the educated and economically viable Northern Africans emigrate to the West for a better life. Christians make up a large percentage of those emigrating as they make up a higher percentage of the middle class, especially in Egypt. The emigration of significant numbers of educated Christians has greatly reduced the influence of Christians in society in general. Christian emigration also has increased because of religious prejudice and discrimination. All Northern African states legally support freedom of religion, but in each case have some form of Islamic law as part of the national juridical code and make proselytism illegal. Although recognised Christian denominations may worship freely, Christians often are faced with arbitrary application of civil law and a state bureaucracy that favours the Muslim majority. As Islam is built into the basic fabric of Arab society, Christians – most especially Protestants – find themselves being suspected of being ‘Western’. Thus, many converts, faced with being ostracised by family, physical harm and imprisonment, have left because of discrimination. Coptic Orthodox Church The number of Copts in Egypt is a highly disputed figure. The official government census placed the number of Copts in 1986 at 5.7%, while Copts abroad claim they were 15% of the population in 1988 and continue to hold that percentage. The US Copts Association claims that Copts numbered nine million at the time of the Arab conquest of Egypt (ad 641) and due to persecution were reduced to 700,000 at the beginning of the twentieth century. The claim reveals more about Coptic views of Islam than it does about actual numbers. A rough estimate of 10–12% of the population as Coptic would be fair, although it is certainly dropping, primarily due to a decrease in the birth rate of urban Copts, emigration and some annual conversions to other faiths or traditions. The Coptic Orthodox Church considers itself to be the only authentically Apostolic African Church, having its roots in the work of the Jewish Christians of the Book of Acts, as well as St Mark’s work in Alexandria and the Decapolis. The Sunday School Movement founded by Habib Girgis in 1918 began a twentieth-century revival, strengthening the Church in every aspect of Coptic life (social, political, artistic and spiritual, including monastic spirituality). In 1956 the Patriarch assumed the full title of ‘Pope of Alexandria and All Africa’, demonstrating the Coptic claim to Africa. In 1976 Bishop Antonios Markos was consecrated as Bishop of African Affairs, with a mission focus on sub-Saharan Africa. By 1981 there were an estimated 16,000 Sudanese Copts. When Shenouda III became Patriarch in 1971, there were only seven Coptic congregations outside of Egypt; in 2005 there were over 150 abroad. Because Egypt has the largest Arab population in the Arab world, it has supplied most of the cheap labour force for the region. Thousands of Copts have travelled throughout Northern Africa in search of work. Since 1971 the Libyan government has legally recognised the Coptic Orthodox, which has prompted church authorities to begin sending priests to serve communities in Libya. If trends in Libya continue, the Coptic Orthodox communities there will only continue to grow as economic opportunities continue.

Evangelical churches All Protestant churches in Northern Africa (commonly labelled as ‘Evangelicals’) are the result of European or Northern American missionary activity since the nineteenth century. Every major Protestant denomination has some form of mission or work in Egypt and the Sudan. French Protestants were successful in maintaining very small churches in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. But overall, the majority of Protestants outside of Egypt are either African or Western expatriates. The largest single Protestant denomination in Northern Africa is the Evangelical Church of Egypt (ECE). By 1910 the American Presbyterian Mission had already been in Egypt for 56 years. Unlike the Anglican or Latin Catholic ventures, it had no ties to foreign colonial powers. Although conspiracy theories continually link contemporary American neoimperialism with mission work, there is no history of collusion between the Presbyterian missionaries and an occupying government. Their work, primarily among the laity of the Coptic Orthodox Church, created a strong Protestant church. The Synod of the Nile did not become an official independent entity until 1958, when it took the name the Coptic Evangelical Church of Egypt (Synod of the Nile). One of the primary marks of the Presbyterian Church was the establishment of a large network of schools from elementary up to university level. By the beginning of the twentieth century there were 167 schools, serving 14,884 students, most of whom were Muslim. The three most important schools were the Assiut College for boys (Upper Egypt), Ramses

College for girls (Cairo), and the American University of Cairo, chartered in 1914. A second important mark of the ECE was the establishment of its social service work, both in the form of hospitals and the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS) begun by Samuel Habib in 1960. The latter is now the largest indigenous social service network in Northern Africa and seeks to provide aid and development projects to mixed communities of Christians and Muslims, as well as inter-cultural dialogue between the two faiths. In 1920 the Anglican Diocese of Egypt and the Sudan (later to include ‘North Africa and the Horn of Africa’) was formed with Church Missionary Society (CMS) missionary Llewellyn Gwynne as bishop. (Because Sudan was tied to Egypt through the AngloEgyptian Condominium, it continues to be ecclesiastically linked to Egypt.) Under the guidance of Temple Gairdner (1873–1928), CMS missionary and recorder at the 1910 Edinburgh World Missionary Conference, Girgis Bishai was ordained the first Egyptian Anglican priest in 1925. The first consecrated Egyptian Anglican Bishop was Ishaq Mousa’ad in 1974. He was followed by Ghais Malik (1975–99) and Mouneer Hanna Anis (1999–present). From World War I up until 1952 the Anglican Church functioned primarily as a chaplaincy for the large number of British soldiers. After independence the Anglican work was limited to chaplaincies among European expatriates in the British diplomatic and business communities. Indigenous converts were few. However, ministries have grown significantly in Alexandria and Cairo due to the arrival of thousands of Southern Sudanese Anglican refugees. When foreign missionaries were expelled from Sudan in 1964, the Anglican Church had 57 Sudanese priests and 150,000 members. Since then the Anglican Church has grown exponentially, almost exclusively among Southern Sudanese. Figures run anywhere from 664,000 to five million, making it difficult to accurately gauge its strength. Tunis and Tripoli have also seen a dramatic rise in Anglicans due to sub-Saharan African Anglican migrant labourers seeking employment. Many Western Evangelical mission agencies work in Northern Africa explicitly among Muslims, despite laws making proselytisation and conversion illegal. Significant resources from Western churches are channelled through these agencies to reach out to an ‘unreached’ area of the world. The oldest and largest organisation is Arab World Ministries, originally called ‘The Mission to the Kabyles and other Berber Races’ in Algeria in 1881. By 1980 it claimed to have formed the first Northern African convert church, comprising some 400 Algerians. Such agencies work on a small-scale basis, distributing Bibles, discipling individuals or gathering small groups for catechesis. There is little coordination to create larger indigenous institutions, and thus underground communities have developed which are often dependent upon leadership or funding from foreign agencies. There has been considerable debate among Evangelical mission organisations regarding the role, shape and form of the ecclesia in Northern African culture, and the issue of ‘contextualisation’ will continue to be a controversial issue in the future. Numerous Evangelical Arabs, however, have become involved in these ministries, providing indigenous leadership that will certainly impact the future development of an Evangelical Northern African church. Although there are no accurate figures, these agencies claim significant conversions are made, producing ‘crypto-Christians’ or ‘Muslim Background Believers’. Estimates of their numbers tend to be inflated. These converts often face great anxiety as they are ‘pulled out’ of their Islamic culture and family and thus lack

the public association which is vital to Arab social identity. Muslim converts are normally viewed with suspicion by traditional Christian communities and find it difficult to become fully accepted. They also face hardship from society at large, and in many cases converts emigrate. One of the primary tools of evangelism in Northern Africa in the twentieth century has been the use of Christian radio stations, satellite channels and Internet sites. Between 1954 and 1971 several Christian radio programmes began broadcasting in Arabic to Northern Africa. These stations provide Christian programming in Arabic within a completely Arab context in places where proselytisation is illegal. These ministries claim success in being able to reach ‘seekers’, ‘crypto-Christians’, or ‘Muslim Background Believers’ who can utilise these opportunities in private, without public scrutiny. With the development of satellite television in the 1990s, Christian broadcasting has developed futher; the most prominent ministry is SAT7, which was founded in 1996. If Frend is correct that the ultimate demise of the Northern African church in antiquity was in part due to cultural protests against the marriage of Roman authority with ‘classical society’, this would help explain the role of Christianity in Northern Africa since 1910. Christianity has not taken root because of the wedding of French and British occupation with a ‘Western Christian civilisation’. Arab and Berber tribal cultures have made their protest against such occupations through Islam. The question remains as to whether a radicalist Islam will continue to be the expression of protest against Arab nationalist regimes or will become the dominant power to which Northern African Christianity must respond. Northern African Christians have traditionally been viewed by their Arab brethren as being ‘Western’, and except for the Coptic Orthodox Church, every other Christian denomination or organisation has Western associations. Given their deep and traditional roots as an indigenous church (prior to the Arab conquest of the seventh century), Coptic Christians can be seen as a truly Northern African Christian community. Coptic Catholics and Coptic Evangelicals continue to develop their own contextual expressions of the faith, highlighting their indigenous traits while maintaining their own ecclesiastical or theological roots. This is no easy task. Expatriate Christians in Northern Africa will continue to be associated with foreign occupation or neo-imperialism, while the role of the minority indigenous Christian community will more than likely remain insignificant in the near future as these culture wars are fought out. Sudanese Christians will continue to baulk at a unified Sudan based on Arab cultural roots. Finally, migrant and refugee Christians from sub-Saharan Africa, including the Sudan, will continue to be drawn toward Northern African cities and will provide a new basis, far from imperialist, for Christian–Muslim encounter.

DAVID D. GRAFTON WITH SHERIF SALAH AND THARWAT WAHBA W. H. C. Frend, The Donatist Church: A Movement of Protest in Roman North Africa (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1985). Norman A. Horner, A Guide to Christian Churches in the Middle East: Present-day Christianity in the Middle East and North Africa (Elkhart, IN: Mission Focus, 1989). Otto Meinardus, Christians in Egypt: Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant Communities – Past and Present (Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2006). Aylward Shorter, Cross and Flag in Africa: The ‘White Fathers’ during the Colonial Scramble (1892–1914) (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2006). Roland Werner, William Anderson and Andrew Wheeler, Day of Devastation, Day of Contentment: The History of the Sudanese Church across 2000 Years (Limuru, Kenya: Paulines Publications Africa, 2000).

Christians in Northern Africa by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1910 Christians Egypt 2,262,000 Algeria 641,000 Tunisia 130,000 Morocco 33,500 Spanish North Africa 26,800 Libya 10,500 Sudan 2,600 Sahara 100

Highest percentage 2010 Christians Egypt 10,293,000 Sudan 6,788,000 Libya 171,000 Spanish North Africa 91,200 Algeria 64,600 Morocco 54,100 Tunisia 29,300 Sahara 750

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1910 % Christian Spanish North Africa 89.9 Egypt 18.6 Algeria 12.2 Tunisia 6.9 Libya 1.3 Sahara 0.7 Morocco 0.6 Sudan 0.0

Fastest growth 2010 % Christian Spanish North Africa 68.1 Sudan 16.5 Egypt 12.9 Libya 2.6 Tunisia 0.3 Algeria 0.2 Morocco 0.2 Sahara 0.1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1910–2010 Sudan Libya Sahara Egypt Spanish North Africa Morocco Tunisia Algeria

% p.a. 8.17 2.83 2.04 1.53 1.23 0.48 -1.48 -2.27

2000–2010 Sahara Algeria Sudan Libya Egypt Spanish North Africa Morocco Tunisia

% p.a. 3.71 2.57 2.30 2.05 1.01 0.19 -0.02 -0.23

123

NORTHERN AFRICA

Latin church in Northern Africa At the end of the twentieth century the vast majority of all Christians in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia were Catholic, and 99% of these were Latin Catholics of European origin. After the expulsion of the Italians from Libya and the French from Algeria and Tunisia, many of the Latin churches and institutions were closed or dramatically scaled down. Several orders (in particular, Combonis, Dominicans, Lazarists and the White Fathers) continue to send members to tend to the properties and undertake small-scale work, either as teachers in private schools, in hospitals, or to provide sacramental services to expatriates, as well as to engage in ‘dialogue with Islam’. The White Fathers, founded by Charles Lavigerie, Archbishop of Algiers and Carthage, in 1868, dissociated themselves from all European communities and settlers, fully immersing themselves into the local Arab and Berber cultures. By the time of Charles de Foucauld (1858–1916) they began to see themselves as living in dialogue with Muslims rather than attempting outright proselytism, a dramatic change from Catholic medieval polemics. Numerous other Latin orders have developed centres with the goal of dialoguing with Arab culture and Islam. In Tunis there is the Institut des Belles Lettres Arabes (1960), and in Rome the Pontificio Istituto di Studi Arabi e Islamici (PISAI, 1964), founded as the Institut Pontifical d’Etudes Orientales in 1960. Cairo continues to house L’Institut Dominicain d’Etudes Orientales (1928), the Franciscan Centre of Christian Oriental Studies (1954), and the Dar Comboni for Arabic Studies (which was founded in Lebanon in the 1970s and moved to Cairo in the early 1980s). Egypt has maintained an indigenous Coptic Catholic presence in the form of a Uniate church founded in 1741. The Southern Sudanese Latin Catholic population was very small in 1910 but has grown remarkably in the late twentieth century; according to some estimates, the country now has almost four million Catholics. Many have fled to Kenya, Uganda and Egypt because of the civil war.

Christianity in Northern Africa, 1910–2010

N

Religions in Northern Africa Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

5

Muslims Christians Ethnoreligionists Agnostics Atheists Baha'is Buddhists Jews Hindus Sikhs Chinese folk Total population

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

2010 Adherents % 182,154,000 88.3 17,492,000 8.5 4,630,000 2.2 1,770,000 0.9 153,000 0.1 49,400 0.0 22,000 0.0 11,900 0.0 7,600 0.0 2,400 0.0 1,800 0.0 206,295,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 1.96 1.70 1.74 1.50 0.70 2.07 5.91 1.77 5.06 1.96 5.47 1.33 8.00 2.61 -3.46 0.88 6.86 2.22 5.63 2.36 5.33 1.84 1.88 1.69

0

Percent Christian = 1% of population

Christians in Northern Africa Eg yp t

Proportion of all Christians in Northern Africa, 2010 Key:

Key: Graph Key: Key: Graph

Proportionofofaall Christians Proportion country’s Graph Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Proportion a country’s Proportion of a country’s Christians the region Colour in Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Christian Per cent Christian in in Per cent Christian in country or region aeach country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Sahara Map Christian of region Map Location and Per cent Location and Per cent Locationof ofregion the region Christian Christian of region

Tunisia Sahara

Morocco Algeria Spanish North Africa

Sahara not Pictured

Libya

1910

2010

Anglican (A)

Adherents 14,200

Adherents 2,355,000

Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

936,000 2,300 0 2,086,000 61,200

4,267,000 396,000 4,600 9,463,000 1,974,000

% by tradition

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 5.24 1.62 1.53 5.28 6.32 1.52 3.53

1.57 3.90 2.48 0.94 2.51

1910

0

2010

2

5

10

10

10

10

10

8

8

8

8

6

6

4

4

6

40 60 2 2 0

Rate* 2000–2010

Major Christian traditions in Northern Africa, 1910 & 2010

75

0 %A Christian C AI CM IO MP

All All 4 Christians Christians

85 90 1.74 1.74 2

O P

0

6 4

95 100

2

All All Christians Christians

1.50

1.50

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

The French occupation of Algiers (1830), Tunisia (1881) and Morocco (1904) caused a great many Catholic churches to spring up in the region (almost a million adherents in 1910), though not due to conversions of Africans themselves. The membership of these churches consisted largely of French expatriates, who then left the region after national independence in the mid-twentieth century. With few to no indigenous believers, Catholic church membership fell sharply as a result. A similar situation occurred with the British and Anglicanism in Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco. Largely because of church growth in Sudan, however, both Catholicism and Anglicanism have revived themselves by 2010, with Catholics numbering over 4.2 million and Anglicans over 2.3 million. The Christian renewal movement also has established a vigorous presence in the region, with great success in evangelism.

Christians in Northern Africa, 1910 and 2010 Northern Africa Algeria Egypt Libya Morocco Sahara Spanish North Africa Sudan Tunisia

Population 32,002,000 5,232,000 12,156,000 841,000 5,787,000 14,700 29,800 6,068,000 1,874,000

1910 Christians 3,107,000 641,000 2,262,000 10,500 33,500 100 26,800 2,600 130,000

% 9.7 12.2 18.6 1.3 0.6 0.7 89.9 0.0 6.9

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

124

1910 Adherents % 26,181,000 81.8 3,107,000 9.7 2,304,000 7.2 5,700 0.0 1,100 0.0 240 0.0 0 0.0 403,000 1.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 32,002,000 100.0

2010

Sudan

2

Religious affiliation and growth in Northern Africa, 1910 and 2010

Rate* 1910–2010

orthern Africa is the only region in Africa to experience an overall decline in the percentage of Christians from 1910 to 2010 (9.7% to 8.5%). In the same period the percentage of Muslims increased from 82% to 88%. Ethnoreligionists declined from 7% in 1910 to about 2% in 2010. The Christian demographics of the region have been profoundly impacted by immigration in the early colonial period (nineteenth and early twentieth centuries) and by emigration in the independence period (1950s and 1960s) and after. The Orthodox tradition has the longest Christian history in the region, with the Coptic Church in Egypt tracing its roots to the Evangelist Mark in the first century. While showing great resilience over many centuries, this church began to decline in the late twentieth century, largely through emigration. The Orthodox tradition represented two-thirds of all Christians in 1910, but this has fallen to about 50% in 2010. Most of Christianity’s gains have been made in southern Sudan, where Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Protestants and Independents all have experienced remarkable growth. This area has also experienced enormous suffering, with more than two million Christians and ethnoreligionists killed in a 20-year civil war beginning in 1983. A relatively new factor in the religious demographics of the region is the emigration of Egyptian Coptic Christians to Europe, the USA and Australia. The Orthodox have gradually declined from about 17% of Egypt’s population in 1910 to about 12% in 2010. The future of Christianity in Egypt largely depends on the staying power of the Orthodox and the growth of other Christian traditions. Catholicism in Egypt is the most liturgically diverse of any country in the world. It is divided into seven communities, each of which worships according to its own rite and serves its own ethnic group, making Egypt the only country in the world where most major Catholic rites and sub-rites coexist. A large number of these Catholics are Egyptians by birth or nationality, but this does not prevent the Catholic Church from being considered a foreign body. Considering Christian involvement in the entire region, the main story over the century has been the emigration of European colonial Christians, coinciding with independence and the rise of anti-Western Islamic movements in most countries. Thus, after 1950, French and some Spanish Catholics left Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, while Italian Catholics left Libya. Algeria, for example, was 12.3% Christian in 1910 but is less than 0.2% Christian in 2010. As a result of emigration, by 2010 few Europeans remain in the region. Consequently, the majority of Christians in these countries are Arabs and Berbers. The factors that are important for the annual changes in Christian demographics in Northern Africa are varied (see facing page). For example, Algeria has both the largest share of growth due to converts and the largest share of loss due to emigration. Libya, in contrast, has almost no growth through conversion but also the smallest relative loss due to emigration.

Population 206,295,000 35,423,000 79,537,000 6,530,000 32,247,000 530,000 134,000 41,230,000 10,664,000

2010 Christians % 17,492,000 8.5 Region total 64,600 Algeria 0.2 10,293,000 Egypt 12.9 171,000 Libya 2.6 54,100Morocco 0.2 750 Sahara 0.1 91,200 68.1 Spanish North Africa 6,788,000 Sudan 16.5 29,300 Tunisia 0.3

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Northern Africa by province, 2010

Spanish North Africa Tunisia

Morocco

1910 !

Algeria Libya

Egypt

Sahara Christian centre of gravity !

2010

Sudan

ProvRelig_Christian Per

2

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

NORTHERN AFRICA

0

cent Christian

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910

Province Gharb-al-Istiwâ´îyah al-Minya Sawhaj al-Jizah Gharb Bahr-al-Ghazâl Asyut al-Qahirah Junqalî al-Khartûm al-Iskandariyah

Country Sudan Egypt Egypt Egypt Sudan Egypt Egypt Sudan Sudan Egypt

Population 2,015,000 4,440,000 4,191,000 6,414,000 1,732,000 3,760,000 9,111,000 1,412,000 4,710,000 4,466,000

Christians 1,209,000 1,199,000 1,131,000 1,122,000 1,091,000 1,061,000 911,000 847,000 828,000 670,000

% 60.0 27.0 27.0 17.5 63.0 28.2 10.0 60.0 17.6 15.0

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Northern Africa Algeria Egypt Libya Morocco Sahara Spanish North Africa Sudan Tunisia

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 233,200 316,100 549,300 Northern Africa 1,100 1,500 2,600 Algeria 74,900 181,900 256,800 Egypt 2,290 1,620 3,910Libya 20 1,180 1,200 Morocco 17 5 22 Sahara 250 1,890 Spanish2,140 North Africa 154,500 127,300 281,800 Sudan 40 520 560 Tunisia

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

Immigrants

total 1.74Region 1.88 -2.27 Algeria 1.93 1.53 1.90 Egypt 2.83 2.07 Libya 0.48 Morocco 1.73 2.04 3.65 Sahara 1.23North1.51 Spanish Africa 8.17 1.93 Sudan -1.48 1.75 Tunisia ⇐

0%

⇒

100%

-2

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

Region1.69 total 1.50 2.57 Algeria 1.51 1.01 1.80 Egypt 2.05 2.02 Libya -0.02 Morocco 1.17 3.71 Sahara 5.33 0.19 Spanish North 0.30 Africa 2.30 Sudan 2.14 -0.23 Tunisia 1.10 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

125

Christianity in Southern Africa, 1910–2010

C

hristianity in Southern Africa has been characterised by change and flux in the century between 1910 and 2010. At the time when the World Missionary Conference was held in Edinburgh in 1910, the Christian gospel had hardly begun to penetrate Southern Africa. The only exception was South Africa, where Calvinism had already made a permanent mark among the Afrikaners in the Cape of Good Hope, Natal and the Afrikaner republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Calvinism had been the exclusive religion of the white Afrikaner ‘tribe’ in this region from 1652 right up to the end of the nineteenth century, when the Dutch Reformed Church finally decided to found Dutch Reformed churches for the black, Indian and Coloured peoples of South Africa. The Church also resolved to evangelise the black peoples in neighbouring territories. Missions founded as a result of this initiative have, in the period under review, matured into vibrant autonomous Reformed churches in countries such as Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland as well as within South Africa itself. South Africa became the launching pad for missionary work by many missionary societies in the rest of Southern Africa. Oldest among them were societies such as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), London Missionary Society (LMS), Moravian Mission Society (MMS), Wesleyan Methodist Mission Society (WMMS), Zambezi Mission (ZM), Paris Evangelical Missionary Society (SMEP) and American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). From the mid-nineteenth century the southernmost part of Africa both received and sent many missionaries, a pattern that continued through the twentieth century. Throughout the decades, Western mission made a unique contribution to Southern Africa in the areas of education and health. The mission school became the gateway to literacy for African children, enabling them to qualify for the job market in the money economy introduced by colonial governments. The high literacy rates that Southern African countries boast today are a direct result of the sound educational principles and practices put in place by the ‘mission school’. Similarly, the legacy of the ‘mission hospital’ endures well after independence as the state struggles to provide, from a constantly shrinking financial base, for the health needs of the once-neglected African majority. Since Southern Africa is currently the epicentre of the HIV/ AIDS pandemic, the churches’ continued participation through ‘church hospitals’ in the delivery of health and welfare services is an invaluable dimension of the Church’s mission, ameliorating the plight of the marginalised and downtrodden. From mission to church The twentieth century saw an unprecedented increase in the numbers of missionary workers from Europe and Northern America. The numbers of missionaries to Africa, and particularly Southern Africa, increased exponentially. Following formal or informal comity agreements, missions focused on particular areas where they became the predominant faith community: for example, the Congregationalist London Missionary Society in Botswana, the Lutheran Mission in Namibia or the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society in Lesotho. These Protestant efforts soon were matched by a range of Roman Catholic missionary orders that established large and influential stations. For these traditional churches, the main targets of evangelisation were the young people through the school system. For millions of Africans in Southern Africa, mission education opened the door to social and economic benefits brought about by Westernisation. Christianity, of course, was the concomitant to the education that the missions offered. Through their experience of education many embraced the Christian faith. Consequently, millions of young people below fifteen were converted between 1910 and 1960. As they matured into adults, they brought up a new generation of second- or third-generation Christians.

Within the same period, the mission field was penetrated by Pentecostal churches and African Initiated Churches (AICs). The latter targeted the whole family, young and old, as they could not set up schools as freely they would have liked. Suspected by colonial governments as potential sources for sedition, after the 1915 Chilembwe rising in Malawi and the cold-blooded massacre of Enoch Mgijima’s followers at Bulhoek (now Whittlesea), South Africa, in 1921, newer churches embarked on unconventional, openair methods of conversion and baptism. Consequently, less elitist but equally passionate Christian converts were added to the millions baptised through the witness of the historic churches. The Missionary Conference held at Edinburgh in 1910 affirmed the importance of forging more robust ecumenical relations in mission lands. Up to the 1960s, however, ecumenism in Southern Africa continued to be dominated by missionary conferences in a bid to ensure the smooth operation of mission societies and agencies in the fields of evangelisation, education and health. Since their formation, national councils of churches have made significant contributions towards the welfare of the general citizenry. They have not only tackled drought, starvation and flood relief but have also come up with comprehensive theologies of development that challenge and complement the development policies designed by their governments. Through effective mobilisation of donor support from secular and religious agencies, they have managed to wean many Southern African communities from illiteracy, sickness and dependence on their governments and on international donors. It has become the norm for national councils to have a Church and Society desk intended to enable an empowered citizenry by promoting civic education ranging from political and constitutional awareness, voter education and election monitoring to human rights education. Given the sensitivity of the issues affecting the political life of citizens, it is understandable that relations between church and state are normally cool and sometimes adversarial, as was the case in apartheid South Africa. While individual churches find it difficult to stand up to the state, the national councils have become viable national forums through which the influence of Christianity in the social and political arena remains robust. New movements ‘Ethiopian’ and Zionist church movements sprang from the young mission churches in the late nineteenth century. By 1910 there were a number of established Ethiopian churches in Southern Africa. The Ethiopian Church of Mangena Mokone and the African Methodist Episcopal Church of Bishop Turner were among the earliest Ethiopian churches that made instant impact on the South African religious landscape. These were essentially protest movements against the racism inherent in missionary Christianity. They tended to organise in a similar way to the denominations from which they broke away but were distinguished by their African leadership. Later leaders of the black community such as Chief Albert Luthuli, Professor Z. K. Matthews and the physician A. B. Zuma stood in this tradition. Zionist and Apostolic churches were a later development, however, since they were direct offshoots of the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) in South Africa, transforming its Pentecostal Christianity into African rhythms. It was around 1910 that the main strands of Zionism appeared in South Africa. Daniel Nkonyane was perhaps the most widely influential leader, though other major movements included Engenas Lekganyane’s Zion Christian church, Timothy Cekwane’s Church of the Light and Isaiah Shembe’s Amanazaretha, which would become transnational churches. Many reasons can be given for the emergence of the Zionist and Apostolic Churches, ranging from racism in the South African AFM, the Spanish influenza of 1918 and the effects of the global 100

100

Area (sq. km): 2,678,000 Population, 2010: 56,592,000 Population density (per sq. km): 21 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.14 Life expectancy (years): 50 (male 50, female 49) Adult literacy (%): 82

Christians, 1910: 2,526,000 % Christian, 1910: 37.0 Christians, 2010: 46,419,000 % Christian, 2010: 82.0 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.95 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 0.92

0

0

% Christian

1910

1910

126

2010

2010

economic recession of the early 1930s to the failure of the Western missionary enterprise to satisfy the huge need of the African people. By 1930 Zionism was firmly established in Zululand, Swaziland, Lesotho and Gauteng (then known as the Transvaal). The Zionist movement multiplied and divided on ethnic or linguistic lines, or in response to particular prophets. In contrast to missionary-controlled Christianity, it placed little emphasis on literacy but grounded the faith in traditional concerns for healing and wholeness. Its clearly African character and leadership represented a challenge to the ‘mainline’ missions. By the early 1950s, Zionism in Southern Africa had far outstripped the growth and development of Ethiopianism. Zionist/Apostolic churches were initially viewed as alternative homes, providing a sense of belonging to people left out of the loop of Western mission outreach, but soon became part of the mainstream Christian landscape in Southern Africa. Southern Africa is a region characterised by the lingering effects of colonial hegemony. Its citizens continue to be victims of a rampant capitalist mode of production that has been responsible, for decades on end, for unprecedented social and cultural dislocation, which in turn has exerted serious stress on the African family structure. In these socio-economic conditions, Zionist/Apostolic churches have effectively filled the gap created by the dearth of viable African indigenous systems. Not surprisingly, it is in these churches that members expect to find not only a spiritual home but many other benefits such as physical and emotional healing, protection from witchcraft, prayers for finding jobs and success in life and in business. AICs are not homogenous, and they defy easy classification, but suffice it to say that they constitute a fresh and unique form of African Christianity that easily adapts to the changing socioeconomic needs of their members. Pentecostalism has taken root in Southern Africa since its arrival in South Africa in 1908. Pentecostal churches such as the AFM and the Assemblies of God (AOG), among others, have consequently joined the ranks of ‘mainline’ or ‘historic’ churches by virtue of their long histories in the region as well as the large numbers of followers that they command. Women are often prominent in Pentecostal and Zionist churches. The first Swazi Zionist was a woman, Johanna Nxumalo, who joined the movement in 1913. Other churches have been founded by women such as Ma Christina Nku and Ma Mbele. In both cases their husbands took the title of Bishop and exercised formal leadership, while it was the women who inspired the movement of prayer and healing that represented the real life of the church. Grace Tshabalala was concerned by the many divisions among Zionist churches and attempted to unite them, principally by forming a movement for Zionist women that drew its members from thirty-two different churches. The success of Pentecostalism in the region has had a ripple effect on the ‘historic’ churches. Since the 1970s Charismatic teachings and expressions have become normal and acceptable phenomena in churches such as the Lutheran, Methodist, Reformed and Roman Catholic. While Charismatic styles of worship were initially associated with ‘rebellious’ youth who were members of the Scripture Union in high school and at university, attempts to discipline these youth backfired as they either left the church for good or set up fringe groups of like-minded members. The growth of the Charismatic Renewal movement finally forced ‘historic’ churches to recognise it. The dawn of the 1990s, however, saw an upsurge of the Charismatic Renewal movement in well-organised national and international forms, and the renewal thus became an enduring feature of the fast-changing Christian landscape in Southern Africa. Indigenisation, translation and ecclesial autonomy The mission agenda to evangelise the peoples of Southern Africa often ran parallel to the agenda of Western cultural imperialism. Most missionaries found it easier to operate within a Western mindset than an African mindset. The colonial ethos tended to add to the sense of comfort for missionaries whenever they found the African world difficult to cope with. Rather than learning to operate under an African worldview as a strategy for effective mission, mission churches in general adopted the ‘civilising’ option. This option resulted in the wholesale imposition of

Christian doctrine and the African world A common trait among the churches in Southern Africa is their doctrinal opposition to African beliefs and practices associated with witchcraft, sorcery, divination and magic. There is diversity, however, when it comes to other beliefs such as ancestor veneration, beer-drinking, and dietary regulations. Although divination, spirit possession and ancestor veneration are commonly condemned by the churches, a wide gap exists between theory and practice. Christians of many shades, clergy and lay, Catholic and Protestant, consult diviners when they go through life crises such as failure to secure a job, loss of a job, sickness, misfortune and bereavement. Some practising Christians even dabble as diviners (sangoma/ngaka/n’anga) or as spirit mediums of their family ancestors. It is common to procure protective charms for purposes of securing employment or a position of authority, to win elections for a church post or a government post, or to earn the goodwill of one’s peers and subordinates. Although these practices are carried out under cover of night, they have become an ‘open secret’ among the faithful. Not much, however, has been done to resolve the dichotomy between the ‘Christian world’ and the ‘African world’. To the dismay of many Christians, the Church has even failed to integrate or baptise ostensibly positive, if innocuous, rituals such as the healing, rain-making rituals and rites of passage such as name-giving and puberty rites. There are exceptions, however.

Some Roman Catholic dioceses have come up with creative ways of integrating traditional funerary rituals into their para-liturgical practice. They have also integrated the veneration of ancestors within the Church’s prayers for the saints. Similarly, some dioceses have appropriated the fundamental beliefs of the rain-making rituals, and have integrated them into the Christian prayers for rain. Successful efforts at integrating African traditional beliefs and Christian practice include the Inxwala (first fruits) ritual and the Good Friday (Igudi) celebrations among the Swazi people. The Swazi royal family has for years been associated with both ceremonies and see them as occasions for cementing national unity. The profoundly indigenised Zionist churches tap into symbolism that has deep resonance for African communities, such as prayer on mountain tops and the use of water for purposes of symbolic cleansing. Other churches, such as Pentecostal and Charismatic churches, as well as some AICs with Pentecostal influences, have developed a deeply antagonistic approach to African traditional religion. Their ‘sectarian approach’ demonises and undermines the extended family system and its group orientation. Instead, they promote alternative Christian families founded on the principle of clean disengagement from the traditional African world. This approach attempts to provide liberation especially for modern young people and women trying to escape from the clutches of African tradition and practices. These churches have developed rituals that create a new sense of belonging for their members – a place to feel at home. The gospel and politics Although the mission churches pioneered the provision of health and educational services among African communities, the involvement in the same field by the colonial state, though belated, in many ways confused the Church’s intentions. The confusion became marked when the colonial state began to provide grants-inaid in an effort to stake its presence in the fields of education, health and social services. Ironically, the colonial legislative and policy frameworks designed to serve the African people in most cases undermined the original intention the mission churches espoused. Policies of discrimination were common in the whole Southern African region, and Africans invariably bore their brunt because of their race. Dependence on state finances, on the one hand, and the need to appease the Africans, on the other, created an ambivalent if ambiguous political policy for the mission Church. This policy often took the forms of acquiescence to or co-option by the colonial state. Ironically, both progressive and conservative missionaries saw themselves as guardians of African peoples and trustees over their interests. In many countries in Southern Africa, missionary councils elected missionaries to represent Africans in colonial parliaments. Although the Africans appreciated missionary advocacy in areas such as land alienation, taxation, labour regulations, the rights of the girl child, native education and urban life, they resented the paternalism that missionary representation exhibited. However, as colonial governments adopted more and more racist policies against the African citizens, the voice of the missionary became more and more muted. Hence, it became imperative for Africans to form their own labour unions and nationalist parties where issues of African marginalisation would be taken seriously. Direct participation in labour unions and nationalist politics was a step further than forming or joining Ethiopian churches, which was the earlier way of pulling out of the colonial and missionary web. South Africa took a lead in Southern Africa in respect of African nationalist consciousness. In this regard 1910 is significant, since it was the year when

the British made a strategic withdrawal from South Africa in the wake of the establishment of the Union government. Unfortunately, the Union government adopted racialist policies that excluded and disenfranchised people of colour. The African National Congress (ANC) was founded in 1912 as an African response to this unfortunate development. Successive leaders of the ANC were committed Christians, notably John Langalibalele Dube, the party’s first president, and Chief Albert Luthuli. Throughout the region, the colonial state tried to excise the churches from the struggle for African freedom as well as the church leaders who embodied the radical gospel. Attempts to silence them were made through intimidation, arrest and/or deportation. Such was the influence of Christianity among all sections of South African society that the debates about apartheid were conducted in a Christian conceptual framework. Individual church leaders such as Geoffrey Clayton, Trevor Huddleston, Michael Scott, Dennis Hurley, Beyers Naude, Desmond Tutu, Allan Boesak, Manas Buthelezi, Smangaliso Mkhatshwa and Frank Chikane led the struggle against the apartheid system. Church institutions such as the Christian Institute, the Institute for Contextual Theology, the South African Council of Churches (SACC) and the South African Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, through their international networks, managed to internationalise the struggle for freedom by publicising the iniquities of the apartheid system. Through a concerted coordination of progressive elements within the fraternity of churches, in 1985 the SACC brought together the theologians who produced one of the most celebrated theological texts of the twentieth century: the Kairos Document. It has taken time for the churches to rediscover their prophetic role in the context of the post-apartheid state, but issues such as HIV/AIDS and the Zimbabwe crisis have seen new fault-lines emerging between church and state. Although there are real prospects of being co-opted by the ANC government, the SACC remains a credible forum for critical theological reflection and a ready resource for prophetic public theology in Southern Africa. Similar tensions between churches and the state have been manifest in Botswana over government’s heavy handed forced eviction of the Basarwa from the central Kalahari Game reserve, and in Swaziland over the question of democracy and human rights. Fortunately, international ecumenical support has remained solidly behind the churches’ efforts to promote justice and to safeguard human dignity. While the Christian Church in Southern Africa continues to grow in leaps and bounds, it faces a number of challenges such as secularisation, Afro-pessimism, dictatorship, rampant poverty and the HIV/AIDS scourge. Its future will, however, depend on its capacity to remain relevant to the socio-economic, cultural and political context within which it exists. The churches carry the hopes of many millions of Southern African citizens. Hence, the need for discerning, committed, inspiring and prophetic leadership continues as they move into the twenty-first century.

PAUL H. GUNDANI James N. Amanze, Ecumenism in Botswana: The Story of the Botswana Christian Council (Gaborone: Pula Press, 2006). Allan Anderson, Zion and Pentecost: The Spirituality and Experience of Pentecostal and Zionist/Apostolic Churches in South Africa (Pretoria: UNISA Press, 2000). Richard Elphick and Rodney Davenport (eds), Christianity in South Africa: A Political, Social and Cultural History (Cape Town: David Philip Publishers, 1997). Adrian Hastings, The Church in Africa 1450–1950 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994). Bengt G. M. Sundkler and Christopher Steed, A History of the Church in Africa (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000).

Christians in Southern Africa by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5

1910 South Africa Lesotho Botswana Namibia Swaziland

Christians 2,446,000 40,400 22,000 16,000 1,000

Highest percentage 2010 South Africa Namibia Lesotho Botswana Swaziland

Christians 40,260,000 1,967,000 1,889,000 1,283,000 1,021,000

1 2 3 4 5

1910 South Africa Botswana Lesotho Namibia Swaziland

% Christian 40.7 14.3 11.1 8.8 1.0

Fastest growth 2010 Lesotho Namibia Swaziland South Africa Botswana

% Christian 92.4 91.2 88.0 81.7 65.7

1 2 3 4 5

1910–2010 Swaziland Namibia Botswana Lesotho South Africa

% p.a. 7.15 4.93 4.15 3.92 2.84

2000–2010 Botswana Namibia Swaziland Lesotho South Africa

% p.a. 2.04 1.38 1.06 0.96 0.86

127

SOUTHERN AFRICA

Western modes of worship, church polity, architecture, Christian marriage, liturgical practice and hymnody, though translated into indigenous languages. Whilst the Catholic Church has made tremendous strides in indigenising the hymnody and liturgy, including liturgical symbols and vestments, In the wake of the Second Vatican Council, Protestant churches continue to operate very much like extensions of their Western ‘mother churches’ as they continue to preserve the Western liturgical and hymnodic traditions handed over to them when they attained autonomy. Since 1995, when the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church held the Africa Synod in Rome, more concerted efforts have been made towards a more robust process of indigenisation of the liturgy under the rubric of ‘inculturation’. As a result, there has been more innovative experimentation with musical compositions and the use of African instruments such as the drum, horn, marimba and mbira (xylophone). Three key developments have characterised the process of indigenisation of historic churches in Southern Africa. The first was the translation of the Bible, prayer books and church hymns, a process pioneered by missionary linguists assisted by African converts. The legacy left by missionaries such as HenriAlexandre Junod and Clement Doke remains hugely influential. Their translation work continues in use in many a historic church. The second development was the training of an indigenous clergy. The second half of the twentieth century was the period when black leadership emerged in almost all the churches, including such prominent figures as Catholic Archbishop Mabathaoma of Lesotho, Bishop Mandlenkosi Zwane of Manzini, Bishop Manas Buthelezi of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Africa or Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu of Cape Town. The third development was the creation of autonomous local churches. These changes, among others, influenced the former ‘mission churches’ to begin to interrogate their Christian identity and mission in the Southern African milieu, a process that ultimately led to a more positive embrace of African indigenous values and spirituality. Ecclesial autonomy resulted in a significant narrowing of the identity gap between historic churches and the AICs.

Christianity in Southern Africa, 1910–2010

S

Religions in Southern Africa Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

5

Christians Ethnoreligionists Agnostics Muslims Hindus Baha'is Atheists Buddhists Jews Chinese folk New Religionists Confucianists Sikhs Spiritists Jains Total population

10 40 60 75 85 90 95 Percent Christian

2010 Adherents % 46,419,000 82.0 5,358,000 9.5 1,591,000 2.8 1,262,000 2.2 1,182,000 2.1 274,000 0.5 172,000 0.3 159,000 0.3 83,000 0.1 34,000 0.1 22,600 0.0 20,000 0.0 11,300 0.0 3,000 0.0 2,000 0.0 56,592,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 2.95 0.92 0.26 0.18 6.67 1.41 3.60 0.96 3.00 0.86 10.76 1.04 10.24 0.92 7.45 1.07 0.82 0.24 4.10 1.09 2.98 1.03 7.90 0.95 3.88 1.43 0.92 1.84 5.44 1.06 2.14 0.86

= 1% of population = All other religions

Christians in Southern Africa Proportion of all Christians in Southern Africa, 2010 Key:

Key: Graph Key: Key: Graph

Proportionofofaall Christians Proportion country’s Graph Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Proportion a country’s Proportion of a country’s Christians the region Colour in Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Christian Per cent Christian in in Per cent Christian in country or region aeach country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Map Christian of region Map Location and Per cent Location and Per cent Locationof ofregion the region Christian Christian of region

South Africa Swaziland ana Botsw

tho

o Les

2010

Anglican (A)

Adherents 257,000

Adherents 2,996,000

Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

70,300 19,700 860 1,800 1,313,000

4,841,000 20,814,000 281,000 32,100 12,020,000

% by tradition

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 2.49 0.51 4.32 7.21 5.96 2.92 2.24

0.93 1.67 2.20 0.65 0.35

1910

0

2010

2

5

Rate* 1910–2010

1910

10

10

10

10

10

8

8

8

8

6

6

4

4

6

40 60 2 2 0

Rate* 2000–2010

Major Christian traditions in Southern Africa, 1910 & 2010

75

0 %A Christian C AI CM IO MP

All All 4 Christians Christians

85 90 2.95 2.95 2

O P

0

6 4

95 100

2

All All Christians Christians

0.92

0.92

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

Independent churches in South Africa have been the fastest-growing on the continent, now claiming more than 18 million members. The growth of Independents is due to the church segregation that prohibited black and Coloured people from joining white churches during apartheid. The 42-year apartheid regime (1948–90) – fully supported by the Dutch Reformed Church (NGK) – implemented racial discrimination, exploited black people and resulted in general resentment among black Africans against the mainline Christian denominations and religious establishments in the country. This disenchantment with mainline denominations resulted in explosive growth among Independent churches. The Zionist Church is the largest body of Independent Christians in Southern Africa, boasting nearly five million members. New Pentecostal and Charismatic churches are also emerging, rapidly gaining adherents even in the past decade.

Christians in Southern Africa, 1910 and 2010 Southern Africa Botswana Lesotho Namibia South Africa Swaziland

Population 6,819,000 154,000 364,000 182,000 6,017,000 102,000

1910 Christians 2,526,000 22,000 40,400 16,000 2,446,000 1,000

% 37.0 14.3 11.1 8.8 40.7 1.0

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

128

1910 Adherents % 2,526,000 37.0 4,153,000 60.9 2,500 0.0 36,800 0.5 61,400 0.9 0 0.0 0 0.0 120 0.0 36,800 0.5 610 0.0 1,200 0.0 0 0.0 250 0.0 1,200 0.0 0 0.0 6,819,000 100.0

2010

ib ia

2

Religious affiliation and growth in Southern Africa, 1910 and 2010

Na m

outhern Africa has experienced less change in its religious demography over the past 100 years than other regions in Africa. At 37% in 1910, Southern Africa had the highest percentage of Christians of the five regions of Africa. At 82.0% Christian in 2010, it continues to hold first place, but only by a slight margin over Middle Africa at 81.7% Christian. Even so, whereas the majority (61%) of the region’s inhabitants were ethnoreligionists in 1910, only 9.5% are by 2010, largely because of gains by Christianity and immigration of other religionists. Southern Africa has the lowest percentage of Muslims (2%) of the five regions of Africa but the highest percentage of agnostics and atheists (more than 3% combined). Hindus represent another 2% of the population, with most living in South Africa. Differing annual growth rates have produced changes in the distribution of the Christian population among the major traditions. Anglicans, Orthodox and Protestants grew only slightly faster than the population over the 100year period. Adherents of these three traditions made up 95% of all Christians in 1910, but they are only about 37% in 2010. Over the same period, Roman Catholic and Marginal Christians grew at over twice the population growth rate. Independents grew three times as fast as the general population, to become half of all Christians in the region by 2010. Indeed, Southern Africa is home to some of the most vibrant of the African Initiated Churches, including the Zion Christian Church. Orthodoxy has grown in this region due to Orthodox mission work. A large portion of these missionaries were of Greek origin and established communities in tropical Africa to serve immigrant and local populations. The African Orthodox Church was established during the twentieth century in this region, and was one of the few African churches to receive governmental recognition. This caused many people from the Ethiopian Catholic Church to join ranks with the African Orthodox Church. Apart from South Africa, countries in Southern Africa contained few Christians in 1910. In particular, Swaziland was only 1% Christian but grew to 88% Christian in 100 years. Namibia grew from 9% to 91% and Lesotho grew from 11% to 92%. Although Botswana is 66% Christian today, another 30% is ethnoreligionist – the highest percentage of ethnoreligionists in Southern Africa, though well below Mozambique’s or Benin’s 50%. Some of the world’s highest HIV-positive rates are found in these countries, with Lesotho and Botswana leading the world in HIV per capita. While this pandemic is no respecter of persons, Christian churches have a special responsibility in education, prevention and treatment. In particular, millions of orphans and widows have emerged as a special challenge to the churches.

Population 56,592,000 1,953,000 2,044,000 2,157,000 49,278,000 1,160,000

2010 Christians % 46,419,000 Region82.0 total 1,283,000Botswana 65.7 1,889,000 Lesotho 92.4 1,967,000 Namibia 91.2 40,260,000 81.7 South Africa 1,021,000 88.0 Swaziland

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Southern Africa by province, 2010

Nambia

Botswana

2010 ! !

1910

Swaziland ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

Lesotho

South Africa

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Southern Africa Botswana Lesotho Namibia South Africa Swaziland

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 287,000 1,100,000 1,387,000 Southern Africa 23,300 19,700 43,000 Botswana 14,300 49,200 63,500 Lesotho 26,100 37,400 63,500 Namibia 216,000 955,000 1,171,000 South Africa 7,100 38,300 45,400 Swaziland

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Province KwaZulu-Natal Gauteng Eastern Cape Limpopo Western Cape North West Mpumalanga Free State Northern Cape Maseru

Country South Africa South Africa South Africa South Africa South Africa South Africa South Africa South Africa South Africa Lesotho

Population 10,364,000 9,716,000 7,077,000 5,798,000 4,974,000 4,034,000 3,434,000 2,976,000 905,000 452,000

0%

⇒

Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

Immigrants

100%

% 78.0 80.4 81.8 82.4 82.1 82.4 82.0 81.4 83.4 91.6

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

2.95Region 2.14 total 4.15 Botswana 2.57 3.92 Lesotho 1.74 4.93 Namibia 2.50 2.84South2.13 Africa 7.15 Swaziland 2.46 ⇐

Christians 8,084,000 7,812,000 5,789,000 4,778,000 4,082,000 3,324,000 2,816,000 2,422,000 754,000 414,000

-2

0.92 Region0.86 total 2.04Botswana 1.23 0.96 Lesotho 0.81 1.38 Namibia 1.39 0.86 South 0.82 Africa 1.06Swaziland 0.92 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

129

SOUTHERN AFRICA

Christian centre of gravity

Christianity in Western Africa, 1910–2010

M

ost countries in Western Africa are Muslim: Senegal, Mauritania, Gambia, Mali, Guinea, Niger, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. Indigenous religion ranks first in three: Sierra Leone, Republic of Benin and Liberia. Christianity predominates in Ghana and the islands of Cape Verde and Saint Helena. In Nigeria, the Muslims and Christians claim an even population; in Togo the numbers of Christians and ethnoreligionists are similar, while in Guinea-Bissau Ehnoreligionists and Muslims claim similar numbers. The Methodists and Baptists are still active in their original fields in Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. The Anglicans are strong in former British territories and have grown to about 21.5 million in Nigeria. The Presbyterians are strongest in Ghana and Nigeria. The pattern of distribution was partially influenced by colonial policy and by new evangelistic thrusts in the independence period. The French and the Portuguese patronised the Roman Catholics and focused on containing the spread of Islam, often by evangelising the un-Islamised ethnic groups such as the southern Casamance in Senegal; the Toma, Guerze and Manon in the Nzerekore district of the forest zone in Guinea; the Bambara, Bobo, Wala and Dogon of Mali; or the Mossi of Burkina Faso. Policies about Islam gyrated in response to geopolitics. Initially, British and French colonial governments intercepted nine Islamic jihads engaged in state formation in Western Africa and used Christian missions as an antidote before indirect rule became fashionable in British West Africa. But a certain uniform and dogmatic spirituality ensured that African Instituted Churches did not thrive in the French colonies, while other Protestants enjoyed a narrow niche. France secularised education and denied the missionaries a monopoly of this instrument of evangelisation, but the Portuguese invested little in education and deployed a graded assimilation strategy to create class differences. The British colonies were more open to many denominations and left education and charitable institutions to missionaries. Thus, Christianity is contested by the combined forces of Islam, indigenous religions and state policies in most of Western Africa. Christianity first came to Western Africa through the Iberian quest for an alternative sea route to the Far East and in response to Islamic economic, political and cultural challenges. The missionary dimension of this initiative failed because the slave trade throttled the enterprise. This fact makes abolitionism the engine that moved the nineteenth-century missionary enterprise and shaped the face of Christianity in 1900. Abolitionism released an evangelical energy: missionary societies of various hues were formed, and the scale of Christian presence increased. Meanwhile, the Berlin West Africa Conference of 1884–5 unleashed the ‘Scramble for Africa’. This required that each colonial power demonstrate the strength of its rule by moving into hinterlands and by showing actual presence in claimed territories. Formal, state-sponsored presence and military ‘pacification’ strategies opened the interior, displaced African middlemen, degraded the chiefs and established colonial structures that challenged African dignity, cultures and religions. Africans were compelled to respond to two structures led by the commissar and the padre. Missionary collaboration in the hegemony project was ambivalent because the intimate enemies disagreed over cultural policy, education and the morality of governance. Moreover, the resilience of indigenous worldviews and religions sustained local identities in the face of global processes. Christian presence and African responses, 1914–60 Following the Berlin Conference of 1884–5, Christianity expanded inland from the coast. Rivalry intensified and determined the pace and direction of missionary presence. The relationships between missions and colonial governments barred or opened access and patronage. Ecology, geographical location and accessibility enabled ethnic groups on the coast

to come into prolonged and consistent relationship with Western missionary influence; many became interpreters and agents. The tensile strength of the indigenous worldview, culture and degree of sociopolitical organisation determined the fortunes of the gospel. Strong chiefs in centralised political structures such as Ashanti and Benin impeded missionaries, while rival chiefs in segmentary structures, as among the Igbo and Ibibio in eastern Nigeria, proved more receptive. Self-interest of local actors and the initiative of strong personalities such as Father LeRouge in the Guinea, Bishop Joseph Shanahan in eastern Nigeria and Birch Freeman in the Gold Coast (Ghana) shaped Christian presence. The organisation, funding and training of personnel in the home bases influenced the mission fields. The inverse was a failure to ordain indigenes until the bugles of political independence jolted missionaries. By 1900 Christian presence in Western Africa remained weak. Indigenous religion and Islam still prevailed. The First World War disrupted missionary structures, facilities, supply networks and personnel. The Great Depression ruined missionary resource bases, especially for the poor African American churches such as the African Methodist Episcopal Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and Christian Methodist Episcopal Church that served with Afrocentric zeal in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast. Ironically, by the 1920s many missionary bodies had re-organised under pressure from indigenous communities. Rapid religious change came during the inter-war years. Many Africans served in the First World War and became enamoured with Western ways. African confidence grew because, unlike the cases of Eastern and Southern Africa, lands were not distributed to former British soldiers. Suddenly many communities wanted schools but were made to have churches as a part of the bargain. The era of ‘bush schools’ changed the religious terrain and catalysed confrontation with indigenous cultures in the effort to domesticate Christian values. Schools and other charitable institutions became veritable means of evangelisation. In French colonies, missionaries circumvented the restrictions. The debate on education intensified: whether instruction should be in the vernacular and focus on industrial education, as promoted by the Tuskegee model, or produce personnel for colonial infrastructure. Since Africans put more premium on civil service jobs, agricultural and technical education (usually cost-intensive) lagged behind but paid high dividends to those who started agricultural plantations in cotton, cocoa, palm oil and kennel. Cotton failed in Gambia, while cocoa and palm oil succeeded in Nigeria and rubber in Liberia. As churches expanded, education focused on teacher training and primary education. By the 1930s indigenes insisted upon secondary and grammar schools. It was only in 1948 that the British founded university colleges in Nigeria and Gold Coast affiliated to the University of London, while Fourah Bay in Sierra Leone was affiliated to the University of Durham. The exponential growth of Christianity could be explained by the impact of education, the translation of the Scriptures and the broad range of the indigenous population that bore the brunt of the new missionary thrust. For instance, the African native churches started by Ethiopians blossomed to become significant in the Census of 1921 in Nigeria. This connects with two distinctive aspects of the emergent Christianity, namely, a strain of black nationalism and a tendency towards Charismatic spirituality and expression. These two patterns of African responses to Christianity could be traced to a movement, ‘Ethiopianism’, that embodied the quest for power and identity through the resources of the gospel. Africans responded to colonial and missionary structures through loyalty, voices of dissent and exit. Some, like Mensah Sarbah in the Gold Coast, critiqued colonial Christianity from the 100

Area (sq. km): 6,159,000 Population, 2010: 307,436,000 Population density (per sq. km): 50 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.26 Life expectancy (years): 53 (male 52, female 53) Adult literacy (%): 55

130

Christians, 1910: 557,000 % Christian, 1910: 1.7 Christians, 2010: 110,084,000 % Christian, 2010: 35.8 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 5.43 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.65

100

0

0

% Christian

1910

1910

2010

2010

inside by showing the legal creativity of the Fanti. Others, like Edward Wilmot Blyden, stridently protested. Mojola Agbebi, formerly known as David Vincent, shed his English name and Baptist roots to found his own church and schools in Nigeria. After the First World War the responses became increasingly Charismatic. People wanted the gospel to better perform the services provided by their indigenous religions. Individuals and communities responded to colonial and missionary structures by searching for Charismatic resources in Christianity and other religious spiritualities that resonated with the indigenous worldviews. Ethiopianism benefited from black American preachers and catalysed the challenge by blacks over leadership and decision-making processes in the church. The native pastorate experiment in Sierra Leone called for freedom from the intimidating cultural hardware and racism in the early contact between missionaries and Africans and set the tone of nationalism in the inter-war years. The core concerns included a quest for a place of their own, identity, selfrespect and an opportunity to nurse Africa back to its old glory. In a conflation of myth and history, that glory was imaged with the achievements of ancient Egypt, Nubia and Ethiopia. Ethiopia was both a place and an ideological symbol. The translators of the Septuagint Bible in 300 bc mistakenly translated the Hebrew Kush into the Greek Aithiop, a word that the Greeks used for any country south of their known world and derived from their word for black face, aithiops. The entire region from Egypt to Ethiopia/Abyssinia was thus known as ‘Ethiopia’. This explains how ‘Ethiopianism’ as a movement sought to re-create the proud golden age of African civilisation. By networking through Sierra Leone, Liberia, Gold Coast and Nigeria, Ethiopians in Western Africa built a formidable following among the new elite that brought together the rising stars of Western Africa. In the Gold Coast, J. E. Casely Hayford, a brilliant lawyer and Methodist layman, wrote Ethiopia Unbound (1911) and initiated a critical literary tradition that rejected the literature of tutelage characteristic of missionary protégés. In Nigeria, Mojola Agbebi wore only Yoruba clothes and rejected foreign support. E. M. Lijadu, a man of striking independence and initiative, funded his Self-Supporting Evangelist Band (1900) through trade. He wrote two books in which he tried to blend Christian theology with indigenous knowledge, arguing that the Yoruba deity, Orunmila, was a pre-figuration of Jesus. The educationist Henry Carr asserted that education was a crucial tool for building African self-image. Carr in Nigeria and Dr J. K. Aggrey in Gold Coast inspired a generation of educationists that included the brilliant Alvan Ikoku. James ‘Holy’ Johnson led a revival movement before he was transferred from Sierra Leone to Lagos. He combined unbending evangelicalism with strong commitment to African rights, championing access to education and ecclesiastical independence. Despite being under pressure to secede, he insisted on fighting the battle from inside the Anglican Church. The same pragmatism characterised the ideals of Julius Ojo-Cole, who was not averse to borrowing the best of other civilisations to improve Africa as long as it was affirmed that each race of people possessed its genius. He intoned that Africa must unite and cooperate to foster a spirit of national consciousness and radical pride through a new type of education in Western Africa. He was a founding member of the West African Students’ Union and the publisher of the journal West African Review. From Liberia, Edward Wilmot Blyden traveled widely to promote the cause in Africa and America. His lecture in Lagos in 1891, entitled The Return of the Exiles, encapsulated the heart of the movement. Acknowledging the sacrifices of white missionaries, he argued nonetheless that the destiny of Christianity lay in the hands of Africans or, as a weekly newspaper in Sierra Leone reported a speech by Agbebi in 1892, ‘The sphinx must solve her own riddle. The genius of Africa must unravel its own enigma.’ African responses: five types Five strands of Charismatic African response to the Christian message may be identified: Type 1: A diviner or religious leader from the traditional religion suddenly accepted the power of Christianity and urged the community to yield. In southeastern Igboland, Dede Ekeke Lolo, a priest of

Revival that occurred within the Qua Iboe Church in eastern Nigeria in 1927. Sometimes, the revival was catalysed by contact with Western sources. Such was the case of the Faith Tabernacle, whose magazines inspired many Ghanaians and Nigerians from 1920. These invited the Bradford Apostolic Church to begin work in the 1930s. In Nigeria, some joined the Assemblies of God (AOG) in 1939. The AOG is the largest classical Pentecostal body in Western Africa. It started in rural Sierra Leone in 1914, moved into Burkina Faso in 1920, and then into Ivory Coast and Dahomey from the mid-1920s. Nigerians invited the Church of the Foursquare Gospel to begin work in 1954. Some benefited from the New Life Movement that spread through Nigeria and Ghana in the mid1950s and from evangelistic missions by Billy Graham and W. L. Osborn in the early 1960s. Type 5: The contemporary face of Pentecostalism in Africa was catalysed by Charismatic movements, led by young people from mainline churches from the late 1960s in some parts of the continent but more especially in the 1970s. Many started from the Scripture Union camps in secondary school and others from Christian Union fellowships in the universities. Later, the movements in different countries linked through the activities of the student organisation FOCUS and the migrations of students engaged in foreign language programmes. Christianity in contemporary Western Africa The significance of the youthful Charismatism lies in the backdrop. By the end of World War II, indigenous brands of nationalism created a wind of change that yielded an array of independent African states between 1957 and 1965. Many nationalist ideologies turned socialist and challenged the mission churches. The pattern of decolonisation haunted Christianity. For instance, the Portuguese generated hostile socialist ideologies that impeded Christianity in GuineaBissau and Cape Verde during the post-independence period. This was the main thrust of the missionary policy of indigenisation. There were at least a dozen measures, including manpower development, internal restructuring through church unity and ecumenism, balancing aid and selfhood in funding so as to cure dependency and nurture stewardship, revisiting cultural policy through adaptation and thereby catalysing a controlled initiative in art and liturgy, re-aligning the church–state relationship by promoting the involvement of Christians in politics, encouraging theological reflection, and installing a new model of relationship that uses the idiom of partnership to camouflage paternalism and thus attempting to maintain social services along the old lines. These cumulatively would remedy the aftereffects of the excessive control exercised in the past while preserving the core of missionary structures and broadening African participation to respond to the challenges created by the insurgent nationalism of the new African states. By the 1980s a number of the young people had become adults and founded their own Charismatic churches that linked up with televangelists from the West. The liberalisation of air space released the power of the media in evangelisation. Pentecostalism, which had sprouted independently in Western Africa and responded to the challenges from the interiors of the indigenous worldviews, now became exposed to a strong American influence. Prosperity preaching combined with media power to reshape the religious landscape. Radio, television, advertisement and megachurches appeared. The mission churches resisted, lost the battles and became Charismatic in liturgy and ethics. Significantly, the Pentecostal movement

has changed character in every decade as holiness ethics and intercession re-emerged from the late 1990s after the reign of the prosperity gospel. The growth of Christianity in Francophone Western Africa, for instance, arises from the aggressive evangelisation by Charismatic movements. The Pentecostals challenged the declaration of voodoo as the state religion of the Republic of Benin and moved into Muslim enclaves, perhaps with less sensitivity to a pluralistic religious environment than desired. The most important dimension is how the new Christianity negotiated with popular cultures that were sourced from indigenous cultures, Western popular culture and the urban culture of Western Africa. This shared urban culture could be illustrated with popular art or with the provenance of the musical piece ‘Sweet Mother’ that could be heard in taxis from Conakry through Dakar, Freetown, Monrovia, Accra and Lagos to its home in Yaoundé. Christianity in Western Africa could be studied through sound because missionary hymnody was first challenged by the AICs before Charismatic Christianity abandoned the diatribe about the sources and lyrics of popular music to reinvent new genres of gospel music. New technology (the shift from wax records to electronic cassettes), media, inculturation and evangelistic rivalry harnessed the influence of popular culture to revolutionise Christian music and mass media. Meanwhile, videos, audio cassettes and billboards were deployed in an aggressive evangelisation to re-enchant the region. The political import is diverse: mainline churches are growing with stronger voices in domestic politics and international conclaves. During the ‘second liberation’ of Africa from home-grown dictators, Christian leaders played major roles in the democratisation processes in Benin, Togo, Ghana, Guinea and Senegal. Among Pentecostals, the Intercessors for Africa have re-appropriated the vision of Ethiopianism, used prayer as political praxis in recovering the lost glory of Africa and urged repentance for the role played by Africans in the slave trade. Pentecostal theology on wealth and poverty offers a spiritual explanation for the economic collapse and legitimacy crisis in the region; its ethics enhance economic enterprise, and its practice provides jobs for many. From the 1990s Christian churches in Western Africa challenged the quality of state-sponsored education by building universities founded on Christian values. By positing morality as a condition for political participation and by creating political awareness among its teeming numbers, Western African Christianity has attracted the attention of politicians. Heads of states and civil servants now deploy Christian symbols, rhetoric and institutional participation as means of consolidating legitimacy. It is a popular saying that Christianity is more practised in Dakar than might be expected from the numerical strength of its adherents. The reason is that Christianity has created a trans-regional culture that every other religion strives to imitate. The Muslim Da’awah cassettes that blare in motor parks are good examples.

OGBU U. K ALU Peter Clarke, West Africa and Christianity (London: Edward Arnold, 1986). Adrian Hastings, The Church in Africa (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994). Ogbu U. Kalu (ed.), African Christianity: An African Story (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2007). Ogbu U. Kalu (ed.), The History of Christianity in West Africa (London: Longman, 1980). Lamin Sanneh, West African Christianity (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1983).

Christians in Western Africa by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Nigeria Ghana Cape Verde Sierra Leone Liberia Senegal Benin Guinea-Bissau Togo Gambia

Christians 206,000 123,000 80,300 53,100 39,900 22,600 9,300 6,400 4,900 4,700

Highest percentage 2010 Nigeria Ghana Ivory Coast Benin Burkina Faso Togo Liberia Sierra Leone Senegal Cape Verde

Christians 72,302,000 15,309,000 7,119,000 3,872,000 3,401,000 3,245,000 1,764,000 767,000 664,000 539,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Saint Helena Cape Verde Liberia Ghana Sierra Leone Gambia Guinea-Bissau Senegal Benin Nigeria

% Christian 100.0 99.0 10.6 4.7 4.6 4.2 4.0 1.9 1.2 1.1

Fastest growth 2010 Saint Helena Cape Verde Ghana Nigeria Togo Liberia Benin Ivory Coast Burkina Faso Sierra Leone

% Christian 95.7 95.0 61.5 45.7 45.6 40.9 39.2 34.9 21.1 12.4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Burkina Faso Ivory Coast Niger Togo Mali Benin Nigeria Guinea Mauritania Ghana

% p.a. 13.58 9.55 9.04 6.70 6.37 6.21 6.04 5.24 5.01 4.95

2000–2010 Burkina Faso Gambia Sierra Leone Benin Liberia Guinea Togo Mali Nigeria Senegal

% p.a. 5.16 4.00 4.00 3.94 3.93 3.79 3.13 2.71 2.49 2.49

131

WESTERN AFRICA

the gods of the fathers, prophesied that some powerful people were coming. He asked for his canoe and paddled away in fearful haste. This was in 1918. Garrick Braide missionaries arrived soon thereafter, singing that Jesus had come and Satan had run away. Massive conversion followed, with burning and ‘killing of idols’. Type 2: A prophet would emerge from the ranks of a Christian praying band. Sometimes, the tendency was to pose like an Old Testament prophet, sporting a luxurious beard, staff and flowing gown, calling for holiness and manifesting the gift of healing. One such example is Wade Harris, whose ministry started in 1910. Some prophets used ingredients of indigenous religion but dissuaded people from indigenous religion, asserting the supremacy of the gospel. Other examples include Garrick Braide, an Anglican who operated between 1914–18; Peter Anim (1890–1984), a Presbyterian who started a local prayer group at Asamankase in the eastern region of Ghana and catalysed a revival; Joseph Babalola, who left his job as a payload driver in 1928 in southwestern Nigeria; and Simon Kimbangu, whose ministry lasted through one momentous year, 1921, in the Belgian Congo. Each was arrested by the colonial government and jailed: Harris remained under house arrest until death; Braide died in prison in 1918. Kimbangu’s death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment and exile at the intervention of two Baptist missionaries; he died at Elizabethville in 1951. Babalola was released from prison when some Welsh Apostolic Church agents intervened on his behalf as the indigenous Charismatic groups linked with external sources. Type 3: A wave of African indigenous churches arose all over Africa early in the twentieth century, partly in response to the First World War and the influenza epidemic of 1918. Described as Aladura in Western Africa, Zionists in Southern Africa, and Abaroho in Eastern Africa, some sparked revivals, while others did not. The pneumatic resources of the translated Bible proved to be a key resource for the first churches to emerge from the mainline churches. Later, new forms appeared that had no connection with missionary churches. They quickly institutionalised as churches and equally deployed traditional symbols as in the category above, but to a larger degree. Soon differences appeared, based on the proportion of traditional religion in the mix: some messianic leaders claimed to be one or the other of the Trinity; the revivalistic claimed that indigenous religion contained the same esoteric knowledge as in Christianity and therefore had the same status. The practice of traditional religion was clothed with Christian garb. Godianism, Orunmila and Afrikania promoted the ideological significance of indigenous religion by privileging the resonance with Christian symbols. The vitalistic tapped occult powers from the Sixth and Seventh Book of Moses and other oriental sources. These movements benefited from easy access to magazines advertising occult and esoteric materials in the burgeoning Western African print media. The nativistic were best understood as indigenous cults operating with Christian symbols and paraphernalia. Thus, many forms operated beyond the pale of Christianity. Some were politically proactive, while others were religious safe havens for the brutalised. Type 4: Sometimes, a puritanical and fundamentalist expression of Christianity would occur within the boundaries of mainline denominations. Charismatic movements enlarged the role of the Holy Spirit within their faith and practices. They challenged the doctrine, liturgy, polity and ethics of the missionary churches. Many attracted enough mass support to become revival movements. Examples include the Ibibio

Christianity in Western Africa, 1910–2010

C

Religions in Western Africa Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

2

Religious affiliation and growth in Western Africa, 1910 and 2010 Muslims Christians Ethnoreligionists Agnostics Baha'is Atheists New Religionists Buddhists Hindus Chinese folk Sikhs Jews Total population

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

5

Percent Christian

2010 Adherents % 149,389,000 48.6 110,084,000 35.8 46,547,000 15.1 999,000 0.3 210,000 0.1 82,100 0.0 64,700 0.0 29,600 0.0 19,900 0.0 5,400 0.0 3,300 0.0 1,200 0.0 307,436,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 2.92 2.71 5.43 2.65 0.66 1.68 12.20 2.87 10.46 2.69 9.43 3.13 9.17 2.25 8.32 2.03 5.44 9.68 6.49 2.30 5.97 2.03 4.90 2.26 2.26 2.53

= 1% of population

Christians in Western Africa Proportion of Christians in Western Africa, 2010

Somaliland Somalia Seychelles

Guinea-Bissau Guinea Mali Cape Verde Senegal

one Sierra Le ia Liber

rk Bu

ina

so Fa

Major Christian traditions in Western Africa, 1910 & 2010 Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

2010

Adherents 73,700

Adherents 21,846,000

155,000 20,300 120 0 175,000

35,565,000 34,163,000 1,447,000 93,600 36,265,000

% by tradition

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 5.86 2.67 5.59 7.71 9.85 9.58 5.48

3.18 2.69 3.91 3.87 3.47

1910

0

2010

2

5

Rate* 1910–2010

1910

10

10

10

10

10

8

8

8

8

6

6

4

4

All All 6 Christians Christians

5.43

40 60 2 2 0

Rate* 2000–2010

o Tog

Ivo

British Indian Ocean

St Helena Mauritania Niger Gambia

Proportionofofaall Christians Proportion country’s Graph Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Proportion a country’s Proportion of a country’s Christians the region Colour in Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Christian Per cent Christian in in Per cent Christian in country or region aeach country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Map Christian of region Map Location and Per cent Location and Per cent Locationof ofregion the region Christian Christian of region

ry C o as t

Comoros

Nig

Key: Graph Key: Key: Graph

Be ni n

Djibouti

a

eri

Key:

Mayotte

75

0 %A Christian C AI CM IO MP

5.43 4

85 90 2 O P

0

6 4

95 100

2

All All Christians Christians

2.65

2.65

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

Christians in Western Africa, 1910 and 2010 Western Africa Benin Burkina Faso Cape Verde Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Liberia Mali Mauritania Niger Nigeria Saint Helena Senegal Sierra Leone Togo

Population 32,933,000 784,000 1,726,000 81,100 113,000 2,617,000 1,203,000 160,000 1,202,000 377,000 1,569,000 277,000 1,086,000 18,785,000 3,300 1,205,000 1,166,000 579,000

1910 Christians % 557,000 1.7 9,300 1.2 0 0.0 80,300 99.0 4,700 4.2 123,000 4.7 2,200 0.2 6,400 4.0 780 0.1 39,900 10.6 800 0.1 65 0.0 0 0.0 206,000 1.1 3,300 100.0 22,600 1.9 53,100 4.6 4,900 0.9

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

132

1910 Adherents % 8,364,000 25.4 557,000 1.7 24,013,000 72.9 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 100 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 32,933,000 100.0

2010

Ghana

hristians in Western Africa have grown from only 1.7% of the population in 1910 to over 35% by 2010. Yet this remarkable growth should be seen in the context of the numerical growth of Muslims, who in the same period grew from 25% of the population to nearly 49%. Ethnoreligionists represented 73% of the region in 1910 but only 15% in 2010, the decrease being almost entirely the result of conversion to Islam or Christianity. While some countries saw significant growth in Christian adherence (Benin, Ivory Coast, and Togo each from 1% to 35–45% Christian), other countries have seen little change (Mauritania and Niger, less than 0.5% Christian in 2010). Nigeria is the most populous country in the region and the one that has seen the largest number of converts to the major Christian traditions. The Anglican and Roman Catholic churches there are two of the largest on the continent, and many smaller denominations in Nigeria are among the fastest-growing in the world. Nigeria’s Independent churches are aggressively sending out missionaries to all the surrounding countries, where daughter churches are multiplying rapidly. Not surprisingly, churches from Nigeria and the rest of Western Africa are appearing all over Europe and Northern America. Over the past 100 years Ghana attained one of the highest percentages of Christians in Western Africa. Claiming only 4.7% Christian adherence in 1910, the country now boasts a 61.5% Christian population, largely through missionary and indigenous church efforts. Independents are the largest major Christian tradition (14.5%), with over 430 denominations. Within the Renewalist movement the largest single component is the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Begun in 1970, by 1997 it had 800 regular weekly prayer groups with 50,000 adult weekly attenders (including 20,000 young people ages 12–25) and with 100 priests and two bishops involved. Yet despite the success of Christianity, Ghana continues to be a popular destination for Western missionaries, especially those on short-term assignments The map on the facing page illustrates the great geographical divide between Christians and Muslims in Western Africa. Generally, the farther south one goes, the higher the percentage of Christians, and the farther north, the higher the percentage of Muslims (and thus, as the map shows, the smaller the percentage of Christians). The two meet somewhere along the tenth parallel north, where the past few decades have seen many violent clashes, including the burning of both churches and mosques. Much of this has taken place in Nigeria, which is in many ways the regional epicentre for the collision of these two faiths. The growing strength of Christianity in Nigeria is indicated by the marked movement of the Christian centre of gravity towards that country over the past 100 years.

Population 307,436,000 9,872,000 16,097,000 567,000 1,845,000 24,890,000 10,028,000 1,853,000 20,375,000 4,311,000 13,506,000 3,363,000 15,791,000 158,313,000 6,800 13,311,000 6,185,000 7,122,000

2010 Christians % 110,084,000 Region35.8 total 3,872,000 Benin 39.2 3,401,000 Burkina21.1 Faso 539,000 95.0 Cape Verde 81,400 Gambia 4.4 15,309,000 Ghana 61.5 362,000 Guinea 3.6 202,000 10.9 Guinea-Bissau 7,119,000 34.9 Ivory Coast 1,764,000 Liberia 40.9 384,000 2.8 Mali 8,600 0.3 Mauritania 57,100 Niger 0.4 72,302,000 Nigeria 45.7 Saint Helena 6,500 95.7 664,000 Senegal 5.0 Sierra Leone 767,000 12.4 Togo 3,245,000 45.6

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Western Africa by province, 2010

Burkina Faso

Mauritania

Niger

Mali

Senegal Cape Verde

Gambia

Guinea-Bissau Guinea

Christian centre of gravity

!

1910

2010 !

Sierra Leone

0

2

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

Togo Liberia

Nigeria

Benin

Ghana

Ivory Coast

WESTERN AFRICA

ProvRelig_Christian Per

Saint Helena (off page)

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Province Lagos Benue Anambra Akwa Ibom Imo Ashanti Rivers Abia Oyo Delta

Country Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria Ghana Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria

Population 10,662,000 5,258,000 4,779,000 4,883,000 4,546,000 4,755,000 5,730,000 4,280,000 6,719,000 4,216,000

Christians 7,485,000 3,838,000 3,823,000 3,662,000 3,637,000 3,614,000 3,438,000 3,424,000 3,359,000 3,204,000

% 70.2 73.0 80.0 75.0 80.0 76.0 60.0 80.0 50.0 76.0

1910

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Western Africa Benin Burkina Faso Cape Verde Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Liberia Mali Mauritania Niger Nigeria Saint Helena Senegal Sierra Leone Togo

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 2,561,040 2,290,000 4,851,040 Western Africa 123,500 46,900 170,400 Benin 118,400 53,800 172,200 Burkina Faso 11,410 3,600 15,010 Cape Verde 2,220 1,040 3,260 Gambia 304,900 235,100 540,000 Ghana 10,030 4,770 14,800 Guinea 3,370 6,490 9,860 Guinea-Bissau 163,700 142,400 306,100 Ivory Coast 78,600 36,700 115,300 Liberia 10,990 7,910 18,900Mali 100 180 280 Mauritania 910 1,930 2,840Niger 1,615,000 1,683,000 3,298,000 Nigeria 80 90 170 Saint Helena 13,820 8,800 22,620 Senegal 15,090 19,600 34,690 Sierra Leone 89,200 37,600 126,800Togo

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

Immigrants

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

total 5.43Region 2.26 Benin 6.21 2.57 Burkina Faso 13.58 2.26 Verde 1.92Cape1.96 2.89 Gambia 2.83 Ghana 4.95 2.28 5.24 Guinea 2.14 3.51 2.48 Guinea-Bissau 9.55Ivory2.87 Coast 3.86 2.47 Liberia 6.37 2.18 Mali 5.01Mauritania 2.53 9.04 2.71 Niger 6.04 Nigeria 2.15 0.68 Saint 0.73 Helena 3.44 Senegal 2.43 2.71 Sierra1.68 Leone 6.70 2.54 Togo ⇐

0%

⇒

100%

-2

Region2.53 total 2.65 Benin 3.94 3.17 Burkina3.08 Faso 5.16 Cape 2.32 Verde 2.31 4.00 Gambia 2.92 2.46 Ghana 2.14 3.79 Guinea 2.03 1.34 3.06 Guinea-Bissau 2.41Ivory 1.80 Coast 3.93 Liberia 3.45 2.71 3.05 Mali 1.80Mauritania 2.74 1.88 3.57 Niger 2.49 Nigeria 2.41 1.25 1.35 Saint Helena 2.49 Senegal 2.56 4.00 3.18 Sierra Leone 3.13 2.80 Togo 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

133

Christianity in Asia, 1910–2010

C

hristianity in Asia is very diverse in its historical development, expression and beliefs, reflecting the regional diversity of political, socio-economic, religious and cultural environments. There are ancient church traditions such as the St Thomas churches in India, but also there are very recent Pentecostal churches, new denominations and Christian movements. The last century has seen growth in the number of Asian Christians, who now form a much greater proportion of the total number of Christians in the world. With some notable exceptions, however, they remain a relatively small proportion of the population in most Asian countries. Mindful of both the varied growth of the Church and the diverse environment outside the Church, this essay will examine four aspects of Asian Christianity: church growth (revival, conversion); the churches and politics; ecumenical movements; and Christian communities within the wider society and among other religious traditions. Church growth, revival and conversion There have been significant conversion movements in several nations in Asia. The Philippines today is about 90 per cent Christian (the majority are Roman Catholics) as a result of Spanish missions since the sixteenth century. In the early twentieth century it witnessed the rapid growth of Protestant and indigenous churches, which now form nearly one-third of the Christian population. Since the Philippines became independent in 1946, there has been a strong Charismatic movement, which has cut across the Catholic and Protestant churches, and blurred denominational boundaries. Korea experienced a series of revivals in the early twentieth century among the Protestant churches, and there has been significant growth in recent years in the midst of political turmoil and rapid economic growth. Christianity in South Korea is very dynamic and prominent not only in numbers but also in various aspects of the socio-political life of the nation, and South Korea has also now become a major missionarysending country. In Indonesia, the constitution is based on five principles (Pancasila), which begin with belief in one God but guarantee equal rights. The decision in the mid-1960s to require everyone to belong to one of five different religions – Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism or Buddhism – resulted in rapid growth in the number of Christians. Partly as a reaction against Islamisation, tribal peoples and nominal Hindus and Muslims – among them Communist sympathisers and also members of the economically powerful Chinese minority – flocked to join the churches in some parts of the country. In China, the War of Resistance against Japan of 1937–45, followed by the Civil War in 1947–9, was a time of turmoil for all Chinese, and the churches especially came under tight control. During the Cultural Revolution between 1966 and 1979 many Christians were persecuted, but since 1979 permission for religious activity and recognition of the legitimacy of Protestantism and (Chinese) Catholicism have led to what even the authorities have called ‘Christian fever’. Thousands of churches have (re-) opened, and new groups are encouraged to join the China Christian Council, controlled by the Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM). The Protestant churches – TSPM, various groups and house churches – and also the Catholic churches – unofficial and those under the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association – grew steadily. The Catholic population in India remains concentrated in the modern states of Goa and Kerala and in the city of Mumbai, which were most influenced by the Portuguese, and among the Malayalam-speaking community. The colonial Protestant churches were established from the beginning of the eighteenth century by missionaries from Britain, Germany, other European countries, and later Northern America. Today most of India’s Christians live in the South Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, and where there are Christian villages there are parts of those

states where Christians form a local majority. The other major centre of Christian population is in the hill country of North-east India, the pocket between Bangladesh and Myanmar, where beginning in the late nineteenth century the tribal people, who had migrated there from the direction of China, were evangelised by English Baptists from Serampore, American Baptists and Welsh Presbyterians. As a result of Holiness revival movements, in these relatively small states up to 90% of the population are Christians. In the Theravada Buddhist-dominated contexts of South-eastern Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand) Christians are part of a much smaller minority. Despite centuries of efforts by Roman Catholics (mainly from France, but more recently from Viet Nam), Catholics in Cambodia number fewer now than in 1900. Christians (and Buddhists) were almost annihilated by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. More recent efforts by American missionaries and diaspora Christians have resulted in the growth of Independent churches. In Myanmar, Christians – mainly Evangelicals, especially Baptists – are concentrated among three tribal groups, the Kayin (Karen), Chin and Kachin, who do not identify with the majority Burmese. Similarly, most of the (less than 2%) Christians in Thailand are not of Thai descent but Chinese, Vietnamese or from tribal minorities. Nevertheless, as Thailand becomes more urban and more cosmopolitan, Christianity is growing, and missionaries from Eastern Asia have been particularly influential on Thai Christianity. The new Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan all have significant Christian minorities, mostly Russian Orthodox with some Ukrainian Orthodox. Freedom of religion since the end of Soviet domination has seen the revival of Orthodox Christianity and a great rise in the practice of Islam in all these countries. There have been some attempts at Islamisation, especially in Kyrgyzstan, but in most cases the Orthodox Church has a good relationship with Muslim leaders, born of centuries of co-existence. The same cannot be said for many of the Evangelical and Pentecostal churches that have sprung up since 1991, as a result of missions from Asia and the West as well as local initiatives. The Orthodox Christians are generally united with Muslims in opposing these. In some places Roman Catholic, Lutheran and other churches serve minority groups originally from Poland, Germany and other parts of Europe. The extent of religious freedom for Christians varies greatly from country to country. The Arabian peninsula is the homeland of Islam, from which many Christians were expelled in the seventh century. The seven countries currently occupying the peninsula do not permit conversion to Christianity or allow clergy into the country – except perhaps to minister to foreign nationals on an occasional basis – so Christian activities there have been restricted to social service. Many Christians live in Arabia – they are approximately 10% or more of the population in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and United Arab Emirates – but most are expatriates. The majority are Catholics from other parts of Asia; many of them are domestic workers or work in the oil industry. While there they usually have to rely on lay leadership, if it is possible for them to meet at all. In Saudi Arabia especially, Christian meetings, particularly of Asians, may be broken up and their leaders expelled or even executed. Bahrain is the most relaxed country for Christians; it has an American Mission Hospital and an Arab Christian community. The churches and politics The most significant political change in Asia during the last century was the independence of new countries from Western colonial powers or from Japan. The Western colonial authorities were seen by the local people as supportive of the churches and their missionary work. Imperial advancement and Christian mission were perceived by most Asians as synonymous so that until today it is a great struggle for Asian 100

100

Area (sq. km): 31,804,000 Population, 2010: 4,166,308,000 Population density (per sq. km): 131 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.41 Life expectancy (years): 71 (male 69, female 73) Adult literacy (%): 79

Christians, 1910: 25,123,000 % Christian, 1910: 2.4 Christians, 2010: 352,239,000 % Christian, 2010: 8.5 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.68 Christian 10 -year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.38

0

0

% Christian

1910

1910

134

2010

2010

Christians to overcome this association. However, this situation has stimulated more indigenous and creative approaches to Christian theology and practice. Since independence, Christians have participated in ‘nation building’ with the governments and local nongovernmental organisations, but it has been a major struggle for Asian Christians to maintain relations with the wider Christian community and yet keep the cultural and religious heritage of their own country or community. Christians in Asia, especially in Eastern Asia, have endured the struggle for political hegemony between Communism and capitalism, which often led to persecution of Christians by the former. In China, after the Chinese Communist Party won power in mainland China in 1949, the Three Self Patriotic Movement (for Protestants) and the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association were established, and there was increasing pressure from the government on Chinese Christians to disconnect from any foreign influence. At the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, all religious activity was regarded as superstitious and anti-revolutionary. Bibles were burned, and priests and pastors were imprisoned and often tortured. From 1966 until Deng Xiaoping’s open-door policy in 1979, Christianity survived in only a deinstitutionalised and declericalised form in ‘underground’ or ‘house’ churches. In the case of Korea, the conflict between North and South Korea resulted in significant casualties among the Christians. Particularly during the Korean War, Christians were accused of being on the side of the capitalists. After the war, the North Korean authorities systematically persecuted Christians and closed down all the churches, but in recent years a few churches have been opened. The rise of religious fundamentalism is another significant phenomenon in Asia, especially during the second half of the last century. Within the Islamic nations Christian activities have been very limited and conversion often prohibited or punished; Christians in these nations are extremely vulnerable. The Islamic revolution in Iran brought about the establishment of shar’ia law, and more recently this, together with strong resentment toward the situations in Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq, has encouraged the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, which has resulted in much violence toward Christians in this region. The growth of Hindu nationalist movements in India since the 1950s and their rise to political power in both state and central government in the 1990s have been a statement against both Islam and Christianity. Persecution of Christians in Gujarat during 1999 was particularly tense. In Indonesia, though the government has been promoting religious harmony, there is pressure on Christians from Islamists, with some discrimination. Since the 1990s, in some parts of the country there have been outbreaks of violence between members of Muslim and Christian communities; these have been most severe in Posso (Central Sulawesi) in 1998 and in Ambon (Maluku) in 1999. Another challenge the churches in Asia have faced was the rise of military-backed governments that often severely limited human rights and civilian freedoms and which resulted in the corruption of privileged groups. Some Christians responded by criticising the misuse of power and promoting democracy and civil freedom, but there are also churches that either actively supported the authorities or kept silent. The Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines was deeply involved in the ‘people power’ movement that overthrew the military dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. After the Korean War in 1953, South Korea went through political turmoil with corruption and dictatorship. Eventually the military took over the government and, through a series of coups d’état, dictatorship continued until 1988. High on the agendas of successive governments was overcoming poverty. In the eyes of many, this legitimised their rule and their oppression of the opposition party and disregard for the civil liberties of the people. The majority of Christian leaders saw this problem simply as a matter of the ‘process’ of development and concentrated in their emphasis on church growth, but some Christians took this as a challenge to the integrity of the Christian message and protested against the injustice and oppression. Ecumenical movements For Protestants, the introduction of many different denominations from the West caused problems in Asia,

the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference (1970; FABC; Catholic), the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (1976; EATWOT; consisting of African, Asian and Latin American theologians) and the Asia Theological Association (ATA; Evangelical and Pentecostal groups). Christians, society and other religions The churches in Asia during the last century have made significant contributions to the betterment of society, especially in the areas of education, medical work and social welfare. In addition, churches have been involved in advocating changes in socio-economic structures and challenging injustice in various nations by promoting awareness among Christians or actively engaging in campaigns on behalf of the poor and oppressed. Although Japanese Christians are a small minority, their contribution to the modernisation of Japan is commonly acknowledged. Significant numbers of Christians have contributed to education and social welfare; for example, a Christian pacifist, Tetsu Katayama, effectively put a stop to the remilitarisation desired by the Americans and some other Japanese, and Christians have also campaigned for the rights of minorities such as the indigenous Ainu people in Hokkaido. In South Korea in the 1970s there was a need for a new theological paradigm to meet the need of the urban poor, who were victims of a highly competitive capitalist market. It was at this point that some Christian intellectuals realised that the poor are not just poor in the sense of lacking material things, but they are also exploited and unjustly treated in socio-political reality, and that the gap between the poor and rich and between employee and employer is widening. Minjung theology has made a vital contribution to the identity of the minjung (poor and oppressed) and challenged them to stand and speak. Though Latin American liberation theology made the point that the poor and oppressed are the ones who need to be liberated, minjung theology further asserts that the minjung are the subjects of this liberation as well as the agents of the history and culture of their particular contexts. Alongside expressions of solidarity, Indian theologies of liberation also include the voices of the oppressed themselves: dalits (those outside caste designations), tribals and women. Although caste distinctions are being broken down by urbanisation, a market-oriented society and positive discrimination by government, dalit communities – especially in rural areas – still face harassment, exclusion from water supplies, and exploitation by the higher castes. Christian dalits suffer doubly, being discriminated against in the church and also socially, in that they do not qualify for government benefits intended to counter discrimination on the grounds that Christianity does not (officially) acknowledge caste. Thus the dalit Christian struggle is both with Hindu society and also with the Christian community. Dalit Christian leaders and theologians constantly challenge injustice and have made significant contributions to uplifting the dignity of these deprived groups in Indian society. The Church’s relation to the society and the state has always been problematic, and will probably remain so. As the world becomes more democratic, there are many more constructive ways in which the Church (or churches) can and do engage in public life – for example, dealing with issues of ecology, economic justice and social equality. Due to the prominence of various major world religions in many parts of Asia, the situation of the Church as a minority among the dominant religious traditions has always been a major concern for the Christians in these regions. This interaction has often resulted in a confrontation or conflicts but

has also stimulated exploration in Christian theology of dialogical relationships. The significant development in the twentieth century has been to re-define the concept of mission in this context and to adopt a more diverse and inclusive attitude toward people of other faiths. In India, Christian theologians have tried to relate Christianity to Hinduism and, for this purpose, a great deal of effort has been invested into dialogue with the upper castes, especially through education. Some outstanding Indian leaders became Christians in the late nineteenth century, including Brahmabandab Upadhyay, who laid the foundations of Indian Christian theology in Vedantic Hinduism rather than Greek philosophy. The attempt to reach the high castes has required a deep engagement with Hindu culture, and particularly since the Second Vatican Council (1962–5), Indian Catholic theologians have interacted with Hinduism in a more creative and inclusive way. Raymond Panikkar followed this approach into the realms of systematic theology, comparing the perfect union of Jesus Christ with God the Father with the Hindu aspiration to self-transcendence in the realisation of the oneness of the divine and the human spirit or self. Indian theologies of inculturation, religious pluralism and inter-faith dialogue have also influenced discussions in wider contexts during the second half of the twentieth century. However, due to continued efforts at evangelism by missionaries and various Christian groups, conversion has been the most contentious issue between Christian and Hindu communities. The traditional understanding of conversion as leaving the former religion and joining the Christian community is not only offensive to Hindus and misunderstood; it is also a political act. The growth of the churches in Asia has varied according to country and region, but the recent rise of Pentecostal and Charismatic movements has led to significant church growth among people who are marginalised and poor in society in most of the nations in Asia, with the exception of Islamic nations, and this trend seems to be set to continue. The churches in Asia have experienced the political challenges of colonialism, conflict between Communist and capitalist ideologies, military-backed governments and the rise of militant religious fundamentalisms. The churches have demonstrated their prophetic role in dealing with these challenges, but often churches have failed to stand on the side of the oppressed. The Church finds it hard to make meaningful judgements on political issues, and is in need of discernment and wisdom from God. Churches in Asia, in spite of various attempts toward church unity, are still divided between Catholic and Protestant, ecumenical and evangelical, and along the lines of various regional and ethnic groups. The churches in Asia, like their counterparts elsewhere, have served the society around them by promoting justice and peace and helping people who are in need. This aspect of Christianity – being in society as salt and light – is perhaps the most significant point of contact where Asian Christian churches interact with the overwhelming majority of people in the wider society and make a lasting impact on society and individuals with the message of Christ.

SEBASTIAN C. H. KIM John C. England, Jose Kuttianimattathil, John Mansford Prior, Lily A. Quintos, David Suh Kwang-sun and Janice Wickeri (eds), Asian Christian Theologies: A Research Guide to Authors, Movements, Sources, Vol. 1, 2 & 3 (Delhi: ISPCK, 2002, 2003 & 2004). Sebastian C. H. Kim (ed.) Christian Theology in Asia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008). R. S. Sugirtharajah (ed.), Asian Faces of Jesus (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1993). Scott W. Sunquist (ed.), A Dictionary of Asian Christianity (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001).

Christians in Asia by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Philippines India Turkey Georgia China Viet Nam Indonesia Armenia Japan Sri Lanka

Christians 7,948,000 4,272,000 3,354,000 2,230,000 1,722,000 1,080,000 643,000 568,000 488,000 443,000

Highest percentage 2010 China Philippines India Indonesia South Korea Viet Nam Myanmar Pakistan Georgia Japan

Christians 115,009,000 83,151,000 58,367,000 28,992,000 20,150,000 7,796,000 4,002,000 3,923,000 3,690,000 2,903,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Cyprus Georgia Armenia Philippines Lebanon Turkey Syria Timor Palestine Sri Lanka

% Christian 99.8 92.0 89.0 86.2 77.5 21.7 15.6 12.2 11.6 10.7

Fastest growth 2010 Cyprus Philippines Georgia Armenia Timor South Korea Lebanon Singapore Brunei Kazakhstan

% Christian 91.8 89.4 85.8 85.4 84.8 41.4 33.5 16.1 15.3 13.4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Nepal Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates Oman Kuwait Qatar Bhutan Brunei South Korea Bahrain

% p.a. 12.13 10.60 9.33 9.18 7.39 7.28 7.03 6.47 6.17 5.98

2000–2010 Afghanistan Cambodia Mongolia Timor Nepal United Arab Emirates Kuwait China Laos Bahrain

% p.a. 19.01 7.28 4.98 4.80 4.67 3.88 3.74 3.64 3.39 3.31

135

ASIA

as small denominations and groups not only failed to cooperate but even opposed one another. It was in India where the most dramatic progress toward visible organic church union was made. Stimulated by the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference of 1910, in 1919 Bishop Samuel Azariah convened a meeting of Indian clergymen at Tranquebar, at which a movement toward a broad union of churches was envisaged. Toward Independence there were active discussions for unity among the Protestant denominations in South India, and as a result the Church of South India was formed in 1947 as an amalgamation of the South India United Church and the Anglican and Methodist churches. This was an unprecedented case of the union of episcopal and non-episcopal churches, which became a basis of schemes of union in North India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Furthermore, in 1978 a joint council was established by the Church of South India, the Church of North India and the Mar Thoma Church, reflecting a high degree of union: intercommunion, doctrinal unity, episcopal polity, mutual recognition of one another’s ministry, and some joint activities. In China, under the leadership of Bishop K. H. Ting from 1980, the Three Self Patriotic Movement has maintained good relations with the government, which has helped Christian freedoms, but at the same time it has limited freedoms by keeping a tight rein on church activities. The Vatican is making efforts to regularise the status of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, with which it was able to maintain almost continuous links even during the Cultural Revolution. Although the distinction between official and underground churches is now breaking down, accounts of the Chinese Church from different church groups can yield widely varying views on the relationship between church and state. In the case of Japan, from as early as 1877 some of the mission churches had united in an ecumenical spirit, but it was the threat of organisational extinction by the government (as war threatened and the regulations on denominations tightened) that resulted in almost all the Protestant churches joining together in 1941 to make a single United Church of Christ in Japan (Nihon Kirisuto Kyodan). The church retains the core of that union – Reformed, Methodist and Congregational – and remains the largest single Protestant denomination today. After the end of the Pacific War, several thousand foreign missionaries entered the country, leading to a proliferation of smaller churches, but not to significant long-term increases in the proportion of Christians. The Protestant churches in Japan have spawned many indigenous groups. The earliest, the Nonchurch Movement founded by Uchimura Kanzo in 1901, was primarily a prophetic reaction against the foisting of foreign denominational divisions and extra-biblical practices on Japanese Christians. The formation of the World Council of Churches in 1948 and the establishment of the national councils of churches (NCCs) in most parts in Asia have led to greater unity among the Protestant churches. The NCCs, together with the Roman Catholic Church, have been able to raise their voice in public on political and socio-economic issues and particularly to campaign against poverty, inequality and injustice. For example, in South Korea, the Korean NCC has been instrumental in gathering the church leaders from the North and the South for dialogue and made a lasting impact on the Church and the wider society when it announced a declaration toward the unification and peace of the Korean people in 1988. There have been a number of movements actively formulating Asian theologies. The most prominent, in terms of their theological influence, are the Christian Conference of Asia (1959; CCA; formerly the East Asia Christian Conference; Protestant),

Christianity in Asia, 1910–2010 Religions in Asia Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

Religious affiliation and growth in Asia, 1910 and 2010

2010 Muslims Hindus Agnostics Buddhists Chinese folk Christians Ethnoreligionists Atheists New Religionists Sikhs Daoists Confucianists Jews Jains Baha'is Shintoists Zoroastrians Total population

2

= 1% of population = All other religions

2010 Adherents % 1,082,537,000 26.0 941,485,000 22.6 489,807,000 11.8 461,464,000 11.1 456,767,000 11.0 352,239,000 8.5 147,624,000 3.5 117,500,000 2.8 60,321,000 1.4 23,273,000 0.6 9,000,000 0.2 6,372,000 0.2 5,970,000 0.1 5,535,000 0.1 3,551,000 0.1 2,712,000 0.1 151,000 0.0 4,166,308,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 1.86 1.71 1.45 1.46 9.62 -0.48 1.22 1.24 0.15 0.85 2.68 2.38 0.94 1.01 10.13 0.07 2.20 0.38 1.99 1.56 3.07 2.45 2.15 0.20 2.56 1.86 1.35 1.52 2.82 1.57 -1.03 0.04 0.24 -0.33 1.41 1.18

10 40 60 75 85 90 95 Percent Christian

Christians in Asia Proportion of all Christians in Asia, 2010

a

Key:

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s

Indonesia

So

Denominations Total Average size 33 26,000 50 275,000 3,850 37,000 130 24,000 250 63,000 1,820 48,000

10

10

10

8

8

8

8

6

6

6

4

4

2 0

2

Rate* 2000–2010

10

All All 4 Christians Christians

2.68

2.68 2

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

0

Church sizes, 2010

6 4

All All Christians Christians

2.38

2

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

Congregations Total Average size 2,100 410 98,300 1,400 1,674,000 90 13,700 230 10,800 1,500 299,000 290

2.38

1,000,000 1,000,000

10,000 10,000

800,000 800,000

Average congregation size

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

1910

2010

Churches, 2010

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 0.10 1.33 2.38 1.68 4.21 3.47 9.74 1.54 0.73 0.15 3.79 2.31

Average denomination size

% by tradition

ia

Major Christian traditions in Asia, 1910 and 2010 Adherents 1910 2010 778,000 864,000 13,185,000 138,702,000 2,301,000 142,737,000 290 3,159,000 7,607,000 15,787,000 2,119,000 87,379,000

Ind

Ko re

a

ia org n Ge ista ar k nm a P ya m M Na et Vi

ut h

Sri Lanka Kazakhstan Malaysia Armenia Japan

Note: Countries with too few Christians to depict here are found in regional pages.

Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

s

pine

ip Phil

Graph in the continent by country Christians inofthe region Graph Proportion a country’s Proportion ofthe a country’s Christians in region Colour in the region Christians Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in Per cent Christian in country or region aeach country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian of region Map Map Location and Per cent Location Per regions cent Locationsand the Christian ofofregion Christian of region

8,000 8,000

600,000 600,000

6,000 6,000

400,000 400,000

4,000 4,000

200,000 200,000

2,000 2,000

0 0 A AC CI M I MO OP P

0 0 A AC CI M I MO OP P

Christians in Asia, 1910 and 2010 Asia Eastern Asia South-central Asia South-eastern Asia Western Asia

Population 1,028,265,000 556,096,000 345,121,000 94,104,000 32,944,000

1910 Christians 25,123,000 2,288,000 5,182,000 10,124,000 7,529,000

% 2.4 0.4 1.5 10.8 22.9

Population 4,166,308,000 1,562,575,000 1,777,378,000 594,216,000 232,139,000

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

136

5

1910 Adherents % 171,084,000 16.6 222,912,000 21.7 50,400 0.0 137,531,000 13.4 392,317,000 38.2 25,123,000 2.4 58,121,000 5.7 7,600 0.0 6,821,000 0.7 3,229,000 0.3 437,000 0.0 760,000 0.1 476,000 0.0 1,443,000 0.1 221,000 0.0 7,613,000 0.7 119,000 0.0 1,028,265,000 100.0

in Ch

ver the past 100 years Asia has experienced profound changes in its religious demography. Several significant shifts merit commentary. First, Chinese folk-religionists and Buddhists, who made up over 50% of Asia’s population in 1910, fell to 22% by 2010. Second, ethnoreligionists also fell steadily over the century, from 5.7% of Asia’s population in 1910 to 3.5% in 2010. What religions gained adherents lost by these? Hindus grew at a steady pace but made only modest gains. Muslims grew at a somewhat faster pace and have displaced Chinese folkreligionists as the continent’s most numerous religious adherents. Christians grew at twice the population growth rate over the entire century but still represent only 8.5% of the population in 2010. In fact, it is agnostics and atheists who grew the fastest, nearly 10% per year over the entire century. In 1910 they numbered less than 60,000 but by 2010 over 600 million combined, more than 14% of Asia’s population. Contrary to most expectations, Asia became the most nonreligious continent during the twentieth century. This is due largely to the spread of Communist regimes whose policies prohibited religions in order to propagate atheistic ideology. Changes within Asian Christianity have been equally profound over the century. The majority of Christians in 1910 were Roman Catholic and Orthodox, mainly in Western Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Philippines. By 2010 the balance had shifted to Independent churches, especially house churches in China. Anglicans (absorbed into the union churches of the subcontinent) have declined in proportion to the population, whereas Orthodox churches have consistently lost numbers through emigration to the west and the north. Catholics and Protestants fared better as their mission activities have been effective in converting indigenous populations to Christianity. Marginal Christians have experienced the fastest growth over the century but represent less than 1% of all Christians in Asia. The fastest current growth rates are found in Eastern and South-central Asia; in the latter region is Nepal, which has seen strong Christian growth since 1990. Cambodia (in South-eastern Asia) has likewise seen strong growth since 1990. In both Nepal and Cambodia this is due to vigorous missions and evangelistic activities along with relatively loose state restrictions. While Christianity has grown rapidly in three of the four regions of Asia, Western Asia has seen a steady decline, from 23% of the population in 1910 to 5.7% by 2010. This is largely the result of emigration, and the exodus is still taking place in some parts of the region. Israel, Palestine, Iraq and Turkey have been the most affected, as the religious and ethnic conflicts in the past century prompted many minority Christians to leave these countries. Over all, the statistical centre of gravity of the Christian movement continues to move east as a result of the rapid growth of the Christian churches in China. The sheer size of the Christian population in China outweighs other significant Christian growth in Asia.

Rate* 1910–2010

O

2010 Christians 352,239,000 140,012,000 69,213,000 129,700,000 13,315,000

% Christian, 1910

% 8.5C 9.0 C1 3.9 C2 21.8 C3 5.7 C4 C4 0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Asia, 2010

Christian centre of gravity

Eastern Asia

1910 !

2010

!

South-central Asia

Western Asia

ASIA

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

South-eastern Asia

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910

Province Henan Tamil Nadu Kerala National Capital Region Calabarzon Central Luzon Anhui Jiangsu Shandong Western Visayas

Country China India India Philippines Philippines Philippines China China China Philippines

Population 97,396,000 73,793,000 37,827,000 12,081,000 11,336,000 9,979,000 62,987,000 78,266,000 95,533,000 7,551,000

Christians 17,531,000 14,021,000 13,429,000 11,409,000 11,008,000 9,580,000 8,188,000 7,827,000 7,643,000 7,332,000

% 18.0 19.0 35.5 94.4 97.1 96.0 13.0 10.0 8.0 97.1

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Asia Eastern Asia South-central Asia South-eastern Asia Western Asia

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 6,753,200 4,065,000 10,818,200Asia 2,972,000 1,499,000 4,471,000 Eastern Asia 1,413,400 964,000 2,377,400 South-central Asia 2,302,000 1,374,000 3,676,000 South-eastern Asia 66,000 227,500 293,500 Western Asia

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

Immigrants

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

2.68 1.41C 4.20 1.04C1 2.63 1.65C2 2.58 1.86C3 0.57 1.97C4 ⇐

0%

⇒

100%

-2

2.38 1.18C 2.99 0.57 C1 2.49 1.60 C2 1.92 1.34 C3 0.42 1.90 C4 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

137

Christianity in Eastern Asia, 1910–2010

A

lthough we speak of Asia as a continent, it has never been a coherent concept or shared historical identity. The eastern part of Asia is marked by a common inheritance in the Confucian tradition, at least in values, politics and social organisation, although Mahayana Buddhism also exercises wide influence. The countries of the region differ radically, however, in their responses to the modernisation forced upon them by European expansion. China went through two revolutions (1911 and 1949), with continuous civil war and foreign invasion in between; it finally accepted a form of modernity in ‘scientific socialism’. Japan took the road of fighting the West with Western methods, and the result was a capitalist-militaristic state underpinned by feudal religion and loyalties until its defeat in World War II. Korea, a traditional vassal of China and a colony of Japan from 1910 to 1945, was split into North and South in 1952, with a massive exodus of Christians into South Korea, which became a protectorate of the USA in all but name. It now rebels against all three dominant powers. The responses to these radical changes and the theologies they generated give us a fascinating and unique story in modern World Christianity. Nationalism and indigenisation Nineteen hundred was a watershed year in this history. In China, after years of conflict between local gentry and newly converted Christians supported by privileged missionaries, suspicion and inflammatory rumours reached a climax in the xenophobic Boxer Uprising, in which thousands of Christians and many foreigners were massacred before the movement was brutally put down by the joint forces of Western armies. For many Chinese the shock of defeat and the shame over the futility of primitive outbursts of violence changed attitudes, from simple xenophobia to a determined push for a modern nation, resulting in the Xinhai Revolution and the establishment of the first Republic in 1911. In the aftermath of 1900, xenophobic hostility to Christianity subsided. The power of the landed gentry was broken, and mission work spread unhindered. In the period from 1900 to 1925 the number of Protestant missionaries increased fourfold – from around 2,000 to some 8,000. Their strategy also changed, with more emphasis on the social gospel – building modern schools, universities and hospitals. These, in turn, led to an increase in urban-based and better-educated Christians, slowly building up a critical mass to form a national Chinese church. On the other hand, although the leader of the revolution, Dr Sun Yatsen, was a Christian, the movement he led inspired a radically secular nationalism. In the 1920s a new elite, students and intellectuals, replaced the landed gentry as leaders of hostility toward Christian expansion. Their resistance to Christianity continued throughout the twentieth century. The urban Christians were more conscious of the ambiguity of being both Chinese and Christian, and they became the pioneers of the new indigenous movement. In the beginning it took the form of an early ‘three-self movement’, meaning that Chinese Christians should be responsible for ‘self-support, self-management and self-propagation’ in the churches. Although this emphasis reflected the policy of missionaries like Henry Venn and the Presbyterians in the nineteenth century, the principles took on a sense of urgency in the early 1900s. The China Continuation Committee of the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference of 1910 spearheaded this movement, which culminated in the National Christian Conference of 1922 in Shanghai. The meeting produced a tangible ecumenical entity, the Church of Christ in China, with a significant degree of Chinese leadership. The National Christian Council was also a product of this period. Although the Chinese churches remained financially dependent on foreign missionary organisations, these developments were part of a movement toward an inter-denominational Chinese

Christianity, and gave the impetus to the search for a truly Chinese theology. Zhao Zichen (T. C. Chao) and Wu Leichun were famous for their attempts to reach a synthesis with Confucianism. The process of indigenisation in the Catholic Church was not as smooth. Theological conservatism led to the stifling of theological thinking and local leadership. An enlightened missionary, Vincent Lebbe, took on the Herculean task of lobbying the Vatican to establish a truly Chinese hierarchy. Rome was ready to recover the control of missions from the French government, and in 1919 Pope Benedict XV published his apostolic letter Maximum illud, which deplored the effects of European domination on the Catholic Church in China, as well as the prejudices of Western clergy. In 1926 six Chinese bishops were consecrated. Lebbe later acquired Chinese citizenship, which was considered a betrayal by his fellow missionaries, and went on to establish the first Chinese religious congregations. In Japan, indigenisation took on a clear political tone in this early period. A nationwide evangelistic campaign was launched in 1914, as a result of the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference, but most of the churches succumbed to a growing nationalism that required them to accommodate to State Shintoism. When World War I broke out, 32 churches came together under government pressure to form the Nippon Kirisuto Kyodan (United Church of Christ in Japan). The united church did not include the Holiness Church or the Anglican Church. This union, however, was less a sign of ecumenism than one of submission to the State. Many churches carried this ‘Shinto Christianity’ to Korea, which had become a Japanese colony in 1910. The guilt of acquiescence contributed to the aversion of Japanese Christians to politics, which has lasted well beyond 1945 to the present day. Independent churches While indigenisation gathered pace among the ‘traditional’ churches, a truly remarkable phenomenon of independent churches emerging in China and Japan was often overlooked. All of these churches had some disillusionment with the missionary movement and the model of ‘church’ that it propagated. In the early part of the twentieth century, missions to China and Eastern Asia grew, but this also resulted in importing rivalry and theological debates from the West. Not all the mission bodies supported a united Protestant Church in China or Japan, with some maintaining their separate denominational activities. The split between ‘evangelicals’ and ‘liberals’ also threatened to pull the churches apart. In spite of the new ecumenical spirit, the missionary movement was probably more divided in the 1920s than it was before 1900. It was in this atmosphere that independent leaders came to the fore, building Christian churches that were truly indigenous in ideas and leadership. The theology of these movements was generally conservative, but they were strongly proselytising and often anti-ecumenical and anti-foreign. Some broke away from the traditional denominations; for example, in China Pastor Yu Guozhen and others broke away from the Presbyterians in 1906 to form the Chinese Christian Independent Church, which became a federation of over 100 similar breakaway congregations in northern China. Other churches emerged entirely independently of the missionary movement, such as the Assembly Hall, also known as the Little Flock, led by Watchman Nee in the 1920s. The Little Flock was strongly proselytising, spreading all over China. Independent preachers such as Wang Mingdao and John Song also established important congregations. The Pentecostal revival movements in the USA and in Wales also had their impact through individual missionaries. The True Jesus Church, founded in 1917, became the largest of the independent groups in the 1930s, and the Jesus Family, a communitarian Pentecostal church, also became prominent in the 100

100

Area (sq. km): 11,775,000 Population, 2010: 1,562,575,000 Population density (per sq. km): 133 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.04 Life expectancy (years): 75 (male 73, female 77) Adult literacy (%): 92

Christians, 1910: 2,288,000 % Christian, 1910: 0.4 Christians, 2010: 140,012,000 % Christian, 2010: 9.0 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 4.20 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.99

0

0

% Christian

1910

1910

138

2010

2010

1920s. These churches form a large part of the ‘house churches’ in China today. In Japan the most famous independent group was the Non-Church Movement (Mukyokai) founded in 1901 by Uchimura Kanzo. The movement rejected the scandal of denominationalism and rivalry between the mission churches and opted for a form of communion similar to that of the Quakers. It rejected ‘high theology’, ordination and sacraments but, instead of a theology of the inner light, emphasised Bible study and self-cultivation in the Confucian tradition. The Non-Church Movement was aimed at the educated elite who were concerned with the spiritual direction of the nation. The movement was influential at the time, and was brought to Korea by students who studied in Japan, notably Kyo-Shin Kim. Churches under Communism The period between 1900 and 1950 was one of tumultuous change for the countries in Eastern Asia: nationalism, nation-building, civil war, anti-colonial struggle, as well as social and cultural revolution, and then the Second World War. During this time the churches were faced with multi-faceted challenges, but none was greater than the one posed by the triumph of Communism in China and Korea. After the formation of the Chinese Republic in 1911, the churches began to respond to the growing nationalism and social movements in China, but their timid efforts soon were overtaken by events, first by the raging civil war between different warlords, then by the devastating Japanese invasion, followed by the triumph of Communism. Rightly or wrongly, Communism was seen to be the answer to the twin aspirations of the Chinese people: to rid China of a century of humiliating foreign domination, and to bring about the needed social and political transformations under a strong, united government. In hindsight, one may say that the Communist Revolution simply bypassed the churches. With the exception of a small group of Chinese Christians associated with the YM/WCA, the churches were generally conservative and anti-Communist. The first act of the new regime was to invite foreign missionaries to leave. Most Protestant missions acquiesced, but the Catholic missions resisted, resulting in many imprisonments and expulsions. Educational and medical institutions were taken over, and the churches were asked to sever their foreign links. Having lost their funding, traditional means of outreach and most of their leadership, the churches were left in disarray. The ‘Three-Self Principles’ became a reality overnight, albeit imposed by the State. The weakened churches were then asked to abandon their denominations to join together under a new political instrument, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), formally launched in 1954 by the first National Chinese Christian Conference. Church property and programmes were surrendered to the TSPM, which assumed the role of a super-church. Some disagreed with the TSPM and refused collaboration with the State out of ideological or theological reasons; these included Wang Mingdao and Watchman Nee, who became targets of the campaign to ‘clean up counter-revolutionary elements’. The structures of all the independent churches were dismantled completely, although many managed to survive – sometimes underground, sometimes within the TSPM structures – and were revived after the 1980s. A similar organisation for the Catholic Church, the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), was created after a series of high-profile political campaigns. In order to fill the vacancies of bishops who were expelled or imprisoned, the CCPA began to consecrate Chinese bishops in 1957. This was immediately condemned by the Vatican as schismatic. As with the TSPM, resistance to the CCPA was crushed by political campaigns, in scenes reminiscent of George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm. The bishops of Shanghai and Guangzhou and many other Catholics were given show trials and put in prison until the 1980s. The price the churches had to pay for collaboration with the State was twofold. On the one hand, what was left of the Church was only a shadow of itself, having lost its autonomy and identity. On the other hand, the dissenting churches were driven underground, creating a permanent split among churches that was both political and theological. During the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) the ‘open churches’ became targets of the Red Guards, and all religious

Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, led by a Filipino bishop. Contextual theologies In South Korea the churches developed a virulent anti-Communism. Conservative theologies dominated and for the period until the 1970s contributed to successful evangelistic campaigns and church growth, although other factors such as rapid urbanisation and migration were also important. Because Christians struggled alongside other nationalists against Japanese colonialism, Christianity was not considered as foreign as in China or Japan. Church membership reached 25% of the population in the 1970s, unique among Asian churches because it was not the result of colonialism as in the Philippines or Timor. Both Catholic and Protestant churches command respect in society and are active in the social and intellectual life of the country. When the threat from the North was stabilised, the same patriotism and concern for the welfare of the people gradually turned against the military regimes that stifled democratic expressions in the 1960s and 1970s, and the churches were once again at the forefront of the struggle for human rights and the welfare of the workers. In 1972 President Park Chung-hee declared martial law across the country in order to maintain power. The ideology of his regime was based on the concept of ‘national security’ and the promotion of economic growth. Opposition forces were systematically described as ‘Communists’ and put down with brutal force. Many church groups stood up against the dictatorship and growing infringement of human rights, such as the Urban Industrial Mission, the Korean Student Christian Federation, the Christian Ecumenical Youth Council, the Catholic Farmers’ Union and the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace. A distinct contextual theology emerged in the movement and became widely known as minjung theology, the most significant theological movement to come out of Eastern Asia. The concept of minjung began its life in a new reading of history by Korean historians in the 1960s and 1970s. History was understood from the vantage point of the oppressed. As a literary movement, it drew on the experiences and language of the people who lived at the margins. The central theme of this theology is the experience of han, a Korean word meaning the grudge, the profound bitterness of the oppressed. Story-telling became a way of doing theology. As political oppression became total, the press muzzled and publications forbidden, the expelled professors and court-martialled students met to tell stories of their experiences. Telling stories became their chosen form of communication and reflection. From story-telling to the reconstruction of history from below through the self-definition by the minjung, the distinct methodology of this new theology can be described as social biography. As a theological and missionary movement, however, minjung theology today is at a crossroads. Although it allied with Christian grassroots militancy for a short period of time, and some ‘minjung congregations’ were formed, these never flourished into a significant movement to change the conservative stance of the majority of churches. In the end, a theology built on a narrow political platform was not sufficient to answer the many and varied needs of the people. Moreover, since South Korea returned to democracy, the movement has lost its visible enemy. The context also moved from the local to the global, and a more affluent society has turned its attention more to the problems of the environment, Korea’s cultural identity and the reunification of North and South. A similar contextual theology was operating at about the same time in Taiwan, spearheaded by the Presbyterian Church. Its main grievance was

the domination of the ‘mainlanders’ who arrived in Taiwan with the Nationalist government after its defeat by the Communists. Anti-Communism and martial law led to the suppression and displacement of the local elite; local dialects and culture were forbidden. The Presbyterian Church, rooted in the Taiwanese population, gave voice to the aspirations of the ‘Taiwanese’ to become independent from China. Nostalgia for land and home became the themes of a theology of liberation, called Homeland Theology. As was the case in Korea, this theology was short-lived, and for similar reasons. In China Bishop K. H. Ting and his colleagues developed a theology of accommodation with nationalism and Communism. Emphasising that God is love, which extends to all people and not only the ‘justified’, and that the salvation of Christ is cosmic, Ting’s theology aims at building a bridge between believers and the so-called atheists. He believes that the hostility of atheism has been directed to the corruption of the Church and its poor witness rather than to the gospel. In that sense, his theology is a response to the Chinese context, but it has not developed a strong popular base. In Japan, Kazoh Kitamori proposed a ‘theology of the pain of God’, drawing on the deep psyche of suffering in Japanese literary and popular tradition. The tsurasa, the human willingness to bear pain for others, even someone who does not deserve love, is the symbolic witness to God’s ‘pain’. For Kitamori all suffering originates in humankind’s alienation from God, yet God in his wrath still embraces the worthy and unworthy alike. Significant trends The contextual theologies mentioned above were products but also witnesses of their times. Unfortunately, they all seem to have lost their relevance in the present day, although remaining rich resources for understanding Eastern Asian Christianity. Two important trends must be mentioned. The first is the growing importance of inter-religious dialogue. In 1974 the Asian Bishops’ Conference, meeting in Taipei, adopted inter-religious dialogue, together with ‘the preferential option for the poor’, as the two arms of evangelisation in Asia. Except in China, where the religions were kept strictly apart by government policy, dialogue on all levels is taking place between Christianity and traditional religions, especially Buddhism, which is going through a modern revival, responding very positively to society’s weariness with consumerism and its growing concern for ecology. The second important trend is the emergence of Asian forms of Pentecostalism. It is estimated that over 80% of new conversions in Asia are Pentecostal or Charismatic, while the traditional denominations are declining or have reached their ceiling. The mega-churches of South Korea, as the Charismatic movements in Singapore, are criticised for providing an emotional escapism for the middle class, but there are signs that Asian Pentecostalism is asserting a different character than Northern American versions, and beginning to attempt a synthesis in worship and spirituality with Asian religious traditions. This development may yet signify a new phase in the development of Eastern Asian Christianity.

EDMOND TANG Allan Anderson and Edmond Tang (eds), Asian and Pentecostal: The Charismatic Face of Christianity in Asia (Oxford: Regnum, 2005). Adrian Hastings (ed.), A World History of Christianity (London: Cassell, 1999). Sebastian Kim and Kirsteen Kim, Christianity as a World Religion (London: Continuum, 2008). John Parratt (ed.), Introduction to Third World Theologies (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004). Scott W. Sunquist (ed.), A Dictionary of Asian Christianity (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001).

Christians in Eastern Asia by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6

1910 China Japan South Korea North Korea Taiwan Mongolia

Christians 1,722,000 488,000 50,600 16,900 10,800 590

Highest percentage 2010 China South Korea Japan Taiwan North Korea Mongolia

Christians 115,009,000 20,150,000 2,903,000 1,420,000 484,000 47,100

1 2 3 4 5 6

1910 Japan South Korea China North Korea Taiwan Mongolia

% Christian 1.0 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.1

Fastest growth 2010 South Korea China Taiwan Japan North Korea Mongolia

% Christian 41.4 8.6 6.0 2.3 2.0 1.7

1 2 3 4 5 6

1910–2010 South Korea Taiwan Mongolia China North Korea Japan

% p.a. 6.17 5.00 4.48 4.29 3.41 1.80

2000–2010 Mongolia China Taiwan South Korea North Korea Japan

% p.a. 4.98 3.64 0.84 0.55 0.47 -0.20

139

EASTERN ASIA

activities ceased. Only the underground churches continued to function. In 1979 Communist Party leader Deng Xiaoping introduced a period of reform and liberalisation. Churches were reopened, and religious activities were allowed once again. The Protestant churches launched the China Christian Council in 1980, with the ultimate aim of replacing the TSPM as the body responsible for running the affairs of the Church, although this aim was never completely successful. The Catholic Church also formed the Chinese Bishops’ Conference, although this was not recognised by the Vatican. Nevertheless, a new spirit of optimism was ushered in, with churches being renovated or built, and numbers grew, especially in the rural areas. By 1987 the numbers far surpassed the figures before the Cultural Revolution, especially within the Protestant churches, and the government feared that a ‘Christianity fever’ was taking over the country. Despite the new liberalisation, however, the underground communities persisted. The underground Catholic Church still opposed the ‘open church’. The Government crackdown was severe. In 1985 the Vatican gave secret permission to underground bishops to appoint their successors, leading to the formation of an ‘underground’ Bishops’ Conference in 1988. To avoid open schism between the ‘open’ and ‘underground’ communities, the Vatican refused to recognise either conference. The tension eased in the late 1990s with the Vatican’s call for reconciliation. Most bishops of the ‘open church’ are now accepted by Rome. Among Protestants the underground church, often called the ‘house churches’, is not a unified community. There are distinct clusters and independent groups. There are remnants of the Chinese independent churches that began life in the 1920s and continue to flourish today, such as the Little Flock and the True Jesus Church. Some are derivations and breakaway groups from the above, such as the Yellers. Led by independent preachers, new groups also emerged in the 1980s. Some of these manifest clear Pentecostal or Charismatic leanings, sometimes independently, sometimes due to the influence by Northern American and Korean missionaries who operate secretly in China. More recently, attention was drawn to widespread student fellowships in the university cities in China. The interest of intellectuals in Christianity is new, part of the so-called Second Chinese Enlightenment, a period of free debate in the 1980s and 1990s. Religion, instead of being perceived as the opiate of the people, has become an ally in the liberation of the ‘human’, and a support for the spiritual quest of the people, free from State ideology and narrow, technological and deterministic reason. In Korea, the situation of the churches was no less dramatic when confronted by the advance of Communism. After being liberated from 40 years of Japanese colonisation, the country was thrown immediately into the Cold War. In the north, under Kim Il Song, the Communist regime tightened its control over the population, triggering a massive exodus to the south. The churches were part of this exodus after hundreds of church leaders were killed. China intervened in the Korean War in 1952 against the United Nations forces, and the stalemate resulted in the division of the country into North and South Korea. The Christian churches were brutally suppressed in the north, and all traces of Christianity disappeared until the Korean Christian Federation resurfaced in the 1980s with a small number of house churches. Mongolia, which was part of the Soviet bloc, also enjoyed a new opening to Christianity in the late 1980s. Missionaries were again welcome, especially those who were active in social services to meet the needs of the poor. The Catholic mission was assigned by the Vatican to the missionary congregation of the

Christianity in Eastern Asia, 1910–2010

O

Religions in Eastern Asia Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

5

Percent Christian

= 1% of population = All other religions

Chinese folk Agnostics Buddhists Christians Atheists Ethnoreligionists New Religionists Muslims Daoists Confucianists Shintoists Baha'is Hindus Sikhs Jews Jains Zoroastrians Total population

2010 Adherents % 445,443,000 28.5 442,219,000 28.3 276,177,000 17.7 140,012,000 9.0 105,737,000 6.8 68,515,000 4.4 45,462,000 2.9 21,775,000 1.4 9,000,000 0.6 5,377,000 0.3 2,710,000 0.2 74,000 0.0 45,700 0.0 22,700 0.0 4,200 0.0 1,600 0.0 70 0.0 1,562,575,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 0.13 0.83 10.04 -0.62 0.98 1.39 4.20 2.99 12.26 -0.03 1.06 0.57 3.03 0.17 -0.12 0.89 3.07 2.45 1.98 0.08 -1.03 0.04 6.83 0.72 1.81 0.54 8.03 0.78 1.52 0.00 5.21 0.65 -1.09 1.06 1.04 0.57

Christians in Eastern Asia Proportion of all Christians in Eastern Asia, 2010 Key:

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Graph Proportion a country’s Proportion ofthe a country’s Christians in region Colour in the region Christians Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in Per cent Christian in country or region aeach country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian of region Map Map Location and Per cent Location Perregion cent Locationand ofregion the Christian of Christian of region

Mongolia North Korea

China

Taiwan Japan

a

S

th ou

re Ko

Major Christian traditions in Eastern Asia, 1910 & 2010 % by tradition Adherents Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

1910 43,500 1,244,000 12,400 0 60,000 475,000

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

Rate*

2010 176,000 20,991,000 93,002,000 1,662,000 102,000 35,974,000

1910–2010 2000–2010 1.41 0.83 2.87 2.11 9.33 4.18 12.77 0.77 0.53 6.83 4.42 3.37

1910

2010

10

10

8

8

6

6

4

4

2 0

2

12.77

12.77

10

10

8

8

6

6

All All 4 Christians Christians

4.20

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

4

4.20 2 0

2

All All Christians Christians

2.99

2.99

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

Despite severe persecution under Communist rule since 1949, Christianity in China not only survived but also thrived, boasting some 115 million followers today. This remarkable growth was fueled largely by grassroots house church movements. Two-thirds of Christians are members of large networks of underground house churches. The government-sponsored Three-Self churches also are growing rapidly, and they are surprisingly evangelical despite restrictions imposed by the government. However, very few Christians presently are found among ethnic minority people groups in the western part of China. South Korea recently celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the 1907 Pyongyang Great Revival, which sparked the growth of Protestant churches in Korea. It was not until the 1970s, however, that the South Korean Church experienced rapid growth, accompanying the country’s rapid economic growth and industrialisation. Japan experienced a brief period of rapid growth of Christianity in the aftermath of World War II. However, since then Christianity has struggled to grow because it still is viewed largely as a foreign religion. Most of Japan’s Christian churches and gatherings are small in size and often lack pastors. Mongolia had only four known indigenous Christians in 1989, but since then it has seen the fastest Christian growth in the region. In 1990 Mongolia abandoned Communism, embraced multi-party democracy and launched free-market economic reforms. Such changes have helped the acceptance and growth of Christianity in this country.

Christians in Eastern Asia, 1910 and 2010 Eastern Asia China Japan Mongolia North Korea South Korea Taiwan

Population 556,096,000 486,638,000 50,779,000 563,000 4,779,000 9,497,000 3,840,000

1910 Christians 2,288,000 1,722,000 488,000 590 16,900 50,600 10,800

% 0.4 0.4 1.0 0.1 0.4 0.5 0.3

Population 1,562,575,000 1,335,860,000 127,758,000 2,707,000 24,015,000 48,673,000 23,562,000

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

140

1910 Adherents % 390,577,000 70.2 30,900 0.0 103,708,000 18.6 2,288,000 0.4 1,000 0.0 23,919,000 4.3 2,303,000 0.4 24,449,000 4.4 437,000 0.1 760,000 0.1 7,613,000 1.4 100 0.0 7,600 0.0 0 0.0 930 0.0 0 0.0 210 0.0 556,096,000 100.0

2010

Rate* 2000–2010

2

Religious affiliation and growth in Eastern Asia, 1910 and 2010

Rate* 1910–2010

ver the past 100 years Eastern Asia has experienced major changes in its religious demography that, due to its size, have affected the religious demography of all Asia. Several significant shifts occurred. First, Chinese folk-religionists and Buddhists made up almost 90% of Eastern Asia’s population in 1910 but fell to 46% by 2010. Christians grew from only 0.4% in 1910 to 9% by 2010. But the greatest gains were made by agnostics and atheists, each of which grew at an annual rate of more than 10% over the entire century (although the last decade has seen slight annual declines). In 1910 they totalled fewer than 32,000 but by 2010 are nearly 548 million, or 35% of Eastern Asia’s population. This is due to the rise of Communist governments, which sought to replace religions with atheistic ideology, and to the Cultural Revolution in China, which at the time seemed to have wiped away religions from the world’s most populous nation. As a result, Eastern Asia today is home to the statistical centre of the world’s agnostics and atheists. Despite this ideological opposition to religions, Christianity in the region grew over the century at a rate four times that of the general population. Christian growth has outpaced general population growth in every country of Eastern Asia by at least a factor of two, and in China by more than a factor of four. Changes within Christianity have been equally profound over the century. The vast majority of Christians in 1910 were Roman Catholic and Protestant, mainly in China. In 2010 the balance has shifted to Independent churches, especially house churches in China. Note that Independent churches have the second-fastest current growth rate in the region at 4.18% per year (over seven times the population growth rate in the region). Marginal Christians experienced the fastest growth over the century (though the current rate is much lower) but represent only 1% of all Christians in Eastern Asia. The largest denominations (or informal networks of churches) are found in China; South Korea also has very large denominations, both Catholic and Protestant. During the last century Christianity in South Korea has grown remarkably, especially in the Protestant churches. However, the future of Christianity in North Korea is uncertain, as the country remains in political and economic isolation. Christianity has grown rapidly in Mongolia in the two decades since the country’s democratisation in 1990. Christians are still a small minority, not enough to make a great impact on the nation as a whole. Yet, as Christianity finds more acceptance, especially among young people, its potential for growth is increasing. The number of Christians in Japan grew by a factor of six during the past century, and their percentage share of the population more than doubled. However, Christianity still struggles to find acceptance among the general population, hampered by its foreign image and by the power of Japan’s syncretistic traditional beliefs.

2010 Christians % 140,012,000 9.0 Region total 115,009,000 China 8.6 2,903,000 Japan 2.3 47,100Mongolia 1.7 484,000 2.0 North Korea 20,150,000 41.4 South Korea 1,420,000 Taiwan 6.0

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Eastern Asia, 2010

Mongolia

North Korea

South Korea China

Christian centre of gravity! !

2010

Japan

1910

EASTERN ASIA

Taiwan ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Eastern Asia China Japan Mongolia North Korea South Korea Taiwan

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 2,972,000 1,499,000 4,471,000 Eastern Asia 2,876,000 1,234,000 4,110,000 China -6,300 34,900 28,600 Japan 1,680 910 2,590 Mongolia 3,100 9,100 12,200 North Korea 86,300 206,700 293,000 South Korea 10,400 14,000 24,400 Taiwan

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Province Henan Anhui Jiangsu Shandong Zhejiang Guangdong Seoul Hebei Fujian Shanxi

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Country China China China China China China South Korea China China China

Population 97,396,000 62,987,000 78,266,000 95,533,000 49,213,000 90,935,000 10,439,000 70,963,000 36,523,000 34,692,000

Christians 17,531,000 8,188,000 7,827,000 7,643,000 6,398,000 5,456,000 5,021,000 4,967,000 4,383,000 4,163,000

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

Immigrants

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

total 4.20Region 1.04 4.29 1.01 China 1.80 0.93 Japan 4.48 Mongolia 1.58 3.41North1.63 Korea 6.17South1.65 Korea 5.00 1.83 Taiwan ⇐

0%

⇒

100%

% 18.0 13.0 10.0 8.0 13.0 6.0 48.1 7.0 12.0 12.0

-2

Region0.57 total 2.99 3.64 0.63 China -0.20 0.06 Japan 4.98Mongolia 0.92 0.47 North 0.46 Korea 0.55 South 0.40 Korea 0.84 Taiwan 0.62 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

141

Christianity in South-central Asia, 1910–2010

I

t is a regular Friday in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Sometime around noon a small Jama’at, or fellowship, of Īsā imandars, ‘ones faithful to Jesus’, gather in a small hall for worship and milad-e-Īsāe, or prayers to Jesus. As the congregation, mostly men from poor backgrounds, arrives at a small room, copies of the Kitab ul Mugadesh (a Bengali translation of the Bible) and an indigenously-produced collection of Īsāe songs are handed to them. They proceed to seat themselves on the floor and, in keeping with their culture, rather than place these books on the ground, they are placed on decorated bookstands. The meeting begins with enthusiastic singing of baul gan or folk songs followed by reading of the Bengali scriptures and reciting them from memory. The Zabur or Book of Psalms is a favourite, as are the Epistles. The leader normally reflects on the passages read aloud and encourages his flock to live devoutly in a context that is predominantly Islamic. Their model is Jesus, who they affirm was a ‘Muslim’ (‘Muslim’ here means one who surrenders to God), and so they follow in his footsteps. Yet they are keen to clarify that they are Muslims not of the kind committed to Allah based on the prophet Muhammad’s teaching, but those who are submitted to Allah through the person and because of the work of Īsā. As Īsā imandars, they are followers of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, they assert. They are people who do not merely practise the rituals of submission and holiness, but by virtue of being part of the Body of Christ they acknowledge they are, positionally as well as practically, holy people. Two days later on a Sunday morning in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, thousands of people from across the region arrive on foot and by tractor, bus and truck to Yesu Mandir (Temple of Jesus), the site of Yesu Darbar (Court of Jesus), held at the sports field of the Allahabad Agricultural Institute. Well-equipped with food and other necessities for their long journey, they come with their children, relatives and neighbours in tow. As is clearly evident, the vast majority hail from non-Christian backgrounds and are predominantly poor, yet they constitute the new breed of Yesu bhaktas (Jesus Devotees) emerging in South Asia. As they arrive, they seat themselves on the floor under a makeshift shelter and wait expectantly. At about half past eight, the service begins with a voluminous congregational cry: Yesu Masih ki Jai (Hail Jesus)! For the next four hours or so, this crowd of thousands sits with rapt attention, singing about and hearing the gospel of Yesu Masih. Oppressed particularly by poverty and by the battle between malevolent spiritual forces, they are at Yesu Darbar to learn of and experience the power that Yesu Masih offers. Indeed, during a prescribed time in the course of the service, people flock to the stage to share with others how the peace, healing and dynamic that Yesu Masih provides has transformed their lives. Invigorated by and learning from that experience, they are challenged to be channels of that good news and power to their people as they return home. At about the same time, in faraway Kerala, South India, thousands of Orthodox Christians faithfully attend the Qurbana (Eucharist) in their churches. Clearly hailing from a Christian background and familiar with the elaborate rituals of the Church, they practise their devotion as their forebears have done for nearly two millennia. As they file into their churches, in most cases their appearance and demeanour obviously spell wealth and accomplishment, yet their piety is deep. As members of an ancient Church, they take pride in their heritage and attempt to preserve and pass it on to the younger generations. Approaching the church building, they leave their footwear at the entrance and solemnly head into the sanctuary, where their priests are already participating in the preparation service behind a veil at the madbaha, or altar. While they stand facing the altar, they are led in congregational singing by a deacon. The veil is then drawn back and the church bells ring. Thus begins the service, which celebrates the death, resurrection and exaltation of Jesus Christ. There are three general sections to the

service: the Anaphora, the Eucharistic Adoration and the Communion; each has its own elaborate rituals and prescribed liturgy. Close observance of these rituals and liturgies forms the act of worship at the centre of their religious and community life. After the congregation is dismissed with a blessing of peace, people quietly leave the church. As these snapshots suggest, the story of Christian presence in South Asia is as fascinating as it is long: long because Christianity has been present here from the first century; and fascinating because of the diverse expressions of the faith that have resulted from its engagement with the diverse local contexts. Though in proportion to the national populations, the number of Christians seems rather low, yet it must be said that their influence far exceeds what such statistics suggest. Despite its lack of numerical strength, the region’s Christianity is marked by impressive longevity, diversity and vitality. This is, however, not to say that the Church does not face grave issues that perhaps even threaten its existence. Nonetheless, in a context of poverty, war and persecution, Christianity has been a significant feature of the region’s political, economic, social and religious life, perhaps best understood in terms of the biblical image of the pinch of yeast that leavens the entire loaf. Context of the early twentieth century As the twentieth century rolled in, the British were the political masters of most of the region. However, an anti-imperial agitation was rapidly gaining ground and volume. Economically, while there were ample natural resources and human skills, governmental policies seem to have hampered growth, adding to the general dissatisfaction among the populace. Socially, while there was a certain amount of harmony among the local populations, not least because they had a common enemy in the imperial power, nevertheless some internal tensions existed. Religiously, being associated with imperial powers, local Christians were often suspected of collaboration in the imperial project. In reality, however, Christians were generally worse off than their local counterparts, often facing some significant disabilities. Consequently, at the turn of the century South Asia was in the throes of uncertainty and unrest and perhaps ripe for revolution, if it was not already being staged. Though notable exceptions existed, a certain amount of that tension was also evident in the relationships between local and Western Christians working in the region. Bishop V. S. Azariah, in his speech at the 1910 World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh, voiced the sentiment of many when he called for ‘friends’ to work with local Christians. Another expression of this tension was evident in the many ‘indigenous’ initiatives that had been launched to produce an Indian expression of the faith in contradistinction to the Western Christianity that had been imported into the region. Attempts to create an indigenous Christianity also found expression in widespread ‘people movements’ and in the inauguration of national churches. Significant numerical growth, largely inspired by the work of local evangelists, suggests that an active process of indigenous appropriation of the gospel by South Asians was well underway. South Asian Christians seem to have been fashioning a Christianity fit for their context and people. Following its own logic and establishing its own unique trajectory, this was nevertheless devotion unmistakably directed to Jesus Christ. Here the gospel was being incarnated into the world of South Asia. Three major streams of Christianity – Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant – were all active in the region, with varying degrees of success. Fresh impetus was inserted into the process when Pentecostal and Charismatic movements took root within the region. The resonance they found with local religious and social reality, particularly because of the immediacy of their spirituality and its close attention to existential questions and dilemmas, set them up as an attractive 100

100

Area (sq. km): 10,654,000 Population, 2010: 1,777,378,000 Population density (per sq. km): 167 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.65 Life expectancy (years): 67 (male 65, female 68) Adult literacy (%): 61

Christians ,1910: 5,182,000 % Christian, 1910: 1.5 Christians, 2010: 69,213,000 % Christian, 2010: 3.9 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.63 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.49

0

0

% Christian

1910

1910

142

2010

2010

force and facilitated significant growth. When the twentieth century began, Christianity in all its shades was an integral part of the socio-religious life of the region. The spread of Christianity If indigenous initiatives in mission were a characteristic feature of this period, perhaps the Indian Missionary Society begun in 1903 and the National Missionary Society launched in 1905 could be said to represent this development. While they were initiatives that began in South India, they nevertheless entertained a vision for all of South Asia. Influenced in no small part by the Native Evangelical Society, the Women’s Foreign Missionary Society and the Student Foreign Missionary Society, all begun in the previous century in Sri Lanka, such efforts were instrumental in the spread of the gospel to areas that did not have significant Christian presence. A similar observation could be made about Catholic missionaries, many of whom were equally active in facilitating the spread of the gospel through their efforts, particularly in the areas of education and health and in the establishing of Christian ashrams. Over the years this phenomenon of indigenous initiative in missions has seen remarkable growth. Agencies like the Indian Evangelical Mission and the Friends Missionary Prayer Band could be said to represent groups, along with indigenous Catholic orders, that continue to carry that banner effectively today. A corollary to the missionary movement was the phenomenon of people movements that began in the nineteenth century and continued into the twentieth. Here was a rather striking phenomenon that was animated by thousands upon thousands who wanted to discard their centuries-old heritage of caste oppression and accept the promise of a new humanity and new community as offered in the gospel. Over 80% of the Church’s present membership is said to have resulted from such movements. Some of these movements, which continue even today, are expressions of a socio-religious awakening that was afoot in the region, and judging from more recent developments, may even become a striking feature of society and the Church in the days to come. Reflecting on such developments over the last century, one may say that the Church in South Asia witnessed a period of growth both in depth and breadth. This promises to be a secure foundation on which she may build in the new century. Observable trends in South Asia Worldwide efforts toward church union find in South Asia a unique laboratory. The Church of South India (1947), the Church of North India (1970), the Church of Pakistan (1970) and the Church of Bangladesh (1971) are all united churches formed as a result of a number of denominations coming together. This has led to greater unity, pooling of resources and concerted efforts in mission, though some churches that were initially part of the unions pulled out. Alongside these church bodies, collaboration on national and international levels has also been a significant feature of the region. The National Councils of Churches in these countries (affiliated with the World Council of Churches) have been catalysts for co-operation and mission. Their ability to represent and speak for church bodies and jointly address significant issues has been beneficial. The International Missionary Council conference held in Tambaram, India, in 1938 is one example of such co-operation. Mention must also be made of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences in these countries: the influential All India Theological Seminar on the Church in India (1969) is one example of their attempt at a united effort in mission. So also are the Evangelical Fellowships of South Asian countries, which seek to promote collaboration and mission. The India Missions Association that grew out of such efforts presently has over 200 mission agencies under its umbrella. The forward-looking leadership that such bodies provide has led to creative thinking and constructive action. Reform of liturgy and worship style is another observable trend. One concern has been to reflect contextual reality more effectively and thus to attune the worship service to life as lived by the people. The coalescence of the realities of life and the heartfelt praise and worship of God was seen as significant for the spiritual formation of the people of God. Thus the twin aims of reforming a people and relating worship to current reality found expression in liturgical reform.

Challenges If numerical strength is the sole consideration, Christian presence in the region may seem precarious. While this perspective does not do justice to the resilience of Christian presence, it nevertheless is an issue. That Christianity has survived in the region over the last 2,000 years is itself an extraordinary fact that requires analysis. Assailed from within and without over two millennia, Christian presence has slowly but surely made its mark. Nevertheless, the small proportion of Christians in the region is an issue, particularly in areas where threats to Christian presence are actively experienced. Add to this fact that, in many such areas, followers of Christ are poor and uneducated, then surely this is a cause for concern. Deeply indebted economically to patrons of various sorts, seen as soft targets by those seeking to ‘reconvert’ them, targeted by those wanting to enforce blasphemy laws, caught in the crossfire between two rival parties in civil wars, these small and despised communities really sit on a razor’s edge. Though their commitment and dedication are testimony to their deep faith and devotion to Jesus Christ, nevertheless their socio-economic position and the lack of access to political power is a serious challenge. Besides subtle pressure, violent persecution and an anti-Christian sentiment that is increasingly expressed with unbridled fervour present another challenge. We have perhaps seen more martyrs in the recent past than all the previous years put together. Fundamentalist forces are actively seeking to stifle Christian presence and expression. Seen as an imposition from the West and still controlled by Western ideology and money power, Christianity is not accepted as of the soil, even though it has been in the region since the first century. For many people, Christians are still seen as those with questionable patriotism, if any, and whose allegiance seems to be directed to the West rather than their motherland. If in some pockets a tenuous relationship to the world of social, economic and political power is a deep concern, in others the close alliance with institutional power and economic wealth is a matter of at least equal concern. In some sections of the Church with large endowments of property and institutions, a so-called establishment mentality seems to have set in. Here energies that should otherwise be spent on constructive activity like discipleship and mission are now spent on internal politicking and power struggles, including protracted litigation. The hunger for power and influence is evident even in ecclesiastical appointments, for they seem to determine one’s access to such power and influence. Some base aspects of the culture of the world seem to be plainly evident within the Church as well. This has been and continues to be a grave challenge. The legal recognition of Christianity by the state is another serious challenge to the Church in some countries. In Afghanistan, for example, there are no officially recognised Afghani Christians, only expatriates. To become a follower of Christ there is to attract the death penalty. Christians from Dalit backgrounds in India, although they continued to suffer just as they did in the previous dispensation as Hindus, had to forfeit official privileges given to Scheduled Castes and Tribes, because by virtue of becoming Christian they ceased to be part of the caste system. This has been a clear disability for Dalit Christians. Christianity in Central Asia, 1910–2010 Central Asia was once the home to millions of Christians belonging to the Church of the East, who were wiped out by the plague and persecution. By the beginning of the twentieth century, Christianity was limited to

the growing number of Russian Orthodox Christians who began moving into the region in the 1860s. In 1910 about 3% of Central Asia was Christian. By the 1920s, a more deliberate russification of Central Asia was underway, with large numbers of ethnic Russians moving into the region. The number of Orthodox Christians gradually increased over this period but was limited by the atheistic agenda of Communism. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, ethnic Russians and Germans left the region in large numbers, shrinking Orthodox and Protestant numbers. In recent years, small numbers of ethnic Muslims in the region converted to Christianity. Roman Catholics and Protestants began more deliberate missionary work in the 1990s, but much of this was shut down after the year 2000 in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Only Kazakhstan retains a large Russian Orthodox presence as well as new Protestant churches planted by Americans, Koreans and other expatriates. Iran and Afghanistan By the dawn of the twentieth century, Christians, present in both Iran and Afghanistan from the earliest centuries, had dwindled to only 1% of the population in Iran and to no more than 300 expatriates in Afghanistan. The churches in Iran were Orthodox, largely Armenian, with a significant Chaldean Catholic population. Over the twentieth century, Christians were only about 0.5%, with roughly the same Orthodox/Catholic ratio as in 1910. Protestants had begun mission work in Iran in the nineteenth century but were only moderately successful across the twentieth century. Nonetheless, in recent years, Pentecostal and Independent churches appear to be growing. The South-central Asian region is unique in that it spawned major religious traditions of the world. Co-existing with Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and numerous local traditions and animism, Christianity has deep roots in the soil. It has played an integral, though a minority, part of South-central Asian society. The contribution that the Church has made over two millennia has been far greater than numbers alone might suggest. In spite of great challenges, the religion has truly been a transformative force in many respects. Indeed, leaders of such stature as Jawaharlal Nehru have eloquently eulogised the Christian contribution to the region. With its longevity, diversity and vitality, Christianity has a firm foundation in the region. The indications are that the churches will climb to new heights both in their internal dynamics and in their external contributions. If the new movements coupled with the ancient ones can work to further build up Christian presence and enhance Christian witness, then the region will be well set to become a major centre of Christianity. The shifting centre of gravity of world Christianity will then be known not as a movement to the Global South alone but equally as a movement to the Global East. In this scenario, Southcentral Asian Christianity, as it is already actively demonstrating, will be a creative centre for the shaping of Christianity worldwide.

PAUL JOSHUA BHAKIARAJ Church History Association of India, History of Christianity in India (series), (Bangalore: Church History Association of India, 1982– ). Georg Evers, The Churches in Asia (New Delhi: India Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2005). Peter McNee, Crucial Issues in Bangladesh (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1976). Samuel Hugh Moffett, A History of Christianity in Asia, 2 vols, 2nd rev. and corr. edn (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1998–2005). G. P. V. Somaratna, The Events of Christian History in Sri Lanka: A Chronology of Christianity in Sri Lanka (Nugegoda: Margaya Fellowship of Sri Lanka, 1998).

Christians in South-central Asia by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 India Sri Lanka Kazakhstan Iran Pakistan Bangladesh Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan

Christians 4,272,000 443,000 142,000 130,000 96,900 40,000 24,600 21,200 6,300 5,400

Highest percentage 2010 India Pakistan Kazakhstan Sri Lanka Nepal Bangladesh Iran Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan

Christians 58,367,000 3,923,000 2,106,000 1,714,000 935,000 859,000 393,000 371,000 322,000 101,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Sri Lanka Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan India Iran Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Pakistan Bangladesh

% Christian 10.7 4.9 3.0 1.7 1.2 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.4 0.1

Fastest growth 2010 Kazakhstan Sri Lanka Kyrgyzstan India Nepal Pakistan Turkmenistan Tajikistan Bhutan Uzbekistan

% Christian 13.4 8.8 5.9 4.8 3.1 2.3 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.3

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Nepal Bhutan Maldives Afghanistan Pakistan Bangladesh Tajikistan Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Kazakhstan

% p.a. 12.13 7.03 5.04 4.70 3.77 3.11 2.82 2.75 2.75 2.73

2000–2010 Afghanistan Nepal India Bangladesh Bhutan Pakistan Iran Sri Lanka Tajikistan Turkmenistan

% p.a. 19.01 4.67 2.75 2.25 2.17 1.63 0.93 0.71 0.48 0.43

143

SOUTH-CENTRAL ASIA

Within the Orthodox churches, the changes introduced were a de-Latinisation of the liturgy and the use of Malayalam and English. In the Church of South India, the production of the Book of Common Worship is another significant development. Evidence that churches who do not employ a formal liturgy have also attempted reform of their inherited Western worship patterns can be seen, among other things, in the adoption of indigenous hymnody and instruments. The development of contextual theology is a third trend that may be observed. Though begun as early as the seventeenth century, it was in the twentieth century that contextual theology truly began to flourish. All three major religious traditions of the region, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam, provided conversation partners for the construction of such a theology, as did tribal and animist contexts, which are an integral part of the life of the region. More recently, however, alongside the inter-religious dimension, the political and socio-economic situation also has attracted sustained attention. Influenced in no small part by Liberation Theology, developed in Latin America, liberation themes came to play an important part in theology that grew from economically impoverished contexts. This was a theology that saw the world of politics and economics as an integral part of reality with which theology needed to engage. Consequently, political movements and economic issues called for a theological response, indeed even a prophetic stance. Achieving independence forced the countries in the region to think of nation-building – a call to which theologians were not slow in responding. M. M. Thomas stands tall in this regard with his advocacy of responsible action in the world. The humanisation for which such movements yearned was seen as a goal toward which the Church could legitimately work. The equally urgent economic situation also received attention from such theologians as Aloysius Pieris. They stressed that the Church had an integral role to play in the struggle for economic justice. Furthermore, the socio-economic realities that are perhaps unique to this region have also attracted sustained attention, particularly the caste system. The harsh Dalit reality of oppression was addressed by people like Arvind Nirmal and James Massey. A fourth trend has been the establishment of institutions to address many of the grave societal issues the region faces. Christian educational institutions and health-care organisations are two prominent examples. Indeed, few in South Asian society will fail to vouch for the fact that Christian service through such institutions has been impressive, even outstanding. Though they are a small minority, Christians are noted for the selfless service they have rendered to the majority population through such notable institutions. For example, among the many who served the poor, Mother Theresa of Calcutta is revered as an icon. Evangelistic organisations which have pioneered the translation of the Bible have rendered equally significant service, particularly to tribal and backward communities, through the creation of written languages in these tribal areas. The scripting of these numerous tongues has brought fresh winds of cultural transformation to such communities. They now participate in national public life with a pride in and commitment to their cultures. Genuine empowerment can be seen in many areas of the region. Likewise, scores of large and small non-governmental organisations have been pioneers in facilitating development and transformation among such backward communities. Often bringing clean water, sanitation, and educational and health facilities, these organisations have contributed a great deal to the people, though they are not often credited with being such agents of change in the region.

Christianity in South-central Asia, 1910–2010

O

Religions in South-central Asia Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

Hindus Muslims Christians Ethnoreligionists Buddhists Agnostics Sikhs Jains Atheists Baha'is Chinese folk Zoroastrians Jews New Religionists Shintoists Total population

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

5

Percent Christian

2010 Adherents % 932,792,000 52.5 637,021,000 35.8 69,213,000 3.9 50,350,000 2.8 26,764,000 1.5 25,440,000 1.4 22,998,000 1.3 5,528,000 0.3 4,463,000 0.3 2,351,000 0.1 195,000 0.0 149,000 0.0 90,300 0.0 24,000 0.0 160 0.0 1,777,378,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 1.45 1.46 1.85 1.79 2.63 2.49 1.86 1.57 1.93 1.11 7.66 0.73 1.99 1.56 1.35 1.52 6.82 0.44 2.40 1.49 2.93 2.19 0.23 -0.33 -0.04 -0.40 1.00 0.97 2.81 0.65 1.65 1.60

= 1% of population = All other religions

Christians in South-central Asia Proportion of all Christians in South-central Asia, 2010 Key:

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Graph Proportion a country’s Proportion ofthe a country’s Christians in region Colour in the region Christians Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in Per cent Christian in country or region aeach country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian of region Map Map Location and Per cent Location Perregion cent Locationand ofregion the Christian of Christian of region

Maldives Bhutan Afghanistan Turkmenistan Tajikistan Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Iran

India esh Banglad l Nepa a ank Sri L

zak

Ka

Major Christian traditions in South-central Asia, 1910 & 2010 Adherents Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

an

hst

k Pa

an

ist

% by tradition

100–year and 10–year growth rates*

Rate*

1910 675,000

2010 55,100

2,645,000 101,000 200 898,000 856,000

24,905,000 20,734,000 167,000 7,381,000 23,998,000

1910–2010 2000–2010 -2.47 0.02 2.27 5.47 6.96 2.13 3.39

2.34 3.48 3.89 0.63 1.88

1910

2010

10

10

10

10

8

8

8

8

6

6

4

4

2 0

2

6

6

All All 4 Christians Christians

2.63

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

4

2.63 2 0

2

All All Christians Christians

2.49

2.49

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

Christians in South-central Asia, 1910 and 2010 South-central Asia Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan India Iran Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan

Population 345,121,000 5,601,000 31,216,000 116,000 253,108,000 10,841,000 2,882,000 705,000 73,900 5,064,000 27,424,000 4,127,000 608,000 587,000 2,768,000

1910 Christians 5,182,000 330 40,000 0 4,272,000 130,000 142,000 21,200 0 0 96,900 443,000 6,300 5,400 24,600

% 1.5 0.0 0.1 0.0 1.7 1.2 4.9 3.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 10.7 1.0 0.9 0.9

Population 1,777,378,000 30,389,000 166,638,000 684,000 1,220,182,000 74,276,000 15,759,000 5,497,000 323,000 29,898,000 173,351,000 19,576,000 7,062,000 5,163,000 28,580,000

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

144

1910 Adherents % 221,400,000 64.2 101,457,000 29.4 5,182,000 1.5 8,009,000 2.3 3,945,000 1.1 15,800 0.0 3,212,000 0.9 1,442,000 0.4 6,100 0.0 220,000 0.1 10,900 0.0 118,000 0.0 94,200 0.0 8,900 0.0 0 0.0 345,121,000 100.0

2010

Rate* 2000–2010

2

Religious affiliation and growth in South-central Asia, 1910 and 2010

Rate* 1910–2010

ver the past 100 years the dominant feature in this region’s religious demographics has been the changing proportion of Hindus to Muslims. Muslims have constituted a growing share of this region’s population over the century, mainly through higher birth rates. In 1910 the ratio was 2.2 to 1, but by 2010 it had dropped to 1.5 to 1. Another noteworthy development, largely in the northern part of the region that encompasses the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union, is the decline of agnostics and atheists. Although their numbers increased dramatically from 1910 until about 1970, they dropped sharply after the fall of Communism in 1989 and continue to decline through emigration and the resurgence of Islam in the region. In most countries in South-central Asia the percentage of Christians has increased over the century. Exceptions to this rule are Iran (where large numbers of Christians have emigrated since the Islamic Revolution of 1979), Sri Lanka (where the Christian minority has continued to struggle under the Buddhist majority) and Afghanistan (which experienced many decades of civil wars and recently the Taliban regime). In the region as a whole, Christianity has grown 1.6 times faster than the population. Most of this growth can be found in India, whose Christians represent over 85% of all those found in the region. But the most dramatic growth has been in Nepal, where no Christians could be found in 1910 but where almost one million live in 2010. Virtually all of this growth was after 1951, when the country ended its political isolation, and the fastest growth in Nepal came after 1990. Christianity in the former Soviet republics in Central Asia has experienced mixed changes since their independence. The Orthodox churches lost large numbers of adherents due to emigration, but at the same time, they are attracting new members. The Protestant and Marginal churches have grown rapidly even though their numbers are still very small. Christians in the Central Asian republics, along with other religious groups, face varying degrees of government restrictions not because of hostility against them but because of the fear of Islamic fundamentalism. Changes within Christianity in this region have been equally profound over the century. Over half of all Christians in 1910 were Roman Catholic. By 2010 this had fallen to about 32%. In the same period Protestants and Independents rose from only 18% to nearly 65% of all Christians. Most of these gains were found in India with the rise of the Church of North India and Church of South India as well as the growth of indigenous Independent movements. Perhaps the biggest surprise in Christianity has been the advent of movements of Hindus who remain in their religious communities while pledging their allegiance to Christ. Unlike earlier expressions of respect for Christ among Hindus, these people are followers of Christ and thus must be counted as Christians. In 2010 these are thought to number about three million, virtually all in India.

2010 Christians % 69,213,000 3.9 Region total 32,600 0.1 Afghanistan 859,000 0.5 Bangladesh 8,900 Bhutan 1.3 58,367,000 India 4.8 393,000 0.5 Iran 2,106,000 13.4 Kazakhstan 322,000 5.9 Kyrgyzstan 1,400Maldives 0.4 935,000 Nepal 3.1 3,923,000 Pakistan 2.3 1,714,000Sri Lanka 8.8 101,000Tajikistan 1.4 Turkmenistan 79,400 1.5 Uzbekistan 371,000 1.3

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in South-central Asia, 2010

Kazakhstan

Uzbekistan

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Kyrgyzstan

Turkmenistan Tajikistan

Iran

Province Tamil Nadu Kerala Punjab Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Maharashtra Assam Nagaland Meghalaya Jharkhand

Country Population India 73,793,000 India 37,827,000 Pakistan 93,798,000 India 89,971,000 India 62,652,000 India 114,950,000 India 31,649,000 India 2,363,000 India 2,740,000 India 31,971,000

Nepal

Pakistan

Christians 14,021,000 13,429,000 3,114,000 2,699,000 2,506,000 2,299,000 2,215,000 2,200,000 2,082,000 1,918,000

% 19.0 35.5 3.3 3.0 4.0 2.0 7.0 93.1 76.0 6.0

Bhutan

ProvRelig_Christian Per

cent Christian

!

Afghanistan

!

0

2

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

SOUTH-CENTRAL ASIA

Christian centre of gravity

2010 1910

India

Bangladesh

Sri Lanka Maldives

1910

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 South-central Asia Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan India Iran Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 1,413,400 964,000 2,377,400 South-central Asia 1,330 610 1,940 Afghanistan 18,900 11,500 30,400 Bangladesh 140 90 230 Bhutan 1,297,000 779,000 2,076,000India 3,300 8,300 11,600Iran -7,200 54,900 47,700 Kazakhstan -770 9,070 8,300 Kyrgyzstan 7 33 40 Maldives 35,000 9,000 44,000 Nepal 53,800 58,300 112,100 Pakistan 11,300 21,300 32,600 Sri Lanka 310 2,640 2,950 Tajikistan 310 1,440 1,750 Turkmenistan 110 8,340 8,450 Uzbekistan

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

Immigrants

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

total 2.63Region 1.65 4.70Afghanistan 1.71 3.11Bangladesh 1.69 7.03 Bhutan 1.79 India 2.65 1.59 1.11 1.94 Iran 2.73Kazakhstan 1.71 2.75Kyrgyzstan 2.07 5.04 Maldives 1.49 12.13 1.79 Nepal 3.77 Pakistan 1.86 1.36 Sri1.57 Lanka 2.82 Tajikistan 2.48 2.73 2.20 Turkmenistan 2.75Uzbekistan 2.36 ⇐

0%

⇒

100%

-2

Region1.60 total 2.49 Afghanistan 19.01 3.90 Bangladesh 2.25 1.80 2.17 Bhutan 2.05 India 2.75 1.55 0.93 1.17 Iran -0.32 0.53 Kazakhstan -0.31 1.06 Kyrgyzstan 0.13Maldives 1.70 4.67 Nepal 2.04 1.63 Pakistan 1.85 0.71Sri Lanka 0.45 0.48Tajikistan 1.35 0.43 1.38 Turkmenistan 0.15 1.46 Uzbekistan 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

145

Christianity in South-eastern Asia, 1910–2010

F

or centuries South-eastern Asia has been heavily influenced by foreign powers. The cultures and religions of India and China have significantly shaped the lives of its peoples. The Arabs brought Islam through Malacca to the maritime islands, especially Indonesia and the Philippines, in the thirteenth century. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to come in the sixteenth century, followed by the Spanish, Dutch, French and British. The Portuguese, Spanish and French were Catholics, while the Dutch and British were Protestants. Spain conquered the Philippines in the sixteenth century, and France took possession of Indochina from the eighteenth century. The Dutch arrived in Indonesia about the same time as the Spanish, and both these powers ruled for more than 300 years. The British took possession of Myanmar, Malaysia and Singapore in the nineteenth century. Thailand alone was never colonised. Colonialism had an ambiguous presence in South-eastern Asia. The benefits received from these powers brought maturity to the countries of South-eastern Asia but also led to colonial independence, earned through much bloodshed. World War II was significant because Japan became the Asian aggressor, and her presence indirectly paved the way for the independence of many nations because Japan favoured them over the Western powers. After World War II, the colonial masters returned to find their presence greeted with ambivalence. In the following decades, independent nations were established with different forms of government. Several national leaders embraced Communism as the means of liberating their people. The Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh was successful in liberating the ‘North’ from the French in 1954 and the ‘South’ from the American-controlled Vietnamese government in 1975. Laos and Cambodia also became Communist, and the fear of a domino effect was felt throughout South-eastern Asia. Communism infiltrated Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand but eventually was suppressed. In general the colonial powers did not openly encourage conversions to Christianity, but their political presence provided the infrastructure for missionaries to enter these countries. Christianity took root as a minority religion, except in the Philippines, which developed a large Christian population. Missionaries introduced Catholicism, Anglicanism and a variety of Protestant denominations (such as Brethren, Methodists and Presbyterians). They were involved in evangelism, church planting, education, medicine and other relief efforts that helped transform societies. There was a sense of triumph among the missionaries during the 1910 World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh. They made a clarion call for more missionaries from the West to complete the Great Commission in their generation. They were, however, slow to recruit any from the newly ‘missionised’ lands because they regarded them still as ‘infants’. On the other side of the coin, nationalism resulted in deeply held anti-colonial sentiments, and many in South-eastern Asia rejected Christianity. The coming of the Japanese seemed to some a blessing in disguise, although Japanese occupation was characterised by great suffering. Foreign missionaries were imprisoned or repatriated, and in their absence an indigenous leadership developed. The churches swelled in numbers as thousands flocked to find solace during this great crisis. Political history and missionary initiative Due to the centuries of Chinese and Indian influence, their religious cultures were deeply rooted long before the Europeans came. From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries the Europeans brought Catholicism, Anglicanism and a variety of Protestant denominations. Christianity did not penetrate the ‘high religions’ but was successful in primal societies because such societies lived in fear of spirits and retribution, and in Christianity they found hope and peace. The Portuguese entered the maritime islands and established Catholic centres along the trading ports, including those in present-day Timor. The Dutch

entered Indonesia in the seventeenth century. They governed the people for more than 300 years and spread the Protestant faith. The Spanish ruled the Philippines for 333 years, and Catholicism became the sole religion. In 1898 the Americans replaced the Spanish rulers and Protestantism was introduced to the country. The French colonised Indochina in the eighteenth century and allowed only Catholicism to be propagated. The British colonised Myanmar, Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore in the nineteenth century and introduced Anglicanism and a variety of Protestant denominations. Portuguese Catholics arrived in Thailand, the ‘land of the free’, in the sixteenth century. Protestant missions coincided with industralisation in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when some of Thailand’s kings, like Mongkut (1804–68), exposed the people to European cultures. Mongkut removed the ban on Christianity imposed by his predecessor, which opened the doors for missionary activity in the twentieth century. He gave lands to missionaries to build stations and allowed female Protestant missionaries to instruct women in his court, but he remained a Buddhist. The Thai had long revered their monarch as the god-king and believed that to be a Thai was to be a Buddhist. Mongkut reaffirmed Buddhism as the authentic religion for him and his people. His son Chulalongkhorn (1853–1911) continued his father’s policy of openness to foreigners, and missionaries were able to establish their presence there. However, the god-king principle continues to be a challenge to Christianity. James Brooke, a contemporary of Mongkut, became the first white rajah of Sarawak in 1839. He had fought in the First Burmese War and also in the war against the Brunei sultanate. As rajah he allowed missionaries to work among the natives because he was concerned for their welfare and Christianity helped to improve their lives. Brooke’s nephew, Charles, became the second rajah. He showed empathy for the Dyaks and their culture. He promoted Western education through the government and missionary activities. The Catholics and Methodists entered Sarawak from China and gave leadership to the Church. These rajahs made it possible for Christianity to flourish. Today there are millions of Christians among Chinese and tribal peoples, despite the government’s repeated attempts to convert them to Islam. Large numbers of conversions occurred in primal societies: the Ibans from Sarawak, the Karens and Chins of Myanmar, the Bataks from Indonesia and the Montagnards of Indochina. The diversity of Indonesia’s cultures has forced missionaries to find creative ways to propagate the gospel. In 1959 Indonesia became independent and built its nation on the Pancasila – belief in the ‘Five Principles’, one of which is monotheism. The first President, Sukarno, was sympathetic to Christianity and protected its minority status. When the Communist coup failed in 1965, Indonesians were forced to embrace a monotheistic religion. Millions of people chose Christianity. The revivals in 1967–8 among the KaroBatak in North Sumatra brought over 50,000 people into the Christian faith. Adoniram and Ann Judson were the first American Baptist missionaries to enter Myanmar, a Buddhist nation. The Judsons toiled for many years but saw very few results. A major breakthrough came among the Karen when the first convert, Ko Thy Byu, a robber and murderer, was radically transformed. He was instrumental in leading thousands of Karen to Christ, some of whom became missionaries to other tribes. The Lahu, another tribe in Myanmar, had a remarkable story of God’s search for his people. They believed that it was futile for them to seek God but that at the right time God himself would seek them out. The Lahu had to wait for the sign – ‘white people on white horses would bring white teaching’. When Baptist missionaries came preaching the ‘good news’, thousands were converted. Today the Baptist Convention of Myanmar is the largest denomination in the country. 100

100

Area (sq. km): 4,511,000 Population, 2010: 594,216,000 Population density (per sq. km): 132 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.86 Life expectancy (years): 72 (male 70, female 74) Adult literacy (%): 90

Christians, 1910: 10,124,000 % Christian, 1910: 10.8 Christians, 2010: 129,700,000 % Christian, 2010: 21.8 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.58 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.92

0

0

% Christian

1910

1910

146

2010

2010

The Philippines has both traditional and folk (indigenised) Catholicism. The Spanish actively sought to ‘Christianise’ the people. Since they arrived before the influx of Islam, they were able to skillfully contain the Muslims in the island of Mindanao, the hub of Islamic activity today. The situation in Indonesia was the reverse. First, the Dutch were interested only in trade and second, the ‘crescent’ preceded the cross. Today Indonesia is predominantly Muslim. Although only a minority espouse a militant form of Islam, there has been systematic persecution of Christians through different forms of physical violence. European colonial rule created a favourable environment for missionaries and nationals to pioneer and establish churches. Of the many Asians who left indelible marks on several nations in the region, two are worthy of mention here: John Sung and G. D. James. John Sung (1901–44) was one of the greatest Chinese evangelists in modern times, and his impact was seen before World War II among the Chinese in China and South-eastern Asia. After his remarkable conversion, he worked among his own people, and from 1933 to 1936 thousands of Chinese became Christians. From 1935 to 1939 he visited Indonesia, Malaya, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam, where thousands more were converted. Many Christian leaders in Southeastern Asia were either converted or revived through Sung’s ministry. They continue to impact many others in the region. G. D. James (1918–2003) was radically converted from Hinduism as a young boy in India. After World War II he relocated to Malaysia and Singapore, impacting thousands of people in South-eastern Asia. He received a vision to start an indigenous mission at a time when all the mission organisations were foreignbased. The Asia Evangelistic Fellowship (AEF) was established in 1960 to enable Asians to serve in the home front and in cross-cultural missions. His ministry cut right across nations, denominations and peoples, and today many AEF workers serve in different parts of Asia and the world. Christian faith and Asian cultures The cultures and political contexts of people from Asia and the West have impacted South-eastern Asia. Asians came with their sacred writings, the Buddhist Tripitaka, the Hindu Vedas and the Muslim Qur’an. Western missionaries came with a sense of duty to ‘civilise and Christianise’ the people. They brought with them their cultures and transplanted Christianity into these ancient civilisations. The Catholic missionaries brought their Latin Bible, while the Protestant missionaries attempted to translate the Bible into vernacular languages. They also introduced a variety of denominations. Many local religious leaders opposed Christianity, and many of the local peoples regarded Christianity as a Western religion. Converts to Christianity often were regarded as traitors, and many converts never really felt at home in the new faith. Since then the Church has made attempts to adapt cultural forms to make people ‘feel at home’ in the Christian faith. Much of Asian culture is steeped in religious traditions. Much of the art and architecture in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia have Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim and Daoist influences. The practice of ‘filial piety’ (respect for the elderly) sometimes extends to dead ancestors. During festivals and rites of passage, dead relatives are called upon to bless the living. At weddings, couples must secure blessings by offering ‘ceremonial tea’ to parents and the deceased relatives. At funerals, the eldest son is often required to participate in rites such as bowing or kneeling before the coffin. This is regarded as worship in some cultures and could become a stumbling block to the local Christians. Contextualisation – which enables Asian Christians, on the one hand, to ‘feel at home’ while, on the other hand, avoiding syncretism – is the key to the emergence of a vibrant indigenous faith. Missionary methods Both Catholic and Protestant missionaries came without any clear strategy but with a sense of call and purpose. The Catholics taught catechism, baptised converts and brought them under allegiance to the Pope and the Church. Their official Bible was the Latin Vulgate, and they rarely considered the need for translation or empowered nationals for leadership. But Alexander de Rhodes, the ‘apostle of Viet Nam’, was an exception. He perfected the Latinised script of the Vietnamese language and trained an indigenous clergy so that

in 1887. She started the Methodist and Fairfield girls’ schools in 1888. Missionaries built hospitals and trained nationals in health and medical care. The Catholics were consistent in their social involvement. The ‘evangelicals’ in the twentieth century did not readily participate in social activity because the ‘liberals’ were engaged in this area. Evangelicals concentrated on the proclamation of the kerygma, and any form of social activity was seen as a platform to facilitate the preaching of the gospel. This dichotomy was most evident in Viet Nam during the height of its war. Thousands of refugees moved ‘South’, creating deep social problems. The CMA, the only Protestant body for more than 50 years, was concerned as American organisations, including the Mennonites, participated in a variety of social works to bring relief to the displaced Vietnamese. The CMA had taught that the Church’s responsibility was spiritual – to preach the gospel. The Church became confused and divided; initially there was a rift between the CMA and other organisations. Yet when many nationals saw the physical help rendered by other organisations, they were attracted to this holistic approach. The CMA eventually cooperated with the Viet Nam Christian Service (Mennonite Central Committee, Church World Service and Lutheran World Federation) in a massive relief programme. Mission dynamics today South-eastern Asia is complex, with multiple languages, ethnicities, religions, politics and cultures. Colonisers came with their distinct cultures and added to the complexity. The missionaries transplanted their churches to the mission fields – replicas of Gothic cathedrals, hymnals, music and vestments that were alien to these peoples. The Church of the twenty-first century faces the challenge of making Christianity indigenous to the region. This would mean removing all Western vestiges in order to help people feel comfortable in their new faith while respecting its transcendent and universal character. The Church, in the midst of a pluralistic world, is called to fulfil the Great Commission with sensitivity and humility. The gospel has penetrated to the ‘ends of the earth,’ and the centre of Christianity has shifted to the Two-Thirds World. The Church is growing exponentially, and different kinds of ‘Christianities’ are emerging. Yet South-eastern Asia is still one of the least evangelised regions. To reach the ‘unreached’ is daunting, and the need for more missionaries is evident. In the last four decades the Church has sent out many missionaries to learn languages, translate the Bible and incarnate the love of Christ in long-term cross-cultural missions. Since the Second Vatican Council the Catholic Church has also made some radical changes. Bibles have been translated into the vernacular, and there is greater lay participation. In 1970 the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) was established to facilitate better communication and allow for greater contextualisation. Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam are fast becoming missionary religions. They are skilfully adapting ideas and methodologies from Christianity and are becoming global in their appeal. The Church must adapt to these changes while remaining true to the faith. Persecution is on the rise, and proselytisation is prohibited in Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam. Traditionally there have been tensions between Christianity and Islam; in recent years greater attempts have been made to understand each other through dialogues and proclamation. Efforts have been made to contextualise the gospel and techniques in church planting, with some success. This has also created other challenges; for example, some Muslim countries have

prohibited non-Muslims from using ‘Muslim’ terms like ‘Allah’ and ‘Qur’an’. Many missionaries are entering restricted countries as ‘tent-makers’ or through ‘short-term missions’. The concept of ‘career missionaries’ currently is being explored by Asian missionaries as they find creative means both to enter ‘closed’ countries and also to fulfil family obligations. Indonesians, Filipinos, Malaysians and Singaporeans are part of a large missionary force in Asia today as educators, doctors, nurses, businesspeople and consultants in information technology. Some businesspeople have started various micro-enterprise projects to empower the poor. Singapore is known as the ‘Antioch of Asia’ because of the large proportion of missionaries sent out from Singapore and the fact that many mission organisations have established their regional or international headquarters here. Many pastors are involved in cross-cultural ministries to immigrants at their doorstep, such as the Burmese, mainland Chinese, Indians, Indonesians, Filipinos, Koreans, Nepali, Thai and Vietnamese. Efforts are underway to avoid the mistakes of the early missionaries who brought their cultures into the mission fields. It is the desire of today’s missionaries to let God’s Word and his Spirit shape the Church in a manner best suited to local cultures. This new missionary force, both Asian and Western, must work in humility and in partnership with the nationals in order to effectively accomplish God’s task of evangelisation. The Pentecostal and Charismatic movements have contributed to the rapid expansion of Christianity. They have spawned large Independent churches with emphases on signs, wonders, exorcism and ‘prosperity theology’. They are rapidly replacing many of the mainline denominations that were introduced by the missionaries. Singapore has several churches with tens of thousands, and these mega-churches are becoming the trendsetters. Women have played a major role throughout Church history but have not been given adequate recognition. They have contributed to cross-cultural missions, pastoral ministry, theological education, medical health and Church life. Although they are more visible in the twenty-first century, their role in leadership is still ambiguous and controversial. The Church in South-eastern Asia is a reflection of the diversity of its peoples and cultures. This rich blend is both wonderful and worrisome. Like the Southeastern Asian nations, the Church is young, dynamic and filled with great potential. Despite its complexities, the Church is growing rapidly. There is continuous migration of peoples, and the social and demographic features are changing constantly. In order to complete the task of evangelisation, she must have a spirit of humility, incarnate the love of Christ and partner with the global Church to take ‘the whole gospel to the whole world’. The scene at the 1910 Edinburgh World Missionary Conference has metamorphosed into something ‘rich and strong’ today. With the tables turned, the earlier mission fields have become the sending bases, and their people are going to the Western world, which is fast becoming a mission field. Time alone will tell what the harvest will be.

VIOLET JAMES Gerald H. Anderson, Christ and Crisis in Southeast Asia (New York: Friendship Press, 1968). Peter Church (ed.), A Short History of South-East Asia (Singapore: John Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pte Ltd, 2006). Robbie B. H. Goh, Christianity in Southeast Asia (Singapore: ISEAS Publications, 2005). Rajah B. Manikam and Winburn T. Thomas, The Church in Southeast Asia (New York: Friendship Press, 1956). Scott Sunquist (ed.), A Dictionary of Asian Christianity (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001).

Christians in South-eastern Asia by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Philippines Viet Nam Indonesia Myanmar Timor Thailand Cambodia Malaysia Singapore Laos

Christians 7,948,000 1,080,000 643,000 259,000 46,500 44,500 41,700 39,700 13,200 8,300

Highest percentage 2010 Philippines Indonesia Viet Nam Myanmar Malaysia Timor Thailand Singapore Cambodia Laos

Christians 83,151,000 28,992,000 7,796,000 4,002,000 2,530,000 1,077,000 849,000 740,000 305,000 194,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Philippines Timor Viet Nam Singapore Myanmar Malaysia Cambodia Indonesia Thailand Laos

% Christian 86.2 12.2 8.2 4.0 2.2 1.5 1.5 1.4 0.6 0.6

Fastest growth 2010 Philippines Timor Singapore Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Viet Nam Myanmar Laos Cambodia

% Christian 89.4 84.8 16.1 15.3 12.1 9.1 8.6 8.0 3.1 2.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Brunei Malaysia Singapore Indonesia Laos Timor Thailand Myanmar Philippines Cambodia

% p.a. 6.47 4.24 4.11 3.88 3.20 3.19 2.99 2.78 2.38 2.01

2000–2010 Cambodia Timor Laos Brunei Viet Nam Philippines Malaysia Singapore Myanmar Indonesia

% p.a. 7.28 4.80 3.39 2.39 2.05 2.02 2.01 1.97 1.93 1.46

147

SOUTH-EASTERN ASIA

all of Viet Nam could be ‘Christianised’. In other places, nationals started their own churches, such as the Philippines Independent Church led by Gregorio Aglipay, which has several million communicants, and the Iglesia ni Cristo, a fringe group comprising wealthy Filipinos, which has a membership of several millions today. Protestant missionaries came with a burden to preach the gospel where it had never been heard. They learned vernacular languages and translated the Bible into these languages in order to make Christ accessible to all people. They established Bible schools and printing presses to facilitate their work. The Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA) entered Viet Nam in 1911. They purchased a printing press the same year and established a Bible school in 1921 and the Tin Lành (‘Good News’) Church in 1927. Such methods have also proved successful in other countries. Protestant missionaries, especially those from the London Missionary Society (LMS), concentrated their efforts first on China. In 1949, when China fell to the Communists, the missionaries were forced to redirect their efforts to South-eastern Asia. Their proficiency in Chinese dialects enabled them to serve the diaspora effectively. The China Inland Mission relocated to Singapore and changed its name to Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF). It extended its ministry to non-Chinese and became involved in church planting and theological education. The CMA in Indochina followed a similar approach after 1975. Both Catholic and Protestant missionaries placed great importance on education as a means to transform peoples and societies. Education created a literate society and enabled the nationals to be proficient in Dutch, French and English. It was made available to all people regardless of age, gender, race or religion. This opened doors to new ideas and opportunities, which gave birth to strong nations. Women played a significant role in the missionary movement, first as missionary wives and later as single missionaries. The former accompanied their husbands into the fields but were limited in what they could do, as their primary task was to care for their families. The earliest mission organisations made no provision for single female missionaries to enter the foreign fields, but a sense of call and duty led to the formation of several women’s missionary organisations in the 1860s. By 1900 there were at least 40 denominational women’s societies that sent thousands of women to engage in cross-cultural work. Sophia Cooke spent over 40 years in Singapore (1853–95) educating women and girls, who had been exploited and marginalised. These girls received a thorough education and eventually became wives to pastors both in Singapore and China. Cooke also was instrumental in establishing a branch of the Young Women’s Christian Association to recruit more female workers to assist her. Ardel Vietti and Betty Olsen served as medical personnel in a leprosarium in Viet Nam during the peak of the Viet Nam War. They were captured by the Viet Minh in 1962 and 1968, respectively. Vietti was never found, but Olsen died in captivity. Catholic missionaries were the first educators in South-eastern Asia. They established many outstanding schools such as the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines in 1611. In the nineteenth century British Anglicans, Presbyterians and Methodists and American Presbyterians, Methodists and Seventh-day Adventists (SDA) were involved in education. William F. Oldham, a Methodist missionary statesman, established the Anglo-Chinese School in Singapore and impacted the people of Malaya and the Philippines. He was instrumental in bringing Sophia Blackmore to Singapore

Christianity in South-eastern Asia, 1910–2010

O

Religions in South-eastern Asia Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

Muslims Buddhists Christians Ethnoreligionists Agnostics New Religionists Chinese folk Hindus Atheists Confucianists Baha'is Sikhs Jains Jews Shintoists Zoroastrians Daoists Total population

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

5

Percent Christian

= 1% of population = All other religions

2010 Adherents % 217,705,000 36.6 158,139,000 26.6 129,700,000 21.8 28,697,000 4.8 17,740,000 3.0 14,614,000 2.5 11,063,000 1.9 7,544,000 1.3 6,889,000 1.2 995,000 0.2 968,000 0.2 152,000 0.0 4,600 0.0 2,300 0.0 1,800 0.0 950 0.0 470 0.0 594,216,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 2.40 1.29 1.68 1.02 2.58 1.92 0.09 1.12 9.27 1.43 1.19 1.04 1.87 1.32 1.63 1.34 14.39 1.43 12.20 0.93 9.51 1.65 2.22 1.42 2.04 0.91 1.11 1.41 5.33 1.84 1.27 0.88 3.93 2.15 1.86 1.34

ines

Christians in South-eastern Asia Phil ipp

Proportion of all Christians in South-eastern Asia, 2010 Key:

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Graph Proportion a country’s Proportion ofthe a country’s Christians in region Colour in the region Christians Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in Per cent Christian in country or region aeach country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian of region Map Map Location and Per cent Location Perregion cent Locationand ofregion the Christian of Christian of region

Brunei Laos Cambodia Singapore Thailand

Timor sia Malay ar

nm

Mya

am tN

Vie

Adherents Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

Rate*

1910 47,300

2010 537,000

8,669,000 2,188,000 60 5,200 705,000

88,590,000 28,498,000 1,253,000 9,800 27,184,000

1910–2010 2000–2010 2.46 1.83 2.35 2.60 10.46 0.64 3.72

1.41 1.51 2.28 1.55 1.41

1910

2010

10

10

8

8

6

6

4

4

2 0

2

10.46

10.46

10

10

8

8

Rate* 2000–2010

Major Christian traditions in South-eastern Asia, 1910 & 2010 % by tradition

6

6

All All 4 Christians Christians

2.58

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

4

2.58 2 0

2

All All Christians Christians

1.92

1.92

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

Although Christianity reached Indonesia many centuries ago, its rapid growth took place in the last half-century. In 1965 the Indonesian government passed a law recognising only six religions as legal (Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism). The same year, Islamists undertook a bloody and cruel reprisal against Communists, and the reprisal alienated many from Islam. As a result, many people flocked to Christianity. In 2010 Christians make up more than 12% of all Indonesians. However, in recent years the Indonesian government has been implementing policies that favour Islam and limit Christian expansion. Despite this unfriendly environment, Christianity continues to grow, and the fastest-growing sector is constituted by the Charismatic indigenous churches. Cambodia has experienced a tremendous renewal of Christianity over the last 20 years after the government lifted its ban on open worship; many Christian agencies are helping with the reconstruction of this country devastated by Khmer Rouge rule 30 years ago, and Christians now make up 2% of the population.

Christians in South-eastern Asia, 1910 and 2010 South-eastern Asia Brunei Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Timor Viet Nam

Population 94,104,000 22,900 2,792,000 44,790,000 1,505,000 2,600,000 11,539,000 9,222,000 331,000 7,720,000 382,000 13,200,000

1910 Christians 10,124,000 120 41,700 643,000 8,300 39,700 259,000 7,948,000 13,200 44,500 46,500 1,080,000

% 10.8 0.5 1.5 1.4 0.6 1.5 2.2 86.2 4.0 0.6 12.2 8.2

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

148

1910 Adherents % 20,234,000 21.5 29,878,000 31.7 10,124,000 10.8 26,137,000 27.8 2,500 0.0 4,479,000 4.8 1,729,000 1.8 1,501,000 1.6 0 0.0 0 0.0 110 0.0 16,900 0.0 610 0.0 760 0.0 0 0.0 270 0.0 0 0.0 94,104,000 100.0

2010

Rate* 1910–2010

2

Religious affiliation and growth in South-eastern Asia, 1910 and 2010

Indonesia

ver the past 100 years ethnoreligionists (tribal religionists) have declined from 27.8% of the region’s population to only 4.8% by 2010. Buddhists have declined from 31.7% to 26.6%. Meanwhile, Muslims have increased from 21.5% to 36.6% and Christians from 10.8% to 21.8% At the same time, New Religionists have decreased from 4.8% to 2.5%. This last group is found mainly in Indonesia and represents a significant syncretism of the main religions in the country. Another important trend has been the rapid increase in the numbers of agnostics and atheists, mainly as the result of Communism in Indochina. All countries in South-eastern Asia have experienced growth in Christianity over the century. This is especially notable in Indonesia, where Christianity grew more than twice as fast as the population. In some countries the 100-year trend hides dramatic changes. None may be more profound than Cambodia, where the modest 2% annual growth of Christianity from 1910 to 2010 masks the impact of Pol Pot’s genocide in the 1970s. Christianity, along with Buddhism and other religions, suffered a near-fatal blow under the Khmer Rouge, only to bounce back vigorously, as reflected by today’s chaotic contest of Christian denominations based in the capital city. While colonial French constituted a significant foreign presence in Cambodia in 1910, the Christians in 2010 are mainly Cambodian. Similar indigenous growth is anticipated in other parts of this region, but it is still in nascent stages. Singapore also saw its Christian population double in the last 30 years. Many of its younger English-speaking Chinese population are converting, but Christianity is reaching other ethnic groups as well. Singapore also serves as regional or international headquarters for many Christian agencies. Despite increasing openness toward religious freedom in the region, Christians in Laos, Viet Nam and Myanmar still face persecution from their governments. However, Christianity is growing steadily in these countries, and could grow even faster if government restrictions are further loosened . Changes within Christianity have been equally profound over the century. About 75% of all Christians in 1910 were Roman Catholic; by 2010 this had fallen to about 60%. The percentages of Independents and Protestants increased dramatically, largely due to new movements in the Philippines and Indonesia. The statistical centre of gravity of Christianity in the region is moving steadily to the south. This is likely to continue for some time as demographic and conversion growth in Indonesia outweighs the births and deaths of Christians in the Philippines. However, with the growth of Christianity in Indochina, Malaysia and other places, this point could easily move decidedly to the west as well.

Population 594,216,000 414,000 15,224,000 239,600,000 6,173,000 27,920,000 50,051,000 93,001,000 4,592,000 65,125,000 1,271,000 90,845,000

2010 Christians % 129,700,000 Region21.8 total 63,300 Brunei 15.3 305,000 2.0 Cambodia 28,992,000Indonesia 12.1 194,000 3.1 Laos 2,530,000Malaysia 9.1 4,002,000Myanmar 8.0 83,151,000 89.4 Philippines 740,000 16.1 Singapore 849,000Thailand 1.3 1,077,000 Timor 84.8 7,796,000Viet Nam 8.6

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in South-eastern Asia, 2010

Laos

Myanmar

1910

Thailand

Christian centre of gravity

Viet Nam

Christians by country

1910

2010

!

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

!

Cambodia

Philippines

Malaysia

Brunei

SOUTH-EASTERN ASIA

Singapore

Indonesia

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Province National Capital Region Calabarzon Central Luzon Western Visayas Central Visayas Bicol Ilocos Jawa Tengah Eastern Visayas Sumatera Utara

Country Philippines Philippines Philippines Philippines Philippines Philippines Philippines Indonesia Philippines Indonesia

Christian loss and gain, 2010 South-eastern Asia Brunei Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Timor Viet Nam

Population 12,081,000 11,336,000 9,979,000 7,551,000 6,934,000 5,686,000 5,109,000 36,276,000 4,391,000 13,532,000

Christians 11,409,000 11,008,000 9,580,000 7,332,000 6,594,000 5,521,000 4,859,000 4,353,000 4,176,000 4,060,000

% 94.4 97.1 96.0 97.1 95.1 97.1 95.1 12.0 95.1 30.0

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 2,302,000 1,374,000 3,676,000 South-eastern Asia 1,460 350 1,810 Brunei 12,950 3,950 16,900 Cambodia 418,000 375,000 793,000 Indonesia 3,950 2,850 6,800Laos 42,400 18,100 60,500 Malaysia 76,200 58,200 134,400 Myanmar 1,526,000 818,000 2,344,000 Philippines 11,700 5,800 17,500 Singapore 9,440 10,500 19,940 Thailand 35,800 11,800 47,600 Timor 163,600 69,700 233,300 Viet Nam

Timor

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

Immigrants

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

total 2.58Region 1.86 Brunei 6.47 2.94 2.01 Cambodia 1.71 3.88 Indonesia 1.69 3.20 1.42 Laos 4.24 Malaysia 2.40 2.78 Myanmar 1.48 2.38Philippines 2.34 4.11 Singapore 2.66 2.99 Thailand 2.16 3.19 1.21 Timor 2.00 Viet 1.95 Nam ⇐

0%

⇒

100%

-2

Region1.34 total 1.92 2.39 Brunei 2.19 7.28Cambodia 1.77 1.46Indonesia 1.25 3.39 1.68 Laos 2.01 Malaysia 1.84 1.93Myanmar 0.87 2.02Philippines 2.01 1.97Singapore 1.35 1.45 Thailand 0.71 4.80 4.50 Timor 2.05 Viet1.39 Nam 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

149

Christianity in Western Asia, 1910–2010

W

estern Asia largely comprises the area of the world known as the Middle East (the collective term used in this essay) with the addition of the Caucasia region, a territory bounded by the Black and Caspian seas that has been a vibrant centre of Christianity since late antiquity. However, the arrival of Islam in the region in the seventh and eighth centuries made for a more complex religious map contested now between the various empires – Persian, Russian, Ottoman – that surrounded the region. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the formation of the independent states of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, the trend toward ethnically and religiously defined territories has increased in this extremely complex region. In Georgia the Orthodox Church, which has re-established its national status and independence after nearly two centuries of control by the Russian Church, enjoys a special status under the constitution and claims the loyalty of the majority of the population. Armenia is now largely homogeneous in terms of religion, with the Armenian Church a vital part of national identity. Due to the influence of Iran, around 70% of all Azerbaijanis are Shi’ite Muslims, although today some ethnic groups such as the Oguz claim a Christian identity and have sought to found their own ‘Albanian’ Church. Most national borders are of recent origin, and the parameters of the different streams of Christian tradition do not necessarily correspond with the modern nation-states. The ecclesial context for Western Asian Christianity is one of great complexity. Its origins are those of Christianity itself. The churches of the Middle East can be grouped into five families – Oriental Orthodox; Eastern Orthodox; Oriental and Eastern Catholic; Anglican and Protestant; and Assyrian Church of the East. The number of Christians, unfortunately, is very difficult to discern. For some decades, there have no longer been confessional censuses in the countries of the Middle East, where governments are concerned with veiling the multi-confessional nature of their societies. However, the Middle Eastern church families represent about 30 million Christians, of which approximately 13 million reside in the Middle East. The Middle Eastern Christian diaspora in Northern and South America, Australia and Europe is an important and dynamic reality for all the churches. This diaspora contributes to making Christian identity in the Middle East often a contested one, caught between an ‘Arab’ Christian identity and an ‘Eastern’ Christian identity. The jurisdiction of each Church normally corresponds to a definite territory, but emigration of numerous faithful has also given it a personal character. The churches have responded by creating numerous ecclesial structures in the West to help retain the link between the land of origin and these new Middle Eastern Christian spaces. This renewed ecclesiological link overcomes geography, and the Eastern Churches, with regard to their respective diasporas, behave as though they were independent structures, constituting distinct episcopacies on the same territory. Of more modern origin are the Anglican Episcopal Church (in Jerusalem and the Middle East) and various Protestant, Presbyterian and Lutheran Churches that have emerged from Eastern Christian communities or from converts from Islam to Christianity. The Oriental Orthodox Churches The largest groupings of Christians in the Middle East are those belonging to the Oriental Orthodox churches. The doctrinal position of these churches is based on the teachings of the first three ecumenical councils: Nicea (ad 325), Constantinople (381) and Ephesus (431). They traditionally have rejected the Council of Chalcedon (451). The Armenian Apostolic Church governs a community of some five million people scattered across the globe. The Armenian Church is represented today by two Catholicosates – Etchmiadzin, which has primacy in the Caucasian

and diaspora region, and Cilicia, which has authority over most of the Orthodox Armenians of the Middle East – and two Patriarchates – Jerusalem and Constantinople. The Syrian Orthodox Church, whose Patriarch Ignatius Zakka II is based in Damascus, is today connected to the many millions of Syriac Christians in India through the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. The Oriental Orthodox churches have been depicted in Western and Byzantine church history as isolated from the rest of the Christian world and concerned with mere survival. This was, to a certain extent, true. A significant feature of Oriental Orthodoxy has been persecution and genocide suffered under Byzantine, Muslim and Ottoman powers. On the whole, relations between the Oriental Orthodox churches and the Latin Crusader states were good, which encouraged at times important ecclesial and theological dialogue. Oriental Orthodox Christian tradition has been marked by this suffering – leaving a permanent ‘wound’ on its life, witness, theology and spirituality. The Christological controversies of the fifth and sixth centuries produced a three-way split among the Christian churches that continues to this day, although it is only among the churches of Syriac liturgical tradition that all three doctrinal positions are represented. These controversies were originally over how best to describe the relationship between the divinity and the humanity in the incarnate Christ – for the Orthodox and Catholic (and derived Reformed) traditions the Council of Chalcedon had settled the matter in 451. The Arab invasions and the rise of Islam in the seventh century effectively fossilised this division. In the 1960s these churches began a process of rapprochement with both the Catholic and Orthodox churches that has significantly altered this situation. Pope John Paul I and the Syrian, Coptic and Armenian Orthodox churches have signed ‘Common Declarations of Faith’ on the nature of the Incarnate Word. However, doctrinal divergence remains unresolved on numerous other matters. The Eastern Orthodox Churches The Eastern or ‘Byzantine’ Orthodox Church in the Middle East is composed of the four ancient patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. These are autocephalous churches, each independent and self-governing. The independence between the four churches is administrative. Some pre-eminence is given to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, but it ‘is one of honour and not authority’; however, each patriarchate has its own metropolitans, bishops and synod. The four patriarchates have a shared identity based upon doctrine, patristic theology, liturgy, ecclesiology and canon law. The following common challenges have been posed by history for Eastern Orthodoxy in the Middle East: relations to Islam, relations to Russian Orthodoxy and the Russian State, relations to Rome and Eastern Catholicism, relations to Protestantism – European then American, friction and conflict among the four sees, and the problem of relations between the Greek Hierarchy and the Arab Orthodox. Eastern Christianity in the Middle East often had to face these challenges within the contexts of Islamic conquest, conversion and settlement; the long centuries of Ottoman rule in which the only difference that really mattered in religious terms was the Muslim one; and an emerging modern synthesis between Orthodoxy and nationality, which was in turn a Christian ‘revivalist’ response to political domination in the late Ottoman period. From the point of view of structures, Orthodoxy is divided between the four Patriarchates, one of which – Antioch, which has authority over the Orthodox communities in Syria and Lebanon (Arabic-speaking) as well as their diaspora – represents the great majority of its faithful in the Middle East. As such, this is the real face of the Arab Orthodox community. 100

100

Area (sq. km): 4,864,000 Population, 2010: 232,139,000 Population density (per sq. km): 48 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.97 Life expectancy (years): 72 (male 70, female 74) Adult literacy (%): 83

Christians, 1910: 7,529,000 % Christian, 1910: 22.9 Christians, 2010: 13,315,000 % Christian, 2010: 5.7 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 0.57 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 0.42

0

0

% Christian

1910

1910

150

2010

2010

Its leader (currently Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim), who resides in Damascus, can be considered to be the leader of the Orthodox in the Arab Middle East. In the diaspora, Orthodox Christians who originate from the Middle East number at least half a million, two-thirds of whom are in South America (Brazil and Argentina) and the rest in Northern America. These expatriate communities come almost exclusively under the Patriarchate of Antioch. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem leads a community of about 70,000 faithful divided between Israel, Palestine and Jordan. Most members speak Arabic, but the senior clergy, including the Patriarch, are Greek. Its raison d’être is above all the exercise of Orthodox rights in the Holy Places. This community, however, this is supplemented by large numbers of Orthodox Christians now living in the State of Israel, including both migrant workers (for example, 70,000 Romanians) and the many tens of thousands of Orthodox who arrived among the large wave of Russian ‘Jewish’ migration in the last two decades of the twentieth century. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (currently Patriarch Bartholomew, who lives in Istanbul) has primacy of honour among the Orthodox, but his real jurisdiction – reduced to the smallest part by all the autocephalous patriarchates that have appeared in the Balkans since the nineteenth century – is today over communities in northern Greece, the islands of the Aegean and Turkey. In recent decades, and in particular since the end of the Cold War, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has come to be regarded as the leading authority for the newly emerging Orthodox churches in eastern Europe and the growing Orthodox diaspora in western Europe. However, the significance of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for the global Orthodox Church should not be underestimated. The Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic families of churches, as with their Orthodox counterparts, represent an extremely complex ecclesiology, which broadly reflects that of their sister-churches of the same rite. There are six patriarchal churches: Latin, Melkite, Syrian, Armenian, Coptic and Chaldean. The emergence of Hebrew Catholicism in the modern state of Israel might be seen as the most recent expression of Eastern Christianity in the Middle East. There are also many millions of Catholics who live and work in the Arabian Gulf states. The Maronite Church, which has its origins in the fourth or fifth century, has no Orthodox equivalent. It has approximately one million members in Lebanon but up to three million faithful scattered throughout the world – for example, 700,000 in Argentina, 500,000 in Brazil, 150,000 in Mexico, 200,000 in Northern America and 150,000 in Australia. It emerged gradually over many centuries in the province of the Patriarchate of Antioch, from a small rural Syrian community quite distinct from the rest of the Chalcedonian Church, which was then in real decline. Maronite identity is complex: accepting the Council of Chalcedon, Syriac in rite, Catholic in its faith and discipline, and in union with the See of Rome. The future of the Maronite Church, although it does not bring together all Lebanese Christians, has been largely confused with that of Lebanese Christianity, even that of Lebanon itself, whose spirit of survival through difficult times it incarnates. The other Oriental Catholic Churches are all branches from the Orthodox and pre-Chalcedonian Churches. The oldest is the Chaldean Catholic, formed in 1553. Because of the dispersed population after World War I, and then following the massacre of 1933 in Iraq, today it is more numerous than its pre-Chalcedonian equivalent – the Assyrian Church of the East. Its main strength is in Iraq, with minorities in Iran and Lebanon. The relatively small Syrian Catholic Church was formed following a schism in the Syrian Orthodox Church in 1663 but was not definitively established until the end of the eighteenth century. Mostly represented in Syria and Lebanon, it is led by the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East of the Syrians. The Armenians also, since the eighteenth century, have had a Catholic branch, the Patriarchate of Cilicia of the Armenians, which brings together 550,000 faithful living both in the Middle East and the rest of the world.

The Melkite Greek Catholic Church was born in the eighteenth century following a schism in the Antioch Patriarchate of the Greek Orthodox Church. It is as large as its Orthodox equivalent, but fewer than half its members are still living in the Middle East (mainly in Syria and Lebanon). This church, Byzantine in rite and Arabic-speaking, only has one Patriarchate – of Antioch and of All the East, of Alexandria and of Jerusalem. The small Coptic Catholic Church has its patriarchate in Cairo. The Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East is one of the oldest Christian churches in existence, founded on the eastern marches of the Byzantine Empire and in Persia following the condemnation of ‘Nestorianism’ by the Council of Ephesus. Its current leader is Mar Dinkha IV, who lives in Chicago. The Ancient Church of the East was formed out of the Assyrian Church following a schism in the 1960s. Its current leader, who lives in Baghdad, is Mar Addai II. The Church of the East, after many centuries of isolation from the rest of the Christian world, emerged renewed in the later part of the twentieth century with ecumenical dialogue as an essential element of that revival. Mar Dinkha IV met Pope John Paul II in 1984 and signed a Common Declaration of Faith in 1994. An unprecedented Eucharistic sharing agreement signed in 2001 in the Vatican between the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church crowned these achievements.

to emerge as the dominant community and its political organisations, such as Hizbollah, to challenge traditional Maronite Christian dominance of the government. Since the beginnings of the 1960s and the internal Kurdish-Iraqi war some one million Christians have left their northern Iraqi mountains and homelands to go into the lands of emigration. During this period Baghdad gained large numbers of Christians, and the Chaldean Patriarchate relocated there in 1950. Since 1948 some 230,000 Christians have left the Holy Land. The Christian population of Jerusalem may be down from 30,000 in 1948 to 5,000 today. The Christian communities inevitably have lost many of their most educated and young members. The churches thus not only lose part of their future but also the potential leadership that should be charting the communities’ fortunes. Some communities have seen more men leave than women, changing the gender balance. Christian women then marry Muslim men, and this fractures the Christian population and diminishes it, with implications for property rights and the education of children. All are aware that churches have lost many millions of their people to emigration, and that their diaspora communities have grown correspondingly, but the question of presence is a dynamic one. Today large numbers of non-indigenous Christians, brought by the global economy, have come to live and work in the region. Some 250,000 Christian workers are estimated to be in Israel and have been there for some time. These are made up of eastern European and Asian workers. There are large numbers of Filipinos, and increasingly Sri Lankans, Indians and Africans, in the region; for example, approximately 140,000 Asian workers are in Lebanon, 80% of whom are women. At times the traditional churches are slow to provide for them. In this changing situation, patterns of authority have altered. Somewhat marginalised by secular politics, the patriarchs of the different churches have emerged as significant voices for Christianity in the political ‘public square’. In the context of profound social and economic dislocation created by modernity, leading to political upheaval and lack of ‘legitimate’ political structures, religious revival has brought these traditional loci of authority to the fore. Prominent recent examples include the Maronite Patriarch Sfeir in Lebanon and Michel Sabbah, the former Latin Patriarch in the Holy Land. To sum up, Christianity originated in Western Asia. The Christian presence there today bears witness to the global Church of the unity of its origins and the diversity of its expression. Christians also help maintain and sustain the diversity in the Middle East. However, there has been large-scale flight from the region, and this has implications for those left behind. Christianity in Western Asia has a witness beyond itself: let us hope that the churches of East and West rise rapidly to this challenge, for the key to the future of this important region may lie with the few.

ANTHONY O’MAHONY Michael Angold (ed.), The Cambridge History of Christianity: Volume Five – Eastern Christianity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006). John Binns, An Introduction to the Christian Orthodox Churches (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002). Sidney H. Griffiths, The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque: Christians and Muslims in the World of Islam (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008). Anthony O’Mahony (ed.), Christianity in the Middle East: Studies in Modern History, Theology and Politics (London: Melisende, 2008). Ken Parry (ed.), The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity (Oxford: Blackwell, 2007).

Christians in Western Asia by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Turkey Georgia Armenia Lebanon Syria Cyprus Iraq Azerbaijan Palestine Israel

Christians 3,354,000 2,230,000 568,000 408,000 314,000 214,000 171,000 170,000 39,600 38,000

Highest percentage 2010 Georgia Armenia Lebanon Saudi Arabia Syria Cyprus United Arab Emirates Iraq Kuwait Azerbaijan

Christians 3,690,000 2,550,000 1,414,000 1,182,000 1,174,000 630,000 597,000 508,000 301,000 280,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Cyprus Georgia Armenia Lebanon Turkey Syria Palestine Azerbaijan Israel Iraq

% Christian 99.8 92.0 89.0 77.5 21.7 15.6 11.6 10.0 8.0 6.4

Fastest growth 2010 % Christian Cyprus 91.8 Georgia 85.8 Armenia 85.4 Lebanon 33.5 United Arab Emirates 12.6 Kuwait 9.9 Qatar 9.6 Bahrain 9.3 Syria 5.5 Oman 4.7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates Oman Kuwait Qatar Bahrain Northern Cyprus Jordan Yemen Armenia

% p.a. 10.60 9.33 9.18 7.39 7.28 5.98 2.60 2.51 2.14 1.51

2000–2010 United Arab Emirates Kuwait Bahrain Yemen Oman Saudi Arabia Syria Qatar Azerbaijan Cyprus

% p.a. 3.88 3.74 3.31 2.76 2.49 2.42 1.85 1.65 1.44 1.30

151

WESTERN ASIA

The future of Middle Eastern Christianity For Christianity in the Middle East the last hundred years has witnessed a profound series of crises. Displacement by war, genocide and interreligious conflict, leading to loss, emigration and exile, has been the main experience of Christianity in the modern Middle East. Against this background of displacement, when allowed, Christians have sought to resettle and build anew. They have been able to make significant cultural, political and economic contributions to Middle Eastern society. Some observers have suggested that there is a ‘Christian barometer’ which provides the world with an accurate measurement of the political atmosphere in the Middle East. Progress toward freedom, particularly religious freedom, in the Middle East can be gauged by focusing on the status of the large Christian minorities. The theory goes that as the Middle East becomes more free and prosperous, linked to the West and hospitable to minorities and women, the probability increases that Christians will continue to live in and even return from abroad to, countries like Lebanon and Syria. Conversely, if Christians sense that things are getting worse, if the Arab countries in which they live are losing their commitment to political, economic and religious freedom, they would tend to emigrate from the Middle East. After the fall of the Baathist regime in 2003, the Christians in Iraq became ‘the canaries in the coal mine’ for the greater Middle East. The extent to which they are tolerated in the new Iraq is being watched closely by the Maronites of Lebanon and other non-Muslim populations of the region. Christians in Iraq are deeply troubled by the rise of radical Islamic tendencies in both the Shi’ite majority and the former ruling class, the Sunni minority. For Iraqi Christians the continuing spectre of growing insecurity, which has led to church bombings, kidnappings and assassinations, has caused them to leave in large numbers. Perhaps as many as 300,000 have left Iraq, never to return. Others are refugees in the region: some 150,000 in Syria and up to 40,000 in Jordan. Some states have welcomed these newcomers (and their skills) and want them to

stay, and some hope that their presence will add to a diversity in society, which in turn will help support ‘moderate’ politics. In fact, previous generations of displaced Christians, particularly Armenians and other oriental Christians, arrived in Lebanon and made that country (before the Civil War of 1975–90) a leading cultural and economic space for the region. These troubled times have seen ecclesial institutions, settled in one place for many centuries, being displaced. For example, the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate, which had been located at the Monastery of Mor Hananyo (Deir ez-Za’faran) near Mardin (in modern Turkey) since the thirteenth century, was transferred to Homs in modern Syria in 1923 and Damascus in 1950 due to the destruction of the Syrian Orthodox community at the end of the Ottoman Empire and the foundation of the Turkish republic. The Chaldean Patriarchate moved from Mosul to Baghdad in 1950. With the ongoing conflict in Iraq and the difficult security situation in Baghdad, it might be set to move again. The long centuries of Ottoman domination fossilised the churches in their division. Initially these Muslim rulers centralised all Christian authority within the Patriarchate of Constantinople (followed a few years later by an Armenian Patriarchate). It was not until the nineteenth century that reformist measures allowed other ancient churches to be formally recognised. Modern crises and contemporary ecumenism are beginning to bring down the barriers. In recent times remarkable developments have taken place in the ecumenical relations between churches in the Middle East, both on bilateral and multilateral levels – agreements that allow partial mutual participation in sacraments, formation of future priests and catechesis. Three main factors can be identified as being responsible for these developments: the ecumenical movement of the twentieth century and the establishment (in 1948) of the World Council of Churches; the Second Vatican Council; and the large-scale emigration from the Middle East to Europe, the Americas and Australia. Although this large-scale emigration has in general been disastrous from the point of view of the life of the indigenous Christian churches in the Middle East, there have been at least two good consequences: emigration to Western countries has provided the possibility of publication without censorship, and it has brought the existence of non-Chalcedonian churches in particular more into the awareness of the Western churches – thus providing an opportunity and incentive for theological dialogue. Modern times have brought about a profound change in the configuration of Christian presence in Western Asia. In the last days of the Ottoman Empire Christians made up more than 20% of the population. The Armenian genocide, the massacre of Syriac Christians and the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey (there is still debate about numbers, but approximately 1.5 million Orthodox Christians and half a million Muslims) had a radical impact. Today there are around 200,000 Christians in a population of 78 million in the modern Turkish republic, although there might be up to two million people of Armenian descent who issue from the large numbers of Christians, mainly women and children, taken as slaves or forced into Islam at the fall of the Ottoman Empire. A number of these each year retrace steps to their (often grandmothers’) original Christian faith. Christians in Syria are down from 20% before World War II to less than 6% today. During the Lebanese Civil War some 670,000 Christians were displaced, as opposed to 160,000 Muslims. Lebanon always had a Christian majority, but no longer. This has allowed the Shi’a community

Christianity in Western Asia, 1910–2010 Religions in Western Asia Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

Religious affiliation and growth in Western Asia, 1910 and 2010 Muslims Christians Jews Agnostics Hindus Atheists Buddhists New Religionists Baha'is Sikhs Chinese folk Ethnoreligionists Zoroastrians Jains Total population

2

2010 Adherents % 206,036,000 88.8 13,315,000 5.7 5,873,000 2.5 4,409,000 1.9 1,103,000 0.5 411,000 0.2 384,000 0.2 222,000 0.1 158,000 0.1 99,800 0.0 65,600 0.0 61,400 0.0 1,000 0.0 250 0.0 232,139,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 2.13 2.02 0.57 0.42 2.78 1.90 8.56 1.11 6.05 2.75 6.84 -0.22 11.13 2.47 2.02 1.57 5.73 2.79 5.55 2.38 9.19 2.12 0.11 2.20 0.95 0.00 3.27 2.26 1.97 1.90

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

5

= 1% of population = All other religions

Percent Christian

Christians in Western Asia Proportion of all Christians in Western Asia, 2010 Ge

ia

or gi

en

m Ar

a

Key:

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s

Lebano

n

Oman Israel an Jord key an r u T aij erb Az it wa Ku

b ra iA

irat es

ud

Cyprus

U. A rab

Em

ia

Major Christian traditions in Western Asia, 1910 & 2010 % by tradition 1910 11,700

2010 96,600

628,000 50 30 6,645,000 82,200

4,216,000 503,000 77,500 8,294,000 224,000

Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 2.13 0.50 1.92 9.65 8.17 0.22 1.01

1.56 1.12 3.07 -0.31 2.62

1910

2010

Rate* 1910–2010

Adherents

10

10

10

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8

8

8

8

6

6

4

4

2 0

2

Rate* 2000–2010

q

Northern Cyprus Yemen Bahrain Palestine Qatar

Sa

Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Graph Proportion a country’s Proportion ofthe a country’s Christians in region Colour in the region Christians Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in Per cent Christian in country or region aeach country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian of region Map Map Location and Per cent Location Perregion cent Locationand ofregion the Christian of Christian of region

6

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All All 4 Christians Christians

0.57

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

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All All Christians Christians

0.42

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0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

Christians in Western Asia, 1910 and 2010 Western Asia Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Cyprus Georgia Iraq Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Northern Cyprus Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria Turkey United Arab Emirates Yemen

Population 32,944,000 638,000 1,702,000 72,900 214,000 2,423,000 2,675,000 473,000 284,000 79,000 527,000 60,600 309,000 341,000 19,200 2,818,000 2,014,000 15,426,000 53,400 2,815,000

1910 Christians 7,529,000 568,000 170,000 220 213,500 2,230,000 171,000 38,000 16,600 240 408,000 240 20 39,600 75 50 314,000 3,354,000 80 5,000

% 22.9 89.0 10.0 0.3 99.8 92.0 6.4 8.0 5.8 0.3 77.5 0.4 0.0 11.6 0.4 0.0 15.6 21.7 0.1 0.2

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

152

1910 Adherents % 24,944,000 75.7 7,529,000 22.9 380,000 1.2 1,200 0.0 3,100 0.0 550 0.0 0 0.0 30,000 0.1 600 0.0 450 0.0 0 0.0 54,800 0.2 390 0.0 0 0.0 32,944,000 100.0

2010

Syria

ver the past 100 years the religious demography of this region has been shaped in large part by the decline of Christianity relative to Islam. While Christians represented nearly a quarter of the population in 1910, this has fallen to less than 6% in 2010. During the same period Muslims have grown from 76% of the population to almost 89%. This trend is driven almost entirely by emigration, with large numbers of Christians moving to other regions throughout the century because of political and religious conflicts. This emigration is continuing early in the twenty-first century. Meanwhile, the percentage of Jews has doubled from 1.2% in 1910 to 2.5% by 2010 as a result of the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 and the subsequent return of large numbers of Jews from around the world. However, this influx has created great instability in the region. It is now the hub of a global conflict involving Jews, Muslims and Christians. Western support (primarily from the USA) for Israel in its dealings with the Palestinian territories has led to hostility towards the West and Christianity among many Muslims in the region. Political and international efforts to bring about peaceful coexistence have proved unsuccessful to date, and the conflict shows no signs of abating. Most of the Christians leaving the region are Orthodox. In 1910, 90% of all Christians in the region were Orthodox; in 2010 they claim just over 60%, and this percentage continues to decline. The countries hardest-hit by such emigration have been Lebanon (where Christians were 77% of the population in 1910 but are only 34% today) and Turkey (whose Christian population dropped from 22% of the total to 0.3% in the same period). At the same time, however, thousands of Christians come to the region every year to work in industries supporting oil production and major construction projects. Recently, with the emergence and development of coastal cities, many Christian workers in service sectors also are flocking to the region. For example, over 1.1 million Christians live in Saudi Arabia in 2010, whereas only about 50 lived there in 1910. The United Arab Emirates, whose commercial capital is the cosmopolitan city of Dubai, has almost half a million Christians. The shift south and east over the last century of the region’s centre of gravity for Christianity reflects these twin dynamics of emigration from the north and immigration to the south. Christian immigrants to the region come mainly from the Philippines, India, South Korea and dozens of other countries in the Global South. Many of them work for two or three years, return home for a time, and then come back to work again. However, their presence has increased tensions in the region, and in some cases these expatriate Christians have been arrested or killed on the suspicion of proselytising their religion.

Ira

O

Population 232,139,000 2,987,000 8,671,000 792,000 686,000 4,301,000 30,688,000 7,272,000 6,453,000 3,051,000 4,227,000 196,000 2,767,000 4,409,000 885,000 26,416,000 21,428,000 77,703,000 4,732,000 24,475,000

2010 Christians % 13,315,000 5.7 Region total 2,550,000 Armenia 85.4 280,000 3.2 Azerbaijan 73,500 Bahrain 9.3 630,000 Cyprus 91.8 3,690,000 Georgia 85.8 508,000 1.7 Iraq 162,000 Israel 2.2 197,000 Jordan 3.1 301,000 Kuwait 9.9 1,414,000Lebanon 33.5 3,100 Cyprus 1.6 Northern 131,000 Oman 4.7 82,800Palestine 1.9 84,700 Qatar 9.6 Saudi Arabia 1,182,000 4.5 Syria 1,174,000 5.5 214,000 Turkey 0.3 United Arab Emirates 597,000 12.6 41,300 Yemen 0.2

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Western Asia, 2010

Armenia Georgia

1910

Turkey

Christian centre of gravity

!

Azerbaijan

2010

Cyprus

Province Country Population Christians T'bilisi Georgia 1,023,000 905,000 Yerevan Armenia 1,086,000 886,000 Imereti Georgia 661,000 639,000 Jabal Lubnan Lebanon 1,556,000 576,000 al-Gharbiyah (Western) Saudi Arabia 9,255,000 463,000 ash-Shamal Lebanon 911,000 455,000 Samegrelo-Zemo Svanteni Georgia 441,000 426,000 Halab Syria 4,642,000 378,000 al-Wusta (Central) Saudi Arabia 7,895,000 366,000 Kakheti Georgia 385,000 325,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

!

Northern Cyprus

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010

Syria Lebanon Iraq Palestine

% 88.5 81.6 96.6 37.0 5.0 50.0 96.7 8.2 4.6 84.4

Israel Jordan

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

Kuwait

United Arab Emirates

Bahrain

cent Christian

Qatar

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 Saudi Arabia

WESTERN ASIA

Oman

Yemen

1910

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Western Asia Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Cyprus Georgia Iraq Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Northern Cyprus Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria Turkey United Arab Emirates Yemen

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 66,000 227,500 293,500 Western Asia 6,500 37,500 44,000 Armenia 4,460 7,040 11,500 Azerbaijan 1,770 430 2,200 Bahrain 7,300 6,400 13,700 Cyprus -22,500 70,500 48,000 Georgia -13,340 40,440 27,100Iraq -150 3,380 3,230Israel 3,500 6,300 9,800 Jordan 8,830 1,360 10,190 Kuwait 7,340 19,000 26,340 Lebanon 0 50 Northern50 Cyprus 3,300 1,400 4,700 Oman -70 3,660 3,590 Palestine 1,120 440 1,560Qatar 24,920 6,300 31,220 Saudi Arabia 16,920 13,500 30,420Syria -1,100 6,100 5,000 Turkey 16,200 2,470 United18,670 Arab Emirates 1,010 870 1,880 Yemen

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

Immigrants

total 0.57Region 1.97 1.51 Armenia 1.56 0.50Azerbaijan 1.64 5.98 Bahrain 2.41 Cyprus 1.09 1.17 0.51 Georgia 0.58 Iraq 1.09 2.47 1.46 2.77 Israel 2.51 3.17 Jordan 7.39 3.72 Kuwait 1.25 Lebanon 2.10 2.60 1.18 Northern Cyprus 9.18 2.22 Oman 0.74 Palestine 2.59 7.28 3.90 Qatar 10.60 Saudi2.26 Arabia 1.33 2.39 Syria -2.71 1.63 Turkey 9.33 4.59 United Arab Emirates 2.14 2.19 Yemen ⇐

0%

100%

⇒

-2

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

Region1.90 total 0.42 0.03 Armenia -0.31 Azerbaijan 1.44 0.63 3.31 Bahrain 1.99 1.30 Cyprus 1.33 -0.70 Georgia -0.93 Iraq -3.35 2.05 0.46 1.80 Israel 0.61 Jordan 3.01 3.74 Kuwait 3.19 0.64 Lebanon 1.14 0.16 Cyprus 0.58 Northern 2.49 Oman 1.42 -0.13Palestine 3.42 1.65 Qatar 3.68 2.42 2.42 Saudi Arabia 1.85 2.64 Syria -0.11 Turkey 1.32 3.84 United3.88 Arab Emirates 2.76 Yemen 3.02 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

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4

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20

30

40

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Christianity in Europe, 1910–2010

T

he year 1910 came towards the end of a period of political, social and intellectual challenge for Christianity in Europe. Prior to 1870 the churches had succeeded quite well in building up institutional structures, including voluntary associations, and new pastoral strategies to cope with the vast changes brought by industrialisation and urbanisation. However, after 1870 they faced a degree of social and political alienation, above all in the solid working-class districts of the great cities, but also among radical professionals, which found expression in radical liberal and socialist parties with antireligious, or at any rate anti-clerical, ideologies. They also faced intellectual crises on several fronts, both among professionals and among the ‘artisan’ classes, fuelled by geology and biology as well as by a kind of antinomian moral revolt against ‘respectability’. This ‘bohemian’ moral revolt, from say 1890 to 1914, was probably less corrosive at the time than the social and political alienation, but its extension from the elites downward in the 1930s and 1960s was critical for the fortunes of Christianity half a century later. The direct impact of science can be exaggerated, even though intellectual biographies illustrate just how painful and disorienting science, including biblical criticism, could be for a highly educated minority. Social and political alienation did not so much generate atheism as a feeling that institutional Christianity was built into a conservative social order. Whereas this might still have been accepted as natural in the diminishing rural areas, it seemed much less so in the expanding great cities, such as London, Paris and Berlin. These cities were the epicentres of secularisation, but the style and extent of secularisation varied greatly with the political and cultural situations in different countries, and gave rise to distinctive Protestant and Catholic patterns. Britain was distinctive on account of an association between Liberal and Labour politics and dissent, both Catholic and Nonconformist. Thus the LiberalLabour electoral victory of 1906 marked the apogee of Nonconformist political influence prior to a rapid decline. Anti-clericalism, intellectual or ‘artisan’, was relatively muted, whereas in Protestant northern Europe it was more vigorous and open, particularly in Germany. In Norway there was an echo of the British situation because the pietism of the southwest became associated with what was known as the ‘old left’, but in Scandinavia generally, active institutional involvement went into serious decline in spite of much ‘personal’ religion and majority participation in confirmation and the rites of passage. Gradually Scandinavia, after brushes with Communism in the 1920s, and even to some degree with fascism in the 1930s, moved towards universal welfare and Social Democracy. A different pattern evolved where Protestantism co-existed with major Catholic minorities, concentrated in particular regions, for example in Holland, Germany and Switzerland. In Holland social life was increasingly organised in confessional ‘pillars’, Catholic, Protestant, Re-Reformed and secular, and these had their own political parties, though this kind of ghettoisation went into decline after the 1960s, and religious practice with it. In Belgium, though Catholic, ghettoisation came about not through religion so much as through the rivalry between French-speaking Wallonia and Flemish-speaking Flanders, though micro-nationalism in Flanders in particular nourished a strong religious element. Just as Protestant patterns varied according to the existence of major dissenting bodies challenging a union of throne and altar, and according to the size and concentration of the Catholic presence (organised culturally and politically), so Catholic patterns varied. In Poland and Ireland a history of oppression by foreign powers created an identification of the nation with Catholicism, even though Polish independence between the World Wars saw the rise of the other Catholic pattern of sharp political and cultural hostility between clericals and anti-clericals, both radical

liberal and socialist. This hostility was most evident in France, where the intense struggles during the Third Republic post-1870 had resulted in 1905 in separation of Church and state. France, and above all Paris, was the epicentre of anti-clericalism and laïcité, though a similar division was evident in Spain and Portugal, and also in Italy, where the Papacy was at odds with Italian nationalism and the Risorgimento, and long persisted in forbidding political participation. Nationalism with or against religion Much depended on whether a local nationalism emerged in conflict with or in alliance with the Catholic Church or the Orthodox Church, or at least with Catholic or Orthodox identity. This applied alike in western and eastern Europe, but above all in eastern Europe, where ethnicity and religion became closely intertwined. Hungary and what is now the Czech Republic cherished national myths with roots in (minority) Protestantism, and in Czech lands nationalism acquired an anti-Catholic, antiHapsburg complexion, but elsewhere, in Slovakia, Croatia, Poland and Lithuania, there was an alliance of ethnicity and religion, equally evident in Orthodox Europe in countries such as Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece. To some extent the religious factor might lie latent in relation to romantic nationalism and language, but it would emerge more explicitly once the nations of eastern Europe experienced domination by atheistic Communism. Micro-nationalisms and regional identities tended to acquire a religious colouring, even, until recently, in a western Europe more inclined to a civic than an ethnic nationalism. In France that was true in Alsace and Brittany; in Denmark, in Jutland; in Britain, in Wales and Scotland and above all Ulster; in Spain, in the Basque country and Galicia; in Italy in the south and the Veneto; in Germany, in Bavaria; in a rather complicated way among the Uniates of western Romania; and even in Switzerland among the Catholic cantons. Often these regional identities found expression in pilgrimage sites situated at the peripheries or remote areas of nations: Santiago, Zaragoza, Lourdes, Knock, Einsiedeln (in Switzerland), Czestochowa, Bruges (the Holy Blood), the Vierzehnheiligen, Zagorsk, Ekaterinburg and Fatima. Pilgrimages have become increasingly popular in recent decades, and can acquire intense significance for a kind of religiopolitical mobilisation when religious identity (or the nation as such) is threatened. Joan of Arc has been available for appropriation by more than one political quarter in France, and now in Russia the last Tsar and his family have become literally iconic. The World Wars: dangers left and right World War I was not a religious war, though German idealism was cited as at stake as against French scepticism and materialism. The Protestant clergy in both Germany and Britain were vigorously patriotic, while in France the tension between clericals and anti-clericals partly dissolved in a union sacrée. This was also a period when some intellectuals, artists and musicians crossed the divide to embrace Catholicism, and not only in France. The Catholic clergy in Belgium were totally behind the national cause; in Italy and in the varied domains of Austria-Hungary, less so. After the War, the identification of religion with rival national causes was subject to a great deal of criticism, particularly where pacifism became influential, for example in Britain, though the international brotherhood of socialism had been equally swept aside by nationalistic fervour. The political turbulence following World War I made it a difficult time for the churches, faced with crises on the revolutionary left and right. Certainly liberal theological optimism and ‘cultural Protestantism’ had been severely tried by a reversion to barbarism among the supposedly most advanced nations on earth. The Protestant neo-orthodox response is unsurprising. 100

100

Area (sq. km): 23,031,000 Population, 2010: 730,478,000 Population density (per sq. km): 32 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 0.54 Life expectancy (years): 76 (male 72, female 80) Adult literacy (%): 99

Christians, 1910: 403,687,000 % Christian, 1910: 94.5 Christians, 2010: 585,738,000 % Christian, 2010: 80.2 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 0.37 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 0.23

% Christian 0

0

1910

1910

154

2010

2010

After the revolution of 1917 the Orthodox Church in Russia found itself suffering severe persecution, while in eastern Europe Orthodoxy remained integrated with government, whatever its political complexion. The Catholic Church condemned Communism and located an ‘axis of evil’ in Mexico, Russia and (later) Spain, which led it to favour conservative and authoritarian regimes. However, Concordats with Fascist Italy (1929) and later Nazi Germany (1933) rapidly came under strain, in particular with the spread of virulent racism directly challenging the premises of Christianity. In Germany the Lutheran Church contained both ‘German Christians’ with ideas of Aryan superiority and a ‘Confessing Church’ standing by the Barmen Declaration against racism (1934) and influenced by the neo-orthodoxy of Karl Barth. In France similar divisions emerged between Action Française on the nationalist right and the kind of neo-Thomist Christian humanism embraced by Jacques Maritain. During the German occupation of France, the Vichy regime and some elements in the Catholic Church came together, and Vichy co-operated with the Nazis over the deportation of Jews, continuing a long French tradition of anti-Semitism. Indeed, there were equally strong traditions of anti-Semitism in the national-religious churches of eastern Europe. The logic of European nationalism has over centuries fused with religion to secure ethnic and religious homogeneity. The effect of the Holocaust was, of course, to drive out or exterminate Jewish minority populations, except in Bulgaria. Britain, the USA and, increasingly, Israel became receiving countries for the remains of European Jewry. In Russia following the German attack in 1941, the Orthodox Church received a temporary reprieve as part of total national mobilisation for the ‘Great Patriotic War’. After the War, however, persecution was renewed, especially by Khrushchev after Stalin’s death in 1953, while in occupied eastern Europe preparations were made for the subjugation of the churches along with all other non-party organisations. Enforced secularisation: variations in eastern Europe The pattern varied from country to country, depending on how far the identification of nation with faith circumscribed authoritarian Communist power. That meant that enforced secularisation was most successful in East Germany, Estonia and the Czech Republic, and least successful in Croatia, Poland, Lithuania and Romania (where somehow the Church managed to get on with the national Communist regime), with Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia in between. The result was an identification of the Church with movements for freedom and independence, above all in Poland, where the election of Pope John Paul II greatly assisted the breakdown of the Communist system in 1989. Gradually, as Communist ideology came under strain, including the local ‘partisan’ version in Yugoslavia, a combination of ethnic identity and religion created a current of de-secularisation. Indeed, this current, which at least involves a re-identification with religious traditions if not majority practice, can be observed in Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Serbia. In Serbia the transition from Communism to nationalism under Milošević was associated with a hypernationalist attitude in the Serbian Orthodox Church, accentuated by intense anxiety over demographic shifts and moves towards separatism in Kosovo, where the historic shrines of Serbian identity are situated. There were, however, two notable paradoxes in the post-1989 period. One was the inability of the Polish Church to convert identification with Catholicism into political support for legislation favoured by the hierarchy. The other was the ability of the Lutheran Church in the former DDR, in spite of being reduced to a minority, to host the revolution which brought about the re-unification of Germany and the downfall of the regime. Since that time churches have been associated in various degrees with other peaceful revolutions, notably in the western Ukraine but also in Georgia. The situation in Russia today is also paradoxical: while in one sense Russians are very secular, 94% of the population now identify themselves as Orthodox, and the two institutions attracting the greatest trust are the Church and the Army. Fresh strategies in western Europe In western Europe the immediate post-War period was one of religious and political stabilisation. The

the liberal elites increasingly in control of the European project, on the other. Christianity and new cultural mutations ‘The Sixties’ arrived from California on a wave of sexual liberation and individualistic, existential and idealist protest against institutional constraints, whether scholastic, military or bureaucratic. In religious terms it represented the culmination of a faith in personal experience incubated in American Protestantism, which was then cross-bred with European traditions of a revolutionary anarchism taking to the barricades. Within religion itself, in the form of Evangelicalism or Pentecostalism or Charismatic Catholicism, the Sixties could be accommodated by a communal and disciplined framework, and these were the kinds of faith that proved best able to absorb and express the ‘turn to the self’. Pentecostalism actually acquired some purchase on the margins of Europe: Portugal, southern Italy, Romania and Gypsy communities. Alternatively, the ‘turn to the self’ might find expression in mystical and therapeutic traditions, so that the rise of the Charismatic movement was paralleled by a burgeoning spirituality claiming to transcend mundane morality and dogmatic and ritual constraints. For Pope John Paul II, fresh from the disciplined confrontation between an authoritarian (or authoritative) Church and an authoritarian political ideology in eastern Europe, this was self-indulgence nurtured in a ‘culture of narcissism’. For his successor, Benedict XVI, scarred by less dangerous confrontations in the university, it portended a collapse of the European civilised idea, as it rested on Christian, and above all Catholic, foundations. Two spin-offs of the changes of the Sixties revived the traditional rift between the Catholic Church (and to some extent the other churches) and liberalism: a relativistic interpretation of multiculturalism, and scientific advances in the area of reproductive technology and genetics. There was also a mutation of Marxism and the old left into left-liberalism that had consequences for the European project, particularly with respect to law and gender, and these consequences proved problematic as the European Union expanded into strongly Catholic and Orthodox countries. The underlying issues were exposed by the argument over the invocation of God, or at least the foundational role of Christianity in Europe, in the preamble to the proposed European Constitution. Perhaps the preamble missed the opportunity to add the reconciliation of secular and religious traditions in Europe to the reconciliations already achieved between Protestant and Catholic, and between Germany and France. Disturbing questions have been raised by Muslim migration into Europe: Turks and Bosnians into Germany, Northern Africans into France, and people from the Indian sub-continent into Britain. The threat of violence in relation to perceived insult increased scepticism about the role of religion as such in a modernised world. Even in Holland the viability of multiculturalism has been put in question. However, the migration of Christians, for example of sub-Saharan Africans and Caribbeans into Britain and northern Europe, or Catholic Poles into secular areas of western Europe, seemed less problematic because the cultural distance was less. The condition of Christianity in western Europe at the beginning of the twenty-first century varies according to the history and culture of different countries. France has arguably become post-Catholic, and Spain after Franco’s death in 1975 moved rapidly in a secular direction. By contrast, Italy did not, though the referendum in 1974 endorsing divorce indicated a wider trend to reject specifically religious norms

in the enactment of state law. The Protestant nations of northwest Europe, notably Britain, Germany and Holland, experienced a major decline in religious belief and practice in the final decades of the twentieth century, though this does not necessarily mean the triumph of secularity in relation to religious identification, or non-naturalistic superstitions, and above all para-institutional spirituality. Overall, Protestantism, through its stress on inwardness rather than the tangible and habitual expressions of faith found in Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Islam, has proved more vulnerable to institutional erosion. In Holland, Germany and Switzerland the Catholic and Protestant proportions of the population are now roughly equal, while migration to Switzerland and Britain also affected comparative numbers. The vitality of national-religious faith in eastern Europe makes western European secularity distinctive. The question of ‘European exceptionalism’ refers specifically to western Europe and the citadels of secular consciousness in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Berlin and Leipzig. Is Europe the lead society in what will become a universal secularity, or is it for specific social and historical reasons an exceptional case? One approach to the evident difference between the fortunes of institutional Christianity in the USA and Europe stresses the vitality associated with a competitive pluralism in a political culture where no particular Church is associated with state power or social superiority, and where Christianity and Enlightenment are invoked in tandem in praise of the American idea, rather than antagonistically. Arguably the traditional vitality of voluntary religious association in the USA assimilates secular elements within a religious frame, including to some extent the ubiquitous youth culture, whereas in Europe the secular and the religious, as well as the Christian and Enlightened, have a history of opposition, and moreover this is an opposition successfully promoted by the centralising agencies of the state with respect to education and welfare. This promotion of secularisation by elites in control of the centralising agencies of the state, and by their allies in the media, reflects a master-narrative of secularisation originating in eighteenth-century Europe, and possessed of normative or imperative force as much as descriptive verisimilitude. It may be, therefore, that the downward spiral of Christian institutional power, influence and vitality represents a loss of functions to the state (which even the state finds problematic with respect to personal morality and conscientious civic duty), allied to the way the fate of religion seemed bound up in the collapse of older social hierarchies. The adoption of critical forms of social engagement by the Churches with respect (say) to race, war, ecology and migration, has not altered that perception. This social and cultural collapse extends to religion as a source of communal identity and memory across the generations. Based on the most recent statistical surveys, some observers have argued that the spiral is flattening out, though that will not be easy given the cultural gaps, and even cultural wars, that have opened up, in particular between the generations.

DAVID MARTIN Timothy A. Byrnes and Peter J. Katzenstein (eds), Religion in an Expanding Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006). Grace Davie, Religion in Europe: A Memory Mutates (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000). Andrew Greeley, Religion in Modern Europe at the End of the Second Millennium (London: Transaction Press, 2003). David Martin, On Secularisation: Towards a Revised General Theory (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005). Krzystof Michalski (ed.), Religion in the New Europe (Budapest: Central European University Press, 2006).

Christians in Europe by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Russia Germany France Britain Italy Ukraine Poland Spain Romania Czech Republic

Christians 65,757,000 45,755,000 40,894,000 39,298,000 35,330,000 29,904,000 22,102,000 20,357,000 11,235,000 8,002,000

Highest percentage 2010 Russia Germany Britain Italy France Spain Ukraine Poland Romania Netherlands

Christians 115,120,000 58,123,000 49,325,000 47,502,000 42,990,000 40,871,000 37,991,000 36,523,000 20,883,000 10,653,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Finland Slovenia Faeroe Islands San Marino Holy See Spain Portugal Malta Ireland Iceland

% Christian 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 99.9 99.9

Fastest growth 2010 Holy See Romania Malta Faeroe Islands Poland Moldova Iceland Ireland Greece Andorra

% Christian 100.0 98.8 98.0 98.0 96.4 96.3 95.6 95.2 92.9 92.2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Andorra Svalbard & Jan Mayen Albania Kosovo Iceland Greece San Marino Liechtenstein Faeroe Islands Moldova

% p.a. 2.62 1.51 1.31 1.27 1.22 1.21 1.20 1.17 1.04 0.89

2000–2010 Ireland San Marino Albania Svalbard & Jan Mayen Andorra Spain Luxembourg Russia Liechtenstein Iceland

% p.a. 1.65 1.54 1.45 1.35 1.15 1.03 0.96 0.92 0.91 0.86

155

EUROPE

ecumenical movement, initiated in the late 1930s, was instrumental in instigating the Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, and in the same year the World Council of Churches was formally established in Amsterdam. Stabilisation was perhaps most necessary in West Germany, against the background of an ‘Iron Curtain’ dividing Europe into Western and Russian spheres of influence. This was the time when the reactionary preoccupation of the Catholic Church with the axis of evil in Soviet Russia, Mexico and Spain switched under the stimulus of the evil of the Axis to an endorsement of Christian Democracy. Christian Democracy was associated with the reconciliation of France and Germany, and with the moves of Adenauer, Monnet, Schuman and De Gasperi to set in train the economic and then the political unification of Europe, assisted by the USA. Both the western Europeans and the Americans saw the organisation of Christian Democratic parties, and the mobilisation of the Catholic vote, as part of the defence against ‘godless Communism’, in particular the fifth column represented by the large Communist parties in France and Italy. Given the division of Germany, Protestants no longer outnumbered Catholics, and the two confessions co-operated to recreate a genuine German democracy after the disasters of 1933–45. Protestants on the fringes of Europe, such as Scandinavia and Britain, were perhaps rather less actively enthusiastic about the European project. Not only had the Catholic Church moved towards the political centre, but it was also about to move from a stance of cultural contestation with the ‘modern’ world to selective accommodation. Though the closing years of the pontificate of Pius XII (for example, the definition of the Assumption as de fide) looked like a climactic affirmation of the ‘fortress Catholicism’ embraced at the First Vatican Council, the election of John XXIII had the surprising consequence of bringing about a Second Vatican Council, which looked like a climactic assertion of developments in Catholic social doctrine beginning with Leo XIII and Rerum Novarum in 1891. More flexible approaches in liturgy and ecumenical relations proved disorienting in some hitherto very loyal Catholic constituencies, such as Québecois and Dutch Catholicism, and the Catholic minorities of Britain and the USA, but most Catholics accepted the changes, which were consonant with shifts already in train in advanced sectors of French and Belgian Catholicism. French Catholics had inaugurated a ‘worker priest’ movement to counter serious de-christianisation in parts of France, above all the Paris region, and some German theologians were also pursuing new approaches in philosophy, while Catholic scholarship generally accepted a critical understanding of the Bible. On the French Catholic left, at Leuven in Belgium, in the USA, and particularly in Latin America, a new Catholic commitment to social change emerged, crystallised in liberation theology. Nevertheless, Catholics still leaned in a conservative direction, as was evident in European patterns of voting. Though the strength of the Catholic vote diminished over the period 1970–2000, particularly as the Communist threat receded, the conservative tilt of practising Catholics remained. One factor assisting Catholic disorientation in Western countries was the reaffirmation of ‘natural law’ positions with regard to sexuality and contraception, above all in Humanae Vitae (1968), even though that was evidently ignored, if the rapid decline in the Catholic birth rate is any guide. The crisis over sexuality, especially contraception and abortion, and (later) the role of women, and homosexuality, gave expression to the standoff between the Catholic and Orthodox churches, on the one hand, and

Eastern Europe

Christianity in Europe, 1910–2010

O

Religions in Europe 1910

Christians Agnostics Muslims Atheists Jews Buddhists Ethnoreligionists Hindus Sikhs Chinese folk New Religionists Spiritists Baha'is Jains Confucianists Zoroastrians Total population

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

5

Percent Christian

= 1% of population = All other religions

Christians in Europe Proportion of all Christians in Europe, 2010

2010 Adherents % 585,739,000 80.2 81,027,000 11.1 41,082,000 5.6 15,166,000 2.1 1,844,000 0.3 1,833,000 0.3 1,144,000 0.2 1,008,000 0.1 510,000 0.1 416,000 0.1 377,000 0.1 146,000 0.0 144,000 0.0 18,900 0.0 18,600 0.0 5,800 0.0 730,478,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 0.37 0.23 3.98 -1.30 1.42 0.62 4.33 -1.68 -1.72 -0.25 1.47 0.64 0.55 -0.44 10.13 1.47 11.45 2.31 11.22 1.89 2.76 0.66 2.66 0.71 6.70 0.72 7.84 1.62 7.82 0.61 6.57 0.72 0.54 0.03

Ru s

Key:

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Ita

Graph in the continent by country Christians in the region Graph

Proportion of a country’s Estonia Proportioninofthe a country’s Christians region Albania Colour Macedonia Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Bosnia-Herzegovina Colour Latvia

France

d Irelanway Nor vakiark c Sloenmad publi D inlan Re F ech n d Cz ede rlan Sw itze ria Sw ulga ia B erb S

Sp a

in

Denominations Total Average size 30 874,000 51 380,000 2,270 5,000 530 8,000 470 430,000 2,820 24,000

10

10

8

8

8

8

6

6

6

6

4

4

4

4

2

2

2

2

0

All All Christians Christians

All All Christians Christians

0 0 0 0.23 0.23 0.37 0.37 A C AI CM IO MP O P A C AI CM IO MP O P

1,000,000 1,000,000

10,000 10,000

800,000 800,000

Average congregation size

10

Congregations Total Average size 20,800 1,300 187,000 1,500 58,200 180 27,800 150 87,700 2,300 112,000 600

Church sizes, 2010 Average denomination size

10

Rate* 2000–2010

2010

Churches, 2010

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 -0.01 -0.04 0.38 0.07 4.93 1.76 3.67 1.08 0.59 0.35 0.05 -0.29

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

1910

e

% by tradition

in ra

Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

Adherents 1910 2010 26,384,000 26,219,000 189,056,000 275,820,000 87,200 10,703,000 115,000 4,212,000 111,391,000 201,197,000 64,557,000 67,703,000

d

Major Christian traditions in Europe, 1910 and 2010

n Pola

Note: Countries with too few Christians to display here are found in the regional pages.

Romania

Au Be stri la a Be rus lg Hu ium nga ry Port uga l Greec e Netherl ands

Slovenia Lithuania Maldova Croatia

Uk

aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in cent Christian in each country or region aPer country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian and of region Map Location Per cent Location and Per regions cent Locationsof ofregion the Christian Christian of region

8,000 8,000

600,000 600,000

6,000 6,000

400,000 400,000

4,000 4,000

200,000 200,000

2,000 2,000

0 0 A AC CI M I MO OP P

0 0 A AC CI M I MO OP P

Christians in Europe, 1910 and 2010 Europe Eastern Europe Northern Europe Southern Europe Western Europe

1910 Population Christians 427,154,000 403,687,000 178,184,000 159,695,000 61,474,000 60,326,000 76,940,000 74,532,000 110,556,000 109,134,000

% 94.5 89.6 98.1 96.9 98.7

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

156

1910 Adherents % 403,687,000 94.5 1,642,000 0.4 10,021,000 2.3 219,000 0.1 10,460,000 2.4 428,000 0.1 662,000 0.2 65 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 24,800 0.0 10,600 0.0 220 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 427,154,000 100.0

2010

Rate* 1910–2010

2

Religious affiliation and growth in Europe, 1910 and 2010

Br i tai n

Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010

Germany

ver the past 100 years Europe has become more diverse in its religious demographics. In 1910 nearly 95% of Europe’s population professed some form of Christianity; by 2010 this had fallen to 80%. The main gains were made by agnostics and atheists, who together make up more than 13% of Europe’s population (from 0.5% in 1910). The other great gains were made by Muslims, whose 10 million members in 1910 grew to more than 41 million by 2010, largely through immigration from Northern Africa and Western Asia. At the same time, Jews declined from 2.4% to 0.3% as a result of the Holocaust and emigration (including to the newly-created state of Israel). Surprisingly, though, the number of Jews is on the rise in Western Europe because of recent immigration of Eastern European Jews to Germany. It should be noted that the numbers of Hindus and Buddhists are on the rise in Europe as well. As Christianity’s share of the European population has been declining steadily, its composition also has been changing. First, although Catholics and Orthodox still make up over 75% of all Christians in Europe, Independents and Marginal Christians are the fastest-growing traditions, both over the century and in the current ten-year period. Second, immigration has impacted the Christian community; now some of the largest congregations in Europe are African churches. At the same time, traditional Roman Catholic parishes are finding more Latin Americans, Africans and Asians in their midst. In examining changes within European Christianity, one sees a consistent pattern. In continental Europe and in each of its four regions, Christianity is declining largely through defections (mainly to agnostics and atheists, the evidence of secularisation) and deaths, while it is increasing through births (those born into Christian families) and immigration. Emigration plays only a small role in Christianity’s decline, while conversions do little to invigorate Christianity. Thus the future of Christianity in Europe seems to be in the hands of immigrants, largely from the Global South. Also hidden from view when examining church membership is declining church attendance. The European Values Survey and other survey instruments have shown that although some countries such as Poland have significant church attendance, it is declining in most of Western Europe. This shows that even where church membership rates have been high, practice can be low. In this context, church renewal of various kinds will continue to be a priority. The Charismatic renewal movement, one of the most prevalent, is active in European Christianity. In 1910 there were only 26,000 renewalists on the continent; by 2010 they number over 31 million. (See Part II for more information on the Christian renewal movement.)

Population 730,478,000 290,755,000 98,352,000 152,913,000 188,457,000

2010 Christians 585,739,000 246,495,000 79,610,000 125,796,000 133,838,000

% Christian, 1910

% 80.2 E 84.8E1 80.9E2 82.3E3 71.0E4 E4 0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Europe, 2010

Northern Europe

Christian centre of gravity

1910

2010 !

!

Western Europe Eastern Europe

EUROPE

Southern Europe

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Province England Central Volga Southern Siberia Nordrhein-Westfalen Northwest Urals Bayern Baden-Württemberg

Country Britain Russia Russia Russia Russia Germany Russia Russia Germany Germany

Population 51,419,000 36,718,000 30,114,000 22,147,000 19,392,000 18,039,000 13,517,000 11,967,000 12,361,000 10,639,000

Christian 41,305,000 31,210,000 25,296,000 15,414,000 14,156,000 13,168,000 10,814,000 9,454,000 9,024,000 7,554,000

% 80.3 85.0 84.0 69.6 73.0 73.0 80.0 79.0 73.0 71.0

1910

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Europe Eastern Europe Northern Europe Southern Europe Western Europe

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 382,000 11,151,000 11,533,000 Europe -181,000 4,580,000 4,399,000 Eastern Europe 247,000 1,544,000 1,791,000 Northern Europe 423,800 2,263,200 2,687,000 Southern Europe -109,000 2,766,000 2,657,000 Western Europe

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

Immigrants

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

0.37 0.54E 0.44 0.49E1 0.28 0.47E2 0.52 0.69E3 0.20 0.53E4 ⇐

0%

⇒

100%

-2

0.23 0.29 0.28 0.43 -0.09 0%

2

4

6

8

0.03E -0.47 E1 0.42 E2 0.48 E3 0.27 E4 -2

0%

2

4

157

Christianity in Eastern Europe, 1910–2010

T

he story of Christianity in Eastern Europe during the twentieth century is inextricably bound up with the tumultuous political history of the region. The disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1918 had an irremediable impact on large parts of Eastern Europe. The two World Wars brought drastic changes to the situation of Christians and indeed all religious believers throughout the region. The Russian Revolution of 1917 ended the monarchy, which had upheld the faith of the Orthodox Church. In October of that year, power was seized by the Bolsheviks, who began to impose atheist ideology on the citizens. After some 70 years in power, however, the Soviet Communist Party collapsed, and in 1991 the USSR itself ceased to exist. Between 1989 and 1991, the Communist bloc broke up. Germany was reunited and the early twenty-first century saw a number of Eastern European countries being admitted to the European Union. The length of the tragic experience of Communist rule varied from 40–50 years in some countries to over 70 years in others. Atheistic persecutions also differed in scope and intensity, but every country and every religious community acquired martyrs and confessors during this period. The post-Communist period brought religious freedom and the revival of church life. This was welcomed by many as a miracle of Resurrection, as Easter. But practically everywhere, rebirth of religious life and restoration of human rights were found to entail numerous problems and challenges. It is not yet clear what role the churches will play in the post-Communist societies that are emerging. Will the churches prove able to undergo the renewal or aggiornamento needed if they are to engage effectively with contemporary realities? Will they succeed in overcoming the allurements of fundamentalism, triumphalism and clericalism?

Russian empire, USSR, new Russia On the one hand, Russian church life in the early twentieth century seemed quite promising. The Russian Orthodox Church was blossoming with many churches, seminaries, monasteries, priests, nuns and monks, with the famous Optina startzy and St John’s of Kronstadt, and with vivid ecumenical dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Anglican and Old Catholic churches. Academic theology was flourishing, and the intellectual impact of Christian witness was felt outside the walls of theological schools. Intellectuals, such as Pavel Florensky, were returning from agnosticism to Orthodoxy at this time. On the other hand, there must have been some reasons for the mass support of the atheist regime after 1917. World War I paved the way for social turbulence. The February Revolution made it possible for the Church to assemble an all-Russian council of bishops, clergy and laity in Moscow in August 1917. In October it elected Patriarch Tikhon and thereby reinstated the form of leadership that Peter I suspended after the death in 1700 of Patriarch Adrian. The need for reform ripened, and the Council proved creative and resourceful, but, unfortunately, the October revolution hindered full realisation of its programme. From October 1917, when the Bolsheviks seized power, until 1988, the year Russian Christianity celebrated its millennium, the Orthodox Church in the Soviet Union existed in a state of siege. Legislation of 1918 excluded the Church from any form of participation in the educational system and confiscated all Church property. The Church ceased to possess any rights. It was not a legal entity any longer. The Church was seen merely as a cultic association. Social work was forbidden, charity was labelled a bourgeois concept, and no catechisation was possible. Every word that a priest spoke in his sermons was carefully noted. The Church was regarded as a bulwark of reaction that had to be swept away. Twenty-eight bishops were murdered, thousands of clerics were imprisoned or killed,

and 12,000 laymen were reported to have been killed for religious activity in the course of 1918–20. Patriarch Tikhon was imprisoned. When he was released from detention in June 1923, he declared himself loyal to the new Soviet government. He died in 1925. The Church came under greater pressure during the 1920s in the absence of a Patriarch. In 1927 Metropolitan Sergii signed another declaration of loyalty to the regime, which went much further than the previous one. Persecutions became especially severe in 1929. Thousands of churches were destroyed or converted to other uses, such as warehouses. Monasteries were closed and often converted to prison camps, notably the Solovetz monastery, which became the Solovki camp. Many members of the clergy were imprisoned for anti-government activities. These victims are now recognised as the ‘New Martyrs’ by the Russian Orthodox Church. By 1939, there were only seven active bishops and between 200 and 300 churches still open.

The story of Christianity in Eastern Europe during the twentieth century is inextricably bound up with the tumultuous political history of the region. World War II changed the situation for the better. Stalin felt forced to open churches because the Germans were opening churches in the occupied territories. Besides, the move was expected to infuse the Russians with a patriotic spirit. So, after the War the Church appeared to have made a recovery. The second strong wave of repression, harassment and church closures took place between 1959 and 1964, under otherwise ‘liberal’ Nikita Khrushchev. By 1964, two-thirds of the parishes had been closed down or demolished. Five of the eight seminaries and 40 of the 58 monasteries were shut. Just at this time, in 1961, the Russian Orthodox Church and Orthodox churches from other countries of the Eastern Bloc joined the World Council of Churches. This step tends to be interpreted now as a Soviet political project designed by the KGB. But for the Russian Orthodox Church at the time, appearance in the world arena was the only way to survive, and the WCC provided a forum within which to continue the ecumenical experience which had begun in the late nineteenth century. A strategy of participating in the ecumenical movement was promoted by a prominent Church hierarch, Metropolitan Nicodim (1929–78). While atheist propaganda in the country was as aggressive as ever, two Orthodox academies and three seminaries kept functioning, and several graduates were allowed to go abroad to study at Catholic and Protestant universities in the West. Leaders such as Metropolitan Nicodim prepared the way for perestroika through developing international inter-church contacts. Another towering figure in this period was the archpriest Alexandr Men, described by Sergei Averintsev as a ‘missionary to the tribe of the intelligentsia’. Under circumstances of persecution, he led thousands of people to Christ and, after his murder in 1990, has continued to exercise great influence in Russia and beyond through his books. By 1980 the number of functioning Orthodox churches in the Soviet Union was less than 7,000. However, the celebration of the Millennium of Christianity in Russia in 1988 led to an increase in the numbers of new religious communities being registered. Worldwide celebrations of this milestone had a great effect in Russia, and the political impact of this should not be underestimated. As in most post-Communist countries, the recent tide of interest in religion cannot easily be assessed quantitatively. What can be mistaken for conversions may prove at a deeper level to be just replacement of an atheist 100

100

Area (sq. km): 18,803,000 Population, 2010: 290,755,000 Population density (per sq. km): 15 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 0.49 Life expectancy (years): 69 (male 64, female 75) Adult literacy (%): 99

Christians, 1910: 159,695,000 % Christian, 1910: 89.6 Christians, 2010: 246,495,000 % Christian, 2010: 84.8 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 0.44 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 0.29

% Christian 0

0

1910

1910

158

2010

2010

ideology with a confessional or ethno-confessional one. The most urgent missionary task now is to avoid this displacement of faith by ideology. Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova Much of what has been said about Russia applies also to the other Eastern European countries – the former Soviet republics – though each has peculiarities of its own. The current religious situation in Ukraine is especially dramatic. After the collapse of the USSR, Orthodoxy in the country split into three branches for national and political reasons: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kiev Patriarchate, and the so-called Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. The latter, like the Uniate Church, was reborn in 1990. The Uniate (or Greek Catholic) Church comprised 10% of the population, mostly in West Ukraine, but was extirpated at Stalin’s behest in 1946. Some accepted the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, while others went underground. Since, on the surface, Uniate worship does not differ from that of the Orthodox, drawing on the same Byzantine tradition, the task of confessional identification is not easy. Ukrainian efforts to attain autocephaly, which would unite all Orthodox believers in the country, have not been sufficiently supported by the Moscow Patriarchate. Were all the Ukraine Orthodox believers united, the number of parishes would exceed that of the Moscow Patriarchate in Russia. Today Protestant communities are growing in number, in some regions comprising half of all registered communities. The Roman Catholic tradition can also be found in Ukraine, mainly in the west of the country. It is only now, under the very young democracy, that healthy relationships between those in power and religious communities are taking shape. This involves the formation of a new vision of the nation, the development of a nationalism that is compatible with Christianity and free from xenophobia, and the establishment of principles and values for interaction with Russia and Europe. The situation in the former USSR territory of Belarus, which borders on Poland, is quite peculiar. The number of Christian communities in 2007 was practically the same as in 1917, despite the fact that the republic was designed by the Soviet authorities as a perfect example of atheism. Today, under a political regime that is far from being democratic, the religious and ecumenical situation is quite favourable, and relationships between the Orthodox and Catholic churches are the friendliest of all the former Soviet countries. Belarus’ Orthodox Church has autonomy as part of the Moscow Patriarchate. A southwestern neighbour of Ukraine is small Moldova. In 1940 Soviet troops occupied Bessarabia, which had belonged to Romania. The Soviet government joined most of Bessarabia to the territory of the then-existing Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic to form the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic. Romania regained Bessarabia in 1941, but lost it again to the USSR in 1944. When the USSR collapsed in 1991, the republic became the independent country of Moldova (also called Moldavia). The majority of the population are nominally Orthodox. In the new political situation there is a conflict between the Moscow and Bucharest Patriarchates caused by the establishment of a Romanian Metropolia, with three dioceses and 124 parishes in Moldova’s territory. It is an example of how the tragic consequences of the revolutions and wars of the twentieth century resulted in issues of canonical territory being largely politically determined. Within the European Union Romania is the country with the second-largest Orthodox Church after Russia (given the division in Ukraine). The majority of the population are Orthodox. The present Romanian Patriarchate was introduced in 1925, the autocephalous Romanian church having been established in Moldavia and Walachia in 1885. After World War II the Communist regime in Romania never formally separated the Church and the state, and it allowed the Church to keep two theological faculties, in Bucharest and in Sibiu, as well as six seminaries. Despite these advantages, the Church was tightly controlled by the state and was not freed from state control until the early 1990s. In 1999 Pope John Paul II visited Romania at the invitation of Patriarch Teoctist – the first extended

became active supporters of the 1956 Revolution. After the Revolution failed, many of them joined ‘free churches’ (including the Baptist, Methodist, and Seventh-day Adventist Churches), which functioned apart from the historic Protestant churches. Though a Catholic country by tradition, the Czech Republic is sometimes described as the most atheistic nation in Europe. There are also Eastern Orthodox congregations and various small Protestant groups, of which the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren is the most important. This denomination was organised in 1918 by uniting the Lutheran and Reformed churches in Bohemia and Moravia. It was a leader in the fields of theological education and social work. When the Communists gained control of the government in 1948, the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren tried to work with them, but the Church suffered severe repression under the government from 1969 until the fall of the Communist regime in 1989–90. Subsequently, other smaller Czech Protestant groups merged into this Church. A significant number of Czechs are members of the national Czech Church, which was founded in 1920 and took the name Czechoslovak Hussite Church in 1972. The collapse of Communism in 1989 meant restoration of religious freedom in Czechoslovakia, which had suffered greater persecution than any other Eastern Bloc country, with the exception of Albania. The Church, however, was ill-prepared for the new opportunities. As Tomas Halik has stated: After forty years of persecutions, the Church was in a markedly weak state when it faced the mountain of new tasks in the new society, and it was not able to establish its priorities and take advantage of its new possibilities. The believers and the sympathizers who expected key positions in the Church to be held by inspiring leaders were disappointed by a procession of tired bureaucrats who lacked the magnanimity, vision and creativity necessary to prepare the Church for the coming decade. A perfunctory patching-up of the institution of the Church began without any debate about the need to adapt to the changed conditions. Nor did the Church fully appreciate the role of the media in a free society, and soon – instead of a subject of inspiration or dialogue partner in the media – the Church became a curious object of marginal interest, occasional scandal, and, sometimes, a whipping boy. These words equally pertain to the other countries and other Churches of the region. Religion plays a major role in everyday life in Slovakia. Even under the Communist system, which explicitly opposed religious practice, the majority of Slovaks baptised their children and were married and buried in religious ceremonies. In the centre of every village in Slovakia there is a church. Whereas until 1918 it was considered eccentric to be atheist or agnostic in Bohemia, after 1918 it became common. The Communist coup in February 1948 led to the adoption of ‘scientific atheism’ as a part of the state ideology, and to vigorous religious persecution. The Orthodox and Uniate churches maintain active followings among the Ruthenians and Ukrainians of eastern Slovakia. The majority of Poles are Roman Catholic. The Roman Catholic Church exerts an important influence on many aspects of Polish life, and church attendance levels are high. Of 60 non-Catholic churches and other religious groups, the largest is the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church. It was established

in 1924, when Poland regained its independence after World War I. Throughout the early years of Communism, the Polish government tried to restrict the influence of the Church. Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński, the primate of Poland from 1948 to 1981, did his best to improve relationships between the Catholic Church and the Communist government. Opposition to Communism within Poland got new impetus in 1978, when Karol Cardinal Wojtyła was elected Pope John Paul II, the first non-Italian Pope since the sixteenth century. Within the Church resistance to the regime was most vividly exemplified by priest-martyr Jerzy Popiełuszko. In January 1998 Parliament ratified a Concordat with the Vatican, after five years of bitter disputes over whether the treaty simply secured the rights of the Catholic Church or blurred the line between Church and state. Eastern Europe and Christian mission today On several occasions Pope John Paul II referred to the Eastern and the Western Churches as ‘the two lungs of Europe’. This weighty utterance is a quotation from the prominent Russian poet Vyacheslav Ivanov, who emigrated from the country after the revolution of 1917. He was a representative of the Russian diaspora, which exercised significant influence in Germany, Britain and France. This diaspora did much to introduce the West to Russian culture and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. One of the most important centres of this diaspora was Paris, where Russian Orthodox believers established the St Sergius Orthodox Institute. While statistics suggest an exciting rise of interest in religion and the revival of church life in post-Communist Europe, problems are evident that have yet to be adequately explained. The most serious issue is that the power of the ever-intensifying processes of secularisation and globalisation tends to be underestimated. Other problems include lack of awareness of the principle of freedom of conscience in a number of countries, absence of religious tolerance and openness to pluralism, inattentiveness to the danger of clericalism, and failure to develop a system of religious education that could be accepted by society, overcoming both religious fundamentalism and liberal fundamentalism. Peculiar to some countries of the region are splits within Orthodoxy, strains between sister autocephalous churches, and failures to form healthy relationships between Orthodox and Greek Catholic (Uniate) churches. Even today, accusations of proselytism may be heard, often arising from lack of missiological perspective. Today, like 100 years ago and probably still more poignantly, there is an urgent need for inter-church cooperation for the sake of Christian mission. Yet few leaders show an awareness that it is not mission that serves the Church, but the Church that serves mission. The most promising strategy to overcome this deficiency seems to be renewal of religious and theological education, which should thus be treated as a special sacred service, as a liturgy before the Liturgy.

VLADIMIR FEDOROV Christians Associated for Relations with Eastern Europe, Religion in Eastern Europe (formerly Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe), 1981–2008. Kimmo K. Kääriäinen, Religion in Russia after the Collapse of Communism: Religious Renaissance or Secular State (Lewiston, NY : Edwin Mellen Press, 1998). Ina Merdjanova, Religion, Nationalism, and Civil Society in Eastern Europe - the Postcommunist Palimpsest (Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2002). Dimitry Pospielovsky, The Russian Church under the Soviet Regime 1917–1982, 2 vols (New York: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1984). Sabrina P. Ramet, Nihil Obstat: Religion, Politics, and Social Change in East-Central Europe and Russia (Durham, NC : Duke University Press, 1998).

Christianity in Eastern Europe by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Russia Ukraine Poland Romania Czech Republic Belarus Hungary Slovakia Bulgaria Moldova

Christians 65,757,000 29,904,000 22,102,000 11,235,000 8,002,000 7,081,000 6,820,000 3,825,000 3,499,000 1,469,000

Highest percentage 2010 Russia Ukraine Poland Romania Hungary Belarus Bulgaria Czech Republic Slovakia Moldova

Christians 115,120,000 37,991,000 36,523,000 20,883,000 8,687,000 7,020,000 6,269,000 5,824,000 4,609,000 3,568,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Belarus Moldova Ukraine Slovakia Czech Republic Romania Hungary Poland Russia Bulgaria

% Christian 99.3 99.1 97.2 97.1 96.9 94.4 93.5 90.9 83.4 81.9

Fastest growth 2010 Romania Poland Moldova Hungary Slovakia Ukraine Bulgaria Russia Belarus Czech Republic

% Christian 98.8 96.4 96.3 87.4 85.4 84.1 83.9 82.0 73.7 57.2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Moldova Romania Bulgaria Russia Poland Hungary Ukraine Slovakia Belarus Czech Republic

% p.a. 0.89 0.62 0.58 0.56 0.50 0.24 0.24 0.19 -0.01 -0.32

2000–2010 Russia Slovakia Belarus Poland Czech Republic Hungary Ukraine Romania Bulgaria Moldova

% p.a. 0.92 0.15 0.01 -0.12 -0.16 -0.20 -0.20 -0.40 -0.64 -0.96

159

EASTERN EUROPE

by an Orthodox Church leader to a Pope since the Churches split in 1054. But even under the Communist government, the Church was allowed to send some students for theological study at Western universities. Today, many of these students help to enhance the system of theological education and maintain a stronger ecumenical climate than in most other Orthodox countries. After the death of Patriarch Teoctist in 2007, Metropolitan Daniel Ciobotea, who has the benefit of a theological and ecumenical formation in the West, was elected Patriarch. Bulgaria was under Ottoman rule from the fourteenth century until the end of the nineteenth century. After 1878 a part of Bulgaria became an autonomous principality; another part, Eastern Rumelia, was made an autonomous Ottoman province. However, since the Orthodox Church had been declared autonomous by a decree of the Turkish sultan, its autonomy was not recognised by the Constantinople Patriarchate, which renounced it as schismatic. The Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1952 out of the political interests of the ruling Communist regime. This did not stop the Communists from abolishing religious education, confiscating Church property and persecuting the clergy. After the collapse of the Communist regime, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church could recover at last from its spiritual and institutional stagnation. However, the Church met the post-Communist challenges gravely weakened by the Communist legacy. In 1992 the Bulgarian Orthodox Church was divided into two, not without active interference from the state authorities, which registered and thus legitimated an alternative Holy Synod. The Church failed to address constructively the complex, disastrous and far-reaching consequences of its internal split. It was poorly placed to engage with the new experience of political, cultural and religious pluralism that marked the post-Communist era. Hungarians declaring religious affiliation are twothirds Roman Catholic. Most of the remaining third are Protestant (mainly Reformed). There are also small Greek Catholic and Orthodox communities. In 1945 the Roman Catholic Church lost its land in the first post-War land reform, which occurred even before the Communist takeover. Most Catholic religious orders (59 from a total of 63 groups) were dissolved in 1948, when religious schools were also taken over by the state. A number of clergy, most notably Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty, were imprisoned and persecuted for political resistance to the Communist regime. In 1964 the state concluded a major agreement with the Vatican, the first of its kind involving a Communist state. Relationships between the Church and the state became somewhat warmer after 1974, when the Vatican removed Mindszenty from his office. In 1971 Mindszenty received permission to leave the country after spending many years in the American embassy in Budapest, where he had fled to escape detention by the authorities. The new primate, Cardinal Laszlo Lekai, who held office from 1976 to 1986, encouraged a policy of ‘small steps’ through which he sought to reconcile differences between the Сhurch and the state and enhance relations between the two through ‘quiet, peaceful dialogue’. The Catholic Church of the 1980s had difficulty providing adequate services to all communities. Its clergy were aging and decreasing in number. After the Communist take-over, the historic Protestant churches became more thoroughly integrated into the new state system than did their Catholic counterparts. They were not a source of organised dissent. Some Protestant leaders praised the agreements as heralding a new era in which all religions would be treated equally. However, a number of Reformed clergy and laity

Christianity in Eastern Europe, 1910–2010

O

Religions in Eastern Europe Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

Christians Agnostics Muslims Atheists Ethnoreligionists Buddhists Jews Hindus Baha'is New Religionists Sikhs Spiritists Chinese folk Total population

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

5

Percent Christian

2010 Adherents % 246,495,000 84.8 20,357,000 7.0 17,417,000 6.0 4,244,000 1.5 987,000 0.3 604,000 0.2 536,000 0.2 51,000 0.0 23,500 0.0 14,800 0.0 11,100 0.0 7,600 0.0 7,300 0.0 290,755,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 0.44 0.29 4.29 -6.16 0.79 0.34 4.00 -5.86 0.40 -0.48 0.35 0.23 -2.79 -1.25 8.91 1.13 4.83 -1.12 0.87 0.00 7.26 0.09 6.86 0.27 6.82 0.42 0.49 -0.47

= 1% of population = All other religions

Christians in Eastern Europe Proportion of all Christians in Eastern Europe, 2010 Key:

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Graph Proportion a country’s Proportioninofthe a country’s Christians region Colour Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in cent Christian in each country or region aPer country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian and of region Map Location Per cent Location and Perregion cent Locationof ofregion the Christian Christian of region

Moldova Slovakia

c

publi

h Re

Czec

Ukr ain

e

aria

g Bul

us lar ng

ar y

Be

ania

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

2010 6,000

Catholic (C) 41,842,000 Independent (I) 0 Marginal (M) 64,900 Orthodox (O) 102,815,000 Protestant (P) 4,723,000

56,517,000 3,499,000 1,361,000 177,352,000 7,879,000

1910–2010 2000–2010 1.33 2.05 0.30 13.62 3.09 0.55 0.51

-0.14 1.42 2.44 0.38 0.46

1910

2010

10

10

10

10

8

8

8

8

6

6

6

6

4

4

4

4

2

2

2

2

0

13.62

13.62

Rate* 2000–2010

1910 1,600

Anglican (A)

% by tradition

Rate*

Rate* 1910–2010

Adherents

d

R om

n Pola

Major Christian traditions in Eastern Europe, 1910 & 2010

All All Christians Christians

All All Christians Christians

0 0 0 0.29 0.29 0.44 0.44 A C AI CM IO MP O P A C AI CM IO MP O P

The bar graphs above indicate the growth rates of all the Christian traditions for 1910–2010 and 2000–2010. There was enormous numerical growth of Independents during the twentieth century, possibly due to governmental religious restriction and a moving away from the Orthodox and Catholic churches. Marginals and Anglicans also grew, and their growth has continued during the past ten years. Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons have seen particular success in evangelising in Eastern Europe.

Christians in Eastern Europe, 1910 and 2010 Eastern Europe Belarus Bulgaria Czech Republic Hungary Moldova Poland Romania Russia Slovakia Ukraine

1910 Population Christians 178,184,000 159,695,000 7,130,000 7,081,000 4,273,000 3,499,000 8,259,000 8,002,000 7,291,000 6,820,000 1,482,000 1,469,000 24,324,000 22,102,000 11,902,000 11,235,000 78,807,000 65,757,000 3,939,000 3,825,000 30,777,000 29,904,000

% 89.6 99.3 81.9 96.9 93.5 99.1 90.9 94.4 83.4 97.1 97.2

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

160

1910 Adherents % 159,695,000 89.6 306,000 0.2 7,920,000 4.4 84,100 0.0 662,000 0.4 428,000 0.2 9,082,000 5.1 0 0.0 210 0.0 6,200 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 178,184,000 100.0

2010

Hu

2

Religious affiliation and growth in Eastern Europe, 1910 and 2010

Russia

ver the past 100 years Eastern Europe has experienced a series of profound changes in its religious demographics. Most of these changes are not reflected in the standard 100-year comparison because shortly after 1910 the region experienced the Communist revolution in Russia, which expanded throughout the region after World War II. Therefore, the religious demographics of 1910 were impacted by the decline of Christianity in particular under Communist rule. This continued until the collapse of Communism in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when agnostics and atheists began to come back into the churches. Nonetheless, in comparing the religious situation of Eastern Europe in 2010 with that of 1910, a few 100-year trends emerge. First, agnostics still represent 7% of the population in 2010. Second, Islam has grown from over 4% to 6% of the population. Third, Jews, who represented over 5% of the population in 1910, have declined, through the Holocaust and emigration to Israel, to only 0.2% in 2010. On the previous page, where the countries of the region are listed according to the growth rates for Christians in each one, only the top three have positive growth rates for 2000–10. While the others are negative, most of these are still ahead of current (negative) population growth rates. Despite the upheaval caused by Communist rule, however, three countries (Bulgaria, Poland and Romania) have higher percentages of Christians in 2010 than in 1910. Another latent but still powerful trend is the impact of defection on the dynamics of Christian growth. Although most churches have been making significant gains in recent years, defections (usually to agnostic status) continue, offsetting to some extent gains made by births and conversions. The Orthodox and Catholic churches continue to represent the vast majority of Christians in the region. Independent and Marginal churches have been the fastest–growing over the century, while Marginal and Anglican churches have shown the fastest recent growth. In many countries, a dominant Christian tradition often inhibits or even opposes the work of the others. For example, a series of laws (or proposed laws) in Russia have favoured the established Orthodox (and some Protestant) churches. In many Eastern European countries (such as Bulgaria) the Orthodox Church exerts much political influence, which leads to tensions or rifts between the different traditions and religious organisations. Many denominations face severe resistance to evangelism and outreach under such tensions. The Charismatic renewal movement is sweeping through all the Christian traditions, though in varying intensities. In Romania the Lord’s Army, which has close ties with the Evangelical Alliance, is a lay renewal movement within the Orthodox Church stressing Bible study, evangelical sermons and active mission.

Population 290,755,000 9,529,000 7,471,000 10,175,000 9,940,000 3,707,000 37,902,000 21,147,000 140,318,000 5,396,000 45,170,000

2010 Christians % 246,495,000 Region84.8 total 7,020,000 Belarus 73.7 6,269,000 Bulgaria 83.9 5,824,000 57.2 Czech Republic 8,687,000Hungary 87.4 3,568,000Moldova 96.3 36,523,000 Poland 96.4 20,883,000Romania 98.8 115,120,000 Russia 82.0 4,609,000 Slovakia 85.4 37,991,000 Ukraine 84.1

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Eastern Europe, 2010

Russia Christian centre of gravity

Belarus

Poland

!

2010

!

1910 Czech Republic

Slovakia

EASTERN EUROPE

Hungary

Romania Ukraine

Moldova

Bulgaria

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910

Province Central Volga Southern Siberia Northwest Urals Far Eastern Mazowieckie Slaskie Donetsk

Country Russia Russia Russia Russia Russia Russia Russia Poland Poland Ukraine

Population 36,718,000 30,114,000 22,147,000 19,392,000 13,517,000 11,967,000 6,463,000 4,983,000 4,739,000 4,493,000

Christian 31,210,000 25,296,000 15,414,000 14,156,000 10,814,000 9,454,000 5,299,000 4,749,000 4,573,000 3,684,000

% 85.0 84.0 69.6 73.0 80.0 79.0 82.0 95.3 96.5 82.0

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Eastern Europe Belarus Bulgaria Czech Republic Hungary Moldova Poland Romania Russia Slovakia Ukraine

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain -181,000 4,580,000 4,399,000 Eastern Europe 11,800 125,000 136,800 Belarus -43,500 136,200 92,700 Bulgaria -400 92,400 92,000 Czech Republic -12,900 176,000 163,100 Hungary -30,000 73,300 43,300 Moldova -49,000 634,000 585,000 Poland -86,000 430,000 344,000 Romania 122,000 2,084,000 2,206,000 Russia 9,100 78,000 87,100 Slovakia -102,500 751,500 649,000 Ukraine

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

Immigrants

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

total 0.44Region 0.49 -0.01 Belarus 0.29 0.58 Bulgaria 0.56 -0.32 0.21 Czech Republic 0.24 Hungary 0.31 0.89 Moldova 0.92 0.50 0.44 Poland 0.62 Romania 0.58 0.56 0.58 Russia 0.19 Slovakia 0.32 0.24 Ukraine 0.38 ⇐

0%

⇒

100%

-2

Region total 0.29 -0.47 0.01 Belarus -0.53 -0.64 Bulgaria -0.68 -0.16 -0.04 Czech Republic -0.20 Hungary -0.27 -0.96 Moldova -1.11 -0.12 -0.14 Poland -0.40 Romania -0.46 0.92 -0.49 Russia 0.15 Slovakia 0.02 -0.20 Ukraine -0.78 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

161

Christianity in Northern Europe, 1910–2010

T

his region of Europe, as the United Nations has identified it, consists essentially of three groups: the three Baltic states on the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea; Iceland and the four Scandinavian nations; and the four peoples of the British Isles.

Ancient beginnings All these peoples look back a long way to the time when they first became Christians. The English recall St Alban as their first martyr, a Roman soldier who, as a Christian, refused to worship the Emperor and was killed for it in about ad 200. The Irish honour their great apostle, St Patrick, who came from the Celtic churches in West Britain in the mid-400s, and Scotland, St Columba, who fled from Ireland and from whose monastery on Iona a far-flung movement of evangelisation was initiated. Christianity took hold among the different Scandinavian peoples, usually by action of their kings, between the tenth and twelfth centuries. Iceland treasures from the year 1000 the story of a ‘wise man’, faced with a clash between local religious leaders and Norse-speaking Christian missionaries, advising that they call together a representative body, the Althing (now honoured as the world’s oldest parliament) to decide which path the nation should choose. The representatives debated, but sent it back to the wise man to decide, and he chose for the Christians. Olav Haraldsson became King of Norway in 1016 with his capital in Trondheim, in whose cathedral, built round the royal saint’s tomb, the 2003 Assembly of the Conference of European Churches was welcomed with the words ‘We have been waiting a thousand years for you to come to worship here!’ Estonia and Latvia received Christian faith through German merchants and military monks in the thirteenth century. In Lithuania, King Mindaugas (1240–63) was baptised in 1251, but it was only with the Grand Duke Jogaila (1351–1434) that the official Christianisation of the country as a whole began in 1387, as he joined his small realm to the much bigger one of Poland, becoming King Władysław II. From these beginnings, all these peoples have long been accustomed to being considered, and in most cases to consider themselves, as ‘Christian nations’. There have of course been minorities, most importantly the Sami people who occupy the northern semi-circle of Scandinavia. Many of them are now Christian, but with a strong sense of their own distinct nationhood. There have been Jewish communities in England and elsewhere, all too often under cruel pressure. Also, in the early days some communities tried to stay within their earlier religious traditions, such as the Druids in Wales. But for many centuries the great majority of citizens of all these nations have understood themselves to be Christians. Developments and changes They have all, however, experienced many developments and changes, especially during and after the Reformation. That resulted in the national churches throughout the Nordic countries becoming Lutheran, as did both Latvia and Estonia under German rulers. In the British Isles King Henry VIII made the English (and Welsh) Church his own in a way that became what we now call Anglican, while John Knox and others transformed the Church of Scotland into a Calvinist/Presbyterian model. The years from 1910 to 2010 have seen probably more – and often more difficult – choices and changes than any earlier century. The two World Wars undoubtedly brought to most of our area a profound sense of doubt, uncertainty, and frustration, which only the rarest of prophetic leadership (in our area perhaps supremely from Archbishops Söderblom of Sweden and Temple of England, and Bishop Berggrav of Norway) succeeded in transforming into purposeful action. All too many individuals and families gave up any serious concern for their ‘official’ faith.

World War I, almost entirely fought by conflicting ‘Christian’ powers (Germany, Britain, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary), gave the Irish rebels of 1916 opportunity to start a wholly different war of independence, which led, after much tragic violence, to the acceptance of a divided Ireland, largely Catholic in the Republic but with a majority of Protestants in the Northern province staying firmly part of Britain. The Scandinavian nations all achieved their present borders in large part as a result of the two World Wars. These changes hardly affected the life and worship of their national churches, though they surely gave a strong, new thrust to the central sense of ethnic nationalism that has dominated all the larger churches of our region for centuries. During World War II the Baltic states were all seized by the USSR as a direct result of the treaty between Molotov and Ribbentrop in August 1939, then invaded by German forces in mid-1941, and finally retaken by the USSR in late 1944, to be kept under Soviet and Communist rule until the early 1990s. Thus, their majority churches have only recently been able to struggle with the long and painful inheritance of submission to a wholly unwelcome power.

The complex social forces and ideological assumptions of European peoples have led in virtually all the peoples of this continent to a severe falling-off in the outer expressions of church-going and of Christian belief. Hitler was, from early on, seen among the Western nations as an anti-Christian leader – though he had a dismaying success in appealing initially within Germany to a majority of ‘German (= obedient to Hitler) Christians’. Yet while many in the Allied nations sometimes spoke somewhat glibly about fighting in God’s cause, the Second World War as a whole was too damaging to the human race for any church or believer to feel in 1945 more than a profound relief that it was all at last over. The era of claiming earthly alliances and political causes as belonging to God was definitively over. Economic forces also have transformed life for many, if in different ways at different times. The 1929 collapse, caused by the ‘crash’ on Wall Street, shattered for most of the peoples of our region any assumption that they were ‘all right’ in the eyes of God, let alone their trust in the dominant power-holders. In contrast, later on, after the Allies, including Britain and Norway, had decisively won World War II, much of Europe set out on a long but soon accelerating path of economic reform and collaboration. This has been accepted as highly ‘successful’. Yet it is now precisely this ‘success’ of comfortable, supposedly class-less and continually growing expectations of the ‘consumerism’ of modern life that has radically undermined and virtually banished any easy sense of ‘needing religion’ for a worthwhile way of life. What has this meant for Christian faith? The overwhelming answer, at least in the press and most public discussion for at least some 20 years, has been ‘decline’. The complex social forces and ideological assumptions of European peoples have led in virtually all the peoples of this continent to a severe falling-off in the outer expressions of church-going and of Christian belief. Yet this has undoubtedly happened with no reasons being voiced for the millions of particular decisions involved. Sociology demonstrates that it has come about – with innumerable minor differences between the different nations, churches and persons involved – through at least four identifiable areas of causation: (1) individualism, leading to people deciding what to do with their own time 100

100

Area (sq. km): 1,812,000 Population, 2010: 98,352,000 Population density (per sq. km): 54 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 0.47 Life expectancy (years): 80 (male 77, female 82) Adult literacy (%): 100

Christians, 1910: 60,326,000 % Christian, 1910: 98.1 Christians, 2010: 79,610,000 % Christian, 2010: 80.9 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 0.28 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p,a.: 0.28

% Christian 0

0

1910

1910

162

2010

2010

and energies; (2) mobility, breaking up for most people the immediate communities of their family and upbringing; (3) an awareness of a range of sharp divisions between available ways of believing and of church-allegiance, encouraging people to think that it would be better simply to leave them all aside; and (4) above all – and most recently – the consumerism that has encouraged people to believe that the highest purposes of life can be achieved by earning and spending ever more and then yet more, so that any other ‘level’ of allegiance and hope is simply forgotten. Astonishing ‘advances’ among Christians In the face of the unmistakable, indeed gross, ‘decline’ that has preoccupied almost every single church in the Northern as well as other parts of Europe – by which, for instance, in the Scandinavian ‘folk’ churches it is still common for some 80% or more of babies to be baptised but less than two per cent of the population to be regular church-goers – it will seem preposterous to claim that the twentieth century has also seen significant advances for Christianity. Only time – maybe a rather long time – can reveal how true this hypothesis will turn out to be. Yet theologians writing from inside these still-lively churches will maintain that we have seen in Europe very significant developments, not yet always fully appreciated by fellow Christians in other continents, but which will one day be seen as valuable gains for all. Here are brief pointers to eight such areas. 1. Only in Denmark, at least among the larger churches, does any general sense of the national church and the nation-state belonging together in a single whole still ‘rule the roost’. In virtually all the nations of our region the century now past has seen a notable freeing-up of the earlier pattern of close integration between Christian allegiance and the national government. Exactly how this happened and the pattern(s) into which the population has moved have been different in each nation. In Sweden, for instance, the national church was finally ‘disestablished’ in the year 2000, though this has hardly been the single decisive step that it sounds like. In both Finland and Norway there have been, for generations now, strong lay-led movements within the national churches that have stood more than a little apart from the leadership, whether of rulers or bishops. In Britain, with a greater variety of free churches than most other countries, while the Church of England alone remains ‘established’ – the Anglican churches in Ireland, Scotland and Wales are all long since ‘disestablished’ – the extent to which it too reaches its own decisions is very large indeed. Even the choice of diocesan bishops in England, while still the ‘prerogative’ of the Sovereign, advised by the Prime Minister, is in fact prepared and at every stage of the process except the very last (the choice between two names put forward from within the Church) made by those entrusted with it by the Church. So there are very significant areas of ‘freedom’ in which state and church now reach their decisions by their own processes. These may look complex but are much more satisfying and ‘successful’ in gaining the respect of the people at large than the earlier ‘all-in-one’ approach. They are also, over all, seen as much more satisfactory than, say, the laïcité imposed by the French government at the end of the nineteenth century. 2. Within this greater freedom between church and state, many Christians in our region have in the twentieth century pioneered patterns of specific contributions and fresh witness in social action that have gone well beyond what had been the norms in earlier ages. Much in this field is more or less shared between all the western European nations, but Scandinavia and Britain have in their different ways contributed not a little to the total movement. Through local, national and ecumenical action, churches have both launched their own initiatives in social care and addressed their governments regarding governmental responsibilities. They have been involved in such issues as care for children and young people let down by their parents, helping offenders coming out of prison to discover new possibilities in

6. It is now very clear that the movement for greater understanding, cooperation and eventually union between the divided churches has taken greater strides during the twentieth century than could have been imagined at any earlier time. From the Edinburgh 1910 World Missionary Conference to the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s and to the 50th anniversary of the World Council of Churches in 1998, enormous progress has been made. Within our region, these positive strides have transformed earlier difficult relations between the previously divided churches. Among both Scottish Presbyterians and British Methodists, what had been sharply divided groups came together into newly re-united

their lives, and promoting fairer prices for goods originating in poorer countries. 3. Another field in which the Christians of our region have ‘progressed’ further than many others, though the USA has long been the pioneer in this field, is that of accepting that positions of leadership can be open to women. The ‘free churches’ were often the first to move on this – the Baptist Union in Britain formally accredited women as ministers in 1925. Among the ‘national churches’, it was the Church of Sweden that first opened up its ‘priesthood’ (to use the Anglican term) to women in 1960 and the rank of bishop at the turn of the century. The Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches are, of course, still totally unable even to consider such a change, but, aside from them, virtually all the churches of our region are now accepting the ministry of women and greatly appreciating it, indeed with their members often wondering why they had been so blind to its advantages for so long.

its hundreds of local inter-faith councils (even if they vary enormously in effectiveness), and still more its rightly praised national Inter-Faith Network, both immensely helped by secondary schools devoting considerable religious education time to encouraging students to learn the basics of two or three of the faiths, stand out as possibly the most effective set of appropriate instruments in this field anywhere in the world. Sweden, no doubt partly because of its reputation as a peace-loving society, also has a spread of groups representing many of the major world faiths, and has found a way of encouraging them also to work together with the native Swedish churches that is particularly promising.

Both the British and the Scandinavian churches have long devoted considerable resources, of personnel and of money, to share in the ever-widening movement of Christian missionaries into contact with new peoples and cultures in every part of the planet.

4. The twentieth century has seen huge advances in the understanding of the Bible that make it both more widely understandable for educated people and very much more trustworthy as the group of books that provide the basic insights, stories and understandings that convey to careful readers the truth and depth of a genuine faith in the living God, as experienced in Jesus of Nazareth. The critical approach, now over a century old, and which has passed through many fires of argument, objection and rethinking, has brought European Christians to a quite new (if we look back, say, 150 years) and persuasive approach that conveys to attentive readers a wholly different and more adequate awareness of what the Bible is and is for. This does, however, require people who will take the trouble to read and interpret it with the care it deserves. Let names from our area such as C. H. Dodd and Anders Nygren stand for thousands of other outstanding teachers.

churches between the Wars. More recently there have been major advances in relations between the Anglican churches in the British Isles and the Lutheran folk churches in Scandinavia, even if the Danish church remains apart. Still more, our region now sees increasingly friendly and active relationships between the Catholic and the Protestant churches, with, especially in Finland, equally friendly and cooperative relations between Lutherans and Orthodox. Even in Northern Ireland, after a bitter struggle, virtually a civil war, for nearly 30 years between extremist groupings in the Republican and Unionist communities, who would virtually all count themselves also as respectively Catholics and Protestants, there is at present a provincial government composed of senior leaders of both factions. Both Britain and Scandinavia have experienced and witnessed to considerable leadership in this field. The 1968 Uppsala Assembly of the World Council of Churches may stand out as one significant marker in the growth of this Council’s worldwide significance.

5. So also this century has seen the virtually total overcoming of the gap between ‘religion’ and ‘science’ that had pointed people since the later 1800s to the discrediting of ‘religion’ by a more or less atheist ‘science’. This is not the place to set out the arguments that have led to this result. But by the early twenty-first century it is commonplace that in the universities of our region there are more Christians in the scientific than in the literature or social science faculties. Writers such as John Polkinghorne and Arthur Peacocke deserve mention in this connection. It can fairly be said that there are still comparable debates now needing to be pursued about the relationships between Christian faith and technology or economics. In both of these areas, leading figures still often teach and glory in their ‘advances’ with apparently little concern for what they contribute to the basic meaning and purpose of human existence, let alone about relationships between those lucky enough to enjoy the successes of both disciplines and those still today condemned to live with no more than they have ‘enjoyed’ in earlier centuries.

7. So also the still-more-daunting target of understanding and cooperation between the different world faiths – Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh – has become very much nearer as a practical proposition in the past century, even if episodes like the Iraq war and the IsraelPalestinian situation show just how much work lies ahead before full peace can be achieved. Curiously enough, it would seem that both Britain and Sweden are proving to be pioneers in this field. Britain is unusually fortunate to have received immigrants from a large crosssection of countries around the world, so as to find itself dealing with a spread of people of virtually all the major world faiths rather than a concentration of no more than two or three. So

So those who believe that the man Jesus came to share his revelation of God’s purposes with the whole world can at last discover not only among their fellow-Christians, but also among their very different fellow-citizens, welcome partners for exploring the riches and promise of this endlessly wider sense of belonging and sharing. Precisely what this sharing will result in for Northern European societies is hardly yet clear. Perhaps only the end of the twenty-first century will reveal what the ‘results’ and ‘gains’ have been. But it is certainly a deeply encouraging, if at times difficult and demanding, sign of a ‘new’ world, not just for the decades ahead but for the ‘kingdom of God’ heralded by Jesus of Nazareth.

MARTIN CONWAY John Barton and John Muddiman (eds), Oxford Bible Commentary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001). Adrian Hastings, A History of English Christianity 1920–1985 (London: Collins, 1986). James P. Mackey and Enda McDonagh, Religion and Politics in Ireland at the Turn of the Millennium (Dublin: The Columba Press, 2003). Björn Ryman, Nordic Folk Churches – A Contemporary Church History (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2005). George Weigel, The Cube and the Cathedral: Europe, America, and Politics without God (New York: Basic Books, 2005).

Christians in Northern Europe by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Britain Sweden Ireland Finland Denmark Norway Lithuania Latvia Estonia Iceland

Christians 39,298,000 5,403,000 3,173,000 2,933,000 2,727,000 2,384,000 2,146,000 1,321,000 709,000 88,000

Highest percentage 2010 Britain Sweden Finland Denmark Norway Ireland Lithuania Latvia Estonia Iceland

Christians 49,325,000 6,101,000 4,778,000 4,686,000 4,370,000 4,310,000 2,979,000 1,567,000 956,000 295,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Finland Faeroe Islands Ireland Iceland Lithuania Denmark Latvia Norway Channel Islands Isle of Man

% Christian 100.0 100.0 99.9 99.9 99.7 99.6 99.5 99.4 99.0 99.0

Fastest growth 2010 Faeroe Islands Iceland Ireland Norway Finland Lithuania Denmark Channel Islands Isle of Man Britain

% Christian 98.0 95.6 95.2 91.4 89.8 89.3 85.6 84.3 83.8 80.2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Svalbard & Jan Mayen Iceland Faeroe Islands Norway Denmark Finland Isle of Man Channel Islands Lithuania Ireland

% p.a. 1.51 1.22 1.04 0.61 0.54 0.49 0.48 0.39 0.33 0.31

2000–2010 Ireland Svalbard & Jan Mayen Iceland Faeroe Islands Estonia Norway Britain Sweden Finland Isle of Man

% p.a. 1.65 1.35 0.86 0.71 0.50 0.36 0.24 0.24 0.11 0.11

163

NORTHERN EUROPE

8. That topic already foreshadows an eighth major advance in regard to the worldwide mission of the Christian Church. Both the British and the Scandinavian churches have long devoted considerable resources, of personnel and of money, to share in the ever-widening movement of Christian missionaries into contact with new peoples and cultures in every part of the planet. In the second half of the twentieth century, these parts of Northern Europe (as others elsewhere) have experienced the arrival into their lands of people from a great many other parts of the world, bringing with them their various languages, customs, cultures, outlooks, music, literatures and many other contributions. This large-scale immigration – one million into a population of nine million in Sweden – means that European Christians have the increasing challenge and possibility no longer to live out just the life and aspirations of the family and nation into which we have been born, but now those of the single humanity, worldwide and immensely diverse, that God has created in and for this planet as a whole.

Christianity in Northern Europe, 1910–2010

O

Religions in Northern Europe Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

Christians Agnostics Atheists Muslims Hindus Sikhs Jews Buddhists New Religionists Chinese folk Spiritists Baha'is Ethnoreligionists Jains Confucianists Zoroastrians Total population

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

5

Percent Christian

= 1% of population = All other religions

2010 Adherents % 79,610,000 80.9 11,915,000 12.1 2,392,000 2.4 2,377,000 2.4 664,000 0.7 422,000 0.4 322,000 0.3 282,000 0.3 98,700 0.1 80,200 0.1 77,400 0.1 52,500 0.1 30,900 0.0 18,000 0.0 6,000 0.0 4,800 0.0 98,352,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 0.28 0.28 2.69 0.98 4.86 0.42 8.69 1.73 11.74 1.56 11.24 2.77 0.14 -0.09 8.27 0.40 4.70 1.04 9.41 1.03 2.01 0.46 8.94 0.94 8.37 -2.07 7.78 1.64 6.61 0.34 6.37 0.65 0.47 0.42

B r it ain

Christians in Northern Europe Proportion of all Christians in Northern Europe, 2010 Comoros

Key:

British Indian Ocean

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s

Channel Islands Isle of Man Faeroe Islands Svalbard & Jan Mayen

Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Graph Proportion a country’s Proportioninofthe a country’s Christians region Colour Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in cent Christian in each country or region aPer country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian and of region Map Location Per cent Location and Perregion cent Locationof ofregion the Christian Christian of region

Iceland

Estonia Latvia

ia

uan

Lith

d

lan

Ire

rk Denma

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

Anglican (A)

1910 26,365,000

2010 26,099,000

Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

7,786,000 5,300 14,600 625,000 24,541,000

12,541,000 2,992,000 778,000 2,087,000 25,808,000

1910–2010 2000–2010 -0.01 -0.04 0.48 6.54 4.06 1.21 0.05

0.32 2.70 0.34 0.18 -0.17

1910

2010

10

10

10

10

8

8

8

8

6

6

6

6

4

4

4

4

2

2

2

2

0

Rate* 2000–2010

Rate*

Rate* 1910–2010

Adherents

en

ed Sw

Major Christian traditions in Northern Europe, 1910 & 2010 % by tradition

All All Christians Christians

All All Christians Christians

0 0 0 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 A C AI CM IO MP O P A C AI CM IO MP O P

Christians in Northern Europe, 1910 and 2010 Northern Europe Britain Channel Islands Denmark Estonia Faeroe Islands Finland Iceland Ireland Isle of Man Latvia Lithuania Norway Svalbard & Jan Mayen Sweden

Population 61,474,000 40,327,000 86,500 2,738,000 720,000 17,400 2,933,000 88,100 3,176,000 41,000 1,328,000 2,153,000 2,399,000 570 5,466,000

1910 Christians % 60,326,000 98.1 39,298,000 97.4 85,600 99.0 2,727,000 99.6 709,000 98.4 17,400 100.0 2,933,000 100.0 88,000 99.9 3,173,000 99.9 40,600 99.0 1,321,000 99.5 2,146,000 99.7 2,384,000 99.4 550 96.0 5,403,000 98.9

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

164

1910 Adherents % 60,326,000 98.1 835,000 1.4 20,800 0.0 570 0.0 10 0.0 0 0.0 279,000 0.5 100 0.0 1,000 0.0 0 0.0 10,600 0.0 10 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 61,474,000 100.0

2010

No rw ay

2

Religious affiliation and growth in Northern Europe, 1910 and 2010

Finland

ver the past 100 years Northern Europe has seen significant changes in its religious demographics. In comparing the religious situation in 2010 with that of 1910, a few trends can be observed. First, agnostics grew from just 1.4% of the population in 1910 to over 12% by 2010. Atheists grew by over 100 times in the same period and now represent 2.4% of the population; in some countries, such as Sweden, they are now 12% of the population. Second, Islam has grown from only 570 adherents in 1910 to almost 2.4 million by 2010; much of this increase is due to immigration over the past 20 years. One can see dramatic increases among Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists as well. Note that in every country in the region, over the 100-year period, Christian growth rates were lower than population growth rates. British Christians represent over 60% of all Christians in the region in 2010. Anglicans, Protestants and Roman Catholics make up the vast majority of the Christian churches in the region, though growth rates over the century have been highest among Independents and Marginal Christians, who are relatively small even in 2010. Britain is the only country in the world with a majority Anglican population and accounts for the vast majority of Anglicans in the region. The three Baltic countries – Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia – were dominated by the Soviet Union from the 1940s to 1990 and thus went through a long period of secularisation under Communist rule. All three were over 98% Christian in 1910 but dipped below 56% Christian by 1970, only to rebound by 2010 – to about 90% in Lithuania and 70% in Estonia and Latvia. All three also are sending and receiving missionaries, have Scriptures in their native languages and distribute Christian literature such as books and periodicals. Enclaves of atheism remain, however, partly as a reflection of the years of the Soviet regime. The Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland) are historically strong in the Lutheran tradition. Over the past 100 years these countries have not lost their Lutheran (and therefore Protestant) ties, though they have seen tremendous Christian decline. Sweden, where the change has been most dramatic, went from being 99% Christian in 1910 to only 66% in 2010. The sharp decline in Svalbard & Jan Mayen, Norwegian Arctic possessions, is due to the large number of agnostics among the Russian population there. One of the most significant trends impacting religion in the region over the past 100 years has been immigration. As previously stated, nonChristian religions are increasing as the result of immigration of Asians, Africans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. But many of these immigrants are Christians, often bringing a more dynamic form of the faith into a region with low church attendance. Some of the largest churches in the region are African churches. Immigration is likely to continue to bring new Christian expressions into the region long into the foreseeable future.

Population 98,352,000 61,517,000 150,000 5,473,000 1,321,000 49,900 5,323,000 308,000 4,526,000 78,500 2,243,000 3,336,000 4,781,000 4,100 9,242,000

2010 Christians % 79,610,000 Region80.9 total 49,325,000 Britain 80.2 126,000 84.3 Channel Islands 4,686,000Denmark 85.6 956,000 Estonia 72.4 48,900 98.0 Faeroe Islands 4,778,000 Finland 89.8 295,000 Iceland 95.6 4,310,000 Ireland 95.2 65,800 Isle of83.8 Man 1,567,000 Latvia 69.9 2,979,000Lithuania 89.3 4,370,000 Norway 91.4 Svalbard2,400 & Jan Mayen 59.8 6,101,000 Sweden 66.0

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Northern Europe, 2010

Svalbard & Jan Mayen

Iceland

Finland

Sweden Norway Faeroe Islands

Estonia Christian centre of gravity

Isle of Man

Denmark Latvia

2010

!

!

1910

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

NORTHERN EUROPE

Lithuania

Ireland

Britain

cent Christian

Channel Islands

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910

Province England Scotland Wales Leinster Southern Finland Western Finland Northern Ireland Munster Stockholm Västra Götaland

Country Britain Britain Britain Ireland Finland Finland Britain Ireland Sweden Sweden

Population 51,419,000 5,297,000 3,038,000 2,433,000 2,147,000 1,885,000 1,763,000 1,272,000 1,911,000 1,558,000

Christian 41,305,000 4,328,000 2,661,000 2,288,000 1,905,000 1,700,000 1,520,000 1,230,000 1,185,000 981,000

% 80.3 81.7 87.6 94.0 88.7 90.2 86.2 96.7 62.0 63.0

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Northern Europe Britain Channel Islands Denmark Estonia Faeroe Islands Finland Iceland Ireland Isle of Man Latvia Lithuania Norway Svalbard & Jan Mayen Sweden

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 247,000 1,544,000 1,791,000 Northern Europe 118,000 976,000 1,094,000 Britain -30 2,090 2,060 Channel Islands 5,300 99,500 104,800 Denmark 5,000 18,200 23,200 Estonia 320 690 1,010 Faeroe Islands 9,800 84,200 94,000 Finland 2,250 4,800 7,050 Iceland 71,000 58,000 129,000 Ireland -10 1,110 1,100 Isle of Man 600 30,100 30,700 Latvia -6,800 56,800 50,000 Lithuania 21,400 78,100 99,500 Norway 30 40 Svalbard & Jan70 Mayen 19,900 133,700 153,600 Sweden

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

Immigrants

total 0.28Region 0.47 Britain 0.23 0.42 Channel 0.55 Islands 0.39 0.54 Denmark 0.70 0.30 Estonia 0.61 1.04 Faeroe 1.06 Islands 0.49 Finland 0.60 1.22 Iceland 1.26 0.31 0.35 Ireland 0.48Isle 0.65 of Man 0.17 0.53 Latvia 0.33 Lithuania 0.44 0.61 Norway 0.69 1.51 Svalbard & Jan 1.99 Mayen 0.12 Sweden 0.53 ⇐

0%

⇒

100%

-2

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

Region0.42 total 0.28 0.24 Britain 0.44 Channel 0.00 Islands 0.22 0.04 Denmark 0.25 0.50 Estonia -0.36 0.71 0.73 Faeroe Islands 0.11 Finland 0.28 0.86 Iceland 0.92 1.65 Ireland 1.75 0.11Isle of0.25 Man -0.03 -0.59 Latvia -0.19Lithuania -0.49 0.36 Norway 0.64 1.35 1.10 Svalbard & Jan Mayen 0.24 Sweden 0.41 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

165

Christianity in Southern Europe, 1910–2010

A

ll the large countries in Southern Europe share a past of political instability, long periods of dictatorship, and episodes of warfare and violence. Their processes of modernisation have been often delayed and somewhat traumatic, at least when compared with their northern neighbours. From a religious perspective, Christianity persisted in quite a traditional way until the late 1960s; the churches had usually exercised great power, but sometimes they had been subjected to severe restrictions and even persecution, particularly at the hands of leftist governments. The traditional ‘organic’ presence of religion in these societies, well ingrained in several social systems – family, education, politics, security and culture – began to give way to more differentiated social forms, where religion plays a limited role – restricted to its ‘religious function’ – and attempts to relate to other social sectors in new ways. The process has often been uneasy, and even at present there is no solution in view, as these societies have not reached a settled arrangement in regard to the modern separation between State and Church. The experience of hostility from anti-clerical governments, resulting in pressures against religious faith, goes hand in hand with secularisation, which has made its mark on the entire region, particularly during the last 20 years. Secularisation, here as elsewhere, has been associated with economic development, political liberalisation, increase of educational levels, and an individualistic and consumption-oriented culture. As a result, Christianity has clearly contracted in demographic terms in the entire Mediterranean region, in some countries at a more accelerated pace than others. On the other hand, nationalism has played a major role in religious developments in the area, and the churches have usually been allies of nationalist ideologies and movements. Sometimes collusion between religion and politics seemed to go against the logic of political secularisation, normally the main trend in modern societies, leading to strict separation between both realms. In certain cases, religious differences marked political identity and defined the struggle for independence, particularly in the Balkans, where Catholics, Orthodox and Muslims struggled until recently to define national boundaries. In the whole Mediterranean area the churches – both Catholic and Orthodox – operated until very recently as monopolistic regimes. This explains the nationalistic developments, as well as the struggles for power and influence, and the limits affecting in a vicious way every sort of monopolistic management. Some analysts have argued that many weaknesses of today’s religious landscape are the result of a lack of real competition and freedom among ‘religious agencies’. Today Southern European states no longer require religious support for the purpose of nation-building or for the provision of social services, so Christianity faces a struggle to find its identity and role. The historical record in similar cases points to a contraction of the religious role, and a more specific orientation of the Church, focusing on religious activities and serving the needs of actively religious people. This process may be described as secularisation, and indeed it is happening in the wake of increasing church desertion and falling levels of religious practice in the whole region. There is a transition from a regime of ‘Christendom’ to that of an ‘open liberal society’ without religious self-definition. However, the new context should offer the opportunity to redesign the presence of the churches in modernised societies, which nevertheless experience a demand for organised religion. For the Catholic countries of Southern Europe, the most influential event of the twentieth century was the Second Vatican Council (1962–5). That Synod triggered a wave of renewal, great expectations and deep changes throughout the entire Catholic world. This dynamic was perhaps felt in a deeper way in very Catholic countries such as Italy, Spain, Portugal and

Croatia. The changes were seen in the liturgy, which was translated into vernacular languages; in theology, which became more liberal and more in touch with modern thought and sensibilities; and in customs, which became more relaxed and less controlled by old strictures. How to assess its influence is a matter of contention after more than 40 years. Many Catholics were disappointed that the principles of Vatican II were not applied more thoroughly and radically. However, more conservative sections of the Church were dismayed by the new developments and sought to reassert more traditional approaches. The end of the Council coincided with a great wave of secularisation in Catholic countries, a movement which the churches were unable to stop or direct. Despite its radicalism, Vatican II left the Catholic Church ill-prepared to cope with the coming religious decline. The Popes of the next decades, Paul VI and John Paul II, tried to tackle the new challenges with different strategies, the latter resorting to a more high-profile presence through the media and mobilising masses of believers for greater social impact.

There is a transition from a regime of ‘Christendom’ to that of an ‘open liberal society’ without religious self-definition. However, the new context should offer the opportunity to redesign the presence of the churches in modernised societies, which nevertheless experience a demand for organised religion. In order to better introduce the religious evolution of the last 100 years and the present state of affairs, it is convenient to divide the entire area into four blocs: the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, the Balkans, and Greece. The religious dynamics in this extended set of countries need to be considered with reference to their own historical and religious contexts. The eastern areas are mainly Orthodox, in contrast to the predominantly Catholic character of the other countries. The Iberian Peninsula The main countries forming this geographic unit are Spain and Portugal. They each have distinctive characteristics but share much common ground and have known similar developments during the last century. Both countries avoided direct involvement in the major wars of the time; both experienced revolutionary political developments, dictatorship and later peaceful democratic processes; and both share a traditional Catholic culture struggling at the present with deep secularising tendencies. The Spanish case is notable for the late advent of modernity and for prolonged antagonism between contesting social forces. The situation of Catholicism at the beginning of the twentieth century was a continuation of the struggles experienced during the second half of the nineteenth century: tough forms of ‘culture war’ between traditional Catholicism and liberal political and cultural forces; a pervasive territorial presence; large numbers of clergy, despite the hardships of almost half a century of suppression of religious orders; missionary strength; and a cultural and educational influence through a broad network of schools. Things went wrong for the Catholic Church after the establishment of the Second Republic in 1931 and subsequent attempts at revolution. Attacks on churches and monasteries had been isolated incidents during earlier times of crisis, but the 1930s saw an increasing amount of violence against Church institutions and persons. This culminated in open persecution and a wave of killings at the hands of Marxist and Anarchist parties, as violence escalated with the military coup of 1936 and the ensuing Civil War. More 100

100

Area (sq. km): 1,316,000 Population, 2010: 152,913,000 Population density (per sq. km): 116 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 0.69 Life expectancy (years): 80 (male 77, female 83) Adult literacy (%): 97

Christians, 1910: 74,532,000 % Christian, 1910: 96.9 Christians, 2010: 125,796,000 % Christian, 2010: 82.3 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 0.52 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 0.43

% Christian 0

0

1910

1910

166

2010

2010

than 6,000 clergy were killed as a result, together with many Catholic lay activists; churches were burned and destroyed, and Catholic practice was banned in a large part of the so-called ‘Republican territory’. After the Civil War, a new dictatorship took power in 1939. The Catholic Church was deemed a convenient ally, and this proved to be the start of almost 40 years of ‘organic’ collaboration and mutual support. The Church resumed its full activity and recovered the positions lost in the preceding convulsive years. A new missionary strength was evident, especially oriented to Latin American countries and former Spanish colonial areas. The educational and healthcare network of the Church was extended, and its influence was on an unprecedented scale. It was a time of religious revival in several areas, as religious practice and devotion increased, and new lay movements were founded, such as Opus Dei, Cursillos and Neocatecumenals, which became international movements. The system worked quite smoothly for the Church until the end of the 1960s. The Second Vatican Council prompted fresh consideration of the ‘organic approach’, and ever more clergy and intellectuals pressed for a different approach to politics, education and social issues. The unrest of some sectors with the regime and the resentment of many against the privileged status of the Church found expression at the end of the dictatorship in 1975 and the political transition to democracy. These emancipating forces, combined with an increasing secularising process, already underway in other European countries, downsized the religious realm. Such decline justified the opinions of those, such as José Casanova, who considered that revival had been superficial and forced by administrative coercion. Nevertheless, the Church authorities contributed in a decisive way to the political and cultural transition in the second half of the 1970s. The last decades of the century saw some political tensions due to the important role the Church still plays in such sectors as education and media, and to disagreements with some governing parties concerning ethical and social issues. The accelerated decline of religion in Spain should be understood in the light of the persistent secularising trends linked to a delayed process of modernisation, the lasting tensions between a Catholic pole and a secularist one, and the internal problems of a Church not entirely adapted to the new situation. Catholicism still struggles to find an identity and a fitting role in a changing society. The case of the Catholic Church in Portugal is similar; in some measure the events preceded what happened in Spain. After the relative calm of the monarchic era, it has gone through several upheavals since 1910. The revolution of that year established a republican regime, which resulted in the closing of monasteries and a general reaction against the Church. Following the French model, in 1911 the Portuguese government decreed the complete separation of Church and State. Political instability lasted until 1933, when a dictatorship was imposed. The new regime favoured the Church and overcame former restrictions. The pattern preceded the Spanish one: the dictatorship deemed the Catholic Church to be a force for social stability and national identity. In 1974 social, intellectual and military forces brought about the overthrow of the regime and established democracy. As in Spain, the course of political and cultural modernisation went hand in hand with rampant secularisation, even if the available figures show a greater religious resistance to decline compared with neighbouring areas. It is not easy to estimate the influence of the Fatima Marian apparitions of 1917; it seems that such events encouraged Catholics in a time of distress, and the raising of the shrine gave the region an international profile. Italy The Italian case presents different traits, related to the special role that the Catholic Church has played throughout its history and its own particular path to political and cultural modernity. Modern Catholicism in Italy began after the fall of the Pontifical State in 1870. The new Italian state adopted a rather secularist stance in order to balance the perceived excessive influence of the Church and of papal power, no longer politicaladministrative, but nevertheless still significant. There was some tension between Church and State, between

The Balkans The Balkans are Europe’s least stable region and, until very recently, suffered warfare and episodes of ethnic cleansing. From a religious point of view, this area comprises three different religious identities: a Catholic, with Croatia, Slovenia and part of Bosnia; an Orthodox, covering Serbia, Macedonia

and Montenegro; and a Muslim, spanning Albania, Kosovo and part of Bosnia. The area was more politically defined after World War I, when most of the region was gathered into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia resulting from the fusion of the kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro and several south Slavic entities (Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Vojvodina and part of Montenegro, formerly under Austro-Hungarian rule). World War II brought the invasion of the entire region by Germany, Italy and Bulgaria. This led to the constitution of a halfindependent Croatian state, and resulted in deep unrest in the area, with a long partisan struggle met with harsh repression. After the end of the War, dictatorial Communist regimes were established in a unified Yugoslavian state and in Albania, with episodes of religious restriction and persecution. The end of Communism in the late 1980s opened again the national question, and despite the attempt to keep a unified state, in the end centrifugal tendencies predominated, bringing division and violence. At present the boundaries and identities of the new emergent states and their relationships to each other are not yet completely clear. It is interesting to recall that, in the view of most analysts, the real lines dividing the region and eliciting violence are not ethnic or linguistic but religious, as the identities of the new countries are defined along religious lines. Beyond this common history, each national entity maintains particular traits worthy of separate treatment. Croatia had kept a Catholic identity inside the boundaries of the Austrian Empire, and persisted in such identity even in the hard times of World War II and the ensuing Communist regime. The Church suffered persecution and many restrictions at the hands of Communist rulers in the first years of the regime. Around 243 clergy were killed, and some central figures of the Episcopate were put on trial and condemned to long years of imprisonment. After the 1960s the repressive regime softened, and the Church gradually recovered some freedom, through diplomatic influence from the Vatican. The repressive stance nourished resistance and independent feelings in a population that professed Catholicism as a distinctive trait and resented every hint of Serbian dominance. Independence was achieved in 1990, and a democratic regime was established, but for some years the young state needed to struggle in warfare against Serbia, until a relative peace was attained. Croatian Catholicism, and in a similar way Slovenian, are still influenced by the recent nationalist struggles, but are slowly distancing themselves from that pattern and following the standard religious trends characteristic of Western Europe: secularisation and a distinction between religion and other social realms. It is worth noting the presence and influence of religious orders, and in a particular way the Franciscans, who represent a significant majority in some Catholic areas of Herzegovina. The Medjugorje apparitions of 1981 have led to the establishment of a shrine and an international movement of Marian devotion and pilgrimages, clearly in contrast with more modern tendencies inside the Catholic Church and despite the harsh political situation. The Orthodox Church has been the soul of the Serbian Kingdom and, later, the protagonist in some episodes of resistance during World War II and against Communist control. It suffered repression from the regime, and some bishops and priests were jailed in the first years of Communist rule. The situation improved in later decades, and the Church could grow, despite some problems of internal management. The Serbian Orthodox Church keeps a popular religious profile expressed in devotion to icons, pilgrim

shrines and processions, and is submitted to similar pressures as other churches, as the modernisation process goes on and the state tries to stabilise. Part of Bosnia, Albania and Kosovo keeps a consistent Muslim population, a legacy of Ottoman influence in the area. It has suffered the repression of Communist rule as well, and now it is difficult to state the intensity and social influence of Islam in the area. Some analysts point to the revival tendencies present in groups submitted to strong violent pressures for several years and looking for free expression of their faith. For this revival the population finds help in international Muslim organisations. Greece Since the beginning of the twentieth century the Greek Orthodox Church in Greece has been marked by the rise of a popular movement (Zoi) inspired by the preaching of the lay theologian Makrakis, and later of his disciple Evzevios. Both drove an enthusiastic wave of renewal and regeneration of traditional Orthodoxy; they founded fraternities and institutions beyond parish boundaries. The movement lost influence during the 1930s, but increased after the military putsch of 1967. Greece suffered the invasion of the German army in 1941, and the Church resisted this imposed presence. After the War, the Communists occupied part of the north, and, as a result, hundreds of churches were destroyed and the Christians endured persecution. The Church experienced many internal tensions and even divisions during the century, as it tried to exercise political influence. Since World War I the state has made moves to regularise the Church calendar, and to introduce canonical changes concerning the provision of dioceses. The interference of political rulers was again evident after the military coup of 1967, and elicited new confrontations that involved even Mount Athos monks. The need for reform was felt widely and found expression in renewed attention to the formation of clergy, the income of parishes and the promotion of missions. A parallel with the Catholic Church may be perceived in these moves for reform, happening at the very time of the Second Vatican Council. Popular devotion in Greece is concentrated on the Marian cult and takes a particular form in the shrine of the island of Tinos, a place of mass pilgrimage. After democratic normalisation and recognition of full religious freedom in 1975, the religious landscape became more pluralistic and subject to the usual secularising pressures. Mediterranean Europe is coping now with a crisis of unprecedented proportions. The struggles are not directed to defend national identities or to resist administrative restrictions or even persecution at the hands of hostile governments. Rather, their aims are to tackle a pervasive wave of secularisation; to transform the configuration of churches from national religious structures to specialised religious communities, more competitive and dynamic, able to serve the spiritual demands of a concerned minority of the population; and to move from forms of predominantly ‘popular religiosity’ to become more conscious and intense religious communities.

LLUÍS OVIEDO José Casanova, Public Religions in the Modern World (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994). Vincenzo Cesareo, Roberto Cipriano, Franco Garelli, Clemente Lanzetti and Giancarlo Rovati, La religiosità in Italia (Milan: Mondatori, 1995). Olegario González de Cardenal (ed.), La Iglesia en España 1950–2000 (Madrid: PPC, 1999). David Martin, On Secularization: Towards a Revised General Theory (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005). Vjekoslav Perica, Balkan Idols: Religion and Nationalism in Yugoslav States (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004).

Christians in Southern Europe by country, 1910 & 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Christians Italy 35,330,000 Spain 20,357,000 Portugal 5,918,000 Serbia 3,636,000 Greece 3,117,000 Croatia 2,877,000 Slovenia 1,042,000 Bosnia-Herzegovina 810,000 Macedonia 624,000 Albania 272,000

Highest percentage Christians Italy 47,502,000 Spain 40,871,000 Greece 10,419,000 Portugal 9,645,000 Serbia 6,329,000 Croatia 4,176,000 Slovenia 1,813,000 Bosnia-Herzegovina 1,552,000 Macedonia 1,314,000 Albania 1,001,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Slovenia San Marino Holy See Spain Portugal Malta Italy Andorra Serbia Gibraltar

% Christian 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 99.7 99.6 98.2 96.5

Fastest growth 2010 Holy See Malta Greece Andorra Croatia San Marino Spain Slovenia Portugal Gibraltar

% Christian 100.0 98.0 92.9 92.2 92.1 91.9 90.6 90.6 89.9 88.1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Andorra Albania Kosovo Greece San Marino Macedonia Spain Montenegro Bosnia-Herzegovina Malta

% p.a. 2.62 1.31 1.27 1.21 1.20 0.75 0.70 0.68 0.65 0.58

2000–2010 San Marino Albania Andorra Spain Gibraltar Kosovo Malta Bosnia-Herzegovina Macedonia Portugal

% p.a. 1.54 1.45 1.15 1.03 0.62 0.60 0.53 0.46 0.30 0.22

167

SOUTHERN EUROPE

Catholics and secularists, but usually it was less fierce than elsewhere. The Catholic Church could find a place in the new regime, and has found ways to accommodate new political and socio-cultural conditions, even fascism from 1922 to 1943 and then democracy after World War II. This flexibility has represented an advantage for the Italian Catholics, and may help to explain their relative strength in Italy, compared to other Western countries. Italian Catholicism, despite the so-called ‘Roman question’ (the struggle between the Vatican and the Italian state), placed its confidence in the new nation and collaborated without hesitation with the war effort in both World Wars. The alignment of the Catholic Church with the Christian Democratic party (in power from 1948 until 1993) gave institutional expression to a kind of ‘organic’ integration of Catholic faith and political power. Nevertheless, it is hard to discern the outcomes of that extended collaboration. Democratic freedoms, such as divorce, were introduced in the face of strong opposition from the Catholic Church. The Church was also in tension with other political and social forces. Indeed, the ‘collaborative model’ was marked by the rather competitive approach taken by Catholicism since the end of the Pontifical era, first against Liberal-Masonic regimes and movements, and then, after 1945, against Communist pressures. The Church managed to mobilise itself in order to keep its living space and social influence, very often in an open contest for Italian souls. In any case, what can be called ‘organic Catholicism’, well ingrained in a web of social organisations, could survive – and even modernise – to nourish the commitment of more generations. ‘Catholic Action’, founded in the 1920s, was an expression of this effort to push for an influential position for the Church in the social and cultural realms. This kind of movement has lost its force in view of the demise of socialism as a cultural and ideological competitor. Some scholars have identified signs of weakness in Italian Catholicism that reveal its secularising trends, even if the figures do not show a sharp decline in indicators of religious affiliation, as may be observed in northern European countries. The analysis applied to the Spanish Church is equally relevant here: the Italian Church confronts the challenge to assume a different role in a social structure no longer hierarchical and with much more open social systems. The Church can no longer pretend to play a directing role for the whole society but must now concentrate on offering religious nurture to a sector of the population seeking spiritual nourishment. Amidst an overwhelmingly dominant Roman Catholic presence, a Protestant minority bear witness, particularly through the Waldensian Church, which traces its origins to a reforming movement of the Middle Ages, though it now exhibits a similar character to the churches that emerged from the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. Throughout Southern Europe, Evangelical churches are everywhere a minority but promote an intense spirituality and vigorous missionary outreach. They have been strengthened by the recent migration of people into the region, a development that also has led to an increase of both Eastern Orthodox Christians and Muslims in Italy and Spain.

Christianity in Southern Europe, 1910–2010 Religions in Southern Europe Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

Religious affiliation and growth in Southern Europe, 1910 and 2010

2

Christians Agnostics Muslims Atheists Buddhists Chinese folk Jews Baha'is Sikhs Hindus New Religionists Ethnoreligionists Spiritists Total population

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

5

Percent Christian

2010 Adherents % 125,796,000 82.3 13,307,000 8.7 10,154,000 6.6 3,280,000 2.1 116,000 0.1 67,000 0.0 65,600 0.0 32,000 0.0 31,600 0.0 30,400 0.0 23,200 0.0 5,400 0.0 5,000 0.0 152,913,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 0.52 0.43 4.40 0.72 1.61 0.84 5.59 0.26 9.81 1.39 9.21 0.26 -0.92 0.25 8.41 1.17 8.39 0.45 6.52 0.47 3.10 0.53 6.49 0.19 6.41 1.06 0.69 0.48

= 1% of population = All other religions

SouthernEurope Christians in Southern Europe ly

Proportion of all Christians in Southern Europe, 2010 Key:

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s

Holy See Gibraltar San Marino Andorra Kosovo

Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Graph Proportion a country’s Proportioninofthe a country’s Christians region Colour Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in cent Christian in each country or region aPer country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian and of region Map Location Per cent Location and Perregion cent Locationof ofregion the Christian Christian of region

Malta Montenegro Albania Macedonia

. -Herz Bosnia nia e v Slo atia Cro

Spain

ia

rb

uga l

Se

Greece

Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

Rate*

1910 13,900

2010 31,900

66,068,000 0 860 7,793,000 282,000

113,809,000 1,345,000 893,000 19,562,000 848,000

1910–2010 2000–2010 0.83 -0.09 0.55 12.53 7.19 0.92 1.11

0.29 2.33 0.87 0.09 0.96

1910

2010

Rate* 1910–2010

Adherents

10

10

10

10

8

8

8

8

6

6

6

6

4

4

4

4

2

2

2

2

12.53

12.53

Rate* 2000–2010

Major Christian traditions in Southern Europe, 1910 & 2010 % by tradition

All All Christians Christians

All All Christians Christians

0.52 0.52 0.43 0.43 0 0 0 0 A C AI CM IO MP O P A C AI CM IO MP O P

Christians in Southern Europe, 1910 and 2010 Southern Europe Albania Andorra Bosnia-Herzegovina Croatia Gibraltar Greece Holy See Italy Kosovo Macedonia Malta Montenegro Portugal San Marino Serbia Slovenia Spain

Population 76,940,000 870,000 5,200 1,350,000 2,988,000 20,300 3,658,000 980 35,434,000 410,000 689,000 225,000 255,000 5,920,000 8,800 3,704,000 1,042,000 20,360,000

1910 Christians 74,532,000 272,000 5,180 810,000 2,877,000 19,600 3,117,000 980 35,330,000 50,500 624,000 225,000 240,000 5,918,000 8,800 3,636,000 1,042,000 20,357,000

% 96.9 31.3 99.6 60.0 96.3 96.5 85.2 100.0 99.7 12.3 90.6 100.0 93.9 100.0 100.0 98.2 100.0 100.0

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

168

1910 Adherents % 74,532,000 96.9 179,000 0.2 2,050,000 2.7 14,300 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 165,000 0.2 0 0.0 0 0.0 55 0.0 1,100 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 76,940,000 100.0

2010

I ta

ver the past 100 years Southern Europe has experienced important changes in its religious demographics. The region was almost entirely Christian in 1910, but this percentage has fallen steadily for 100 years. The gains have been made primarily by agnostics, who have risen from 0.2% of the population in 1910 to 8.7% by 2010. Atheists also have made significant gains in the same period, rising from only 14,000 to 3.3 million. Muslims were about 2.7% of the population in 1910 but rose to 6.6% by 2010. While most lived in Albania, BosniaHerzegovina and Kosovo in 1910, Muslims (many of them immigrants from Northern Africa) are now found in every country of Southern Europe. The Jewish population has shrunk by twothirds since 1910, primarily the result of the Holocaust and emigration. Roman Catholicism is the dominant form of Christianity in the region, but Orthodox Christians form an important minority. The fastest-growing traditions in this period were the Independent and Marginal Christians. The largest of these are the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Italy, Spain and Portugal, as well as various Independent Charismatic churches in Italy and Spain. Though Roman Catholicism continues to be the dominant Christian tradition, the Church’s influence on state affairs and public life is waning. The Church is currently in a crisis due to a lack of students in seminaries, revelations of sex scandals and an increase in the average ages of priests, monks, and nuns. It is likely that other Christian groups will continue to grow faster than Catholicism. The countries of the former Yugoslavia experienced some of the most profound changes over the century. In 1910 these countries were predominately Christian with significant Muslim minorities (except Kosovo, which was largely Muslim with a Christian minority). Under Communist rule both Serbia and Montenegro had significant minorities of atheists and agnostics (over 30% of their populations in 1970), but these percentages have declined sharply since 1990. Bosnia-Herzegovina is currently 55% Muslim, with Islam as the state-sanctioned religion; Kosovo is 90% Muslim, and Macedonia has a significant Muslim minority (30%). Christian influence and evangelism are declining as more people find national identity and pride in Islam. Albania is another country that experienced extreme changes in its religious demography. Under the 40-year totalitarian rule of Enver Hoxha (1944–85), all religions were suppressed and agnostics and atheists had grown from a handful in 1910 to 65% of the population by 1970. In 1967 Hoxha and the Communist Party declared Albania to be the first atheist state in history and tried to wipe out all Christians and Muslims. This unsuccessful campaign ended in 1990, and today the proportions of religionists have returned almost to their pre-1944 levels. Christian churches in Albania are growing, and this trend is likely to continue into the future.

Por t

O

Population 152,913,000 3,245,000 74,800 3,942,000 4,532,000 29,200 11,215,000 780 59,032,000 2,084,000 2,041,000 411,000 600,000 10,725,000 31,500 7,841,000 2,001,000 45,108,000

2010 Christians % 125,796,000 Region82.3 total 1,001,000 Albania 30.8 69,000 Andorra 92.2 1,552,000 39.4 Bosnia-Herzegovina 4,176,000 Croatia 92.1 25,700Gibraltar 88.1 10,419,000 Greece 92.9 780Holy 100.0 See 47,502,000 80.5 Italy 178,000 Kosovo 8.6 1,314,000 64.4 Macedonia 403,000 Malta 98.0 Montenegro 471,000 78.5 9,645,000Portugal 89.9 San Marino 28,900 91.9 6,329,000 Serbia 80.7 1,813,000 Slovenia 90.6 40,871,000 Spain 90.6

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Southern Europe, 2010

Slovenia

Croatia

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Serbia Andorra

San Marino

Christian centre of gravity 1910 !

Spain

2010

Kosovo Macedonia

Montenegro Holy See

!

Albania Italy

Greece Portugal

Malta Gibraltar

0

2

SOUTHERN EUROPE

ProvRelig_Christian Per

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910

Province Lombardia Andalucia Cataluña Madrid Campania Serbia Lazio Valencia Sicilia Veneto

Country Italy Spain Spain Spain Italy Serbia Italy Spain Italy Italy

Population 9,355,000 8,153,000 7,028,000 6,009,000 5,926,000 5,881,000 5,217,000 4,613,000 5,102,000 4,708,000

Christian 7,447,000 7,386,000 6,326,000 5,348,000 4,741,000 4,602,000 4,200,000 4,197,000 4,132,000 3,861,000

% 79.6 90.6 90.0 89.0 80.0 78.3 80.5 91.0 81.0 82.0

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Southern Europe Albania Andorra Bosnia-Herzegovina Croatia Gibraltar Greece Holy See Italy Kosovo Macedonia Malta Montenegro Portugal San Marino Serbia Slovenia Spain

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 423,800 2,263,200 2,687,000 Southern Europe 12,200 14,600 26,800 Albania 220 1,090 1,310 Andorra 3,900 21,800 25,700 Bosnia-Herzegovina 3,500 71,100 74,600 Croatia 20 700 720 Gibraltar 20,800 153,800 174,600 Greece 0 11 11See Holy 23,000 924,000 947,000Italy 220 3,300 3,520 Kosovo 2,400 22,200 24,600 Macedonia 1,530 6,000 7,530 Malta 1,100 8,800 9,900 Montenegro 30,600 178,500 209,100 Portugal 232 500 732 San Marino 23,200 117,600 140,800 Serbia 2,100 26,800 28,900 Slovenia 299,000 712,000 1,011,000Spain

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

Immigrants

total 0.52Region 0.69 1.31 Albania 1.33 2.62 Andorra 2.70 Bosnia-Herzegovina 0.65 1.08 0.37 Croatia 0.42 0.27 Gibraltar 0.36 1.21 1.13 Greece -0.23 Holy -0.23 See 0.30 0.51 Italy 1.27 Kosovo 1.64 0.75Macedonia 1.09 0.58 0.60 Malta 0.68 0.86 Montenegro 0.49 Portugal 0.60 1.20San Marino 1.28 0.56 0.75 Serbia 0.56 Slovenia 0.65 0.70 0.80 Spain ⇐

0%

⇒

100%

-2

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

Region0.48 total 0.43 1.45 Albania 0.52 1.15 Andorra 1.19 Bosnia-Herzegovina 0.46 0.40 0.21 Croatia 0.06 0.62 Gibraltar 0.65 0.20 Greece 0.22 -0.09 Holy -0.09 See 0.13 0.23 Italy 0.60 Kosovo 0.93 0.30Macedonia 0.16 0.53 0.55 Malta -0.33 -1.10 Montenegro 0.22 Portugal 0.48 1.54 1.57 San Marino -0.23 -0.48 Serbia 0.13 Slovenia 0.09 1.03 1.15 Spain 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

169

Christianity in Western Europe, 1910–2010

T

he ironies of history abound in twentieth-century Western European Christianity. Whereas a century ago Christianity had its main basis in the northern hemisphere, with Western Europe occupying a central position, the majority of Christians now live in the southern hemisphere, Western Europe being depicted as the secular champion of the world. Within a century the churches in Western European countries have been moved from a central position to the margins of society. Whereas in 1910 missionary zeal was prominent, at the beginning of the twentyfirst century immigrant churches with a membership from former mission areas feel called to evangelise Western Europe. Vocations were numerous then, but nowadays priests from elsewhere must be imported in Western European Catholic parishes to compensate for the shortage of pastoral staff. These ironies and paradoxes arise from the dynamics of a turbulent century. Though internal developments certainly determined the fate of the churches, what happened to Christianity in this part of the world is thoroughly linked to the fact that Western Europe was the principal theatre for the most significant process of recent world history: modernisation. This process fundamentally changed the course of history and remodelled society. It certainly had its gains but also came with downsides. A sobering metaphor to characterise the twentieth century is that of the sorcerer’s apprentice: the tricks are spectacular, but how about the consequences? Thus the century was marked by two devastating World Wars, fought with modern industrialised means. These Wars deeply influenced nationalist feelings in the countries involved. They also affected the churches and their theological views. In this essay modernisation, being the root cause of change, will be discussed first. Then the relation between modernisation and Christianity will be described. Special attention is subsequently given to the secularisation process. The final section refers to pluralism in Western European Christianity. Modernisation Modernisation can be defined as the process through which the results of scientific and technological innovation influence society. This fairly recent process, starting around 1800, is to a high degree of Western European origin. Considering that human history began a thousand centuries ago, the last two centuries have drastically changed human life, much more so than the earlier agricultural or urban revolutions did. Modernisation has, moreover, induced an accelerating rhythm of change. Our era is therefore unique. This is definitely not history repeating itself. Modernisation has generated a number of related processes that implement the radical influence of science and technology in society. The industrial Revolution, as the direct application of the results of science and technology, caused changes in a number of fields. The commerce of primary materials and of finished products was stimulated, which changed both natural resources and consumer habits. The importance of base material, labour force, energy sources and potential markets had political and ideological consequences, causing natural resources to be explored and exploited, nationalism to be celebrated, colonies to be claimed and wars to be fought. Labour migration became a necessity, causing urbanisation and bringing change to rural areas. The development of ever-more-rapid means of transport stimulated migration. Pressured by economic and political circumstances, rather than by their free will, many people were displaced. More recently, migration to Western Europe from elsewhere in the world, including former colonies, has changed the cultural, religious and demographic situation. Though the immigrants’ motives differ, all of them see their lives changed by modernisation. At the social level, the most striking process accompanying modernisation is individualisation.

In fact, individualisation and modernisation reinforce each other. Individualism paradoxically has become the dominant social form. The spectrum of choices widened in many sectors of life, such as in education, labour, housing and consumption, facilitating individual identity construction. Relations between people became marked by economic functionality instead of kinship or religion. The two-generation family became the basic kin unit. The individual became the focus of the political and economic system, as in voting, paying taxes, working and consuming. More recently, a range of lifestyles opened new avenues to express individualisation. Advertising instructs individuals of specific income classes how to develop identity by buying industrial products. In the lifestyle society, people are what they are able to choose. Globalisation is the most recent manifestation of modernisation. Once more the Western European countries are major players in the process, despite the fact that by globalisation’s very nature all countries in the world are included. Globalisation can be defined as the process by which the world is experienced as one single place. Again science and technology contribute to this process, creating the conditions under which the world can be felt to be one place. Globalisation also means a change in scale, moving the centre of gravity from the nation-state to supranational units such as the European Union. With accelerating modernisation, the sorcerer’s apprentice is increasingly facing the unmanageable consequences of his activities. The World Wars and the economic crisis of the 1930s were dramatic examples. Modern society is what Ulrich Beck has called a ‘risk society’. Four areas are characterised by problems of a global dimension. First, there are the differences in access to health and wealth, aggravated by a demographic explosion. Secondly, violence by both unauthorised groups and legitimate authorities is not efficiently controlled. The third problem is ecological risk, climate change being the main issue. And the final problem is how to live with cultural and religious differences, within societies but also on a global level. Western Europe is a stakeholder in all these areas. Christianity and modernisation Christianity has been both an agent and a victim of modernisation. Christianity contributed to modernisation’s emergence but was also subjected to its secularising and individualising tendencies. Perhaps Christianity gave birth to its own hangman. As an agent Christianity spread the message, taken from Judaism, that nature was not animated, and thus available to human beings. This made natural resources accessible, a necessary condition for the rise of modernisation. By focusing on the individual’s relationship with God, the Reformation brought an early impulse to growing individualism. In Max Weber’s thesis on the close link between Calvinism and emerging capitalism, a similar connection was emphasised. At a later stage, when missionary efforts established a global network, first of all in the colonies of the Western European states, Christianity played a role in education and health care, thus bringing the fruits of science and technology to other parts of the world. After decolonisation this continued through independent churches. Another dimension of these developments is that Christianity was increasingly facing erosion by modernisation. The impact of science and technology inspired strong criticism of the Christian worldview. The truth claims of the Christian faith were increasingly rejected on rational grounds, especially where belief in God, creation and miracles was concerned. Christianity was thought to be too pre-modern to be able to survive modernisation. The separation of church and state, as an expression of the rationalisation of politics, meant that Christianity lost influence in society. 100

100

Area (sq. km): 1,101,000 Population, 2010: 188,457,000 Population density (per sq. km): 171 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 0.53 Life expectancy (years): 81 (male 78, female 83) Adult literacy (%): 100

Christians, 1910: 109,134,000 % Christian, 1910: 98.7 Christians, 2010: 133,838,000 % Christian, 2010: 71.0 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 0.20 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: -0.09

% Christian 0

0

1910

1910

170

2010

2010

Moreover, the individualisation process affected the churches deeply. Together with kin groups, churches had for a long time exercised social and moral control. Increased mobility put an end to the control exercised by both kin and church, with migration creating an opportunity to become invisible to grandparents and clergy. The increasing freedom of choice that people were enjoying also meant that the option of ignoring the Church became thinkable. Improved communication and education brought knowledge of other religions to church members’ attention, offering an alternative. Eastern religions, especially, inspired new forms of religion. These and other worldviews, including atheist humanism, became important resources for the implementation of personal identity. Yet, churches sought to adapt to the modern situation. Thus, modern theology looked for answers to criticisms, John Robinson’s Honest to God (1963) being an outspoken example, causing much debate. Similarly, a ‘Death of God’ theology was developed. According to surveys, even secularised people continued to view the clergy as moral spokespersons. Churches felt challenged to formulate a view on issues such as war and peace, nationalism and ideologies, nuclear arms and energy, poverty, inter-religious dialogue, abortion, euthanasia or multicultural society. The Vatican, the World Council of Churches and other supranational church organisations nourished national debates. To a varying degree, the churches also played a role in making up for the shortcomings of the sorcerer’s apprentice. Missionary work came to include development work, working through southern-hemisphere churches and their non-governmental organisations. Many churches also addressed the problems of violence and peace, as well as those of the environment. With regard to the challenge of how to live with differences, dialogue has been sought with representatives of other world religions, now present in significant numbers due to immigration. The Kirchentage in Germany are an example of the church’s way of addressing these issues. Churches and secularisation For a number of decades since the 1960s, sociologists of religion have defended the secularisation thesis, suggesting that modernisation was going to put an end to religion, first of all in Western Europe, and then in the rest of the world. During these decades the Western European churches suffered heavy losses in attendance and membership, thereby seemingly confirming the thesis and obeying the predictions. Nowadays only a minority of scholars support the secularisation thesis. Most of its architects have distanced themselves from it. Though institutionalised religion, especially Christianity, is certainly on the wane in Western Europe, religion has not disappeared but taken different, more diffuse forms. Contrary to the predictions, the rest of the world did not follow the European example. Even the developments in the most modernised nation of the world, the USA, did not confirm the thesis. Instead of being marginalised, religion appears to have become more important, having made a comeback as a political factor. Thus Western Europe became the exception instead of the rule. Yet, even the label ‘exception’ is ambiguous, because much depends on the definition of ‘secularisation’ that is being used. Apart from a general definition, focused on the presumed disappearance of religion, the different meanings given to the term secularisation point to changes at different levels. At the macro level, secularisation was said to occur when religion was exiled to its own sector of society, for example, as a consequence of the separation of church and state. At the micro level secularisation was thought to refer to the privatisation of religion, having become something personal and individual. When secularisation becomes synonymous with de-churching, the societal and personal levels are connected. Grace Davie has aptly labelled the faith of a growing number of people, who construct their own privatised form of non-institutional and uncontrolled religiosity, ‘believing without belonging’. By now this category of believers forms the majority in most Western European countries, atheists having remained a relatively small minority. Religion has survived, in a much more individualised form, attending to the needs of modern people.

need for individualised experience without abandoning the concept of an external God. At the other end of the spectrum, a combination of liberal theology and aesthetic liturgical experiences is presented as an adaptation to changing times. Inevitably, influences from the new non-institutionalised religiosity, especially New Age, appear in jargon and praxis of the faithful that remain in the church, just as the divine within is gaining respectability among them. In this context even leadership itself has become problematic. Leaders can no longer operate within the framework of power relations that for ages underlined their authority. Their power is now undermined. The use of charisma, as Pope John Paul II demonstrated during his many travels, may add a dimension to modern church leadership. Under the current conditions, a promising perspective may open itself when it is understood that established powers often domesticated religious experiences instead of stimulating them. A disadvantage may thus turn into an asset when clergy are faced with the erosion of their power. They may realise that all religions start with an existential experience, which only afterwards, in the case of success, leads to an institution and a power structure. Innovation may then come from a return to this origin, as has been shown in church history, also and especially in Western Europe. Plurality The generalising picture given so far must be complemented by an emphasis on the ecclesiastical diversity in both time and space. The countries that together form the Western European region differ in a number of respects. First of all, since the Reformation there is the division between Catholics and Protestants, with either constituting the majority in a country (such as the Catholics in France and Austria) or the two having a comparatively equal presence (as in Germany). Ever since the polyphonic Reformation the Protestants have of course been pluralistic in their way of establishing churches as a solution to a theological conflict. Though not made explicit, such conflicts often had a social or cultural dimension as well. A second and opposite trend, starting in Edinburgh in 1910 but most present in the second half of the twentieth century, is ecumenism. Churches differ in attitude. This is reflected in the role of national councils of churches. Ecumenism regards not only the contacts between Catholics and Protestants, but also between the many Protestant denominations. It finds its extension in the dialogue between world religions. Thirdly and finally, the relation between church and state is variously defined in the countries under consideration here, reflecting the changes that the secularisation process has brought. Accordingly, the local understanding of the secular and religious domains may differ. The relation between church and state marks the degree to which churches operate in civil society, performing tasks in education and health care that in other countries are the privilege of the state. Though some form of distance between church and state is presupposed in all cases, there are striking differences. Despite being constitutionally separated, the German state and the state church have been since Bismarck connected by forms of close cooperation, a connection that became controversial during the World Wars. At the other end of the spectrum, France has the strictest separation of church and state, religion not being allowed to play a role in the educational institutions. Switzerland, with a large number of cantons, shows a corresponding variety of relationships between state and churches.

A special case is the Dutch way of ‘pillarising’ society, still in place but in a rather eroded form. It is an idiosyncratic way of positioning churches in the national society, dividing society into sub-societies on the basis of worldview. It resulted in a very active but also very divided civil society, including political parties, trade unions, educational institutions, hospitals, broadcasting organisations and even commercial firms. Muslim immigrants in the Netherlands have creatively used the remnants of that system. Whatever the relation between church and state, the history of the twentieth century has obliged the churches to adopt a position vis-à-vis the state powers that be, to maintain distance or to engage, to support them or to resist. Especially the two World Wars, showcases of what modernisation was able to produce as well as destroy, represented dramatic challenges to the churches. They became deeply divided, most visibly in Germany, when the Confessing Church spoke up against Hitler. Its proponents Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Karl Barth became icons of resistance against the Nazi regime. The World Wars not only called for reflection on the churches’ attitude and task, but also raised the fundamental question: ‘Where is God in these events?’ In that sense, the Wars, including the Somme and Shoah, were a secularising factor. Once peace was restored, churches felt challenged by the new opportunities. Besides, each country has its own historical contextualised ecclesiastical format, marking the churches’ status and influence. The Catholic Church occupies a special position because of the centralised Roman hierarchy, often in tension with national Catholic identities in Western Europe. The central position of the Pope is felt and evaluated at the local level. Depending on the degree of hierarchy, inner plurality and its control are important church policy issues. The increase in the number of options and freedom of choice stimulated the plurality of ecclesiastical forms and formats. In all countries secularisation became a major challenge that churches had to confront. Migration added a plethora of migrant churches to the Western European ecclesiastical map, often representing southern-hemisphere Christianity. In many cases these are the descendants of the converts that European mission societies made. In some urban neighbourhoods these new churches, mainly evangelical and Charismatic in modality, have become the local Christian majority, virtually substituting for the traditional Christian churches that lost most of their flock, even buying their abandoned church buildings. Immigration also meant that religious plurality came to include other world religions. After Judaism, already represented for centuries, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism have become part of the Western European religious landscape, putting an end to the Christian monopoly. The rise of an individualised idiosyncratic spirituality has contributed to religious plurality. The domain of spirituality is pluralistic by definition. The minority of humanists and atheists added to worldview diversity.

ANDRÉ DROOGERS Julio de Santa Ana (ed.), Religions Today: Their Challenge to the Ecumenical Movement (Geneva: World Council of Churches, 2005). Steve Bruce, God is Dead: Secularisation in the West (Oxford: Blackwell, 2001). Grace Davie, Religion in Modern Europe: A Memory Mutates (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000). Grace Davie, Europe: The Exceptional Case, Parameters of Faith in the Modern World (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 2002). Charles Taylor, A Secular Age (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2007).

Christians in Western Europe by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1910 Germany France Belgium Austria Netherlands Switzerland Luxembourg Monaco Liechtenstein

Christians 45,755,000 40,894,000 6,968,000 5,998,000 5,714,000 3,532,000 246,000 16,100 10,100

Highest percentage 2010 Germany France Netherlands Belgium Austria Switzerland Luxembourg Liechtenstein Monaco

Christians 58,123,000 42,990,000 10,653,000 8,636,000 6,708,000 6,230,000 437,000 32,400 28,500

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1910 Liechtenstein Luxembourg Switzerland France Belgium Monaco Germany Austria Netherlands

% Christian 99.8 99.4 99.4 99.3 99.0 98.8 98.6 97.1 96.5

Fastest growth 2010 Luxembourg Liechtenstein Monaco Switzerland Belgium Austria Germany France Netherlands

% Christian 90.6 89.5 86.2 82.3 82.1 79.5 70.6 68.8 64.6

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1910–2010 Liechtenstein Netherlands Luxembourg Monaco Switzerland Germany Belgium Austria France

% p.a. 1.17 0.62 0.58 0.57 0.57 0.24 0.21 0.11 0.05

2000–2010 Luxembourg Liechtenstein France Switzerland Monaco Austria Belgium Netherlands Germany

% p.a. 0.96 0.91 0.42 0.15 0.14 -0.05 -0.08 -0.30 -0.45

171

WESTERN EUROPE

Modernisation may even have contributed to a return of religion. The lifestyle society is not the source of joy and pleasure that it pretends to be. Not all are able to take part in it. The urge to be authentic is causing frustration, as if large sectors of the population are struggling with a permanent adolescence crisis. People are unable to manage all the roles they have to play or the corresponding welter of contextualised identities. Debates on moral liberty may lead to more uncertainty. Modern society is anomalous in that it takes the individual as the ultimate criterion and goal, yet does not create the conditions under which this normative being would flourish. The need for some form of religiosity therefore remains. The media provide new sources, such as talk shows and best-sellers, for these people. Yet the Christian repertoire is often still present in the life of those who believe without belonging. Christianity thus survives without and outside the church. The views and practices of many believers outside the institutions are often vague and flexible, only being made explicit in times of crisis. Some individuals develop a systematic worldview of their own, using short-term social activities such as a weekend in a convent or a course in a spiritual centre as resources. Most probably, believers who do not belong to an institution would not use the term ‘religion’ for their personal views on the ultimate human problems such as life and death, or good and evil. Recently the term ‘spirituality’ has become current, religion being the domain of the remaining churchgoers – presumably conservative, evangelical, Charismatic or fundamentalist. The 2001 attack on the Twin Towers in New York and its aftermath reinforced this image of religion, taking sectors of Islam as a model. The concept of spirituality fits the strong individualisation in Western European culture. Though the term has a long history in Christianity, especially with regard to the religious praxis of Catholic monastic orders, its narrowing to individualised experience matches the present context. Spirituality then may come to refer to the ultimate consequence of the individualisation process, that is, the cult of the divine within the person. God or the sacred is thought to have migrated from the institution without to the self within. Such spirituality obeys the modern command to develop an authentic and original lifestyle. In terms of secularisation, religion – after being exiled to the margin of society – is thus submitted to a second exile, this time to the individual’s inner world. It is, then, ironic that the usual atheist critique of religion and especially of the concept of God remains silent about this divinity within the person, as if religion has put an end to itself by withdrawing into the person. As the joke runs: ‘I used to be a staunch atheist, until I discovered that my self was God’. Ultimately, however, the self has to deal with the same problems that affected the divine outside and above the self, because the self is as difficult to understand and as non-empirical as the much-criticised divinity was. All these trends represent a fundamental challenge to the churches in Western European countries. They often find themselves in a precarious situation. A small flock has difficulty in maintaining the infrastructure of the church, including buildings and clergy. In all churches the leadership has to reformulate the church’s task in the current constellation, since many of the standard practices reflect a situation that no longer exists. The language of liturgy, hymnbook and sermon is often that of previous centuries, incomprehensible to modern persons. The four problems of the ‘risk society’ have come to weigh on the churches’ agenda. An evangelical and sometimes Charismatic revival appears to give a provisional answer to the modern

Christianity in Western Europe, 1910–2010 Religions in Western Europe Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

Religious affiliation and growth in Western Europe, 1910 and 2010

2

Christians Agnostics Muslims Atheists Jews Buddhists Hindus Chinese folk New Religionists Ethnoreligionists Spiritists Sikhs Baha'is Confucianists Zoroastrians Jains Total population

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

5

Percent Christian

SouthernEurope

= 1% of population = All other religions

Christians in Western Europe

2010 Adherents % 133,838,000 71.0 35,449,000 18.8 11,134,000 5.9 5,250,000 2.8 920,000 0.5 830,000 0.4 262,000 0.1 261,000 0.1 241,000 0.1 121,000 0.1 55,600 0.0 45,100 0.0 35,800 0.0 12,600 0.0 970 0.0 900 0.0 188,457,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 0.20 -0.09 4.81 1.44 5.53 0.63 4.05 1.11 -0.02 0.28 11.99 0.91 10.71 1.49 10.70 2.70 2.72 0.60 9.86 0.42 9.01 0.93 8.78 0.32 8.53 1.16 7.40 0.66 4.68 1.21 4.60 1.18 0.53 0.27

any

Proportion of all Christians in Western Europe, 2010 Key:

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Graph Proportion a country’s Proportioninofthe a country’s Christians region Colour Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in cent Christian in each country or region aPer country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian and of region Map Location Per cent Location and Perregion cent Locationof ofregion the Christian Christian of region

Monaco Liechtenstein Luxembourg

and

rl Switze

ria

st Au

Fra n

s Neth e

rland

lg

iu

m

ce

Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

Rate*

1910 3,200

2010 81,600

73,361,000 81,900 34,500 159,000 35,011,000

92,953,000 2,868,000 1,180,000 2,196,000 33,167,000

1910–2010 2000–2010 3.29 0.36 0.24 3.62 3.60 2.66 -0.05

-0.11 1.04 0.31 0.80 -0.57

1910

2010

Rate* 1910–2010

Adherents

10

10

10

10

8

8

8

8

6

6

6

6

4

4

4

4

2

2

2

2

0

Rate* 2000–2010

Major Christian traditions in Western Europe, 1910 & 2010 % by tradition

All All Christians Christians

All All Christians Christians

0 0 0 -0.09 -0.09 0.20 0.20 A C AI CM IO MP O P A C AI CM IO MP O P

Marginals, Independents and Anglicans have seen the greatest annual growth in Western Europe, over 3% p.a. each, during the past century. In Germany, the largest country in the region, 70.6% of the population are affiliated with Christian churches. Protestants and Catholics are by far the largest Christian traditions, but their influence is slowly waning. Over 95% of Protestants in Germany are members of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), formed after World War II with the object of creating a strong Protestant church out of the confused divisions resulting from the groupings and regroupings of the preceding 400 years. This hope has not been realised, and the EKD remains much more a federation of autonomous churches than a single church. In France, Catholics make up the resounding majority, followed by Independents and Protestants. The Assemblies of God have built up a strong following since their arrival in 1929 and, with their autonomous Roma counterpart, are now the largest Protestant denomination in France.

Christians in Western Europe, 1910 and 2010 Western Europe Austria Belgium France Germany Liechtenstein Luxembourg Monaco Netherlands Switzerland

1910 Population Christians 110,556,000 109,134,000 6,179,000 5,998,000 7,042,000 6,968,000 41,164,000 40,894,000 46,422,000 45,755,000 10,100 10,080 247,000 246,000 16,300 16,100 5,922,000 5,714,000 3,554,000 3,532,000

% 98.7 97.1 99.0 99.3 98.6 99.8 99.4 98.8 96.5 99.4

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

172

1910 Adherents % 109,134,000 98.7 322,000 0.3 51,000 0.0 99,300 0.1 934,000 0.8 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 16,500 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 110,556,000 100.0

2010

Germ

ver the past 100 years Western Europe has undergone an intense transformation in its religious demography. First, all nine countries in this region were over 96% Christian in 1910. Today, the three largest – Germany, France and the Netherlands – are 70%, 69% and 65% Christian respectively. This shift away from Christianity has largely meant the rise of agnostics and atheists. Agnostics were only 0.3% of the population in 1910 but had soared to nearly 19% by 2010. Atheists numbered fewer than 100,000 in 1910 but are over five million strong today. Together agnostics and atheists soon will number 22% of the population of Western Europe. Even more unexpected has been the rise of Islam, with only 51,000 adherents in Western Europe in 1910 skyrocketing to more than 11 million by 2010. These are nearly all immigrants, especially Turkish guest workers in Germany and Northern Africans in France and the Netherlands. These countries have taken different approaches to the immigrants, with none entirely successful in integrating Muslims into European life and culture. France has an 8.4% Muslim population and continually wrestles with ethnic and regional issues; governmental authorities struggle with much tension and crime among and against the Muslim community. Note that other non-Christian religions have been steadily increasing in the region through immigration as well. Finally, Jews have maintained a significant presence in the region, despite the Holocaust and emigration. One surprising trend has been the large number of Jews moving back into Germany since reunification. Secularisation is drastically affecting every country in Europe, particularly Western Europe as well. Even as immigration is steadily bringing non-Christians into Western Europe, it is also bringing an increasing number of Christians from Africa, Asia and Latin America. These Christians, generally more dynamic and enthusiastic than their European hosts, lead some of the largest congregations in major centres such as Berlin, Paris and Amsterdam. Renewalist movements are engaging all Christian traditions – often bringing believers into a more vibrant faith. Meanwhile, virtually all the large Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations that dominated Christianity in the region over the twentieth century have been losing members, which looks likely to continue throughout the next century. More people are being added to the churches by being born into Christian families than by conversions to the faith. Churches in the other traditions, however – along with Renewalist churches in the dominant traditions – have seen significant growth. Some of the larger of these are the Assemblies of God and Jehovah’s Witnesses in France and Pentecostal and independent Charismatic churches in most of the countries in the region.

Be

O

Population 188,457,000 8,442,000 10,522,000 62,507,000 82,365,000 36,200 483,000 33,000 16,502,000 7,567,000

2010 Christians % 133,838,000 Region71.0 total 6,708,000 Austria 79.5 8,636,000 Belgium 82.1 42,990,000 France 68.8 58,123,000Germany 70.6 32,400 89.5 Liechtenstein 437,000 90.6 Luxembourg 28,500 Monaco 86.2 10,653,000 64.6 Netherlands 6,230,000 82.3 Switzerland

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Western Europe, 2010

Netherlands

Germany

Christian centre of gravity

Belgium

Luxembourg

2010

! !

1910

Austria France

Liechtenstein Switzerland

WESTERN EUROPE

Monaco

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910

Province Nordrhein-Westfalen Bayern Baden-Württemberg Île de France Niedersachsen Flanders Hessen Rhône-Alpes Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Sachsen

Country Germany Germany Germany France Germany Belgium Germany France France Germany

Population 18,039,000 12,361,000 10,639,000 11,698,000 7,963,000 6,096,000 6,079,000 6,030,000 4,813,000 4,340,000

Christian 13,168,000 9,024,000 7,554,000 7,259,000 5,734,000 5,072,000 4,377,000 4,167,000 3,326,000 3,073,000

% 73.0 73.0 71.0 62.0 72.0 83.2 72.0 69.1 69.1 70.8

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Western Europe Austria Belgium France Germany Liechtenstein Luxembourg Monaco Netherlands Switzerland

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain -109,000 2,766,000 2,657,000 Western Europe -3,100 123,600 120,500 Austria -5,400 172,900 167,500 Belgium 156,000 892,000 1,048,000 France -248,000 1,275,000 1,027,000 Germany 250 480 730 Liechtenstein 4,600 6,700 11,300 Luxembourg 60 450 510 Monaco -25,000 188,500 163,500 Netherlands 11,800 106,000 117,800 Switzerland

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

Immigrants

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

total 0.20Region 0.53 Austria 0.11 0.31 0.21 Belgium 0.40 0.05 0.42 France 0.24 Germany 0.58 1.17 1.28 Liechtenstein 0.58 0.67 Luxembourg 0.57 Monaco 0.71 0.62Netherlands 1.03 0.57Switzerland 0.76 ⇐

0%

⇒

100%

-2

Region0.27 total -0.09 -0.05 Austria 0.40 -0.08 Belgium 0.32 0.42 France 0.55 -0.45 Germany 0.01 0.91 0.97 Liechtenstein 0.96 1.01 Luxembourg 0.14 Monaco 0.31 -0.30 0.36 Netherlands 0.15 0.41 Switzerland 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

173

Christianity in Latin America, 1910–2010

T

he common history of the Latin American countries is the legacy of a shared cultural framework put in place through Roman Catholicism over the past 500 years. Though significant diversity can be identified, it is all part of a unified whole, held together by a ‘catholic’ culture that has been a stabilising and integrating force. The independence movements and the growing influence of liberalism in Latin America created opportunities for Protestant merchants and missionaries to trade their wares and introduce their beliefs. Small beachheads were planted in the Catholic nations through immigration, the steady forays of the Bible Societies and some initial mission efforts. Until the twentieth century, however, Catholicism remained predominant and Protestant numbers were very low. Contrary to the approach taken by the Edinburgh 1910 World Missionary Conference, Northern American Protestants, including the new Pentecostal movements, took the view that Latin America was superficially evangelised and therefore a genuine mission field. As the USA began to exert political and economic influence, more than 40 missionary societies started to work in Latin America. Before 1950 evangelical churches grew slowly. From 1950 to 1990, however, the Pentecostal movement experienced phenomenal spontaneous growth and gradually became established as the major expression of non-Catholic Christianity on the continent. Also fast-growing are believers who do not belong to any church and are Católicos a mi manera (Catholic on my own). The rise and fall of Catholicism To restore the Church’s influence in Latin America, in 1899 Pope Leo XIII called the Latin American bishops to Rome for the first Latin American Plenary Council, which defined pastoral strategies to restore Catholic influence in society and Latin American culture. The first strategy was reinforcing Episcopal relations with the Pope. The second was creating seminaries to prepare priests. The third strategy was reorganising religious orders and female and male congregations. The fourth constituted calling on lay men and women to carry out apostolic activities through social Catholic Action. The fifth and final strategy was to restore good relationships with the civil authorities. As the Catholic Church implemented these strategies, it was forced to play the game of liberal democracies and prepare its own mass organisations to confront first liberal and later socialist political parties and social organisations. Until 1968 Catholic organisations throughout the world, including Latin America, operated under the guidelines established by the First Vatican Council (1869–70). The aim was to place all the activities of the Church under the control of the bishops and the bishops, in turn, under the control of the Pope and the Roman Curia. At the local and national levels, however, in both the political and religious spheres, other developments were occurring. In every nation, political parties with various ideological platforms and programmes arose, first socialist and anarchist and, later, Communist. In 1891 Pope Leo XIII issued the encyclical Rerum Novarum, which called for Catholics to be concerned about social conditions and the need to change them. Religious orders, congregations and lay organisations responded to this challenge and organised Catholic social engagement, hospitals, schools, universities, a press and other media. Under Pius XI (1922–39) and Pius XII (1939–59), through Catholic Action organisations, lay Catholic men and women became an important element in the pastoral work of the Church. Another important aim of Catholic Action was to assist the poor by establishing various types of urban and rural social organisations such as savings institutions, cooperatives, agricultural unions and working-class circles. Through these confessional organisations, members acquired skills of self-assertion and organisation that prepared them for democratic participation at the political level. Women’s religious orders were especially prominent in this movement.

After World War II, the Catholic Church gained recognition but also confronted new difficulties. The lack of priests and the low standard of professional training of nuns were among the most important problems the Church had to address. In response to the lack of priests in Latin America, some bishops proposed that nuns take charge of parishes. In 1952 Pope Pius XII recommended the training of sisters in secular and theological knowledge. Consequently, nuns went to universities where they developed their education in secular knowledge alongside the priests, and in many cases were sent to Europe to earn doctoral degrees. Catholic Action itself underwent important changes in the post-War period and adopted Specialized Catholic Action, which was organised according to different social milieus. Catholics workers, starting in Belgium, developed a new way to link daily life with the religious realm. They organised themselves into small ecclesial communities according to their place of work. They put aside the traditional scholastic method to introduce an inductive methodology that began by choosing one crucial event in their daily life or workplace. They examined that event in all its components, analysing the social, economic, political and cultural aspects in historical context. Then they judged the event by confronting it with Bible readings and the social teaching of the Church. Finally, they decide to act according to the circumstances. Thus Catholics worldwide became totally immersed in social, cultural and political life. In Latin America, Catholic Youth Action used an epistemological approach drawn from social science, including Marxism, to understand and analyse the societies in which they lived. This method provided the foundation for the development of Liberation Theology. Some nuns and priests took up the new intellectual, political and theological perspectives developed by the Catholic Action student and worker movements. This methodology was later used by the sisters as part of their own spiritual routine as well as by the Ecclesial Base Communities. Consequently, some became aware of ecumenical perspectives and welcomed the biblical and the liturgical movements of the late 1950s. They were totally open to the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, beginning to use their own languages and cultures to worship God. This transformed their pastoral work and allowed them to address social and human realities more openly and clearly. In this new environment, many believers, including priests and nuns, were critical of the role of the Church in society and particularly of its strong relationship with the State that did not change the social reality from its roots. Church leaders were aware that the Church was engaged in work that was not the core of its mission, but continued supporting such work because of the prestige, power and access to the population it gave them. On the other hand, they knew that the State was unable to overcome the prevailing social situation and develop a strong governmental welfare system. They sought to develop an ecclesial agenda and pastoral work in line with the proposals of Vatican II. Apostolic congregational members started living in small communities among lay people in poor urban neighbourhoods and rural areas. Lay people from Catholic Action and other lay organisations, sometimes supported by priests and religious women, organised active groups to denounce social injustice, violence and all kind of marginalisation. At the same time, they promoted a new reading of the Bible and the social teaching of the Church. They published numerous small bulletins and magazines to present their new religious and sociopolitical approach. Often they left their comfortable upper-class neighbourhoods to live among peasants, indigenous people or the poor and marginalised in the big cities. First they promoted social organisation to obtain clean water, electric power, schools and hospitals. Confronted with unpleasant realities, they began to see political action as the only way to transform social reality and fulfil their Christian duty. Some of them, including 100

100

Area (sq. km): 20,571,000 Population, 2010: 593,696,000 Population density (per sq. km): 29 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.05 Life expectancy (years): 75 (male 71, female 78) Adult literacy (%): 90

Christians, 1910: 74,477,000 % Christian 1910: 95.2 Christians, 2010: 548,958,000 % Christian 2010: 92.5 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.02 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.27

% Christian 0

0

1910

1910

174

2010

2010

priests, supported revolutionary political parties that adopted an armed struggle, but the majority supported democratic parties with a socialist agenda. The Latin American hierarchy of the Catholic Church led a unique process in the 1960s, adapting and preparing Latin America for the reception of the Second Vatican Council. The Conference of Latin American Bishops, gathered in Medellín in 1968, embodied the thought of the Council on Latin American realities. They denounced unjust institutional violence as the cause of violence and wars in Latin American societies. They proclaimed that peace came only through justice. In Puebla in 1979 they defined care of the poorest as the Church’s main concern. They were echoing lay communities and religious women and priests who were developing Ecclesial Base Communities, which in turn were providing the foundation for the development of Liberation Theology. This strengthened the movement towards egalitarian, participative or communitarian approaches, which had strong repercussions in Latin American politics. When John Paul II became Pope in 1978, he initiated a counter-reformation within the Church, proposing a new evangelisation and changing some aspects of the approach taken by the Second Vatican Council. This had profound implications for the Church in Latin America, where in 1972 Bishop Alfonso Lopez Trujillo had been elected General Secretary of the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM). Lopez Trujillo represented the most conservative tendency in the Latin American Church. From CELAM he tried to control Catholic organisations, such as the Catholic Action movement and religious congregations, and he targeted Liberation Theology. He worked hard to discard the theological and social teachings proposed by the bishops at Medellín and to impose a new discourse at the meeting in Puebla in 1979. However, he was stopped by many bishops inside the meeting and theologians who participated outside the meeting as unofficial advisers. The Vatican, however, opposed Liberation Theology and slowed the development of Catholic Action movements, while it protected other ecclesiastical movements, such as Opus Dei and Communion e Liberation, which were ready to follow the Pope’s authority without criticism. It particularly favored spiritualist groups such as the Charismatic movement. At the same time, Latin American societies were living under the terror of the national security regimes of the 1970s and 1980s. Catholic Action, Ecclesial Base Communities, female and male religious congregations, and priests and bishops who actively followed the Second Vatican Council and the results of the bishops’ conferences of Medellín and Puebla as well as the proposals of Liberation Theology were strongly repressed by methods that included prison, torture, exile and death. Nonetheless, during the dictatorships of the 1970s and 1980s Catholic Church members played an important role in encouraging democratisation, developing human rights movements, organising social movements that would be the base of new political parties such as the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Brazil), and preparing new leaders such as Lula da Silva, who became the President of Brazil in 2003. The internal dispute between traditionalists and religious progressives continued through the next decades. As a consequence of this dispute, there was a relative decrease in the number of vocations, and many lay individuals also interrupted their active participation in the Church. This period coincided with the end of the generation of bishops who participated in the Second Vatican Council. The Vatican took advantage of this situation and decided to nominate members of the more conservative currents as new bishops, such as members of Opus Dei and Caballeros de Cristo. When these new conservative replacements arrived at the dioceses, their first acts were to get rid of the staff who worked for the former bishops. Many religious women who with enormous generosity had left their rich convents in the 1970s and 1980s to live in the impoverished areas and attend to pastoral work now found themselves without any material support. Protestant development and Pentecostal growth While Catholics were deeply involved in their internal disputes, Pentecostals began to grow as never before. One important characteristic of this new form of Christianity is the capacity to create new and adaptive forms of religion, which often have melded effectively with Latin American cultures. This found expression

parties, followed by Pentecostals. These new political players claimed and obtained the same privileges that national constitutions granted the Catholic Church, through new agreements between the State and the different churches and congregations. These kinds of agreements restrain the secularisation process. Furthermore, a close study of the political practices of these new Protestant leaders shows that they are just as authoritarian, ‘clientelistic’ and ‘patrimonialist’ as the political leaders in traditional political parties. In general, after obtaining their objectives, they disappear or split into new political parties and have the characteristic of being family-owned. In several cases, nepotism is not excluded; the families of the founderpastors monopolise the direction and control of the party. Unfortunately another characteristic is their intolerance. This intolerance is nourished by historical controversies with Catholics and by the authoritarian and corporatist culture of Latin America’s political and religious life. Most Pentecostal church organisations are hierarchical, and decisions are made by the head of the church as in traditional Catholicism. And very often they have refused to participate in ecumenical organisations, or even to join other Protestant and Pentecostal churches in common projects. After the year 2000, Christians of all types became prominent in political life. For example, in Brazil more than 50 Protestants were elected to the national legislature in 2000, supporting the Partido dos Trabalhadores’ Catholic candidate, Lula da Silva. In regard to issues of human rights, Protestant churches are not unified. Several Pentecostal groups supported the authoritarian, right-wing dictatorships in Chile, Guatemala and Peru. Protestants and Pentecostals also take various positions in response to the Colombian conflict and its humanitarian crises. While historical Protestants are members of human rights ecumenical organisations, the great majority of Pentecostal groups are fundamentalists who believe that secular authority comes from God, and that therefore there is no room for criticism of the State. This leaves no opportunity for compromise or even dialogue with the guerrillas and the opposition. Native Latin American Pentecostal churches In the 1990s the so-called neo-liberal model of modernisation of the economy was developed. Unemployment was alarmingly high. Violence reached unimaginable levels, with the growth of drug-trafficking organised gangs. Basic needs such as education, health, housing, work, land and participation often remained unfulfilled. As a result of the globalisation process, more people than ever before were excluded from the productive economy. Labour no longer enabled immigrants from rural areas to become assimilated in their new situations. Some professionals and entrepreneurs sought their employees among Pentecostals because they tended to be more conservative than Catholics. However, in the 1990s growth began to level off, as many second- and third-generation Christians, mostly young people, became disaffected with the churches. The mid-1980s and particularly the 1990s ushered in the third period of Latin American Pentecostal expansion, characterised by the Latino Americanisation of Pentecostalism. Neo-Pentecostal or native Latino American Churches developed in several Latin American countries. The Brazilian Universal Church of the Reign of God (Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus), founded in 1977, has over 2,000 Brazilian temples, 221 located outside of the country, and more than three million followers. This Church owns one of the most popular television networks in Brazil, various radio programmes and stations, newspapers, a small banking institution and a print shop. They have begun to

buy many of the same media outlets in Portugal. The use of mass media outlets and expansion all over the world is one of their distinctive features. The Church of God Ministry of Jesus Christ International was founded by Luis Moreno and his wife Maria Luisa Piraquive in 1972, in Bogotá, Colombia. Since 1994, after Moreno’s death, the Church has been led by Piraquive. Under her direction the Church has become a strong transnational organisation with more than 500 congregations in several Latin American countries, the USA, Europe and Japan. Colombian members of the Church usually start and develop new congregations, but they are open and gain adherents from among other nationalities. They have formed a minority independent political party, Movimiento Independiente de Renovación Absoluta (Independent Movement for Absolute Renovation), which began in 2000. Its president is Alexandra Piraquive (daughter of Maria Luisa Piraquive), who is also one of their two senate representatives. They have some 53 representatives in the municipal councils of Colombia. Leadership by women is well-established in this church and is strongly oriented to political action. Future direction During the twentieth century, Latin American Christianity changed not only through the expansion of Pentecostal churches but through the internal transformation of Catholicism. Accepting modern values, such as religious freedom, human rights and democratic values, opened space for (1) diverse forms of religious expressions even within Catholicism; (2) gradual separation of Church and State; and (3) plurality among religious groups, which granted them constitutional recognition within the legal systems of the Latin American states. Furthermore, due to external factors, Christianity transformed itself by recognising multi-culturality and the multi-ethnic origin of the diverse Latin American states, thus allowing the revival and emergence of traditional indigenous AfroLatin American and Caribbean religions. This, in turn, strengthened popular Catholicism and Pentecostalism of local origins. The development and political orientation of sectors linked to Liberation Theology occasioned strong internal controversies in both Catholicism and Protestantism. At the same time, Christians suffered political persecution, including torture, prison, exile and death. All these factors resulted in a loss of trust in institutional structures and provoked a secularisation process manifested in an increased number of Christians without institutional membership (‘Catholics in my own way’), as demonstrated in the 2000 censuses of countries such as Brazil and Chile. Meanwhile, the moderate Catholics and some historical Protestant churches have sought to play a role as mediators in the internal conflicts of countries like Peru, Guatemala and Colombia, aiding social reconstruction and supporting the victims and the vulnerable. In the future Latin American Christianity will still exert considerable social, political and cultural influence, but it will be characterised by a plurality of trends and organisational systems.

ANA MARíA BIDEGAIN Enrique Dussel (ed.), The Church in Latin America, 1492–1992 (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1992). Paul Freston, Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Latin America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008). Ondina E. González and Justo L. González, Christianity in Latin America: A History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007). David Martin, Tongues of Fire: The Explosion of Protestantism in Latin America (Oxford: Blackwell, 1991). Lee M. Penyak and Walter J. Petry, Religion in Latin America: A Documentary History (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2006).

Christians in Latin America by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Brazil Mexico Argentina Peru Colombia Chile Venezuela Cuba Guatemala Haiti

Christians 21,576,000 15,561,000 5,474,000 4,128,000 3,875,000 3,307,000 2,656,000 2,276,000 1,911,000 1,747,000

Highest percentage 2010 Brazil Mexico Colombia Argentina Peru Venezuela Chile Guatemala Ecuador Dominican Rep

Christians 180,932,000 105,583,000 45,949,000 37,429,000 27,866,000 27,443,000 15,010,000 13,993,000 13,364,000 9,672,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 % Christian Barbados 100.0 Saint Kitts & Nevis 100.0 Netherlands Antilles 100.0 Antigua 100.0 Dominica 100.0 Virgin Is of the US 100.0 Aruba 100.0 Montserrat 100.0 British Virgin Is 100.0 Turks & Caicos Is 100.0

Fastest growth 2010 El Salvador Guatemala Ecuador Costa Rica Puerto Rico Honduras Grenada Martinique Peru Nicaragua

% Christian 97.4 97.3 97.0 96.8 96.6 96.6 96.6 96.5 96.4 96.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Dominican Rep Colombia Panama Costa Rica Honduras Venezuela Nicaragua French Guiana Paraguay Brazil

% p.a. 2.55 2.50 2.50 2.46 2.46 2.36 2.27 2.23 2.21 2.15

2000–2010 Turks & Caicos Is French Guiana Guatemala Belize Cayman Islands Honduras Paraguay Bolivia Montserrat Venezuela

% p.a. 3.27 2.76 2.49 2.27 1.98 1.96 1.88 1.86 1.86 1.75

175

LATIN AMERICA

in Latin America in the 1980s, when the Charismatic movement, with its emphasis on the experience of the Holy Spirit, entered the Catholic Church. The Latin American brand of Pentecostalism is very different from that of Northern America, which grew out of a European-influenced Protestantism. While Pentecostal churches vary in their approach to such matters as baptism, church authority, organisation and governance, they have in common an emphasis on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Pentecostals emphasise experience of the numinous as opposed to formal theological education. This creates a more flexible interpretive approach to the Bible and allows those with limited literacy and low social status to find spiritual equality and leadership opportunities, which over time may have an impact on political culture. Latin American mega-cities developed in the 1960s and 1970s as an effect of the capitalist agrarian transformation, political violence and wars, and the dispersion of rural families. Urban Pentecostal churches usually flourish in poor and marginalised areas where people are overwhelmed by unemployment, poor housing and lack of food and devastated by the effects of alcohol, drugs, violence and crime. These newcomers, usually illiterate, suddenly make a thousand-year voyage from their traditional rural lifestyles, controlled by natural cycles and where each transformation has a meaning and explanation, and where every individual is integrated with his surroundings, to modern cities where they feel lonely, vulnerable and without any ties to a world that has little meaning for them. Their rootlessness is complete, and new religious space gives an opportunity to find meaning for their existence and usually some means to resolve their material needs. Their illiteracy is not a handicap to participation in a church that does not require the ability to read and analyse text. Oral testimony, emotional prayers, singing and some kind of dancing are sufficient to allow full participation. Frequently the Pentecostal and Neo-Pentecostal religious leaders of the community teach a new code of conduct that helps their members to integrate better with the new environment and to find jobs, housing, electricity and clean water. Other members provide emotional support. Through faith healing, Pentecostalism offers its adherents immediate solutions to their problems of poverty, particularly lack of health care. Most Pentecostal churches prohibit alcohol, drug use and sexual relations outside marriage. Abusive behaviour against females faces the penalty of condemnation and expulsion. But participants are also reprimanded and expelled if they do not pay tithes. Also significant is the prominent role women have played in the spread of this new Christian movement, particularly in starting new congregations. However, female leadership is quickly switched to men when the congregations grow. But the most important aspect from a female perspective is that Pentecostalism establishes a familial context in which women receive emotional and physical advantages. When husbands convert, they cease practicing patterns of masculine behaviour associated with a machista lifestyle (such as alcohol/drug consumption, gambling and solicitation of prostitutes) and transform into more consistent, positive presences. This explains, in part, why there are many female converts, and why male converts are so often married to women members. Some Protestants have created faith-based political parties and have run for office as overtly Protestant candidates. This corresponds chronologically with the Latin American democratisation process that started in the middle of the 1980s. In the process of developing new constitutions to affirm democracy, historical Protestants led the movement to organise new political

Christianity in Latin America, 1910–2010 Religions in Latin America Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

2

Religious affiliation and growth in Latin America, 1910 and 2010

Christians Agnostics Spiritists Ethnoreligionists Atheists Muslims New Religionists Baha'is Jews Buddhists Hindus Chinese folk Shintoists Sikhs Jains Confucianists Total population

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

5

Percent Christian

= 1% of population = All other religions

2010 Adherents % 548,958,000 92.5 17,122,000 2.9 13,649,000 2.3 3,717,000 0.6 2,901,000 0.5 1,860,000 0.3 1,829,000 0.3 941,000 0.2 931,000 0.2 800,000 0.1 780,000 0.1 191,000 0.0 8,000 0.0 6,600 0.0 1,300 0.0 500 0.0 593,696,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 2.02 1.27 3.72 1.38 3.85 1.19 0.31 1.12 5.60 1.43 3.37 1.19 6.08 2.26 12.13 1.82 3.52 0.26 4.84 1.76 1.44 0.43 4.72 1.35 6.91 1.34 6.71 0.96 4.99 0.80 3.99 1.29 2.05 1.28

Christians in Latin America Proportion of all Christians in Latin America, 2010

zil

Key:

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s

o xic Me

Co lo

mb

ini ca nR ad or ep . Gua tem ala Chile

Ecu

Denominations Total Average size 44 20,000 46 617,000 3,340 13,000 320 35,000 80 13,000 2,720 21,000

100-year and 10-year growth rates* 10

10

10

10

8

8

8

8

6

6

6

4

4

2 0

2

Rate* 2000–2010

1910

2010

Churches, 2010

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 0.11 0.50 1.93 0.78 7.37 1.76 8.13 2.66 4.99 2.38 4.04 2.52

All All 4 Christians Christians

2.02

2.02 2

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

0

6 4 2

All All Christians Christians

1.27

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

Congregations Total Average size 2,600 340 232,000 2,100 173,000 240 48,400 230 560 1,900 326,000 180

Church sizes, 2010

1.27

Average denomination size

% by tradition

a

Do

m

in nt

Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

2010 Adherents 891,000 478,211,000 41,876,000 11,371,000 1,068,000 57,114,000

ia

u Per

Major Christian traditions in Latin America, 1910 and 2010 1910 Adherents 800,000 70,675,000 34,200 4,600 8,200 1,091,000

Venezuela

Note: Countries with too few Christians to depict here are found in regional pages.

1,000,000 1,000,000

10,000 10,000

800,000 800,000

Average congregation size

ico PuertoRRica Costa agua r Nica guay Para a or Cub alvad as El S ndur Ho via li Bo

Ha iti

Trinadad & Tobago Uruguay Jamaica Panama

ge Ar

Graph in the continent by country Christians inofthe region Graph Proportion a country’s Proportioninofthe a country’s Christians region Colour Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in cent Christian in each country or region aPer country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian and of region Map Location Per cent Location and Per regions cent Locationsof ofregion the Christian Christian of region

8,000 8,000

600,000 600,000

6,000 6,000

400,000 400,000

4,000 4,000

200,000 200,000

2,000 2,000

0 0 A AC CI M I MO OP P

0 0 A AC CI M I MO OP P

Christians in Latin America, 1910 and 2010 Latin America Caribbean Central America South America

Population 78,269,000 8,172,000 20,777,000 49,320,000

1910 Christians 74,477,000 7,986,000 20,566,000 45,925,000

% 95.2 97.7 99.0 93.1

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

176

1910 Adherents % 74,477,000 95.2 446,000 0.6 312,000 0.4 2,725,000 3.5 12,500 0.0 67,800 0.1 5,000 0.0 0 0.0 29,300 0.0 7,100 0.0 186,000 0.2 1,900 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 78,269,000 100.0

2010

Bra

t first glance, the religious demographics of Latin America appear to have changed very little over the past 100 years. In 1910 the population was 95.2% Christian; by 2010 it was still 92.5% Christian. However, several other religious movements have made significant gains and increased their percentage shares of the population. First, there has been growth of agnostics and atheists; in 1910 they were only 0.6% and less than 0.02% of the population, respectively, but by 2010 they had reached 2.9% and nearly 0.5%. Second, Spiritism has undergone something of a revival in this period, especially in Brazil; overall, Spiritists grew from 0.4% to 2.3% of the population of Latin America. Third, there was sudden and unanticipated growth in the number of Jews in the middle of the twentieth century as a result of massive emigration from Europe in the wake of the Holocaust. Many islands in the Caribbean and other countries on the continent became safe havens for Jews fleeing from Europe. Today there are over 930,000 Jews in Latin America, mostly in Argentina, Mexico and Brazil, though these populations are slowly decreasing as many continue to emigrate to Israel. Fourth, the number of Muslims also grew rapidly through immigration, approaching two million by 2010. Fifth, Baha’is have been evangelising aggressively in Latin America and have been the continent’s fastestgrowing religion over the last century, averaging annual growth of over 12% per annum. Finally, almost all other religions, including Buddhists, Hindus and Chinese folk-religionists, have grown rapidly enough over the period to increase their percentage shares of the population. The one exception has been ethnoreligionists, who have steadily lost adherents to Christianity, both Roman Catholic and Protestant. Although the overall percentage of Christians has changed little in the 100-year period, there have been significant changes in the internal composition of Christianity. Roman Catholics remain the dominant tradition, but Protestants and Independents have been rapidly increasing their shares of the Christian movement in the continent. This includes Protestant denominations such as Presbyterians in Guatemala, Pentecostals such as the Assemblies of God in Brazil, and Independent Charismatic churches such as the Methodist Pentecostal Church and the Evangelical Pentecostal Church in Chile. Marginal churches have also been growing rapidly, especially the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses in Brazil and Mexico. Finally, the Orthodox community has seen success in Chile and has the third-fastest growth rate among churches in Latin America today. Within the Catholic tradition the Charismatic movement has grown significantly over the past century. The movement began in the late 1960s in the USA and Colombia and quickly spread throughout Latin America. In 2010 the world’s largest Catholic Charismatic community is found in Brazil.

Rate* 1910–2010

A

Population 593,696,000 42,300,000 153,657,000 397,739,000

2010 Christians 548,958,000 35,379,000 147,257,000 366,322,000

% Christian, 1910

% 92.5 L 83.6L1 95.8L2 L3 92.1L3 0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Latin America, 2010

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Province São Paulo Minas Gerais Rio de Janeiro México Bahia Buenos Aires Rio Grande do Sul Paraná Distrito Federal Pernambuco

Country Brazil Brazil Brazil Mexico Brazil Argentina Brazil Brazil Mexico Brazil

Population 43,397,000 20,966,000 16,865,000 14,818,000 15,317,000 15,541,000 11,939,000 11,207,000 9,736,000 9,279,000

Christians 38,389,000 18,891,000 15,178,000 14,092,000 13,938,000 13,870,000 10,864,000 10,535,000 9,259,000 8,351,000

% 88.5 90.1 90.0 95.1 91.0 89.3 91.0 94.0 95.1 90.0

Caribbean Central America

Christian centre of gravity

1910

0

2

!

2010

LATIN AMERICA

ProvRelig_Christian Per

!

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

South America

1910

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Latin America Caribbean Central America South America

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 6,542,300 7,978,000 14,520,300 Latin America 340,460 455,800 796,260 Caribbean 1,864,000 2,637,000 4,501,000 Central America 4,340,000 4,884,000 9,224,000 South America

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

Christian

Immigrants

2.02 2.05L 1.50 1.66L1 1.99 2.02L2 2.10 2.11L3 ⇐

0%

⇒

100%

-2

1.27 1.28L L1 1.18 0.92 1.24 1.26 L2 1.30 1.32 L3 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

177

Christianity in the Caribbean, 1910–2010

T

he story of Christianity in the Caribbean is integrally connected with the region’s colonial past and the archipelago’s socio-economic life setting as plantation slave societies. Historically, the Caribbean has been divided into four major linguistic areas, namely, (1) Spanish: The Spanish-speaking Caribbean includes Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico; (2) French: The Francophone islands of the Caribbean are Guadeloupe, Haiti and Martinique; (3) English: The Anglophone Caribbean comprises Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Virgin Islands of the USA; and (4) Dutch: The Dutch-speaking Caribbean includes Aruba, Bonaire, Sint Maarten and Curaçao. All of these European languages, however, have been subjected to a Caribbean process of creolisation. In Haiti, for example, there is a viable language and culture called Creole, a French derivative. In Saint Lucia there is a similar derivative called Patois. In the Netherlands Antilles there is a language called Papiamento, which is a combination of linguistic forms and vocabularies from Dutch, French, Spanish, English and Portuguese; and in the Anglophone Caribbean there are various dialects. In Jamaica, for example, there is a dialect called ‘patois’ or ‘Jamaica Talk’. The seriousness with which this process of creolisation has been taken in the Anglophone Caribbean is seen in the establishment of a Lexicographical Centre at the Cave Hill Campus (Barbados) of the University of the West Indies in 1971. A similar process of creolisation is well underway in Caribbean Christianity. The Caribbean is a religiously pluralistic region. There are, for example, many religious cults, including Afro-Caribbean cults: Voodoo (Vodun), Shango and Santeria. Ancestral cults include Cumina, Convince, Big Drum, Kele and Black Carib. Revivalist cults include Revival Zion, Shouters, Shakers and Streams of Power. In addition, there is the religio-political cult called Ras Tafari and the uncategorised cult called Obeah. The region is also host to the three Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and another of the world faiths, Hinduism. The latter two were brought into the region by communities of indentured labourers from the Indian sub-continent in the post-emancipation period. Many Caribbean persons, while claiming allegiance to one of the world faiths, also participate in at least one of the various cults. However, the dominant religion in the Caribbean is Christianity. According to Kortright Davis (Emancipation Still Comin’), the story of Caribbean Christianity can conveniently be divided into four phases, namely, (1) ‘The Church and the People’, (2) ‘The Church for the People’, (3) ‘The Church of the People’, and (4) ‘The People’s Church’. This latter description is used interchangeably with ‘The Church of the Caribbean’. The past 100 years, beginning in 1910, was a period of transition between phases three and four and is discussed here from the perspectives of spirituality and praxis. However, the demographic, religious and cultural heritages of the Caribbean necessitate a brief discussion of phases one and two. The Church and the People When the European colonisers settled, and established plantations, in the Caribbean in the seventeenth century, they brought their respective Christian denominational traditions with them. The primary purpose of these churches was to minister to the spiritual needs of the colonisers. These churches were integral parts of the establishment that defined, controlled and contained the nascent plantation societies. They functioned as agents of the power structure to maintain the plantation status quo. Meanwhile, the region’s few aboriginal inhabitants who survived Iberian contact and English colonisation, and the 4–5 million West Africans who

survived the Middle Passage and endured exile in chattel slavery on sugar plantations throughout the region, had, as their raison d’être, the supply of cheap labour for colonial economies. In the meantime, however, the slaves, who had brought with them a dynamic cultural memory vis-àvis their ancestral ontology and a vibrant spirituality, were developing a spirituality of their own, namely, traditional West African religiosity adapted to the conditions of plantation slavery. This ontology was essentially religious, hierarchical, dynamic, unified and anthropocentric. Unlike Western Christianity, it knew no sacred/secular dichotomy. It knew only a religious universe, a sacred cosmos that was permeated by an invisible force or power which had God (variously known as Chukwu, Odomankoma, Olodumare, Onyame, Nyame, Nyambe, or Ndyambi) as its source and its ultimate master. In this universe, all created entities were believed to have been indissolubly united and mutually interdependent. Accordingly, the life of the community was a continuation of the life of the ancestors, and the life of the individual was inextricably bound up with that of the community. The well-being of both the community and the individual, therefore, was contingent upon a holistic interaction on their part with the cosmos as a unit. In West African societies, such interaction was given ritual expression during the celebration of the rites of passage. In Caribbean plantation societies, however, these celebrations, with the exception of funeral-related ceremonies, including wakes, were not readily feasible. There were two main reasons for this: one, there was a geographical and spatial disconnect with the ancestors; and two, the rigid conditions of plantation slavery (where all able-bodied slaves, male and female, laboured in the cane fields) as well as the inability of slaves to marry legally and the loose morals of plantation owners, imitated by male slaves, did not facilitate the kind of family setting where many of the rites of passage could be celebrated. This could not but propel the slaves onto the one resource which was always available to them, namely, prayer and the resilience and hope that accompanied it. Prayer was central to Caribbean slave spirituality, as it was in traditional West African religiosity. Commenting on the prayer life of the slaves in Slave Religion, Albert Raboteau said that prayer was a source of inner strength and a powerful symbol of resistance for slaves. Slave rebellions were not uncommon in the Caribbean. The Haitian revolution, resulting in the founding of the Republic of Haiti in 1804, is the most notable example. Alien to a sacred/secular, body/soul dichotomy, Caribbean slave spirituality was carried over into the slaves’ daily lives and activities through song, dance, drumming, folk tales, a sense of humour and the practice of rituals, all of which had a dynamic for selftranscendence, fantasy and the envisioning of life- and health-affirming alternatives to plantation slave society. These alternatives included stable home and family life and freedom from slavery. The lack of evangelism among the slave communities during this phase of Christianity resulted in the emergence of Obeah and other Neo-African cults. The themes permeating these religious practices were help, deliverance and freedom. The Church for the People Although sporadic missionary efforts occurred in some parts of the region, such as the Bahamas, as early as the turn of the eighteenth century, and the former slave, George Liele, began to evangelise the slaves in Jamaica in 1784, this second phase in Caribbean Christianity did not begin until the early nineteenth century, when Christian missionaries, including missionary bishops, were sent to the region. Their raison d’être was the socialisation and evangelisation of the slave masses, principally through moral and religious education, as a preparation for eventual slave emancipation. 100

100

Area (sq. km): 235,000 Population 2010: 42,300,000 Population density (per sq. km): 180 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.66 Life expectancy (years): 73 (male 71, female 76) Adult literacy (%): 85

Christians, 1910: 7,986,000 % Christian, 1910: 97.7 Christians, 2010: 35,379,000 % Christian, 2010: 83.6 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.50 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.18

% Christian 0

0

1910

1910

178

2010

2010

During this phase, the poor masses gravitated, as by inner necessity, into the various churches despite the blatant racism and classism that helped to define Caribbean plantation society. The poor’s progressive lay involvement in the churches made these institutions communities of social identification and social interaction. The missionaries branded all African practices as ‘pagan’ and made concerted efforts to obliterate all vestiges of African retention from their converts, but to no avail. Slave spirituality, particularly prayer, had proved to be too powerful a force to be abandoned simply because of its encounter with Western Christianity. Furthermore, the gospel had the effect of fulfilling, not negating, its religious promise. Indeed, the gospel reinforced the converts’ ancestral view of the sacredness of the cosmos and their experience of God as a very present help in times of crisis. Ironically, however, while conversions were moving apace, the development of ancestral and revivalist cults was also in progress, though on a much lesser scale. The Church of the People This phase emerged after slave emancipation and the subsequent four-year period of apprenticeship, when a process of indigenisation through the nurturing of Diaspora African vocations to the ordained ministry and lay catechetical leadership began to be facilitated. It, therefore, marked the first major shift in the life and ethos of the churches. These churches produced, among others, Edward Wilmot Blyden (1832–1912) of Saint Thomas, Henry Sylvester Williams (1869–1911) of Trinidad, Joseph Robert Love (1835–1914) of the Bahamas and the anti-colonial champion, Marcus Mosiah Garvey (1887–1940). Garvey was the protégé of Love and Alexander Bedward (1859–1930), a native Baptist preacher. All of these men were, among other things, renowned educators and social activists. At a time when sub-Saharan Africa and the African Diaspora were viewed from the perspective of New World chattel slavery, these visionary sons of the Caribbean were in the vanguard of the Pan-African Movement principally concerned with racial equality vis-à-vis Africans and Europeans and their respective New World descendants; decolonisation and political self-determination; indigenisation and cultural identity; and regional integration and development. By the time of the Edinburgh 1910 World Missionary Conference, therefore, the Caribbean had already been missionised. Denominational schools vis-à-vis evangelism and edification were practically ubiquitous in the region, and the vast majority of the people were Christians with a dynamic Bible-based and Christocentric Creole Caribbean spirituality. In the Caribbean, the Bible is cherished by both Christians and adherents of the Afro-Caribbean religious cults. The process of adaptation that influenced Creole Caribbean spirituality has also affected Biblical hermeneutics in the region. For example, the Bible is an important tool for the interpretation of, and response to, the various challenges of life. Jesus is important in Caribbean spirituality because of his solidarity with the poor and his victory over the forces of evil, sin and death. The hymn, ‘What a friend we have in Jesus / All our sins and griefs to bear,’ aptly describes who Jesus has been for Caribbean Christians. In Caribbean Christianity, nothing exceeds the power of singing and music as vehicles of praise and worship. The experience of God in worship is felt and observed most powerfully in the singing of hymns, particularly those of Charles Wesley and Isaac Watts. The spirited manner in which songs are learned and sung from memory; the lustre and feeling that often accompany even otherwise drab liturgies; and the use of tambourines, guitars, drums and steel pans, as well as pipe and electronic organs, all testify to the wealth of Caribbean spirituality. The latter part of the twentieth century witnessed a steady transfer from the membership of the established churches to that of Northern American Pentecostalism. Many Christians who were not allowed to express themselves in their own way in the established churches initiated congregations of their own where liturgical framework was replaced by liturgical freedom, and where worship became more lively and participatory. However, the Liturgical Reform Movement in the established churches during the second half of the twentieth century and, to a lesser extent, the

Charismatic Movement have facilitated more liturgical freedom and greater lay participation in the corporate life and worship of these churches.

We as Christian people of the Caribbean, because of our common calling in Christ, covenant to join together in a regional fellowship of churches for theological reflection, inspiration, consultation, and cooperative action, to overcome the challenges created by history, language, culture, class and distance. We are therefore deeply committed to promoting peace, the holistic development of our people and affirming social justice and the dignity of all persons. We pledge to journey together in Christ and to share our experiences for the strengthening of the Kingdom of God in the world. The CCC comprises 33 member churches in 34 territories across the Spanish, French, British and Dutch Caribbean. Its membership includes the Roman Catholic Church through the Antilles Episcopal Conference, and its role is to serve the cause of Christian unity, renewal and joint action. In 1983 it formulated its mandate to include the ‘promotion of ecumenism and social change in obedience to Jesus Christ and in solidarity with the poor’. Since then, the CCC has developed a strategic approach and implemented an integrated response to the region’s diverse challenges. It has five major programme initiatives: (1) Priority Regional Initiatives (HIV/AIDS, drugs, violence, family, food, uprooted people); (2) Sustainable Socio-Economic Development (poverty reduction, project fund, disaster preparedness); (3) Advocacy and Communications (public awareness, information, dialogue and exchange); (4) International Relations (regional integration, solidarity visits) and Cultural Affairs; and

(5) The Regional Ecumenical Institute (issues of theology, social justice, development and culture). CADEC and the CCC have, respectively, facilitated the publication of a series of ecumenical studies, including Caribbean Theology and Development Issues in the 1980s; The Church and Slavery in the English-Speaking Caribbean; Missionary Under Pressure: The Experiences of the Rev. John Duport in West Africa; and Theological Options for Caribbean Christianity, published by the Caribbean Group for Social and Religious Studies (CGSRS). Additionally, the CCC has published a Caribbean Catechism entitled Fashion Me A People, which has been widely distributed and used in both church and day schools in various parts of the region. Other ecumenical efforts in the region include the United Theological College of the West Indies (UTCWI). This institution was the result of the merger of a number of Protestant theological colleges and seminaries in Jamaica in 1965. The denominations involved in UTCWI include the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, the Jamaica Baptist Union, the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas (MCCA), as well as Moravians, Lutherans and Disciples of Christ. St Peter’s College, which trained ordinands for the Anglican Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, was brought into the union some time later. UTCWI (Jamaica), Codrington College (Barbados) and the Regional Seminary, St John Vianney and the Uganda Martyrs (Trinidad and Tobago) form the Department of Theology in the Faculty of Humanities and Education in the University of the West Indies (UWI). The Church of the Caribbean has also made notable strides at the denominational level. In 1992 the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas (MCCA) published its first regional Prayer Book of the Methodist Church. The (Anglican) Church in the Province of the West Indies (CPWI) published its first regional Book of Common Prayer (CPWI) in 1995. Meanwhile, both the CPWI and the MCCA have been in the process of publishing their respective hymnals. The MCCA’s hymnal was scheduled to be published in 2009. Despite the challenges with which the region and the Church had to grapple during the twentieth century, these challenges bespeak a message of hope for three main reasons, namely, (1) While Northern America and Britain have benefitted economically, culturally and spiritually from the Caribbean brain drain, the Caribbean has benefitted financially. Between the 1990s and 2002, for example, the region received between USD 400 million and USD 4 billion per annum. (2) Because of the region’s religious base, particularly the spirituality of Creole Caribbean Christianity, challenges give the people a strong sense of resilience and survival, and the praise and worship of God make them hopeful and optimistic about the days ahead. (3) Through the Caribbean Conference of Churches, Caribbean Christianity has challenged the region to face the aforementioned challenges and envision and strive to create a renewed region.

KIRKLEY SANDS Kortright Davis, Emancipation Still Comin’: Explorations in Caribbean Emancipatory Theology (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1990). Armando Lampe (ed.), Christianity in the Caribbean (Kingston, Jamaica: UWI Press, 2001) Horace O. Russell, The Missionary Outreach of the West Indian Church: Jamaican Baptist Missions in the Nineteenth Century (New York: Peter Lang, 2000). Kirkley C. Sands, Bahamian Slave Spirituality: The Genesis of Bahamian Cultural Identity (Nassau: The Nassau Guardian (1844) Ltd, 2008). John L. Wilkinson, Church in Black and White (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1993).

Christians in the Caribbean by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Cuba Haiti Puerto Rico Dominican Rep Jamaica Trinidad & Tobago Martinique Barbados Guadeloupe Grenada

Christians 2,276,000 1,747,000 1,128,000 777,000 777,000 229,000 210,000 199,000 185,000 65,600

Highest percentage 2010 Dominican Rep Haiti Cuba Puerto Rico Jamaica Trinidad & Tobago Guadeloupe Martinique Bahamas Barbados

Christians 9,672,000 9,574,000 6,562,000 3,918,000 2,328,000 844,000 435,000 388,000 315,000 284,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 % Christian Barbados 100.0 Saint Kitts & Nevis 100.0 Netherlands Antilles 100.0 Antigua 100.0 Dominica 100.0 Virgin Is of the US 100.0 Aruba 100.0 Montserrat 100.0 British Virgin Is 100.0 Turks & Caicos Is 100.0

Fastest growth 2010 Puerto Rico Grenada Martinique Saint Lucia Guadeloupe Aruba Barbados Montserrat Haiti Dominican Rep

% Christian 96.6 96.6 96.5 95.9 95.8 95.8 95.5 95.3 95.2 94.9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Dominican Rep Cayman Islands Aruba Bahamas Haiti Turks & Caicos Is Netherlands Antilles British Virgin Is Trinidad & Tobago Virgin Is of the US

% p.a. 2.55 2.08 1.77 1.74 1.72 1.57 1.53 1.32 1.31 1.27

2000–2010 Turks & Caicos Is Cayman Islands Montserrat Haiti Dominican Rep Anguilla Antigua Saint Kitts & Nevis British Virgin Is Aruba

% p.a. 3.27 1.98 1.86 1.55 1.52 1.51 1.31 1.27 1.27 1.26

179

CARIBBEAN

The People’s Church The greater part of the twentieth century was both transitional and challenging for Caribbean Christians. The transition involved a steady movement in Caribbean Christianity from phase three to phase four. Foreign missionaries, including missionary bishops, have been progressively replaced by indigenous leadership at practically all levels of the Church’s mission and ministry. The latter part of the century also has witnessed a generational shift from a Euro-centric and imitative sensibility vis-à-vis culture and beauty to a heightened consciousness and a greater acceptance of, and a deeper appreciation for, the people and the religious culture of Creole Caribbean society. This process of transition was consistent with the process of decolonisation, political sovereignty and the spirit of nationalism then underway, particularly in the Anglophone Caribbean. However, with the decline of foreign missionaries came a corresponding curtailment of overseas financial support for the churches. This was aggravated by rising levels of poverty and mounting national debt, emigration and the Caribbean brain drain, the annual threat of devastating hurricanes (1 June–1 November), the HIV/ AIDS pandemic and the lingering negative effects of plantation slavery on family life and gender-related issues in the region. Historically, the Caribbean has never been a selfsustaining region, and with limited resources for wealth formation, it remains a poor region with the majority of its people being poor. The level of poverty in the region ranges from 8.9% in the case of the Bahamas, to 28.6% in the case of the Dominican Republic. A notable exception, however, is Haiti, where the level is as high as 76% and rising. Since the 1990s, poverty levels have been somewhat on the decline in other countries of the region. In 2003, the average debt for Caribbean countries was 96% of their respective GDP. This level of foreign debt portends negatively for sustainable regional growth and stability. Life in the Caribbean has always been a migratory form of existence. The twentieth century was no exception. Between 1955 and 1974, for example, the British Government facilitated the emigration of thousands of persons from its Caribbean territories to work in its public transportation system and nursing profession. London Transport and British Rail figured significantly in the recruitment of male labour, mainly from Jamaica and Barbados. National Health hospitals featured particularly in the recruitment of women. More often than not, these immigrants and their families resided permanently in Britain. Since then, however, the destination of choice for Caribbean emigrants has been Northern America, particularly the USA. The age group of these migrants has been 20–45 years. Generally, they have a high level of education. Although the Cuban Revolutionary War (1952–9), led by Fidel Castro, initially was supported by Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist missionaries, Castro’s Marxist orientation and the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961 had the twin consequences of the USA’s economic embargo of Cuba and a continuing migration of thousands of Cubans, both Protestants and Catholics, into the USA. Haitian emigration, which began with Haiti’s attainment of independence in 1804, was accelerated in the 1950s during the Duvalier regime and continues unabated, primarily for political and economic reasons. The destination of choice for these boat people has invariably been Northern America, particularly the USA, via the Bahamas.

The Caribbean brain drain began shortly after the American Civil War (1861–5), when the Episcopal Church in the USA (ECUSA) began to recruit educated Negroes from the Caribbean to work among emancipated slaves in the southern USA. Joseph Love was among those who responded positively to the ECUSA’s call. In the twentieth century the brain drain included youths and young adults at secondary and tertiary school levels, respectively. In Jamaica, for example, about 80% of the potential college and university graduates have emigrated, mainly for economic reasons. The Caribbean has the second-highest incidence of HIV/AIDS infection per capita in the world. This is due in part to the trafficking of drugs through the region en route to Northern America, and the attendant sedimentation and abuse of drugs in the region. AIDS is the leading cause of 63% of the deaths among 15- to 45-year-olds in the Caribbean. The Church of the Caribbean has been neither silent nor inactive in the face of these challenges. While there have been local Christian Councils at least since the formation of the Cuban Council of Evangelical Churches in 1840, the plight of the Cuban poor during the Batista regime and the economic after-effects of the USA-imposed embargo led to the formation of the Caribbean Committee on Joint Christian Action (CCJCA) in Puerto Rico in 1957, the initial purpose of which was to consider the possibility of viewing the Caribbean as a region that might benefit from ecumenical thought and action. Two programmes developed out of this committee, namely, Christian Action for Development in the [Eastern] Caribbean (CADEC) and Action for the Renewal of the Churches (ARC). CADEC has been one of the most effective programme-agencies in the region. CADEC was the immediate ecumenical precursor of the Caribbean Conference of Churches (CCC), and its programmes were incorporated into the programmes of the CCC. The CCC was founded in 1973 in Kingston, Jamaica. The preamble to its constitution reads:

Christianity in the Caribbean, 1910–2010 Religions in the Caribbean Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

Religious affiliation and growth in the Caribbean, 1910 and 2010 Christians Spiritists Agnostics Atheists Hindus Muslims Baha'is Chinese folk New Religionists Buddhists Jews Ethnoreligionists Total population

2010 Adherents % 35,379,000 83.6 2,787,000 6.6 2,740,000 6.5 729,000 1.7 385,000 0.9 125,000 0.3 74,000 0.2 41,100 0.1 16,800 0.0 14,700 0.0 8,100 0.0 450 0.0 42,300,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 1.50 1.18 3.79 0.48 7.25 -1.40 11.85 0.25 1.53 0.51 1.96 0.49 9.32 1.69 4.88 0.73 2.59 1.21 4.34 0.56 -0.39 0.64 3.88 0.22 1.66 0.92

= 1% of population 2 5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 = All other religions Percent Christian

Christians in the Caribbean Proportion of all Christians in the Caribbean, 2010 Do

m

Montserrat Anguilla British Virgin Is Turks & Caicos Is Cayman Islands St Kitts & Nevis Dominica Antigua Aruba Grenada

Key:

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Graph Proportion a country’s Proportioninofthe a country’s Christians region Colour Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in cent Christian in each country or region aPer country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian and of region Map Location Per cent Location and Perregion cent Locationof ofregion the Christian Christian of region

in

ica

n

iti

Ha

Re

p

dos Barbaamas e Bah tiniqu e o r a M oup bag del To Gua d& a nid Tri m aic

a

Virgin Is of the US Saint Vincent Saint Lucia Netherlands Antilles

Rico Puert o

a

2010

Anglican (A)

Adherents 704,000

Adherents 569,000

Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

6,109,000 27,500 0 0 529,000

26,337,000 1,712,000 647,000 58,600 5,307,000

% by tradition

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 -0.21 0.34 1.47 4.22 11.71 9.06 2.33

1.15 1.89 1.60 1.89 1.85

1910

2010

Rate* 1910–2010

1910

10

10

8

8

6

6

4

4

2

2

0

11.71

11.71

10

10

8

8

Rate* 2000–2010

Major Christian traditions in the Caribbean, 1910 & 2010

6

All All 4 Christians Christians

1.50

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

1.50 2 0

6 4

All All Christians Christians

1.18

2

1.18

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

Christians in the Caribbean, 1910 and 2010 Caribbean Anguilla Antigua Aruba Bahamas Barbados British Virgin Is Cayman Islands Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic Grenada Guadeloupe Haiti Jamaica Martinique Montserrat Netherlands Antilles Puerto Rico Saint Kitts & Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent Trinidad & Tobago Turks & Caicos Is Virgin Is of the US

Population 8,172,000 4,400 37,000 17,100 57,400 199,000 5,300 5,100 2,297,000 32,300 793,000 65,900 187,000 1,748,000 823,000 211,000 12,500 41,100 1,129,000 43,000 55,100 50,500 324,000 5,100 29,700

1910 Christians 7,986,000 4,400 37,000 17,100 56,200 199,000 5,300 5,100 2,276,000 32,300 777,000 65,600 185,000 1,747,000 777,000 210,000 12,500 41,100 1,128,000 43,000 53,800 50,000 229,000 5,100 29,700

% 97.7 100.0 100.0 100.0 97.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 99.1 100.0 98.0 99.6 98.9 99.9 94.4 99.8 100.0 100.0 99.9 100.0 97.7 98.9 70.7 100.0 100.0

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

180

1910 Adherents % 7,986,000 97.7 67,800 0.8 2,500 0.0 0 0.0 84,600 1.0 18,000 0.2 0 0.0 350 0.0 1,300 0.0 210 0.0 12,000 0.1 0 0.0 8,172,000 100.0

2010

b Cu

ver the past 100 years the Caribbean has changed more significantly in its religious demography than any other region in Latin America. This is due primarily to the rise of Communism in Cuba. In 1910 the region was almost 98% Christian, but this has fallen to less than 84% by 2010. The largest gains were made by agnostics and atheists, who together numbered only 2,500 in 1910 but who, by 2010, have grown to nearly 3.5 million, or 8.2% of the region’s population. More surprising has been the resurgence of Spiritism, which rose from less than 1% of the population in 1910 to almost 7% by 2010. This is exemplified by the rise of Voodoo in Haiti and the resurgence of Afro-Caribbean religions throughout the region. The rise of Spiritism has been aided by official government recognition in Haiti. There is also a great deal of mixing of Spiritist beliefs with Christianity. Lastly, Hindus, mostly indentured servants and their descendants, have represented about 1% of the population over the century. In the country-by-country analysis one can easily see that Cuba has sustained the greatest loss in its Christian percentage over the century. In 1910 Cuba was 99% Christian; by 2010 this has fallen to 58% under Communism, with the balance being mostly agnostics and atheists. The Cayman Islands, 100% Christian in 1910, fell to 81% by 2010, largely through the impact of secularisation. A quick glance at the bar graph on the facing page shows the impact of secularisation in every country in the Caribbean. It should be noted that the recent resurgence of Christianity in Cuba (especially Roman Catholics and Protestants) provides an exception to the rule. Note also that Montserrat was the only country with a negative population growth rate over the century, the result of volcanic eruptions that began in 1995. As in the rest of Latin America, Protestants and Independents have been growing rapidly, especially in Haiti and Puerto Rico. Anglicans have been steadily declining as a percentage of the region, the result of their eroding ‘state church’ status in many island nations such as Barbados (though the Bahamas remains officially Anglican). Marginal churches, non-existent in the region in 1910, have grown to 647,000 members in the 100-year period (11.71% growth rate), with the largest churches in the Dominican Republic and Cuba. Migration has had a great impact on the religious demography of the region. Many individuals emigrated to the Caribbean from Britain, and vice versa, during the twentieth century, either voluntarily or involuntarily. This affected not only the Christian population, but also other religions (Jews fleeing the Holocaust, liberated Africans from illegal slave traders, and others). Recently, large numbers of Christians have moved to the USA. This can be seen especially in New York City, where Dominicans, Haitians and Puerto Ricans all have large Christian communities.

Ja

O

Population 42,300,000 13,100 88,000 103,000 343,000 297,000 23,300 49,200 11,257,000 66,800 10,191,000 105,000 454,000 10,060,000 2,756,000 402,000 6,000 199,000 4,056,000 52,400 171,000 122,000 1,348,000 26,200 111,000

2010 Christians % 35,379,000 Region83.6 total 11,900 Anguilla 91.1 81,700 Antigua 92.8 98,700 Aruba 95.8 315,000Bahamas 91.8 284,000Barbados 95.5 19,700 84.4Is British Virgin 39,800 Islands 81.0 Cayman 6,562,000 58.3 Cuba 63,000Dominica 94.2 9,672,000Republic 94.9 Dominican 101,000 Grenada 96.6 Guadeloupe 435,000 95.8 Haiti 9,574,000 95.2 2,328,000 Jamaica 84.5 Martinique 388,000 96.5 Montserrat 5,700 95.3 Netherlands 187,000 Antilles 93.8 Puerto96.6 Rico 3,918,000 Saint Kitts & 94.5 Nevis 49,500 Saint 95.9 Lucia 164,000 Saint Vincent 108,000 88.4 Trinidad 844,000& Tobago 62.6 Turks & Caicos 24,100 92.1Is Virgin Is of the US 105,000 94.7

% Christian, 1910

00%

20

40

% Christian, 2010

50% 60

80

100% 100

Christians in the Caribbean, 2010 Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Bahamas

Province Ouest Santo Domingo Artibonite Ciudad de la Habana Distrito Nacional Nord Santiago Sud Grand'Anse Centre

Country Haiti Dominican Republic Haiti Cuba Dominican Republic Haiti Dominican Republic Haiti Haiti Haiti

Population 3,657,000 2,256,000 1,404,000 2,184,000 1,135,000 1,042,000 1,003,000 880,000 869,000 675,000

Christians 3,457,000 2,139,000 1,342,000 1,289,000 1,067,000 999,000 953,000 844,000 825,000 639,000

% 94.5 94.8 95.6 59.0 94.0 95.9 95.0 95.9 94.9 94.8

Turks & Caicos Is Cuba

Dominican Republic

Cayman Islands Haiti

1910

! !

Jamaica

2010

Puerto Rico

British Virgin Is Anguilla

Christian centre of gravity

Virgin Is of US

Saint Kits & Nevis

Antigua

Monserrat Guadeloupe Dominica ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

Martinique

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

Saint Lucia

Aruba

CARIBBEAN

Barbados

Saint Vincent Netherlands Antilles Grenada

Trinidad & Tobago

1910

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Caribbean Anguilla Antigua Aruba Bahamas Barbados British Virgin Is Cayman Islands Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic Grenada Guadeloupe Haiti Jamaica Martinique Montserrat Netherlands Antilles Puerto Rico Saint Kitts & Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent Trinidad & Tobago Turks & Caicos Is Virgin Is of the US

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 340,460 455,800 796,260 Caribbean 160 90 250 Anguilla 910 830 1,740 Antigua -100 1,550 1,450 Aruba 3,500 3,100 6,600 Bahamas 1,000 3,200 4,200 Barbados 210 270 480 British Virgin Is 580 420 1,000 Cayman Islands 11,000 79,000 90,000Cuba -220 1,850 1,630 Dominica 135,700 112,700 248,400 Dominican Republic -70 1,880 1,810 Grenada 3,000 4,900 7,900 Guadeloupe 142,800 132,100 274,900Haiti 11,960 33,800 45,760 Jamaica 1,200 5,400 6,600 Martinique 60 70 130 Montserrat 2,380 2,120 4,500 Netherlands Antilles 20,600 55,100 75,700 Puerto Rico 610 500 Saint1,110 Kitts & Nevis 1,790 1,790 3,580 Saint Lucia 384 1,720 2,104 Saint Vincent 2,900 10,700 13,600 Trinidad & Tobago 330 240 Turks &570 Caicos Is -160 2,220 2,060 Virgin Is of the US

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

Christian

Immigrants

total 1.50Region 1.66 1.00 Anguilla 1.10 0.79 Antigua 0.87 Aruba 1.77 1.81 1.74 Bahamas 1.80 0.35 Barbados 0.40 British Virgin 1.32 1.49Is Cayman 2.29 Islands 2.08 Cuba 1.06 1.60 0.67 Dominica 0.73 2.55 Republic 2.59 Dominican 0.44 Grenada 0.47 0.86 0.89 Guadeloupe 1.72 1.77 Haiti 1.10 Jamaica 1.22 0.61Martinique 0.65 -0.78Montserrat -0.73 1.53 Antilles 1.59 Netherlands 1.25Puerto 1.29 Rico 0.14 Saint Kitts &0.20 Nevis 1.12Saint1.14 Lucia 0.77 0.89 Saint Vincent 1.31 & Tobago 1.44 Trinidad 1.57 1.65Is Turks & Caicos 1.27Is of1.33 Virgin the US ⇐

0 10 0%

20⇒ 30 40

50

60

70

80

100%

90 100

-2

Region0.92 total 1.18 1.51 Anguilla 1.55 1.31 Antigua 1.37 1.26 Aruba 1.32 1.20 Bahamas 1.24 0.34Barbados 0.36 British Virgin 1.27 1.28Is Cayman 1.98 Islands 2.03 Cuba 1.04 0.10 -0.27Dominica -0.24 1.52 Republic 1.54 Dominican 0.42 Grenada 0.45 0.74 0.75 Guadeloupe 1.55 1.61 Haiti 0.61 Jamaica 0.63 0.39Martinique 0.41 1.86Montserrat 1.93 0.94 Antilles 0.97 Netherlands 0.55 Puerto0.56 Rico 1.27 Saint Kitts &1.30 Nevis 1.12Saint1.14 Lucia 0.43 0.51 Saint Vincent 0.28& Tobago 0.36 Trinidad 3.27& Caicos 3.34Is Turks -0.02Is of the 0.05 Virgin US -1 0% 0 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

88

-2

-1 0% 0 1

2

3

4

181

5

6

7

Christianity in Central America, 1910–2010

A

t the beginning of the twentieth century, Central America – which for our purposes includes also Mexico and Panama – was largely homogenous in religious terms. The vast majority of the population claimed Christian affiliation, and within the Spanish areas there was near-total adherence to Roman Catholicism. This picture would change over the course of the century. Protestant missionary presence in the region began in the nineteenth century, largely at the invitation of newly independent states seeking ways to counterbalance the power of the Roman Catholic Church. By the second decade of the twentieth century, and in part in reaction to the 1910 Edinburgh World Missionary Conference, some missionary groups – primarily Northern American – active in Central America examined closely what it meant for them to be in mission in the region. As a result, they reached comity agreements among themselves so as to avoid duplication of efforts. These arrangements were not welcomed by all. For example, in Mexico, in 1919, the newly formed Mexican Society for Christian Missions began direct appeals to Northern American churches, thus bypassing established missionary organisations. Nevertheless, early Protestantism tended to be led by foreign nationals. This picture, too, would change. Protestantism as expressed through Pentecostalism and Charismatic movements also appeared by the 1920s. Over the next several years, hundreds of new denominations and thousands of independent churches would result from the powerful witness and appeal of Spirit-led Christianity. By the end of the twentieth century, Protestant churches and their adherents in Central America, who numbered more than 35% of the population, had taken on unique characteristics and expressions of faith and were rarely copies of their Northern American progenitors. Instead, many became a blend of Northern American and autochthonous influences or grew out of particular religious zeal shaped and moulded by the region’s political, social and cultural phenomena of the twentieth century. Still, the vast majority of the population was Roman Catholic, both active and ‘nominal’ – people who by tradition were Roman Catholic but who had little or no relationship to the Church. Over the course of the twentieth century, Protestant groups made significant inroads into Catholic hegemony, and within Catholicism itself there were revivals. Yet the best word to describe the current state of Christianity in Central America is diversity. Social and political environment The twentieth century was a tumultuous period for Central America. As the century opened, it was Mexico that experienced the greatest upheaval, for the country was on the verge of civil war. At the very heart of the 1910 Mexican Revolution was a continuation of the nineteenth-century struggle between political conservatives (who sought to maintain colonial social structures, including Roman Catholic religious hegemony) and liberals (whose deeply held mistrust of old systems manifested itself in strong anti-clerical positions). The Revolution also pitted Protestants, who tended to support the liberals, against Roman Catholics, who sided with the conservatives. When the war finally ended, the liberals had won, and the Mexican constitution enshrined several key provisions limiting the activities of the Roman Catholic Church. Mexico was once again at peace, but the long-term impact of the war on the Church – in all its expressions – and on its growth cannot be overlooked. Not even in the latter part of the century would Mexican churches experience the type of explosive growth seen elsewhere in the region. While Mexico’s conflicts were largely internal, much of the rest of the region was experiencing changes brought about by international economic and political situations. Over the course of the 1800s,

Central America had come to rely heavily on exports of raw materials, principally to Britain, as the major source of revenue. The region also relied on Europe for massive imports of finished goods. World War I brought those dependencies to an end. As Europe struggled to recover from the war, Central America, and indeed much of Latin America, turned its attention northward for imports and loans. USA interest in the region had already intensified with the construction and opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, and with the global economic shifts created by World War I, USA hegemony in Central America was virtually assured. That hegemony would continue throughout the twentieth century. One of the profound political results of the economic instability of the early decades of the century was the rise of dictators, which in turn shaped the path of the region for the rest of the century. In Nicaragua, Anastasio Somoza García took control in 1936 with the blessing of the Roman Catholic Church and the USA. The Somoza regime – father and two sons – would last until 1979, when Somoza’s second son was forced to flee the country during the Sandinista war. Throughout those years, the repressive government increasingly came under the criticism of both Catholic and Protestant leaders. Perhaps the best-known of those critics was Ernesto Cardenal, a priest and poet who would become the Minister of Culture in the Sandinista government. He would also be on the receiving end of Pope John Paul II’s ire in 1983, when the pontiff shook his finger at Cardenal for the latter’s involvement in the government, instructing him to straighten out his relationship with the Church. The Protestant church in Nicaragua was also profoundly reshaped by events of the 1970s, perhaps most so by the 1972 Managua earthquake. As a result of the destruction, the Consejo Evangélico Pro-Ayuda a los Damnificados (CEPAD) was founded. For the first time, Protestant groups – both international missionary organisations and national denominations – worked cooperatively. After providing relief to earthquake victims, CEPAD expanded its work. This 20-member Protestant organisation has been involved in negotiating peace agreements, ministering to the victims of Hurricane Mitch and other natural disasters, and responding to needs in an ever-deteriorating economic situation. In El Salvador, Maximilian Hernández Martínez served as president from 1932 until he was deposed in 1944. General Hernández, a follower of the occult, brought unparalleled suffering to the people of El Salvador. The one event that exemplifies his brutality is the 1932 matanza, when he killed an estimated 30,000 peasants in an effort to suppress an uprising. This eventually would galvanise some members of the religious community to take a stand against El Salvador’s repressive government. The military juntas that followed Hernández were no less brutal. With the support of the institutional Catholic Church and the USA, these regimes acted with impunity in quashing dissenting voices. In 1980, members of the National Guard assaulted and killed four American churchwomen. And on 16 November 1989, six Jesuit priests, their cook and her daughter were killed in the middle of the night. Their murders had followed that of Archbishop Oscar A. Romero of San Salvador, who in 1980 was assassinated while saying a funeral mass. Romero personified the involvement of a portion of the Catholic Church in the lives of people most affected by the conflicts of El Salvador – the poor and the peasants. The mantle of these men and women has been picked up by Lutheran Bishop Medardo Gómez, who believes that religious faith calls for political action. Interestingly, however, data collected from surveys conducted in 1989 by Ignacio Martín-Baró (one of the murdered priests) of Central American University revealed a different side to the Christian Church in El Salvador. This indicated that a majority of Protestants and Catholics alike did not believe that the Church should mediate social conflicts or 100

100

Area (sq. km): 2,482,000 Population, 2010: 153,657,000 Population density (per sq. km): 62 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.02 Life expectancy (years): 76 (male 74, female 79) Adult literacy (%): 88

Christians, 1910: 20,566,000 % Christian, 1910: 99.0 Christians, 2010: 147,257,000 % Christian, 2010: 95.8 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.99 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.24

% Christian 0

0

1910

1910

182

2010

2010

express any sort of preference for the poor. As was the case throughout Central America, Christians in El Salvador were anything but homogenous in their political outlook. In Guatemala, Jorge Ubico ruled as a dictator from 1931 until his 1944 ouster. Although he made concessions to the archbishop, Ubico never repealed the nineteenth-century liberal legislation that curtailed the power of the Church. It was this legislation that opened the way for Protestant presence in the country, seen as a counterbalance to the power of the Catholic Church. After Ubico’s departure from power, Protestants ministers were allowed into Guatemala in even greater numbers, and by 1970 there were at least 35 Protestant missionary groups at work in the country. Wide-ranging reforms – political, social and agrarian – instituted by Ubico’s successors threatened the Guatemalan oligarchy and the interests of the USA. The USA, the landed oligarchy and the Catholic Church hierarchy opposed the reforms and moved quickly to stop them, calling the changes the beginning of Communism in Guatemala. But not all Church people followed the lead of the country’s religious establishment. By the 1970s, there was a clear split within the Catholic Church: most of the hierarchy supported increasingly repressive governments, while some bishops and many parish priests and nuns sided with the guerrilla forces opposing the status quo. This often resulted in the deaths of religious workers – including many ‘delegates of the word’ (lay Catholic Bible study leaders) – at the hands of the military. Guatemalan Pentecostalism reached the peak of political power in 1982, when José Efrain Ríos Montt, a military general and a pastor of the Pentecostal Iglesia del Verbo, took power. His brutal regime represents one of the bloodiest stages of Guatemala’s long civil war, which lasted from 1960 to 1996. Ríos Montt turned to his faith to find the rhetoric to support his efforts at political control. During his 18-month tenure, massive numbers of refugees fled into Mexico, and thousands of civilians were ‘disappeared’ or killed by military death squads. Many of those targeted were members of indigenous communities most closely affiliated with radical Catholic activists. The communities’ plight ultimately received international attention through the work of Rigoberta Menchú, a Quiché Indian and the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner. Her experiences and those of her family echoed those of many other Indians of the region. The upheaval caused by economic, political and social dislocation resulted in religious pluralism among many Indian communities. Menchú writes of her community finding the tools to analyse its reality and to create self-defence weapons by studying the Bible. Yet she also writes of the poor of Guatemala finding their own Church, one that knows something about hunger, not a Church imposed from the outside. This revival of native identity and traditions has brought new vitality to many churches, while dividing others. The twentieth century had opened with great promise for Central America, but soon the promise faded: first, Mexico’s protracted civil war, then a crippling global economic crisis. Very quickly another World War disrupted development, followed by the Cold War with significant impact on Central America as the USA and the Soviet Union fought proxy wars in the region. The remedies to all the ills that faced Central America were often worse than the disease: dictatorships, civil wars, economic dislocation, massive migration both into cities and out of countries, and institutional churches as divided as their countries. Increasingly, toward the end of the century, what the Church – both Catholic and Protestant – offered was no longer sufficient for many of the faithful. To some, the Church seemed more interested in responding to the political realities of the time than to the spiritual needs of its adherents. Pentecostalism, Charismatic movements and the revival of Indian traditions – now finding new expression within Christianity – filled that void for many individuals in Central America. To understand why some people felt ignored by the Church, we must ask what the Church was doing. But first, we will look at some features of the Church. Christian pluralism Perhaps the main characteristic of Christianity in the region is its growing and often confusing diversity.

The Church at work The work of the Church in the region has involved many different endeavours, from evangelisation to church-planting, from medical clinics to recreation. One area that merits particular attention is education. From the days of Spanish colonialism, the Church has taken an active role in this field, and this tradition continued into the twentieth century. Today, educational

work ranges from basic literacy – notably through Alfalit, headquartered in Costa Rica – to institutions of higher learning. Currently, several universities and seminaries operate under the auspices of one denomination or another. The Universidad Bíblica Latinoamericana (UBL) in San José, Costa Rica, traces its roots to efforts in 1923 to provide theological training for pastors and lay leaders. Seminario Teológico Centroamericano (SETECA) in Guatemala City has a history similar to that of UBL. Founded in 1929, today SETECA offers a wide array of degree programmes within what it calls Christian values. And the newest of the Central American universities to have significant influence on the region was established in 1965 by Jesuits in San Salvador. The principal impact of the Universidad Centroamericana de José Simeón Cañas (UCA) has been in the sociological study of religion in an effort to understand the lives and realities of Christians in Central America. One of the best-known theologians from UCA is Jon Sobrino, whose primary contributions have been to liberation theology. This style of biblical interpretation and action stemmed from Bible studies and prayer meetings in comunidades eclesiales de base (CEBs), which often functioned without pastoral presence, relying instead on instruction via radio. Originally designed to deal with the shortage of priests, the CEBs quickly became training grounds for lay leaders as the Catholic Church sought to integrate the statements issued from the Latin American bishops’ conference in Medellín, Colombia, in 1968 – a pivotal meeting that came about as a result of the Second Vatican Council and the Roman Catholic Church’s efforts to engage more completely with the lives of its followers. In Central America liberation theology propelled Jesuit priests at UCA to speak out against a repressive government; it resulted in an archbishop denouncing the atrocities of the Salvadoran military; and it encouraged priests to join the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. These political actions also resulted in the Vatican’s opposition to liberation theology and in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issuing a Notification in 2007 against Sobrino’s work for doctrines that were ‘erroneous or dangerous and may cause harm to the faithful.’ But the institutional Church was not alone in finding liberation theology problematic. Many individuals also felt that it did not reflect their own spirituality or relationship with Christ. Such individuals turned increasingly to Pentecostalism or Charismatic movements within traditional denominations. Pentecostalism, in its many and often unrelated forms, has roots in Central America that go back to the beginning of the twentieth century, and its members are often politically active – as in the case of Ríos Montt. Yet today Pentecostal churches and Charismatic movements offer a local, even congregational, response to circumstances that a theology articulated with a global church view cannot. Revival of the faith The tumultuous years of the twentieth century also resulted in new expressions of traditional Christian liturgy. The Misa Campesina Nicaragüense is just such an expression. As do many contemporary Latin American Masses, the Misa Nicaragüense uses musical styles and instruments indigenous to the region to strengthen the connection between the words, the music and the lives of the people. The composer, Carlos Mejía Godoy, stated that this Mass was intended to articulate ‘in postcolonial language’ the rupture of the new Church from the old. His Mass, dedicated to the faith and hope embodied in the struggle for justice in the 1970s, has become an ecumenical and worldwide expression of peace, social justice and the future.

Misa Nicaragüense was first performed in Solentiname, a Nicaraguan island whose residents are primarily peasants and fishermen. It was there that Cardenal served as pastor and led a CEB. The meditations and thoughts of the members of the community were published as The Gospel in Solentiname. The revolutionary spirit of the church infused the very understanding of the Gospels and their relevance to the people. Likewise, Guatemalan poet and theologian Julia Esquivel has written in her poem ‘Prayer’ of a God who is present in the lives of the people: ‘Captivate me, Lord/ Till the last of my days,/ Wring out my heart/ With your hands,/ Of a wise old Indian,/ So that I will/ Not forget/ Your Justice/ Nor cease proclaiming/ The urgent need/ For humankind/ To live in harmony.’ Other forms of the arts have been equally affected by the urgency brought to bear on the Central American Church in the twentieth century. Religious vestments produced by Guatemalan Indians use bright colours and cultural symbols that reveal a vital energy within the faith community. Retablos and ex-votos, colonial devotional folk art, have taken on new life in the twentieth century, particularly in Mexico, where they continue to be used as expressions of thanksgiving and petitions to saints for intercession. And during the Christmas season along the Atlantic coast of Central America, the Garifuna people combine traditional Carib and West Africa dances and music to prepare the earth for Christ’s birth. Christianity in the region has found its voice in cultural expressions, from the visual arts to music and dance. In them all, the vitality and the reshaping of a faith influenced by Amerindian, African and European traditions is visible, bringing a new vigour to the life of the Church. Much has happened since the beginning of the twentieth century. The Christian churches in Central America have been transformed from ones largely shaped by European and Northern American sensibilities to ones embracing the unique realities of the region. Traditional Protestant denominations are largely under national leadership, and the wide array of autochthonous Pentecostal and Charismatic movements likewise reflects the needs and the traditions of the area. Statistically, the vast majority of people, well over 90%, continue to claim Christianity – particularly Roman Catholicism – as their faith practice, yet over the course of the century, those Christians have found new ways of influencing their churches and have experienced their faith in uniquely Central American ways. While in other areas of the world one can speak of Christianity mainly in terms of growth and contraction, this is not the case for Central America, where roughly the same percentage of the population is Christian today as was 100 years ago. More apt categories to understand the course of Christianity in this region over the last century include redefinition, reinterpretation, revival, indigenisation and struggle with social realities.

ONDINA E. GONZÁLEZ James Dow and Alan R. Sandstrom, Holy Saints and Fiery Preachers: The Anthropology of Protestantism in Mexico and Central America (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2001). Gilberto Alvardo López, El poder desde el espírituo: La visión política del Pentecostalismo en el México contemporáneo (Buenos Aires: Libros de la Araucaria, 2006). José A. Fernández Quevedo, Pentecostales en Centroamérica: Presencia y desafíos (Cobán, Guatemala: Centro Bartolomé de las Casas, 2000). Rodolfo Casillas Ramírez, Problemas sociorreligiosos en Centroaméricana y México: Algunos estudios de caso (Mexico City: Sede Académica de México, 1993). Clodomiro Siller and María Alicia Puente Lutteroth, Hacia una historia mínima de la Iglesia en México (Mexico City: Editorial Jus – CEHILA, 1993).

Christians in Central America by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1910 Mexico Guatemala El Salvador Honduras Nicaragua Costa Rica Panama Belize

Christians 15,561,000 1,911,000 1,164,000 642,000 592,000 398,000 259,000 39,600

Highest percentage 2010 Mexico Guatemala Honduras El Salvador Nicaragua Costa Rica Panama Belize

Christians 105,583,000 13,993,000 7,277,000 6,953,000 5,597,000 4,517,000 3,058,000 279,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1910 Costa Rica Guatemala Mexico El Salvador Nicaragua Honduras Panama Belize

% Christian 99.6 99.4 99.2 98.0 97.8 97.1 96.5 94.6

Fastest growth 2010 El Salvador Guatemala Costa Rica Honduras Nicaragua Mexico Belize Panama

% Christian 97.4 97.3 96.8 96.6 96.0 95.7 91.2 87.1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1910–2010 Panama Costa Rica Honduras Nicaragua Guatemala Belize Mexico El Salvador

% p.a. 2.50 2.46 2.46 2.27 2.01 1.97 1.93 1.80

2000–2010 Guatemala Belize Honduras Panama Costa Rica El Salvador Nicaragua Mexico

% p.a. 2.49 2.27 1.96 1.73 1.71 1.42 1.30 0.99

183

CENTRAL AMERICA

While in Mexico almost 90% of the population calls itself Roman Catholic, there are literally dozens of other denominations, some as large as the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico with more than one million members. Even so, the cause of Christian unity in Mexico has advanced so little that the main ecumenical body represents only 13 denominations with fewer than half a million members. Mexico’s pattern of growth among Christian groups, however, is not characteristic of other countries of the region, for in Mexico most major denominations were founded before mid-century, while in other countries of Central America, it was during the second half of the twentieth century that the great Protestant explosion took place, mainly among Pentecostals. In Guatemala, a country of almost 13 million, roughly 11 million are at least nominally Roman Catholic, but the Council of Evangelical Churches of Guatemala, which includes 19 denominations, represents more than 1.5 million members. Furthermore, there are countless other denominations, both large and small – such as the Iglesia Evangélica Cristiana Calvario with almost 250,000 members or the Iglesia Presbiteriana Biblica de Guatemala with 2,000 – that are not part of the Council. Similar diversity also exists elsewhere in the region. Sometimes, however, this variety has led to extreme manifestations, such as in the case of the self-appointed apostles ‘Saul and Silas’, who gained a widespread following among Mexican Apostólicos in the 1920s. Perhaps the most striking reality of this religious diversity is that in the latter half of the twentieth century, it stemmed largely from an ‘unexpected’ source, the Pentecostal movement, which has found its followers particularly among the lower classes and indigenous groups. As anthropologist David Stoll has written, Pentecostalism, with its emphasis on the gifts of the Spirit, has attracted more adherents in Central America than any other Protestant group, even though most missionaries do not have a Pentecostal background. The attraction, some scholars argue, may be based on the Pentecostal movement’s ability to reproduce, if not replace, lost community structures. Still others argue that its autochthonous expressions coincide with an increasing sense of cultural identity and suspicion of capitalism. Others explain the growth by arguing that as conflicts between the Roman Catholic Church and some governments increased, some people embraced various forms of Protestant Christianity as a way to avoid strife while continuing an active religious life. In any case, what seems apparent is that for many – particularly women – it is common to have multiple religious identities. This is what anthropologist Lesley Gill calls ‘religious mobility’, a mobility necessary to survive the exigencies of everyday life. The most obvious question that these realities raise is how the region became so religiously diverse given that at independence – which came to most of Spanish Central America in 1821 – the Roman Catholic Church had a virtual monopoly on Christian religious practice. For the answer to that question, we must turn to the manner in which Christianity has manifested itself in the lives of its faithful during the twentieth century.

Christianity in Central America, 1910–2010 Religions in Central America Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

Religious affiliation and growth in Central America, 1910 and 2010 Christians Agnostics Ethnoreligionists Muslims Atheists Baha'is Spiritists Jews Buddhists Chinese folk New Religionists Hindus Sikhs Total population

2010 Adherents % 147,257,000 95.8 3,504,000 2.3 1,514,000 1.0 392,000 0.3 239,000 0.2 208,000 0.1 206,000 0.1 138,000 0.1 71,400 0.0 51,000 0.0 44,400 0.0 27,700 0.0 5,500 0.0 153,657,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 1.99 1.24 5.87 2.20 2.11 1.10 5.18 1.40 10.61 1.85 10.45 1.86 3.75 1.82 5.54 0.29 3.37 1.79 4.73 1.96 8.76 1.60 8.25 1.53 6.51 0.96 2.02 1.26

= 1% of population 2 5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 = All other religions Percent Christian

Christians in Central America Proportion of all Christians in Central America, 2010 Key:

o xic Me

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Graph Proportion a country’s Proportioninofthe a country’s Christians region Colour Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in cent Christian in each country or region aPer country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian and of region Map Location Per cent Location and Perregion cent Locationof ofregion the Christian Christian of region

Belize Panama

a Cost

Rica a

gu

ara

lva

do r

Nic

s

Guatemala

ura nd Ho

Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

2010

Adherents 23,300

Adherents 86,200

19,007,000 1,300 2,100 1,200 109,000

134,172,000 7,506,000 3,834,000 118,000 10,646,000

% by tradition

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 1.32 1.29 1.97 9.05 7.80 4.70 4.69

1.17 2.79 2.42 1.17 2.79

1910

2010

Rate* 1910–2010

1910

10

10

10

10

8

8

8

8

6

6

4

4

2 0

2

Rate* 2000–2010

Major Christian traditions in Central America, 1910 & 2010

6

6

All All 4 Christians Christians

1.99

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

4

1.99 2 0

2

All All Christians Christians

1.24

1.24

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

The bar graphs above indicate that Independent churches in Central America had enormous growth rates during the twentieth century. The region was home to virtually no Independents in 1910, but there are over 7.5 million in 2010 (average annual growth of 9.05%). This is due largely to missionaries from the USA in the region and to Christians who have broken away from mainline denominations. In almost every Central American country the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons account for the steep increase in Marginal believers. Mennonites, Seventh-day Adventists, Methodists, Assemblies of God and Baptists are the primary Protestant denominations represented. There are many interdenominational organisations working in Central America, and sometimes these groups even bridge major traditions. In Belize, for instance, the Catholic Church has joined the Christian Social Council, an organisation dominated by Protestant denominations.

Christians in Central America, 1910 and 2010 Central America Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Mexico Nicaragua Panama

Population 20,777,000 41,900 399,000 1,188,000 1,923,000 661,000 15,691,000 605,000 268,000

1910 Christians 20,566,000 39,600 398,000 1,164,000 1,911,000 642,000 15,561,000 592,000 259,000

% 99.0 94.6 99.6 98.0 99.4 97.1 99.2 97.8 96.5

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

184

1910 Adherents % 20,566,000 99.0 11,700 0.1 188,000 0.9 2,500 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 5,200 0.0 630 0.0 2,600 0.0 500 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 20,777,000 100.0

2010

Sa

he comparative proportions of religions in Central America have changed little over the past 100 years. The region was 99% Christian in 1910; by 2010 this has dropped to just under 96%. Even so, agnostics grew from only 11,700 in 1910 to over 3.5 million by 2010. There were no atheists in 1910; today there are 239,000. Muslims have grown primarily through immigration: in 1910 they numbered only 2,500 but today number 392,000. Ethnoreligionists, once anticipated to disappear early in the twentieth century, have retained approximately 1% of the population and number 1.5 million. Baha’is and Spiritists each number over 200,000 in 2010. Mexico, the largest country in Central America, has seen a slight decline in Christian adherence over the past century, but Mexican attitudes towards Christianity vary. Over 90% of the population is baptised Catholic, but today many individuals continue to mix Christian beliefs with animistic practices. Those who adhere to this kind of Christo-paganism resist Catholicism and are hostile to Protestant missionary efforts. Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses arrived in 1879 and 1893, respectively, and have had great success in evangelism. Additionally, a large split occurred in 1926, leading to the formation of the Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Mexican Church, also known as the National Church. The most profound religious changes have taken place within Christianity. In 1910 more than 99% of all Christians in the region were Roman Catholics. In 2010 the Protestant, Independent and Marginal traditions represent over 15% of all Christians. The fastest growth rates over the century were among the Orthodox, Protestants, Independents and Marginals. More recently, Protestants, Independents and Marginals have been growing twice as fast as Orthodox, Anglicans and Roman Catholics. Within these traditions, Pentecostals and Evangelicals have some of the fastest growth rates. Within some countries the changes have been even more profound; in Guatemala Christians outside the Roman Catholic Church, virtually nonexistent in 1910, represent over 25% of all Christians in 2010. In Panama, the least Christian country in the region at 87%, agnostics and Baha’is make up nearly 10% of the population. In most of Central America birth and death rates are the major drivers of growth for Christianity. With most of the countries over 90% Christian, Christian growth rates parallel growth rates for the region. Thus, over the 100-year period the population growth rate was 2.02% per year, while the Christian growth rate was 1.99%. This pattern is likely to continue for some time into the future, although the composition of Christianity by tradition is likely to continue to change as well. It is unlikely that the Orthodox tradition will make large strides as it did in the twentieth century, gauging from the growth rate of the past decade. Once again Protestants, Independents and Marginals are likely to be the main forces for Christian conversions in Central America.

El

T

Population 153,657,000 306,000 4,665,000 7,142,000 14,377,000 7,533,000 110,293,000 5,832,000 3,509,000

2010 Christians % 147,257,000 Region95.8 total 279,000 Belize 91.2 4,517,000 Costa96.8 Rica 6,953,000 97.4 El Salvador 13,993,000 97.3 Guatemala 7,277,000Honduras 96.6 105,583,000 Mexico 95.7 5,597,000 96.0 Nicaragua 3,058,000 Panama 87.1

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Central America, 2010

Mexico

Christian centre of gravity

1910

!

!

2010

Belize Honduras

CENTRAL AMERICA

Nicaragua

Guatemala El Salvador ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 Panama

Costa Rica

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910

Province México Distrito Federal Veracruz Jalisco Puebla Guanajuato Michoacán Chiapas Nuevo León Oaxaca

Country Mexico Mexico Mexico Mexico Mexico Mexico Mexico Mexico Mexico Mexico

Population 14,818,000 9,736,000 7,817,000 7,153,000 5,744,000 5,276,000 4,509,000 4,436,000 4,338,000 3,891,000

Christians 14,092,000 9,259,000 7,590,000 6,826,000 5,577,000 5,017,000 4,288,000 4,263,000 4,169,000 3,735,000

% 95.1 95.1 97.1 95.4 97.1 95.1 95.1 96.1 96.1 96.0

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Central America Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Mexico Nicaragua Panama

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 1,864,000 2,637,000 4,501,000 Central America 5,600 2,600 8,200 Belize 64,000 36,100 100,100 Costa Rica 91,400 91,400 182,800 El Salvador 323,500 177,400 500,900 Guatemala 134,500 86,900 221,400 Honduras 1,127,000 2,100,000 3,227,000 Mexico 68,800 107,200 176,000 Nicaragua 48,100 36,500 84,600 Panama

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

Christian

Immigrants

total 1.99Region 2.02 Belize 1.97 2.01 2.46 Costa 2.49 Rica 1.80El Salvador 1.81 2.01Guatemala 2.03 2.46 Honduras 2.46 1.93 Mexico 1.97 2.27 Nicaragua 2.29 2.50 Panama 2.61 ⇐

0%

⇒

100%

-2

Region1.26 total 1.24 Belize 2.27 2.26 1.71Costa1.73 Rica 1.42El Salvador 1.43 2.49Guatemala 2.50 1.96Honduras 1.97 0.99 Mexico 1.01 1.30Nicaragua 1.33 1.73 Panama 1.75 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

185

Christianity in South America, 1910–2010

T

wentieth-century socio-economic and political transformations affected Christianity throughout the world. To better understand how South American Christianity has changed during this century, we propose to divide the century into three periods: from the beginning of the twentieth century until after World War II, from 1950 until the mid-1980s, and from the end of the 1980s to the beginning of the twenty-first century. In the early twentieth century, almost all South American countries (with the exception of the British, French and Dutch Guianas) were independent nations governed by republican regimes that guaranteed freedom of religion to all citizens. At that time, the Catholic Church, which in the colonial period was the only church allowed in the majority of South American countries, was officially separated from the various national states, but held a privileged position as their main interlocutor. Legitimised by the alleged Catholic identity of these nations’ peoples and cultures, Catholicism was seen as the ‘official religion’ of these ex-Portuguese and ex-Spanish colonies. An example that illustrates the cultural and political importance of Catholicism during this period and throughout the twentieth century is the fact that in Argentina, until the constitutional reform of 1994, the president of the country had to be Catholic. Throughout the twentieth century Catholicism united under an apparent religious homogeneity a geographically spread and ethnically diverse population. Nevertheless, despite sharing the same Catholic identity, this population maintained Amerindian, African and also popular Iberian non-Christian religious traditions. To this day many South American Catholics adopt practices and beliefs not accepted by the Roman Church, such as devotion to Difunta Correa and Gauchito Gil (in Argentina), Brazilian Candomblé and Umbanda religions, the Pachamama, the Ekeko cults in Bolivia, the Venezuelan Maria Lionza cult, and the Vegetalist religious practices in the Amazonian and Andean regions. Despite tensions and conflicts with the hierarchy, there were no religious movements that denied Catholic identity during this historical period. The vast majority declared themselves Catholics. The very few who denied this identity were mostly Protestants, and, therefore, the population as a whole was Christian. During the first decades of the twentieth century the majority of South American Protestants were European immigrants and their descendants, mostly settled in the Southern Cone (Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, and the south of Brazil): Lutherans, Methodists, Reformed, Seventh-day Adventists and Waldensians, among others. Their ‘immigration churches’ were not concerned about converting local people. But there were also various ‘Protestant mission churches’ that since the nineteenth century had been arriving mainly in Argentina, Brazil and Chile. Searching for new converts, these churches invested in education. In Brazil the Mackenzie Presbyterian University of São Paulo, the Methodist Bennet School in Rio de Janeiro and the Baptist American Schools in Vitória and Recife were created during this period. Despite their important role in the education of the middle class, these investments resulted in relatively few local converts at that time. South American Pentecostalism emerged during this period. In 1909 the first Pentecostal church was founded in Valparaíso, Chile. This church originated from a Methodist Episcopal church split led by pastor Willis Hoover. Hoover and his wife, both Northern Americans living in Chile, had contact with Methodists from other parts of the world, who were experiencing the Pentecostal revival. Chilean Pentecostalism has remained the strongest in the region. Unlike the Chilean case, the Pentecostal churches in other South American countries were founded by Pentecostal missionaries from abroad. In 1909 two Pentecostal missionaries from the USA, the Italian Luis Francescon and Mother Kelby, tried without

success to establish churches in Buenos Aires. A year later, Francescon converted Italian immigrants in São Paulo and founded the Igreja da Congregação Cristã do Brasil. From that year many Pentecostal missionaries arrived in South America and founded churches. These included the Canadian Alicia Wood, who founded the first Assembly of God in Argentina, and the Swedes Daniel Berg and Gunnar Vingren, who came from Chicago and in 1911 founded, in the north of Brazil, the Assembléias de Deus no Brasil, which would become the largest Protestant church in that country. After Chile, Brazil would become the most Pentecostal country in South America. Pentecostal success in these two countries, however, would only become visible from the 1970s. Despite the tendency of emerging Pentecostal churches to autonomy and dispersion, there is a somewhat regular pattern. Northern American missionaries of Nordic origin founded the first churches in many countries. Some would affirm that a ‘revelation’ guided them to the city to which they came to preach. Soon the churches were led by local clergy. Swedish missionaries came not only to Brazil but also to Bolivia in 1920 and to Argentina and Uruguay in 1938. In the 1920s Norwegians began missionary work in Entre Rios and Rosarío in Argentina. In 1937 a Dane arriving from Canada, Askel Verner Larsen, founded the Iglesia Pentecostal Unida de Colombia, now the largest Pentecostal church in Colombia. Having fewer material resources, Pentecostal missionaries were less visible than the non-Pentecostal Protestant missionaries who also were arriving. Mostly sent by Northern American churches, these non-Pentecostal missionaries continued to arrive in the ensuing decades. During the Cold War period they were criticised for allegedly being an expression of Northern American Manifest Destiny ideology. Despite these missions, the growth of Protestantism was very slow. Until the 1970s, South American Catholicism would still comprise more than 90% of the total population. From the beginning of the century until the mid-1950s, the Catholic Church was preoccupied with fortifying itself by forming a militant elite with cultural and political capital in order to be the main interlocutor of the State. To better combat secularism, Communism and Protestantism, the Church brought clergy from Europe and also invested in schools to educate the middle class and the elite. However, during this time its hegemony was not threatened. With the exception of sectors of the intellectual elite in the large cities of Montevideo and Buenos Aires, there were almost no anti-clerical and secularisation movements. The Catholic Church wished to mark its presence in public spaces. In Brazil this policy was championed by Cardinal D. Sebastião Leme (1882–1942), who among other accomplishments completed the construction of the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. In some other South American countries, such as Chile, the Catholic Church even had a political party. The struggle with Communism became tougher especially in the 1930s with the start of industrialisation and the effects of the stock market crash of 1929. The post-War period After World War II, the world was radically transformed, and so was South American Christianity. International politics were marked by Cold War tensions between the Communist bloc and capitalism. The USA consolidated its political hegemony over all of Latin America. The demographic explosion and rural emigration to cities changed the daily life of millions. The means of communication and the rapid growth of wealth in certain sectors of society made social inequality more intense and visible. The fight against Communism and also participation in development projects unintentionally created a dialogue between Catholic leaders and left-wing intellectuals. The influence of European Catholicism, especially French and 100

100

Area (sq. km): 17,854,000 Population, 2010: 397,739,000 Population density (per sq. km): 22 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.11 Life expectancy (years): 74 (male 71, female 77) Adult literacy (%): 91

Christians, 1910: 45,925,000 % Christian, 1910: 93.1 Christians, 2010: 366,322,000 % Christian, 2010: 92.1 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.10 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.30

% Christian 0

0

1910

1910

186

2010

2010

Belgian, was very important at this moment. During the 1950s Catholic Action, an international movement that had arrived in South America in the 1930s, took a new direction and started disseminating the ideas of French Catholic intellectuals such as Jacques Maritain and Emmanuel Mournier. Catholic Action carried out an important role in various countries of the region, with great penetration in Brazil, Chile and Argentina, attracting in particular young students from larger urban centres to the Juventude Universitária Católica and the Juventude Estudantil Católica. Many important figures in Brazilian national politics of the 1980s belonged to the Juventude Universitária Católica in their youth. The Cold War brought about a political polarisation within various South American countries, culminating in dictatorships in Argentina (1976–83), Brazil (1964–85), Chile (1973–90), Uruguay (1973– 85), Paraguay (1954–89), Bolivia (1964–82) and Ecuador (1972–9). To fight against these governments, those in favour of democracy and those against capitalism joined forces. During this period various bishops and representatives of the more ecumenical and liberal Protestant churches stood up in the fight for civil and constitutional rights, including Catholic Archbishops D. Hélder Câmara (1905–99) and D. Paulo Evaristo Arns (b. 1921) and the Presbyterian minister James Wright (1927–99) in Brazil, and in Argentina Catholic Bishop D. Jaime de Nevares (1915–95) and the Methodist José Miguez Bonino (b. 1924), among others. An important event for Catholicism in South America was the creation of the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM), and the establishment of its headquarters in Bogotá, Colombia. CELAM’s first General Conference was held in 1955 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After the Second Vatican Council, political concern with social justice and poverty grew among the South American bishops, young priests and laity, who were more open to dialogue with modernity. They were responsible for the main positions taken by CELAM’s Second General Conference in Medellín in 1968, where the ‘Theology of Liberation’ influenced various documents and pastorals. This socially-committed position, more open than traditional Catholicism to ecumenism and modernity, was defined as the ‘option of the poor’. In dialogue with Marxism, a European, educated group formed by Catholic theologians, priests and lay leaders provoked tensions with the more conservative branches of their churches. Notable among the South American liberation theologians were the priest Gustavo Gutierrez Merino (born in Lima in 1928), author of A Theology of Liberation, and the Franciscan friar Leonardo Boff (born in Santa Catarina, Brazil, in 1938), author of Church: Charism and Power. Both were educated in Europe and were punished by the Vatican for their ideas. In 1992, learning that he was to be punished again, Boff left the Franciscan order and abandoned the Catholic Church hierarchy. European influences, including Louvain University and other European universities, were very important for the Catholic intellectuals of South America. Boff studied at a German university and Gutierrez in various countries in Europe, notably Belgium (Louvain), where he met Camilo Torres (1929–66), a Colombian priest who became known for his decision to become a guerrilla. Also influential was the Priest-worker Movement in France. South American priests also engaged in the Movimiento de Sacerdotes para el Tercer Mundo. During this second period various dioceses in South America created the so-called Comunidades Eclesiais de Base (Base Christian Communities) or CEBs. In these communities lay people exercised liturgical functions and through biblical reflections motivated themselves to organise or participate in social movements or pastoral activity with political overtones. Social movements received the support of ‘Liberation’ Catholic clergy and lay groups and ecumenical Protestant churches. Stimulated by international Christian organisations, such as the World Council of Churches, several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were created at this time to give support to social movements. Base communities, social movements and NGOs worked together. In Brazil, many leaders of the social movements of the 1980s were shaped by their religious experience with Liberation Catholicism.

Some social scientists argue that Liberation Catholicism was a strategy adopted by the Catholic Church to better compete with the Pentecostal churches. This hypothesis can be questioned on at least three fronts: (1) Liberation Theology had an ecumenical character and was not well-accepted by the more traditional and pro-institutional Catholic Church; (2) Pentecostalism grew prodigiously in South America only in the decade following the beginning of this theology; and (3) during the period when Liberation Theology was beginning, the primary enemy of the Catholic Church was Communism. As Peter Berger has pointed out, competing religions, and worldviews in general, end up assimilating themselves in order to offer equivalent ‘symbolic goods’. Liberation Theology’s ‘symbolic goods’ are not similar to those of the Pentecostals. While Pentecostalism offers enchantment and miracles, Liberation Theology opens up a dialogue with the sciences. Even though the Pentecostal churches were making their way to Peru and Ecuador in the 1950s, and so reaching all of South America, they were still not very visible in the 1970s. With the exception of the least populous countries, which together do not make up 2% of the total population (Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, the Malvinas/Falkland Islands and Uruguay), and of Chile (84% Catholic in 1971), in the rest of the South American countries the Catholic population exceeded 90%.

and ecstatic religious traditions with an emphasis on an experience with the supernatural. The Pentecostal hymnal sometimes adopts popular rhythms and instruments. Healings, prophesies, and deliverance from the devil are everyday practices in most South American Pentecostal and Neopentecostal churches. The fact that Pentecostalism shares various cognitive assumptions with African and indigenous religions may help to explain its great success among people from these ethnic backgrounds, such as rural Bolivian Indians and ex–Afro-Brazilian religious members. These similarities have made Pentecostalism more understandable and plausible to most South Americans. Yet, in all probability, people would not adopt a new faith through seeking what they had already experienced in their previous religions. Pentecostalism has become very attractive to South Americans because of its capacity to integrate indigenous and African traditions into a universal discourse. Pentecostal and Neopentecostal spirituality breaks off with South American people’s past religions by fostering a universal ethic and also by supporting the possibility of individual transformation and rupture with past traditions. The modern elements of a strong social network and the supernatural offer a special appeal for people. Furthermore, the flexibility and simplicity in the structure of the first Pentecostal churches, such the Assembléias de Deus, allowed them to have the capacity to adapt to different locations. They were able to recruit pastors and followers in locations to which Catholic priests and Protestant pastors had difficulty gaining access. In Brazilian favelas, slums that police, government, and even census researchers are unable to reach because they are dominated by drug traffickers, there are Assembléias de Deus churches. Despite the Catholic revival brought about by the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and the growth of Pentecostal churches, South American Christianity as a whole is beginning to show signs of losing followers. However, this downturn seems to be more evident in urban centres. Uruguay stands out as the least religious country not only in South America, but in the whole of Latin America. In metropolitan regions such as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the proportion of the population that professes to be ‘without religion’ is equivalent to the number of Evangelicals. In recent research among young people aged 18–24 in the Brazilian urban centres of Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre and Salvador, the percentage who declare themselves to be ‘without religion’ could be slightly higher than those who consider themselves Catholic. What is the future of South American Christianity in this new century? With the amplification of the means of communication and global exchange, South America will surely become less and less homogenous, in religious terms. Christianity may lose its hegemony, as Catholicism is currently experiencing. However, there is always the possibility of unpredictable political, social and economic events that could redirect people’s lives and also their religious discourses and practices into unforeseen directions.

Highest percentage

Fastest growth

CECÍLIA MARIZ AND ELOÍSA MARTÍN Susana Bianchi, Historia de las Religiones en la Argentina: Las Minorías Religiosas (Buenos Aires: Sudamericana, 2004). Cecília L. Mariz, Coping with Poverty: Pentecostals and Christian Base Communities in Brazil (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1994). Ari Pedro Oro, Carlos A. Steil and Andréa D. L. Cardarello (eds), Globalização e Religião (Petrópolis, Brazil: Vozes, 1997). Cristian G. Parker, Popular Religion and Modernization in Latin America: A Different Logic (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1996). Angelina Pollack-Eltz, Estúdio Antropológico del Pentecostalismo en Venezuela (Caracas: Universidad Santa Rosa, 2000).

Christians in South America by country, 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Brazil Argentina Peru Colombia Chile Venezuela Ecuador Bolivia Paraguay Uruguay

Christians 21,576,000 5,474,000 4,128,000 3,875,000 3,307,000 2,656,000 1,655,000 1,627,000 694,000 687,000

2010 Brazil Colombia Argentina Peru Venezuela Chile Ecuador Bolivia Paraguay Uruguay

Christians 180,932,000 45,949,000 37,399,000 27,866,000 27,443,000 15,010,000 13,364,000 9,223,000 6,164,000 2,155,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Argentina Falkland Islands Chile Paraguay Brazil Peru Bolivia Venezuela French Guiana Ecuador

% Christian 98.4 98.0 96.8 96.7 96.3 94.7 93.6 93.0 92.7 87.7

2010 Ecuador Peru Colombia Paraguay Venezuela Bolivia Argentina Brazil Chile French Guiana

% Christian 97.0 96.4 95.9 95.4 94.5 91.9 91.9 90.9 87.6 84.3

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Colombia Venezuela French Guiana Paraguay Brazil Ecuador Argentina Peru Bolivia Suriname

% p.a. 2.50 2.36 2.23 2.21 2.15 2.11 1.94 1.93 1.75 1.69

2000–2010 French Guiana Paraguay Bolivia Venezuela Colombia Brazil Peru Ecuador Chile Argentina

% p.a. 2.76 1.88 1.87 1.75 1.37 1.31 1.19 1.10 1.01 0.97

187

SOUTH AMERICA

Recent changes The end of the Cold War, marked by the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall, was experienced earlier in South America with the end of the dictatorships during the 1980s. Catholicism entered a new phase when the Holy See began to repress Liberation theologians. At CELAM´s 1992 Conference at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, South American Liberation theologians had almost no voice. By that time, the growth of Pentecostalism was much more visible. Catholicism was increasingly losing followers. Due to the absence of the religion variable from their national censuses, there are no trustworthy data from Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia. Nevertheless, it is possible to affirm that, with the exception of the small countries mentioned above, the least Catholic countries continued to be Chile and Brazil. Other countries, such as Bolivia and Ecuador, also experienced a great decline in the number of Catholics. Nevertheless, compared to what has happened in Central America, South American Pentecostal growth could be considered limited. Pentecostalism has transformed itself into something that has been called, at least in South America, ‘Neopentecostalism’. Most Neopentecostal leaders have special skills with the media, especially radio and TV. Emphasising the Holy Ghost gift of deliverance or exorcism, Neopentecostal churches also preach the ‘theology of prosperity’ (also known as the ‘health and wealth gospel’). The Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus, founded by Edir Macedo in 1977 in Rio de Janeiro, has stood out in Brazil and in South America as an example of a Neopentecostal church. Besides owning radio and TV stations, this church has been able to influence the election of politicians in Brazil and send missionaries to other continents. Several other Brazilian, Argentinian and Colombian Neopentecostal churches also use the media and send missionaries abroad. The presence in the media and in politics is a trademark of various Pentecostal and Neopentecostal churches in South America, whose founders are ‘communicating’ pastors. In Argentina, the following pastors stand out with similar styles: Carlos Annacondia, Claudio

Freydzon, Omar Cabrera and Héctor Gimenez, among others. Furthermore, Pentecostal renewal has also taken place in the historical Protestant churches. Throughout South America many historical denominations face Pentecostal influences. The strength and degree of these influences on the different congregations in the same denomination depends on their members’ socio-economic backgrounds, levels of education and ethnicities. During this third period most Protestants, whether Pentecostal or not, became identified as Evangélicos. The Catholic Church also joined the Pentecostal wave. In 1968, the same year that the Second General Conference of CELAM took place in Medellín, Northern American Catholics in ecumenical gatherings with Pentecostals experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and in the following year Northern American Jesuit priests Eduardo Dougherty and Haroldo Rahm founded the first prayer groups of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Campinas, Brazil. At the beginning of the 1970s the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) came from the USA to Chile, Colombia and Peru with the Northern American (at that time, Dominican) friar Francis MacNutt, who became well known for displaying the gift of healing. Although the first Latin American Catholic Charismatic Conference took place in 1973 in Bogotá, the movement would only become fully visible in South America in the 1990s. At the turn of the twenty-first century, many Catholic Charismatic priests and lay people stood out in the region because of their diverse gifts of liberation, prophecy, and healing and also for their skills as preachers and singers. In Brazil the singer-priest, Marcelo Rossi became very popular. Throughout South America Charismatic Catholic groups and the Neopentecostal churches have a special affinity with the media. In Brazil, the CCR community Canção Nova, whose mission is to evangelise through the media, opened radio and TV stations. With the same mission, the priest Eduardo Dougherty founded the Século XXI television channel. In Colombia, the priest Diego Jaramillo has stood out as the president of El Minuto de Dios, a Charismatic evangelistic centre in Bogota. The Colombian priest Darío Betancur is also very well known for his show ‘Hablemos con Dios’ on television and for his books about intercessory prayer and healing. In Peru the Spanish priest Manuel Rodriguez is notable for the gift of healing; his sermons are spread by the media to various cities of the country. Another important phenomenon among Charismatic Catholics in this third period was the emergence of the so-called ‘new communities’. In search of sanctification, Catholic people decided to live together, sharing their material resources. Among the founders of the ‘new communities’ in Brazil were the priest Jonas Abib, who founded the above-mentioned community Canção Nova; the priest Roberto Lettieri, who created the community Toca de Assis; and Moysés Louro de Azevedo Filho, who founded the Comunidade Católica Shalom. Similar communities have been created in many other South American countries. The USA is the birthplace of contemporary Pentecostal Protestantism and Charismatic Catholicism. Having first appeared in an Afro-American church, contemporary Pentecostal Christianity is marked by ecstatic experiences comparable to those found in Native American and African religions. While Liberation Catholicism can be seen as the fruit of syncretism between Catholicism and a leftist intellectual vision marked by Marxist sociological criticism of the actions of Western society, Pentecostalism resulted from a syncretism between Protestant Christianity

Christianity in South America, 1910–2010 Religions in South America Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

Religious affiliation and growth in South America, 1910 and 2010 Christians Agnostics Spiritists Ethnoreligionists Atheists New Religionists Muslims Jews Buddhists Baha'is Hindus Chinese folk Shintoists Jains Sikhs Confucianists Total population

= 1% of population 2 5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 = All other religions

2010 Adherents % 366,322,000 92.1 10,878,000 2.7 10,656,000 2.7 2,202,000 0.6 1,933,000 0.5 1,768,000 0.4 1,342,000 0.3 785,000 0.2 714,000 0.2 660,000 0.2 367,000 0.1 99,400 0.0 8,000 0.0 1,300 0.0 1,100 0.0 500 0.0 397,739,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 2.10 1.30 3.28 1.97 3.87 1.37 -0.14 1.13 5.17 1.86 6.36 2.29 3.40 1.18 3.93 0.26 5.25 1.79 11.74 1.84 1.29 0.28 4.61 1.38 6.91 1.34 4.99 0.80 4.81 0.00 3.99 1.29 2.11 1.32

Percent Christian

Christians in South America Proportion of all Christians in South America, 2010 Key:

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Graph Proportion a country’s Proportioninofthe a country’s Christians region Colour Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in cent Christian in each country or region aPer country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian and of region Map Location Per cent Location and Perregion cent Locationof ofregion the Christian Christian of region

Falkland Islands French Guiana Suriname

Guyana Uruguay

Paraguay

ia

Boliv

Co lo

mb

r

la

Peru

Ven

ezu e

ina ent Arg

Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

Adherents 72,600

Adherents 235,000

45,560,000 5,400 2,500 7,000 453,000

317,702,000 32,659,000 6,890,000 891,000 41,161,000

% by tradition

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 1.18 0.57 1.96 9.10 8.24 4.97 4.61

0.58 1.53 2.90 2.57 2.54

1910

2010

Rate* 1910–2010

Anglican (A)

2010

10

10

10

10

8

8

8

8

6

6

6

6

4

4

4

4

2 0

2

Rate* 2000–2010

Major Christian traditions in South America, 1910 & 2010 1910

ia

le

ado Ecu

All All Christians Christians

2.10

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

2 2.10 0

2

All All Christians Christians

1.30 1.30 0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

Christians in South America, 1910 and 2010 South America Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Falkland Islands French Guiana Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela

Population 49,320,000 5,565,000 1,739,000 22,405,000 3,418,000 4,852,000 1,887,000 2,300 21,800 308,000 718,000 4,360,000 93,600 1,095,000 2,855,000

1910 Christians 45,925,000 5,474,000 1,627,000 21,576,000 3,307,000 3,875,000 1,655,000 2,250 20,200 181,000 694,000 4,128,000 43,300 687,000 2,656,000

% 93.1 98.4 93.6 96.3 96.8 79.9 87.7 98.0 92.7 58.7 96.7 94.7 46.3 62.7 93.0

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

188

1910 Adherents % 45,925,000 93.1 432,000 0.9 239,000 0.5 2,536,000 5.1 12,500 0.0 3,700 0.0 47,300 0.1 16,700 0.0 4,300 0.0 0 0.0 102,000 0.2 1,100 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 49,320,000 100.0

2010

Brazil

uring the past 100 years the proportion of Christians in South America has changed little. The region was 93.1% Christian in 1910 and is 92.1% Christian in 2010. There were, however, changes in the non-Christian population. In 1910 the majority were ethnoreligionists (5.1% of the population), but by 2010 this has dwindled to 0.6%. It is interesting to note that although many of these became Christians in this period, the overall percentage of Christians did not increase because Christians were also defecting to become agnostics (10.9 million in 2010) or atheists (almost two million in 2010). Many Christians were also reverting to Spiritism (over 10 million in 2010), especially in Brazil (Brazil contains the largest Spiritist population in all of Latin America). By 2010 Muslims numbered over one million and Jews 785,000, while New Religionists, Buddhists and Baha’is each numbered at least 650,000. The most significant changes over the century occurred within Christianity. Christians outside the Roman Catholic Church represented only 1% of all Christians in 1910; by 2010 this had grown to over 20%. The most vigorous growth early in the century was among mainline Protestants, but this had shifted to Pentecostals and Independent Charismatics by the end of the century. Most non-Catholic traditions are now growing at least three times the rate of Roman Catholics. Another development is the burgeoning Charismatic movement within the Roman Catholic Church (claiming over 20% of all Roman Catholics in the region), making South America the leading region in the worldwide Roman Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Two countries are about 50% Christian in 2010. In Guyana the Christian percentage is declining due to the rising percentage of Hindus, almost all of whom are of East Indian ethnicity. In Suriname the Christian percentage has been gradually increasing because of the emigration of Hindus and Muslims (also East Indian in ethnicity). Another country of particular interest is Uruguay, which is only 64% Christian. Agnosticism and atheism have a longer history (and are numerically far stronger) in Uruguay than in any other South American nation. An overwhelming majority of the country’s population is European or of European origin, mostly coming originally from Spain, Italy and France and bringing with them those countries’ anti-clericalism and opposition to state-related Catholicism. Early separation of church and state (1916) contributed to a further reduction in Catholic influence and continued the rise of freethinkers, agnostics and atheists; this situation has continued relatively unchanged to the present day. Uruguay is the least Catholic and least Christian of any Latin American Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking country (even though Catholicism remains the largest Christian tradition).

Ch i

D

Population 397,739,000 40,738,000 10,031,000 198,982,000 17,134,000 47,890,000 13,775,000 3,100 217,000 731,000 6,460,000 28,894,000 465,000 3,374,000 29,045,000

2010 Christians % 366,322,000 Region92.1 total 37,429,000 91.9 Argentina 9,223,000 Bolivia 91.9 180,932,000 90.9 Brazil 15,010,000 87.6 Chile 45,949,000Colombia 95.9 13,364,000 Ecuador 97.0 2,600 Islands 82.3 Falkland 183,000 84.3 French Guiana 370,000 Guyana 50.6 6,164,000Paraguay 95.4 27,866,000 96.4 Peru 232,000Suriname 50.0 2,155,000Uruguay 63.9 Venezuela 27,443,000 94.5

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in South America, 2010

Guyana Suriname

Venezuela

Colombia

French Guiana

Ecuador

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Province São Paulo Minas Gerais Rio de Janeiro Bahia Buenos Aires Rio Grande do Sul Paraná Pernambuco Ceará Lima

Country Brazil Brazil Brazil Brazil Argentina Brazil Brazil Brazil Brazil Peru

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

Population 43,397,000 20,966,000 16,865,000 15,317,000 15,541,000 11,939,000 11,207,000 9,279,000 8,708,000 8,370,000

Christians 38,389,000 18,891,000 15,178,000 13,938,000 13,870,000 10,864,000 10,535,000 8,351,000 8,185,000 7,975,000

% 88.5 90.1 90.0 91.0 89.3 91.0 94.0 90.0 94.0 95.3

Brazil Peru !

!

2010

1910

Christian centre of gravity

Bolivia

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

SOUTH AMERICA

Paraguay

Uruguay

Chile

Argentina

1910

Christians by country

Falkland Islands

Christian loss and gain, 2010 South America Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Falkland Islands French Guiana Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela

Emmigrants

Defections

Deaths

Annual Christian change % of Christian loss Emigrants Defectors Deaths Net change Loss Gain 4,340,000 4,884,000 9,224,000 South America 352,000 426,000 778,000 Argentina 155,000 102,400 257,400 Bolivia 2,144,000 2,841,000 4,985,000Brazil 139,800 147,200 287,000Chile 554,000 549,000 1,103,000 Colombia 136,100 143,900 280,000 Ecuador 20 30 Falkland50 Islands 4,160 1,340 5,500 French Guiana -1,280 7,700 6,420 Guyana 104,400 66,300 170,700 Paraguay 311,900 299,000 610,900Peru 810 3,720 4,530 Suriname 900 37,800 38,700 Uruguay 437,000 259,000 696,000 Venezuela 100%

⇐

0%

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

Christian

Immigrants

total 2.10Region 2.11 1.94 Argentina 2.01 Bolivia 1.75 1.77 Brazil 2.15 2.21 Chile 1.52 1.63 2.50 Colombia 2.32 2.11 Ecuador 2.01 0.12 Falkland 0.30 Islands 2.23 2.32 French Guiana 0.72 Guyana 0.87 2.21 Paraguay 2.22 1.93 1.91 Peru 1.69 Suriname 1.62 1.15 Uruguay 1.13 2.36 Venezuela 2.35 ⇒

100%

-2

Region1.32 total 1.30 0.97Argentina 1.00 1.87 Bolivia 1.89 Brazil 1.31 1.34 Chile 1.01 1.06 1.37Colombia 1.40 1.10 Ecuador 1.13 0.48 Islands 0.68 Falkland 2.76 2.77 French Guiana -0.13 Guyana -0.05 1.88 Paraguay 1.90 1.19 1.19 Peru 0.57Suriname 0.64 -0.02 Uruguay 0.17 1.75Venezuela 1.76 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

189

Christianity in Northern America, 1910–2010

T

he world history of Christianity since 1910 has not turned on developments in Bermuda, Greenland, and Saint Pierre & Miquelon, but these islands also have participated in worldwide trends. The tiny population (6,400) of the small French islands, Saint Pierre & Miquelon, situated off the Canadian east coast is, like much of Southern Europe, both overwhelmingly Roman Catholic and also beset by widespread nominal practice. Similarly, the small population (59,200) of Greenland, a huge island under Danish rule, resembles much of Northern Europe, with a strongly Lutheran population that has let religious practice decay. Bermuda, the tiny British territory in the Atlantic with a modest population (65,000), has witnessed a proliferation of Protestant, Catholic, Pentecostal and Independent churches. But along with much of the Global South, Bermuda’s Christian presence has not yet had a determinative effect on the islands’ culture.

The USA: Christian diversity The years surrounding the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference of 1910 witnessed significant developments for all strands of Christianity in the USA. For the Orthodox, a swelling tide of immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe brought to the New World unprecedented numbers of the oldest Christian communions. In 1907 Tikhon Belavin, the Russian Orthodox Archbishop of the Aleutians in Northern America, convened the first All-American Council of the Orthodox churches and so took the first small step toward cooperation among the ethnic Orthodox churches that by 1960 included Belorussian, Albanian, Romanian, Serbian, Egyptian, Bulgarian and Syrian groups as well as Russian, Ukrainian and Greek. Only late in the twentieth century did some of the Orthodox churches – with Northern American adherents numbering about two million – begin to work directly at adapting their ancient creeds, liturgies and iconic practices to the American environment. Toward the end of the century, Orthodoxy also received as converts some Americans who concluded that Catholic and Protestant churches were too rationalistic, liberal and individualistic. During the twentieth century American Roman Catholicism became what the Orthodoxy of the next century might become – a Christian tradition grounded in the Old World but matured into a powerful American religion. The decline in European immigration occasioned by World War I and then by restrictive legislation during the 1920s accelerated the process of Catholic acculturation. American Catholics were late in appropriating the Thomistic revival begun by Pope Leo XIII in the late nineteenth century, but by the 1920s it was flourishing as an active philosophical and theological enterprise. The revival gave leading intellectuals a platform for effective theological creativity, especially the Jesuit John Courtney Murray, whose work on religious freedom would influence the Second Vatican Council. In society, Catholic initiatives were highlighted by the Catholic Worker movement that developed in the 1930s under the lay leadership of Peter Maurin and Dorothy Day. Through their newspaper, the Catholic Worker, and through a network of ‘Houses of Hospitality’, Day, Maurin and their associates fed the hungry, housed the homeless, defended orphans and intervened for those without work. By the early twentieth century, it was evident that Protestantism was more a very rough general category for non-Catholic Christians than a cohesive religious force. At the start of the century, two opposing factions – modernists and fundamentalists – aired their differences sharply, but the two constituted only part of the broad Protestant mosaic. Modernists were Protestants who felt it was important to adjust Christianity to the new norms of progressive culture. Modernism won its most important victories in centres of higher learning like the University of Chicago, where leaders like Shailer

Mathews looked to Christianity to provide a moral basis for pacifying the strife in modern society. Fundamentalists represented the antithesis. A few of them were also academics, like the Presbyterian scholar, J. Gresham Machen, who published a major polemic in 1923 entitled Christianity and Liberalism. But most favoured vigorous preaching aimed at moving the heart more than swaying the mind. Behind these efforts was a new theology that seemed designed for desperate times, premillennial dispensationalism, which received its widest circulation through the notes of a Bible published in 1909 by C. I. Scofield. Alongside this Bible, the most visible landmarks were a series of booklets appearing from 1910 to 1915, The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth, that reasserted traditional Protestant theology. Fundamentalists lost the ecclesiastical battles of the 1920s and were discredited in the wider culture by the 1925 Scopes evolution trial in Tennessee. But fundamentalism was far from dead. The inclusive moderates of the mainstream rejected both modernism and fundamentalism. Most Protestants among the more traditional Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, Disciples of Christ, Baptists in the North and several Lutheran synods continued a course modelled after the leading Protestants of the nineteenth century. These moderates were the driving force in founding the Federal Council of Churches of Christ (1908) and then the successor National Council of Churches (1950). They included the most influential public theologian of the 1930s and 1940s, Reinhold Niebuhr of New York City’s Union Theological Seminary. Holiness churches have always existed on the margins of public visibility, yet their effects have been substantial. Toward the end of the nineteenth century a resurgence of concern for the doctrines and practices of holiness led to significant breakaway movements from the main Methodist bodies, including the Church of God, Anderson, Indiana, and the Church of the Nazarene. One very important legacy of the Holiness Movement was its preparation for the beginnings of Pentecostalism. The cradle of Pentecostalism was an abandoned Methodist church on Azusa Street in the industrial section of Los Angeles, where in 1906 a black Holiness preacher, William J. Seymour, conducted a mission that emphasised the special works of the Holy Spirit. Before coming to Los Angeles, Seymour had been guided by the ministry of Charles Fox Parham, who stressed the Spirit gifts of healing and ‘speaking with other tongues’. From a number of new alliances, networks of periodicals, and circuits of preachers and faith-healers, the Assemblies of God emerged as the most important Pentecostal denomination among Caucasians and the Church of God in Christ among African Americans. The founding of the National Association of Evangelicals in 1942 signalled the emergence of a ‘neoevangelical’ movement that strove to affirm doctrinal fundamentals, but with greater attention to modern intellectual life and heightened social concern. Its leaders included the radio host Charles E. Fuller, the Boston pastor Harold John Ockenga, who became founding president of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, and scholars like Carl F. H. Henry, first editor of Christianity Today magazine. The movement’s most important guide was the evangelist Billy Graham, who lent his growing prestige to this movement, even as it followed Graham in leaving behind many fundamentalist shibboleths. During and after the First World War a great migration of African American Protestants began from the rural South to the cities of the North, where older black denominations continued to service a broad constituency. They included the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Incorporated, and the National Baptist Convention of America (unincorporated). By the 1920s, churches from these older denominations were joined by new 100

100

Area (sq. km): 21,676,000 Population, 2010: 348,575,000 Population density (per sq. km): 16 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.31 Life expectancy (years): 79 (male 77, female 82) Adult literacy (%): 100

Christians, 1910: 91,429,000 % Christian, 1910: 96.6 Christians, 2010: 283,002,000 % Christian, 2010: 81.2 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.14 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 0.83

% Christian 0

0

1910

1910

190

2010

2010

Pentecostal denominations and also numerous independent churches that usually promoted Holiness or Pentecostal practices. The staggering degree of organisational Christian diversity continues to dazzle foreign observers. In the Encyclopedia of American Religions (5th edition, 1996), J. Gordon Melton listed ten different ‘families’ of Protestants, including 19 separate Presbyterian denominations, 32 Lutheran, 36 Methodist, 37 Episcopal or Anglican, 60 Baptist and 241 Pentecostal. For Catholics, the hierarchical structures linking the faithful to Rome cannot mask the profusion of theological, racial, educational, ideological, social, linguistic and cultural sub-groups within this single Church. It now has almost as many sub-divisions, interest groups, lobbies and shades of opinions as in the wide divergence of Protestantism. Within the borders of the USA also exists a bewildering array of home-grown movements. Some, like the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), have increasingly taken on churchlike status and functions. Others like the Jehovah’s Witnesses remain closer to their original sectarian character. Still other once-sectarian groups, like the Seventh-day Adventists, have emphasised their commonality with historical Protestantism. But even a roster of denominations still only begins to chart the full measure of diversity, which must also account for all manner of voluntary religious agencies like the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the political Christian Coalition of America, Concerned Women for America, Bread for the World, Clergy and Laity Concerned, Promise Keepers, and many more.

The USA: key events • With the exception of some traditional pacifists, most church leaders gave their vigorous support to World War I, during which Catholics established a National Catholic War Council that led on to other influential national organisations. • During the 1920s entrepreneurial leaders were quick to exploit the development of radio, including Aimee Semple McPherson, a Pentecostal evangelist and founder of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. • During the Depression of the 1930s, mainline Protestant churches generally had a difficult time, but fundamentalist, Holiness, Pentecostal, African American and smaller evangelical churches expanded. • The end of World War II inaugurated an economic boom in the USA that allowed most denominations to construct more church buildings than in any other comparable period in the nation’s history. • A Supreme Court decision in 1954 ending the racial segregation of American schools was one of the sparks for the large-scale Civil Rights Movement, which was propelled especially by African American Christians. • In 1960 the election of a youthful Catholic, John F. Kennedy, as President marked a breakthrough in Catholic-Protestant relations. • In the 1960s and 1970s a number of tumults shook all of American society: assassinations (John F. Kennedy in 1963, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr in 1968), the Viet Nam War, sexual revolution, feminism, computerisation and the revolution in communications, and radical movements of deconstruction in the universities. The churches and contemporary culture World War II expanded the number of women working in the marketplace, and ideological campaigns of later decades have kept women’s concerns in the forefront of religious debate. Considerable sentiment exists within the Catholic Church in favour of clerical marriage and the ordination of women as priests, a sentiment strengthened by a steady decline in religious vocations among both men and women. All of the churches, Catholic and Protestant, have been forced to deal with the presence of homosexuals in their communions. The most liberal Protestant bodies have, to one degree or another, accepted homosexual practice, while most mainline Protestant churches have drawn the line at accepting the ordination of homosexuals. Conservative Protestant denominations have echoed official Catholic and Orthodox positions

in continuing to label homosexual practice a deviation, or a sin, even while most have gone on record affirming civil rights for homosexuals. Among all communions there have also been increased opportunities for leadership by women, though many of the more conservative Protestant bodies continue to limit the pastorate to men. The politicisation of modern American religion began in the 1950s with the Cold War against ‘godless Communism’, but the most influential political movement with religious support was the Civil Rights Movement. The Revd Martin Luther King Jr became its leading spokesperson by combining insights and preaching from his black Baptist heritage with the pacifist theories of Mahatma Gandhi and an adept use of Scripture. The next stage in the confluence of religion and politics was both illustrated and accelerated by the USA presidency of Jimmy Carter (1977–81), a life-long Sunday School teacher at his Baptist church in Plains, Georgia. The decades since have been filled with Christian efforts at shaping public life. The best-publicised arose on the Right, but from the Left have come sharp attacks on racism from Cornel West and on poverty and American militarism from the evangelical Jim Wallis. For conservatives, Jerry Falwell used his base at the Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, to advance conservative political views. Falwell was followed by the broadcaster Pat Robertson, whose campaign for President in 1988 was not successful, except in bringing many more conservative Protestants into the political process. The great publicity bestowed upon Falwell, Robertson and their organisations has been due to the strategic alliance Christian conservatives established with the Republican Party, especially under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

Canadian counterpoint In the early twentieth century, Canada was a religiously divided country, with Catholics (many Frenchspeaking and in Quebec) and Protestants (mostly English-speaking) sustaining virtually no interconnections. But it was also a strongly religious country. With Methodists, Presbyterians and Anglicans as the largest Protestant bodies, English Canada experienced church adherence rates considerably above the USA’s. Significant denominational change occurred when in 1925 the Methodists and three-fifths of the Presbyterians joined to form the United Church of Canada. The religious loyalty of the Québécois made this province one of the strongest Catholic regions in the world; into the 1950s, weekly mass attendance exceeded 90% of the Catholic population. Canada’s historic loyalism to the British crown has encouraged a spirit that several scholars, most famously Seymour Martin Lipset, describe as the critical element in Canadian culture. In Canada liberalism has been balanced by corporate visions of the Left and the Right, and often with significant religious support. As examples, the fundamentalist preacher William ‘Bible Bill’ Aberhart embodied populist and communitarian principles in Alberta’s Social Credit Party that he led to power in the 1930s. A Baptist minister, Tommy Douglas, exploited principles from the social gospel as an organiser of the Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation in the Prairie Provinces during the same Depression years. That movement eventually became the New Democratic Party, Canada’s socialist alternative to the larger parties. Christian philosopher George Parkin Grant was only the most forceful of several prominent spokespersons in the 1950s and 1960s defending a communal conservatism that excoriated Canada’s drift into an American orbit. Catholic corporatism as well as several varieties of Protestant Loyalism have together encouraged a different approach to questions of church and state than practised in the USA. The Catholic establishment in Quebec, where the school systems, hospitals and labour organisations were once exclusively ecclesiastical enterprises, gave way only in the 1950s. Close cooperation between institutions of church and state were once almost as pronounced in Protestant Canada. Denominational colleges, for example, participate in several of Canada’s major universities, and aid is still provided to at least some church-organised primary and secondary schools in every Canadian province. From the early 1960s, however, Canada suddenly moved in a more secular direction. In Quebec’s ‘silent revolution’, French language and provincial independence displaced traditional loyalty to Catholicism. In Protestant Canada, the denominations that had defined standards for Canadian public life experienced precipitous decline. As guidance for national life, principles of multi-culturalism and individual rights replaced religion, especially after the implementation of Canada’s new Charter of Rights and Liberties (1982). As a striking contrast with the USA, where secularisation has proceeded alongside considerable vigour in the fragmented but popular churches, in Canada secularisation has worked through the traditionally communal and top-down structures of Canadian society.

MARK A. NOLL Sydney E. Ahlstrom, A Religious History of the American People (with expansion by David Hall) (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004). Edwin Scott Gaustad and Philip L. Barlow, New Historical Atlas of Religion in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000). Seymour Martin Lipset, Continental Divide: The Values and Institutions of the United States and Canada (New York: Routledge, 1990). Mark A. Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992). Mark Silk (ed.), Religion by Region Series, 9 vols (Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira, 2004).

Christians in Northern America by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5

1910 Christians USA 84,800,000 Canada 6,588,000 Bermuda 22,900 Greenland 12,100 St Pierre & Miquelon 6,100

Highest percentage 2010 Christians USA 257,311,000 Canada 25,570,000 Bermuda 57,900 Greenland 56,700 St Pierre & Miquelon 6,000

1 2 3 4 5

1910 % Christian Bermuda 100.0 St Pierre & Miquelon 100.0 Canada 98.4 USA 96.4 Greenland 90.3

Fastest growth 2010 % Christian Greenland 95.8 St Pierre & Miquelon 94.5 Bermuda 89.1 USA 81.8 Canada 75.8

1 2 3 4 5

1910–2010 Greenland Canada USA Bermuda St Pierre & Miquelon

% p.a. 1.56 1.37 1.12 0.93 -0.01

2000–2010 USA Canada Greenland Bermuda St Pierre & Miquelon

% p.a. 0.85 0.68 0.44 0.11 0.05

191

NORTHERN AMERICA

American church life: a new century Catholics and Protestants. The Second Vatican Council (1962–5) had an almost immediate impact in reducing the historical antagonism between Catholics and Protestants. In the wake of the Council, Catholics initiated formal dialogues with several religious bodies. Among the most significant breakthroughs have been the Lutheran–Catholic statement from 1983 that outlined a basic agreement on justification by faith and the informal resolutions prepared by the ad hoc group, Evangelicals and Catholics Together. The prolife movement opposing liberal abortion practices has also been a thoroughly ecumenical enterprise involving Catholics, Protestants, Mormons and also some Jews. The New Ethnics. In the manner of earlier generations of Catholic immigrants, Hispanic Catholics are also finding ways of incorporating their ancestral traditions of devotion and festival into American settings. Protestantism among American Hispanics has been given a tremendous boost by the Pentecostal movement. Strong Christian identification also marks almost all Asian-American populations. KoreanAmericans have been especially active in forming churches on the West Coast and in several northern cities, although Koreans and other Asian-American Christians face the difficult problem of keeping American-born young people satisfied with combined Asian and American religious practice. Shifting ecclesiastical strengths. Definite shifts also have been taking place in denominational adherence. The 1930s marked the beginning of the relative decline of the older, mainline Protestant churches, which public turmoils of the 1960s accelerated. The theology of these churches has tended to stress human capacities more than traditional views of God’s loving power and to accent what humans can do for themselves in this life. To the extent that such beliefs prevailed in the older denominations, or were perceived to prevail, the churches lost credibility with some of their constituents. Since 1960, large declines have occurred in the

Presbyterian Church (USA), the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ, the Disciples of Christ and the United Methodist Church. Older ethnic churches – like the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, the Mennonite Church USA, the Christian Reformed Church, or the Baptist General Conference with its Swedish roots – have fared somewhat better, but their growth rates have recently lagged considerably behind the growth rate of the national population. The Protestant bodies growing more rapidly than the general population are defined by labels like Bible-believing, born again, conservative, evangelical, fundamentalist, Holiness, Pentecostal or restorationist. They include the Assemblies of God, the Christian and Missionary Alliance, the Church of God in Christ, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Church of the Nazarene, the Salvation Army, the Baptist Bible Fellowship International, the Churches of Christ, and the Church of the Nazarene. The largest Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, underwent a bruising internal struggle during the 1970s and 1980s between conservatives seeking to reaffirm more staunchly supernaturalistic theology against moderates who resembled the inclusive mainline Protestants of a previous generation. It is indicative of more general trends among Protestants that the conservatives won that internal struggle, and that the Southern Baptist Convention grew by nearly six million members during the last decades of the twentieth century. Despite well-publicised sex scandals at the turn of the new century, the steady expansion of the Catholic Church has made it overwhelmingly the largest Christian denomination in the country. Where the national population grew 103% between 1940 and 2000, Catholics grew by almost 200% during this period. Pentecostal-Charismatic influences. Almost all Protestant denominations and large sections of the Catholic church have witnessed significant movements of liturgical and spiritual renewal since the 1960s. Most obvious have been changes in the regular worship due in substantial part to the influence of Pentecostals and Charismatics. Pentecostal worship has always been exuberant, spontaneous and subjective. Charismatic emphases include a stress on personal conversion, physical healing, speaking in tongues, participation in small group fellowships, and freshly written songs. Charismatic (in the other sense of the term) leaders have also played a major role in the Charismatic (in the religious sense of the term) movement, like Chuck Smith, founder of the network of Calvary Chapels, and John Wimber, who established the Association of Vineyard Churches. Effects of Charismatic influence include greater concern for specific acts of the Holy Spirit, but even more a general turn toward subjective spirituality. The great changes in church music that began to take place in the 1960s were almost all related to Charismatic influences. Many congregations and fellowships began to sing newly written choruses and Scripture texts. The increasingly common practice of singing with electric guitar, drums and synthesiser has pushed aside the organ as instrumentation of choice in many churches. The rise of ‘megachurches’ is related to the relaxed institutional framework in which Charismatic emphases flourish. The model for such congregations is the Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, which began in 1975 with services in a rented movie theater. Under the guidance of founding pastor Bill Hybels, Willow Creek is nontraditional in almost all its forms, but it and many of its imitators have provided a meaningful religious message to suburbanites of the Baby Boom generation and their children, many of whom find themselves spiritually starved by prosperity, mobility and the American elixir of self-determination.

Christianity in Northern America, 1910–2010 Religions in Northern America Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

Religious affiliation and growth in Northern America, 1910 and 2010 Christians Agnostics Muslims Jews Buddhists Atheists Hindus New Religionists Ethnoreligionists Chinese folk Sikhs Baha'is Spiritists Jains Shintoists Zoroastrians Daoists Total population

= 1% of population 2 5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 = All other religions

2010 Adherents % 283,002,000 81.2 41,144,000 11.8 5,740,000 1.6 5,655,000 1.6 3,720,000 1.1 1,900,000 0.5 1,820,000 0.5 1,678,000 0.5 1,578,000 0.5 762,000 0.2 680,000 0.2 527,000 0.2 173,000 0.0 99,000 0.0 62,200 0.0 20,800 0.0 12,400 0.0 348,575,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 1.14 0.83 3.63 2.09 6.39 1.79 1.18 -0.22 4.46 2.55 6.90 0.95 7.60 1.76 5.00 1.37 2.25 0.82 2.19 1.04 11.77 2.54 5.24 2.10 10.25 -1.09 9.64 1.57 9.13 0.79 7.94 0.75 7.38 0.84 1.31 1.00

Percent Christian

Christians in Northern America Proportion of all Christians in Northern America, 2010 Key:

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s

Graph in the continent by country Christians inofthe region Graph Proportion a country’s Proportion ofthe a country’s Christians in region Colour in the region Christians Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in Per cent Christian in country or region aeach country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian of region Map Map Location and Per cent Location Perregion cent Locationand ofregion the Christian of Christian of region

St Pierre & Miquelon

USA

Greenland Bermuda a

d Cana

Major Christian traditions in Northern America, 1910 & 2010

% by tradition

1910

2010

2010 Adherents 2,864,000 84,485,000 73,759,000 11,842,000 7,180,000 61,511,000

Churches, 2010

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 0.12 -0.35 1.73 1.00 2.42 1.12 2.56 1.13 2.74 1.19 0.35 0.09

Denominations Total Average size 3 955,000 5 319,000 4,670 16,000 460 26,000 70 98,000 1,030 60,000

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

Church sizes, 2010

10

10

10

10

1,000,000 1,000,000

8

8

8

8

6

6

6

4

4

2 0

2

All All 4 Christians Christians

1.14

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

1.14 2 0

6 4 2

All All Christians Christians

0.83

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

0.83

Congregations Total Average size 7,700 370 30,600 2,800 284,000 260 38,600 310 3,500 2,100 217,000 280

10,000 10,000

800,000 800,000

Average congregation size

1910 Adherents 2,536,000 15,146,000 6,779,000 944,000 481,000 43,259,000

Average denomination size

Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

8,000 8,000

600,000 600,000

6,000 6,000

400,000 400,000

4,000 4,000

200,000 200,000

2,000 2,000

0 0 A AC CI M I MO OP P

0 0 A AC CI M I MO OP P

Christians in Northern America, 1910 and 2010 Northern America Bermuda Canada Greenland St Pierre & Miquelon USA

Population 94,689,000 22,900 6,693,000 13,400 6,100 87,954,000

1910 Christians % 91,429,000 96.6 22,900 100.0 6,588,000 98.4 12,100 90.3 6,100 100.0 84,800,000 96.4

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

192

1910 Adherents % 91,429,000 96.6 1,169,000 1.2 11,700 0.0 1,756,000 1.9 47,200 0.0 2,400 0.0 1,200 0.0 12,800 0.0 170,000 0.2 87,100 0.1 0 0.0 3,200 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 94,689,000 100.0

2010

Rate* 2000–2010

ver the past 100 years Northern America has changed significantly in its religious demographics. The region was 96.6% Christian in 1910 but has fallen to 81.2% by 2010. Two main trends over the century were responsible for this decline. First, various forms of secularisation brought about the defection of large numbers of Christians. Most of these became agnostics, whose ranks grew from just over one million in 1910 to more than 41 million in 2010; a smaller number became atheists. Canada was hit the hardest by this trend, with its Christian percentage dropping over 20 percentage points in 100 years (from 98% to 76%). A second trend is the effect of immigration. Large numbers of Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus moved to Northern America, especially in the latter half of the twentieth century. Muslims grew to over five million, Buddhists to 3.7 million, and Hindus to 1.8 million. At the same time, smaller religious communities increased rapidly, many growing at two or three times population growth rates per year by the end of the century. The Christian movement has not only declined in adherents, but has also experienced profound changes in its internal composition. Protestants, who dominated the Christian scene in 1910, have declined dramatically as a percentage of all Christians (falling from over 60% to only 25%). Gains have been made by all other traditions except Anglicans or Episcopalians, as they are called in the USA. Roman Catholics have been gaining largely as the result of immigration from Latin America, while Independents have made the largest gains, becoming the second-largest of the six Christian traditions in the region in the latter part of the twentieth century. Marginal Christians also grew in size over the period; the largest such group is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), headquartered in Utah in the USA. Independent believers are Christians independent of historic, organised, institutionalised, or denominationalist Christianity. Many Northern American Independent churches arose out of dissatisfaction with a particular church, usually stemming from disagreements over doctrine (most popularly concerning homosexuality, feminism or abortion). Many Independent believers have reacted against their church’s doctrinal stance to create their own churches or denominations (as is happening with Presbyterians, Baptists and the Episcopal Church), hence the growth of Independents in this region. Immigration continues to play a significant role in the changing demographics of the region at the beginning of the twenty-first century. While this includes an increase of nonChristian religionists, the vast majority of immigrants are Christians from Latin America, Asia and Africa. With the rapid increase of agnostics and atheists in the USA, it is the nation’s primarily Christian immigrants (both legal and illegal) who are holding its percentage of Christians steady.

Rate* 1910–2010

O

2010 Population Christians % 348,575,000 283,002,000 Region81.2 total 65,000 57,900Bermuda 89.1 33,752,000 25,570,000 Canada 75.8 59,200 56,700 95.8 Greenland 6,400 Saint Pierre 6,000 94.5 & Miquelon 314,692,000 257,311,000 81.8 USA

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Northern America, 2010

Greenland

Canada

Saint Pierre & Miquelon

USA Christian centre of gravity

2010 1910

! !

Bermuda

0

2

NORTHERN AMERICA

ProvRelig_Christian Per

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Northern America Bermuda Canada Greenland St Pierre & Miquelon USA

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 2,300,800 4,034,200 6,335,000 Northern America -20 1,010 990 Bermuda 197,000 437,000 634,000 Canada 300 920 1,220 Greenland 10 90 Saint Pierre & 100 Miquelon 2,103,000 3,595,000 5,698,000USA

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

100%

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Province California Texas New York Florida Illinois Pennsylvania Ohio Ontario Michigan New Jersey

Country USA USA USA USA USA USA USA Canada USA USA

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Population 37,876,000 23,317,000 21,220,000 17,872,000 13,888,000 13,733,000 12,695,000 12,966,000 11,113,000 9,409,000

Christians 28,028,000 20,752,000 16,764,000 15,370,000 11,763,000 11,646,000 10,283,000 9,660,000 9,002,000 8,177,000

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year Rate* 1910–2010

0%

⇒

100%

-2

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

Christian

Immigrants

1.14Region 1.31 total 0.93 Bermuda 1.05 1.37 Canada 1.63 1.56Greenland 1.50 -0.01& Miquelon 0.05 Saint Pierre 1.12 1.28 USA ⇐

% 74.0 89.0 79.0 86.0 84.7 84.8 81.0 74.5 81.0 86.9

0.83 Region1.00 total 0.11 Bermuda 0.33 0.68 Canada 0.96 0.44Greenland 0.51 0.05 0.12 Saint Pierre & Miquelon 0.85 1.00 USA 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

193

Christianity in Oceania, 1910–2010 Religions in Oceania Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

Religious affiliation and growth in Oceania, 1910 and 2010 Christians Agnostics Buddhists Muslims Hindus Atheists Ethnoreligionists Chinese folk Jews Baha'is New Religionists Sikhs Confucianists Spiritists Daoists Jains Zoroastrians Total population

= 1% of population 2 5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 = All other religions

2010 Adherents % 27,848,000 78.5 4,568,000 12.9 627,000 1.8 582,000 1.6 524,000 1.5 441,000 1.2 349,000 1.0 110,000 0.3 110,000 0.3 108,000 0.3 105,000 0.3 50,700 0.1 50,300 0.1 7,500 0.0 4,500 0.0 3,200 0.0 2,400 0.0 35,491,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 1.61 1.11 4.60 1.99 4.51 3.42 3.69 3.27 3.52 1.79 6.28 1.91 -1.39 1.76 2.02 2.62 1.73 0.86 5.48 2.14 5.84 2.18 5.46 3.89 8.90 2.37 2.58 1.13 6.30 1.18 5.94 2.92 5.63 2.36 1.61 1.33

Percent Christian

Aus trali a

Christians in Oceania Proportion of all Christians in Oceania, 2010 Key:

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s

Tonga Micronesia Guam Samoa New Caledonia

ille ia ainv s Bouguatu olyne ds Van nch P Islan Fre mon o Sol

i Fij

nd Ze ala

a ine

Ne w

Gu

Note: Countries with too few Christians to depict here are found in regional pages.

Major Christian traditions in Oceania, 1910 and 2010 Adherents 1910 1,980,000 1,225,000 20,900 5,000 4,900 1,811,000

Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

Denominations Total Average size 18 282,000 27 144,000 330 4,000 120 5,000 50 17,000 520 16,000

100-year and 10-year growth rates* 10

10

10

10

8

8

8

8

6

6

6

4

4

2 0

Rate* 2000–2010

1910

2010

2010 5,078,000 8,914,000 1,262,000 666,000 928,000 8,403,000

All All 4 Christians Christians

1.61

2

1.61 2

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

0

6 4 2

All All Christians Christians

1.11

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

Congregations Total Average size 6,900 740 3,000 3,000 8,900 140 2,900 230 460 2,000 37,900 220

Church sizes, 2010

1.11

Average denomination size

% by tradition

Churches, 2010

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 0.95 0.39 2.00 1.05 4.19 1.85 5.01 1.22 5.38 1.70 1.55 2.05

1,000,000 1,000,000

10,000 10,000

800,000 800,000

Average congregation size

Graph in the continent by country Christians inofthe region Graph Proportion a country’s Proportioninofthe a country’s Christians region Colour Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in cent Christian in each country or region aPer country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian and of region Map Location Per cent Location and Per regions cent Locationsof ofregion the Christian Christian of region

8,000 8,000

600,000 600,000

6,000 6,000

400,000 400,000

4,000 4,000

200,000 200,000

2,000 2,000

0 0 A AC CI M I MO OP P

0 0 A AC CI M I MO OP P

Christians in Oceania, 1910 and 2010 Oceania Australia/New Zealand Melanesia Micronesia Polynesia

Population 7,192,000 5,375,000 1,596,000 89,400 131,000

1910 Christians 5,650,000 5,206,000 245,000 68,600 130,000

% 78.6 96.9 15.4 76.7 99.2

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

194

1910 Adherents % 5,650,000 78.6 51,100 0.7 7,600 0.1 15,600 0.2 16,400 0.2 1,000 0.0 1,413,000 19.7 14,900 0.2 19,800 0.3 520 0.0 360 0.0 250 0.0 0 0.0 590 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 7,192,000 100.0

2010

ew aN pu Pa

n 1910 Oceania was 78.6% Christian, dropping slightly to 78.5% by 2010. This small change in overall percentage in Oceania, however, masks significant changes within its regions. First, Melanesia has undergone a profound transformation; in 1910 the region was only 15% Christian, whereas in 2010 it is over 90% Christian. In particular, Papua New Guinea has seen tremendous change over the century, moving from majority ethnoreligions to Christianity (now at 94% Christian, though many tend to combine traditional indigenous beliefs with Christian practices). Surprisingly, much of this growth occurred after Papua New Guinea declared its independence from Australia (a predominantly Christian nation) in 1975. Meanwhile, Australia/New Zealand has fallen from almost 97% Christian to less than 75% Christian. Following the global pattern, Oceania has seen a marked increase in the number of agnostics and atheists, growing from 0.7% in 1910 to 14% by 2010 (although the vast majority are found in Australia and New Zealand). At the same time, ethnoreligionists have plummeted from 20% in 1910 to only 1% of the population in 2010. Other nonChristian religions have all increased in the same period, mainly as the result of Asian emigration to Australia; Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus in Oceania number 627,000, 582,000, and 524,000 respectively. Micronesia also has seen an increase in Christian adherence since 1910, from 77% to 93%. This could be due to the region being divided between the USA, Germany and the British Empire during the twentieth century, all majority Christian nations whose religious practices left an impact on the developing region. The internal composition of Christianity also has changed considerably over the past 100 years. The majority of Christians in Oceania were Anglican and Protestant in 1910, reflecting, in part, the earliest missionary endeavours of Methodists, Presbyterians and Lutherans. By 2010 Roman Catholics and Independents have significantly increased their proportions of all Christians, while Protestants have a slightly smaller proportion. The list of the ten largest denominations in the continent shows a variety of Roman Catholic, Anglican, Protestant and Orthodox denominations. None of the ten largest denominations is growing very fast (some are in severe decline), while many smaller denominations are growing rapidly. Consequently, the list of largest denominations will likely look quite different in 25 years. Note that the statistical centre of gravity of Christianity has moved north over the past 100 years, reflecting the decline of Christianity in Australia and the rise of Christianity in the rest of Oceania. Nonetheless, Australia and New Zealand, the most secularised countries, have an enormous share of the continent’s population.

Rate* 1910–2010

I

Population 35,491,000 25,647,000 8,589,000 575,000 680,000

2010 Christians 27,848,000 18,816,000 7,847,000 532,000 653,000

% Christian, 1910

% 78.5P 73.4P1 91.4P2 92.5P3 P4 96.0P4 0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Oceania, 2010

Micronesia

Polynesia

Melanesia

2010 ! Christian centre of gravity

1910

!

Australia/New Zealand

0

2

OCEANIA

ProvRelig_Christian Per

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Province New South Wales Victoria Queensland Western Australia South Australia Auckland Southern Highlands Morobe Western Highlands Eastern Highlands

Country Australia Australia Australia Australia Australia New Zealand Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea

Population 7,046,000 5,306,000 4,201,000 2,108,000 1,629,000 1,329,000 706,000 697,000 568,000 559,000

Christians 5,524,000 3,863,000 3,302,000 1,494,000 1,171,000 944,000 670,000 660,000 533,000 519,000

% 78.4 72.8 78.6 70.9 71.9 71.0 95.0 94.8 93.8 92.8

!

!

1910

Christians by country

Christianity in Oceania by country, 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Australia New Zealand Fiji Papua New Guinea French Polynesia New Caledonia Samoa Tonga FS Micronesia Kiribati

Highest percentage

Christian 4,254,000 950,000 123,000 49,100 40,500 40,100 39,400 23,700 22,200 21,500

2010 Christian Australia 15,816,000 Papua New Guinea 6,152,000 New Zealand 2,998,000 Fiji 529,000 Solomon Islands 506,000 French Polynesia 256,000 Vanuatu 230,000 Bougainville 217,000 New Caledonia 214,000 Samoa 190,000

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Oceania Australia/New Zealand Melanesia Micronesia Polynesia

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 262,900 428,500 691,400 Oceania 102,700 301,000 403,700 Australia-New Zealand 146,800 108,400 255,200 Melanesia 6,670 7,700 14,370 Micronesia 6,500

1910 Samoa Tonga Kiribati Cook Islands American Samoa Niue Tuvalu Tokelau Islands Norfolk Island Pitcairn Islands

10,900

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

Fastest growth

% Christian 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

2010 % Christian Samoa 98.8 American Samoa 98.3 Wallis & Futuna Is 97.3 Niue 97.0 Kiribati 97.0 Cook Islands 96.3 Tonga 95.5 Solomon Islands 95.3 Marshall Islands 95.1 Papua New Guinea 95.0

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Rate* 1910–2010

1.63 0%

⇒

100%

% p.a. 4.95 4.75 3.52 3.34 3.17 2.79 2.53 2.43 2.29 2.07

2000–2010 Vanuatu Northern Mariana Is Solomon Islands Papua New Guinea American Samoa Marshall Islands Kiribati Bougainville New Caledonia Guam

% p.a. 2.50 2.49 2.48 2.25 2.18 1.97 1.69 1.53 1.49 1.46

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year 1.61 1.29 3.53 2.07

⇐

1910–2010 Papua New Guinea Bougainville Solomon Islands Northern Mariana Is Nauru Vanuatu Guam Marshall Islands American Samoa Palau

Christian

Immigrants

Polynesia 17,400

100%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

1.61P 1.57P1 1.70P2 1.88P3 1.66P4 -2

1.11 0.71 2.14 1.44 1.00 0%

2

4

6

8

1.33P P1 1.10 2.06 P2 1.47 P3 P4 1.04 -2

0%

2

4

195

Christianity in Australia/New Zealand, 1910–2010

S

ince 1910 there have been major changes in the place of Christianity in this region. Then it was a vital part of national culture; now many see Christianity only as a private concern. That has been due to cultural changes, multi-faith diversity and stress on individual rights. Christians have become somewhat acculturated to these changes instead of adequately responding. When the 1910 World Missionary Conference met in Edinburgh, there were a few Australian and New Zealand representatives, but none from the Pacific Island churches. During the last half century the colonial pattern of mission has been replaced by indigenous churches. Australian and New Zealand churches have had to develop new patterns of appropriate partnership. In both countries the Anglican Church was the largest denomination. In Australia the Roman Catholics were the next largest, followed by Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Baptists, Churches of Christ, Lutherans and the Salvation Army. Catholics are now the largest Australian denomination. In New Zealand the Presbyterians were the second largest denomination but have now been overtaken by Catholics. Since the 1940s there has been major migration of Orthodox Christians to Australia and, in both countries, the emergence of British Pentecostal churches. In New Zealand there are significant Maori churches, which have no Aboriginal counterparts. Australian and New Zealand churches were similar to those in their British homelands, but that has changed since the 1960s, as each nation has developed an identity that is no longer dominated by Britishness but includes interaction with American and migrant cultures. The churches previously provided a variety of service agencies for the community, and national leaders were strongly influenced by the churches. While there was no established church, most Australians and New Zealanders believed that they lived in Christian countries where the churches were guardians of the moral order and Christian civilisation. Sectarian rivalries were potent until the 1970s. The churches were also culturally important because of their contributions to architecture, the arts and music, education and sporting organisations. The major Protestant churches had unsuccessfully explored reunion prior to World War I. The Joint Board of Christian Education, founded in 1916, was the most striking example of practical cooperation. A successful interdenominational campaign in Queensland restored teaching of the Bible in state primary schools in 1910, but a similar campaign in New Zealand failed because of World War I. Though women were enfranchised and served as Sunday School teachers, missionaries, deaconesses and in various voluntary capacities in their congregations, apart from the Salvation Army their role in governance was limited. Anglican and Roman Catholic sisterhoods and religious congregations provided another role. Remarkable Catholic women such as Caroline Chisholm, Mary MacKillop and Mother Aubert were widely respected beyond their denomination. The outbreak of war in 1914 led many church leaders to identify it as a war for Christian civilisation. Losses of forces’ personnel were extremely high. Many chaplains discovered how little the churches’ ministry affected many soldiers and sailors. Sectarian tensions were aggravated by the rejection of conscription, for Archbishop Mannix of Melbourne was one of its leading opponents. Missions to Aborigines in remote parts of Northern and Western Australia were recommenced in the early twentieth century, but conversions were few, compared with the people movements of the Pacific in the nineteenth century. Aborigine and Maori populations, however, began to increase instead of dying out. Australia and New Zealand were given League of Nations mandates over former German territories in New Guinea and Samoa. The discovery of a large

population in the hitherto unknown interior of Papua New Guinea provided a fresh missionary challenge. A changing society All the churches faced a changing intellectual climate, which questioned historic Christian convictions. There were divisions between Protestant Evangelicals and Liberals, but these were not so sharp as they were in Northern America. Within the Anglican Church there were further divisions between Anglo-Catholic and Low Church parties. In Bathurst, New South Wales, a group of Evangelicals took their bishop to the courts, over liturgical changes, in what became known as the Red Book Case. Legal judgments made it clear that the Church of England in Australia was not established, nor could bishops disregard property trusts. In the aftermath of war and depression, all the churches recognised that rebuilding a more just and Christian society was a high priority. Some Protestants still hoped for Jesus’ Second Coming, but others sought to modify socialist ideas in a Christian direction. Yet others were attracted by fascism in the 1930s. No universally accepted solutions emerged from this troubled period, but individual churches and ministers did notable charitable work. Another challenge was the emergence of radio. In both countries, a number of clergy developed major reputations as broadcasters. They included Father Rumble in Sydney and Sir Irving Benson in Melbourne. Some churches acquired radio stations, which remained under their control until the end of the twentieth century. Missionary work in the Pacific, Eastern Africa, India, China, Korea and South America showed that missionary concern was still vital in the major denominations. There were struggles over devolution of authority in Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. In New Zealand, Wiremu Ratana gained a national reputation as a healer, successfully adapting aspects of Christianity to Maori culture. Amongst Aborigines, leaders like the Anglican James Noble and the Lutheran Blind Moses showed what potential there was, but their gifts were not given wider recognition. Some Torres Strait Islanders were ordained priests in the Anglican Diocese of Carpentaria. There were still serious problems of oppressive behaviour by some white Australians, with massacres of Aborigines and severe discrimination, especially in Northern Australia. In both countries, theological developments were beginning to affect Protestant theological education and practice of ministry. Samuel Angus in Sydney, John Dickie in Dunedin, Edward Kiek in Adelaide and Ernest Burgmann in Morpeth were representatives of the new emphases, but Bible colleges and Moore College in Sydney, the latter under the leadership of T. C. Hammond, provided Evangelical continuity. A Bachelor of Divinity degree began in Melbourne in 1910, somewhat later in Sydney University, but not until 1945 in New Zealand. No undergraduate theological degrees emerged before the 1970s, when theological education began to be rethought because Roman Catholics were now willing to be involved in joint educational enterprises. Important initiatives in rural and remote Australia were developing amongst Anglicans, Methodists and Presbyterians. John Flynn, a notable Presbyterian, worked with Hudson Fysh to establish the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which provided a mantle of medical safety over the vast areas of inland and Northern Australia. In cities and smaller provincial towns, preachers were still very influential, such as T. Ruth, A. Albiston and L. Bevan, but few surpassed the literary and educational influence of Dr W. H. Fitchett. Samuel Angus was also widely published, as was Rita Snowden, a Methodist deaconess in New Zealand. F. E. Boreham also had widespread international influence because of the number of his books. Sectarian tensions were still very divisive because of the suspicions Protestants had about the implications of Ne Temere, the Roman Catholic decree seeking to regulate 100

100

Area (sq. km): 8,030,000 Population, 2010: 25,647,000 Population density (per sq. km): 3 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.57 Life expectancy (years): 82 (male 80, female 84) Adult literacy (%): 100

Christians, 1910: 5,206,000 % Christian, 1910: 96.9 Christians, 2010: 18,816,000 % Christian, 2010: 73.4 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.29 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 0.71

% Christian 0

0

1910

1910

196

2010

2010

marriages. In response, Protestant parliamentarians attempted to legislate, nullifying the decree’s effects. In 1922 Bishop Liston of Auckland was charged by militant Protestants with fostering sedition. His trial aroused great public interest, but he was acquitted. New movements, which aroused intra-Protestant concerns, were spiritual healing and Moral Re-Armament. In the Roman Catholic Church, women’s movements such as the Grail aroused the suspicions of conservative bishops. Within the Church of England in Australia there were attempts to reform the Constitution, but they failed until 1962 because of irreconcilable differences between Anglo-Catholics and the Sydney diocese. Evangelical leaders in Sydney opposed any change that would give Anglo-Catholics opportunity to alter historic doctrinal or liturgical formularies established by Parliament. Within New Zealand Anglicanism there was not the same need to modify the Constitution, for it was already national, whereas in Australia the authority of individual dioceses was entrenched. The outbreak of World War II in 1939 threatened both countries with Japanese invasion, but church leaders were not outspoken in claiming divine support for their nation. Bitter fighting in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands caused considerable destruction of mission buildings and loss of life in all denominations. Many tribal people in Papua New Guinea were indispensable allies in defeating the Japanese, although their work was far too little recognised. The immediate post-War years saw a major debate about acceptance of refugees in Australia. All were regarded with initial suspicion, but the Labor Government fostered immigration to ensure that the empty continent was less vulnerable to future invasion. In addition to further British migration, the arrival of Greeks, Italians and other Europeans brought about many changes in the largely mono-cultural society. New Zealand did not experience the same level of European immigration, but had a steady expansion of migration from its possessions. The churches were divided about how to minister to migrants. Most denominations opted for an assimilation model. By the 1970s it was clear that they needed to modify their worship and government in order to reflect changes in ethnic composition. In New Zealand that meant recognition of Maori and Polynesian cultural patterns. Most migrant churches sought to keep their ethnic identity, but they have needed to assimilate to hold the next generations. Both countries still took Christian values as the foundation for national life. That was demonstrated by ‘The call to Australia’ in 1952, when there were deep anxieties about the influence of the Communist Party. In the Australian Labor Party there was a bitter split between those who were adamantly opposed to Communist influences and those who believed that these were not a threat to party identity. A number of Catholic bishops supported the anti-Communist Democratic Labor Party, which kept the Labor Party from regaining power until 1972. Another deep concern of the Catholic Church was their schools, faced by enormous increase in numbers, which brought their system close to collapse in some dioceses. That led to the Federal Government cautiously resuming limited government aid in the 1960s, despite some vigorous Protestant protest. This initiative was further advanced by State governments, which had primary responsibility for education. The result has been a large development of Catholic education, together with acceptance of State aid by Protestant church-related schools. More recently has emerged a further strand called Christian schools, often fostered by Pentecostal churches and conservative Protestant groups. A different solution was reached in New Zealand in 1977 by the integration of all Catholic schools into the national system, with careful safeguards for their historic religious identity. Some Protestant schools also accepted this solution. Church union and reconfiguration The post-War years were marked by optimistic expansion and the emergence of Australian-born leaders in all the major churches. Partnership between the major churches and the Federal and State Governments has been further extended so that the churches have become major providers and employers in education and social services. This has created tensions between statutory requirements and desire for Christian identity. In other areas, the churches’ role in public life has become more marginal starting in the 1960s because

has played an important part in exposing and ending Christian anti-Semitism. Late-twentieth-century cultural change All the churches have had to deal with challenges to their historic theological and ethical heritages. Since the 1960’s, despite a flowering of theological scholarship in both Australia and New Zealand, it has become increasingly difficult to persuade many that the historic forms of Christian identity have a future. Disputes about homosexual behaviour and ordination have proved very divisive in the Protestant churches, while in the Roman Catholic Church the issue of priestly misbehaviour has been costly both in terms of credibility and compensation payments. Another issue raised by cultural changes has been the place that ought be held by women in the churches. Some Baptist, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches have stood firm against any modification of historic practice, which excluded women from ministry and priesthood. The Congregational Union and the Churches of Christ were the first to ordain women in Australia in the 1920s and 1930s. By the 1960s Methodists and Presbyterians were beginning seriously to discuss the theological basis for the ordination of women and more generous participation in governance. The Uniting Church from its beginning agreed to ordain women, but the Australian Presbyterian Church has almost completed the process of preventing any further ordinations of women to eldership or ministry. In the Anglican Church there were deep disputes about the validity of ministry by women priests. New Zealand Anglicans began ordinations in 1977, but in Australia the first ordinations did not occur until 1992. In 1990 Bishop Penny Jamieson of Dunedin was the first woman bishop in New Zealand, but Australian Anglicans completed long discussions about the validity of women bishops only in late 2007. Sydney diocese and its allies have continued to reject the ordination of women to the priesthood and their consecration to the episcopate. Discussion on priorities in mission, governance and leadership in the churches, ethical issues and multiculturalism have had to take account of major cultural shifts since the 1960s. Though there has been decline in some areas of church life, others have shown considerable vitality. Christian music and hymnody have flourished, with notable contributions from Geoff Bullock, Colin Gibson, Douglas Mews, Shirley Murray and Elizabeth Smith. An Australian Hymn Book, published in 1977, has been replaced by Together in Song. Anglicans in Australia and New Zealand have produced new prayer books. In New Zealand deliberate attention was given to the inclusion of Maori components. For Roman Catholics, moving to liturgy in English has been a major cultural change. While art and literature have not been dominated by Christians, they have had substantial presence. Aboriginal painting has become increasingly recognised and is deeply religious. Postmodernism, with its claim that there are no objective rational standards of truth, has been attractive to those who are impatient with historic liturgical and doctrinal patterns, but the implications for proclaiming the significance of the Christian faith are by no means clear. The Protestant hegemony, which characterised both Australia and New Zealand until late in the twentieth century, has been weakened substantially. Significant migration from Asia has introduced further religious and cultural alternatives and made resistance to Christian claims of national identity quite common. Resistance to these trends by the Destiny Church in New Zealand has not been matched in Australia, although there was reluctant recognition of the part that religious influences had played in Federation in 1901, when its centenary was celebrated in 2001. Coming to terms with indigenous cultures continues to be a problem in both nations. It was not until

1967 that Aborigines were included in the Australian census. There are still deep divisions over indigenous claims to land. In New Zealand legal recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi has led to extensive compensation and return of crown land to its original Maori owners. Attempts to introduce recognition of Aborigines and Islanders in the preamble to the Australian Constitution have been hitherto rejected. The Mabo decision on Aboriginal land in 1992 caused considerable dispute, but significant tracts of land have been returned to traditional owners by both legal process and negotiations. Aboriginal and Islander Christians still have not yet been fully recognised as partners in the definition of Christian faith and practice, but their role has been recognised in the governance of most mainline churches. Migration patterns have been changing. Both countries now have about 25% of their migrant intake from Asia, so that all the major world religions are present. In Australia over 44% of the population have a parent born overseas. The emergence of strong Chinese, Indonesian and Korean churches has added further variety to the mixtures of Christian churches in both countries. In Australia all the major Orthodox Churches are now represented as well. Though the public influence of the churches and cultural Christianity have declined since 1910, churches still make important contributions to education, social welfare and the quality of community debate on such matters as the treatment of asylum seekers. Though they no longer expect the evangelisation of the world in this generation, they foster international vision, shown by the dramatic growth of agencies such as World Vision that are committed to disaster relief and sustainable development overseas. Such Christian humanitarianism still connects powerfully with ordinary people’s perceptions of compassion and fairness, even though this is no longer closely linked with church involvement. The major churches’ memberships are aging, baptisms and vocations have declined dramatically, and the number of marriages performed by civil celebrants has increased. Many church buildings have been sold. Australia does not have a counterpart to Professor Geering, whose secularised and non-realist Christianity remains influential in New Zealand, but neither does New Zealand have counterparts to Sydney’s Archbishop Jensen, with his influence among African and Asian Anglicans. The Roman Catholic cardinals and some members of religious orders and scholars (such as Gerald O’Collins, SJ) have international standing. Individuals from other denominations have also influenced their worldwide bodies and international dialogues. The appeal of visceral folk religion is still strong, with priorities rather different from those of the educated leaders of mainline Australian and New Zealand churches. Christians recognise that such answers to current challenges and fault lines must come from a combination of bold experiment, contemporary insight, spiritual depth and their historic heritage, if their nations are to be re-evangelised and public debate informed by Christian convictions. Influence in Asian and Pacific churches is still important, but depends on growth in partnership.

IAN BREWARD Ian Breward, A History of the Churches of Australasia (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001). William W. Emilsen and Susan Emilsen (eds), The Uniting Church in Australia: The First 25 Years (Armadale, Vic: Circa, 2003). Bruce Norman Kaye (ed.), Anglicanism in Australia: A History (Carlton, Vic: Melbourne University Press, 2002). Michael King, God’s Farthest Outpost (Auckland: Penguin, 1997). Patrick O’Farrell, A Catholic Church and Community: An Australian History, revised 3rd edn (Kensington, NSW: University of New South Wales Press, 1992).

Christianity in Australia/New Zealand by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5

1910 Australia New Zealand Norfolk Island Cocos (Keeling) Is Christmas Island

Christians 4,254,000 950,000 930 60 50

Highest percentage 2010 Australia New Zealand Norfolk Island Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Is

Christians 15,816,000 2,998,000 1,900 380 180

1 2 3 4 5

1910 Norfolk Island New Zealand Australia Cocos (Keeling) Is Christmas Island

% Christian 100.0 98.3 96.6 10.0 6.1

Fastest growth 2010 Norfolk Island Australia New Zealand Cocos (Keeling) Is Christmas Island

% Christian 84.9 74.1 70.0 27.3 24.1

1 2 3 4 5

1910–2010 Christmas Island Australia New Zealand Cocos (Keeling) Is Norfolk Island

% p.a. 2.06 1.32 1.16 1.12 0.70

2000–2010 Cocos (Keeling) Is Australia Norfolk Island New Zealand Christmas Island

% p.a. 0.86 0.77 0.44 0.38 0.37

197

AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND

of the emergence of consumer-based individualism, which subverted the role of the churches in defining national and personal morality. In addition, the impact of television from the 1950s onwards fostered plural values on both sides of the Tasman Sea. The churches were not able to so successfully use this expensive new medium for their own purposes, as they had with radio. Even though growing ecumenical partnership had emerged in the 1950s, and especially after the Second Vatican Council, there were still large areas of Christian activity dominated by denominational priorities. The National Council of Churches in New Zealand and the Australian Council of Churches were influential in some areas, especially when joined by Roman Catholics and some Orthodox Churches, but ecumenical energies significantly lessened in the late twentieth century, despite dialogues that created important agreements on such matters as baptism. Congregationalists, Methodists and Presbyterians had unsuccessfully attempted union during the early 1920s. After protracted negotiations, the Uniting Church in Australia was formed in 1977. Lutherans had united in 1966. Australian Anglicans were not involved in any significant negotiations for union, but were content with some local partnerships in rural parishes. In New Zealand a much wider-ranging scheme was initiated, involving Anglicans and the Churches of Christ, as well as Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian churches. Many joint and cooperating parishes were established, theological education partnerships developed and a number of united efforts emerged in social welfare and youth work. Unfortunately, Anglican divisions over the proposals led to a defeat of the scheme in the 1974 General Synod. Co-operation at the parish level continued, but inter-church relationships have been seriously weakened as the major Protestant denominations have sought to foster their historic identites in new forms, rather than experiment further with ecumenical initiatives. That emphasis on historic identity has led to the formation of an Anglican tripartite system of governance in New Zealand, which has given Maori and Pacific Islanders new power. In both Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, Maori and Polynesian bishops and priests have emerged, especially in areas where non-stipendiary ministry is necessary on economic grounds. Union between Congregational and Methodist churches occurred in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, which were Australian territories until 1975. The other reconfiguration was dramatic growth of Pentecostal churches and Charismatic renewal movements in all the major churches from the 1960s. Attendance at Pentecostal churches now surpasses that of the other major Protestant denominations. In addition, mega-churches with congregations numbering in the thousands, such as Hillsong in Sydney, have emerged from the movement. Pentecostal and Charismatic churches have established their own forms of theological education and missionary outreach, as well as offering music and worship that have proved very attractive to those disillusioned with other churches. Most recently, some groups of Pentecostals have entered politics and formed Family First, which has parliamentarians in South Australia and the Federal Senate. Within the churches, attempts to establish new patterns of witness, evangelism and social service have not arrested numerical decline. The number of people stating no religious allegiance on census returns has been rising sharply since the 1960s. New forms of ecumenical and inter-faith spirituality have been very attractive, as have Buddhism and modified forms of Hinduism. The emergence of significant Muslim populations in Sydney and Melbourne has been both a stimulus and deterrent to dialogue between Christians and Muslims, alongside the longer-standing Jewish–Christian dialogue, which

Christianity in Australia/New Zealand, 1910–2010

O

Religions in Australia/New Zealand Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

Christians Agnostics Buddhists Muslims Atheists Hindus Jews Ethnoreligionists New Religionists Chinese folk Confucianists Sikhs Baha'is Spiritists Daoists Zoroastrians Jains Total population

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

5

Percent Christian

= 1% of population = All other religions

2010 Adherents % 18,816,000 73.4 4,464,000 17.4 599,000 2.3 518,000 2.0 434,000 1.7 271,000 1.1 109,000 0.4 102,000 0.4 100,000 0.4 95,400 0.4 50,000 0.2 45,700 0.2 27,600 0.1 7,500 0.0 4,500 0.0 2,400 0.0 1,600 0.0 25,647,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 1.29 0.71 4.59 1.95 4.48 3.47 3.79 3.65 6.26 1.92 10.75 3.72 1.73 0.91 0.48 2.21 5.79 2.19 1.89 2.75 8.89 2.36 8.79 4.26 8.25 2.11 2.58 1.13 6.30 1.18 5.63 2.36 5.21 7.04 1.57 1.10

Christians in Australia/New Zealand Proportion of all Christians in Australia/New Zealand, 2010 Key:

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Graph Proportion a country’s Proportioninofthe a country’s Christians region Colour Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in cent Christian in each country or region aPer country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian and of region Map Location Per cent Location and Perregion cent Locationof ofregion the Christian Christian of region

Christmas Is Cocos (Keeling) Is Australia

Norfolk Island

and

w Ne

Christian traditions in Australia/New Zealand, 1910 & 2010 Adherents

al Ze

% by tradition

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

Rate*

Anglican (A)

1910 1,966,000

2010 4,541,000

Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

1,112,000 1,200 3,500 4,900 1,557,000

5,982,000 733,000 385,000 928,000 3,193,000

1910–2010 2000–2010 0.84 0.00 1.70 6.63 4.81 5.38 0.72

0.63 1.38 0.96 1.70 0.42

1910

2010

10

10

10

10

8

8

8

8

6

6

4

4

2 0

2

6

6

All All 4 Christians Christians

1.29

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

4

1.29 2 0

2

All All Christians Christians

0.71

0.71

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

There has been a great increase in Orthodox, Independents and Marginals in Oceania during the twentieth century. Since 1945 the following Orthodox congregations have established churches in Australia: Macedonian, Serbian, Coptic, Bulgarian and Assyrian. The Macedonian Orthodox Church is the largest at over 50,000 members, mostly immigrants from the former Yugoslavia. The denomination has 14 churches in Australia at almost 4,000 members per congregation. The other Orthodox churches are made up of immigrants from Iraq, Iran, Bulgaria and Egypt. There are now numerous Independent congregations in the region, many of which were founded in the twentieth century. The largest Independent church in New Zealand is the Ratana Church, founded in 1918 by an ex-Methodist. The Ratana Church in 2010 is 95% Maori with 32,000 members. Among Marginal Christians both Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons have seen significant growth in the region. In particular, Mormons in New Zealand have had great success among Maoris, who now represent 70% of all Mormons in New Zealand.

Christians in Australia/New Zealand, 1910 and 2010 Australia/New Zealand Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Is New Zealand Norfolk Island

Population 5,375,000 4,406,000 820 600 967,000 930

1910 Christians % 5,206,000 96.9 4,254,000 96.6 50 6.1 60 10.0 950,000 98.3 930 100.0

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

198

1910 Adherents % 5,206,000 96.9 50,100 0.9 7,500 0.1 12,500 0.2 1,000 0.0 0 0.0 19,700 0.4 63,100 1.2 360 0.0 14,700 0.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 590 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 5,375,000 100.0

2010

Rate* 2000–2010

2

Religious affiliation and growth in Australia/New Zealand, 1910 and 2010

Rate* 1910–2010

ver the past 100 years the religious composition of the Australia/New Zealand region has changed considerably. Firstly, Christians represented 97% of the population in 1910 but have fallen below 75% by 2010. Australia and New Zealand have been subject to the same patterns of religious defection occurring in other parts of the Western world, largely due to secularisation. Agnostics and atheists in these countries today number 4.4 million and 434,000, respectively. Secondly, Buddhists and Muslims have increased from very small numbers in 1910 to 599,000 and 518,000, respectively, by 2010. In addition, Hindus are approaching 300,000. These increases are due largely to immigration of various ethnic groups from Asia, with most finding refuge in Australia. They bring with them smaller contingents of New Religionists, Confucianists, Baha’is, Sikhs, Spiritists, Zoroastrians and Jains. Finally, aboriginal religions have been in serious decline since the arrival of Europeans and today represent only 0.4% of the population. It is likely that these trends will continue into the future. Christianity has undergone significant changes in the region. In 1910 Anglicans and Protestants were the two largest Christian traditions. By 2010 Roman Catholics have made such significant gains that they represent the largest tradition at 6 million, with Anglicans at 4.5 million and Protestants at 3.2 million. Although Independents and Marginal Christians have grown quickly both over the century and in the current ten-year period, they have remained relatively small at 733,000 and 385,000 persons respectively. Orthodox churches grew quickly through immigration in the twentieth century but have slowed in growth more recently. Nonetheless, they currently have more than 900,000 members. In the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island – largely populated by Chinese and Malay – Christians are a minority of the population. Muslims are a majority in the former, while in the latter Chinese folk-religionists, Christians, Muslims, agnostics and Buddhists are at least 10% of the population each. In both cases, however, there are higher Christian percentages today than 100 years ago. Australia and New Zealand have both been heavily secularised as has Norfolk Island, and it is not unreasonable to assume that this trend will continue throughout the twenty-first century. Immigration will likely continue to bring an influx of Asian non-Christians as well as Christian immigrants from Asia, Africa and Latin America. This is already seen in many areas within the cities (see pages 254–5): Auburn in Sydney is over 30% Muslim, Dandenong in Melbourne is over 15% Buddhist, Western Sydney’s Hindus make up 5% of the population, while agnostics in North Canberra and Yarra Ranges are over 35%. It is likely that many non-Christian religions, like Islam, will continue to grow in this region far into the future.

Population 25,647,000 21,358,000 1,600 670 4,285,000 2,200

2010 Christians % Region73.4 total 18,816,000 15,816,000Australia 74.1 Christmas 380 Island 24.1 Cocos180 (Keeling) 27.3Is New Zealand 2,998,000 70.0 Norfolk Island 1,900 84.9

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Australia/New Zealand, 2010

Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Is

Australia

Norfolk Island

AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND

Christian centre of gravity

1910

2010

! !

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

New Zealand

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910

Christians by country

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Australia/New Zealand Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Is New Zealand Norfolk Island

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 102,700 301,000 403,700 Australia-New Zealand 92,800 250,000 342,800 Australia -4 5 1 Christmas Island 2 2 4 Is Cocos (Keeling) 9,800 3

50,800 20

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

Province New South Wales Victoria Queensland Western Australia South Australia Auckland Tasmania Canterbury Wellington Waikato

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

Population 7,046,000 5,306,000 4,201,000 2,108,000 1,629,000 1,329,000 513,000 552,000 486,000 410,000

Christians 5,524,000 3,863,000 3,302,000 1,494,000 1,171,000 944,000 390,000 386,000 335,000 283,000

Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

0%

⇒

100%

-2

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

total 1.29Region 1.57 1.32 Australia 1.59 Christmas0.67 Island 2.06 Cocos 1.12(Keeling) 0.11Is New Zealand 1.16 1.50 Norfolk0.86 Island 0.70 ⇐

% 78.4 72.8 78.6 70.9 71.9 71.0 76.0 70.0 69.0 69.0

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year

Immigrants

New Zealand 60,600 Norfolk Island 23

100%

Country Australia Australia Australia Australia Australia New Zealand Australia New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand

Region1.10 total 0.71 0.77 Australia 1.11 0.37 Island 0.99 Christmas 0.86(Keeling) 0.78Is Cocos New Zealand 0.38 1.07 Norfolk Island 0.44 0.59 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

199

Christianity in Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia, 1910–2010

I

n 1910 Britain, France, Germany, the USA and Japan had the Pacific at their mercy as they aimed to advance the welfare of islanders, reap the benefits of the region and bathe in pride among the nations of the world. The Pacific, vast and diverse, was a formidable place for missions, large and small, competing for ‘lost souls’. Micronesia In Micronesia the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission (ABCFM), the London Missionary Society (LMS) and the Catholics (Sacred Hearts [MSC] Marists, Capuchins and Jesuits) were falling over each other. Catholic missions were well staffed, while the ABCFM and LMS relied on Pacific islanders and local converts, such as Timothy Detudamo in Nauru and Henry Nanpei in Pohnpei, to bolster their numbers. After World War I, Japan administered Micronesia and changed the mission landscape. All Germans and Capuchins were expelled, with the Japanese South Sea Mission (Nan’yo Dendo Dan) joining the ABCFM to evangelise Micronesia. In Kiribati, the shortage of missionaries prompted the ABCFM to transfer that territory to the LMS, with the Church in Kiribati determined to use the local language for worship. Similarly, Guam also revived the Chamorro language for worship. A new sense of recapturing cultural identity permeated Micronesia. The Japanese Navy controlled Micronesia in the 1930s as Japan became more militant. During World War II Japan fortified Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Kosrae and Palau. The Japanese treated islanders leniently but were unsympathetic toward foreigners. In Kiribati LMS missionary Alfred Sadd refused to desecrate the British flag and was beheaded along with 21 other British nationals. Carl Heine, who remained with his family and church on Jaluit in the Marshalls, was beheaded along with his son and daughter-in-law. On Palau Japanese soldiers executed three Jesuits as the Allies landed in 1944. World War II left many missionaries drained and unenthusiastic. MSC missionaries Ernest Sabatier, after 53 years of work, and Conrad Weber, 93 years old, died in Kiribati. Protestant missionaries faced financial woes and scant resources. The future of the Church rested with indigenous leadership. Eric Blacklock and Bernard Thorogood analysed the situation and helped to prepare the Kiribati church for self-government. After independence the Kiribati Protestant Church (KPC) worked closely with the Catholics. In northern Micronesia the ABCFM focused on rebuilding with the help of local pastors. New missionaries such as Harold Hanlin ushered in a new era with greater emphasis on education. Hanlin re-opened all schools, with Mwot School serving the churches of the Marshalls, Pohnpei, Kosrae and Kiribati. Mwot became a centre for spiritual and theological training, a place to reflect, worship and pray together. The Marshallese church followed trends in Northern America and became the United Church of Christ under local pastors in 1972, working closely with the Hawaiian and the USA mission boards in ecumenical fellowship. The Pentecostal and Charismatic churches entered Micronesia in the 1980s and grew rapidly. The Federated States of Micronesia were formed in 1986, and Pohnpei, Chuuk, Yap, Kosrae and Caroline Island

Melanesia Area (sq. km): 550,000 Population, 2010: 8,589,000 Population density (per sq. km): 16 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.7 Life expectancy (years): 61 (male 58, female 64) Adult literacy (%): 65 Christians, 1910: 245,000 % Christian, 1910: 15.4 Christians, 2010: 7,847,000 % Christian, 2010: 91.4 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 3.53 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.14 100

Micronesia Area (sq. km): 5,300 Population 2010: 575,000 Population density (per sq. km): 109 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.88 Life expectancy (years): 75 (male 73, female 77) Adult literacy (%): 96 Christians, 1910: 68,600 % Christian, 1910: 76.7 Christians, 2010: 532,000 % Christian, 2010: 92.5 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.07 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.44

1910

1910

200

Polynesia Area (sq. km): 8,500 Population 2010: 680,000 Population density (per sq. km): 80 Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.66 Life expectancy (years): 74 (male 71, female 77) Adult literacy (%): 99 Christians, 1910: 130,000 % Christian, 1910: 99.6 Christians, 2010: 653,000 % Christian, 2010: 96.0 Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.63 Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.00 100

100

% Christian 2010

2010

0

0

Api Fo’ou College and helping it to produce high-calibre church leaders such as Patelesio Finau and Saone Filiaki. In Fiji the Marists were more resourceful under Julien Vidal, moving headquarters from Levuka to Suva and prospering among the locals. The Marists proselytised Methodist rural villages with overwhelming success, burning Bibles and hymnbooks. The Anglicans, Seventhday Adventists (SDA) and Mormons also proselytised among Protestants and Catholics, with the Mormons focusing on technology and education. The Fijian SDA solidified with converts among chiefs and Talatala, with a good training school catering to SDA churches in the Pacific. The Anglicans remained popular among Fijian chiefs and continued to evangelise the Solomon Islands. Germany blamed the LMS, Catholics and Methodists for Samoan independence movements. Protestant missions survived German insensitivity through the perseverance of James Newell, Vanesca Shultz, Ernst Heider and Ernest G. Neil, while Pierre Broyer ensured a cordial relationship between the Catholics and Germany. However, World War I brought a change of rule, from Germany to New Zealand, and freed the missions to express themselves. As World War I ended, Spanish influenza devastated Samoa, killing many church leaders. In 1926 the Mau movement for Samoan independence emerged, with church members at the forefront. Reginald Bartlett (LMS), George Shinkfield (Methodist) and Joseph Darnand (Marist) mediated, but their individual efforts failed. In 1929 the Mau took control of LMS churches, and the Mau Church was born. The shooting of Mau members at the end of 1929 stopped all hostilities, but the passion for independence strengthened. After World War II higher education was strengthened, with colleges at Piula (Methodist) and Malua (Congregationalist) specialising in theology and training pastors. John Bradshaw, Principal of Malua, and Stuart Graig (WCC) contemplated setting up Malua as a Central Theological College for LMS-related churches. However, the gathering of Pacific churches and missions in Malua in 1961 led to the formation of the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) and Pacific Theological College (PTC), located in Fiji. In 1962 the Congregational Christian Church in Samoa (CCCS) became independent, but in 1980 the Congregational Christian Church in American Samoa (CCCAS) split from the CCCS, citing political allegiance for the schism. Both churches remain strong, with the growing influence of Pentecostal and Charismatic churches bringing new challenges. Methodist missionaries George Shinkfield and Ronald Allardice ensured Methodist development in Polynesia. Joseph Darnand and Louis Beauchemin advanced Catholicism while demonstrating an ecumenical spirit. In 1973 Pio Taofinnu’u of Samoa became the first Cardinal in the Pacific, as Catholics moved to indigenise their Church. Tuvalu, Tokelau and Niue were outstations of the LMS. In 1975 the Tuvaluan church joined the WCC. The Niuean church also developed under James Cullen, with modest competition from the SDA. The Cook Islands Christian Church (CICC, established by the LMS) dominated the religious scene there, with Bernard Thorogood its main strength in youth work and church administration. Thorogood also prepared the constitution for the CICC. The increase in Pentecostal and Charismatic activities provided stiff competition for the CICC. In French Polynesia the Protestants emphasised theological education and established Mount Hermon College. The church was forbidden to discuss ‘island administration or politics’, a ruling reflecting the murmur for church autonomy. During World War II Protestants supported Charles de Gaulle’s Free France against Philippe Pétain’s abolition of the Third French Republic and later called for political autonomy. In 1963 the Protestant church became autonomous, with Samuel Raapoto its first president. In 1966 French nuclear testing began, with protests from the Evangelical Church under John Doom. The Mormons grew fastest with their emphasis on technology and education and with their abundant financial resources.

100

% Christian 0

Polynesia The power base for Methodism was Tonga and Fiji. In 1910 the Wesleyan Church of Tonga (WCT) and the Free Church of Tonga (FCT) contemplated unity, a feat achieved with a court ruling in 1924, but instead of forming one church, the new Free Wesleyan Church (FWC) emerged, with the FCT and WCT remaining minority churches. Education was a priority for the FWC. In 1939 Cecil Gribble modelled Tongan schools upon English colleges, with Sia’atoutai, opened in 1948, setting academic standards for future church leaders. Sione ‘Amanaki Havea, a product of Sia’atoutai, became the face of Tongan Methodism in the 1960s, forming close personal ties with the International Missionary Council (IMC) and the World Council of Churches (WCC). In 1961 he chaired the WCC’s first conference of Pacific churches and missions in Samoa. New churches were formed through schism, including the Tokaikolo Christian Fellowship (TCF), which split from the FWC in 1976, and the Free Constitution Church, which separated from the FCT in 1979. The arrival of Pentecostal and Charismatic churches changed the make-up of Tongan Christianity. Fijian Methodism thrived despite Catholic hostilities. Mission among Fijian Indians was strong under Hannah Dudley, Richard Burton, Cyril Bavin, Richard Piper and Rex Steadman. In the 1930s economic depression affected Fijian Methodism, but celebration of its centenary in 1935 reaffirmed Fijian commitment to Methodism. In 1961 Alan Tippett took Fijian Methodism to new heights, reaffirming it as the church of chiefs and their people. After World War II, chiefs and Talatala (church ministers) pressured missionaries for independence, an idea supported by Tippett but rejected by the Australian Board of Mission as ‘devolution of authority’. Tippett moved to equip the church with strong leadership. He established a Bible school and theological college at Davuilevu, raising its academic standards in line with those in the Australian ministry. A Davuilevu graduate, Setareki Tuilovoni, carried Fijian Methodism in the 1960s, forming close ties with the IMC and WCC. The establishment of the Taukei movement in the 1980s led to anti-Indian protests, with Fijian Methodists dominating. The 1987 coup also saw leaders of the church supporting the military, with church resources applied to Sunday bans and roadblocks. By the 1990s Methodism had infiltrated every aspect of Fijian life – cultural, political and military. In Tonga the Marists persisted under the leadership of Jean Amand Lamaze, with John Rodgers upgrading

100

100

0

churches found closer unity, with Protestantism still dominating. In the 1960s the Second Vatican Council called for church renewal and for mission contextualisation. Catholic churches became more Micronesian in outlook and in liturgy, but, more importantly, hostilities subsided between Catholics, now adopting a new conciliatory mentality, and Protestants, more informed with a new ecumenical spirit. The Catholics became more receptive to the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, incorporating some of their ideas into Catholic worship. The Mormons made huge inroads in the 1980s, with churches, schools and scholarships as incentives for converts.

1910

1910

% Christian 2010

2010

0

0

1910

1910

2010

2010

Melanesia The Presbyterians, with their origins going back to the 1850s, remained dominant in Vanuatu. The leadership of Peter Milne ensured growth to the end of World War II. In 1948 the Presbyterian Church of New Hebrides became autonomous, but its relationship with the Catholics remained bitter. It united with the Anglicans to curb

Church, which later became the Christian Fellowship Church (CFC). This new movement affirmed Solomon culture, heightened ecstatic worship and revived old customs. Eto was arrested, but Goldie facilitated his release. The foundation of the Methodist church had been shaken. The South Seas Evangelical Mission (SSEM) flourished in Malaita, and its converts were commended for their honesty, temperance, sexual restraint, dependability and discipline. After World War II cargo cults emerged, with SSEM converts Timothy George and Aliki Nono’ohimae initiating the nationalist movement Maasina Rule. Maasina, meaning brotherhood or solidarity, taught that white missionaries were not the final authority, encouraged local evangelists to perceive the church as their own and sought freedom from foreign rule through non-violent boycotts. The movement was rejected by the SSEM, but the Catholics were more sympathetic. The leaders and 2,000 followers were arrested, but the seed of autonomy had been sown. In 1973 the South Seas Evangelical Church (SSEC) was born, with members continuing to be influenced by cargo cults. In 1910 Papua New Guinea represented the last frontier for many missions such as Lutheran Neuendettelsans, Anglicans, Catholics, Australian Methodists, the Rhenish (Barmen) Mission and the LMS. Lutherans Johann Flierl and Christian Keysser had fresh ideas. For instance, Keysser persuaded islanders to volunteer for missionary work among their own tribes, and his initiative paid huge dividends. By the 1930s the Lutherans eyed the out-of-bounds highlands, which opened up in 1934. Inspired by ancestral spirits, new movements emerged but lacked passion to sustain themselves. After the War, Lutherans formed the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia (UELCA), alongside the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia (ELCA), the two separated by doctrinal differences. The UELCA and ELCA cooperated in mission work and in 1953 formed the Lutheran Mission New Guinea (LMNG), the forerunner to the Evangelical Church of New Guinea (ELCONG). The American Lutherans took over the Barmen Mission’s field in 1934, with Theodore Braun recognised as the father of medical mission. By the 1990s Lutheran converts had multiplied in the highlands. The ELCONG became the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea (ELCOPNG) with funding from the Lutheran World Federation. The Divine Word Mission (SVD) built schools, planted coconut, rubber, rice and cotton, and established a sawmill business. They prioritised the training of married catechists to assist in evangelisation. On Papua, the LMS, Anglicans and Australian Methodists reconsolidated, but the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart encountered problems that led to the deaths of several priests. It was a setback that Alain de Boismenu worked hard to reverse. After the War, developing the local priesthood was a priority, which led to the establishment of Divine Word College, De Boismenu College, Capuchin College and Franciscan College, which formed the larger Holy Spirit Seminary. The seminary prioritised indigenisation of the clergy and recognised the important of laity training. The scope for mission led to the involvement of the Franciscans, Capuchins and Passionists in the 1990s. Fijians, Tongans and local evangelists were the force behind Methodism from 1910 to the economic depression of the 1930s. World War II left the mission ‘lethargic if not sick’, and it took a combined effort among Methodists to resolve pressing issues. The success of Anglicanism on the Torres Strait Islands was attributed to the establishment of a college to train local priests. The instigator, Philip Strong, was moved to Papua to open a similar school. The volcanic eruption of Mount Lamington in 1951 devastated mission schools and took the lives of young people earmarked as future leaders of the church. In 1958 local priest George Ambo led the Anglican Church into dialogue with Catholics regarding union, but without success. Charismatic religions with millennial expectations continued to deplete Anglican numbers. The LMS had ample missionaries over the years, but frequent dissension threatened progress. In 1917 Charles Abel withdrew to set up the Kwato mission on account of slow progress and lack of agricultural and industrial efforts. During World War II Papuans such as Ravu Henao and Marcus Loane became chaplains and shared their faith with American and Australian soldiers. Financial problems and staff shortages prompted calls for an autonomous church. In 1962 the Ekalesia Papua emerged, and later joined the Methodists to form the

UCPNGSI in 1968, with Reatau Mea (LMS) and Ravu Henao (Methodist) taking the lead. The most recognisable face of the UCPNGSI in the 1990s was Leslie Boseto, who became one of the WCC presidents in 1991. The SDA, the Unevangelised Fields Mission (UFM) and the Evangelical Baptists remained small but effective. The SDA proselytised to gain converts, and in the 1980s they grew rapidly. The UFM worked closely with the Lutherans and the Evangelical Baptists, both members of the World Evangelical Fellowship. The COC joined other Evangelicals to establish the Christian Leaders’ Training College (CLTC) of Papua New Guinea in the Central Highlands. It would become the academic centre for the Evangelical Alliance of Papua and New Guinea (EAPNG). The arrival of Pentecostal and Charismatic churches aided EAPNG. Issues facing Pacific Christianity Throughout the region the churches that originated from Western missionary work have all made the transition from mission projects to independent churches. As they have undertaken this process, they have soon found themselves facing challenges from the growing New Religious Groups (NRG), especially the Pentecostal and Charismatic churches. New Christian and non-Christian groups have begun work in the three regions in the Pacific, resulting in divisions, formation of new cults and new churches, and the depletion of mainline church members. The church landscape in the Pacific has been transformed again, not by war, but by Western influences and, most recently, globalisation. The most notable feature leading up to the new millennium was the rapid growth of NRG, the SDA, and the Mormons. The speed of evangelisation was aided by the euphoria of the new millennium, with many Adventist, Charismatic and Pentecostal churches reigniting cargo cult emotions in anticipation of the return of Christ. By 2000 NRG dominated the Pacific mission landscape, providing additional church groups to the existing churches. In Micronesia each of the islands had up to 16 different churches competing for members, while Polynesia had up to 23 religious organisations and Melanesia as many as 50 religious groups and interchurch bodies. The Catholic, Evangelical, Methodist, Presbyterian and United Protestant churches were familiar sights, but all lacked the energy to match the resilience and spirituality of the NRG. The failure of established churches to dialogue among each other and to be more open to the new NRG has left them wanting in numbers. The emphasis on individualism and lack of Christian values has fragmented family-church allegiances. The failure to reconcile Christianity to ancestral identities and priorities has driven people to NRG whose teachings relate to traditional prophecies and mythical expectations. Christian revivals have also highlighted primal traditions as a way of bridging the huge gap between religious principles and action. Churches that failed to address important theological, political, economic and social issues became compromised when they participated in corrupt politics and supported military coups which promoted ethnic separation. In the early twenty-first century, the increase in the Pacific’s relationship with the China-Asia region has introduced Indo-Chinese religions, as well as the growing influence of Islam, to the already complicated and confused religious landscape. The war against religious militants has intensified interest in Islam. Mormonism is also growing as Pacific islanders identify with teachings that alleviate poverty and promote benevolent lifestyles. While Christian faith is widespread and deeply rooted, its future will depend on its capacity to renew itself within a contested religious environment.

FEATUNA’I BEN LIUA’ANA Manfred Ernst, Globalization and the Re-shaping of Christianity in the Pacific (Suva: Pacific Islands Theological College, 2006). John Garrett, To Live Among the Stars (Geneva/Suva: World Council of Churches/Institute of Pacific Studies, University of South Pacific, 1982). John Garrett, Footsteps in the Sea (Geneva/Suva: World Council of Churches/Institute of Pacific Studies, University of South Pacific, 1992). John Garrett, Where Nets Were Cast (Geneva/Suva: World Council of Churches/Institute of Pacific Studies, University of South Pacific, 1997). Featuna’i Ben Liua’ana, Samoa Tula’i: Ecclesiastical and Political Face of Samoa’s Independence (Apia: Malua Press, 2004).

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MELANESIA, MICRONESIA AND POLYNESIA

the flow of members to cargo cults, and to condemn SDA proselytism of its members. Anglicans and the Church of Christ (COC) had entered Vanuatu through labourers returning from Queensland, Australia. William Edgell solidified Anglicanism, while John Thompson pushed COC interests. By 1910 the COC and Presbyterians took advantage of their doctrinal similarities to work together. The Marists dominated mainland New Caledonia. Leading up to World War II, Marist missionaries were divided in their support for Pétain or de Gaulle. New Caledonians supported de Gaulle, to the dismay of the Marists. Kanaks began to seek independence, as Alphonse Rouel and François Luneau sought to prepare future leaders of the Church; they also sought to combine French Catholic civilisation with preservation of Kanak land, languages and honour for ancestors. Rouel was accused of stirring up Kanaks against France, arrested and deported, but he was later exonerated and reinstated. Protestant Natas (messengers, storytellers) eventually evangelised mainland New Caledonia, with Maurice Leenhardt moving to establish independent churches. But the Paris Mission decided to base its headquarters in the Loyalty Islands, giving the Marists greater dominance on the mainland. In 1927 Leenhardt opposed the Evangelical Church’s constitution, which gave white missionaries dominance over Kanak pastors, a step backward for equality. In 1947 Marc Lacheret and Jean Guiart rallied behind the Association of Indigenous French New Caledonians and Loyalty Islanders, which paralleled Luneau’s Union of New Caledonian Indigenous Friends of Orderly Liberty in support of Kanak initiatives. Both groups re-emphasised Kanak prior rights over hereditary lands and preservation of their ancestral customs. In 1960 the Evangelical Church of New Caledonia (ECONC) became independent, fulfilling Kanak aspirations for a self-governing church, with Xowie Madine and Elia Thidjine becoming President and General Secretary, respectively. In 1985 the Protestant church declared its support for political independence. Violence erupted between pro-independence and pro-French supporters, which led to the government promising a referendum in 1998. Henry Welchman and Charles Elliot Fox promoted Anglicanism in the Solomon Islands. They relied on labourers returning from Queensland for evangelisation, but many instigated their own secret societies to gain status and power among the local communities. After World War I bishops Federick Molyneux and Walter Baddeley rallied to stem the flow of members to the Melanesian Brotherhood, a new movement that emphasised celibacy, service and independence. Baddeley, who had remained behind during World War II, comforted Catholics and bonded with local Christians and Americans. The Anglican Church became independent in 1975, and by the 1980s it was the largest church in the Solomon Islands. The maintaining of Anglican members was a challenge as the Charismatic movement proselytised converts and even clergy such as Leonard Alufurai, who left to form the Church of the Living Word in 1989. Marist missionaries and Fijian catechists evangelised the Solomon Islands up to World War II. After the War, the Marists focused on Bougainville and Buka. The rise of cargo cults, which evoked ancestral spirits, challenged both Protestants and Catholics. The Hahalis Village Society built club houses for meetings and group sex. They emphasised pleasure and procreation, based on God’s command to be fruitful and multiply. The Marists continued to support calls for independence for Bougainville and Buka well after Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) independence in 1972. The newly formed United Church in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands (UCPNGSI) sat on the fence, even with the formation of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) in 1988. The Pacific Conference of Churches and the Solomon Islands Christian Association (SICA) worked with the BRA until peace was eventually declared in 1995. John F. Goldie served the Methodist mission for almost 50 years. He believed in allowing the local culture to permeate Christian witness. Under his leadership Methodism swelled with the help of Ni-Vanuatu teachers, whose local knowledge established missions at Rovianna, Vella Lavella and Choiseul. Methodism stagnated through the economic depression and World War II, as John Metcalfe replaced Goldie. Cargo cults challenged existing missions, including Methodism. Silas Eto broke away to form the Methodist Independent

Christianity in Melanesia, 1910–2010

O

Religions in Melanesia Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

2

Religious affiliation and growth in Melanesia, 1910 and 2010 Christians Hindus Ethnoreligionists Agnostics Baha'is Muslims Buddhists Chinese folk Atheists Sikhs New Religionists Jains Jews Total population

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

5

Percent Christian

2010 Adherents % 7,847,000 91.4 253,000 2.9 242,000 2.8 81,000 0.9 66,400 0.8 63,200 0.7 15,000 0.2 5,500 0.1 5,300 0.1 5,000 0.1 3,100 0.0 1,600 0.0 920 0.0 8,589,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 3.53 2.14 2.77 0.04 -1.69 1.57 4.49 4.45 9.20 2.44 3.06 0.61 7.59 2.34 6.51 1.80 6.47 2.11 3.04 1.06 5.90 3.03 5.21 0.00 2.24 0.91 1.70 2.06

= 1% of population

Christians in Melanesia Proportion of all Christians in Melanesia, 2010

Somaliland Somalia Seychelles

Djibouti Comoros

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s

British Indian Ocean

a

ine

Key:

Mayotte

ew aN

Gu

u

p Pa

Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Graph Proportion a country’s Proportioninofthe a country’s Christians region Colour Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in cent Christian in each country or region aPer country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian and of region Map Location Per cent Location and Perregion cent Locationof ofregion the Christian Christian of region

New Caledonia

le

ainvil

Boug

atu

u Van

s

nd

on

a Isl

m

lo

So

Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

% by tradition

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

Rate*

1910 14,700

2010 534,000

67,200 110 100 0 126,000

2,388,000 468,000 71,300 400 4,686,000

1910–2010 2000–2010 3.66 4.59 3.64 8.71 6.79 3.76 3.68

2.13 2.66 2.43 2.26 3.51

1910

2010

Rate* 1910–2010

Adherents

10

10

10

10

8

8

8

8

6

6

4

4

2 0

2

Rate* 2000–2010

Major Christian traditions in Melanesia, 1910 & 2010

6

6

All All 4 Christians Christians

3.53

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

4

3.53 2 0

2

All All Christians Christians

2.14

2.14

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

Independents experienced a high growth rate during the twentieth century. There are currently 315,000 Independents in Papua New Guinea and 68,000 in Fiji. The Solomon Islands had no Independents in 1910 but a century later have over 34,000 (out of a population of about 531,000). Most Independent believers were converted through missionary efforts in the mid-twentieth century. Of the 20 largest churches and denominations in Melanesia, 11 are Independent. They include Christian Fellowship Church, Christian Revival Church, Pentecostal Church and Solomons Baptist Association. Marginals also made a great impact during this century. Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Solomon Islands have the largest Marginal Christian populations in the region. The Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons make up the majority of the Marginal population, as in most Marginal populations worldwide.

Christians in Melanesia, 1910 and 2010 Melanesia Bougainville Fiji New Caledonia Papua New Guinea Solomon Islands Vanuatu

Population 1,596,000 51,600 143,000 56,600 1,221,000 77,700 45,600

1910 Christians 245,000 2,100 123,000 40,100 49,100 15,900 14,600

% 15.4 4.1 86.2 70.9 4.0 20.5 32.0

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

202

1910 Adherents % 245,000 15.4 16,400 1.0 1,330,000 83.3 1,000 0.1 0 0.0 3,100 0.2 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 250 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 100 0.0 1,596,000 100.0

2010

Fiji

ver the past 100 years Melanesia’s religious demographics have been greatly transformed. In 1910 over 83% of the population were tribal religionists (that is, ethnoreligionists). By 2010 this figure has fallen to under 3%. Christians, representing just 15% of the 1910 population, account for most of this change, increasing to over 90% in 2010. Papua New Guinea, today 95% Christian, was only 4% Christian in 1910. Of the other religionists, Hindus grew from 1% of the population in Melanesia in 1910 to almost 3% today, while agnostics have grown over the century from only 1,000 in 1910 to 81,000. Today Muslims and Baha’is also number more than 60,000 each. Baha’is had the fastest growth rate over the century (almost 10% per year). Each of the traditions of Christianity grew at least twice as fast as the general population over the 100-year period. Independents grew at over five times the population rate and Marginal Christians four times. In 1910 Protestants and Anglicans made up about two-thirds of all Christians, while Roman Catholics represented virtually all the remainder. In 2010 Protestants, Anglicans and Independents make up about 70% of all Christians, with Roman Catholics and a small number of Marginal Christians making up the rest. The proportions of the Christian traditions thus have changed little over the century, apart from the increase in the shares of the Independents and Marginals. Papua New Guinea gained most of its Christian adherents due to missionary efforts from both near and far. Protestant missionaries from other Pacific islands (Cook Islands, New Zealand and others) and from Britain arrived late in the nineteenth century, and by the end of the twentieth major Protestant communities including Lutherans, Assemblies of God, Baptists and Seventh-day Adventists had been established. The first Roman Catholic Papuan priest was ordained in 1937, and became the first Papuan bishop in 1970. The Catholic Church grew rapidly in the 1960s. The Pentecostal/ Charismatic renewal arrived in Papua New Guinea in the 1990s and continues to spread across older churches; there are now over 1.4 million Renewalists in the country. Of the six countries in the region, four (Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu) had relatively few Christians in 1910, but grew to well over 90% Christian by 2010. New Caledonia was already 71% Christian and has grown to 85% Christian by 2010. Fiji, on the other hand, was 86% Christian in 1910, but this has declined to under 62% by 2010. This decline was largely the result of the immigration of a large community of Indian workers. Today Fiji has a large Hindu presence (over 250,000 or 30% of the population) and a minority Muslim presence (6%). Catholicism, the second-largest tradition after Protestantism, is strongest among the part-Europeans, the Rotumans of Fiji and the inhabitants of certain other Pacific Islands.

Population 8,589,000 230,000 854,000 253,000 6,478,000 531,000 243,000

2010 Christians % Region91.4 total 7,847,000 Bougainville 217,000 94.4 Fiji 529,000 61.9 New Caledonia 214,000 84.6 Papua New Guinea 6,152,000 95.0 Solomon Islands 506,000 95.3 230,000 Vanuatu 94.4

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian ,2010

50%

100%

Christians in Melanesia, 2010

Papua New Guinea

Bougainville

2010

!

Solomon Islands Christian centre of gravity

Vanuatu

!

Fiji

1910

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 New Caledonia

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Province Southern Highlands Morobe Western Highlands Eastern Highlands Madang East Sepik Enga Simba (Chimbu) National Capital District East New Britain

Country Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea

Population 706,000 697,000 568,000 559,000 472,000 443,000 381,000 335,000 328,000 284,000

Christians 670,000 660,000 533,000 519,000 442,000 416,000 365,000 322,000 296,000 270,000

% 95.0 94.8 93.8 92.8 93.8 93.8 95.8 96.0 90.2 94.8

1910

Christians by country

Christianity in Melanesia by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6

Highest percentage

1910 Christians Fiji 123,000 Papua New Guinea 49,100 New Caledonia 40,100 Solomon Islands 15,900 Vanuatu 14,600 Bougainville 2,100

2010 Papua New Guinea Fiji Solomon Islands Vanuatu Bougainville New Caledonia

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Melanesia Bougainville Fiji New Caledonia Papua New Guinea Solomon Islands Vanuatu

Christians 6,152,000 529,000 506,000 230,000 217,000 214,000

1 2 3 4 5 6

Emmigrants

Annual Christian change Net change Loss Gain 146,800 108,400 255,200 Melanesia 3,270 3,840 7,110 Bougainville 4,500 9,000 13,500 Fiji 3,000 2,100 5,100 New Caledonia 119,900 11,200 5,200

85,400 5,900 2,200

Fastest growth

1910 % Christian Fiji 86.2 New Caledonia 70.9 Vanuatu 32.0 Solomon Islands 20.5 Bougainville 4.1 Papua New Guinea 4.0

Defections

% of Christian loss

Emigrants

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

2010 % Christian Solomon Islands 95.3 Papua New Guinea 95.0 Vanuatu 94.4 Bougainville 94.4 New Caledonia 84.6 Fiji 61.9

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

1910–2010 Papua New Guinea Bougainville Solomon Islands Vanuatu New Caledonia Fiji

% p.a. 4.95 4.75 3.52 2.79 1.69 1.47

Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

⇐

0%

⇒

100%

% p.a. 2.50 2.48 2.25 1.53 1.49 0.95

-2

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

total 3.53Region 1.70 Bougainville 4.75 1.51 Fiji 1.47 1.80 New Caledonia 1.69 1.51 Papua 4.95New Guinea 1.68 Solomon 1.94 Islands 3.52 2.79 Vanuatu 1.69

205,300 Solomon Islands 17,100 7,400 Vanuatu

2000–2010 Vanuatu Solomon Islands Papua New Guinea Bougainville New Caledonia Fiji

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year

Immigrants

Papua New Guinea

100%

1 2 3 4 5 6

Region2.06 total 2.14 Bougainville 1.53 1.48 0.95 0.63 Fiji 1.49 1.64 New Caledonia Papua New Guinea 2.25 2.26 Solomon 2.48 Islands 2.48 2.50 Vanuatu 2.51 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

203

Christianity in Micronesia, 1910–2010

O

Religions in Micronesia Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

Christians Buddhists Baha'is Chinese folk Agnostics Ethnoreligionists New Religionists Muslims Confucianists Atheists Total population

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

5

Percent Christian

2010 Adherents % 532,000 92.5 12,100 2.1 8,300 1.5 7,600 1.3 7,200 1.3 5,100 0.9 1,800 0.3 670 0.1 290 0.1 260 0.0 575,000 100.0

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 2.07 1.44 7.36 2.24 6.95 1.29 6.86 1.73 6.80 3.31 -1.40 1.04 5.33 2.54 4.29 2.57 3.42 2.35 3.31 2.16 1.88 1.47

= 1% of population = All other religions

Christians in Micronesia Proportion of all Christians in Micronesia, 2010 am

Key:

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s

a

esi

M FS

Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Graph Proportion a country’s Proportioninofthe a country’s Christians region Colour Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in cent Christian in each country or region aPer country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian and of region Map Location Per cent Location and Perregion cent Locationof ofregion the Christian Christian of region

on icr

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Ki

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s

ar

at i

N. Maria

na Is

M

Adherents Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

% by tradition

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

Rate*

1910 0

2010 1,500

31,400 0 0 0 36,800

351,000 23,000 28,500 0 197,000

1910–2010 2000–2010 5.14 1.44 2.44 8.05 8.28 0.00 1.69

1.15 2.42 2.12 0.00 1.43

1910

2010

10

10

10

10

8

8

8

8

6

6

4

4

2 0

2

Rate* 2000–2010

Major Christian traditions in Micronesia, 1910 & 2010

6

6

All All 4 Christians Christians

2.07

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

4

2.07 2 0

2

All All Christians Christians

1.44

1.44

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

The fastest-growing traditions in Micronesia during the twentieth century were Independents, Marginals and Anglicans. The growth of Independents and Marginals paralleled global trends. Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are two of the most successful Christian denominations in making converts. The growth of Anglicanism in the twentieth century – exceeding the rate for all Christians in Micronesia – has been unlike world trends. This is largely due to migrants from Australia – the Anglican Church of Australia is the fifth-largest Anglican denomination in the world. New Zealand and Papua New Guinea also have large Anglican presence and contributed new Christians to Micronesia over the century. In particular, Guam and Nauru have seen 1.9% and 2.3% Anglican increase, respectively. Additionally, the growth rate of Protestants in Micronesia is relatively low. In Guam specifically, General Baptists have been at work since 1911, but no other Protestant denomination entered the country until after World War II. Today the largest Protestant denominations are Seventh-day Adventists and Southern Baptists.

Christians in Micronesia, 1910 and 2010 Micronesia Guam Kiribati Marshall Islands FS Micronesia Nauru Northern Mariana Is Palau

Population 89,400 13,900 21,500 8,800 35,200 1,700 4,500 3,800

1910 Christians % 68,600 76.7 13,870 99.8 21,500 100.0 5,500 62.2 22,200 63.1 340 20.0 2,700 60.0 2,500 65.8

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

204

1910 Adherents % 68,600 76.7 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 20,800 23.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 89,400 100.0

2010

Rate* 1910–2010

2

Religious affiliation and growth in Micronesia, 1910 and 2010

Gu

ver the past 100 years Micronesia has witnessed a steady decline in its population of ethnoreligionists (from 23% in 1910 to less than 1% by 2010). Most of the gains have been made by Christians, who grew from 77% of the population in 1910 to over 92% by 2010. This gain occurred despite the emigration of many Christians to countries such as the USA, which in 1986 gave Micronesian citizens free access to the USA and its territories. This act prompted an initial flood of migrants from Micronesia, though in 2010 this migration has slowed to a trickle. The increase in the number of Christians is partly accounted for by immigration from neighbouring islands in Oceania, and by the large Filipino working community in the region (99% of Filipinos are Christians). Other religions have also made gains. There are now over 12,000 Buddhists (2.1%), 7,600 Chinese folk-religionists (1.3%), 1,800 New Religionists (0.3%), and fewer than 700 Muslims (0.1%) in the region, mostly new immigrants from other religious backgrounds. Baha’is came to the region after 1910 and have grown to 8,300 largely through conversion. Secularisation has been slow in Micronesia compared with the rest of the modern world; in 2010 there were only about 260 atheists and 7,200 agnostics. But both of these categories will probably grow in the future. In 1910 the Christian population was split between Protestants and Roman Catholics, with Protestants in the majority (57%). By 2010 the Catholic share has increased to over 52% and the Protestant share has declined to 33%. Independents and Marginals account for most of the remainder. Both of these had the fastest growth rates over both the last century and the last decade. In individual countries there were two different trends. Guam and Kiribati were nearly 100% Christian in 1910; through a gradual process of secularisation and immigration this fell to 94% and 97% respectively by 2010. In the other five countries the proportion of Christians increased. The Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Northern Mariana Islands and Palau were already at least 60% Christian in 1910, and by 2010 all except the Northern Mariana Islands were over 90% Christian. The Christian presence was smaller (only 20% ) in Nauru in 1910, but the proportion increased there also, reaching almost 75% by 2010. The second bar graph on the opposite page illustrates the continuing role of immigration in the dynamics of Christian growth in every country except Palau, where emigration is likely to erode the Christian percentage. One new trend to watch is the immigration of Asian Christians, especially Chinese, into Micronesia. These immigrants will change the ethnic and linguistic make up of the Christian community in Micronesia.

Population 575,000 180,000 99,500 63,400 113,000 10,300 88,500 20,500

2010 Christians % Region92.5 total 532,000 169,000 Guam 94.1 96,500 Kiribati 97.0 Marshall 60,300 Islands 95.1 Micronesia 107,000 94.5 7,700 Nauru 74.9 Northern Mariana 71,900 81.2Is Palau 19,400 94.8

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Micronesia, 2010

Northern Mariana Is

Christian centre of gravity

Guam

2010

Marshall Islands

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

!

!

1910

Palau FS Micronesia

Nauru Kiribati

MICRONESIA

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910

Province Guam Gilbert Islands Northern Mariana Is Chuuk Pohnpei Majuro Palau Kwajalein Yap Nauru

Country Guam Kiribati Northern Mariana Is FS Micronesia FS Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau Marshall Islands FS Micronesia Nauru

Population 180,000 92,000 88,500 56,600 36,400 29,500 20,500 13,600 11,900 10,300

Christians 169,000 89,300 71,900 52,100 34,200 28,000 19,500 13,100 11,300 7,700

% 94.2 97.0 81.3 92.0 94.0 94.7 95.1 96.7 94.9 75.0

Christians by country

Christians in Micronesia by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Highest percentage

1910 Christians FS Micronesia 22,200 Kiribati 21,500 Guam 13,900 Marshall Islands 5,500 Northern Mariana Is 2,700 Palau 2,500 Nauru 340

2010 Christians Guam 169,000 FS Micronesia 107,000 Kiribati 96,500 Northern Mariana Is 71,900 Marshall Islands 60,300 Palau 19,400 Nauru 7,700

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Micronesia Guam Kiribati Marshall Islands FS Micronesia Nauru Northern Mariana Is Palau

Annual Christian change Net change Loss 6,670 7,700 2,080 1,720 1,430 970 1,320 600 460 30 1,360 60

3,170 170 710 310

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Emmigrants

Defections

% of Christian loss

Gain 14,370 Micronesia 3,800 Guam 2,400 Kiribati 1,920 Marshall Islands

Fastest growth

1910 % Christian Kiribati 100.0 Guam 99.8 Palau 65.8 FS Micronesia 63.1 Marshall Islands 62.2 Northern Mariana Is 60.0 Nauru 20.0

Emigrants

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

2010 % Christian Kiribati 97.0 Marshall Islands 95.1 Palau 94.8 FS Micronesia 94.5 Guam 94.1 Northern Mariana Is 81.2 Nauru 74.9

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

1910–2010 Northern Mariana Is Nauru Guam Marshall Islands Palau FS Micronesia Kiribati

% p.a. 3.34 3.17 2.53 2.43 2.07 1.58 1.51

Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

0%

⇒

100%

% p.a. 2.49 1.97 1.69 1.46 0.53 0.52 0.16

-2

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

total 2.07Region 1.88 Guam 2.53 2.59 1.51 Kiribati 1.54 Marshall 1.99 Islands 2.43 1.58Micronesia 1.17 Nauru 3.17 1.82 Northern 3.34 Mariana 3.02Is 2.07 1.70 Palau ⇐

2000–2010 Northern Mariana Is Marshall Islands Kiribati Guam FS Micronesia Palau Nauru

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year

Immigrants

Micronesia 3,630 Nauru 200 2,070 Northern Mariana Is 370Palau

100%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Region1.47 total 1.44 1.46 Guam 1.50 1.69 Kiribati 1.71 1.97 Islands 1.97 Marshall 0.53Micronesia 0.54 0.16 Nauru 0.26 2.49Mariana 2.52Is Northern 0.52 0.62 Palau 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

205

Christianity in Polynesia, 1910–2010

O

Religions in Polynesia Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010 1910

Christians Agnostics Baha'is Atheists Chinese folk Buddhists Ethnoreligionists New Religionists Jews Hindus Muslims Total population

10 40 60 75 85 90 95

5

Percent Christian

2010 Adherents 653,000 15,500 6,100 1,600 1,400 780 440 340 150 100 80 680,000

Rate* 1910–2010 2000–2010 1.63 1.00 7.62 2.17 2.49 1.04 5.21 1.34 1.87 1.55 1.98 3.75 3.86 0.96 3.59 -1.36 2.75 0.00 2.33 0.00 2.10 2.92 1.66 1.04

% 96.0 2.3 0.9 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 99.9

= 1% of population = All other religions

Christians in Polynesia lyne

h Po

Proportion of all Christians in Polynesia in 2010

sia

Key:

Key: Graph Key: Graph Key: Proportion Proportionofofaall Christians country’s Graph in the region byregion country Christians inofthe Graph Proportion a country’s Proportioninofthe a country’s Christians region Colour Christians in the region Per cent Christian in Colour Colour aPercentage country or region Colour Christian Per cent Christian in in cent Christian in each country or region aPer country or region aMap country or region Location and Per cent Map Christian and of region Map Location Per cent Location and Perregion cent Locationof ofregion the Christian Christian of region

Pitcarn Islands Tokelau Islands Niue

Tuvalu lands Cook Is na Is Futu is & Wall

er

n ica

Sam

oa

oa

m

Sa

Tonga

Am

Adherents Anglican (A) Catholic (C) Independent (I) Marginal (M) Orthodox (O) Protestant (P)

% by tradition

100-year and 10-year growth rates*

Rate*

1910 0

2010 2,200

14,200 19,600 1,400 0 91,800

193,000 37,700 181,000 0 328,000

1910–2010 2000–2010 5.54 1.48 2.64 0.66 4.98 0.00 1.28

1.46 1.07 1.18 0.00 0.63

1910

2010

10

10

10

10

8

8

8

8

6

6

4

4

2 0

2

Rate* 2000–2010

Major Christian traditions in Polynesia, 1910 & 2010

6

6

All All 4 Christians Christians

1.63

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

4

1.63 2 0

All All Christians Christians

2

1.00

1.00

0 A C AI CM IO MP O P

Polynesia has a rich tradition of folklore and mythology, which includes stories of the origins of human beings and of cultural practices. European missionaries prior to the twentieth century sought to stamp out many Polynesian cultural traditions (such as tattooing, cutting the body, erotic dancing and marrying cousins) believing them to be pagan and out of line with Christian thought. In 2010 this region is largely Christian, and egregious practices, such as killing infants born from two different tribes, have been totally abolished. But it is believed that many Christians from all traditions continue to practise native Polynesian customs alongside Christianity. Often there is a syncretistic attitude toward religion: combining elements from various religious traditions to make some kind of whole that makes sense to the adherent. While many traditional practices are no longer in use because of the influence of European missionaries in the region, in some places there are movements to revive cultural identities associated with such practices.

Christians in Polynesia, 1910 and 2010 Polynesia American Samoa Cook Islands French Polynesia Niue Pitcairn Islands Samoa Tokelau Islands Tonga Tuvalu Wallis & Futuna Is

Population 131,000 7,200 9,300 40,800 4,300 140 39,400 1,000 23,700 2,900 2,600

1910 Christians 130,000 7,200 9,300 40,500 4,300 140 39,400 1,000 23,700 2,900 2,100

% 99.2 100.0 100.0 99.2 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 80.0

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

206

1910 Adherents % 130,000 99.6 0 0.0 520 0.4 0 0.0 220 0.2 110 0.1 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 131,000 100.3

Rate* 1910–2010

2

Religious affiliation and growth in Polynesia, 1910 and 2010

2010

c Fren

ver the past 100 years the overall religious demographics of Polynesia have only changed slightly. In 1910, after a century of successful missionary efforts, the region was nearly 100% Christian. The first missions had been Protestant; they imposed Christian values on Polynesian culture and sometimes used coercion to persuade Islanders to become Christian. At the turn of the twentieth century two factors altered the religious demographics of Polynesia: the region became a territory of France, and a population of Chinese labourers was introduced. Over the course of the twentieth century both secularisation and immigration also changed the religious make-up of the region. Christians declined to 96% by 2010. First, agnostics and atheists, nonexistent in 1910, grew to 17,100 combined, or 2.5% of the region’s population. Second, Chinese immigrants into the region brought Chinese folk-religions, which account for 1,400 people in 2010. Finally, Baha’is experienced growth through successful individual-initated missionary outreach in the twentieth century, growing to 6,100 adherents by 2010. Christianity experienced some significant changes over the 100-year period. Protestants made up the majority of Christians in 1910; while still representing the largest portion of Christians, they fell below the 50% mark before 2010. It was Marginals and Anglicans, growing at nearly 5% per year, who experienced the most dramatic increase. Marginals, primarily Mormons, accounted for 25% of all Christians in Polynesia in 2010 (from only 1,400 adherents in 1910). Surprisingly, however, Roman Catholics have the second-highest growth rate in the 10-year period, but only slightly higher than Marginals. Nine of the ten countries in Polynesia started out essentially 100% Christian in 1910 and declined to percentages in the 90s by 2010, largely due to secularisation and immigration. In Pitcairn Islands, both the total population and the Christian percentage have declined. Wallis and Futuna Islands, on the other hand, experienced growth in the Christian share of the population, from 80% in 1910 to 97% by 2010. French Polynesia has the largest Christian population, but one of the lowest percentages of Christians, explained by the fact that it is the most populous country in the region. Niue, Wallis and Futuna, American Samoa and Samoa have the highest percentages of Christians. Polynesia is somewhat unique in that the main components of Christian decline in the region are emigration and defection. Defections and death rates tend to dominate other largely Christian regions. So far there have been only small numbers of Christians immigrating to the region, but this could change over the next few decades if and when Chinese Christians move into the region.

Population 680,000 70,800 12,500 273,000 1,500 50 192,000 1,400 102,000 10,700 15,600

2010 Christians % Region96.0 total 653,000 American 69,600 Samoa 98.3 Cook Islands 12,000 96.3 French 256,000Polynesia 93.9 Niue 1,450 97.0 Pitcairn 46 Islands 92.0 190,000 Samoa 98.8 Tokelau 1,300 Islands 93.6 97,400 Tonga 95.5 10,100 Tuvalu 94.2 Wallis & Futuna 15,200 97.3Is

% Christian, 1910

0%

% Christian, 2010

50%

100%

Christians in Polynesia, 2010

Tokelau Islands

Tuvalu

Wallis & Futuna Is

Samoa

American Samoa

Christian centre of gravity

1910

!

!

2010 Cook Islands French Polynesia

Niue

Tonga Pitcairn Islands

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

Provinces with the most Christians, 2010

1910

Christians by country

Province Îles du Vent Upolu Tongatapu Savaii Western Îles Sous-le-Vent Eastern Îles Tuamotu-Gambier Vava'u Wallis & Futuna Is

Country French Polynesia Samoa Tonga Samoa American Samoa French Polynesia American Samoa French Polynesia Tonga Wallis & Futuna Is

Population 205,000 146,000 69,900 46,000 40,200 33,600 28,900 17,600 16,400 15,600

Christians 175,000 140,000 64,300 45,000 39,900 29,600 28,000 16,000 15,400 15,200

% 85.4 96.0 92.1 97.7 99.4 88.0 96.9 90.4 94.0 97.3

POLYNESIA

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Christians in Polynesia by country, 1910 and 2010 Largest population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 French Polynesia Samoa Tonga Cook Islands American Samoa Niue Tuvalu Wallis & Futuna Is Tokelau Islands Pitcairn Islands

Highest percentage

Christians 40,500 39,400 23,700 9,300 7,200 4,300 2,900 2,100 1,000 140

2010 French Polynesia Samoa Tonga American Samoa Wallis & Futuna Is Cook Islands Tuvalu Niue Tokelau Islands Pitcairn Islands

Christians 256,000 190,000 97,400 69,600 15,200 12,000 10,100 1,500 1,300 46

Christian loss and gain, 2010 Polynesia American Samoa Cook Islands French Polynesia Niue Pitcairn Islands Samoa Tokelau Islands Tonga Tuvalu Wallis & Futuna Is

Annual Christian change Net change Loss 6,500 10,900 1,300 1,080 -290 760 3,300 2,500 -30 0 1,620 -13 470 50 100

100 2 3,420 83 2,330 240 420

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Samoa Tonga Cook Islands American Samoa Niue Tuvalu Tokelau Islands Pitcairn Islands French Polynesia Wallis & Futuna Is

Emmigrants

Defections

% of Christian loss

Gain 17,400 Polynesia 2,380 American Samoa 470 Cook Islands 5,800 French Polynesia

Emigrants

Fastest growth

% Christian 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 99.2 80.0

Deaths

Defectors Deaths

2010 Samoa American Samoa Wallis & Futuna Is Niue Cook Islands Tonga Tuvalu French Polynesia Tokelau Islands Pitcairn Islands

% Christian 98.8 98.3 97.3 97.0 96.3 95.5 94.2 93.9 93.6 92.0

Births Converts Immigrants

% of Christian gain Births

Converts

1910–2010 American Samoa Wallis & Futuna Is French Polynesia Samoa Tonga Tuvalu Tokelau Islands Cook Islands Niue Pitcairn Islands

% p.a. 2.29 2.01 1.86 1.58 1.42 1.25 0.27 0.26 -1.08 -1.11

2000–2010 American Samoa French Polynesia Samoa Tuvalu Wallis & Futuna Is Tonga Tokelau Islands Pitcairn Islands Niue Cook Islands

Rate* 1910–2010

Christian

Rate* 2000–2010

Population

total 1.63Region 1.66 American Samoa 2.29 2.31 Cook 0.30 Islands 0.26 French 1.86 Polynesia 1.92 Niue -1.08 -1.05 Pitcairn-1.02 Islands -1.11 Samoa 1.58 1.60 Tokelau 0.34 Islands 0.27 1.42 1.47 Tonga 1.25 1.31 Tuvalu 2.01& Futuna 1.81Is Wallis

70Niue 2 5,040 Samoa Tokelau70 Islands 2,800 Tonga 290 Tuvalu Wallis &520 Futuna Is

⇐

0%

⇒

100%

% p.a. 2.18 1.44 0.78 0.44 0.41 0.33 -0.97 -1.41 -2.33 -2.46

Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year

Immigrants

Pitcairn Islands

100%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

-2

Region1.04 total 1.00 American 2.18 Samoa 2.18 -2.46 Cook -2.43 Islands 1.44Polynesia 1.46 French Niue -2.33 -2.22 Pitcairn -1.47 Islands -1.41 0.78 Samoa 0.79 -0.97 Tokelau -0.80 Islands 0.33 Tonga 0.39 0.44 Tuvalu 0.49 0.41& Futuna 0.46Is Wallis 0%

2

4

6

8

-2

0%

2

4

207

Part IV Peoples, languages and cities

Religions by peoples and languages

F

Majority religion by language, 2010

undamental to the world’s religions are its languages. The world’s languages, which number between 6,000 and 13,000 (depending on how one differentiates between language and dialect) have been variously classified into 10–16 major linguistic families, or 24 major groupings, or 40–100 families, with several minor families consisting of one language each. Languages usually are classified first genetically (by evolution from a common ancestral language), and in some cases with the superimposing of further typological classification (grammatical or lexical similarities in language structure). The 7,299 languages in this atlas are based on the classification employed for international standard language codes. The map to the right shows the largest religion for each of the world’s languages. While the map reinforces the contiguous territorial perception of religion (for example, the ‘Muslim world’), there are numerous exceptions to that way of looking at the world. For example, one can see ‘Muslim’ languages in the south of Africa and ‘Christian’ languages in the northeast of India. Of equal importance in religion are ethnic divisions. Although these are closely related to languages, there is an important distinction between one’s ethnicity and one’s mother tongue. Thus, for example, some ethnic Kazakhs speak the Kazakh language as their mother tongue, while Russian is the first language of other Kazakhs. The inclusion in the atlas of this analysis by languages and peoples is an affirmation of the centrality of indigenous cultures to local expressions of Christianity, of the right to exist of minority tribes and peoples, of their autonomy in their own areas, of their importance from the Christian standpoint vis-à-vis the world’s dominant peoples and cultures, and of the need to reduce the imperialistic influence of the latter (especially Western culture) in non-Western local churches and lands. It is also an affirmation of the necessity of viewing persons not as nationals of a given country, but primarily as members of the natural homogeneous units to which they belong and through which they may be described most effectively. The table below lists the 50 largest peoples (ethnic groups) in the world, giving the primary country of residence, population total, largest religion and percentage, and religious breakdown for each people. One can see that the Mandarin-speaking Han Chinese are by far the largest people in the world, with a diverse religious makeup that includes a significant number of Christians. This list enables the reader to see that no single religion predominates among the world’s largest peoples. This map and the accompanying tables enable the reader Agnosticism to gain a quick overview of the status of various religions among the world’s peoples and languages. The subsequent pages in this section of the atlas provide comparable overBuddhism views of one religion at a time.

Global peoples and languages, 2010 Continent Global total Africa Asia Europe Latin America Northern America Oceania

Demographics Population % 6,906,560,000 100.0 1,032,012,000 14.9 4,166,308,000 60.3 730,478,000 10.6 593,696,000 8.6 348,575,000 5.0 35,491,000 0.5

People groups Count % 12,331 100 3,503 28 3,658 30 1,656 13 1,537 12 466 4 1,511 12

Languages Count % 7,299 100.0 2,075 28.4 2,107 28.9 347 4.8 806 11.0 321 4.4 1,245 17.1

 Peoples versus global peoples People group totals in the table above are calculated by counting peoples separately by country. Thus the Japanese in Japan are one people and the Japanese in China are another people. Below, however, we combine peoples with the same designation to produce a list of global peoples that transcend country boundaries. The Japanese below thus represent Japanese in all 40 countries in which they have a significant presence. Language totals do not add up to 100% because of extinct languages and double counting.

Top 100 Peoples (Global) Top 100 Peoples (Global)

Chinese folk-religion Christianity Daoism

Global people group 1 Han Chinese (Mandarin) Ethnoreligions 2 Bengali 3 Latin American Mestizo 4 Hinduism Hindi 5 Russian 6 Japanese 7 Islam USA White 8 Brazilian White 9 Latin American White Judaism 10 Telugu 11 Maratha 12 New Han Chinese (Wu) religions 13 Tamil 14 Javanese 15 Sikhism Vietnamese 16 Urdu 17 Korean Zoroastrianism 18 Western Punjabi 19 Han Chinese (Yue) 20 German 21 Han Chinese (Min Nan) 22 Gujarati 23 Han Chinese (Jinyu) 24 Turkish 25 English

Country* Main All China 104 Bangladesh 22 Mexico 28 India 67 Russia 75 Japan 40 USA 117 Brazil 10 Argentina 37 India 14 India 5 China 7 India 31 Indonesia 9 Viet Nam 27 India 32 South Korea 40 Pakistan 2 China 48 Germany 88 China 20 India 31 China 1 Turkey 51 Britain 175

Global Population Largest % 853,467,000 Agnostics 38.1 Han Chinese (Mandarin) 220,827,000 Muslims 63.9 Bengali 189,533,000 Christians Latin American97.4 Mestizo 139,039,000 Hindus 91.3 Hindi 132,491,000 Christians 86.9 Russian 129,933,000 Buddhists Japanese 55.3 126,800,000 Christians USA 83.1 White 103,356,000 ChristiansBrazilian 90.8 White 97,484,000 Christians 91.4 Latin American White 96,152,000 Hindus 78.3 Telugu 90,074,000 Hindus 76.3 Maratha 85,947,000 Chinese folk 60.0 Han Chinese (Wu) 84,679,000 Hindus 76.8 Tamil 80,902,000 Muslims 81.3 Javanese 78,951,000 Buddhists Vietnamese 55.0 78,457,000 Muslims 98.0 Urdu 77,687,000 Christians 29.9 Korean 74,372,000 Muslims Western96.0 Punjabi 73,835,000 Chinese folk 60.9 Han Chinese (Yue) 71,374,000 Christians 73.3 German 64,777,000 ChineseHanfolk 51.1 Chinese (Min Nan) 61,636,000 Hindus 84.6 Gujarati 55,973,000 Agnostics Han Chinese57.0 (Jinyu) 55,809,000 Muslims 98.0 Turkish 52,930,000 Christians 83.4 English

*Main country of people group and count of all countries with people group

210

1-25

1-25

Largest global peoples, 2010

Religions by percentage

x 0% 0

50%

25

50

100%

75

100

Country* Global people group Main 26Chinese Egyptian EgyptArab Han (Mandarin) Arab Egyptian PeoNameBengali 27 Kanarese India Kanarese Latin Mestizo 28 American Malayali India Malayali Hindi Mulatto 29 Brazilian Brazil Brazilian Mulatto Russian Bihari 30 Bhojpuri IndiaBihari Bhojpuri Japanese 31 Maitili IndiaMaitili USA White 32 Polish Poland Polish Brazilian White 33 Orisi India Orisi Latin Ukrainian American White 34 Ukraine Ukrainian Telugu 35 Han Chinese (Xiang) Han Chinese China (Xiang) 36 Han Maratha Chinese (Hakka) Han Chinese China (Hakka) Chinese (Wu) 37 Han Han Chinese (Gan) China(Gan) Han Chinese TamilPunjabi 38 Eastern India Eastern Punjabi JavaneseAmerican 39 African USA African American Vietnamese 40 Sundanese Indonesia Sundanese 41 HausaUrdu Nigeria Hausa 42 ItalianKorean Italy Italian Punjabi 43 Western Yoruba Nigeria Yoruba Chinese (Yue) 44 HanFrench France French German 45 Syrian-Arabian Arab Syrian-Arabian Syria Arab Han (Min Nan) 46 Chinese Filipino Philippines Filipino Gujarati 47 Amhara Ethiopia Amhara Chinese (Jinyu) 48HanBurmese Myanmar Burmese Turkish Arab 49 Sudanese Sudan Sudanese Arab English 50 Persian IranPersian

x

All 30 4 18 3 4 2 45 3 40 2 24 1 40 17 1 18 63 14 138 86 53 11 9 9 38

Global Population Largest % 49,042,000 MuslimsEgyptian 84.1 Arab PeoName 47,300,000 HindusPeoName 88.7 Kanarese 44,784,000 Hindus 50.8 Malayali 43,790,000 Christians Brazilian94.0 Mulatto 42,678,000 HindusBhojpuri 83.0 Bihari 42,392,000 Hindus 98.0 Maitili Polish 42,245,000 Christians 95.3 Orisi 40,685,000 Hindus 95.5 40,431,000 Christians Ukrainian 87.4 Han Chinese80.6 (Xiang) 39,230,000 Chinese folk (Hakka) 39,069,000 Chinese Han folkChinese83.4 Han Chinese (Gan) 38,312,000 Agnostics 55.0 Punjabi 37,488,000 SikhsEastern48.7 African American 37,259,000 Christians 88.6 36,922,000 Muslims Sundanese 95.0 Hausa 34,310,000 Muslims 97.1 Italian 32,969,000 Christians 82.2 Yoruba 32,573,000 Christians 60.0 French 32,427,000 Christians 76.3 Syrian-Arabian Arab 31,919,000 Muslims 75.7 Filipino 30,067,000 Christians 98.0 Amhara 28,013,000 Christians 98.8 Burmese 27,566,000 Buddhists 97.4 Arab 26,470,000 MuslimsSudanese 95.1 Persian 26,306,000 Muslims 97.7

25

50

75 0 100 25

Religions by percentage

Northern Uzbek Eastern Pathan Awadhi Brazilian Mestiço Nepalese Saudi Arab Sindhi Algerian Arab Central Thai Latin American Mulatto Brazilian Black Upper Egyptian Arab Braj Bhakha Spanish Romanian Malay Assamese Igbo Visayan Chittagonian Bangri Isan West Central Oromo Southern Punjabi Madurese x100% 50%

x 0%

x 0

50

51-75

26-50

26-50

75

100

0

25

50

75

0 100 25

PeoName

50

 Key for religion bars below and on previous page Agnostic Atheist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Jain Jew Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

Sikh Spiritist Zoroastrian

100into Cities by religion - Broken intoare 4 seperate gr Top 100 Cities by religion - Top Broken 4 seperate graphs which spread acro two pages via a table two pages via a table

Country* Main All China 104 Mexico 77 USA 198 Bangladesh 22 Brazil 56 India 67 Russia 76 Japan 41 India 14 India 6 China 7 India 30 Viet Nam 27 India 32 South Korea 40 Pakistan 5 China 48 Turkey 53 Germany 89 China 20 India 31 Indonesia 9 France 139 China 1 Egypt 30

Global Population Largest % 876,583,000 Agnostics 37.6 Chinese, Mandarin 380,764,000 Christians 94.4 Spanish 338,342,000 Christians 82.8 English 220,861,000 Muslims 63.9 Bengali 211,015,000 Christians Portuguese 91.5 146,257,000 Hindus 91.1 Hindi 134,330,000 Christians 85.5 Russian 128,947,000 Buddhists Japanese 55.8 96,286,000 Hindus 78.4 Telugu 90,108,000 Hindus 76.3 Marathi 85,943,000 Chinese folk Chinese, 60.0Wu 84,598,000 Hindus 76.8 Tamil 80,364,000 Buddhists Vietnamese 54.7 80,204,000 Muslims 98.0 Urdu 77,212,000 Christians 29.7 Korean 74,759,000 Muslims Panjabi,95.6 Western 73,685,000 Chinese folk Chinese, 61.0Yue 68,731,000 Muslims 98.3 Turkish 65,227,000 Christians 72.7 German 64,510,000 Chinese folk Chinese,51.0 Min Nan 61,598,000 Hindus 84.6 Gujarati 60,923,000 Muslims 81.4 Javanese 60,773,000 Christians 75.2 French 55,973,000 AgnosticsChinese, 57.0 Jinyu 53,593,000 MuslimsArabic, 85.5 Egyptian

*Main country of native speakers and count of all countries with native speakers

Religions by percentage

x 0% 0

50%

25

50

100%

75

100

26-50

26-50

Country* Language Main 26 Chinese, Kannada India Mandarin Kannada Language 27 Malayalam India Spanish Malayalam English 28 Bhojpuri India Bhojpuri Bengali 29 Maithili India Maithili Portuguese 30 Hausa Nigeria Hausa 31 PolishHindi Poland Polish 32 OriyaRussian IndiaOriya Japanese 33 Indonesian Indonesia Indonesian Telugu 34 Ukrainian Ukraine Ukrainian Marathi Hakka 35 Chinese, China Chinese, Hakka Chinese, Wu Xiang 36 Chinese, China Chinese, Xiang Tamil Gan 37 Chinese, China Chinese, Gan VietnameseEastern 38 Panjabi, India Panjabi, Eastern Urdu 39 Tagalog Philippines Tagalog Korean 40 Yoruba Nigeria Yoruba Western 41 Panjabi, Arabic, North Levantine Syria Arabic, North Levantine Chinese,Western Yue 42 Farsi, Iran Farsi, Western Turkish 43 Sunda Indonesia Sunda German 44 Haryanvi India Haryanvi Min Nan 45 Chinese, Arabic, Sudanese Sudan Arabic, Sudanese Gujarati 46 Italian Italy Italian Javanese 47 Amharic Ethiopia Amharic French 48 Burmese Myanmar Burmese Chinese, Jinyu 49 Thai Thailand Thai Egyptian 50 Arabic, Uzbek, Northern Uzbekistan Uzbek, Northern

x

All 4 19 6 2 18 46 3 11 40 24 2 1 40 53 15 86 38 1 1 10 63 11 10 22 18

Global Population Largest % 47,299,000 Hindus 88.7 Kannada Language 44,868,000 HindusLanguage 50.7 Malayalam 43,127,000 Hindus 83.0 Bhojpuri 42,392,000 Hindus 98.0 Maithili 42,273,000 Muslims 97.4 Hausa 40,863,000 Christians 94.8 Polish 40,848,000 Hindus 95.6 Oriya 40,205,000 Muslims Indonesian 86.7 39,955,000 Christians Ukrainian 87.5 39,727,000 Chinese folkChinese, 81.9 Hakka Xiang 39,230,000 Chinese folkChinese, 80.6 Gan 38,312,000 Agnostics Chinese, 55.0 Eastern 37,681,000 SikhsPanjabi,48.4 Tagalog 33,145,000 Christians 98.1 Yoruba 32,582,000 Christians 60.0 Arabic, North Levantine 32,424,000 Muslims 74.6 Western 30,805,000 Muslims Farsi,97.9 Sunda 29,538,000 Muslims 95.0 Haryanvi 29,349,000 Hindus 87.8 Arabic, Sudanese 29,155,000 Muslims 95.2 Italian 29,131,000 Christians 82.1 Amharic 28,394,000 Christians 98.0 Burmese 27,923,000 Buddhists 97.2 Thai 27,572,000 Buddhists 94.8 Uzbek, Northern 26,008,000 Muslims 85.2

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Pashto, Northern Nepali Awadhi Arabic, Algerian Romanian Arabic, Najdi Sindhi Arabic, Sa`idi Braj Bhasha Arabic, Moroccan Assamese Igbo Chittagonian Cebuano Malay Thai, Northeastern Arabic, Mesopotamian Oromo, West Central Seraiki Dutch Somali Deccan Tajiki Bundeli Magahi x100% 50%

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RELIGION BY LANGUAGES

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Global language Chinese, Mandarin Spanish English Bengali Portuguese Hindi Russian Japanese Telugu Marathi Chinese, Wu Tamil Vietnamese Urdu Korean Panjabi, Western Chinese, Yue Turkish German Chinese, Min Nan Gujarati Javanese French Chinese, Jinyu Arabic, Egyptian

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Largest global languages, 2010

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Christians by peoples and languages

O

ver the past 100 years the statistical centre of Christianity dramatically shifted to the Global South from its previous position in the North. This shift in global Christianity also means there has been a change in the languages Christians are speaking. In 1910, 81% of the world’s Christian population lived in the Global North, meaning they spoke mainly European languages such as Russian, English, Spanish and German. Although these languages are still predominantly Christian (Russian 85.5%, English 82.8%, Spanish 94.4%, German 72.7%), more languages from around the world are becoming largely Christian languages or have greater numbers of speakers who are Christians. In 1910 it would have seemed amazing that languages such as Igbo and Yoruba (Western Africa) and Zulu (Southern Africa) would become majority Christian languages, yet in 2010 they are. Only 73% of the global Christian population is represented by the languages in the top 50 list on the facing page. Only 65% of the global Christian population is represented by the top 50 peoples list below. Diversity is also indicated by in the sheer number of languages spoken: Christianity has mother tongue speakers in 82% of the world’s languages compared with the next highest, Islam, speaking 25% of the world’s languages. The 50 peoples with largest Christian populations in 2010 include a mix of Northern and Southern peoples, a dynamic that did not exist 100 years ago; more than 40 of the 50 largest Christian peoples were Northern in 1910. The shift of global Christianity southward is illustrated by the fact that the largest Christian people group in the world is now Latin American Mestizo. Russian and USA White claim the next two spots, followed by Brazilian White, Latin American White and Han Chinese (Mandarin). Five of the six largest Christian people groups are more than 80% Christian. The lone exception, the Mandarin-speaking Han Chinese, are only 10.4% Christian. They rank as the sixth-largest Christian people because they are the largest single people group in the world, with over 850 million individuals. Mandarin Chinese is also the fifth-largest Christian language. Note that Brazil and the USA are the primary homes of four peoples each among the largest 50 (representing about 190 million people in each country). Mexico, the Philippines and India are each the main home of three peoples on the top 50 list. Africa’s peoples in the list below include the Hutu of neighbouring Burundi and Rwanda, the latter gaining notoriety because of its horrific civil war during the 1990s. The map to the right portrays the percentages of Christian adherents among the world’s languages in 2010. Egyptian Arabic is number 38 on the list of languages due to the Coptic Christian population in Egypt. (Another form of Arabic, North Levantine, appears at number 43.) Spanish has the most Christian speakers of any language because of the enormous numbers of Christians in Latin America.

Christians by language, 2010

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Country* Main All Mexico 28 Russia 75 USA 117 Brazil 10 Argentina 37 China 103 Germany 88 Britain 175 Brazil 3 Poland 45 Ukraine 40 USA 16 Philippines 53 Ethiopia 11 Italy 63 France 138 South Korea 40 Brazil 4 Romania 35 Colombia 11 Brazil 1 Nigeria 14 Spain 54 Nigeria 5 Philippines 1

Population 189,533,000 132,491,000 126,800,000 103,356,000 97,484,000 853,467,000 71,374,000 52,930,000 43,790,000 42,245,000 40,431,000 37,259,000 30,067,000 28,013,000 32,969,000 32,427,000 77,687,000 24,263,000 20,690,000 21,987,000 21,888,000 32,573,000 20,717,000 19,298,000 18,374,000

Christians by peoples and languages, 2010 Continent Global total Africa Asia Europe Latin America Northern America Oceania

212

Demographics Christians % 2,292,454,000 100.0 494,668,000 21.6 352,239,000 15.4 585,739,000 25.6 548,958,000 23.9 283,002,000 12.3 27,848,000 1.2

People groups Count % 11,601 100 3,355 29 3,184 27 1,570 14 1,525 13 463 4 1,504 13

Languages Count % 5,994 100.0 2,004 33.4 1,887 31.5 320 5.3 755 12.6 296 4.9 1,231 20.5

 Peoples versus global peoples People group totals in the table above are calculated by counting peoples separately by country. Thus the Spanish in Spain are one people and the Spanish in France are another people. Below, however, we combine peoples with the same designation to produce a list of global peoples that transcend country boundaries. The Spanish below thus represent Spanish in all 54 countries in which they have a significant presence. Language totals do not add up to 100% because of extinct languages and double counting.

Top 100 Christian Peoples Global Top 100 Christian Peoples Global

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Global Christians % 184,594,000 Latin American97.4 Mestizo 115,188,000 86.9 Russian 105,372,000 USA 83.1 White 93,854,000Brazilian 90.8 White 89,097,000 91.4 Latin American White 88,621,000 10.4 Han Chinese (Mandarin) 52,319,000 73.3 German 44,146,000 83.4 English 41,163,000 Brazilian94.0 Mulatto 40,279,000 95.3 Polish 35,354,000 Ukrainian 87.4 33,027,000 88.6 African American 29,465,000 98.0 Filipino 27,674,000 98.8 Amhara 27,109,000 82.2 Italian 24,728,000 76.3 French 23,256,000 29.9 Korean 23,008,000 Brazilian94.8 Mestiço 20,271,000 Romanian 98.0 Latin American91.7 Mulatto 20,154,000 Black 19,590,000Brazilian 89.5 Yoruba 19,535,000 60.0 Spanish 18,997,000 91.7 Igbo 18,890,000 97.9 Visayan 18,117,000 98.6

*Main country of Christians from people group and count of all countries with people group

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

Global peoples with the most Christians, 2010 Global people group Latin American Mestizo Russian USA White Brazilian White Latin American White Han Chinese (Mandarin) German English Brazilian Mulatto Polish Ukrainian African American Filipino Amhara Italian French Korean Brazilian Mestiço Romanian Latin American Mulatto Brazilian Black Yoruba Spanish Igbo Visayan

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Country* Global people group Main 26 American Malayali India Latin Mestizo Malayali PeoNameRussian 27 Anglo-Canadian Canada Anglo-Canadian USA White 28 Portuguese Portugal Portuguese Brazilian White 29 Greek Greece Greek Latin Tamil American White 30 IndiaTamil Han (Mandarin) 31Chinese Catalonian Spain Catalonian German 32 Anglo-Australian Australia Anglo-Australian English 33 Hungarian Hungary Hungarian Mulatto 34 Brazilian Detribalised QuechuaDetribalised Peru Quechua Polish Amerindian 35 Detribalised DetribalisedMexico Amerindian Ukrainian 36 Javanese Indonesia Javanese American 37 African Half-Amerindian (English) USA Half-Amerindian (English) Filipino 38 Haitian HaitiHaitian Amhara 39 Half-Amerindian (Spanish) Mexico Half-Amerindian (Spanish) 40 Zulu Italian SouthZuluAfrica French Hutu 41 Burundian Burundi Burundian Hutu Korean 42 Dutch Netherlands Dutch 43 Brazilian WestMestiço Central Oromo West Central Ethiopia Oromo Romanian 44 Latin American Black Latin American Colombia Black Latin Mulatto Hutu 45 American Rwandese Rwanda Rwandese Hutu Brazilian Black 46 Ilocano Philippines Ilocano Yoruba 47 Swedish USASwedish Spanish 48 Chewa Malawi Chewa 49 TeluguIgbo IndiaTelugu Visayan Lombard 50 Lombard Italy

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All 17 11 48 84 30 8 19 29 2 1 9 2 10 2 7 5 26 5 11 6 3 16 8 14 2

Population 44,784,000 PeoName 16,042,000 15,064,000 13,594,000 84,679,000 13,101,000 14,855,000 13,207,000 11,534,000 11,589,000 80,902,000 11,945,000 10,858,000 10,848,000 10,560,000 10,104,000 13,628,000 17,130,000 10,305,000 11,091,000 9,023,000 12,674,000 10,408,000 96,152,000 10,043,000

Global Christians % 14,409,000 32.2 Malayali PeoName 13,969,000Anglo-Canadian 87.1 13,789,000 Portuguese 91.5 13,240,000 97.4 Greek 12,865,000 15.2 Tamil 12,196,000 Catalonian 93.1 Anglo-Australian 11,975,000 80.6 11,615,000 Hungarian 87.9 Detribalised 98.2 Quechua 11,321,000 Detribalised Amerindian 11,005,000 95.0 Javanese 10,489,000 13.0 Half-Amerindian87.4 (English) 10,443,000 Haitian 10,348,000 95.3 Half-Amerindian (Spanish) 10,301,000 95.0 Zulu 9,698,000 91.8 Hutu 9,395,000Burundian 93.0 Dutch 9,272,000 68.0 West Central53.3 Oromo 9,126,000 Latin American Black 8,944,000 86.8 Hutu 8,940,000Rwandese 80.6 Ilocano 8,874,000 98.3 Swedish 8,862,000 69.9 Chewa 8,749,000 84.1 Telugu 8,654,000 9.0 8,635,000 Lombard 86.0

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Merina French-Canadian Xhosa Norwegian Serb Kikuyu Bavarian Egyptian Arab Armenian North Gallo-Romance Irish Hiligaynon Vietnamese Czech Tigrai Syrian-Arabian Arab Low German (Saxon) Ashanti Danish Belarusan Bulgar Slovak Neapolitan-Calabrian Luo Croat x100% 50%

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 Key for religion bars below and on previous page Agnostic Atheist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Jain Jew Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

Sikh Spiritist Zoroastrian

100into Cities by religion - Broken intoare 4 seperate gr Top 100 Cities by religion - Top Broken 4 seperate graphs which spread acro two pages via a table two pages via a table

Country* Main All Mexico 77 USA 198 Brazil 55 Russia 76 China 103 Germany 89 France 139 Poland 46 Ukraine 40 Philippines 53 Ethiopia 11 Italy 63 Romania 46 South Korea 40 Nigeria 15 Nigeria 5 Philippines 1 India 18 India 29 Greece 83 Spain 8 Netherlands 27 Hungary 30 Haiti 10 South Africa 7

Population 380,764,000 338,342,000 211,015,000 134,330,000 876,583,000 65,227,000 60,773,000 40,863,000 39,955,000 33,145,000 28,394,000 29,131,000 24,503,000 77,212,000 32,582,000 19,298,000 18,411,000 44,868,000 84,598,000 12,524,000 13,109,000 16,783,000 13,075,000 11,361,000 10,560,000

Global Christians % 359,593,000 94.4 Spanish 280,185,000 82.8 English 193,079,000 Portuguese 91.5 114,886,000 85.5 Russian 88,673,000 10.1 Chinese, Mandarin 47,444,000 72.7 German 45,722,000 75.2 French 38,727,000 94.8 Polish 34,950,000 Ukrainian 87.5 32,499,000 98.1 Tagalog 27,824,000 98.0 Amharic 23,908,000 82.1 Italian 23,526,000 Romanian 96.0 22,926,000 29.7 Korean 19,540,000 60.0 Yoruba 18,890,000 97.9 Igbo 18,124,000 Cebuano 98.4 14,408,000 Malayalam 32.1 12,844,000 15.2 Tamil 12,217,000 97.5 Greek 12,204,000 93.1 Catalan-Valencian-Balear 12,035,000 71.7 Dutch 11,331,000 Hungarian 86.7 10,817,000 Haitian Creole95.2 French 9,698,000 91.8 Zulu

*Main country of Christian native speakers and count of countries with native speakers

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Country* Global language Main 26 Rundi Burundi Spanish Rundi LanguageEnglish 27 Nyanja Malawi Nyanja PortugueseWest Central Oromo,Ethiopia 28 Oromo, West Central Russian 29 Rwanda Rwanda Rwanda Mandarin 30 Chinese, Ilocano Philippines Ilocano German 31 Telugu IndiaTelugu French 32 Lombard Italy Lombard Polish Plateau 33 Malagasy, Madagascar Malagasy, Plateau Ukrainian 34 Serbian Serbia Serbian Tagalog 35 Xhosa South XhosaAfrica Amharic 36 Javanese Indonesia Javanese Italian 37 Gikuyu Kenya Gikuyu Romanian 38 Arabic, Egyptian Egypt Arabic, Egyptian Korean 39 Armenian Armenia Armenian Yoruba 40 Hiligaynon Philippines Hiligaynon Igbo 41 Vietnamese Viet Nam Vietnamese Cebuano 42 Bavarian Austria Bavarian Malayalam 43 Arabic, North Levantine USA Arabic, North Levantine Tamil 44 Tigrigna Ethiopia Tigrigna Greek 45 Afrikaans South AfrikaansAfrica Catalan-Valencian-Balear 46 Saxon, Low Germany Saxon, Low 47 Akan Dutch Ghana Akan Hungarian 48 Belarusan Belarus Belarusan HaitianGuaraní, Creole French Paraguayan Guaraní,Paraguay 49 Paraguayan Zulu 50 Bulgarian Bulgaria Bulgarian

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All 5 8 5 6 3 14 2 5 35 4 9 3 30 62 1 27 15 84 9 13 1 7 26 3 34

Population 10,200,000 Language 11,022,000 17,137,000 11,287,000 9,041,000 96,286,000 10,043,000 12,235,000 9,528,000 9,102,000 60,923,000 7,889,000 53,593,000 8,135,000 7,068,000 80,364,000 8,010,000 32,424,000 7,541,000 7,596,000 7,248,000 8,825,000 9,371,000 6,616,000 7,375,000

Global Christians % 9,402,000 92.2 Rundi 9,277,000Language 84.2 Nyanja 9,126,000 Oromo, West53.3 Central 8,955,000 79.3 Rwanda 8,880,000 98.2 Ilocano 8,651,000 9.0 Telugu 8,635,000 86.0 Lombard 8,227,000 Malagasy,67.2 Plateau 7,973,000 83.7 Serbian 7,962,000 87.5 Xhosa 7,891,000 13.0 Javanese 7,683,000 97.4 Gikuyu 7,495,000Arabic,14.0 Egyptian 7,097,000 Armenian 87.2 6,948,000 Hiligaynon 98.3 6,905,000 Vietnamese 8.6 6,839,000 85.4 Bavarian 6,763,000 20.9 Arabic, North Levantine 6,714,000 89.0 Tigrigna 6,688,000 Afrikaans 88.0 Low 6,596,000 Saxon, 91.0 Akan 6,578,000 74.5 6,467,000 Belarusan 69.0 Guaraní, Paraguayan 6,418,000 97.0 6,370,000 Bulgarian 86.4

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Czech Napoletano-Calabrese Luo Shona Slovak Croatian Chinese, Wu Schwyzerdutsch Swedish Danish Finnish Ibibio Koongo Jamaican Creole English Mongo-Nkundu Umbundu Ewe Galician Kituba Chinese, Min Nan Mbundu Luba-Kasai Kamba Luyia Sicilian x100% 50%

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CHRISTIANS BY LANGUAGES

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Global language Spanish English Portuguese Russian Chinese, Mandarin German French Polish Ukrainian Tagalog Amharic Italian Romanian Korean Yoruba Igbo Cebuano Malayalam Tamil Greek Catalan-Valencian-Balear Dutch Hungarian Haitian Creole French Zulu

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Language

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Muslims by peoples and languages

D

uring the twentieth century Islam was one of the fastest-growing religions in the world. A major language of Islam is Arabic, partially because the Qur’an is written in Arabic – Muslims believe that the true meaning of Islam’s holy text is lost when it is translated into any other language. Numerous forms of Arabic (with varying degrees of mutual intelligibility) are spoken across Northern Africa and Western Asia, including 14 of the 50 largest Muslim languages. It is important to note, however, that Arabic is not limited to Muslims; other speakers include Arab Christians, Arab Druze and Mizrahi Jews. About 74% of the global Muslim population is represented by the languages in the top 50 list on the facing page, and 71% of the global Muslim population is represented the top 50 peoples list below. Yet despite the status of Arabic as a dominant Muslim language cluster, the three largest Muslim peoples and languages (and 13 of the 50 largest Muslim peoples/14 of the largest languages) are rooted in three countries of the Indian subcontinent: Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. The largest Muslim language is Bengali. Bengalis in Bangladesh are overwhelmingly Muslim (almost 90%, or about 110 million people). In India, however, nearly 80% of Bengalis are Hindu, with Muslims making up only around 18% (15 million people). Western and Central Asia encompasses the homelands of nine of the largest (non-Arabic) Muslim languages. Within the corresponding list of peoples, seven are from the Turkic belt across Central Asia, with another three from the Indo-Iranian cultural cluster. Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country and accounts for five of the 50 largest Muslim people groups. The status of Islam in Indonesia is complicated, however, due to syncretism of religious traditions in the country, but the delineation of languages is clearer. Three languages of Indonesia are among the 10 largest Muslim languages globally: Javanese (fifth), Indonesian (eighth) and Sunda (tenth). Of special interest are the Hui of China (36 below) who speak Mandarin (38 opposite). They represent a small minority in China that, among with Uighur (38 below and 40 opposite), illustrates the significance of the Silk Road in the spread of Islam. Collectively, Muslims speak a total of 1,791 languages as their native tongues, but only 34% of Muslims speak the main language of their home country as their first language. There are 805 languages of which Muslims are a majority (750 with 50% of the population or more) of the speakers. These languages comprise over 90% (1.4 billion) of all Muslims. Over 100 Muslim-majority languages (36.9 million Muslims) have no native Christian speakers among them. However, over 2,900 languages that are majority Christian (504 million Christians) have no Muslim native speakers among them.

Muslims by language, 2010

ProvRelig_Muslim Per

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Country* Main Bangladesh India Pakistan Indonesia Turkey Egypt Indonesia Nigeria Pakistan Iran Sudan Syria Saudi Arabia Uzbekistan Algeria Pakistan Malaysia Bangladesh Egypt Indonesia Pakistan Ethiopia India Morocco Iraq

All 22 32 2 9 51 30 1 18 19 38 9 86 11 18 8 8 24 1 3 2 1 22 1 19 18

Population 220,827,000 78,457,000 74,372,000 80,902,000 55,809,000 49,042,000 36,922,000 34,310,000 25,899,000 26,306,000 26,470,000 31,919,000 23,602,000 25,980,000 22,622,000 23,589,000 19,875,000 18,330,000 21,510,000 16,642,000 16,988,000 15,367,000 15,318,000 15,585,000 15,411,000

Muslims by peoples and languages, 2010 Continent Global total Africa Asia Europe Latin America Northern America Oceania

Demographics Muslims % 1,549,445,000 100.0 417,644,000 27.0 1,082,537,000 69.9 41,082,000 2.7 1,860,000 0.1 5,740,000 0.4 582,000 0.0

People groups Count % 3,895 100 1,816 47 1,378 35 500 13 88 2 50 1 63 2

Languages Count % 1,791 100.0 1,077 60.1 703 39.3 140 7.8 15 0.8 30 1.7 39 2.2

 Peoples versus global peoples People group totals in the table above are calculated by counting peoples separately by country. Thus the Bengali in Bangladesh are one people and the Bengali in India are another people. Below, however, we combine peoples with the same designation to produce a list of global peoples that transcend country boundaries. The Bengali below thus represent Bengali in all 22 countries in which they have a significant presence. Language totals do not add up to 100% because of extinct languages and double counting.

Top 100 Muslim Peoples (Global) Top 100 Muslim Peoples (Global)

1-25

1-25 Global Muslims % 141,065,000 63.9 Bengali 76,903,000 98.0 Urdu 71,375,000 Western96.0 Punjabi 65,811,000 81.3 Javanese 54,701,000 98.0 Turkish 41,262,000Egyptian 84.1 Arab 35,076,000 Sundanese 95.0 33,325,000 97.1 Hausa 25,834,000Eastern99.7 Pathan 25,694,000 97.7 Persian 25,177,000Sudanese 95.1 Arab 24,171,000 75.7 Syrian-Arabian Arab 23,459,000 Saudi 99.4 Arab 22,140,000Northern 85.2 Uzbek 21,953,000 Algerian 97.0 Arab 20,561,000 87.2 Sindhi 19,863,000 99.9 Malay 18,294,000 Chittagonian 99.8 17,798,000 82.7 Upper Egyptian Arab 16,639,000 100.0 Madurese 16,241,000 Southern95.6 Punjabi 15,362,000 100.0 Somali 15,318,000 100.0 Deccani 15,277,000Moroccan 98.0 Arab 15,156,000 Iraqi 98.3 Arab

*Main country of Muslims from people group and count of all countries with people group

214

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

Global peoples with the most Muslims, 2010 Global people group Bengali Urdu Western Punjabi Javanese Turkish Egyptian Arab Sundanese Hausa Eastern Pathan Persian Sudanese Arab Syrian-Arabian Arab Saudi Arab Northern Uzbek Algerian Arab Sindhi Malay Chittagonian Upper Egyptian Arab Madurese Southern Punjabi Somali Deccani Moroccan Arab Iraqi Arab

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Country* Global people group Main 26 SouthBengali Azerbaijani SouthIran Azerbaijani PeoName Urdu 27 Tajik Afghanistan Tajik Punjabi Kurd 28 Western Northern Turkey Northern Kurd Javanese 29 Sylhetti Bangladesh Sylhetti Turkish 30 Yoruba Nigeria Yoruba Egyptian Arab Yemeni Arab 31 Northern NorthernYemen Yemeni Arab Sundanese Yemeni Arab 32 Southern SouthernYemen Yemeni Arab Hausa 33 Maratha India Maratha Eastern Pathan Arab 34 Palestinian Palestine Palestinian Arab Persian 35 Telugu IndiaTelugu Sudanese Arab 36 Hui ChinaHui 37Syrian-Arabian KazakhArab Kazakhstan Kazakh Saudi Arab 38 Uighur China Uighur Northern UzbekPathan 39 Western Pakistan Western Pathan Algerian Arab 40 Minangkabau Indonesia Minangkabau SindhiBedouin 41 Moorish Algeria Moorish Bedouin 42 NorthMalay Azerbaijani NorthAzerbaijan Azerbaijani Chittagonian Arab 43 Tunisian Tunisia Tunisian Arab UpperToroobe Egyptian Arab Fulani 44 Nigeria Toroobe Fulani Madurese 45 West Central Oromo West Central Ethiopia Oromo Punjabi 46 Southern Turkmen Turkmenistan Turkmen Somali 47 Tripolitanian Arab LibyaArab Tripolitanian Deccani 48 Banjarese Indonesia Banjarese Moroccan Arab 49 Malayali India Malayali Iraqi Arab 50 North Iraqi Arab Iraq North Iraqi Arab

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All 6 15 30 3 14 1 16 5 29 13 7 20 13 4 1 6 15 7 1 5 13 6 2 18 5

Population 14,655,000 PeoName 15,205,000 13,962,000 12,792,000 32,573,000 11,225,000 11,222,000 90,074,000 11,880,000 96,152,000 10,226,000 12,512,000 8,830,000 8,697,000 8,675,000 8,109,000 8,714,000 7,935,000 7,757,000 17,130,000 7,890,000 7,277,000 7,036,000 44,784,000 6,799,000

Global Muslims % 14,647,000 99.9 South Azerbaijani 14,577,000PeoName 95.9 Tajik 13,437,000Northern 96.2 Kurd 12,779,000 99.9 Sylhetti 12,705,000 39.0 Yoruba 11,223,000 100.0 Northern Yemeni Arab 11,206,000 99.9 Southern Yemeni Arab 10,997,000 12.2 Maratha 10,629,000Palestinian 89.5 Arab 10,345,000 10.8 Telugu 10,023,000 98.0Hui 9,837,000 78.6 Kazakh 8,829,000 100.0 Uighur 8,688,000Western99.9 Pathan 8,674,000 Minangkabau 100.0 8,108,000 100.0 Moorish Bedouin 7,923,000 90.9 North Azerbaijani 7,910,000 Tunisian 99.7 Arab 7,734,000Toroobe 99.7 Fulani 7,660,000 West Central44.7 Oromo 7,648,000 96.9 Turkmen 7,269,000 99.9 Tripolitanian Arab Banjarese 7,036,000 100.0 Malayali 6,739,000 15.0 Arab 6,688,000North Iraqi 98.4

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Bhojpuri Bihari Southern Kurd Gujarati Turkish Kurd Southern Oromo Crimean Tatar Tatar Mossi Yerwa Kanuri Kashmiri (Keshur) Haabe Fulani Sokot Fulani Moor Wolof Buginese (Bugis) Tamil Southern Shilha Zerma Ittu (Eastern Galla) Southern Baluch Fulani (Pular) Fulani (Pulaar) Iranian Kurd Bambara Cental Shilha x100% 50%

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 Key for religion bars below and on previous page Agnostic Atheist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Jain Jew Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

Sikh Spiritist Zoroastrian

100 Muslim Languages (Global) Top 100 Muslim LanguagesTop (Global)

Country* Main Bangladesh India Pakistan Turkey Indonesia Egypt Nigeria Indonesia Iran Indonesia Sudan Pakistan Syria Algeria Saudi Arabia Uzbekistan Pakistan Morocco Bangladesh Malaysia Egypt Iraq Pakistan Ethiopia India

All 22 32 5 51 9 30 18 10 38 1 10 19 86 8 11 18 8 20 2 24 3 18 2 22 1

Population 220,861,000 80,204,000 74,759,000 68,731,000 60,923,000 53,593,000 42,273,000 40,205,000 30,805,000 29,538,000 29,155,000 25,909,000 32,424,000 24,637,000 23,602,000 26,008,000 23,589,000 19,904,000 19,181,000 18,202,000 21,510,000 17,245,000 17,065,000 15,443,000 15,318,000

Global Muslims % 141,060,000 63.9 Bengali 78,628,000 98.0 Urdu 71,445,000 Panjabi,95.6 Western 67,556,000 98.3 Turkish 49,568,000 81.4 Javanese 45,812,000Arabic,85.5 Egyptian 41,189,000 97.4 Hausa 34,856,000 Indonesian 86.7 30,171,000 Farsi,97.9 Western 28,061,000 95.0 Sunda 27,745,000 95.2 Arabic, Sudanese 25,844,000 99.7 Pashto, Northern 24,185,000 74.6 Arabic, North Levantine 23,959,000Arabic,97.2 Algerian 23,458,000 Arabic, 99.4 Najdi 22,165,000 85.2 Uzbek, Northern 20,561,000 87.2 Sindhi 19,586,000 98.4 Arabic, Moroccan 19,144,000 Chittagonian 99.8 18,186,000 99.9 Malay 17,798,000 Arabic, 82.7 Sa`idi 16,990,000 98.5 Arabic, Mesopotamian 16,317,000 95.6 Seraiki 15,437,000 100.0 Somali 15,318,000 100.0 Deccan

*Main country of Muslim native speakers and count of countries with native speakers

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Country* Global language Main 26 Azerbaijani, Iran South Bengali South Azerbaijani, Language Urdu 27 Tajiki Afghanistan Tajiki Western 28 Panjabi, Hassaniyya Algeria Hassaniyya TurkishNorthern 29 Kurdish, Turkey Kurdish, Northern Javanese 30 Madura Indonesia Madura Arabic, Egyptian 31 Sylheti Bangladesh Sylheti Hausa 32 Yoruba Nigeria Yoruba Indonesian 33 Arabic, Sanaani Yemen Arabic, Sanaani Farsi, Western 34 Arabic, Ta'izzi-Adeni Arabic,Yemen Ta'izzi-Adeni Sunda 35 Marathi India Marathi Sudanese 36 Arabic, Arabic, South Levantine Jordan Arabic, South Levantine Northern 37 Pashto, Telugu IndiaTelugu Arabic, Levantine Mandarin 38 North Chinese, China Chinese, Mandarin Arabic, Algerian 39 Kazakh Kazakhstan Kazakh Arabic, Najdi 40 Uyghur China Uyghur NorthernSouthern 41 Uzbek, Pashto, Pakistan Pashto, Southern Sindhi North 42 Azerbaijani, Azerbaijan Azerbaijani, North Moroccan 43 Arabic, Arabic, Tunisian Tunisia Arabic, Tunisian Chittagonian 44 Arabic, Libyan Libya Arabic, Libyan MalayWest Central Oromo,Ethiopia 45 Oromo, West Central Arabic, Sa`idi 46 Turkmen Turkmenistan Turkmen Arabic,Banjar Mesopotamian 47 Indonesia Banjar Seraiki 48 Malayalam India Malayalam Somali 49 Arabic, N. Mesopotamian Iraq Arabic, N. Mesopotamian Deccan 50 Bhojpuri India Bhojpuri

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All 7 15 10 30 2 3 15 1 16 5 29 13 7 20 13 4 15 7 6 5 13 2 18 5 6

Population 14,796,000 Language 15,219,000 13,834,000 13,951,000 13,335,000 12,792,000 32,582,000 11,225,000 11,222,000 90,108,000 11,933,000 96,286,000 876,583,000 12,174,000 8,830,000 8,697,000 8,714,000 7,941,000 7,736,000 17,137,000 7,890,000 7,036,000 44,868,000 6,799,000 43,127,000

Global Muslims % 14,788,000 99.9 Azerbaijani, South 14,592,000Language 95.9 Tajiki 13,832,000 100.0 Hassaniyya Kurdish, Northern 13,419,000 96.2 Madura 13,333,000 100.0 Sylheti 12,779,000 99.9 Yoruba 12,708,000 39.0 Sanaani 11,223,000Arabic, 100.0 Arabic, Ta'izzi-Adeni 11,206,000 99.9 Marathi 10,998,000 12.2 Arabic, South Levantine 10,683,000 89.5 Telugu 10,346,000 10.7 Chinese, Mandarin 10,030,000 1.1 Kazakh 9,571,000 78.6 Uyghur 8,829,000 100.0 Pashto, Southern 8,688,000 99.9 Azerbaijani, North 7,923,000 90.9 Tunisian 7,916,000Arabic,99.7 Libyan 7,727,000Arabic,99.9 Oromo, West44.7 Central 7,660,000 Turkmen 7,648,000 96.9 Banjar 7,036,000 100.0 6,810,000 Malayalam 15.2 Arabic, N. Mesopotamian 6,688,000 98.4 Bhojpuri 6,613,000 15.3

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Kurdish, Central Gujarati Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji Tatar Minangkabau Moore Kanuri, Central Kashmiri Fulfulde, Nigerian Fulfulde, Central-E.Niger Tachelhit Wolof Bugis Tamil Zarma Oromo, Eastern Pular Pulaar Bamanankan Tamazight, Central Atlas Balochi, Southern Tarifit Gilaki Aceh Hindi x100% 50%

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MUSLIMS BY LANGUAGES

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Global language Bengali Urdu Panjabi, Western Turkish Javanese Arabic, Egyptian Hausa Indonesian Farsi, Western Sunda Arabic, Sudanese Pashto, Northern Arabic, North Levantine Arabic, Algerian Arabic, Najdi Uzbek, Northern Sindhi Arabic, Moroccan Chittagonian Malay Arabic, Sa`idi Arabic, Mesopotamian Seraiki Somali Deccan

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Global languages with the most Muslims, 2010

Language

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Hindus by peoples and languages

H

induism has always been primarily a religion of India; in 2010 more than 70% of India’s population are adherents of Hinduism. The map to the right shows the heavy concentration of Hindus among speakers of Indian languages and the thin distribution among speakers of mother-tongue languages for the rest of the world. Over the past 100 years the centre of gravity for Hinduism has remained in central India. This is reflected in the primary languages of the religion: almost all of the 50 largest Hindu languages are Indian. Hindi, an official language of India, is the largest Hindu language (13% of Hindus). Of the global Hindu population, 97% is represented by the languages in the top 50 list on the facing page, and 98% of the global Hindu population is represented by the top 50 peoples list below. Hindus are represented in 326 languages around the world; 194 of those represented languages are majority (over 50%) Hindu. Fewer than 90% of Hindus speak a majority-Hindu language, however. This is largely due to the many Hindus who speak Bengali (a majority-Muslim language) – excluding Bengali, 95% of Hindus speak a majority-Hindu language. Other minority-Hindu languages among the 50 largest Hindu languages include Eastern Panjabi (16), Sindhi (35) and Goan Konkani (42). Apart from Bengali, 95% of Hindus speak a majorityHindu language. Non-Indian languages among the 50 largest Hindu languages include Nepali (14) and Bali (30). Indians constitute a minority of all speakers of two other languages in the top 50 – Bengali (2) and Sindhi (33) – although the majority of Hindus who speak Bengali or Sindhi live in India. The largest Hindu peoples are centrally located in India, as well. Indonesia is home to one, the Balinese (31). The majority of Nepalese (13) and Newar (46) are in Nepal, although about one-third of Nepalese live in India. While the majority of Bengalis (2) are in Bangladesh and the majority of Sindhis (35) are in Pakistan, most Hindus among the two peoples live in India. India is also home to the majority of Tamils (5), who have a sizable presence in Sri Lanka as well. The Hindi people, the largest Hindu people group, are found in significant numbers in 66 countries in the world. Interestingly, each of the rest of the top 50 Hindu people groups are found in fewer than 50 countries, and most (43 out of the top 50) are found in fewer than 10 countries. These numbers strongly illustrate the fact that Hinduism is demographically localised to India and the countries directly surrounding India, making it one of the least-distributed major world religions. At the same time, many of Hinduism’s features such as yoga or meditation are growing in their appeal to people around the world.

Hindus by language, 2010

ProvRelig_Hindu Per

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Country* Main India India India India India India India India India India India India Nepal India India India India India India India India India India India India

All 66 20 14 5 31 31 4 2 3 4 2 17 7 1 1 36 3 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1

Population 139,039,000 220,827,000 96,152,000 90,074,000 84,679,000 61,636,000 47,300,000 42,392,000 40,685,000 42,678,000 25,076,000 44,784,000 23,750,000 21,399,000 17,935,000 37,488,000 19,349,000 15,045,000 15,065,000 14,477,000 14,696,000 14,642,000 11,299,000 10,420,000 9,090,000

Hindus by peoples and languages, 2010 Continent Global total Africa Asia Europe Latin America Northern America Oceania

Demographics Hindus % 948,508,000 100.0 2,891,000 0.3 941,485,000 99.3 1,008,000 0.1 780,000 0.1 1,820,000 0.2 524,000 0.1

People groups Count % 697 100 77 11 493 71 50 7 37 5 13 2 27 4

Languages Count % 327 100.0 21 6.4 307 93.9 19 5.8 10 3.1 8 2.4 16 4.9

 Peoples versus global peoples People group totals in the table above are calculated by counting peoples separately by country. Thus the Tamil in India are one people and the Tamil in Sri Lanka are another people. Below, however, we combine peoples with the same designation to produce a list of global peoples that transcend country boundaries. The Tamil below thus represent Tamil in all 31 countries in which they have a significant presence. Language totals do not add up to 100% because of extinct languages and double counting.

Top 100 Hindu Peoples (Global) Top 100 Hindu Peoples (Global)

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1-25 Global Hindus % 126,883,000 91.3 Hindi 77,179,000 34.9 Bengali 75,318,000 78.3 Telugu 68,763,000 76.3 Maratha 65,011,000 76.8 Tamil 52,135,000 84.6 Gujarati 41,959,000 Kanarese 88.7 41,527,000 98.0 Maitili 38,873,000 95.5 Orisi 35,429,000Bhojpuri 83.0 Bihari 22,793,000 90.9 Awadhi 22,746,000 50.8 Malayali 20,664,000 Nepalese 87.0 19,871,000 Braj92.9 Bhakha 17,307,000 96.5 Bangri 16,876,000Eastern45.0 Punjabi 16,385,000 Assamese 84.7 14,714,000Magadhi 97.8 Bihari 14,138,000Bundelkhandi 93.8 14,013,000 Chhattisgarhi 96.8 12,097,000 82.3 Rajasthani (Marwari) 11,567,000 79.0Jat 11,118,000 98.4 Kanauji 9,170,000 Rajasthani88.0 (Jaipuri) 8,090,000 Berar89.0 Marathi

*Main country of Hindus from people group and count of all countries with people group

216

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

Global peoples with the most Hindus, 2010 Global people group Hindi Bengali Telugu Maratha Tamil Gujarati Kanarese Maitili Orisi Bhojpuri Bihari Awadhi Malayali Nepalese Braj Bhakha Bangri Eastern Punjabi Assamese Magadhi Bihari Bundelkhandi Chhattisgarhi Rajasthani (Marwari) Jat Kanauji Rajasthani (Jaipuri) Berar Marathi

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Country* Global people group Main All Population 26 Central India 1 9,393,000 HindiGond Central Gond PeoNameBengali 27 Santal IndiaSantal 4 PeoName 8,110,000 Telugu (Mewati) Rajasthani 28 Rajasthani India 1 6,101,000 (Mewati) Maratha 29 Konkanese India 1 4,890,000 Konkanese Tamil 30 Rajbansi India 2 4,173,000 Rajbansi Gujarati 31 Balinese Indonesia 2 4,474,000 Balinese Kanarese 32 Garhwali India 1 3,563,000 Garhwali Maitili 33 Powari IndiaPowari 1 3,124,000 Orisi 34 Kumaoni India 2 3,051,000 Kumaoni Bhojpuri Bihari 35 Sindhi IndiaSindhi 5 23,589,000 Awadhi (Shekhawati) 36 Rajasthani 1 3,478,000 RajasthaniIndia (Shekhawati) 37 TuluMalayali India Tulu 1 2,465,000 Nepalese 38 Waddar India 1 2,270,000 Waddar Braj Bhakha 39 Kangri IndiaKangri 1 2,126,000 40 DogriBangri IndiaDogri 2 3,703,000 Eastern PunjabiBihari 41 Nagpuri IndiaBihari 2 2,600,000 Nagpuri Assamese 42 Goan IndiaGoan 7 4,539,000 Magadhi Bihari 43 Manipuri India 3 1,854,000 Manipuri Bundelkhandi 44 Nimadi India 1 1,720,000 Nimadi Chhattisgarhi 45 Malvi IndiaMalvi 1 1,471,000 (Marwari) 46Rajasthani Newar Nepal 2 1,512,000 Newar Jat (Mewari) Rajasthani 47 Rajasthani India 1 1,336,000 (Mewari) Kanauji 48 Pahari Mandeali India 1 1,092,000 Pahari Mandeali (Jaipuri) 49Rajasthani Mirpur Punjabi India 1 1,202,000 Mirpur Punjabi Berar Marathi 50 Munda India 2 1,977,000 Munda

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Global Hindus % 6,551,000 Central 69.7 Gond 6,132,000PeoName 75.6 Santal 5,186,000 Rajasthani 85.0 (Mewati) 4,768,000 Konkanese 97.5 4,151,000 99.5 Rajbansi 3,580,000 80.0 Balinese 3,562,000 100.0 Garhwali 3,092,000 99.0 Powari 3,040,000 99.6 Kumaoni 2,897,000 12.3 Sindhi 2,886,000 83.0 Rajasthani (Shekhawati) 2,219,000 90.0 Tulu 2,156,000 95.0 Waddar 1,971,000 92.7 Kangri Dogri 1,864,000 50.3 Bihari 1,799,000Nagpuri 69.2 Goan 1,790,000 39.4 1,576,000 Manipuri 85.0 Nimadi 1,548,000 90.0 Malvi 1,188,000 80.8 Newar 1,181,000 78.1 Rajasthani 85.0 (Mewari) 1,136,000 1,091,000Pahari Mandeali 99.9 Punjabi 1,082,000Mirpur90.0 Munda 1,036,000 52.4

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Kanara Konkani (Kokni) Halbi (Bastari, Halba) Oraon (Uraon, Urang) Anga (Angika) Jumli (Khas Nepali) Cutch (Kachchi, Cutchi) Bhattri (Bhatra) Varli Mahasu Pahari Gujar (Gujuri, Kashmiri) Eastern Hindi (Bagheli) Harauti (Hadauti, Harotee Tenggerese Kutchi Kohli (Lohar) Khandeshi South Central Gond Kui (Khondi, Kond) Hindustani Wadiyara Koli Chik-Barik Bhumij (Kisan-Bhumij) Kuvi (Khondi, Kond) Pengo Ho Kahluri Pahari (Pacchmi) x100% 50%

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 Key for religion bars below and on previous page Agnostic Atheist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Jain Jew Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

Sikh Spiritist Zoroastrian

100 Hindu Lanuguages Global Top 100 Hindu LanuguagesTop Global

Country* Main India India India India India India India India India India India India India Nepal India India India India India India India India India India India

All 66 20 14 5 30 31 4 2 3 6 1 2 17 8 1 36 3 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1

Population 146,257,000 220,861,000 96,286,000 90,108,000 84,598,000 61,598,000 47,299,000 42,392,000 40,848,000 43,127,000 29,349,000 25,076,000 44,868,000 25,233,000 21,399,000 37,681,000 19,548,000 15,045,000 15,065,000 14,477,000 14,696,000 11,299,000 10,420,000 9,090,000 9,393,000

Global Hindus % 133,240,000 91.1 Hindi 77,214,000 35.0 Bengali 75,454,000 78.4 Telugu 68,774,000 76.3 Marathi 64,953,000 76.8 Tamil 52,119,000 84.6 Gujarati 41,959,000 88.7 Kannada 41,527,000 98.0 Maithili 39,031,000 95.6 Oriya 35,805,000 83.0 Bhojpuri 25,759,000 87.8 Haryanvi 22,793,000 90.9 Awadhi 22,745,000 Malayalam 50.7 21,485,000 85.1 Nepali 19,871,000 Braj92.9 Bhasha 16,874,000Panjabi,44.8 Eastern 16,416,000 Assamese 84.0 14,714,000 97.8 Magahi 14,138,000 93.8 Bundeli 14,013,000 Chhattisgarhi 96.8 12,097,000 82.3 Marwari 11,118,000 98.4 Kanauji 9,170,000 Dhundari 88.0 8,090,000 89.0 Varhadi-Nagpuri 6,551,000 69.7 Gondi, Northern

*Main country of Hindu native speakers and count of countries with native speakers

Religions by percentage 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

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26-50 Country* Main All Population IndiaSantali 4 8,111,000 India 1 Language 6,101,000 Mewati India 1 4,890,000 Konkani India 2 4,173,000 Rajbanshi Indonesia 2 4,474,000 Bali India 1 3,563,000 Garhwali India 2 3,053,000 Kumauni IndiaSindhi 5 23,589,000 India 1 3,478,000 Shekhawati India Tulu 1 2,465,000 India 1 2,270,000 Waddar IndiaKangri 1 2,126,000 IndiaDogri 2 3,703,000 IndiaSadri 2 2,607,000 IndiaGoan 7 4,539,000 Konkani, IndiaMeitei 3 1,854,000 India 1 1,720,000 Nimadi India 2 2,644,000 Mundari IndiaMalvi 1 1,471,000 India 1 1,336,000 Mewari India 1 1,092,000 Mandeali IndiaMirpur 1 1,202,000 Panjabi, IndiaHalbi 1 1,047,000 IndiaKukna 1 989,000 IndiaKurux 2 2,627,000

Global language SantaliHindi Language Mewati Bengali Telugu Konkani Marathi Rajbanshi Bali Tamil Gujarati Garhwali Kannada Kumauni Maithili Sindhi Oriya Shekhawati TuluBhojpuri Haryanvi Waddar Awadhi Kangri Malayalam Dogri Sadri Nepali Braj Bhasha Goan Konkani, Panjabi, Eastern Meitei Assamese Nimadi Magahi Mundari MalviBundeli Chhattisgarhi Mewari Marwari Mandeali KanaujiMirpur Panjabi, Dhundari Halbi Varhadi-Nagpuri Kukna Gondi, Northern Kurux

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Global Hindus % 6,132,000 75.6 Santali 5,186,000Language 85.0 Mewati 4,768,000 97.5 Konkani 4,151,000 Rajbanshi 99.5 3,580,000 80.0Bali 3,562,000 100.0 Garhwali 3,040,000 99.6 Kumauni 2,897,000 12.3 Sindhi 2,886,000 Shekhawati 83.0 2,219,000 90.0 Tulu 2,156,000 95.0 Waddar 1,971,000 92.7 Kangri 1,864,000 50.3 Dogri 1,806,000 69.3 Sadri 1,790,000Konkani, 39.4 Goan 1,576,000 85.0 Meitei 1,548,000 90.0 Nimadi 1,503,000 56.8 Mundari 1,188,000 80.8 Malvi 1,136,000 85.0 Mewari 1,091,000 Mandeali 99.9 1,082,000Panjabi,90.0 Mirpur 1,047,000 100.0 Halbi 979,000 99.0 Kukna 963,000 36.7 Kurux

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Angika Jumli Kachchi Newar Bhatri English Varli Pahari, Mahasu Gujari Bagheli Harauti Tengger Koli, Kachi Khandesi Kuvi Gondi, Southern Kui Panchpargania Koli, Wadiyara Pengo Ho Bilaspuri Saurashtra Yerukula Bharia x100% 50%

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HINDUS BY LANGUAGES

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Global language Hindi Bengali Telugu Marathi Tamil Gujarati Kannada Maithili Oriya Bhojpuri Haryanvi Awadhi Malayalam Nepali Braj Bhasha Panjabi, Eastern Assamese Magahi Bundeli Chhattisgarhi Marwari Kanauji Dhundari Varhadi-Nagpuri Gondi, Northern

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Buddhists by peoples and languages

O

ver the past 100 years Buddhism has continued to be primarily an Asian religion, despite increased interest among Western peoples in Asian thought and religious traditions. Therefore, it is not surprising that the primary Buddhist languages are Asian. Buddhists are represented in only 320 languages, a very small number compared to Muslims (1,791) and Christians (5,994). Buddhists are a majority in 150 of the 315 languages in which they are represented. About 96% of the global Buddhist population is represented by the languages in the top 50 on the facing page, and 96% of the global Buddhist population is represented by the top 50 peoples list below. The darker areas on the map to the right portray more heavily Buddhist populations and the primary Buddhist languages. For instance, the majority of people groups in the southwestern region of China, the Tibetan plateau, adhere to Tibetan Buddhism and speak various forms of Tibetan, which are majority-Buddhist languages. Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia have numerous majority-Buddhist languages and peoples as well. Japanese is the second-largest language for Buddhists: 15% of adherents speak this language as their native tongue, and 55.3% of the Japanese people group adhere to Buddhism (likely as a syncretism of Buddhism and Shintoism). Mandarin-speaking Han Chinese, the largest Buddhist people group, are 15.1% Buddhist, though their absolute number of adherents is much higher than that of other people groups who live in predominantly Buddhist countries. Nine of the 50 largest Buddhist languages are variants of Chinese. Almost 70 of the 320 languages spoken natively by Buddhists (representing some one million Buddhists) have no native Christian speakers. Seventeen of the 50 largest Buddhist people groups are located primarily in China; however, many of the most strongly Buddhist peoples are located outside China. Eight countries – Bhutan, Cambodia, Japan, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam – have populations that are majority (over 50%) Buddhist. The primary ethnic groups of all of these countries except Bhutan and Laos are listed among the largest 10 people groups below. The largest Buddhist people in Laos, the Lao, are number 21 on the list. Bhutan’s largest Buddhist people group, the Eastern Bhutanese (Sharch), rank 57th. Besides China, other countries that are the primary country of residence for multiple peoples among the top 50 include Myanmar (eight), Thailand (six), Laos (three), and Japan and Viet Nam (two each). Minority-Buddhist countries with peoples on the list include India (with three), Indonesia and Nepal (two each), and South Korea, Taiwan and Mongolia (one each). In each of those cases but one, the peoples are minority-Buddhist as well; the Chakma (34) are 85% Buddhist.

Buddhists by language, 2010

ProvRelig_Buddhist Per

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Country* Main China Japan Viet Nam Myanmar Thailand Thailand China Cambodia Sri Lanka China Taiwan South Korea Thailand India China Thailand Thailand Myanmar China China Laos China Myanmar Indonesia Nepal

All 76 40 27 9 22 2 36 10 20 6 15 36 1 1 7 1 1 2 1 18 9 4 3 1 2

Population 853,467,000 129,933,000 78,951,000 27,566,000 22,183,000 17,267,000 73,835,000 14,962,000 14,627,000 85,947,000 64,777,000 77,687,000 6,915,000 90,074,000 5,345,000 5,119,000 5,366,000 4,293,000 55,973,000 39,069,000 3,007,000 9,505,000 2,207,000 80,902,000 23,750,000

Buddhists by peoples and languages, 2010 Continent Global total Africa Asia Europe Latin America Northern America Oceania

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Demographics Buddhists % 468,736,000 100.0 292,000 0.1 461,464,000 98.4 1,833,000 0.4 800,000 0.2 3,720,000 0.8 627,000 0.1

People groups Count % 853 100 32 4 572 67 111 13 58 7 30 4 50 6

Languages Count % 320 100.0 11 3.4 302 94.4 34 10.6 11 3.4 18 5.6 15 4.7

 Peoples versus global peoples People group totals in the table above are calculated by counting peoples separately by country. Thus the Koreans in South Korea are one people and the Koreans in North Korea are another people. Below, however, we combine peoples with the same designation to produce a list of global peoples that transcend country boundaries. The Koreans below thus represent Koreans in all 36 countries in which they have a significant presence. Language totals do not add up to 100% because of extinct languages and double counting.

Top 100 Buddhist Peoples Top 100 Buddhist Peoples

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Global Buddhists % 128,802,000 15.1 Han Chinese (Mandarin) 71,912,000 Japanese 55.3 43,432,000 Vietnamese 55.0 26,836,000 97.4 Burmese 21,858,000 Central 98.5 Thai 17,095,000 99.0 Isan 14,729,000 19.9 Han Chinese (Yue) 13,894,000Central92.9 Khmer 13,787,000 Sinhalese 94.3 12,052,000 14.0 Han Chinese (Wu) 10,231,000 15.8 Han Chinese (Min Nan) 8,663,000 11.2 Korean 6,772,000 Northern 97.9Tai 5,583,000 Maratha 6.2 5,240,000Central98.0 Tibetan 4,320,000 Southern 84.4Tai 4,293,000 80.0 Han Chinese (Thai) 4,255,000Burmese 99.1 Shan 3,918,000 Han Chinese 7.0 (Jinyu) 3,896,000 Han Chinese10.0 (Hakka) 2,453,000 81.6Lao 1,803,000 Han Chinese (Min19.0 Dong) 1,789,000 Arakanese 81.1 1,598,000 Javanese 2.0 1,553,000 Nepalese 6.5

*Main country of Buddhists from people group and count of all countries with people group

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

Global peoples with the most Buddhists, 2010 Global people group Han Chinese (Mandarin) Japanese Vietnamese Burmese Central Thai Isan Han Chinese (Yue) Central Khmer Sinhalese Han Chinese (Wu) Han Chinese (Min Nan) Korean Northern Tai Maratha Central Tibetan Southern Tai Han Chinese (Thai) Burmese Shan Han Chinese (Jinyu) Han Chinese (Hakka) Lao Han Chinese (Min Dong) Arakanese Javanese Nepalese

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Country* Global people group Main All Population 26Chinese Eastern China 2 1,478,000 Han (Mandarin)Khamba Eastern Khamba PeoName 27 Northern China 1 PeoName 11,438,000 Japanese Zhuang Northern Zhuang Vietnamese 28 Manchu China 1 11,500,000 Manchu Burmese Khmer 29 Northern Thailand 1 1,159,000 Northern Khmer Central Thai 30 Yangbye Myanmar 1 1,125,000 Yangbye 31 Hindi Isan IndiaHindi 2 139,039,000 Chinese (Yue) 32 HanAmdo China 1 1,046,000 Amdo Central KhmerRyukyuan 33 Central Japan 3 1,005,000 Central Ryukyuan Sinhalese 34 Chakma India 2 835,000 Chakma Chinese (Wu)Mongol 35 Han Khalkha Mongolia 7 1,947,000 Khalkha Mongol Han (MinKaren Nan) 36 Chinese Black Myanmar 1 778,000 Black Karen Korean 37 Taungyo Myanmar 1 588,000 Taungyo 38 BaiNorthern Tai China Bai 1 1,704,000 39 Han Maratha Chinese (Puxian) Han Chinese China 3 2,838,000 (Puxian) Central TibetanMongol 40 Chinese China 1 5,274,000 Chinese Mongol Southern Tai (Vietnamese) 41 Han Chinese Nam 1 1,454,000 Han ChineseViet (Vietnamese) ChineseChinese (Thai) (Peranakan) 42HanHan 3 3,187,000 Han ChineseIndonesia (Peranakan) Burmese Shan Zhuang 43 Southern China 1 4,115,000 Southern Zhuang Chinese (Jinyu) 44HanLu Laos Lu 5 1,222,000 (Hakka) 45Han Chinese Newar Nepal 2 1,512,000 Newar 46 Puyi Lao ChinaPuyi 1 3,382,000 Han47Chinese (Min Dong) White Tai Laos 4 586,000 White Tai Arakanese Tung 48 Southern ChinaTung 1 1,589,000 Southern 49 Va Javanese Myanmar 1 770,000 Va 50 HanNepalese Chinese (Burmese) Myanmar 2 345,000 Han Chinese (Burmese)

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Global Buddhists % 1,477,000Eastern99.9 Khamba PeoName 1,143,000 10.0 Northern Zhuang 1,138,000 Manchu 9.9 1,109,000 Northern95.7 Khmer 1,102,000 98.0 Yangbye 1,074,000 0.8 Hindi Amdo 1,045,000 99.9 Central Ryukyuan 964,000 95.9 Chakma 706,000 84.6 Khalkha33.0 Mongol 642,000 Karen 622,000 Black 79.9 Taungyo 585,000 99.5 548,000 32.2Bai Han Chinese19.0 (Puxian) 540,000 Chinese Mongol 512,000 9.7 Han Chinese (Vietnamese) 509,000 35.0 Han Chinese (Peranakan) 474,000 14.9 Southern Zhuang 399,000 9.7 386,000 31.6Lu Newar 329,000 21.8 Puyi 324,000 9.6 316,000 White 53.9Tai Tung 315,000Southern 19.8 310,000 40.3Va Han Chinese (Burmese) 305,000 88.4

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Limbu Han Chinese (Min Pei) Eastern Tamang Silver Palaung (Bonglong) Western Mongol (Oirat) Chinese Shan (Dehong Dai) Khmu (Lao-Theng) Eastern Bhutanese (Sharch Northern Tung (Dong, Kam) Buryat (North Mongolian) Sherpa (Sharpa Bhotia) Tu (Tu-jen) Rumai Palaung Lao Phuan Wa (Kawa, Va, Vo) Golden Palaung (Shwe) Akha (Ekaw, Khako) Mon (Talaing, Mun) Chinese Shan (Dai Kong) Situ Jiarung (Eastern) Japanese Creole Phuthai (Phu Thai) So (Kah So, So Makon) Han Chinese (Min Zhong) Atuentse (Deqen Tibetan) x100% 50%

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 Key for religion bars below and on previous page Agnostic Atheist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Jain Jew Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

Sikh Spiritist Zoroastrian

Top 100 Buddhist Languages Top 100 Buddhist Languages

Country* Main China Japan Viet Nam Myanmar Thailand Thailand China Cambodia Sri Lanka China Taiwan South Korea Thailand India China Thailand Myanmar China China Laos China Myanmar Nepal China Indonesia

All 76 41 27 10 22 2 36 10 20 6 15 36 1 1 7 1 2 18 1 9 4 3 2 2 1

Population 876,583,000 128,947,000 80,364,000 27,923,000 27,572,000 17,267,000 73,685,000 14,955,000 14,620,000 85,943,000 64,510,000 77,212,000 6,915,000 90,108,000 5,354,000 5,119,000 4,293,000 39,727,000 55,973,000 3,018,000 9,505,000 2,207,000 25,233,000 1,478,000 60,923,000

Global Buddhists % 129,933,000 14.8 Chinese, Mandarin 71,988,000 Japanese 55.8 43,928,000 Vietnamese 54.7 27,149,000 97.2 Burmese 26,136,000 94.8 Thai 17,095,000 99.0 Thai, Northeastern 14,693,000 Chinese, 19.9Yue 13,889,000Khmer,92.9 Central 13,780,000 94.3 Sinhala 12,051,000 Chinese, 14.0Wu 10,177,000 Chinese,15.8 Min Nan 8,616,000 11.2 Korean 6,772,000Thai, Northern 97.9 5,583,000 Marathi 6.2 5,249,000Tibetan,98.0 Central 4,320,000Thai, Southern 84.4 4,255,000 99.1 Shan 3,958,000Chinese, 10.0 Hakka 3,918,000Chinese,7.0 Jinyu 2,463,000 81.6Lao 1,803,000 19.0 Chinese, Min Dong 1,789,000 Arakanese 81.1 1,674,000 6.6 Nepali 1,477,000Tibetan,99.9 Khams 1,199,000 Javanese 2.0

*Main country of Buddhist native speakers and count of countries with native speakers

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Country* Global language Main All Population 26 Chinese, Zhuang, China 1 11,438,000 MandarinNorthern Zhuang, Northern Language 27 Khmer, Thailand 1 Language 1,159,000 JapaneseNorthern Khmer, Northern Vietnamese 28 Yangbye Myanmar 1 1,125,000 Yangbye Burmese 29 Hindi IndiaHindi 2 146,257,000 ThaiAmdo 30 Tibetan, China 1 1,046,000 Tibetan, Amdo Northeastern Central 31 Thai, Okinawan, Japan 3 1,005,000 Okinawan, Central Chinese, Yue 32 Chakma India 2 835,000 Chakma Khmer, Central Halh 33 Mongolian, Mongolia 7 2,051,000 Mongolian, Halh Sinhala 34 Karen, Pa'o Myanmar 1 778,000 Karen, Pa'o Chinese, Wu PeripheralMongolian, 35 Mongolian, China 4 5,502,000 Peripheral Min Nan 36 Chinese, Taungyo Myanmar 1 588,000 Taungyo Korean 37 Bai, Central China 1 1,704,000 Bai, Central Thai, Northern Pu-Xian 38 Chinese, China 3 2,838,000 Chinese, Pu-Xian Marathi 39 English USAEnglish 11 338,342,000 Tibetan, Central Peranakan 40 Indonesian, Indonesia 3 3,280,000 Indonesian, Peranakan Thai,Nüa Southern 41 Tai China 3 643,000 Tai Nüa Shan 42 Indonesian Indonesia 1 40,205,000 Indonesian Chinese, Hakka Southern 43 Zhuang, China 1 4,139,000 Zhuang, Southern Chinese, Jinyu 44 Lü China Lü 5 1,222,000 45 BouyeiLao China 1 3,744,000 Bouyei Dong 46Chinese, Tai Min Dón LaosTai Dón 4 586,000 Arakanese 47 Dong, Southern China 1 1,589,000 Dong, Southern Nepali 48 Parauk Myanmar 1 770,000 Parauk Tibetan, Khams 49 Limbu Nepal 3 440,000 Limbu Javanese Min Bei 50 Chinese, China 5 3,061,000 Chinese, Min Bei

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Global Buddhists % 1,143,000 10.0 Zhuang, Northern Language 1,109,000 95.7 Khmer, Northern 1,102,000 98.0 Yangbye 1,074,000 0.7 Hindi 1,045,000Tibetan, 99.9 Amdo 964,000 Okinawan,95.9 Central 706,000 84.6 Chakma 658,000 32.1 Mongolian, Halh 622,000 Karen, 79.9 Pa'o 586,000 10.7 Mongolian, Peripheral 585,000 99.5 Taungyo 548,000 Bai,32.2 Central 540,000 Chinese,19.0 Pu-Xian 512,000 0.2 English 498,000 15.2 Indonesian, Peranakan 431,000 67.0 Tai Nüa 400,000 Indonesian 1.0 399,000 9.6 Zhuang, Southern 386,000 31.6Lü 324,000 8.7 Bouyei 316,000 53.9 Tai Dón 315,000Dong, Southern 19.8 Parauk 310,000 40.3 Limbu 294,000 66.8 Chinese, Min 291,000 9.5Bei

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Tamang, Eastern Palaung, Pale Kalmyk-Oirat Portuguese Khmu Tshangla Newar Dong, Northern Sherpa Tu Palaung, Rumai Phuan Wa Palaung, Shwe Akha Buriat, Russia Mon Jiarong Phu Thai Chinese, Min Zhong Sô Atuence French Dzongkha Chin, Mro x100% 50%

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Global language Chinese, Mandarin Japanese Vietnamese Burmese Thai Thai, Northeastern Chinese, Yue Khmer, Central Sinhala Chinese, Wu Chinese, Min Nan Korean Thai, Northern Marathi Tibetan, Central Thai, Southern Shan Chinese, Hakka Chinese, Jinyu Lao Chinese, Min Dong Arakanese Nepali Tibetan, Khams Javanese

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Agnostics by peoples and languages

A

gnostic peoples include those who are indifferent towards religion; the map to the right and tables below do not include atheists. Seven of the world’s 10 largest agnostic peoples live primarily in Asia. China’s and North Korea’s agnostic populations have mushroomed since 1910 due to governmental persecution of all religions. These two countries have the highest percentages of agnostics in their populations, though China and the USA have the greatest total numbers, 413 million and 37 million, respectively. Other countries with large agnostic populations (10–18 million each) include France, Germany, India, Japan and Viet Nam. Over 98% of the global agnostic population is represented by the languages in the top 50 list on the facing page, and 96% of the global agnostic population is represented by the top 50 peoples list below. The Han Chinese are particularly interesting in terms of languages, peoples and religions. Han Chinese are sub-divided based on their mother tongue, such as Mandarin, Hakka, Xiang or Yue. The Mandarin-speaking Han Chinese are the largest people group not only in Asia, but also in the world. They comprise the world’s largest agnostic people group (38.1% of this people group), atheist people group (12.0%), and Chinese folkreligionist people group (17.0%). They are also the largest Christian people group in Asia (10.4% Christian, or 88.6 million people). Not only are the Han Chinese prominent in different religions, including agnosticism and atheism, but the Mandarin Chinese language is also the largest language for agnostics, Chinese folk-religionists and atheists. Some 37.6% of agnostic individuals worldwide speak Mandarin Chinese as their mother tongue. English is the second-largest agnostic language, followed by Jinyu Chinese and Gan Chinese. English is the primary language for agnostic populations in the USA, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. Agnostics worldwide are represented in 784 languages. The 50 largest agnostic languages are geographically and culturally diverse. The reach of these languages portrays the extent of the agnostic population worldwide. The religion bars below show that many agnostics exist as significant minorities among largely Christian (blue) peoples. Polls and other surveys reveal that these agnostic populations are continuing to grow. As shown in Part I, the demographics of agnostics is profoundly different in 2010 than it was in 1910. Agnosticism was almost exclusively a Northern American and European phenomenon in 1910. Today the map and tables illustrate how indifference to religion has globalised – largely the result of secularisation and Communism.

Agnostics by language, 2010

ProvRelig_Agnostic Per

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Country* Main All China 64 China 1 China 1 USA 117 China 4 Germany 88 North Korea 24 Japan 25 Russia 75 China 15 Viet Nam 23 China 27 Britain 175 China 1 Cuba 37 France 138 Italy 62 China 1 Ukraine 40 Brazil 10 Czech Rep 23 Mexico 24 Netherlands 26 Uzbekistan 16 India 8

Population 853,467,000 55,973,000 38,312,000 126,800,000 85,947,000 71,374,000 77,687,000 129,933,000 132,491,000 64,777,000 78,951,000 73,835,000 52,930,000 39,230,000 97,484,000 32,427,000 32,969,000 11,500,000 40,431,000 103,356,000 11,526,000 189,533,000 13,628,000 25,980,000 139,039,000

Agnostics by peoples and languages, 2010 Continent Global total Africa Asia Europe Latin America Northern America Oceania

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Demographics Agnostics % 639,851,000 100.0 6,183,000 1.0 489,807,000 76.6 81,027,000 12.7 17,122,000 2.7 41,144,000 6.4 4,568,000 0.7

People groups Count % 3,956 100 572 14 972 25 1,339 34 519 13 227 6 327 8

Languages Count % 784 100.0 210 26.8 316 40.3 246 31.4 98 12.5 121 15.4 152 19.4

 Peoples versus global peoples People group totals in the table above are calculated by counting peoples separately by country. Thus the Vietnamese in Viet Nam are one people and the Vietnamese in Cambodia are another people. Below, however, we combine peoples with the same designation to produce a list of global peoples that transcend country boundaries. The Vietnamese below thus represent Vietnamese in all 23 countries in which they have a significant presence. Language totals do not add up to 100% because of extinct languages and double counting.

Top 100 Non Religious Peoples (Global) Top 100 Non Religious Peoples (Global)

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Global Agnostics % 325,008,000 38.1 Han Chinese (Mandarin) 31,904,000 Han Chinese57.0 (Jinyu) 21,072,000 55.0 Han Chinese (Gan) 20,296,000 USA 16.0 White 17,181,000 20.0 Han Chinese (Wu) 17,049,000 23.9 German 14,888,000 19.2 Korean 13,412,000 Japanese 10.3 13,340,000 10.1 Russian 12,294,000 19.0 Han Chinese (Min Nan) 11,104,000 Vietnamese 14.1 10,783,000 14.6 Han Chinese (Yue) 7,656,000 14.5 English 7,431,000 Han Chinese18.9 (Xiang) 6,351,000 Latin American6.5 White 5,757,000 17.8 French 5,061,000 15.4 Italian 4,601,000 40.0 Manchu 4,252,000 Ukrainian 10.5 4,134,000Brazilian4.0 White 4,122,000 35.8 Czech 3,978,000 2.1 Latin American Mestizo 3,905,000 28.7 Dutch 3,232,000Northern 12.4 Uzbek 3,209,000 2.3 Hindi

*Main country of agnostics from people group and count of all countries with people group

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

Global peoples with the most agnostics, 2010 Global people group Han Chinese (Mandarin) Han Chinese (Jinyu) Han Chinese (Gan) USA White Han Chinese (Wu) German Korean Japanese Russian Han Chinese (Min Nan) Vietnamese Han Chinese (Yue) English Han Chinese (Xiang) Latin American White French Italian Manchu Ukrainian Brazilian White Czech Latin American Mestizo Dutch Northern Uzbek Hindi

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Country* Global people group Main 26Chinese Swedish USASwedish Han (Mandarin) PeoName 27HanChinese China Chinese (Jinyu)Mongol Chinese Mongol Chinese (Gan) 28HanAnglo-Australian Australia Anglo-Australian USA White 29 Belarusan Belarus Belarusan Chinese (Wu) 30 Han French-Canadian Canada French-Canadian German 31 Anglo-Canadian Canada Anglo-Canadian Korean 32 Kazakh Kazakhstan Kazakh Japanese 33 North Gallo-RomanceNorth Gallo-Romance France Russian 34 Polish Poland Polish Han (Min Nan)American 35 Chinese African USA African American Vietnamese 36 Han Chinese (Hakka) Han Chinese China (Hakka) Chinese (Yue) 37 HanJavanese Indonesia Javanese 38 TamilEnglish IndiaTamil Chinese (Xiang) 39HanBengali India Bengali Latin Spanish American White 40 Spain Spanish 41 Urdu French IndiaUrdu Italian 42 Franconian Germany Franconian 43 Jat Manchu India Jat Ukrainian 44 Neapolitan-Calabrian Italy Neapolitan-Calabrian Brazilian White 45 Bavarian Austria Bavarian Czech 46 Portuguese Portugal Portuguese Latin Mestizo Zhuang 47 American Northern China Northern Zhuang Dutch 48 Hungarian Hungary Hungarian 49 Northern SlovakUzbek Slovakia Slovak Hindi 50 Turkish Turkey Turkish

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All 16 1 19 26 3 11 17 1 45 15 16 3 19 10 54 6 1 1 1 15 48 1 29 21 16

Population 12,674,000 PeoName 5,274,000 14,855,000 9,372,000 10,649,000 16,042,000 12,512,000 9,376,000 42,245,000 37,259,000 39,069,000 80,902,000 84,679,000 220,827,000 20,717,000 78,457,000 4,942,000 14,642,000 7,497,000 8,782,000 15,064,000 11,438,000 13,207,000 7,452,000 55,809,000

Global Agnostics % 2,657,000 21.0 Swedish PeoName 2,637,000 50.0 Chinese Mongol 2,540,000 17.1 Anglo-Australian 2,476,000 Belarusan 26.4 2,090,000 19.6 French-Canadian 1,951,000Anglo-Canadian 12.2 Kazakh 1,940,000 15.5 North Gallo-Romance 1,875,000 20.0 Polish 1,825,000 4.3 African American 1,811,000 4.9 Han Chinese (Hakka) 1,689,000 4.3 1,598,000 Javanese 2.0 Tamil 1,496,000 1.8 Bengali 1,457,000 0.7 1,411,000 Spanish 6.8 Urdu 1,253,000 1.6 1,235,000 Franconian 25.0 1,230,000 8.4Jat Neapolitan-Calabrian 1,125,000 15.0 Bavarian 1,120,000 12.8 1,092,000 Portuguese 7.2 Northern Zhuang 1,086,000 9.5 1,083,000 Hungarian 8.2 Slovak 1,039,000 13.9 Turkish 1,016,000 1.8

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Serb Telugu Lombard Half-Amerindian (English) Syrian-Arabian Arab Armenian Han Chinese (Thai) Anglo-New Zealander North Azerbaijani Catalonian Sicilian Kirghiz Han Chinese (Huizhou) Assamese Algerian Arab Maratha Danish Malayali Tajik Provençal Low German (Saxon) Han Chinese (Min Pei) Scottish Irish Languedocian x100% 50%

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 Key for religion bars below and on previous page Agnostic Atheist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Jain Jew Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

Sikh Spiritist Zoroastrian

Top 100(Global) Non Religious Languages (Global) Top 100 Non Religious Languages

Country* Main All China 65 USA 198 China 1 China 1 China 4 Germany 89 North Korea 24 Russia 76 Japan 26 Mexico 75 China 15 Viet Nam 23 France 139 China 27 China 1 Brazil 55 Italy 62 Netherlands 27 Ukraine 40 Czech Rep 23 India 8 Uzbekistan 16 China 4 Belarus 26 Kazakhstan 17

Population 876,583,000 338,342,000 55,973,000 38,312,000 85,943,000 65,227,000 77,212,000 134,330,000 128,947,000 380,764,000 64,510,000 80,364,000 60,773,000 73,685,000 39,230,000 211,015,000 29,131,000 16,783,000 39,955,000 10,712,000 146,257,000 26,008,000 5,502,000 9,371,000 12,174,000

Global Agnostics % 329,899,000 37.6 Chinese, Mandarin 43,760,000 12.9 English 31,904,000Chinese, 57.0 Jinyu 21,072,000 Chinese, 55.0 Gan 17,180,000 Chinese, 20.0Wu 15,699,000 24.1 German 14,886,000 19.3 Korean 13,632,000 10.1 Russian 13,387,000 Japanese 10.4 12,742,000 Spanish 3.3 12,290,000 Chinese,19.1 Min Nan 11,351,000 Vietnamese 14.1 10,912,000 18.0 French 10,759,000 Chinese, 14.6Yue 7,431,000Chinese, 18.9 Xiang 5,461,000 Portuguese 2.6 4,408,000 15.1 Italian 4,202,000 25.0 Dutch 4,185,000 Ukrainian 10.5 3,951,000 36.9 Czech 3,263,000 2.2 Hindi 3,233,000 12.4 Uzbek, Northern 2,686,000 48.8 Mongolian, Peripheral 2,476,000 Belarusan 26.4 1,886,000 15.5 Kazakh

*Main country of agnostic native speakers and count of countries with native speakers

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Country* Global language Main 26 Chinese, Chinese, China Mandarin Hakka Chinese, Hakka LanguageEnglish 27 Polish Poland Polish Chinese, Jinyu 28 Tamil IndiaTamil Chinese, Gan 29 Swedish Sweden Swedish Chinese, Wu 30 Bengali India Bengali 31 UrduGerman IndiaUrdu Korean 32 Mainfränkisch Germany Mainfränkisch Russian 33 Haryanvi India Haryanvi Japanese 34 Javanese Indonesia Javanese Spanish 35 Napoletano-Calabrese Italy Napoletano-Calabrese Min Nan Northern 36 Chinese, Zhuang, China Zhuang, Northern Vietnamese 37 Bavarian Austria Bavarian French 38 Hungarian Hungary Hungarian Chinese, Yue 39 Turkish Turkey Turkish Chinese, Xiang 40 Serbian Serbia Serbian Portuguese 41 Telugu IndiaTelugu Italian 42 Lombard Italy Lombard 43 Thai Dutch Thailand Thai Ukrainian 44 Arabic, North Levantine Syria Arabic, North Levantine Czech 45 Schwyzerdutsch Switzerland Schwyzerdutsch 46 SlovakHindi Slovakia Slovak Northern North 47 Uzbek, Azerbaijani, Azerbaijan Azerbaijani, North Mongolian, Peripheral 48 Catalan-Valencian-Balear Spain Catalan-Valencian-Balear Belarusan 49 Armenian Armenia Armenian Kazakh 50 Sicilian ItalySicilian

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All 16 46 19 16 10 7 1 1 3 1 1 15 29 17 34 8 2 6 45 10 21 15 8 62 1

Population 39,727,000 Language 40,863,000 84,598,000 7,374,000 220,861,000 80,204,000 4,942,000 29,349,000 60,923,000 7,497,000 11,438,000 8,010,000 13,075,000 68,731,000 9,528,000 96,286,000 10,043,000 27,572,000 32,424,000 6,134,000 6,296,000 8,714,000 13,109,000 8,135,000 4,959,000

Global Agnostics % 1,687,000Chinese,4.2 Hakka 1,597,000Language3.9 Polish 1,494,000 1.8 Tamil Swedish 1,489,000 20.2 Bengali 1,457,000 0.7 Urdu 1,252,000 1.6 1,235,000Mainfränkisch 25.0 1,230,000 Haryanvi 4.2 1,199,000 Javanese 2.0 Napoletano-Calabrese 1,125,000 15.0 Zhuang, Northern 1,086,000 9.5 Bavarian 1,044,000 13.0 1,043,000 Hungarian 8.0 Turkish 1,015,000 1.5 Serbian 1,000,000 10.5 Telugu 962,000 1.0 954,000 Lombard 9.5 Thai 915,000 3.3 Arabic, North Levantine 839,000 2.6 Schwyzerdutsch 815,000 13.3 Slovak 804,000 12.8 Azerbaijani,8.9 North 778,000 Catalan-Valencian-Balear 777,000 5.9 777,000 Armenian 9.6 Sicilian 744,000 15.0

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Indonesian Kirghiz Chinese, Huizhou Assamese Arabic, Algerian Marathi Malayalam Tajiki Provencal Saxon, Low Chinese, Min Bei Mongolian, Halh Romanian Chuvash Afrikaans Tatar Gujarati Piemontese Arabic, South Levantine Oriya Danish Tagalog Khmer, Central Emiliano-Romagnolo Kurdish, Northern x100% 50%

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Global language Chinese, Mandarin English Chinese, Jinyu Chinese, Gan Chinese, Wu German Korean Russian Japanese Spanish Chinese, Min Nan Vietnamese French Chinese, Yue Chinese, Xiang Portuguese Italian Dutch Ukrainian Czech Hindi Uzbek, Northern Mongolian, Peripheral Belarusan Kazakh

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Christianity by peoples and languages, 1910–2010

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he worldwide nature of Christian faith and practice is fixed in the multiplicity of languages employed in translation and worship, and that linguistic activity reached one of its high points in the twentieth century to stamp the religion with its peculiar indigenising character. Whatever the situation with regard to the core of the religion, there can be little doubt that it has never been about a universal linguistic or territorial core. The local idiom, not the language of social scale, is the original language of religion in Christianity. The universal God of apostolic preaching is encountered in the humble channels of the people’s vernacular, an audacious notion that often has unsettled the Church itself. C. S. Lewis provides suitable relief for this discomfort by noting that translation is no more audacious than the incarnation as the ‘translation’ of God into human form. ‘The same divine humility which decreed that God should become a baby at a peasant-woman’s breast, and later an arrested fieldpreacher in the hands of the Roman police,’ Lewis declares, ‘decreed also that He should be preached in a vulgar, prosaic and unliterary language.’ The role of Bible translation in Christianity’s post-Western development transcends the standard reservations and prickles of the European experience. The Bible in the world’s languages is guided by two considerations: the first is translation into local vernaculars, and the second is the Bible’s impact on colonised and subjugated populations. In the non-Western world the machinery of translation rolled forward without the violent jolts and wreckage that marked its course in Europe. The systematic documentation of non-Western languages triggered massive shifts on the cultural landscape, with new religious movements filling the scene with their striking styles, variety, innovation and difference. The study of non-Western languages and cultures became possible for the first time, while new religious and theological developments came forward to complicate efforts at Christian unity. The work of vernacular Bible translation coincided with the era of colonial rule in Asia and Africa and elsewhere, and sometimes the work was impeded by colonial policies on suppressing local languages as impediments to modernisation and administrative control. Schools promoted Western ideas, while Bible translation promoted indigenous customs and institutions. In this field the flag and the Bible served opposing interests.

Liberia as a schoolteacher and catechist. He was involved in several political incidents, including an anti-Republican uprising in 1909 in which the British Union Jack was raised over the Liberian flag. For his part in the uprising, Harris was arrested, tried, sentenced to imprisonment and fined USD 500. He was subsequently placed on parole. While the delegates to the World Missionary Conference were gathering in Edinburgh with the unfolding momentous events in Africa barely a blip on their radar, Harris was being moulded for his historic mission in a way that even he did not realise. He threw himself into the Glebo War of 1910, when again he was arrested and imprisoned. While in jail, Harris reported a spiritual experience in which he said the angel Gabriel appeared and commissioned him to be a prophet, commanding him to preach repentance, to abolish fetish worship and to baptise converts. Released later in 1910, Harris began a preaching tour in Liberia. He set out in 1913, striking eastward along the coastal belt of the Ivory Coast and further on to Axim in western Ghana. In December 1914 his meteoric preaching career was halted abruptly when the French arrested him. In January 1915, under military escort the French banished him from the Ivory Coast. They were closing the barn door after the horse had bolted.

African developments c. 1910 An unlikely shape of the coming awakening took the form in 1910 of the visit of Theodore Roosevelt to Uganda, where he stumbled upon the beginnings of a remarkable popular movement in the country for which there seemed no immediate political or economic explanation. It was a conversion movement triggered by the translation of the Bible into the vernacular, and carried out by George Pilkington, the lay English missionary. Roosevelt said it was nothing short of astounding. Some 200 lay evangelists were recruited to assist in the spontaneous mass conversions that had been sweeping the country since 1893. They were helped by 500 others in auxiliary positions. In 1902 the numbers increased to 2,000 men and 400 women operating as far as the periphery of the forests of the Congo. George Pilkington’s translated Bible sold 1,100 copies in the year of publication, with an additional 4,000 New Testaments, 13,500 single Gospels and 40,000 Bible-story readers. Similarly, the Roman Catholic missionaries, inclined to scepticism, admitted that ‘in truth the violent wind of Pentecost has stirred over these people’ (En vérité le vent violent de la Pentecôte a soufflé sur ce peuple). When a census was taken in 1911, of 660,000 Bagandans, 282,000 claimed to be Christian, the figure being nearly evenly divided between 155,000 Catholics and 127,000 Anglicans. Through the Christian revival, ethnicity transcended itself to engage a wide spectrum of loyalties and in the process redefined the cultural identity of the whole country. In general, Uganda not excepting, colonial administrators were inclined to a sceptical view of ethnic projects, including the vernacular projects of missions. The example of Prophet William Wadé Harris makes this clear. Harris was born in 1860 in Liberia, and died in April 1929. In 1892 he was employed by the American Episcopal Mission in

In 18 months of public preaching Harris had launched a movement without parallel in the history of Christianity in Africa. He is reported to have converted some 200,000 people, who on first encounter embraced his lean, iconoclastic message and went on to withstand a decade of harsh colonial suppression and persecution before European missionary societies responded. Between 1910 and 1913, under the lieutenant governor Gabriel Angoulvant, the back of Ivory Coast’s anti-colonial insurgency was broken through a programme that military officers euphemistically called ‘pacification’. Angoulvant had the local rulers disarmed and interned, villages destroyed and people regrouped into newly constructed settlements. He also imposed a poll tax and, to help pay for the tax, he instituted as double jeopardy the corvée, or forced labour. Harris swept into this vortex to add a twist to colonial efforts at obtaining the prompt and orderly submission of the tribes. In effect, Harris opened a new front in the colonial campaign to take the country. The French decided promptly to sequester Harris’ moral capital lest Africans be emboldened to question the global legitimacy of colonial rule. Christianity as free-floating moral capital turned flammable in the hands of converts, and for that reason Harris was rounded up and expelled as prime agent, with an armed embargo clamped upon his followers. Colonial rule was bad news for an indigenous Christianity. Harris offered his followers a message of hope grounded in God’s solidarity with the people, but it was a message laden with unflinching challenge to the tribes: the old ways will have to change to avert disaster. Yet for the colonial powers, too, Harris had a word of judgement. In their scramble to impose without consultation global hegemony on tribal societies and cultures, the colonisers were proposing to prescribe the superiority of Western civilisation as Christianity’s remedy for the deficiencies of primitive cultures when, according to Harris, the gospel was God’s answer to

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Vernacular translation enabled the ethnic group concerned to grasp with immediate cogency the message of Scripture, and the accompanying orthography, grammars, dictionaries and studies of ethnic groups have contributed immensely to the recovery of the cultural identity that laid the basis for political parties, welfare societies, and particularly for the growth of self-governing, self-propagating and self-supporting churches and congregations.

ideas of superiority and inferiority alike. The global shield of colonial hegemony concealed a vulnerable side that an indigenous Christianity was well poised to expose. A free child of God makes an awkward candidate for subjugation. With implicit faith in colonialism as a civilising mission, missionaries applied an instrumental interpretation to the work of Harris. The Methodist missionary William Platt, for example, was unrestrained in his confidence in the long-term salvific benefits of Western globalisation, affirming jubilantly Two of the most powerful influences ‘undermining’ ancient belief and practice in West Africa are Trade and Colonization. It might be said that every new village shop opened is one more blow struck at the slowly dying body of African fetishism, every Ford car performing its marvels on Africa’s bush roads is another nail in the coffin of ‘Darkest’ Africa. Platt returned to this view, saying, ‘We doubt not that once we, as a Mission, show them [the Harrist converts] that we mean business, they will prefer the enlightenment of that state to the illiteracy which now prevails.’ Platt and his European colleagues believed that ethnicity had no value except as an obstacle that the advancing vehicle of civilisation must level. Harris’ converts, however, made the critical distinction, so that while, for example, they resisted colonisation, they remained open without fault to the religious work of missionaries. Harris and his followers understood well enough that the work of ethnic redemption was ample enough to embrace the cooperation of Europeans even though Europeans were bent on seizing tribal land and colonising the people. A convert told Platt that Harris, who baptised him ten years previously, told him to hand over to Platt the 2,000-strong group of converts ‘if you will only send us a teacher.’ Harris testified that he ‘must bring men to honour the Natural Law and the divine precepts, and especially the observance of Sunday, which is so much neglected. I am coming to speak for all the people of this country, White or Black,’ he challenged. Translation and Christian renewal For historians of Edinburgh 1910, the year 1914 was the nemesis that dogged the optimism and legacy of the conference, and the year when its swaggering rhetoric of a ‘comprehensive plan for world occupation’ was overtaken by war and rumours of war. For the postWestern Christian cause, however, such tragedy and adversity tapped into reservoirs of hope and expectation. Accordingly, in 1918, when the end of the Great War coincided with bitter irony with the outbreak of the Great Pandemic, as it was called, there was underway a convergence of several forces poised to shape and guide the vernacular impulse of Christianity. The epidemic prompted a series of revivalist meetings across southern Nigeria and beyond, for example. There was desperation for healing and for an answer, for the epidemic reached its height in Yoruba country in October 1918. Many of the central figures in the contemporary revival movement had connections with the Anglican Church Missionary Society. The formative revival years were from 1918 to 1930, when a spell was broken and dormant Christian ideas stirred to convulse whole communities and to realign the cultural landscape accordingly. Christianity became firmly lodged in the ethnic folk memory, there to compete with ancestral institutions and practices. The message was clear: it cannot be doubted that God exists, or that God is powerful and will answer all personal needs, including the need for healing and for security of person and estate. The confusion and tragedy of the modern world found answer in Christianity’s ancient message. Those who could read were able to read not only about the bad news that engulfed their world but also about the good news of a God who knew their troubles, spoke their language and could now heal and restore them. It represented a fundamental and permanent encryption of the African religious template. Then there was the global economic slump of the 1920s, which spread panic and hardship among local people, requiring the government to adopt measures deemed highly unpopular. Contemporary with that, the city of Lagos was ravaged by bubonic plague

included two Teita, two Kikuyu, six Luyia (one of them an archdeacon) and one Gusii, all of them from Bantu tribes traditionally somewhat hostile towards the Luo. Yet another example, to return to Western Africa, is the Church of the Lord (Aladura), founded by Josiah Olunowo Oshitelu of Nigeria. The Church of the Lord (Aladura) established branches in different parts of Nigeria and founded an active missionary movement in Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and farther afield.

show that the complete Bible has appeared in 443 of the world’s languages. Of that figure, 305 complete Bibles were printed since 1910. These figures indicate the accelerated pace and direction of change in postWestern Christianity within the last few generations. At one stage in the 1980s, for example, continuing efforts were being made to provide translations into an additional 238 African languages, so great was the demand.

Impact of Bible translation In his pioneering study of the subject in 1968, David Barrett shows how the vernacular scriptures created charismatic ferment far more effectively than the versions in linguae francae such as Arabic, Hausa, Swahili, French or English, which failed to fan the revival flame even though these linguae francae had been in circulation in many areas long before the coming of religious independency. Barrett affirms that the vernacular translation enabled the ethnic group concerned to grasp with immediate cogency the message of Scripture, and that the accompanying orthography, grammars, dictionaries and studies of ethnic groups have contributed immensely to the recovery of the cultural identity that laid the basis for political parties, welfare societies, and particularly for the growth of self-governing, self-propagating and self-supporting churches and congregations. An African Christian testified that he and his people once imagined the Bible to be a charm of the white people to keep off sickness, and a trap to catch the people. He knew differently now. ‘We have never heard of such a thing … but now we not only hear with our ears, we see with our eyes, we read it, our children read it. … We thought it was a thing to be spoken to, but now we know it has a tongue. It speaks and will speak to the whole world.’ The language of the vernacular Bible seems to connect well with responsible awareness of one’s place in the world near and far. In the early Church the work of Bible translation proceeded in spurts. Yet by the beginning of the eighteenth century and rising to a vigorous stream by the late twentieth century, we have a cascade of translations listed in a report of December 1984, which said that translations of the Scriptures were available in 1,808 of the world’s 2,800 languages, with Africa alone claiming nearly one-third of these, with 522 vernacular translations. In the updated figures for 2006, modified in March/April 2007, the world population is put at 6.5 billion with more than 6,900 spoken languages. Of these languages, about 2,426 have some or all of the Bible translated into them, while 1,144 have the New Testament. Africa has emerged as a Christian epicentre, thanks to the vernacular stimulus. There have been significant developments in South Korea and in Nagaland in India, for example, with China poised for a major leap forward. A troubled Myanmar seems to inhibit the early promise of expansion there, but, if reports are to be believed, that seems only a temporary setback. Meanwhile, Wycliffe personnel are reported in 2007 to be working in 1,379 languages spread over 97 countries, which is 71% of all translation projects worldwide. In the 70+ years of its history Wycliffe translators have been involved in the combined translation of 710 New Testaments and complete Bibles representing over 78 million people. The World Christian Encyclopedia (2001) estimates the annual output of books on Christianity at 340,000 in 164 languages, and that 58 billion copies of the Bible have been produced in 367 languages. Updated figures of the American Bible Society in 2007

Christianity’s openness and diversity The pattern of correlation between indigenous cultural revitalisation and Bible translation is a consistent one in new communities of faith, with evocative themes in the Gentile revolution of the primitive church. As they pored over the vernacular Bible, for example, converts saw a diagnosis of their own condition and circumstances as well as something of the cultural potential of their own history and experience. The coming of the Bible in the vernacular ended the isolation of tribe and language, reversed or slowed the process of neglect and indifference, and pulled in remote and obscure languages to provide a simple and documented system of communication. Just as the English of King Alfred was more complicated than modern English, so were non-Western languages before Bible translation. And the simplicity of translation triggered intellectual currents that made comparative inquiry possible. Bible translation is evidence that Christianity’s ‘neurological centre’ is in flux, that its vocabulary is growing and changing, that foreign idioms have lodged in the system like oxygen in the bloodstream, and that new, expanded intercultural tasks have stimulated openness and diversity in the religion. Translation has shifted the ‘genetic determinism’ of ingrown habits and encrypted the religion with the most diverse cultural chromosomes of other societies. Bible translation is intelligent design for the complex world of human difference and diversity: no language is too superior to merit an exclusive status before God, and none is too inferior to be excluded. All languages have merit; none is indispensable. In a speech at St Paul’s Cathedral on the occasion of the bicentenary of the British and Foreign Bible Society in 2004, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams called attention to the implications of Bible translation for the Church today: ‘If scripture can be “re-created” in different languages, the humanity of the saviour who speaks in scripture must be an extraordinary humanity, a unique humanity.’ The name of Israel in translation as tribe, nation and vocation has moved the lips of the tribes of the world with glad songs of peaceful Zion. The Edinburgh World Missionary Conference of 1910 erred only in underestimating such future potential, and it is worth pondering what lessons in turn the centenary sequel of 2010 will teach posterity.

LAMIN SANNEH David B. Barrett, Schism and Renewal in Africa (Nairobi: Oxford University Press, 1968). John D. Y. Peel, Aladura: A Religious Movement among the Yoruba (London: Oxford University Press for the International African Institute, 1968). Lamin Sanneh, Disciples of All Nations: Pillars of World Christianity (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008). Lamin Sanneh, Translating the Message: The Missionary Impact on Culture, 2nd edn (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2009). David A. Shank, Prophet Harris, The ‘Black Elijah’ of West Africa, abridged by Jocelyn Murray (Leiden: Brill, 1994).

Christianity by languages and people groups, 2010 People groups with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

People Latin American Mestizo Russian USA White Brazilian White Latin American White Han Chinese (Mandarin) German English Brazilian Mulatto Polish *Main country of people group

Main country* Mexico Russia USA Brazil Argentina China Germany Britain Brazil Poland

Population Christians 189,533,000 184,594,000 132,491,000 115,188,000 126,800,000 105,372,000 103,356,000 93,854,000 97,484,000 89,097,000 853,467,000 88,621,000 71,374,000 52,319,000 52,930,000 44,146,000 43,790,000 41,163,000 42,245,000 40,279,000

Languages with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Language Spanish English Portuguese Russian Chinese, Mandarin German French Polish Ukrainian Tagalog

Main country** Mexico USA Brazil Russia China Germany France Poland Ukraine Philippines

Population 380,764,000 338,342,000 211,015,000 134,330,000 876,583,000 65,227,000 60,773,000 40,863,000 39,955,000 33,145,000

Largest languages with full Bible translations Christians 359,593,000 280,185,000 193,079,000 114,886,000 88,673,000 47,444,000 45,722,000 38,727,000 34,950,000 32,499,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

People Chinese, Mandarin Spanish English Bengali Portuguese Hindi Russian Japanese Telugu Marathi

Main country** China Mexico USA Bangladesh Brazil India Russia Japan India India

Population 876,583,000 380,764,000 338,342,000 220,861,000 211,015,000 146,257,000 134,330,000 128,947,000 96,286,000 90,108,000

Christians 88,673,000 359,593,000 280,185,000 616,000 193,079,000 1,884,000 114,886,000 3,074,000 8,651,000 901,000

**Main country of native speakers

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CHRISTIANITY BY PEOPLES AND LANGUAGES

between 1924 and 1926, increasing the demand for applied Christianity, a demand the new religious leaders met with charismatic gifts: prayer, dreams, visions, healing and a sense of community. In addition, there was a severe famine in 1932. Christianity’s translated status was a boon in these hard, scrappy times as new local leaders presided over the ferment of revival and renewal. Bearers of charismatic good tidings burst upon the scene announcing their message and acting the part: wild, fidgety, strange, ecstatic and earnest. In the hands of the new leaders, Christianity defied denominational boundaries to become a religion of the open road. The spontaneous response was belated validation of Bible translation: all the critical vocabulary of a rallying narrative was derived from the vernacular Bible, with the commentary of life and experience providing the canon of interpretation. In his seminal work, The History of the Yorubas (1897), Samuel Johnson, a Yoruba born in Freetown, described the coming of Christianity as a watershed. Echoing a sentiment once expressed by Anexagoras about the ancient Greeks, Johnson said all things were in chaos when the gospel arrived and brought light and order, raising the agelong siege of internecine hatred. Johnson claimed that Oluwa Olorun Alaye (God) begets life out of death, and would make apostles out of slaves, and that Jesus knew the way out of the grave, which gave people reason to believe, even in the teeth of adversity. Conversion had consequences for all society, resistance notwithstanding. The template of religion became the paradigm of social change. Accordingly, the Yoruba national sentiment spurred the emergence within Yoruba society of numerous separatist churches, which did not recognise the authority of a central structure. In the second place, recruiting African agents from one part of the continent for work in another part provoked local ethnic reaction. Third, vernacular translation by non-local experts did not succeed in stemming ethnic ill-feeling. No translation is perfect, and with mother tongues mistakes and errors quickly assume the guise of faultlines. In Yorubaland and in the Niger Delta, the landscape was pockmarked by ethnically precipitated eruptions of separatist groups. Without the magistrate’s power to bind and to loose in the religious sphere, only Christian charity helped to smother this flammable ethnic force and prevent a damaging social meltdown. A Kenyan example shows how separatism may represent a genuine attempt at intra-ethnic unity. It concerns the Church of Christ in Africa (CCA), founded by a Luo, Matthew Ajuoga. Unlike Harris, Ajuoga traced his call to conflict with the Anglican Mission, yet in his case, too, the vernacular and ethnic issue was of considerable importance. In 1953 the Luo Old Testament was published, and Ajuoga was struck by the word the missionaries translated as hera, namely, the Greek philadelphia and the English ‘love’. He claimed that hera, ‘brotherly love’, was absent in missionary treatment of African converts, and concluded that such treatment represented a scandalous failure of love. After several years of protest and discussion aimed at major reforms in the church, Ajuoga and his followers separated themselves and established the CCA in 1957, when it was a purely Luo church. Yet its outreach soon extended beyond ethnic boundaries, being able to appeal to several ethnic groups at once. By 1965 CCA members came from 56 tribes and sub-tribes in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Eight dioceses had been formed in the three countries by 1967. Its 70 clergy

Christianity by peoples and languages

T

he tree maps to the right depict two factors related to peoples and languages: proportion of global population and percentage Christian. These tree maps are unique in their capacity to visually represent proportion in terms of the size of each nested rectangle. The larger the area, the larger the people (top map) or language (bottom map). These maps also represent percentage Christian by the shade of each rectangle: the darker the colour, the greater the percentage Christian. For example, as shown in the ‘Largest global languages, 2010’ table on the facing page, Spanish is the secondlargest language in the world in terms of mother-tongue speakers. Therefore, it is represented by the secondlargest rectangle in the language tree map. Also, at the global level, mother-tongue Spanish speakers are 94.4% Christian. This is depicted in the dark shade of blue within the rectangle. The tree maps to the right visually demonstrate the extent of the global population that has, for example, very low percentages of Christians and that these include some of the world’s largest languages and peoples. The physical map on the opposite page depicts the world’s languages by location and percentage Christian. Darker shades of blue represent the higher percentage of Christian native speakers. From this map we are able to better recognise trends across different mother tongues. For example, the darker shades in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania can be contrasted with the significantly lighter shades across Northern Africa and Asia. However, the fact that there is a majority of Asian languages (both in terms of numbers and of population) that are greater than 2% Christian, may be overlooked in a world or continent map, where small but widespread languages can dominate colour. Only eight of the world’s 25 largest peoples are majority Christian. Among the world’s 25 largest Christian peoples, five of the six United Nations continents are represented. Mandarin-speaking Han Chinese, because of their sheer size (approaching one billion people), appear near the top of every listing of languages and peoples even though only 10.4% of all Han Chinese are Christians. This 10.4% still comprises over 88 million Christians among this people in 2010. Among the other 25 largest Christian peoples are Russians (the second largest), African Americans (12th), Yoruba (22nd) and Visayans (25th). Note the greater disparity in population among the 25 largest Christian languages than among the 25 largest Christian peoples. This occurs in large part because only three languages (Spanish, English and Portuguese) are the mother tongues for 10 of the 25 largest Christian peoples. The number of Christians who speak Spanish as their first language (360 million) is more than 25% greater than the number who speak English, the next largest population (280 million).

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 The world’s largest peoples by proportion of global population and percentage Christian, 2010

GlobalPeopleCPct_world_GROUPBY Latin American White

Latin American Mestizo

Orisi

Urdu

Polish Brazilian White

Bengali

Vietnamese Maitili

Javanese

USA White

Bhojpuri Bihari Brazilian Mulatto

Tamil Malayali Japanese Han Chinese (Wu)

Han Chinese (Mandarin)

Kanarese French Egyptian Arab

Russian Maratha

Yoruba

Han Han Han African English Ukrainian Chinese Chinese Chinese Eastern AmerPunjabi (Xiang) (Hakka) (Gan) ican Hindi

Telugu

Han Chinese (Yue)

Western Punjabi

Korean

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Each rectangle represents a Global People Name Each rectangle's the value compared to a total of 6,861,649,881 Han Ppop2010 (SUM) 0 area 2 is5determined 10 40by 60 75 of85 90 95 100 Each rectangle's 0 1 color 2 is determined 3 4 by 5 the6value7of Cpct 8 Cat 9 (MIN) 10 Chinese

Color Key (Cpct Cat (MIN))

Han

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(Cantonese) Chinese  The world’s largest languages by proportion of global population and percentage Christian, 2010 (Huanese)

LangCPct_world

Japanese

Javanese

English Gujarati Russian Chinese, Min Nan Spanish Hindi

German

Turkish Portuguese Chinese, Mandarin

Chinese, Yue

Panjabi, Western

French

Top 100 Peoples (Global)

Chinese, Jinyu

Arabic, MalayKannada Bhojpuri Maithili Egyptian alam

Hausa

Top 100 Ch

Bengali

Telugu

1-25

Global Population Largest % 853,467,000 Agnostics 38.1 Han Chinese (Mandarin) 220,827,000 Muslims 63.9 Bengali 189,533,000 Christians Latin American97.4 Mestizo 139,039,000 Hindus 91.3 Hindi 132,491,000 Christians 86.9 Russian 129,933,000 Buddhists Japanese 55.3 126,800,000 Christians USA 83.1 White 103,356,000 ChristiansBrazilian 90.8 White 97,484,000 Christians 91.4 Latin American White 96,152,000 Hindus 78.3 Telugu 90,074,000 Hindus 76.3 Maratha 85,947,000 Chinese folk 60.0 Han Chinese (Wu) 84,679,000 Hindus 76.8 Tamil 80,902,000 Muslims 81.3 Javanese 78,951,000 Buddhists Vietnamese 55.0 78,457,000 Muslims 98.0 Urdu 77,687,000 Christians 29.9 Korean 74,372,000 Muslims Western96.0 Punjabi 73,835,000 Chinese folk 60.9 Han Chinese (Yue) 71,374,000 Christians 73.3 German 64,777,000 ChineseHanfolk 51.1 Chinese (Min Nan) 61,636,000 Hindus 84.6 Gujarati 55,973,000 Agnostics Han Chinese57.0 (Jinyu) 55,809,000 Muslims 98.0 Turkish 52,930,000 Christians 83.4 English

*Main country of people group and count of all countries with people group

Turk

ProvRelig_Christian

Largest global people groups, 2010 Country* Main All China 104 Bangladesh 22 Mexico 28 India 67 Russia 75 Japan 40 USA 117 Brazil 10 Argentina 37 India 14 India 5 China 7 India 31 Indonesia 9 Viet Nam 27 India 32 South Korea 40 Pakistan 2 China 48 Germany 88 China 20 India 31 China 1 Turkey 51 Britain 175

Hausa Italian

Han Han Chinese Gujarati Chinese (Min Nan) (Jinyu)

German

Chinese, Wu

Marathi

Tamil

Each rectangle represents a EthIDCat Each rectangle's area is determined by the value of Ethpop (SUM) compared to a total of 6,863,644,686 Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of Pctcat (MIN)

Global people group Han Chinese (Mandarin) Bengali Latin American Mestizo Hindi Russian Japanese USA White Brazilian White Latin American White Telugu Maratha Han Chinese (Wu) Tamil Javanese Vietnamese Urdu Korean Western Punjabi Han Chinese (Yue) German Han Chinese (Min Nan) Gujarati Han Chinese (Jinyu) Turk English

Sundanese

0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 50%

25

Urdu

50

100%

75

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Korean

Color Key (Pctcat (MIN)) 1

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Country* Global people group Main All Latin American Mestizo Egyptian Mexico 28 Arab PeoName Russian Russia 75 Kanarese USA White USAMalayali 117 Brazilian White Brazil 10 Brazilian Mulatto Latin American White Bhojpuri Argentina 37 Bihari Han Chinese (Mandarin) China 103 Maitili German Germany 88 Polish English Britain 175 Orisi Brazilian Mulatto Brazil 3 Ukrainian Polish Poland 45 Han Chinese (Xiang) Ukrainian Ukraine 40 Han Chinese (Hakka) African American USA (Gan) 16 Han Chinese Filipino Philippines 53 Eastern Punjabi Amhara Ethiopia 11 African American Italian Italy 63 Sundanese French France 138 Hausa Korean South ItalianKorea 40 Brazilian Mestiço Brazil 4 Yoruba Romanian Romania 35 French Latin American Mulatto Colombia 11 Syrian-Arabian Arab Brazilian Black Brazil 1 Filipino Yoruba Nigeria 14 Amhara Spanish Spain 54 Burmese Igbo Nigeria 5 Sudanese Arab Visayan Philippines 1 Persian

Population 189,533,000 132,491,000 126,800,000 103,356,000 97,484,000 853,467,000 71,374,000 52,930,000 43,790,000 42,245,000 40,431,000 37,259,000 30,067,000 28,013,000 32,969,000 32,427,000 77,687,000 24,263,000 20,690,000 21,987,000 21,888,000 32,573,000 20,717,000 19,298,000 18,374,000

8

Global Christians % 184,594,000 Latin American97.4 Mestizo 115,188,000PeoName 86.9 Russian 105,372,000 USA 83.1 White 93,854,000Brazilian 90.8 White 89,097,000 91.4 Latin American White 88,621,000 10.4 Han Chinese (Mandarin) 52,319,000 73.3 German 44,146,000 83.4 English 41,163,000 Brazilian94.0 Mulatto 40,279,000 95.3 Polish 35,354,000 Ukrainian 87.4 33,027,000 88.6 African American 29,465,000 98.0 Filipino 27,674,000 98.8 Amhara 27,109,000 82.2 Italian 24,728,000 76.3 French 23,256,000 29.9 Korean 23,008,000 Brazilian94.8 Mestiço 20,271,000 Romanian 98.0 20,154,000 Latin American91.7 Mulatto 19,590,000Brazilian 89.5 Black 19,535,000 60.0 Yoruba 18,997,000 91.7 Spanish 18,890,000 97.9 Igbo 18,117,000 98.6 Visayan

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Religions by percentage

Northern Uzbek Eastern Pathan Awadhi Brazilian Mestiço Nepalese Saudi Arab Sindhi Algerian Arab Central Thai Latin American Mulatto Brazilian Black Upper Egyptian Arab Braj Bhakha Spanish Romanian Malay Assamese Igbo Visayan Chittagonian Bangri Isan West Central Oromo Southern Punjabi Madurese x100% 50%

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Global people groups with the most Christians, 2010 26-50

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Christians by languages, 2010

ProvRelig_Christian Per

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 Language: native speakers When languages are discussed throughout this atlas, it is always in terms of native speakers. Numerous people – even entire countries – fall into the category of multi-lingual; however, almost all would have a single mother tongue or native language. As shown graphically at right, there are almost a half billion non-native speakers of Mandarin; however, only the native speakers are displayed in the table below. Some languages, like English, have far more non-native speakers than native.

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

 Peoples versus global peoples People group totals in the table at right are calculated by counting peoples separately by country. Thus the Russians in Russia are one people and the Russians in Latvia are another people. On the facing page, however, we combine peoples with the same designation to produce a list of global peoples that transcend country boundaries. The Russians in that table thus represent Russians in all 75 countries in which they have a significant presence. Language totals do not add up to 100% because of extinct languages and double counting.

 Key for religion bars below and at left Agnostic Atheist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Jain Jew Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

Sikh Spiritist Zoroastrian

1-25 Global Population Largest % 876,583,000 Agnostics 37.6 Chinese, Mandarin 380,764,000 Christians 94.4 Spanish 338,342,000 Christians 82.8 English 220,861,000 Muslims 63.9 Bengali 211,015,000 Christians Portuguese 91.5 146,257,000 Hindus 91.1 Hindi 134,330,000 Christians 85.5 Russian 128,947,000 Buddhists Japanese 55.8 96,286,000 Hindus 78.4 Telugu 90,108,000 Hindus 76.3 Marathi 85,943,000 Chinese folk Chinese, 60.0Wu 84,598,000 Hindus 76.8 Tamil 80,364,000 Buddhists Vietnamese 54.7 80,204,000 Muslims 98.0 Urdu 77,212,000 Christians 29.7 Korean 74,759,000 Muslims Panjabi,95.6 Western 73,685,000 Chinese folk Chinese, 61.0Yue 68,731,000 Muslims 98.3 Turkish 65,227,000 Christians 72.7 German 64,510,000 Chinese folk Chinese,51.0 Min Nan 61,598,000 Hindus 84.6 Gujarati 60,923,000 Muslims 81.4 Javanese 60,773,000 Christians 75.2 French 55,973,000 AgnosticsChinese, 57.0 Jinyu 53,593,000 MuslimsArabic, 85.5 Egyptian

*Main country of native speakers and count of all countries with native speakers

Total Mandarin speakers: 1,406,583,000

Peoples and languages by continent, 2010 Continent Global total Africa Asia Europe Latin America Northern America Oceania

Demographics Population % 6,906,560,000 100.0 1,032,012,000 14.9 4,166,308,000 60.3 730,478,000 10.6 593,696,000 8.6 348,575,000 5.0 35,491,000 0.5

People groups % 12,331 100 3,503 28 3,658 30 1,656 13 1,537 12 466 4 1,511 12

Languages % 7,299 100.0 2,075 28.4 2,107 28.9 347 4.8 806 11.0 321 4.4 1,245 17.1

Religions by percentage 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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Country* Global language Main All Spanish Mexico 77 Kannada Language English USA 198 Malayalam Portuguese Brazil 55 Bhojpuri Russian Russia 76 Maithili Chinese, Mandarin China 103 Hausa German Germany 89 Polish French France 139 Oriya Polish Poland 46 Indonesian Ukrainian Ukraine 40 Ukrainian Tagalog Philippines 53 Chinese, Hakka Amharic Ethiopia 11 Chinese, Xiang Italian Italy 63 Chinese, Gan Romanian Romania 46 Panjabi, Eastern Korean South TagalogKorea 40 Yoruba Nigeria 15 Yoruba Igbo Nigeria 5 Arabic, North Levantine Cebuano Philippines 1 Farsi, Western Malayalam IndiaSunda 18 Tamil India 29 Haryanvi Greek Greece 83 Arabic, Sudanese Catalan-Valencian-Balear Spain 8 Italian Dutch Netherlands 27 Amharic Hungarian Hungary 30 Burmese Haitian Creole French Haiti Thai 10 Zulu South 7 Uzbek, NorthernAfrica

Population 380,764,000 338,342,000 211,015,000 134,330,000 876,583,000 65,227,000 60,773,000 40,863,000 39,955,000 33,145,000 28,394,000 29,131,000 24,503,000 77,212,000 32,582,000 19,298,000 18,411,000 44,868,000 84,598,000 12,524,000 13,109,000 16,783,000 13,075,000 11,361,000 10,560,000

Global Christians % 359,593,000 94.4 Spanish 280,185,000Language 82.8 English 193,079,000 Portuguese 91.5 114,886,000 85.5 Russian 88,673,000 10.1 Chinese, Mandarin 47,444,000 72.7 German 45,722,000 75.2 French 38,727,000 94.8 Polish 34,950,000 Ukrainian 87.5 32,499,000 98.1 Tagalog 27,824,000 98.0 Amharic 23,908,000 82.1 Italian 23,526,000 Romanian 96.0 22,926,000 29.7 Korean 19,540,000 60.0 Yoruba 18,890,000 97.9 Igbo 18,124,000 98.4 Cebuano 14,408,000 Malayalam 32.1 12,844,000 15.2 Tamil 12,217,000 97.5 Greek 12,204,000 93.1 Catalan-Valencian-Balear 12,035,000 71.7 Dutch 11,331,000 Hungarian 86.7 10,817,000 Haitian Creole95.2 French 9,698,000 91.8 Zulu

Religions by percentage

Pashto, Northern Nepali Awadhi Arabic, Algerian Romanian Arabic, Najdi Sindhi Arabic, Sa`idi Braj Bhasha Arabic, Moroccan Assamese Igbo Chittagonian Cebuano Malay Thai, Northeastern Arabic, Mesopotamian Oromo, West Central Seraiki Dutch Somali Deccan Tajiki Bundeli Magahi x100% 50%

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Global languages with the most Christians, 26-50 2010

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CHRISTIANITY BY PEOPLES

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Country* Main All China 104 Mexico 77 USA 198 Bangladesh 22 Brazil 56 India 67 Russia 76 Japan 41 India 14 India 6 China 7 India 30 Viet Nam 27 India 32 South Korea 40 Pakistan 5 China 48 Turkey 53 Germany 89 China 20 India 31 Indonesia 9 France 139 China 1 Egypt 30

Native Mandarin speakers 876,583,000

Top 100acro Ci Top 100 Cities by religion - Broken into 4 seperate graphs which are spread two pages two pages via a table

Largest global languages, 2010 Global language Chinese, Mandarin Spanish English Bengali Portuguese Hindi Russian Japanese Telugu Marathi Chinese, Wu Tamil Vietnamese Urdu Korean Panjabi, Western Chinese, Yue Turkish German Chinese, Min Nan Gujarati Javanese French Chinese, Jinyu Arabic, Egyptian

Non-native Mandarin speakers 530,000,000

Language

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Christianity by peoples and languages in Africa ProvRelig_Christian

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frica is home to over 2,000 mother-tongue languages, representing almost 30% of all the world’s languages – about the same number as Asia but with one quarter of Asia’s population. No one language or people group dominates the African continent; each of the largest languages (Egyptian Arabic, Hausa, Yoruba, Amharic and Sudanese Arabic) represents between 2.5% and 5% of the total population of the continent. The lower tree map to the right reveals the largest languages in Africa and the percentages of Christians within each. Some of the largest languages with the greatest percentLatin American ages of Christians (greater than 60%Mestizo Christian) include Yoruba, Amharic and Igbo. Afrikaans and Arabic (in its many forms) are the only imported languages among the 25 largest languages in Africa. All others listed in this table are traditional African languages. As one might expect, among all imported languages, those languages imported during European colonialisation have high Christian percentages. Of all African speakers of Afrikaans as their mother tongue, 88% are Christian. For English (ranked 42), the comparable figure is 81%. Arabic, in its different forms, is the largest mothertongue language cluster in Africa. Specifically, Egyptian Spoken Arabic has the largest mother-tongue populaHan Chinese tion. Christian percentages among (Mandarin) Arabic-speaking peoples are relatively low. Among the 25 largest languages in Africa (bottom left table on the facing page), the largest Christian percentage for any Arabic language is 16.7% (among those speaking Sai’di Arabic). Of the 25 largest Christian peoples in Africa, 15 are more than 90% Christian. Only one, the Egyptian Arabs, is a minority-Christian people (15% Christian), while the West Central Oromo have a slight Christian majority (53.3%). This is an example of the division that exists between majority-Christian segments of Africa and areas dominated by other religions. For example, of the 25 largest peoples in Africa, most are either majority Christian or less than 20% Christian; only two of these 25 peoples are between 20% and 60% Christian. The alternating green and blue religion bar graphs below further illustrate this divide between Christians and Muslims in Africa. This reality is mapped on page 7 in Part I where majority religions in Africa are depicted. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to the majority of Christians on the continent. The greatest concentrations of Christians are found in the Democratic Republic of Congo and some surrounding areas. The largest African Christian peoples include the Amhara of Ethiopia and the Yoruba of Nigeria, both of which have their own language, Amharic and Yoruba, respectively.

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5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

 Africa’s largest peoples by proportion of Africa’s population and percentage Christian, 2010 GlobalPeopleCPct_A_GROUPBY Moroccan Arab

Amhara

Tswana

Xhosa

Wolof Burundian Hutu

West Central Oromo

Moor Sokoto Fulani

Chewa

Yoruba Igbo

Haabe Fulani

Mossi

Yerwa Kanuri Algerian Arab

Hausa

Zulu

Luo Tripolitanian Arab

Rwandese Hutu

Upper Egyptian Arab

Sukuma Merina

Egyptian Arab

Ittu Sudanese Arab

Somali

Zerma Moorish Bedouin

Ashanti

Kikuyu

Shona

Toroobe Fulani

Each rectangle represents a Global People Name Each rectangle's area is determined by the value of Ppop2010 (SUM) compared to a total of 1,025,547,076 ProvRelig_Christian Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of Cpct Cat (MIN)

0

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2

3

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5

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7

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9

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Color Key (Cpct Cat (MIN)) 1

Population 47,052,000 34,310,000 32,466,000 27,947,000 25,847,000 21,475,000 21,386,000 19,298,000 17,130,000 13,903,000 13,858,000 12,150,000 11,091,000 10,560,000 10,447,000 10,408,000 10,104,000 9,102,000 8,774,000 8,109,000 7,886,000 7,790,000 7,757,000 7,382,000 7,374,000

Oromo, West Central

Arabic, Sudanese

Arabic, Moroccan

226

10

Rundi

Zulu

Mòoré

Yoruba Igbo

Nyanja

Arabic, Sa ‘idi

Hausa

Rwanda

Arabic, Algerian

Malagasy, Plateau

Hassaniyya Arabic, Egyptian

1-25 Africa Largest % MuslimsEgyptian 84.4 Arab Muslims 97.1 Hausa Christians 60.0 Yoruba Christians 98.8 Amhara MuslimsSudanese 95.0 Arab Muslims 82.7 Upper Egyptian Arab Muslims Algerian 97.0 Arab Christians 97.9 Igbo Christians West Central53.3 Oromo MuslimsMoroccan 97.9 Arab Muslims 100.0 Somali Christians 67.3 Merina ChristiansRwandese 80.6 Hutu Christians 91.8 Zulu Muslims 54.4 Mossi Christians 84.1 Chewa ChristiansBurundian 93.0 Hutu Christians 87.5 Xhosa Christians 74.5 Ashanti Muslims Moorish100.0 Bedouin Christians 97.4 Kikuyu Christians 71.0 Shona MuslimsToroobe 99.7 Fulani Christians 89.7 Tigrai Muslims Southern83.8 Oromo

*Main country of people group and count of all countries with people group

8

5

LangCPct_A

Largest people groups in Africa, 2010 People group Egyptian Arab Hausa Yoruba Amhara Sudanese Arab Upper Egyptian Arab Algerian Arab Igbo West Central Oromo Moroccan Arab Somali Merina Rwandese Hutu Zulu Mossi Chewa Burundian Hutu Xhosa Ashanti Moorish Bedouin Kikuyu Shona Toroobe Fulani Tigrai Southern Oromo

3

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Somali

Religions of Larget 25 Peoples in Africa Xhosa

Akan

Gikuyu

Shona

Oromo, Arabic, Afrikaans Borana- Tigrigna Ganda Tunisian Arsi-Guji

Each rectangle represents a EthIDCat Each rectangle's area is determined by the value of Ethpop (SUM) compared to a total of 1,025,456,520 Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of Pctcat (MIN)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Ganda

 Africa’s largest languages by proportion of Africa’s population and percentage Christian, 2010

Amharic

Country* Main All Egypt 6 Nigeria 18 Nigeria 11 Ethiopia 6 Sudan 4 Egypt 1 Algeria 4 Nigeria 5 Ethiopia 5 Morocco 5 Somalia 8 Madagascar 4 Rwanda 6 South Africa 7 Burkina Faso 8 Malawi 8 Burundi 5 South Africa 4 Ghana 4 Algeria 6 Kenya 3 Zimbabwe 6 Nigeria 1 Ethiopia 4 Ethiopia 3

Southern Tunisian Oromo Arab

Tigrai

0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 50%

25

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People group Amhara PeoName Yoruba Igbo Zulu Burundian Hutu West Central Oromo Rwandese Hutu Chewa Merina Xhosa Kikuyu Egyptian Arab Tigrai Ashanti Luo Shona Ibibio Kongo Ekonda Ovimbundu Ewe Kongo Creole North Mbundu Luba-Lulua Kamba

Country* Main All Ethiopia 6 Nigeria 11 Nigeria 5 South Africa 7 Burundi 5 Ethiopia 5 Rwanda 6 Malawi 8 Madagascar 4 South Africa 4 Kenya 3 Egypt 6 Ethiopia 4 Ghana 4 Kenya 3 Zimbabwe 6 Nigeria 4 Angola 4 DR Congo 1 Angola 2 Ghana 7 DR Congo 2 Angola 2 DR Congo 1 Kenya 3

Population 27,947,000 32,466,000 19,298,000 10,560,000 10,104,000 17,130,000 11,091,000 10,408,000 12,150,000 9,102,000 7,886,000 47,052,000 7,382,000 8,774,000 5,794,000 7,790,000 4,841,000 4,924,000 4,506,000 4,518,000 4,715,000 4,448,000 4,295,000 4,279,000 4,423,000

10

1-25

People groups with the most Christians in Africa, 2010

Religions by percentage

x 0%

Color Key (Pctcat (MIN))

Africa Christians % 27,612,000 98.8 Amhara 19,475,000 60.0 Yoruba 18,890,000 97.9 Igbo 9,698,000 91.8 Zulu 9,395,000Burundian 93.0 Hutu 9,126,000 West Central53.3 Oromo 8,940,000Rwandese 80.6 Hutu 8,749,000 84.1 Chewa 8,183,000 67.3 Merina 7,962,000 87.5 Xhosa 7,683,000 97.4 Kikuyu 7,062,000Egyptian 15.0 Arab 6,624,000 89.7 Tigrai 6,539,000 74.5 Ashanti 5,643,000 97.4Luo 5,529,000 71.0 Shona 4,811,000 99.4 Ibibio 4,735,000 96.2 Kongo 4,485,000 99.5 Ekonda 4,464,000 Ovimbundu 98.8 4,413,000 93.6 Ewe 4,271,000 Kongo96.0 Creole 4,234,000North 98.6 Mbundu 4,193,000 Luba-Lulua 98.0 4,181,000 94.5 Kamba

Religions by percentage

PeoName

x 0% 0

50%

25

50

100%

75

100

Christians in Africa by languages, 2010

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

Peoples and languages in Africa, 2010 UN region Africa Eastern Africa Middle Africa Northern Africa Southern Africa Western Africa

Demographics Population % 1,032,012,000 100.0 332,107,000 32.2 129,583,000 12.6 206,295,000 20.0 56,592,000 5.5 307,436,000 29.8

People groups % 3,503 100 791 23 987 28 331 9 152 4 1,242 35

Languages % 2,075 100.0 443 21.3 760 36.6 218 10.5 82 4.0 860 41.4

 Key for religion bars below and at left Agnostic Atheist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Jain Jew Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

Sikh Spiritist Zoroastrian

 Peoples versus global peoples

People totals25 in the table above are calculated by counting Religions of group Larget Languages in Africa

peoples separately by country. Thus the Somali in Somalia are one people and the Somali in Ethiopia are another people. On the facing page, however, we combine peoples with the same designation to produce a list of global peoples that transcend country boundaries. The Somali in that table thus represent Somali in all countries in Africa in which they are present. Language totals do not add up to 100% because of extinct languages and double counting.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Country* Language Main All Arabic, Egyptian Egypt 6 Hausa Nigeria 18 Yoruba Nigeria 11 Arabic, Sudanese Sudan 5 Amharic Ethiopia 6 Arabic, Algerian Algeria 4 Arabic, Sa`idi Egypt 1 Igbo Nigeria 5 Arabic, Moroccan Morocco 5 Oromo, West Central Ethiopia 5 Somali Somalia 8 Hassaniyya Algeria 9 Malagasy, Plateau Madagascar 4 Rwanda Rwanda 6 Nyanja Malawi 8 Mòoré Burkina Faso 8 Zulu South Africa 7 Rundi Burundi 5 Xhosa South Africa 4 Akan Ghana 4 Gikuyu Kenya 3 Shona Zimbabwe 6 Afrikaans South Africa 9 Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji Ethiopia 3 Tigrigna Ethiopia 4

Population 51,610,000 42,273,000 32,466,000 28,532,000 28,333,000 22,921,000 21,475,000 19,298,000 18,014,000 17,137,000 13,935,000 13,815,000 12,173,000 11,287,000 11,022,000 10,746,000 10,560,000 10,200,000 9,102,000 8,774,000 7,889,000 7,790,000 7,509,000 7,464,000 7,382,000

Africa Largest % MuslimsArabic, 85.8 Egyptian Muslims 97.4 Hausa Christians 60.0 Yoruba Muslims 95.1 Arabic, Sudanese Christians 98.0 Amharic MuslimsArabic,97.1 Algerian Muslims Arabic, 82.7 Sa`idi Christians 97.9 Igbo Muslims 98.3 Arabic, Moroccan Christians Oromo, West53.3 Central Muslims 100.0 Somali Muslims 100.0 Hassaniyya Christians Malagasy,67.2 Plateau Christians 79.3 Rwanda Christians 84.2 Nyanja Muslims 55.4 Moore Christians 91.8 Zulu Christians 92.2 Rundi Christians 87.5 Xhosa Christians 74.5 Akan Christians 97.4 Gikuyu Christians 71.0 Shona Christians Afrikaans 88.0 Muslims 83.2 Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji Christians 89.7 Tigrigna

*Main country of native speakers and count of all countries with native speakers

Religions by percentage 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

x 0% 0

50%

25

1-25

Languages with the most Christians in Africa, 2010

50

100%

75

100

Language Amharic Language Yoruba Igbo Zulu Rundi Nyanja Oromo, West Central Rwanda Malagasy, Plateau Xhosa Gikuyu Arabic, Egyptian Tigrigna Afrikaans Akan Luo Shona Ibibio Koongo Mongo-Nkundu Umbundu Ewe Kituba Mbundu Luba-Kasai

Country* Main All Ethiopia 6 Nigeria 11 Nigeria 5 South Africa 7 Burundi 5 Malawi 8 Ethiopia 5 Rwanda 6 Madagascar 4 South Africa 4 Kenya 3 Egypt 6 Ethiopia 4 South Africa 9 Ghana 4 Kenya 3 Zimbabwe 6 Nigeria 4 DR Congo 4 DR Congo 1 Angola 2 Ghana 7 DR Congo 2 Angola 2 DR Congo 1

Population 28,333,000 32,466,000 19,298,000 10,560,000 10,200,000 11,022,000 17,137,000 11,287,000 12,173,000 9,102,000 7,889,000 51,610,000 7,382,000 7,509,000 8,774,000 5,919,000 7,790,000 4,841,000 4,939,000 4,506,000 4,518,000 4,715,000 4,448,000 4,295,000 4,279,000

Africa Christians % 27,766,000 98.0 Amharic 19,475,000 60.0 Yoruba 18,890,000 97.9 Igbo 9,698,000 91.8 Zulu 9,402,000 92.2 Rundi 9,277,000 84.2 Nyanja 9,126,000 Oromo, West53.3 Central 8,955,000 79.3 Rwanda 8,184,000 Malagasy,67.2 Plateau 7,962,000 87.5 Xhosa 7,683,000 97.4 Gikuyu 7,064,000Arabic, 13.7 Egyptian 6,624,000 89.7 Tigrigna 6,607,000 Afrikaans 88.0 6,539,000 74.5 Akan 5,768,000 97.4Luo 5,529,000 71.0 Shona 4,811,000 99.4 Ibibio 4,739,000 96.0 Koongo 4,485,000Mongo-Nkundu 99.5 4,464,000 Umbundu 98.8 4,413,000 93.6 Ewe 4,271,000 96.0 Kituba 4,234,000 98.6 Mbundu 4,193,000 Luba-Kasai 98.0

Religions by percentage

Language

x 0% 0

AFRICA BY PEOPLES

1-25

Largest languages in Africa, 2010

50%

25

50

100%

75

100

227

Christianity by peoples and languages in Asia ProvRelig_Christian

0

A

sia is home to numerous, relatively distinct language families. Almost 30% (2,107) of the world’s 7,299 languages have native speakers in Asia, with over 17% found in South-eastern Asia alone. Asia is also the home of the largest language groups in the world, with 18 of its top 25 languages also appearing in the world’s 25 largest languages. Only seven Asian languages, however, appear among the world’s 25 languages with the most Christians. Among the largest 25 languages in Asia are Indo-Aryan languages including Bengali, Hindi, Urdu and Marathi. Dravidian languages among the largest 25 include Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam (all centred in southern India). Mandarin and other forms of Chinese have influenced many other Asian languages, including Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean. Indonesia has the second-most languages of any country in the world (709, after Papua New Guinea’s 791). Some of the greatest concentrations of Christians in Asia can be found in the Philippines, Indonesia, eastern India, Georgia and Cyprus. The larger Christian percentages within the 25 largest peoples of Asia include the Malayali (32.1% Christian), Koreans (28.6% Christian), Tamil (15% Christian) and Javanese (13% Christian). Christians represent a minority within all these peoples, and almost half of all Asian languages are less than 2% Christian. Most of the 25 largest Christian peoples in Asia have fewer than 10 million adherents, and within more than half of these Christians constitute less than 50% of the population. Of the 25 largest languages in Asia, which appear both in the tree map to the right and the first list on the lower part of the facing page, Christians represent a majority in none. Malayalam (predominantly in Kerala, India) has the largest per cent Christian with 32.1%; Christians make up the second-largest religious group within this language, behind Hindus. Tagalog (predominantly in the Philippines) is Asia’s largest language with a Christian majority, with 29.1 million Christians representing 98.1% of mother-tongue speakers. Some of the other languages which appear on the tree map to the right in dark blue (Christian majority) are Cebuano, Ilocano and Hiligaynon, all languages of the Philippines. The people groups which correspond to these languages also appear in dark blue on the people group map. From the religion bars of the top 25 languages and peoples presented on these facing pages, it is easy to see the amount of religious diversity present. Christians, however, have a fairly limited presence among most of these groups. Fourteen of the largest 25 Christian languages and people groups are not majority Christians. There is little mystery, therefore, as to why personal contact between Christians and adherents of eastern religions is significantly low, as is pointed out in the ‘Personal Contact’ pages in Part V.

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Asia’s largest peoples by proportion of Asia’s population and percentage Christian, 2010

GlobalPeopleCPct_C_GROUPBY

Han Chinese (Wu)

Bengali

Turk

Han Chinese (Jinyu)

Northern Uzbek Filipino Burmese

Maratha

Telugu

Han Chinese (Mandarin)

Japanese

Gujarati

Eastern Punjabi

Han Chinese (Min Nan)

Sundanese

Han Chinese (Yue)

Western Punjabi

Han Chinese (Gan) Han Chinese (Hakka)

Eastern NepalPersian Awadhi Sindhi Pathan ese

Kanarese

Malayali

Bhojpuri Bihari

Tamil

Javanese

Urdu

Each rectangle represents a Global People Name Each rectangle's area is determined by the value of Ppop2010 (SUM) compared to a total of 4,159,135,383 Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of Cpct Cat (MIN)

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Population 850,179,000 220,294,000 136,050,000 126,679,000 95,997,000 90,049,000 85,883,000 83,751,000 80,866,000 77,625,000 76,247,000 74,807,000 74,353,000 71,871,000 64,411,000 60,069,000 55,973,000 50,940,000 47,295,000 44,674,000 42,621,000 42,392,000 40,685,000 39,230,000 38,881,000

228

Korean

Color Key (Cpct Cat (MIN)) 1

3

8

5

10

10

LangCPct_C

Chinese, Wu

Bengali

Chinese, Jinyu

Gujarati Marathi

Tagalog Farsi, Western Panjabi, Eastern

Javanese Chinese, Gan

Telugu Turkish

Chinese, Xiang Chinese , Mandarin

Japanese

Chinese, Min Nan

Chinese, Yue

Chinese, Hakka

Sunda

Kannada

Haryanvi Burmese

Malayalam

Bhojpuri

Uzbek, Pashto, Northern Northern

Thai

Oriya

Maithili

Indonesian

Hindi Panjabi, Western

Tamilof Larget Urdu25 Peoples Vietnamese in Asia Korean Religions

1-25 Asia Largest % Agnostics 38.2 Han Chinese (Mandarin) Muslims 63.9 Bengali Hindus 91.8 Hindi Buddhists Japanese 56.1 Hindus 78.4 Telugu Hindus 76.4 Maratha Chinese folk 60.0 Han Chinese (Wu) Hindus 77.0 Tamil Muslims 81.4 Javanese Muslims 98.0 Urdu Buddhists Vietnamese 55.1 Christians 28.6 Korean Muslims Western96.0 Punjabi Chinese folk 62.3 Han Chinese (Yue) ChineseHanfolk 51.3 Chinese (Min Nan) Hindus 84.9 Gujarati Agnostics Han Chinese57.0 (Jinyu) Muslims 97.9 Turkish Hindus Kanarese 88.7 Hindus 50.8 Malayali HindusBhojpuri 83.0 Bihari Hindus 98.0 Maitili Hindus 95.5 Orisi Chinese Han folkChinese80.6 (Xiang) Chinese Han folkChinese83.7 (Hakka)

*Main country of people group and count of all countries with people group

Vietnamese

 Asia’s largest languages by proportion of Asia’s population and percentage Christian, 2010

Largest people groups in Asia, 2010 All 28 14 19 13 9 1 2 14 6 17 6 18 1 14 11 10 1 16 3 12 2 2 3 2 10

Han Chinese (Xiang)

Orisi

Maitili

SyrianArabian Arab

Hindi

Each rectangle represents a EthIDCat Each rectangle's area is determined by the value of Ethpop (SUM) compared to a total of 4,159,254,848 Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of Pctcat (MIN)

Country* People group Main 1 Han Chinese (Mandarin) China 2 Bengali Bangladesh 3 Hindi India 4 Japanese Japan 5 Telugu India 6 Maratha India 7 Han Chinese (Wu) China 8 Tamil India 9 Javanese Indonesia 10 Urdu India 11 Vietnamese Viet Nam 12 Korean South Korea 13 Western Punjabi Pakistan 14 Han Chinese (Yue) China 15 Han Chinese (Min Nan) China 16 Gujarati India 17 Han Chinese (Jinyu) China 18 Turk Turkey 19 Kanarese India 20 Malayali India 21 Bhojpuri Bihari India 22 Maitili India 23 Orisi India 24 Han Chinese (Xiang) China 25 Han Chinese (Hakka) China

Saudi Arab

0

50%

25

1

3

8

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100%

75

100

Country* People group Main 1 Han Chinese (Mandarin) China PeoName 2 Filipino Philippines 3 Korean South Korea 4 Visayan Philippines 5 Malayali India 6 Tamil India 7 Javanese Indonesia 8 Telugu India 9 Ilocano Philippines 10 Hiligaynon Philippines 11 Vietnamese Viet Nam 12 Han Chinese (Wu) China 13 Han Chinese (Min Nan) China 14 Armenian Armenia 15 Central Bikol Philippines 16 Waray-Waray Philippines 17 Western Punjabi Pakistan 18 Pampango Philippines 19 Filipino Mestizo Philippines 20 Han Chinese (Yue) China 21 Georgian Georgia 22 Kanarese India 23 Goan India 24 Toba Batak Indonesia 25 Japanese Japan

All 28 20 18 1 11 14 6 9 1 1 6 2 11 24 1 1 1 1 1 14 9 3 2 2 13

Population 850,179,000 26,491,000 74,807,000 18,374,000 44,674,000 83,751,000 80,866,000 95,997,000 8,370,000 7,068,000 76,247,000 85,883,000 64,411,000 4,136,000 3,255,000 3,069,000 74,353,000 2,907,000 2,790,000 71,871,000 2,953,000 47,295,000 4,450,000 2,601,000 126,679,000

10

1-25

People groups with the most Christians in Asia, 2010

Religions by percentage

x 0%

Color Key (Pctcat (MIN))

Asia Christians % 88,009,000 10.4 Han Chinese (Mandarin) 25,961,000 98.0 Filipino 21,399,000 28.6 Korean 18,117,000 98.6 Visayan 14,352,000 32.1 Malayali 12,595,000 15.0 Tamil 10,478,000 13.0 Javanese 8,628,000 9.0 Telugu 8,228,000 98.3 Ilocano 6,948,000 Hiligaynon 98.3 6,277,000 Vietnamese 8.2 5,153,000 Han Chinese6.0 (Wu) 4,195,000 Han Chinese (Min6.5 Nan) 3,610,000 Armenian 87.3 3,239,000 Central 99.5 Bikol 3,048,000 Waray-Waray 99.3 2,974,000 4.0 Western Punjabi 2,858,000 Pampango 98.3 2,762,000Filipino99.0 Mestizo 2,728,000 Han Chinese3.8 (Yue) 2,643,000 Georgian 89.5 2,600,000 Kanarese 5.5 2,531,000 56.9 Goan 2,490,000 Toba 95.7 Batak 2,428,000 Japanese 1.9

Religions by percentage

PeoName

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Christians in Asia by languages, 2010

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

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cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

 Peoples versus global peoples People group totals in the table at right are calculated by counting peoples separately by country. Thus the Turks in Turkey are one people and the Turks in Syria are another people. On the facing page, however, we combine peoples with the same designation to produce a list of global peoples that transcend country boundaries. The Turks in that table thus represent Turks in all countries in Asia in which they are present. Language totals do not add up to 100% because of extinct languages and double counting.

 Key for religion bars below and at left Agnostic Atheist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Jain Jew Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

Sikh Spiritist Zoroastrian

Language Chinese, Mandarin Bengali Hindi Japanese Telugu Marathi Chinese, Wu Tamil Urdu Vietnamese Korean Panjabi, Western Chinese, Yue Chinese, Min Nan Turkish Javanese Gujarati Chinese, Jinyu Kannada Malayalam Bhojpuri Maithili Oriya Indonesian Chinese, Hakka

1-25 All 28 14 19 13 9 2 2 14 17 6 18 3 14 11 17 6 10 1 3 13 2 2 3 8 10

Population 873,577,000 220,334,000 143,333,000 127,077,000 96,162,000 90,084,000 85,883,000 83,753,000 79,377,000 77,712,000 74,807,000 74,493,000 71,844,000 64,148,000 63,909,000 60,887,000 60,053,000 55,973,000 47,295,000 44,760,000 42,621,000 42,392,000 40,848,000 39,997,000 39,551,000

Asia Largest % Agnostics 37.7 Chinese, Mandarin Muslims 63.8 Bengali Hindus 91.6 Hindi Buddhists Japanese 56.2 Hindus 78.4 Telugu Hindus 76.3 Marathi Chinese folk Chinese, 60.0Wu Hindus 77.0 Tamil Muslims 98.0 Urdu Buddhists Vietnamese 54.7 Christians 28.6 Korean Muslims Panjabi,95.9 Western Chinese folk Chinese, 62.3Yue Chinese folk Chinese,51.3 Min Nan Muslims 98.2 Turkish Muslims 81.4 Javanese Hindus 85.0 Gujarati AgnosticsChinese, 57.0 Jinyu Hindus 88.7 Kannada Hindus Malayalam 50.7 Hindus 83.0 Bhojpuri Hindus 98.0 Maithili Hindus 95.6 Oriya Muslims Indonesian 86.8 Chinese folkChinese, 82.1 Hakka

*Main country of native speakers and count of all countries with native speakers

Demographics Population % 4,166,308,000 100.0 1,562,575,000 37.5 1,777,378,000 42.7 594,216,000 14.3 232,139,000 5.6

People groups % 3,658 100 351 10 1,147 31 1,623 44 537 15

Languages % 2,107 100.0 270 12.8 680 32.3 1,274 60.5 152 7.2

Religions by percentage 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

x 0% 0

50%

25

1-25

Languages with the most Christians in Asia, 2010

50

100%

75

100

Language Chinese, Mandarin Language Tagalog Korean Cebuano Malayalam Tamil Telugu Ilocano Javanese Hiligaynon Vietnamese Chinese, Wu Chinese, Min Nan Armenian Indonesian Bicolano, Central Waray-Waray Panjabi, Western Pampangan Chinese, Yue Georgian Kannada Konkani, Goan Batak Toba Japanese

Country* Main China Philippines South Korea Philippines India India India Philippines Indonesia Philippines Viet Nam China China Armenia Indonesia Philippines Philippines Pakistan Philippines China Georgia India India Indonesia Japan

All 28 20 18 1 12 14 9 1 6 1 6 2 11 24 8 1 1 3 1 14 9 3 2 2 13

Population 873,577,000 29,747,000 74,807,000 18,411,000 44,760,000 83,753,000 96,162,000 8,389,000 60,887,000 7,068,000 77,712,000 85,883,000 64,148,000 4,136,000 39,997,000 3,255,000 3,069,000 74,493,000 2,907,000 71,844,000 2,953,000 47,295,000 4,450,000 2,601,000 127,077,000

Asia Christians % 88,114,000 10.1 Chinese, Mandarin 29,169,000 98.1 Tagalog 21,399,000 28.6 Korean 18,124,000 98.4 Cebuano 14,352,000 Malayalam 32.1 12,597,000 15.0 Tamil 8,631,000 9.0 Telugu 8,233,000 98.1 Ilocano 7,881,000 12.9 Javanese 6,948,000 Hiligaynon 98.3 6,317,000 Vietnamese 8.1 5,153,000 Chinese, 6.0Wu 4,167,000 Chinese, Min6.5 Nan 3,610,000 Armenian 87.3 3,345,000 Indonesian 8.4 3,239,000 Bicolano,99.5 Central 3,048,000 Waray-Waray 99.3 2,975,000 4.0 Panjabi, Western 2,858,000 Pampangan 98.3 2,724,000 Chinese, 3.8Yue 2,643,000 Georgian 89.5 2,600,000 Kannada 5.5 2,531,000Konkani, 56.9 Goan 2,490,000 Batak 95.7 Toba 2,444,000 Japanese 1.9

Religions by percentage

ASIA BY PEOPLES

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

UN region Asia Eastern Asia South-central Asia South-eastern Asia Western Asia

Religions of Larget 25 Languages in Asia

Largest languages in Asia, 2010 Country* Main China Bangladesh India Japan India India China India India Viet Nam South Korea Pakistan China China Turkey Indonesia India China India India India India India Indonesia China

Peoples and languages in Asia, 2010

Language

x 0% 0

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25

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75

100

229

Christianity by peoples and languages in Europe

E

urope is unique among the linguistic tree maps in this section of the atlas. The continent does not evidence the same diversity seen in Africa or Asia, yet neither are there distinct majority languages as in Latin America, Northern America and Oceania. Europe’s six largest languages, each with a population more than 37 million native speakers, represent half of the continent’s population. The entire continent of Europe is home to native speakers of only around 5% (347) of the world’s languages; however, there is a significant overlap of languages among the regions of Europe, as can be seen from the ‘Peoples and languages in Europe, 2010’ table on the facing page. Russia, with 150 languages, has almost twice the number of spoken languages of any other country in Europe. Evident from the darker shades of blue on the bottom tree map (this page) and the physical map (facing page) is that Christianity is the majority religion of nearly all the major languages of Europe. Europe’s 15 largest languages are also its 15 largest Christian languages, though the rankings differ on the two lists. Christians constitute over 70% of all mothertongue speakers for each of these 15 languages. The dominance of Christianity among the languages of Europe is also represented on the physical map on the opposite page. It is evident that, with the exception of a few areas including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo, the majority of languages in Europe are majority-Christian. In comparing the tables for the 25 largest languages and the 25 largest peoples, most of these languages reflect majority languages of individual countries. For example, the majority of mother-tongue Russian speakers are ethnic Russians living in Russia. The majority of mother-tongue German speakers are ethnic Germans living in Germany. One exception to this phenomenon can be seen with French: only 65% of all French speakers are ethnic French, with several million French-speakers also found in Belgium and Switzerland. Of the 25 largest Christian peoples in Europe, all are majority-Christian. In fact, all but the Czech people are over 65% Christian. Notable minority-Christian peoples – which are seen in the light-coloured boxes to the upper right of the peoples tree map – include the Tatars (main country: Russia), Turks (Germany), Kosovars (Kosovo), Bosniacs (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Bashkirs (Russia) and Moroccan Arabs (France). Their corresponding primary languages are reflected by the light-coloured squares in the tree map to the lower right. Of special note is the ubiquitous presence of brown shades in the religion graphs below. This represents large numbers of agnostics and atheists in European languages and peoples. Religious diversity in Europe is not reflected here because immigrant groups do not appear on these lists.

 Europe’s largest peoples by proportion of Europe’s population and percentage Christian, 2010 GlobalPeopleCPct_E_GROUPBY Franconian

Bavarian French

Sicilian German

Serb Slovak Polish

Ukrainian

Belarusan

Finnish

North GalloRomance

Danish

Czech

Croat

Turk Low German (Saxon)

NeopolitanCalibrian

Dutch

Portuguese

Hungarian

People group Russian German English Ukrainian Polish French Italian Romanian Spanish Catalonian Dutch Portuguese Hungarian Greek Lombard Czech North Gallo-Romance Belarusan Serb Bavarian Neapolitan-Calabrian Low German (Saxon) Swedish Bulgar Scottish

All 33 39 34 22 28 32 32 23 23 5 13 15 21 30 2 18 1 11 24 12 1 1 12 20 2

Population 121,969,000 60,591,000 46,006,000 38,253,000 37,688,000 27,922,000 22,467,000 20,150,000 18,548,000 12,836,000 11,438,000 11,177,000 11,040,000 10,675,000 10,043,000 9,832,000 9,376,000 9,145,000 8,912,000 7,666,000 7,497,000 7,248,000 6,724,000 6,601,000 5,856,000

Romanian

Italian

Each rectangle represents a Global People Name Each rectangle's area is determined by the value of Ppop2010 (SUM) compared to a total of 728,896,976 Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of Cpct Cat (MIN)

0

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Lombard

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9

Spanish

Catalonian

Color Key (Cpct Cat (MIN)) 1

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Han Yoruba Eastern African Chinese population and percentage Christian, 2010  Europe’s largest languages by proportion of Europe’s Punjabi American (Oyo...) LangCPct_E (Kan, Gan)

Hungarian Ukrainian German CatalanValencianBalear

Turkish

Bulgarian

Saxon, Low

Mainfränkisch

NapoletanoCalabrese

Sicilian

Slovak French

Dutch

Bavarian Finnish Belarusan

Schwyzerdutsch

Swedish

Tatar

Croatian

Danish

Spanish

Russian

Portuguese

Greek

Lombard

Czech

Serbian

English

Religions of Larget 25 PeoplesRomanian in Europe Polish

1-25 Europe Largest % Christians 90.0 Russian Christians 72.5 German Christians 83.3 English Christians Ukrainian 88.1 Christians 96.4 Polish Christians 76.2 French Christians 81.9 Italian Christians Romanian 98.4 Christians 91.3 Spanish Christians Catalonian 93.0 Christians 65.8 Dutch Christians Portuguese 91.1 Christians Hungarian 87.6 Christians 98.1 Greek Christians Lombard 86.0 Christians 56.5 Czech Christians 75.7 North Gallo-Romance Christians Belarusan 69.1 Christians 83.7 Serb Christians 85.2 Bavarian Christians 80.0 Neapolitan-Calabrian Christians Low German91.0 (Saxon) Christians 66.3 Swedish Christians 92.7 Bulgar Christians 91.0 Scottish

*Main country of people group and count of all countries with people group

Greek

English

Largest people groups in Europe, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Tatar

Scottish

Russian

Each rectangle represents a EthIDCat Each rectangle's area is determined by the value of Ethpop (SUM) compared to a total of 728,896,970 Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of Pctcat (MIN)

Country* Main Russia Germany Britain Ukraine Poland France Italy Romania Spain Spain Netherlands Portugal Hungary Greece Italy Czech Rep France Belarus Serbia Austria Italy Germany Sweden Bulgaria Britain

Bulgar

Swedish

Religions by percentage 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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People group Russian PeoName German English Polish Ukrainian French Romanian Italian Spanish Catalonian Greek Portuguese Hungarian Lombard Dutch Serb North Gallo-Romance Low German (Saxon) Bavarian Belarusan Bulgar Neapolitan-Calabrian Czech Scottish Croat

All 33 39 34 28 22 32 23 32 23 5 30 15 21 2 13 24 1 1 12 11 19 1 18 2 19

Population 121,969,000 60,591,000 46,006,000 37,688,000 38,253,000 27,922,000 20,150,000 22,467,000 18,548,000 12,836,000 10,675,000 11,177,000 11,040,000 10,043,000 11,438,000 8,912,000 9,376,000 7,248,000 7,666,000 9,145,000 6,601,000 7,497,000 9,832,000 5,856,000 5,156,000

10

1-25

People groups with the most Christians in Europe, 2010 Country* Main Russia Germany Britain Poland Ukraine France Romania Italy Spain Spain Greece Portugal Hungary Italy Netherlands Serbia France Germany Austria Belarus Bulgaria Italy Czech Rep Britain Croatia

Italian

Europe Christians % 109,714,000 90.0 Russian 43,951,000 72.5 German 38,336,000 83.3 English 36,332,000 96.4 Polish 33,686,000 Ukrainian 88.1 21,288,000 76.2 French 19,823,000 Romanian 98.4 18,392,000 81.9 Italian 16,939,000 91.3 Spanish 11,943,000 Catalonian 93.0 10,469,000 98.1 Greek 10,184,000 Portuguese 91.1 9,673,000 Hungarian 87.6 8,635,000 Lombard 86.0 7,522,000 65.8 Dutch 7,463,000 83.7 Serb 7,101,000 75.7 North Gallo-Romance 6,596,000 Low German91.0 (Saxon) 6,534,000 85.2 Bavarian 6,320,000 Belarusan 69.1 6,116,000 92.7 Bulgar 5,998,000 80.0 Neapolitan-Calabrian 5,552,000 56.5 Czech 5,328,000 91.0 Scottish 4,832,000 93.7 Croat

Religions by percentage

PeoName

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Christians in Europe by languages, 2010

ProvRelig_Christian Per

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 Peoples versus global peoples People group totals in the table at right are calculated by counting peoples separately by country. Thus the French in France are one people and the French in Belgium are another people. On the facing page, however, we combine peoples with the same designation to produce a list of global peoples that transcend country boundaries. The French in that table thus represent the French in all countries in Europe in which they are present. Language totals do not add up to 100% because of extinct languages and double counting.

 Key for religion bars below and at left Agnostic Atheist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Jain Jew Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

Sikh Spiritist Zoroastrian

1-25 Population 123,698,000 61,152,000 60,212,000 44,769,000 38,253,000 37,788,000 23,737,000 23,327,000 21,855,000 15,430,000 12,844,000 11,809,000 11,694,000 10,641,000 10,043,000 9,839,000 9,313,000 9,145,000 7,679,000 7,497,000 7,248,000 6,911,000 6,751,000 6,131,000 5,650,000

Europe Largest % Christians 89.2 Russian Christians 72.6 German Christians 85.3 English Christians 75.5 French Christians Ukrainian 88.1 Christians 96.4 Polish Christians Romanian 97.9 Christians 81.8 Italian Christians 91.7 Spanish Christians 71.0 Dutch Christians 93.0 Catalan-Valencian-Balear Christians Hungarian 87.1 Christians Portuguese 91.0 Christians 98.0 Greek Christians Lombard 86.0 Christians 56.4 Czech Christians 83.8 Serbian Christians Belarusan 69.1 Christians 85.2 Bavarian Christians 80.0 Napoletano-Calabrese Christians Saxon, 91.0 Low Christians Bulgarian 90.9 Christians 66.2 Swedish Christians 84.0 Schwyzerdutsch Muslims 89.9 Tatar

*Main country of native speakers and count of all countries with native speakers

Demographics Population % 730,478,000 100.0 290,755,000 39.8 98,352,000 13.5 152,913,000 20.9 188,457,000 25.8

People groups % 1,656 100 433 26 454 27 366 22 403 24

Languages % 347 100.0 167 48.1 140 40.3 100 28.8 145 41.8

Religions by percentage 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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Languages with the most Christians in Europe, 2010

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Language Russian Language English German Polish French Ukrainian Romanian Spanish Italian Catalan-Valencian-Balear Dutch Portuguese Greek Hungarian Lombard Serbian Saxon, Low Bavarian Belarusan Bulgarian Napoletano-Calabrese Czech Schwyzerdutsch Croatian Finnish

Country* Main Russia Britain Germany Poland France Ukraine Romania Spain Italy Spain Netherlands Portugal Greece Hungary Italy Serbia Germany Austria Belarus Bulgaria Italy Czech Rep Switzerland Croatia Finland

All 33 35 39 28 33 22 26 23 32 5 13 17 29 21 2 24 1 12 11 19 1 18 8 19 10

Population 123,698,000 60,212,000 61,152,000 37,788,000 44,769,000 38,253,000 23,737,000 21,855,000 23,327,000 12,844,000 15,430,000 11,694,000 10,641,000 11,809,000 10,043,000 9,313,000 7,248,000 7,679,000 9,145,000 6,911,000 7,497,000 9,839,000 6,131,000 5,154,000 5,087,000

Europe Christians % 110,337,000 89.2 Russian 51,338,000 85.3 English 44,382,000 72.6 German 36,413,000 96.4 Polish 33,803,000 75.5 French 33,686,000 Ukrainian 88.1 23,244,000 Romanian 97.9 20,031,000 91.7 Spanish 19,089,000 81.8 Italian 11,950,000 93.0 Catalan-Valencian-Balear 10,954,000 71.0 Dutch 10,644,000 Portuguese 91.0 10,432,000 98.0 Greek 10,289,000 Hungarian 87.1 8,635,000 Lombard 86.0 7,801,000 83.8 Serbian 6,596,000 Saxon, 91.0 Low 6,544,000 85.2 Bavarian 6,320,000 Belarusan 69.1 6,279,000 Bulgarian 90.9 5,998,000 80.0 Napoletano-Calabrese 5,552,000 56.4 Czech 5,148,000 84.0 Schwyzerdutsch 4,831,000 93.7 Croatian 4,706,000 92.5 Finnish

Religions by percentage

Language

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EUROPE BY PEOPLES

All 33 39 35 33 22 28 26 32 23 13 5 21 17 29 2 18 24 11 12 1 1 20 12 8 9

UN region Europe Eastern Europe Northern Europe Southern Europe Western Europe

Religions of Larget 25 Languages in Europe

Largest languages in Europe, 2010 Country* Language Main 1 Russian Russia 2 German Germany 3 English Britain 4 French France 5 Ukrainian Ukraine 6 Polish Poland 7 Romanian Romania 8 Italian Italy 9 Spanish Spain 10 Dutch Netherlands 11 Catalan-Valencian-Balear Spain 12 Hungarian Hungary 13 Portuguese Portugal 14 Greek Greece 15 Lombard Italy 16 Czech Czech Rep 17 Serbian Serbia 18 Belarusan Belarus 19 Bavarian Austria 20 Napoletano-Calabrese Italy 21 Saxon, Low Germany 22 Bulgarian Bulgaria 23 Swedish Sweden 24 Schwyzerdutsch Switzerland 25 Tatar Russia

Peoples and languages in Europe, 2010

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Christianity by peoples and languages in Latin America ProvRelig_Christian

0

T

he dominance of the Spanish and Portuguese languages in Latin America is evident from the lower of the two tree maps to the right. These two languages represent 88% of the continent’s population; no other continent is so dominated by only two languages (although Northern America approaches that figure). In fact, the next largest language in Latin America, behind Portuguese, is Haitian Creole French, the mother tongue of just 1.7% of Latin America’s population. Mexico and Brazil dominate in language diversity, encompassing 295 and 202 languages, respectively. This is over twice the number of languages spoken by native speakers in any other Latin American country. Half of the 25 largest languages in Latin America are at least 95% Christian. With such a large Christian percentage throughout the region, most of the languages on the table of 25 largest languages (opposite page) are also found on the adjacent table of largest Christian languages. The notable exceptions, displayed on the tree map to the bottom right in lighter colours, are Guyanese Creole English and Japanese. Latin America encompasses a diversity of ethnolinguistic people groups. These include Amerindians and peoples of African descent, European descent and Asian descent as well as mixtures of these ethnicities. The largest people group are the Latin American Mestizo, representing an ethnic mixture of European and Amerindian peoples and constituting approximately 27% of Latin America’s population. Among the 25 largest peoples are Syrian-Arabian Arab (over 2.6 million) and Japanese (over 1.8 million); both groups have extensive histories in the continent. Japanese immigrants have been in Brazil for over 100 years and now make up the largest Japanese population outside of Japan. The Syrian-Arabian Arabs, many of whom are Christians, also immigrated to Latin America over the last century. Twenty-four of Latin America’s 25 largest peoples are also among its peoples with the most Christians. This is surprisingly true even for groups such as the Japanese (61.6% Christian), who globally have a far smaller Christian population (2%). Peoples in Latin America who are minority-Christian – represented by the lighter boxes in the tree map at the top right – include Jewish, East Indian, Guajiro, Han Chinese and Hindi. More than 400 indigenous peoples in Latin America total over 30 million people. More than one-fourth of these peoples speak some form of Quechua. The Incas adopted Quechua as the official language of their empire; the language has survived and is an official language of Bolivia. Quechua is isolated to the west coast of South America, found from Colombia to Chile and Argentina.

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 Latin America’s largest peoples by proportion of Latin America’s population and percentage Christian, 2010

GlobalPeopleCPct_L_GROUPBY Paraguayan GuaranÍ

Latin American Mulatto

Haitian

Brazilian White Brazillian Black

Latin American Black

Brazilian Mestiço

Detribalised Amerindian

Half Amerindian (Spanish)

Detribalised Quechua

Latin American Mestizo Latin American White

Each rectangle represents a Global People Name Each rectangle's area is determined by the value of Ppop2010 (SUM) compared to a total of 592,677,798 Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of Cpct Cat (MIN)

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Brazilian Mulatto

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 Latin America’s largest languages by proportion of Latin America’s population and percentage Christian, 2010

LangCPct_L

Guaraní, Paraguayan Haitian Creole French

Aymara, Central Quechua, South Bolivian Jamaican Creole English

Spanish

Portuguese

Religions of Larget 2 Religions of Larget 25 Peoples in Latin America

Each rectangle represents a EthIDCat Each rectangle's area is determined by the value of Ethpop (SUM) compared to a total of 592,677,804 Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of Pctcat (MIN)

1-25

Largest people groups in Latin America, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

People group Latin American Mestizo Brazilian White Latin American White Brazilian Mulatto Brazilian Mestiço Brazilian Black Latin American Mulatto Detribalised Amerindian Detribalised Quechua Half-Amerindian (Spanish) Latin American Black Haitian Paraguayan Guaraní Central Bolivian Quechua West Indian Black Italian Central Aymara Syrian-Arabian Arab Central Quiche Cuzco Quechua Japanese Ayacucho Quechua Spanish Chimborazo Quichua Mapuche

Country* Main Mexico Brazil Argentina Brazil Brazil Brazil Colombia Mexico Peru Mexico Venezuela Haiti Paraguay Bolivia Jamaica Argentina Bolivia Argentina Guatemala Peru Brazil Peru Argentina Ecuador Chile

All 22 4 25 3 2 1 10 1 2 2 11 8 3 2 10 8 4 26 1 1 9 1 15 1 2

Population 159,954,000 102,424,000 92,007,000 43,790,000 23,917,000 21,888,000 21,347,000 11,589,000 11,534,000 10,848,000 10,305,000 9,849,000 5,481,000 3,936,000 2,956,000 2,789,000 2,705,000 2,665,000 2,392,000 2,053,000 1,801,000 1,537,000 1,447,000 1,301,000 1,284,000

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People groups with the most Christians in Latin America, 2010

Latin America Largest % Religions by percentage Christians Latin American97.4 Mestizo ChristiansBrazilian 90.8 White Christians 91.3 Latin American White Christians Brazilian94.0 Mulatto Christians Brazilian94.8 Mestiço ChristiansBrazilian 89.5 Black Christians Latin American91.5 Mulatto Christians 95.0 Detribalised Amerindian Christians Detribalised 98.2 Quechua Christians 95.0 Half-Amerindian (Spanish) Christians 86.8 Latin American Black Christians 95.4 Haitian Christians Paraguayan96.9 Guarani Christians 97.7 Central Bolivian Quechua Christians 88.8 West Indian Black Christians 83.0 Italian ChristiansCentral88.8 Aymara Christians 48.4 Syrian-Arabian Arab ChristiansCentral99.0 Quiche ChristiansCuzco Quechua 97.0 Christians Japanese 61.6 Christians 99.0 Ayacucho Quechua Christians 95.0 Spanish Christians Chimborazo98.0 Quichua Christians Mapuche 70.0

*Main country of people group and count of all countries with people group

Color Key (Pctcat (MIN))

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Country* People group Main 1 Latin American Mestizo Mexico PeoName White 2 Brazilian Brazil 3 Latin American White Argentina 4 Brazilian Mulatto Brazil 5 Brazilian Mestiço Brazil 6 Brazilian Black Brazil 7 Latin American Mulatto Colombia 8 Detribalised Quechua Peru 9 Detribalised Amerindian Mexico 10 Half-Amerindian (Spanish) Mexico 11 Haitian Haiti 12 Latin American Black Colombia 13 Paraguayan Guaraní Paraguay 14 Central Bolivian Quechua Bolivia 15 West Indian Black Jamaica 16 Central Aymara Bolivia 17 Central Quiche Guatemala 18 Italian Argentina 19 Cuzco Quechua Peru 20 Ayacucho Quechua Peru 21 Spanish Argentina 22 Syrian-Arabian Arab Argentina 23 Chimborazo Quichua Ecuador 24 Japanese Brazil 25 Paraguayan Mestizo Argentina

All 22 4 25 3 2 1 10 2 1 2 8 11 3 2 10 4 1 8 1 1 15 26 1 9 1

Population 159,954,000 102,424,000 92,007,000 43,790,000 23,917,000 21,888,000 21,347,000 11,534,000 11,589,000 10,848,000 9,849,000 10,305,000 5,481,000 3,936,000 2,956,000 2,705,000 2,392,000 2,789,000 2,053,000 1,537,000 1,447,000 2,665,000 1,301,000 1,801,000 1,018,000

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Latin America Christians % Religions by percentage 155,768,000 Latin American97.4 Mestizo 93,002,000Brazilian 90.8 White 84,005,000 91.3 Latin American White 41,163,000 Brazilian94.0 Mulatto 22,679,000 Brazilian94.8 Mestiço 19,590,000Brazilian 89.5 Black 19,540,000 Latin American91.5 Mulatto 11,321,000 Detribalised 98.2 Quechua 11,005,000 95.0 Detribalised Amerindian 10,301,000 95.0 Half-Amerindian (Spanish) 9,399,000 95.4 Haitian 8,944,000 86.8 Latin American Black 5,313,000 Paraguayan96.9 Guarani 3,844,000 97.7 Central Bolivian Quechua 2,626,000 88.8 West Indian Black 2,403,000Central88.8 Aymara 2,368,000Central99.0 Quiche 2,316,000 83.0 Italian 1,991,000Cuzco Quechua 97.0 1,522,000 99.0 Ayacucho Quechua 1,374,000 95.0 Spanish 1,289,000 48.4 Syrian-Arabian Arab 1,275,000 Chimborazo98.0 Quichua 1,110,000 Japanese 61.6 998,000 Paraguayan98.0 Mestizo

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Christians in Latin America by languages, 2010

ProvRelig_Christian Per

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Peoples and languages in Latin America, 2010 UN region Latin America Caribbean Central America South America

Demographics Population % 593,696,000 100.0 42,300,000 7.1 153,657,000 25.9 397,739,000 67.0

People groups % 1,537 100 242 16 495 32 800 52

Languages % 806 100.0 37 4.6 370 45.9 450 55.8

 Peoples versus global peoples People group totals in the table above are calculated by counting peoples separately by country. Thus the Haitian in Haiti are one people and the Haitian in Dominican Republic are another people. On the facing page, however, we combine peoples with the same designation to produce a list of global peoples that transcend country boundaries. The Haitian in that table thus represent Haitian in all countries in Latin America in which they are present. Language totals do not add up to 100% because of extinct languages and double counting.

 Key for religion bars below and at left Agnostic Atheist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Jain Jew Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

Sikh Spiritist Zoroastrian

Religions of Larget 2 Religions of Larget 25 Languages in Latin America

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Language Spanish Portuguese Haitian Creole French Guaraní, Paraguayan Jamaican Creole English Quechua, South Bolivian Aymara, Central Arabic, North Levantine Italian K'iche', Central Quechua, Cusco English Quichua, Chimborazo Quechua, Ayacucho Maya, Yucatán Romani, Vlax Galician Guadeloupe Creole Fr Trinidad Creole English Guyanese Creole English German Japanese Q'eqchi' Quichua, Imbabura Quechua, Puno

Country* Main Mexico Brazil Haiti Paraguay Jamaica Bolivia Bolivia Argentina Argentina Guatemala Peru Trinidad/Tob Ecuador Peru Mexico Brazil Argentina Guadeloupe Trinidad/Tob Guyana Bolivia Brazil Guatemala Ecuador Peru

All 33 14 8 3 11 2 4 26 8 1 1 43 1 1 2 4 3 5 1 2 15 10 3 1 1

Population 323,977,000 195,870,000 10,352,000 6,616,000 4,039,000 3,936,000 2,705,000 2,676,000 2,559,000 2,392,000 2,053,000 1,887,000 1,301,000 1,076,000 918,000 917,000 826,000 822,000 715,000 701,000 694,000 652,000 567,000 551,000 540,000

*Main country of native speakers and count of all countries with native speakers

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Languages with the most Christians in Latin America, 2010

Latin America Largest % Religions by percentage Christians 94.4 Spanish Christians Portuguese 91.5 Christians Haitian Creole95.3 French Christians 97.0 Guaraní, Paraguayan Christians Jamaican Creole88.0 English Christians Quechua, South97.7 Bolivian ChristiansAymara,88.8 Central Christians 48.2 Arabic, North Levantine Christians 83.1 Italian ChristiansK'iche'99.0 , Central ChristiansQuechua, 97.0 Cusco Christians 69.4 English Christians 98.0 Quichua, Chimborazo Christians 99.0 Quechua, Ayacucho ChristiansMaya,95.0 Yucatán Christians Romani, 84.0 Vlax Christians 94.9 Galician Christians Guadeloupe Creole97.1 French Christians Trinidad Creole92.9 English Christians Guyanese Creole54.6 English Christians 77.8 German Christians Japanese 54.3 Christians 97.0 Q'eqchi' Christians 98.9 Quichua, Imbabura ChristiansQuechua, 96.1 Puno

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Language Spanish Language Portuguese Haitian Creole French Guaraní, Paraguayan Quechua, South Bolivian Jamaican Creole English Aymara, Central K'iche', Central Italian Quechua, Cusco English Arabic, North Levantine Quichua, Chimborazo Quechua, Ayacucho Maya, Yucatán Guadeloupe Creole Fr Galician Romani, Vlax Trinidad Creole English Q'eqchi' Quichua, Imbabura German Quechua, Puno Nahuatl, Eastern Huasteca Nicaragua Creole English

Country* Main Mexico Brazil Haiti Paraguay Bolivia Jamaica Bolivia Guatemala Argentina Peru Mexico Mexico Ecuador Peru Mexico Guadeloupe Argentina Brazil Trinidad/Tob Guatemala Ecuador Bolivia Peru Mexico Nicaragua

All 33 13 8 3 2 11 4 1 8 1 43 26 1 1 2 5 3 4 1 3 1 15 1 1 1

Population 323,977,000 195,870,000 10,352,000 6,616,000 3,936,000 4,039,000 2,705,000 2,392,000 2,559,000 2,053,000 1,887,000 2,676,000 1,301,000 1,076,000 918,000 822,000 826,000 917,000 715,000 567,000 551,000 694,000 540,000 500,000 525,000

Latin America Christians % Religions by percentage 305,781,000 94.4 Spanish 179,277,000 Portuguese 91.5 9,868,000 Haitian Creole95.3 French 6,418,000 97.0 Guaraní, Paraguayan 3,844,000 Quechua, South97.7 Bolivian 3,555,000 Jamaican Creole88.0 English 2,403,000Aymara,88.8 Central 2,368,000K'iche'99.0 , Central 2,127,000 83.1 Italian 1,991,000Quechua, 97.0 Cusco 1,310,000 69.4 English 1,289,000 48.2 Arabic, North Levantine 1,275,000 98.0 Quichua, Chimborazo 1,065,000 99.0 Quechua, Ayacucho 872,000Maya,95.0 Yucatán 798,000 Guadeloupe Creole97.1 French 784,000 94.9 Galician 770,000 Romani, 84.0 Vlax 664,000 Trinidad Creole92.9 English 550,000 97.0 Q'eqchi' 545,000 98.9 Quichua, Imbabura 540,000 77.8 German 519,000Quechua, 96.1 Puno 475,000 95.0 Nahuatl, Eastern Huasteca 461,000 Nicaragua Creole87.8 English

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LATIN AMERICA BY PEOPLES

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Largest languages in Latin America, 2010

Language

Christianity by peoples and languages in Northern America ProvRelig_Christian

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B

y far, English is the most widely spoken language in Northern America; it is the mother tongue of 71% of the population of the continent. Spanish is the next largest language in Northern America, the mother tongue of about 10% of the continent’s population. Spanishspeakers are concentrated in the south-western USA but are also in southern Florida and dispersed throughout the country. The USA has native speakers of 269 different languages, followed by Canada with 147. The languages of Northern America are a swath of global languages, brought to the continent through immigration. For example, of the 25 largest languages, over half came to the continent from countries throughout Europe and nine from throughout Asia. Of these 25 largest languages, all but five are majority-Christian. The tree maps and physical map on these two pages reveal the prevalence of Christianity among languages and peoples. Notable exceptions are indicated by the lighter squares on the tree map to the bottom right, representing Hindi, Eastern Panjabi, Mesopotamian Arabic and Khmer. Among the least-Christian languages in Northern America, represented by the yellow squares, are Eastern Yiddish, Somali, Urdu, Hebrew, Bengali and Thai. Several features of the language map on the facing page are of note. The dominant shading of Canada and the USA represents English-speakers. The lighter shading in eastern Canada shows the lower percentage of Christians among native French-speakers there. Darker shading dotting western portions of Canada and the USA represent native languages; most of these languages have very high Christian percentages. Darker blue shades within the USA also denote imported languages (some of them dating back centuries). In southern Louisiana, speakers of Cajun French are almost entirely (99.9%) Christian. Speakers of Spanish (an important language along the border with Mexico) and Gullah (a creole language spoken by some African Americans in South Carolina and Georgia) are also more than 95% Christian. The USA White (descendants of Europeans, who now identify culturally more with the USA than their ancestral homelands) constitute the largest single ethnic group in Northern America, at 36% of the population. As the second-largest ethnic group in Northern America, African Americans are collectively almost 30% as large as USA Whites and make up 11% of the Northern American population as a whole. As with languages, the largest ethnicities in Northern America are primarily majorityChristian. One exception is prominent on the tree map to the upper right: English-speaking ethnic Jewish (1.6% of the population). Other notable exceptions are Hindi, Eastern Punjabi, Iraqi Arab and Cambodian.

0

1

2

2

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

 Northern America’s largest peoples by proportion of Northern America’s population and percentage Christian, 2010

GlobalPeopleCPct_N_GROUPBY

German

Latin American White

Filipino

Hindi French

FrenchCanadian

Jewish (English) Irish

Russian HalfAmerindian (English)

Italian

African American

Each rectangle represents a Global People Name Each rectangle's area is determined by the value of Ppop2010 (SUM) compared to a total of 347,920,939 Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of Cpct Cat (MIN)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Dutch English Han Chinese (Mandarin)

Swedish

USA White

Portugese

Welsh

Louisiana Creole French

Norwegian

HunDanish garian

Korean

Slovak

SyrianArabian Arab

Polish

Latin American Mestizo

AngloCanadian

Color Key (Cpct Cat (MIN)) 1

3

8

5

10

10

 Northern America’s largest languages by proportion of Northern America’s population and percentage Christian, 2010

LangCPct_N

Hindi Portuguese Korean

Polish Chinese, Viet- Romani,Panjabi, Mandarin namese Vlax Eastern Russian

Italian

Tagalog English

German Arabic, North Levantine

French

Spanish

Religions o Religions of Larget 25 Peoples in Northern America

Each rectangle represents a EthIDCat Each rectangle's area is determined by the value of Ethpop (SUM) compared to a total of 347,920,938 Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of Pctcat (MIN)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

People group USA White African American Latin American Mestizo Anglo-Canadian Half-Amerindian (English) French-Canadian German Italian Swedish Jewish (English) Latin American White Norwegian Louisiana Creole French Polish Syrian-Arabian Arab Russian Irish French Filipino Welsh Slovak Korean Hungarian Danish Han Chinese (Mandarin)

Country* Northern America Main All Population Largest % Religions by percentage USA 4 124,187,000 Christians USA 83.0 White USA 4 37,120,000 Christians 88.6 African American USA 1 28,543,000 Christians Latin American97.5 Mestizo Canada 4 15,928,000 ChristiansAnglo-Canadian 87.1 USA 2 11,945,000 Christians Half-Amerindian87.4 (English) Canada 2 10,640,000 Christians 74.9 French-Canadian USA 2 8,592,000 Christians 78.0 German USA 2 7,027,000 Christians 83.0 Italian USA 2 5,940,000 Christians 74.0 Swedish USA 3 5,695,000 JewsJewish90.8 (English) USA 1 5,035,000 Christians 94.5 Latin American White USA 2 4,905,000 Christians Norwegian 93.0 USA 1 4,406,000 Christians 100.0 Louisiana Creole French USA 2 4,013,000 Christians 86.3 Polish USA 2 3,783,000 Christians 71.9 Syrian-Arabian Arab USA 2 3,780,000 Christians 77.9 Russian USA 1 3,147,000 Christians 87.9 Irish USA 3 2,973,000 Christians 75.1 French USA 3 2,681,000 Christians 98.0 Filipino USA 2 2,584,000 Christians 88.5 Welsh USA 2 2,410,000 Christians 79.0 Slovak USA 2 2,399,000 Christians 69.6 Korean USA 2 2,118,000 Christians Hungarian 89.7 USA 3 2,112,000 Christians 89.8 Danish USA 3 1,887,000 Chinese 39.0 Hanfolk Chinese (Mandarin)

*Main country of people group and count of all countries with people group

234

x 0% 0

50%

25

1

3

8

5

10

1-25 People groups with the most Christians in Northern America, 2010

1-25

Largest people groups in Northern America, 2010

Color Key (Pctcat (MIN))

50

100%

75

100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

People group USA White PeoName American African Latin American Mestizo Anglo-Canadian Half-Amerindian (English) French-Canadian German Italian Latin American White Norwegian Louisiana Creole French Swedish Polish Russian Irish Syrian-Arabian Arab Filipino Welsh French Slovak Hungarian Danish Korean Portuguese English

Country* Northern America Main All Population Christians % Religions by percentage USA 4 124,187,000 103,100,000 USA 83.0 White USA 4 37,120,000 32,900,000 88.6 African American USA 1 28,543,000 27,821,000 Latin American97.5 Mestizo Canada 4 15,928,000 13,866,000Anglo-Canadian 87.1 USA 2 11,945,000 10,443,000 Half-Amerindian87.4 (English) Canada 2 10,640,000 7,968,000 74.9 French-Canadian USA 2 8,592,000 6,702,000 78.0 German USA 2 7,027,000 5,832,000 83.0 Italian USA 1 5,035,000 4,757,000 94.5 Latin American White USA 2 4,905,000 4,562,000 Norwegian 93.0 USA 1 4,406,000 4,406,000 100.0 Louisiana Creole French USA 2 5,940,000 4,395,000 74.0 Swedish USA 2 4,013,000 3,463,000 86.3 Polish USA 2 3,780,000 2,945,000 77.9 Russian USA 1 3,147,000 2,766,000 87.9 Irish USA 2 3,783,000 2,721,000 71.9 Syrian-Arabian Arab USA 3 2,681,000 2,628,000 98.0 Filipino USA 2 2,584,000 2,287,000 88.5 Welsh USA 3 2,973,000 2,233,000 75.1 French USA 2 2,410,000 1,904,000 79.0 Slovak USA 2 2,118,000 1,900,000 Hungarian 89.7 USA 3 2,112,000 1,896,000 89.8 Danish USA 2 2,399,000 1,670,000 69.6 Korean USA 3 1,692,000 1,580,000 Portuguese 93.4 Canada 3 1,845,000 1,550,000 84.0 English

x 0% 0

50%

25

50

100%

75

100

PeoName

Christians in Northern America by languages, 2010

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

Peoples and languages in Northern America, 2010 UN region Northern America

Demographics Population % 348,575,000 100.0

People groups % 466 100

Languages 321

% 100.0

 Key for religion bars below and at left Agnostic Atheist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Jain Jew Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

 Peoples versus global peoples People group totals in the table above are calculated by counting peoples separately by country. Thus the African American in the USA are one people and the African American in Canada are another people. On the facing page, however, we combine peoples with the same designation to produce a list of global peoples that transcend country boundaries. The African Americans in that table thus represent African Americans in all countries in Northern America in which they are present.

Sikh Spiritist Zoroastrian

Religions o Religions of Larget 25 Languages in Northern America

Languages with the most Christians in Northern America, 2010

Country* Northern America Language Main All Population Largest % Religions by percentage 1 English USA 5 248,011,000 Christians 82.8 English 2 Spanish USA 2 34,559,000 Christians 96.9 Spanish 3 French Canada 3 13,613,000 Christians 74.9 French 4 Arabic, North Levantine USA 2 3,783,000 Christians 71.9 Arabic, North Levantine 5 Tagalog USA 3 2,681,000 Christians 98.0 Tagalog 6 Italian USA 2 2,621,000 Christians 83.0 Italian 7 Russian USA 2 2,541,000 Christians 78.4 Russian 8 German USA 2 2,298,000 Christians 78.0 German 9 Polish USA 2 2,124,000 Christians 86.6 Polish 10 Korean USA 2 1,939,000 Christians 69.5 Korean 11 Portuguese USA 3 1,772,000 Christians Portuguese 92.8 12 Hindi USA 2 1,715,000 Hindus 70.1 Hindi 13 Chinese, Mandarin Canada 3 1,692,000 Chinese folk 42.7 Chinese, Mandarin 14 Vietnamese USA 2 1,614,000 Buddhists Vietnamese 56.3 15 Romani, Vlax USA 2 1,596,000 Christians Romani, 95.3 Vlax 16 Panjabi, Eastern Canada 2 1,316,000 SikhsPanjabi,47.8 Eastern 17 French, Cajun USA 2 1,296,000 Christians French, 99.9 Cajun 18 Slovak USA 2 1,218,000 Christians 79.1 Slovak 19 Hungarian USA 2 1,117,000 Christians Hungarian 89.7 20 Japanese USA 2 1,075,000 Buddhists Japanese 31.7 21 Haitian Creole French USA 2 1,009,000 Christians Haitian Creole94.1 French 22 Dutch USA 2 988,000 Christians 79.8 Dutch 23 Ukrainian USA 2 874,000 Christians Ukrainian 83.6 24 Armenian USA 2 866,000 Christians Armenian 88.2 25 Czech USA 2 852,000 Christians 78.5 Czech *Main country of native speakers and count of all countries with native speakers

x 0% 0

50%

25

50

100%

75

100

1-25

Country* Northern America Language Main All Population Christians % Religions by percentage 1 English USA 5 248,011,000 205,457,000 82.8 English Language 2 Spanish USA 2 34,559,000 33,501,000 96.9 Spanish 3 French Canada 3 13,613,000 10,201,000 74.9 French 4 Arabic, North Levantine USA 2 3,783,000 2,721,000 71.9 Arabic, North Levantine 5 Tagalog USA 3 2,681,000 2,628,000 98.0 Tagalog 6 Italian USA 2 2,621,000 2,176,000 83.0 Italian 7 Russian USA 2 2,541,000 1,991,000 78.4 Russian 8 Polish USA 2 2,124,000 1,839,000 86.6 Polish 9 German USA 2 2,298,000 1,793,000 78.0 German 10 Portuguese USA 3 1,772,000 1,644,000 Portuguese 92.8 11 Romani, Vlax USA 2 1,596,000 1,521,000 Romani, 95.3 Vlax 12 Korean USA 2 1,939,000 1,348,000 69.5 Korean 13 French, Cajun USA 2 1,296,000 1,295,000 French, 99.9 Cajun 14 Hungarian USA 2 1,117,000 1,002,000 Hungarian 89.7 15 Slovak USA 2 1,218,000 963,000 79.1 Slovak 16 Haitian Creole French USA 2 1,009,000 949,000 Haitian Creole94.1 French 17 Dutch USA 2 988,000 788,000 79.8 Dutch 18 Armenian USA 2 866,000 764,000 Armenian 88.2 19 Ukrainian USA 2 874,000 731,000 Ukrainian 83.6 20 Czech USA 2 852,000 669,000 78.5 Czech 21 Ilocano USA 1 629,000 623,000 99.0 Ilocano 22 Jamaican Creole English USA 2 652,000 587,000 Jamaican Creole90.0 English 23 Greek USA 2 601,000 570,000 94.8 Greek 24 Norwegian USA 2 515,000 479,000 Norwegian 93.0 25 Lithuanian USA 2 532,000 477,000 Lithuanian 89.7

x 0% 0

50%

25

50

100%

75

100

235

NORTHERN AMERICA BY PEOPLES

1-25

Largest languages in Northern America, 2010

Language

Christianity by peoples and languages in Oceania ProvRelig_Christian

0

M

ore than half the total population of Oceania come from English descent. The three largest peoples are the Anglo-Australian, Anglo-New Zealander and English. Anglo-Australians represent 41% of Oceania’s population, far larger than either of the next two peoples. Though it contains only 24% of the population of Oceania, Melanesia boasts mother-tongue speakers of 85% of the languages spoken throughout the continent. This is due largely to the 782 languages native to Papua New Guinea (which also has nine imported languages for a total of 791) – more than any other single country in the world. Many of these languages correspond directly to ethnic groups, giving Melanesia over 1,200 of the 1,600 distinct ethnicities in Oceania. Most of the 25 largest peoples listed below have Asian or native Oceanian ancestry. The table shows a diversity of peoples, all with populations over 100,000. Examples include the Maori (of New Zealand, with Polynesian ancestry), the Enga (of Papua New Guinea) and the Tongan (inhabiting 36 of the 139 islands comprising the Kingdom of Tonga). English is the mother tongue of 60% of the population in this continental area. It is the majority language of Australia and New Zealand, and it is spoken in many of the Polynesian, Micronesian and Melanesian islands. The remaining languages each represent less than 3% of Oceania. For example, Tok Pisin is the second-largest language, representing 2.3% of the continent’s population. It is a type of Creole spoken largely in Papua New Guinea, and it is also the second-largest Christian language in the area; 93.3% of all Tok Pisin mother-tongue speakers are Christians. Of the 25 largest Christian languages in Oceania, only North Levantine Arabic and Yue Chinese have Christian percentages less than 75%; only 30.4% of the 324,000 mother-tongue Yue Chinese-speakers in the region consider themselves Christian. The remaining Yue Chinese speakers are agnostics, atheists, Buddhists or adherents of other religions. On the tree map at bottom right, other languages with Christian adherence of less than 75% include Hindi, Turkish, Japanese, Mesopotamian Arabic and Indonesian. Most of the largest people groups in Oceania are also majority-Christian. Only five of the 25 people groups with most Christians do not appear on the list of largest people groups; four of these five people groups are native to Oceania. Many of the largest peoples visible in the tree map at top right that are not majority-Christian are non-native, including Turk, Iraqi Arab, Israeli Jewish, Eastern Punjabi, Bengali, Cambodian, Central Thai and Sinhalese. It is likely that such peoples will become more common in the future in all of the countries of Oceania.

0

1

2

2

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

 Oceania’s largest peoples by proportion of Oceania’s population and percentage Christian, 2010

GlobalPeopleCPct_P_GROUPBY Han Chinese (Yue)

Tahitian Neo Melanesian

Han Chinese French (Mandarin) Tongan Samoan

Fijian Hindi

Italian Melpa

AngloAustralian

Hindi Maori Fijian

Detribalized Aborigine

Enga

Greek

AngloNew Zealander

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Detribalised Melanesian

English

Each rectangle represents a Global People Name Each rectangle's area is determined by the value of Ppop2010 (SUM) compared to a total of 35,183,604 Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of Cpct Cat (MIN)

Vietnamese

Filipino

Color Key (Cpct Cat (MIN)) 1

3

8

5

10

10

 Oceania’s largest languages by proportion of Oceania’s population and percentage Christian, 2010

LangCPct_P

English Hindi Greek

French

Italian

Enga

Tok Pisin

VietMelpa Tahitian Tongan namese Chinese Yue

Chinese Mandarin

Hindustani Fijian

Samoan

Fijian

Maori

Religions of Larget 25 Peoples in Oceania Each rectangle represents a EthIDCat Each rectangle's area is determined by the value of Ethpop (SUM) compared to a total of 35,183,623 Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of Pctcat (MIN)

1-25

Largest people groups in Oceania, 2010 Country* People group Main 1 Anglo-Australian Australia 2 Anglo-New Zealander N Zealand 3 English Australia 4 Detribalised Melanesian Papua NG 5 Maori N Zealand 6 Italian Australia 7 Samoan Samoa 8 Han Chinese (Mandarin) Australia 9 Han Chinese (Yue) Australia 10 Fijian Fiji 11 Detribalised Aborigine Australia 12 Enga Papua NG 13 Greek Australia 14 Filipino Australia 15 Vietnamese Australia 16 Hindi Australia 17 Melpa Papua NG 18 Fijian Hindi Fiji 19 Tongan Tonga 20 French N Caledonia 21 Neo-Melanesian Papua NG 22 Tahitian Fr Polynesia 23 Irish N Zealand 24 Eurafrican (English) Australia 25 Syrian-Arabian Arab Australia

All Population 10 14,627,000 6 2,749,000 14 1,504,000 2 650,000 4 637,000 3 422,000 8 407,000 19 400,000 5 396,000 5 383,000 1 355,000 1 337,000 3 329,000 9 316,000 4 272,000 2 224,000 1 212,000 2 206,000 6 171,000 6 165,000 4 164,000 4 160,000 2 149,000 1 147,000 2 141,000

Oceania Largest % Christians 80.6 Anglo-Australian Christians 70.2 Anglo-New Zealander Christians 84.0 English Christians 92.8 Detribalised Melanesian Christians 86.0 Maori Christians 82.9 Italian Christians 99.5 Samoan Buddhists 33.0 Han Chinese (Mandarin) Christians 30.1 Han Chinese (Yue) Christians 98.2 Fijian Christians 94.9 Detribalised Aborigine Christians 97.0 Enga Christians 94.8 Greek Christians 98.1 Filipino Buddhists Vietnamese 35.5 Hindus 67.0 Hindi Christians 99.5 Melpa Hindus Fijian 72.3 Hindi Christians 97.7 Tongan Christians 75.8 French Christians 95.1 Neo-Melanesian Christians 96.3 Tahitian Christians 96.0 Irish Christians Eurafrican 98.0 (English) Christians 60.1 Syrian-Arabian Arab

*Main country of people group and count of all countries with people group

236

0

50%

25

3

50

100%

75

100

8

5

10

1-25

People groups with the most Christians in Oceania, 2010

Religions by percentage

x 0%

Color Key (Pctcat (MIN)) 1

Country* Oceania People group Main All Population Christians % 1 Anglo-Australian Australia 10 14,627,000 11,790,000 80.6 Anglo-Australian PeoName 2 Anglo-New Zealander N Zealand 6 2,749,000 1,931,000 70.2 Anglo-New Zealander 3 English Australia 14 1,504,000 1,264,000 84.0 English 4 Detribalised Melanesian Papua NG 2 650,000 603,000 92.8 Detribalised Melanesian 5 Maori N Zealand 4 637,000 548,000 86.0 Maori 6 Samoan Samoa 8 407,000 405,000 99.5 Samoan 7 Fijian Fiji 5 383,000 376,000 98.2 Fijian 8 Italian Australia 3 422,000 350,000 82.9 Italian 9 Detribalised Aborigine Australia 1 355,000 337,000 94.9 Detribalised Aborigine 10 Enga Papua NG 1 337,000 327,000 97.0 Enga 11 Greek Australia 3 329,000 312,000 94.8 Greek 12 Filipino Australia 9 316,000 310,000 98.1 Filipino 13 Melpa Papua NG 1 212,000 211,000 99.5 Melpa 14 Tongan Tonga 6 171,000 167,000 97.7 Tongan 15 Neo-Melanesian Papua NG 4 164,000 156,000 95.1 Neo-Melanesian 16 Tahitian Fr Polynesia 4 160,000 154,000 96.3 Tahitian 17 Eurafrican (English) Australia 1 147,000 144,000 Eurafrican98.0 (English) 18 Irish N Zealand 2 149,000 143,000 96.0 Irish 19 French N Caledonia 6 165,000 125,000 75.8 French 20 Huli Papua NG 1 122,000 122,000 100.0 Huli 21 Chimbu Papua NG 1 129,000 121,000 93.8 Chimbu 22 Han Chinese (Yue) Australia 5 396,000 119,000 30.1 Han Chinese (Yue) 23 Chamorro Guam 3 117,000 114,000 Chamorro 97.4 24 German Australia 2 138,000 107,000 77.5 German 25 Golin Papua NG 1 108,000 106,000 98.1 Golin

Religions by percentage

PeoName

x 0% 0

50%

25

50

100%

75

100

Christians in Oceania by languages, 2010

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

2

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

Peoples and languages in Oceania, 2010 Demographics UN region Population % Oceania 35,491,000 100.0 Australia/New Zealand 25,647,000 72.3 Melanesia 8,589,000 24.2 Micronesia 575,000 1.6 Polynesia 680,000 1.9

 Key for religion bars below and at left Agnostic Atheist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Jain Jew Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

Sikh Spiritist Zoroastrian

% 1,245 100.0 184 14.8 1,054 84.7 32 2.6 30 2.4

Religions of Larget 25 Languages in Oceania 1-25 Oceania Largest % Christians 78.4 English Christians 93.3 Tok Pisin Christians 86.8 Maori Christians 99.5 Samoan Christians 98.4 Fijian Christians 83.0 Italian Christians 97.0 Enga Christians Chinese, 30.4Yue Buddhists 33.9 Chinese, Mandarin Hindus 74.1 Hindustani, Fijian Christians 94.9 Greek Christians 80.4 French Buddhists Vietnamese 35.7 Christians 99.5 Melpa Christians 96.1 Tahitian Christians 97.6 Tongan Hindus 69.8 Hindi Christians 97.8 Tagalog Christians 93.8 Kuman Christians 60.0 Arabic, North Levantine Christians 100.0 Huli Christians Chamorro 97.4 Christians 90.5 Spanish Christians 98.1 Golin Christians 97.2 Kiribati

*Main country of native speakers and count of all countries with native speakers

Religions by percentage 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

x 0% 0

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25

1-25

Languages with the most Christians in Oceania, 2010

50

100%

75

100

Country* Oceania Language Main All Population Christians % English Australia 24 21,223,000 16,646,000 78.4 English Language Tok Pisin Papua NG 4 821,000 766,000 93.3 Tok Pisin Maori N Zealand 4 607,000 527,000 86.8 Maori Samoan Samoa 8 399,000 397,000 99.5 Samoan Fijian Fiji 5 368,000 362,000 98.4 Fijian Enga Papua NG 1 337,000 327,000 97.0 Enga Italian Australia 3 353,000 293,000 83.0 Italian Greek Australia 3 275,000 261,000 94.9 Greek Melpa Papua NG 1 212,000 211,000 99.5 Melpa Tahitian Fr Polynesia 4 203,000 195,000 96.1 Tahitian French N Caledonia 6 235,000 189,000 80.4 French Tongan Tonga 6 169,000 165,000 97.6 Tongan Tagalog Australia 9 138,000 135,000 97.8 Tagalog Huli Papua NG 1 122,000 122,000 100.0 Huli Kuman Papua NG 1 129,000 121,000 93.8 Kuman Chamorro Guam 3 117,000 114,000 Chamorro 97.4 Golin Papua NG 1 108,000 106,000 98.1 Golin Kiribati Kiribati 6 107,000 104,000 97.2 Kiribati Sinasina Papua NG 1 102,000 101,000 99.0 Sinasina Spanish Australia 3 110,000 99,600 90.5 Spanish Kuanua Papua NG 1 99,700 98,700 99.0 Kuanua Chinese, Yue Australia 5 324,000 98,500 Chinese, 30.4Yue Kamano Papua NG 1 80,300 79,500 99.0 Kamano Arabic, North Levantine Australia 2 126,000 75,600 60.0 Arabic, North Levantine German Australia 2 93,500 73,000 78.1 German

Religions by percentage

Language

x 0% 0

OCEANIA BY PEOPLES

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Languages

 Peoples versus global peoples People group totals in the table above are calculated by counting peoples separately by country. Thus the Samoan in Samoa are one people and the Samoan in Australia are another people. On the facing page, however, we combine peoples with the same designation to produce a list of global peoples that transcend country boundaries. The Samoan in that table thus represent Samoans in all countries in Oceania in which they are present. Language totals do not add up to 100% because of extinct languages and double counting.

Largest languages in Oceania, 2010 Country* Language Main All Population English Australia 24 21,223,000 Tok Pisin Papua NG 4 821,000 Maori N Zealand 4 607,000 Samoan Samoa 8 399,000 Fijian Fiji 5 368,000 Italian Australia 3 353,000 Enga Papua NG 1 337,000 Chinese, Yue Australia 5 324,000 Chinese, Mandarin Australia 19 322,000 Hindustani, Fijian Fiji 2 297,000 Greek Australia 3 275,000 French N Caledonia 6 235,000 Vietnamese Australia 4 219,000 Melpa Papua NG 1 212,000 Tahitian Fr Polynesia 4 203,000 Tongan Tonga 6 169,000 Hindi N Zealand 2 159,000 Tagalog Australia 9 138,000 Kuman Papua NG 1 129,000 Arabic, North Levantine Australia 2 126,000 Huli Papua NG 1 122,000 Chamorro Guam 3 117,000 Spanish Australia 3 110,000 Golin Papua NG 1 108,000 Kiribati Kiribati 6 107,000

People groups % 1,511 100 263 17 1,102 73 73 5 73 5

50%

25

50

100%

75

100

237

Religion in cities

R

eligious demographics of the world’s cities can reveal patterns on a larger scale. Typically the religious breakdown of a major city is representative of the composition of its country, region or even continent, though often in different proportions. For example, greater New York is the largest urban area in Northern America. It encompasses a majority Christian population, followed by large numbers of agnostics and Jews. The USA exhibits a similar religious breakdown but with fewer agnostics and Jews. Among the world’s 100 largest urban areas (see list below), Mexico City (2), São Paulo (5), Buenos Aires (13), Los Angeles (14), Rio de Janeiro (15) and Moscow (20) all also have majority Christian populations, reflecting the majority status of Christianity in Northern America, Latin America and Europe. India contains three of the 20 largest urban areas worldwide: Mumbai (3), Delhi (6) and Kolkata (8). These urban areas all have majority Hindu populations, reflecting the near-total concentration of global Hinduism in India. This demographic pattern is unlikely to change in the near future. Japan contains two urban areas in the top 20, Tokyo (1) and Osaka-Kobe (19). More than 46 million people live in these two urban areas (37% of the population of Japan), and the religious breakdown conveys much about the state of Japanese religions. Buddhism (as a syncretism of Buddhist, Shinto and other East Asian religions) is the predominant belief system in these cities, but also in Japan itself (56%). Besides Buddhists, Tokyo also contains large Christian and agnostic populations. Christianity is a minority religion in Japan (2%) and among Japanese, but Tokyo contains large populations of Chinese, South Koreans, Filipinos, Americans, British, Brazilians and French, all of whom contribute to the increased Christian population in this urban area. The increasing rate of migration sometimes significantly affects the religious composition of urban areas. For example, during the twentieth century many Chinese emigrated to Vancouver, Canada, becoming the largest minority group in that city. Canada now has the seventh-largest population of Chinese folk-religionists because of Chinese migration patterns during particular periods in the twentieth century. Urban areas, especially the largest 100 worldwide, typically contain large minority populations that affect their religious make-up. Additionally, illegal immigrants often find their way to large urban areas; their effect on immigrant demographics (and thus religious adherence statistics) depends on whether or not they are officially recognised and counted. Regardless, it is appropriate to reaffirm that the world’s urban areas are often meeting places for a variety of religious and spiritual beliefs and practices. Although the short titles in this section of the atlas refer to ‘cities’, these are technically ‘urban areas’, utilising the United Nations definition of ‘populations contained within the contours of a contiguous territory inhabited at urban density levels’.

100 largest cities by religious adherence, 2010

71

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Country Japan Mexico India USA Brazil India China India Indonesia Bangladesh Nigeria Pakistan Argentina USA Brazil Egypt Philippines China Japan Russia Turkey France South Korea China USA

89 50

88

62

80

64

4

68

55

14

46

70

2

Key:

27

Colour Religious adherents by percentage in urban area Size Approximate urban area population size

101

90 82

This size equals about 10 million 30

Number Corresponds to number in the table below

87 79 45

1910 Largest cities City 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Country Population

LONDON New York PARIS BERLIN Chicago VIENNA Philadelphia BUENOS AIRES Ruhr Manchester

Britain USA France Germany USA Austria USA Argentina Germany Britain

6,958,000 5,405,000 3,854,000 2,966,000 2,300,000 1,739,000 1,654,000 1,464,000 1,406,000 1,425,000

Population Largest % 35,467,000 Buddhists 56.0 TOKYO 20,688,000 Christians MEXICO 95.3 CITY 20,036,000 Hindus 69.0 Bombay 20,009,000 Christians 65.0 New York-Newark 19,582,000 Christians São 88.5 Paulo 16,983,000 Hindus 78.0 Delhi 15,790,000 Chinese folk Shanghai 30.0 15,548,000 Hindus 69.0 Calcutta 15,206,000 Muslims 65.0 JAKARTA 14,625,000 Muslims 90.0 DHAKA 13,717,000 Christians 71.2 Lagos 13,252,000 Muslims 93.0 Karachi 13,067,000 ChristiansBUENOS 91.4 AIRES 12,738,000 Christians Los80.0 Angeles 12,170,000 ChristiansRio de90.0 Janeiro 12,041,000 Muslims 87.0 CAIRO 11,799,000 Christians 93.8 MANILA 11,741,000 Agnostics 36.0 BEIJING 11,305,000 Buddhists Osaka-Kobe 55.0 10,967,000 Christians MOSCOW 84.0 10,546,000 Muslims 95.0 Istanbul 9,856,000 Christians 61.1 PARIS 9,554,000 Christians 45.7 SEOUL 9,447,000 Agnostics Guangzhou 36.0 9,186,000 Christians 78.0 Chicago

50%

25

Christians

%

6,680,000 5,135,000 3,777,000 2,906,000 2,208,000 1,670,000 1,588,000 1,435,000 1,378,000 1,368,000

96.0 95.0 98.0 98.0 96.0 96.0 96.0 98.0 98.0 96.0

43

1-25

Religions Adherents by percentage

0

15 75

50

5 13

100into Cities by religion - Broken intoare 4 seperate gr Top 100 Cities by religion - Top Broken 4 seperate graphs which spread acro two pages via a table two pages via a table

1-25

x 0%

238

66

25

100 largest urban areas by total population, 2010 Urban area TOKYO MEXICO CITY Mumbai New York-Newark São Paulo Delhi Shanghai Kolkata JAKARTA DHAKA Lagos Karachi BUENOS AIRES Los Angeles Rio de Janeiro CAIRO MANILA BEIJING Osaka-Kobe MOSCOW Istanbul PARIS SEOUL Guangzhou Chicago

85 47

100%

75

100

Urban area 26 LONDON TOKYO CityMEXICO CITY 27 BOGOTA Bombay 28 Shenzhen York-Newark 29 New TEHRAN São Paulo 30 LIMA Delhi 31 Chennai Shanghai 32 Wuhan Calcutta 33 KINSHASA JAKARTA 34 Tianjin 35 HongDHAKA Kong Lagos 36 Bengaluru Karachi 37 Lahore BUENOS AIRES 38 BANGKOK Los Angeles 39 Hyderabad Rio de Janeiro 40 Rhine-Ruhr CAIRO 41 Chongqing MANILA 42 BAGHDAD BEIJING 43 SANTIAGO Osaka-Kobe 44 MADRID 45 BeloMOSCOW Horizonte Istanbul 46 Miami PARIS 47 Toronto SEOUL 48 Ahmadabad 49 HoGuangzhou Chi Minh City Chicago 50 Philadelphia

26-50

26-50 Country Britain LONDON Colombia BOGOTA China Shenzhen IranTEHRAN Peru LIMA India Madras China Wuhan DRKINSHASA Congo China Tianjin China Hong Kong India Bangalore Pakistan Lahore Thailand BANGKOK India Hyderabad Germany Rhine-Ruhr China Chongqing Iraq BAGHDAD Chile SANTIAGO Spain MADRID Brazil Belo Horizonte USA Miami Canada Toronto India Ahmadabad HoViet Chi MinhNam City USA Philadelphia

x

Population 8,607,000 City 8,416,000 8,114,000 7,807,000 7,590,000 7,545,000 7,542,000 7,526,000 7,468,000 7,416,000 7,216,000 7,201,000 6,963,000 6,749,000 6,694,000 6,690,000 6,593,000 5,982,000 5,977,000 5,941,000 5,739,000 5,737,000 5,716,000 5,698,000 5,615,000

Largest % LONDON Christians 71.0 BOGOTA ChristiansCity 93.0 Agnostics Shenzhen 35.0 TEHRAN Muslims 95.0 LIMA Christians 95.3 Madras Hindus 83.0 Wuhan Agnostics 36.0 Christians KINSHASA 91.2 Tianjin Agnostics 38.0 Kong Agnostics Hong 37.0 Hindus Bangalore 76.0 Lahore Muslims 97.0 Buddhists BANGKOK 78.0 Hindus Hyderabad 83.0 Christians Rhine-Ruhr 73.0 Agnostics Chongqing 38.0 Muslims BAGHDAD 93.0 Christians SANTIAGO 85.3 MADRID Christians 89.0 ChristiansBelo Horizonte 90.0 Miami Christians 80.0 Toronto Christians 74.5 Hindus Ahmadabad 86.0 Ho Chi Minh Buddhists 43.0City Christians Philadelphia 83.0

25

50

75 0 100 25

Religions Adherents by percentage

Saint Petersburg KHARTOUM Poona Barcelona Dallas-Fort Worth Shenyang Chittagong RIYADH Dongguan Bandung HANOI Atlanta YANGON Houston SINGAPORE Boston Sydney WASHINGTON, DC Chengdu Guadalajara Detroit Xi'an Surat Alexandria Porto Alegre x100% 50%

x 0%

x 0

50

75

100

51-75

0

25

50

75 0 100 25

City

50

Nonreligious cities Pyongyang, North Korea, is the only city among the 100 largest with an agnostic majority. Agnostics are the largest religion, although not a majority, in 14 of the 16 Chinese cities shown here. 51 26 20 99

40

77 22 21 54

44

98

56 18

81

91

29 74

34

86

42

23

95

6

37

93

72

10

1

83

57

69

32

19

7 16

100

12

58

78

41

59

48

35

73 39

52

24

63

8

17

38 97 53

3

96

Chinese folk-religion Singapore has the highest concentration of Chinese folk-religionists (40%) among the 100 largest cities – more than the Chinese cities of Nanjing and Shanghai, the only other cities where Chinese folk-religionists are the largest bloc of adherents.

28

61

49

31

11

76

36 65

33 94

9 60

Remnants of ethnoreligions Over the past 100 years Africa has lost the majority of its ethnoreligionist population to Christianity. Abidjan, Ivory Coast is the only urban area in the top 100 in which ethnoreligionists constitute the most adherents (although not an absolute majority of the population).

92

67 84

Middle East Not surprisingly, the largest urban areas in the Middle East are predominantly Muslim. Cairo, the most populous, is 82% Muslim.

 Key for -religion bars 100 below and graphs map graphs Top Cities byonreligion - Broken seperate graphs which are spread across ies by religion Broken into 4pieseperate whichinto are 4spread across Agnostic Christian Jain Sikh via a table via a table Atheist two pages Confucianist Jew Spiritist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

Zoroastrian

Urban area 51 Saint Petersburg LONDON 52 KHARTOUM BOGOTA 53 Pune Shenzhen 54 Barcelona TEHRAN 55 Dallas-Fort LIMA Worth 56 Shenyang Madras 57 Chittagong Wuhan 58 RIYADH KINSHASA 59 Dongguan Tianjin 60 Bandung Hong Kong 61 HANOI Bangalore 62 Atlanta Lahore 63 YANGON BANGKOK 64 Houston Hyderabad 65 SINGAPORE Rhine-Ruhr 66 Boston Chongqing 67 Sydney BAGHDAD 68 WASHINGTON, DC SANTIAGO 69 Chengdu MADRID 70 Guadalajara Belo Horizonte 71 Detroit Miami 72 Xi'anToronto 73 Surat Ahmadabad 74 HoAlexandria Chi Minh City 75 Porto Alegre Philadelphia

TOKYO CO CITY ombay Newark o Paulo Delhi anghai alcutta AKARTA DHAKA Lagos Karachi S AIRES Angeles Janeiro CAIRO MANILA BEIJING a-Kobe OSCOW stanbul PARIS SEOUL ngzhou hicago x

Country Russia City Sudan India Spain USA China Bangladesh Saudi Arabia China Indonesia Viet Nam USA Myanmar USA Singapore USA Australia USA China Mexico USA China India Egypt Brazil

x in ALL CAPITALS are capital cities Cities listed 0

25

50

750

100 25

50

75

100

Population Largest % LONDON 5,365,000 Christians 80.0 Saint Petersburg City 5,178,000 BOGOTA Muslims KHARTOUM 77.0 Shenzhen 5,000,000 Hindus 75.0 Poona TEHRAN 4,998,000 Christians Barcelona 90.0 LIMA 4,976,000 Christians 85.0 Dallas-Fort Worth Madras 4,952,000 Agnostics Shenyang 40.0 Wuhan 4,914,000 Muslims Chittagong 88.0 KINSHASA 4,863,000 Muslims 85.0 RIYADH Tianjin 4,850,000 Agnostics Dongguan 36.0 Hong Kong 4,786,000 Muslims Bandung 84.0 Bangalore 4,703,000 Buddhists 43.0 HANOI Lahore 4,682,000 Christians 84.0 Atlanta BANGKOK 4,635,000 Buddhists 74.0 YANGON Hyderabad 4,596,000 Christians 84.0 Houston Rhine-Ruhr Chinese folk SINGAPORE 4,590,000 40.0 Chongqing 4,585,000 Christians 80.0 Boston BAGHDAD 4,540,000 Christians 74.5 Sydney SANTIAGO 4,451,000 Christians 75.0DC WASHINGTON, MADRID 4,266,000 Agnostics Chengdu 39.0 Belo Horizonte 4,237,000 Christians Guadalajara 95.0 Miami 4,192,000 Christians 77.0 Detroit Toronto 4,178,000 Agnostics 32.0 Xi'an Ahmadabad 4,166,000 Hindus 87.0 Surat Ho4,109,000 Chi Minh City Muslims Alexandria 82.0 Philadelphia 4,096,000 Christians Porto91.0 Alegre

x

Religions Adherents by percentage

25

50

750

76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

City

x 0% 0

51-75

51-75

50%

100 25

50

100%

75

100

76-100

76-100

Urban area Country Saint Petersburg Abidjan Ivory Coast ABIDJAN City KHARTOUM Harbin China Harbin Guiyang Poona China Guiyang Barcelona BRASILIA Brazil BRASILIA Dallas-Fort Worth Monterrey Mexico Monterrey Shenyang ANKARA Turkey ANKARA Recife RecifeChittagong Brazil Nanjing Nanjing RIYADH China Dongguan Melbourne Melbourne Australia Bandung Montreal Montreal Canada KABUL KABUL HANOI Afghanistan Salvador SalvadorAtlanta Brazil YANGON Phoenix-Mesa Phoenix-Mesa USA Houston San Francisco-Oakland San Francisco-Oakland USA SINGAPORE Fortaleza Fortaleza Brazil ALGIERS ALGIERSBoston Algeria Sydney Johannesburg Johannesburg South Africa WASHINGTON, DC Pusan Korea Pusan South Chengdu Surabaya Surabaya Indonesia Guadalajara PYONGYANG PYONGYANG North Korea Detroit ADDISEthiopia ABABA ADDIS ABABA Xi'an Kano Kano Nigeria Surat Changchun Changchun China BERLIN BERLINAlexandria Germany Porto Alegre Kanpur Kanpur India

x

Population Largest % ABIDJAN 4,032,000 Christians 63.0 City City Harbin 4,003,000 Agnostics 34.0 Guiyang 3,980,000 Agnostics 38.0 BRASILIA 3,938,000 Christians 89.0 3,914,000 Christians Monterrey 95.0 ANKARA 3,914,000 Muslims 100.0 Recife 3,830,000 Christians 90.0 Nanjing 3,813,000 Chinese folk 32.0 3,796,000 Christians Melbourne 69.1 Montreal 3,787,000 Christians 87.0 KABUL 3,753,000 Muslims 98.0 Salvador 3,695,000 Christians 91.0 3,677,000 ChristiansPhoenix-Mesa 79.0 San Francisco-Oakland 3,619,000 Christians 75.0 Fortaleza 3,598,000 Christians 94.0 ALGIERS 3,576,000 Muslims 96.0 3,574,000 ChristiansJohannesburg 80.4 Pusan 3,529,000 Christians 52.0 Surabaya 3,473,000 Muslims 83.0 3,439,000 Agnostics PYONGYANG 56.0 ABABA 3,407,000 Christians ADDIS86.3 Kano 3,405,000 Muslims 91.0 3,400,000 Agnostics Changchun 35.0 BERLIN 3,389,000 Christians 66.4 Kanpur 3,363,000 Hindus 76.0

25

50

City

x 0%

x 0

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0 75

25 100 50

75

100

RELIGION IN CITIES

1-25 100 largest urban26-50 areas by total population, 2010 (continued) 26-50

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239

Christianity in cities, 1910–2010

I

n the last 50 years of the twentieth century, the increase of human beings peopling the world was described as ‘phenomenal’, ‘unprecedented’, ‘overwhelming’ and ‘most dramatic’. The United Nations (UN) has projected that by 2050 the world’s population will be 9.2 billion. Fertility has already dropped below replacement levels in 28 developed and developing countries that account for 25% of the world’s population, including China. Still, the global population grows by 27 people every 10 seconds, or by some 219,000 people every day. Yearly, between 68 million and 80 million human beings are added, mostly in Latin America, Asia and Africa. It has been observed that ‘As the sun rises every morning a quarter of a million babies are born’. Population movement and cities Not only is the world’s population experiencing very rapid growth, but also people are constantly on the move. In 1998 some 120 million humans already lived in countries other than those in which they were born. More than half of these had moved to other developing nations where the average income was better than in the countries they had left. In 2008 the United Nations projected that, for the first time in history, by the end of the year half of the world’s population would be living in cities. The great twentieth-century shifts from rural to urban, from one nation to another and from poorer countries to richer cities of the world have raised serious concerns. Mass movement to the cities is relentlessly occurring in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Of the 21 largest cities of the world today, with populations ranging from 10 million to more than 30 million, 13 are found in Asia, with Tokyo leading at 35 million. Four of these cities are in Latin America and two in Africa. In Africa the urban population is growing at an average annual rate of 3.40%, the highest of any world region. Within thirty years it is expected that more than half of all Africans will be living in cities. Asian cities grow by over 100,000 people a day. An estimated 1.1 billion people will move to cities in Asia over the next 20 years. Haruhiko Kuroda, President of the Asian Development Bank, has said that managing such an enormous human influx is a task of a ‘magnitude never before attempted by humanity’. The immensity of ever-expanding metropolises can be seen in China today. Thirty million Chinese migrate to its cities each year. The urban population now comprises 40% of its 1.3 billion people. In 2001 China announced plans to build 400 new cities, each housing one million people, by 2020. Meanwhile, the United Nations estimates that by 2050 there will be 6.4 billion people living in cities – almost the same number of people as the total population of the world today. Urbanisation is the process by which large numbers of people become concentrated in relatively small areas, forming cities that in turn create suburbs, which eventually become part of the cities, which then are called metropolises or megapolises or global cities – terms that change with time. Manila, the capital of the Philippines, for instance, is now Metro Manila, a city surrounded by some 15 cities with a total population of 12 million people, and increasing. Erla Zwingle of National Geographic magazine captured the essence of cities when she wrote that in today’s global culture, ‘Goods move. People move. Ideas move. And culture changes.’ Urban life is characterised by commerce and a vast array of economic opportunities; rich, vibrant human interactions; a multiplicity of intellectual and social offerings; and an openness to different ways of life. The latest technological and scientific inventions normally are found in cities, acting as a further attraction. Cities no longer are defined primarily by their populations, areas or densities but by their roles or functions, especially in international cultures. Some are truly mega-global cities, such as New York, Tokyo and London, with their worldwide economic

influence. Some are political cities like Washington, DC, New Delhi and Brussels. Others are primarily commercial or cultural cities. Most cities, however, perform multiple roles, having packed within their ever-expanding environs commerce, politics, culture, development and most of the perceived national aspirations of their people. Warring countries and ethnic conflicts also push people to cities. In the 1970s Vietnamese fled their country on flimsy boats, risking their lives to reach Hong Kong or the Philippines and then on to Los Angeles, London or Sydney to escape political turbulence; those images are duplicated in many areas of the world today. Refugees and exiles comprise part of the increasing population growth of many cities, along with natural increase and urbanisation.

A continuing holistic and contextual theological education on what it means to serve with the urban poor in the particularity of their circumstances remains necessary if the Christian faith is to fully take root in the city. Consequently, cities are racial melting pots, a potpourri of human colours. The world is in the cities; the cities are the world. London mirrors this kaleidoscopic humanity. Fifty nationalities with communities of more than 5,000 make their home in the city, and 300 languages are spoken on any given day. New York City, the seat of the UN, is a constant parade of people originating in more than 200 different countries. It has one of the densest multi-ethnic populations of all the cities in the world. Australian cities, as of 2001, have 140 ethnic groups speaking 100 languages and practising over 40 religions. The internationalisation of cities is already here, as is the growing ‘Asianisation’ of the world. In the cities, the cleavage between the rich and the poor is highlighted dramatically. Increasingly the global city is becoming identified with the poor. Behind industrial complexes in Lagos, under gleaming skyscrapers in São Paulo and elegant bridges in Jakarta and beyond manicured parks in Beijing are slum enclaves or ghettoes. Millions (soon to become billions), derisively called ‘squatters’, eke out their living on the refuse of their cities. The 2007 report by the United Nations Population Fund appealed to governments of the world for a ‘revolution in thinking’ to address this reality. Inasmuch as urbanisation cannot be stopped, concentrated preparation is crucial. The aim is not to exclude people from the cities but to make sure that they have access to services such as health care and schools. The UN report argued that no country today has ever achieved significant economic growth without urbanisation. Christianity in the cities Christianity has always made its presence felt in cities. From Jerusalem, Christ’s call to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’ spread via cities – Ephesus, Corinth, Athens, Rome and other primary urban centres – during the apostolic age. John of Patmos addressed his letters to the seven churches located in the cities of Asia Minor. He ended his book grandly envisioning all nations streaming into the City of all cities, where the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple and the glory of God and the Lamb its light. The city is presented as a very positive eschatological image for Christian faith. The influence of Christianity has waxed and waned in cities. Prior to the unrelenting march of industrialisation and its handmaiden, Western colonial rule, churches were important focal points of human interaction. However, with the invention of 100

100

Urban, 1910: 316,834,000 Urban, 2010: 3,502,743,000 % urban, 1910: 18.0 % urban, 2010: 50.7 Urban 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.43 Urban 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.03

240

Urban Christians, 1910: 195,853,000 Urban Christians, 2010: 1,472,098,000 % urban Christians, 1910: 32.0 % urban Christians, 2010: 64.2 Urban Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.04 Urban Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 1.57

0

0

1910

‘Cities of sin’ Cities have long been perceived as centres of secularised thinking. Secularism is a worldview which veers away from otherworldliness to life on earth. Secularisation is the process in which the supernatural understanding of the world is replaced by natural, scientific, empirical explanations. In the metropolitan, multi-cultural, pluralistic setting of cities, with clashing interests and ideas, anonymity and impersonality, religion no longer is seen as an organising factor in people’s lives. It is just one of the ‘isms’ an individual may or may not embrace. With this philosophy, the Western church in modern times tended to regard the city as a place of sin. The prevailing image of the city was Sodom and Gomorrah of the Old Testament and the city of Babylon in Revelation. Preached in a hellfire-andbrimstone style, the challenge was put: who would want to be in the city? Rural people were assumed to be more receptive to the call of faith, and so Western churches and mission agencies sent their missionaries to the ‘uncivilised’ of the world. During the colonial and post-colonial eras, missionary-sending groups first located their mission headquarters and people in coastal regions, then in inland areas, and on to the hinterland/unreached of non-Christianised nations, often following the ‘mission-station’ model, a model still existing today. The flight from the city to rural areas was strengthened by the prevailing spirit of anti-urbanism. The cities in the industrialised world had become more and more urban blots and blights; nature had receded 100

100

% urban population

1910

machines and the advent of industries and railroads, people massed around urban areas for employment, creating huge squalor and a host of social problems. The churches in the industrialised West did address such issues as housing, health, child labour and the educational needs of women and children. However, Western Christians are vulnerable to the criticism that they waged single-issue campaigns rather than developing a clear sense of public justice or of righteousness as a social calling. Early social justice campaigners in Britain, for instance, protested against the practice of slavery, not necessarily because it was cruel and inhuman, but because it was viewed as a barrier to missionary work in the Caribbean. During the early twentieth century, countries in the forefront of ‘making wealth’ intensified the race to become modern world powers. The doctrine of ‘Manifest Destiny’ became the colonising principle of the USA to get raw materials from the Philippines and to claim a strategic military and political position in Asia, with an eye on China for future trade relations. At the historic World Missionary Conference in 1910 in Edinburgh, one report unintentionally showed that colonialism and mission were bedfellows. Episcopal Bishop Charles H. Brent of the Philippine Islands offered an opening prayer one morning. The Christian Century reported that Brent spoke with God ‘in the simple speech of a child, and no one knows whence is the secret of the great faith and enthusiasm that has called him to give his life to the establishment of pure Christianity in America’s new possession in the Orient.’ ‘Civilising’ and ‘Christianising’ were perceived as one, or at least as closely inter-related, both by missionaries and recipients, such that the true message of Christ became another foreign cultural imposition. A similar mindset prevailed, whether mission agencies were Protestant or Catholic, for as long as they locked arms with their countries’ colonising impetus anywhere in the world. Furthermore, most of these efforts were undertaken not in cities but in far-flung villages and towns. This trend continued for decades, and it was only in the last half of the twentieth century that churches and mission agencies rediscovered the cities not only as legitimate, biblical mission fields for Christ, but also as legitimate contexts for authentic religious experience.

2010

2010

0

0

% urban Christian

1910

1910

2010

2010

to long distances. To enjoy nature, one had to see it through the interstices of a thousand other bodies that came to see it, too. Eventually, the wealthy moved out to the city’s periphery, creating enclaves. The Church, primarily white, upper and rising middle-class in composition, followed suit. Thus the suburbs were born. Meanwhile, the core of the cities was left to the toiling class of whites, people of colour, migrants and immigrants ‘missioned’ by the Church that had become an outsider. A similar attitude was carried to the mission fields. For a long time God was perceived as a rural God, not an urban God nor even a God of all. The theological debates on ‘sacred’ and ‘secular’, between ‘social action’ and ‘evangelism’, and between the ‘pure gospel’ and ‘contextualisation’ that dominated post-World War II discussions among Western theologians weakened the holistic outlook of the churches. Theological debates of ‘either-or’ propositions got exported to mission outposts. Issues from the home country influenced missionaries’ thoughts and approaches, even if these issues were entirely irrelevant to the concerns and worldviews of the peoples among whom the missionaries worked. These debates are still being carried on in the twenty-first century. However, at no time were the cities completely neglected by the Church. Through the pre- and postWar eras, mission organisations and churches have put up very fine institutions in urban centres in nonChristian countries to meet the needs of the neglected poor. Churches, schools, orphanages, rescue missions, centres for abused women, centres for drug addicts or alcoholics, feeding centres and many other interventions were (and still are) the continuing landmarks of the churches’ concern for the cities. Charities and volunteerism have continued to express the responses of the Church especially in poor countries. Western evangelists have often targeted cities for crusades to proclaim the gospel and win people to Christ. Dr Billy Graham, the foremost evangelist of the twentieth century, has reached more than 200 primary cities of some 84 countries in all the continents in his more than 50 years of ministry. He has preached the gospel face-to-face to more than 100 million people. With the advent of radio, television and satellite broadcasts, Dr Graham has reached two billion people. The impact of his evangelistic ministry on cities has yet to be ascertained, but clearly he has stirred thousands of urban dwellers to reflect on their spiritual condition during his huge meetings worldwide. His association helped to start the Lausanne Movement, which, amongst other concerns, has addressed the issue of urban mission, especially in relation to the large cities now emerging.

Christian influence in cities The influence of the churches in the contemporary urban setting remains ambiguous. Numerical growth coupled with charismatic leaders and elegant structures of worship have made the churches more visible. Modern media exposure often magnifies this visibility. Politicians cultivate the mega-churches for their potential votes. Mega-churches usually cater to the well-off and middle class as well as the spirituallyneedy sectors. On the other hand, grassroots urban workers are still struggling with the challenge of addressing the deep issues of justice and equality in resource-sharing with the poor while holding faithfully to the evangelistic mandate. In commenting on this challenge, Corrie de Boer, an urban ministry expert and practitioner in the Philippines, has noted, ‘I wholeheartedly believe

in addressing the soul, the body and the dismantling of unfair structures against the poor, but a vast need for education is necessary.’ Thus, a continuing holistic and contextual theological education on what it means to serve with the urban poor in the particularity of their circumstances remains necessary if the Christian faith is to fully take root in the city. Committed lay workers, equipped with sound urban theology and willing to lose themselves in the interstices of urban life, are the most effective missionaries in any city. An agency called Servants, whose workers intentionally choose to live in slums with the ‘squatters’, provides a model of incarnational urban ministry that challenges traditional missionary methods. Viv Grigg, the founder of Servants, began this ministry in the most depressed cities that make up Metro Manila, where he learned to blend monastic and renewal principles that enable workers to live and plant churches among the poor. Mission today need not be a geographical dislocation of missionaries from their home countries. For the Western churches, the presence of millions of migrants and immigrants from all parts of the world is an immense mission frontier and a rich learning laboratory in Christian urban living. The challenge for mission workers is no longer geographical distance as much as cultural complexity. In order to live with and minister to the hurting rich and the hurting poor of the city, the churches themselves must be willing to change. Urban ministries, regardless of theological stance and focus, are increasing. They may be locally- or foreign-initiated, church- or non-government-related. Many are professional in approach, while others are led by visionaries with nothing else but their understanding of the Bible to guide them. Regardless, when one looks hard enough, signs of hope are everywhere in the city. There are violent, drug-ruled districts that have found peace when their deadly youth street gangs have turned to ‘Bible study’. There are women who have found liberation in Christ and have found strength to begin business ventures that secure the livelihood of their families. There are communities where Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians embrace, ending centuries-old prejudices. The dawn of the twenty-first century has seen a growing appreciation among the churches that cities, in Christian belief and spirituality, are places where God is active for good. The movement to ‘redeem’ the city has begun with the churches growing in understanding and developing more mature approaches. No magic formula, and no worldwide comprehensive plan or budgetary allocation however big, can foretell the shape of evangelism and mission, or even of the churches themselves, in cities. However, it does seem clear that the witness of the churches in the urban context will play a major role in enabling people to live compassionately and creatively as citizens in the twenty-first century.

EVELYN MIRANDA-FELICIANO Ray Bakke, A Theology as Big as the City (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997). Harvey Conn and Manuel Ortiz, Urban Ministry: The Kingdom, the City & the People of God (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001). Viv Grigg, Companion to the Poor: Christ in the Urban Slum, revised and updated edn (Waynesboro, GA: Authentic Media, 2004). Wonsuk Ma and Julie C. Ma (eds), Asian Church and God’s Mission: Studies Presented in the International Symposium on Asian Mission in Manila, January 2002 (Mandaluyong City, Philippines: OMF Literature Inc., 2003). Erla Zwingle, ‘Global Culture’, National Geographic, August 1999, pp. 12–33; and ‘Megacities’, National Geographic, November 2002, pp. 70–99.

Number of cities by continent, 2010 All cities

Cities where Christianity is the largest religion

Continent Africa Asia Europe Latin America Northern America Oceania Global total

Total 880 2,850 1,338 847 660 46 6,621

Total: ≥ 50,000

Small Medium 391 392 1,029 1,389 722 501 392 352 228 320 16 22 2,778 2,976 Small: 50,000–99,999

Large 43 171 56 36 61 2 369

Mega 48 220 52 57 39 5 421

Super 4 29 6 6 10 1 56

Medium: 100,000 –499,999

Giant 2 12 1 4 2 0 21 Large: 500,000–999,999

Continent Africa Asia Europe Latin America Northern America Oceania Global total Mega: 1,000,000–3,999,999

Total 380 126 1,296 847 660 46 3,355

Small Medium 154 166 34 72 695 488 392 352 228 320 16 22 1,519 1,420

Super: 4,000,000–9,999,999

Large 25 7 54 36 61 2 185

Mega 32 11 52 57 39 5 196

Super 2 1 6 6 10 1 26

Giant 1 1 1 4 2 0 9

Giant: ≥ 10,000,000

241

CHRISTIANITY IN CITIES

Urban theology Only in recent decades has Christian theology begun to consider the city in its own terms rather than simply as a mission field or as a point of evangelistic engagement. There has been a theological awakening to the city as the place of God’s appointment for his people to put down their roots. There has been a biblicallybased call to Christians to embrace wholeheartedly the city as it is, and to work with others for its transformation by standing alongside its poor. Literature on ‘urban ministry’ did not become current until the 1960s, and mostly came from the West. Most of the theologising of the city was initiated from the grassroots by Christians who first lived among the poor and struggled amongst them. With the constant fertilisation of ideas from the West and East as well as North and South, the theologies did not issue from the aseptic halls of the academy but from

among thoughtful missionaries and local, indigenous leaders in various parts of the world. The struggle in the realm of theology remains the same: How should the Church look at the city? As a mission point or as a place in which to ‘feel at home’? In serving the poor, now the majority of the urban population, should the Church prioritise between ‘reaching the soul’ and ‘feeding the stomach’? Should it focus primarily on individuals and churches and not get involved in changing the city’s structures and powers? Ray Bakke’s A Theology as Big as the City (1997) argues for a full embrace of the city simply because, ‘There’s no reason to assume God is present on a beautiful mountaintop but absent from the city.’ On the subsequent questions, many urban workers and specialists believe that the Bible is holistic in its approach and practical in its responses. Addressing powers and changing structures are parts of the transforming grace and holism of the gospel. Christianity is alive in cities. Evangelical Christians appear to be increasing everywhere, mostly in cities. Four of the largest churches in the world are in Seoul, South Korea. The three fastest-growing churches in the 1990s were located in South Korea, Brazil and the Philippines – mega-churches found in capital cities. In just 15 years attendance at Charismatic churches in Bogotá, Colombia, grew to 50,000. Cities in Northern America have experienced phenomenal resurgence of church attendance in recent years. Generally, however, the increase still lags behind the overall population of cities. Despite church growth, studies have shown that in mega-cities like Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Lima and Mexico City, the total evangelical population has not exceeded 3%. Nonetheless, a number of these churches have begun to send missionaries. Asian churches are carrying out active evangelism and mission work in many parts of the world, illustrating that the tide of mission flows no longer solely from West to East or North to South, but also the reverse. Cross-cultural, non-Western missionaries are rapidly increasing in number today. Indians are undertaking cross-cultural mission within their diverse nation. Koreans are active in mission worldwide. Filipinos, Chinese, Latin Americans and Africans are planting churches in the Middle East, Europe and Northern America and are training their own people for mission. Besides the ease of travel and communications nowadays, this ‘can-do’, optimistic confidence is attributed to the newly-found independence from mainline denominational strictures and structures of the pre-War years, the growth of ecumenism and the rise of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement – a phenomenon of worldwide impact bringing a renewal of faith, a new focus on the work of the Holy Spirit and a resultant commitment to mission work.

Christianity in cities

S

ince the middle of the twentieth century the United Nations has provided a cogent analysis of the burgeoning urban populations around the world. One focus of UN documentation has been identifying urban agglomerations, extended areas of human habitation beyond the boundaries of major metropolitan areas. Here we bring this analysis in line with our understanding of Christian demography to produce a list of the urban areas with the most Christians. Two categories of urban areas emerge on this list. First, there are large urban areas that are predominantly Christian; these dominate this list and are found all over the world, though most are in Europe, Latin America and Northern America. The other category includes large urban areas with minority Christian populations. Four of these are listed here: Seoul (23), Jakarta (64), Shanghai (66) and Mumbai (77). The distribution of Christians among the world’s urban areas looks similar to the distribution of Christians among the world’s countries. In 1910 the largest Christian cities were all found in Europe and Northern America; by 2010 there was a definitive shift to the South. The list of the 100 largest Christian urban areas below reveals this new future of global Christianity while retaining a connection to the past. The list is a mix of Northern and Southern cities, with Southern cities moving up the list. In 2010 the only Northern urban areas in the top 10 are New York, Los Angeles and Moscow. Five of the other seven are in Latin America, with one each in Africa and in Asia. Numbers 11 through 20 show a similar pattern, with five of those ten being in the Global South. By 2025 the only Northern urban areas in the top 10 will be New York and Los Angeles. It is likely that New York and Los Angeles will retain high Christian percentages because of their immigrant (both legal and illegal) populations. Most immigrants coming to the USA on both the east and west coasts are Christians (predominantly Roman Catholic) from Latin America (in particular, Mexico and Brazil). As the USA’s urban areas become increasingly secular and nonreligious (as is the pattern in 2010), immigrants from abroad will either keep the Christian population where it is in 2010 or cause it to rise. Such is the reality with countries so open to immigration; all demographics, not just religious, are affected. Many of the cities on the list of urban areas with the most Christians were nearly 100% Christian in 1910. Consequently, a quick glance on either of these pages shows two potential trends: (1) increasing secularisation – tan and brown, and (2) increasing religious diversity – all other colours.

100 cities with the most Christians, 2010

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Country Mexico Brazil USA Argentina Philippines Brazil USA Nigeria Russia Colombia Peru USA DR Congo Britain France Brazil Spain Chile Germany USA USA Spain South Korea Russia Canada

Population 20,688,000 19,582,000 20,009,000 13,067,000 11,799,000 12,170,000 12,738,000 13,717,000 10,967,000 8,416,000 7,590,000 9,186,000 7,526,000 8,607,000 9,856,000 5,941,000 5,977,000 5,982,000 6,694,000 5,615,000 5,739,000 4,998,000 9,554,000 5,365,000 5,737,000

32

12 88

53

84

65 48

7

3 20

28

26

90

40

91

38

82 79

Northern American Christian urban areas The USA has 20 of the 100 urban areas with the most Christians, the largest total of any country. Interestingly, New York (3), with the third-largest population of Christians in the world, is only 65% Christian.

21

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Key:

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Colour Per cent Christian 10

63

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ProvRelig_Christian Per

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76

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Size Approximate urban area population size This size equals about 10 million

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5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

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1910 Largest majority Christian cities City 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Country Population

LONDON New York PARIS BERLIN Chicago VIENNA Philadelphia BUENOS AIRES Ruhr Manchester

Britain USA France Germany USA Austria USA Argentina Germany Britain

6,958,000 5,405,000 3,854,000 2,966,000 2,300,000 1,739,000 1,654,000 1,464,000 1,406,000 1,425,000

0

50%

25

%

6,680,000 5,135,000 3,777,000 2,906,000 2,208,000 1,670,000 1,588,000 1,435,000 1,378,000 1,368,000

96.0 95.0 98.0 98.0 96.0 96.0 96.0 98.0 98.0 96.0

50

42

6

30 2 18

4

Latin American cities Latin America can claim the urban area with the largest Christian population, Mexico City (1), and five of the 10 largest urban populations of Christians.

1-25

Religions Adherents by percentage

Christians % 19,715,000 MEXICO 95.3 CITY 17,320,000 São 88.5 Paulo 13,006,000 65.0 New York-Newark 11,944,000BUENOS 91.4 AIRES 11,068,000 93.8 MANILA 10,953,000Rio de90.0 Janeiro 10,190,000 Los80.0 Angeles 9,766,000 71.2 Lagos 9,212,000 MOSCOW 84.0 7,827,000 93.0 BOGOTA 7,230,000 95.3 LIMA 7,165,000 78.0 Chicago 6,864,000 KINSHASA 91.2 6,111,000 71.0 LONDON 6,022,000 61.1 PARIS 5,347,000Belo Horizonte 90.0 5,319,000 89.0 MADRID 5,102,000 SANTIAGO 85.3 4,887,000 Rhine-Ruhr 73.0 4,660,000 Philadelphia 83.0 4,591,000 80.0 Miami 4,498,000 Barcelona 90.0 4,366,000 45.7 SEOUL 4,292,000 80.0 Saint Petersburg 4,274,000 74.5 Toronto

Christians

92 100

100into Cities by religion - Broken intoare 4 seperate gr Top 100 Cities by religion - Top Broken 4 seperate graphs which spread acro two pages via a table two pages via a table

1-25

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100 urban areas with the most Christians, 2010 Urban area MEXICO CITY São Paulo New York-Newark BUENOS AIRES MANILA Rio de Janeiro Los Angeles Lagos MOSCOW BOGOTA LIMA Chicago KINSHASA LONDON PARIS Belo Horizonte MADRID SANTIAGO Rhine-Ruhr Philadelphia Miami Barcelona SEOUL Saint Petersburg Toronto

25

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100%

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100

Urban area 26 Dallas-Fort MEXICO CITY Worth City São Paulo 27 Guadalajara York-Newark 28 New Atlanta BUENOS AIRES 29 Houston 30 PortoMANILA Alegre Rio de Janeiro 31 Monterrey Los Angeles 32 Boston Lagos 33 BRASILIA MOSCOW 34 Recife BOGOTA 35 Sydney LIMA 36 Fortaleza Chicago 37 Salvador KINSHASA 38 WASHINGTON, DC LONDON 39 Montreal PARIS 40 Detroit Belo Horizonte 41 Medellín MADRID 42 Curitiba SANTIAGO 43 ATHENS Rhine-Ruhr 44 LUANDA Philadelphia 45 NAIROBI 46 ADDISMiami ABABA Barcelona 47 Valencia SEOUL 48 Phoenix-Mesa Petersburg 49 Saint Johannesburg Toronto 50 CARACAS

26-50

26-50 Country USA Worth Dallas-Fort Mexico Guadalajara USAAtlanta USAHouston Brazil Porto Alegre Mexico Monterrey USABoston Brazil BRASILIA BrazilRecife Australia Sydney Brazil Fortaleza Brazil Salvador USA DC WASHINGTON, Canada Montreal USADetroit Colombia Medellín Brazil Curitiba Greece ATHENS Angola LUANDA Kenya NAIROBI Ethiopia ADDIS ABABA Venezuela Valencia USA Phoenix-Mesa South Africa Johannesburg CARACAS Venezuela

x

Population 4,976,000 City 4,237,000 4,682,000 4,596,000 4,096,000 3,914,000 4,585,000 3,938,000 3,830,000 4,540,000 3,598,000 3,695,000 4,451,000 3,787,000 4,192,000 3,304,000 3,320,000 3,248,000 3,303,000 3,326,000 3,407,000 3,090,000 3,677,000 3,574,000 2,988,000

25

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Religions Adherents by percentage

Christians % Dallas-Fort Worth 4,230,000 85.0 4,025,000CityGuadalajara 95.0 Atlanta 3,933,000 84.0 Houston 3,861,000 84.0 Alegre 3,727,000 Porto91.0 3,718,000 Monterrey 95.0 Boston 3,668,000 80.0 BRASILIA 3,505,000 89.0 Recife 3,447,000 90.0 Sydney 3,383,000 74.5 Fortaleza 3,382,000 94.0 Salvador 3,362,000 91.0 WASHINGTON, 3,339,000 75.0DC Montreal 3,295,000 87.0 Detroit 3,228,000 77.0 Medellín 3,171,000 96.0 Curitiba 3,121,000 94.0 ATHENS 3,019,000 93.0 LUANDA 3,015,000 91.3 NAIROBI 2,974,000 89.4 ABABA 2,940,000 ADDIS86.3 Valencia 2,939,000 95.1 2,905,000Phoenix-Mesa 79.0 2,873,000Johannesburg 80.4 2,812,000 CARACAS 94.1

Katowice CAPE TOWN San Francisco-Oakland ROME Campinas Cali SAN JUAN Guayaquil Melbourne ABIDJAN LISBON Ekurhuleni Maracaibo JAKARTA San Diego Shanghai Durban Milan PORT-AU-PRINCE Minneapolis-St Paul BERLIN Seattle KIEV SANTO DOMINGO ASUNCION x100% 50%

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Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is home to the urban areas in the largest 100 with two of the highest percentages of Christians on that continent – Bucharest (83) at 98% and Katowice (51) at 96.5%.

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97 19

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9 98

71

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68

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43 85 66

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52 59

 Key for religion bars below Top 100 Cities by religion - Broken seperate graphs which are spread across ies by religion - Broken into 4 seperate graphs whichinto are 4spread across Agnostic Christian Jain Sikh via a table via a table Atheist two pages Confucianist Jew Spiritist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

Zoroastrian

CO CITY o Paulo Newark S AIRES MANILA Janeiro Angeles Lagos OSCOW OGOTA LIMA hicago SHASA ONDON PARIS rizonte MADRID NTIAGO ne-Ruhr delphia Miami rcelona SEOUL ersburg Toronto x

Country Poland South Africa USA Italy Brazil Colombia Puerto Rico Ecuador Australia Ivory Coast Portugal South Africa Venezuela Indonesia USA China South Africa Italy Haiti USA Germany USA Ukraine Dominican Rep Paraguay

x in ALL CAPITALS are capital cities Cities listed 0

25

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100 25

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Population Dallas-Fort Worth 2,877,000 City 3,316,000 Guadalajara Atlanta 3,619,000 Houston 3,332,000 Porto Alegre 3,003,000 Monterrey 2,767,000 Boston 2,758,000 BRASILIA 2,709,000 Recife 3,796,000 Sydney 4,032,000 Fortaleza 2,890,000 Salvador 3,118,000 WASHINGTON, DC 2,639,000 Montreal 15,206,000 Detroit 2,994,000 Medellín 15,790,000 Curitiba 2,804,000 ATHENS 2,939,000 LUANDA 2,460,000 NAIROBI 2,688,000 ADDIS ABABA 3,389,000 Valencia 3,195,000 Phoenix-Mesa 2,738,000 Johannesburg 2,240,000 CARACAS 2,264,000

Christians % 2,776,000 Katowice 96.5 2,765,000 CAPE 83.4 TOWN 2,714,000 75.0 San Francisco-Oakland 2,666,000 80.0 ROME 2,656,000 Campinas 88.5 2,656,000 96.0Cali 2,637,000 SAN 95.6 JUAN 2,628,000 Guayaquil 97.0 2,623,000 Melbourne 69.1 2,540,000 63.0 ABIDJAN 2,520,000 87.2 LISBON 2,507,000 Ekurhuleni 80.4 2,483,000 Maracaibo 94.1 2,433,000 16.0 JAKARTA 2,395,000 San 80.0 Diego 2,368,000 Shanghai 15.0 2,336,000 83.3 Durban 2,333,000 79.4 Milan 2,326,000 94.6 PORT-AU-PRINCE 2,284,000 85.0 Minneapolis-St Paul 2,250,000 66.4 BERLIN 2,236,000 70.0 Seattle 2,163,000 79.0 KIEV 2,105,000 94.0 SANTO DOMINGO 2,083,000 ASUNCION 92.0

x

Religions Adherents by percentage

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76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

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76-100

Urban area Country Belem, Katowice Para Brazil Belem, Para City CAPE TOWN Mumbai India Bombay Goiania Brazil San Francisco-Oakland Goiania Tampa-StROME Petersburg USA Tampa-St Petersburg Barranquilla Colombia Campinas Barranquilla Stuttgart Cali Germany Stuttgart TijuanaSAN JUAN Mexico Tijuana Guayaquil BUCHAREST Romania BUCHAREST Melbourne St Louis USA St Louis Pusan ABIDJAN South Pusan Korea Manaus LISBON Brazil Manaus NaplesEkurhuleni Italy Naples Maracaibo Denver-Aurora USA Denver-Aurora VIENNAJAKARTA Austria VIENNA Diego CiudadSanJuárez CiudadMexico Juárez Shanghai Baltimore USA Baltimore Grande Durban Vitória GrandeBrazil Vitória Puebla Milan Mexico Puebla PORT-AU-PRINCE ACCRA Ghana ACCRA Minneapolis-St Paul Birmingham Britain Birmingham QUITO BERLIN Ecuador QUITO Seattle Manchester Britain Manchester WARSAW KIEV Poland WARSAW SANTOSALVADOR DOMINGO SAN El Salvador SAN SALVADOR ASUNCION Baixada Santista Baixada Brazil Santista

x

Population 2,335,000 City 20,036,000 2,189,000 2,383,000 2,042,000 2,710,000 2,003,000 1,941,000 2,254,000 3,529,000 1,898,000 2,251,000 2,389,000 2,352,000 1,841,000 2,316,000 1,829,000 1,801,000 2,321,000 2,279,000 1,680,000 2,223,000 1,686,000 1,662,000 1,810,000

25

50

City

x 0%

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Religions Adherents by percentage

Christians % 2,078,000 Belem, 89.0 Para City 2,004,000 10.0 Bombay 1,992,000 91.0 Goiania Tampa-St Petersburg 1,977,000 83.0 1,961,000 Barranquilla 96.0 Stuttgart 1,924,000 71.0 Tijuana 1,903,000 95.0 1,902,000 BUCHAREST 98.0 St Louis 1,871,000 83.0 Pusan 1,835,000 52.0 Manaus 1,803,000 95.0 Naples 1,801,000 80.0 1,792,000Denver-Aurora 75.0 VIENNA 1,771,000 75.3 Juárez 1,749,000Ciudad 95.0 1,737,000 Baltimore 75.0 Vitória 1,737,000Grande95.0 Puebla 1,711,000 95.0 ACCRA 1,683,000 72.5 1,641,000 Birmingham 72.0 QUITO 1,630,000 97.0 1,623,000 Manchester 73.0 1,606,000 WARSAW 95.3 1,604,000SAN SALVADOR 96.5 Baixada88.5 Santista 1,601,000

0 75 25 100 50

75

100

CHRISTIANITY IN CITIES

Urban area 51 Dallas-Fort Katowice Worth City 52 CAPE TOWN Guadalajara 53 San Francisco-Oakland Atlanta 54 ROME Houston 55 Campinas Porto Alegre 56 CaliMonterrey 57 SAN Boston JUAN 58 Guayaquil BRASILIA 59 Melbourne Recife 60 Abidjan Sydney 61 LISBON Fortaleza 62 Ekurhuleni Salvador 63WASHINGTON, Maracaibo DC 64 JAKARTA Montreal 65 San Diego Detroit 66 Shanghai Medellín 67 Durban Curitiba 68 Milan ATHENS 69 PORT-AU-PRINCE LUANDA 70 Minneapolis-St Paul NAIROBI 71 BERLIN ADDIS ABABA 72 Seattle Valencia 73 KIEV Phoenix-Mesa 74 SANTO JohannesburgDOMINGO 75 ASUNCION CARACAS

51-75

51-75

1-25 100 urban areas with the most Christians, 2010 (continued) 26-50 26-50

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243

Christianity in cities in Africa

T

he continent of Africa did not have any major urban areas until 1900. In 1900 Africa’s two mega-cities (cities with one million to four million people) were 6.7% of the global population. By 2010, Africa has 48 mega-cities, four super-cities (four million to ten million people) and two giant-cities (over 10 million people) all grown out of the twentieth century. In 2010 Africa’s 50 largest urban areas are 13% of the continent’s population and contain 14% of Africa’s Christians. One striking feature of the graphics in our list of 50 largest urban areas is the alternating blue and green bars – illustrating the Christian and Muslim majority cities on the continent. This parallels the geography of majority religions shown on the map on page 7. Christianity’s global shift to the south over the past 100 years is most evident in Africa, including its urban areas. The map on the opposite page portrays the continent’s largest urban areas (by size of the circle) and percentage Christian (by colour gradient). Most of Africa’s largest Christian urban areas in 2010 are south of the Sahara; only three are in Northern Africa. This follows the pattern that most of Africa’s Christians are found in subSaharan areas, and no longer in the north as they were in early Christianity, even up to 1910. In general, Southern and Western Africa have greater Christian percentages in the cities than do Eastern and Northern Africa. Lagos is the African urban area with the most Christians (9.8 million, or 71%). Although Lagos has the most Christians by population, however, many other urban areas have higher percentages, upwards to almost 100%. Kolwezi, Lubumbashi and Mbuji-Maki – all in DR Congo – are over 96% Christian, the highest percentages among the largest African cities. In fact, DR Congo has six urban areas on the list of cities with the most Christians, each having over a 90% Christian population. This reflects the 95% Christian majority in DR Congo. Many of Africa’s largest urban areas are also at least 50% Christian, a sharp distinction from 1910. Thirtythree of the 50 largest African urban areas are majority Christian, including Lagos, Kinshasa, Johannesburg, Addis Ababa and Nairobi. Christians are the largest single group of religious adherents (46%) in one other city (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania). The other urban areas at the top of the list are majority Muslim. Continued growth means that future lists of Africa’s largest urban areas likely will continue to feature both Christian-majority and Muslimmajority urban areas.

q Percentage of total population in urban areas, 2010

Urbanisation, 2010 Urban Population Dwellers 1,032,012,000 412,253,000 332,107,000 78,853,000 129,583,000 55,617,000 206,295,000 107,342,000 56,592,000 33,263,000 307,436,000 137,178,000

Africa Eastern Africa Middle Africa Northern Africa Southern Africa Western Africa

u Africa’s urban situation Africa has seen a huge increase of urban areas during the twentieth century. In 1910 only 4% of Africa’s population were urban dwellers; by 2010 this percentage had surged to 40%, still relatively small in comparison to other continents. Middle Africa has seen the largest urban growth over the past decade at a rate of 4.35% per year (also the most Christian growth – see the pages on Middle Africa in Part III). Southern Africa is the most urban region of Africa (58.8%), probably due to the early development of South Africa – seven of South Africa’s urban areas have over one million people, and three are over three million (Johannesburg, Cape Town and Ekurhuleni). Eastern Africa remains the least urbanised by a large percentage gap.

%UrbanPct2010_World urban

Rate* % 2000–2010 39.9 3.40 23.7 3.98 42.9 4.35 52.0 2.43 58.8 1.74 44.6 3.97

100 80 60 40 20 0

 Urban growth rate, 2000–2010

UrbanGrPct_2000_2010_World Rate*

22 10 4 2 0 -2

q Percentage of all Christians living in urban areas, 2010

Urban Christians, 2010 Christians 494,668,000 214,842,000 105,830,000 17,492,000 46,419,000 110,084,000

Africa Eastern Africa Middle Africa Northern Africa Southern Africa Western Africa

% urban ACUrbanPct2010_World Christians

Urban Christians Rate* Dwellers % 2000–2010 182,514,000 36.9 3.99 48,590,000 22.6 4.22 45,438,000 42.9 4.43 7,787,000 44.5 2.52 27,140,000 58.5 1.73 53,559,000 48.7 4.73

u Africa’s Christian urban situation In 2010 Africa’s cities are 44.3% Christian. The most urban Christian region in Africa is, not surprisingly, Southern Africa. Other countries with high percentages of urban Christians are Morocco, Algeria, Somaliland and Gabon. Casablanca, Morocco (3.3 million people) is 0.9% Christian. Likewise, Algiers, Algeria (4.4 million) is 0.7% Christian. Each of these large Northern African urban areas is between 39% and 46% evangelised. It is also likely that there is increased personal contact between the Muslim majority and Christian minorities in such cities. In the past 10 years the urban Christian growth rate has expanded in much of sub-Saharan Africa, alongside the increased general Christian population.

100 80 60 40 20 0

 Urban Christian growth rate, 2000–2010

UrbanGrPct_2000_2010_World Rate*

22

Religions Religions in Africaof Larget 25 Cities in Africa 10 of Larget 25 Cities

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Urban area Lagos CAIRO KINSHASA KHARTOUM Alexandria Abidjan ALGIERS Johannesburg ADDIS ABABA Kano NAIROBI CAPE TOWN LUANDA Casablanca Dar es Salaam Ekurhuleni Durban Ibadan DAKAR TRIPOLI ACCRA TUNIS Douala ANTANANARIVO Kumasi

Country Nigeria Egypt DR Congo Sudan Egypt Ivory Coast Algeria South Africa Ethiopia Nigeria Kenya South Africa Angola Morocco Tanzania South Africa South Africa Nigeria Senegal Libya Ghana Tunisia Cameroon Madagascar Ghana

Population 13,717,000 12,041,000 7,526,000 5,178,000 4,109,000 4,032,000 3,576,000 3,574,000 3,407,000 3,405,000 3,326,000 3,316,000 3,303,000 3,294,000 3,260,000 3,118,000 2,804,000 2,742,000 2,478,000 2,326,000 2,321,000 2,244,000 2,076,000 1,853,000 1,818,000

Religions Largest % Adherents by percentage Christians 71.2 Lagos Muslims 87.0 CAIRO Christians KINSHASA 91.2 Muslims KHARTOUM 77.0 Muslims Alexandria 82.0 Christians 63.0 ABIDJAN Muslims 96.0 ALGIERS ChristiansJohannesburg 80.4 Christians ADDIS86.3 ABABA Muslims 91.0 Kano Christians 89.4 NAIROBI Christians CAPE 83.4 TOWN Christians 91.3 LUANDA Muslims Casablanca 97.0 Christians DAR ES46.0 SALAAM Christians Ekurhuleni 80.4 Christians 83.3 Durban Christians 50.0 Ibadan Muslims 89.0 DAKAR Muslims 94.0 TRIPOLI Christians 72.5 ACCRA Muslims 96.0 TUNIS Christians 58.1 Douala Christians 60.5 ANTANANARIVO Christians 79.0 Kumasi

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates

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50 largest urban areas in Africa by total population, 2010

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26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Urban area RABATLagos City CAIRO YAOUNDÉ KINSHASA BAMAKO KHARTOUM CONAKRY Alexandria HARARE ABIDJAN LOMÉ ALGIERS KAMPALA Johannesburg Kolwezi ADDIS ABABA MAPUTO Kano Kaduna NAIROBI MOGADISHU CAPE TOWN Lubumbashi LUANDA LUSAKA Casablanca PRETORIA DAR ES SALAAM BRAZZAVILLE Ekurhuleni Mbuji-Mayi Durban Banghazi BeninIbadan City DAKAR OUAGADOUGOU TRIPOLI KIGALI ACCRA MONROVIA TUNIS Vereeniging Douala Port Harcourt ANTANANARIVO N’DJAMENA Kumasi Ogbomosho

26-50

26-50 Country Morocco RABAT Cameroon YAOUNDÉ Mali BAMAKO Guinea CONAKRY Zimbabwe HARARE TogoLOMÉ Uganda KAMPALA DR Kolwezi Congo Mozambique MAPUTO Nigeria Kaduna Somalia MOGADISHU DR Congo Lubumbashi Zambia LUSAKA South PRETORIAAfrica Congo BRAZZAVILLE DR Congo Mbuji-Mayi Libya Banghazi Nigeria Benin City Burkina Faso OUAGADOUGOU Rwanda KIGALI Liberia MONROVIA South VereenigingAfrica Nigeria Port Harcourt Chad N’DJAMENA Ogbomosho Nigeria

x

Population 1,808,000 City 1,760,000 1,700,000 1,669,000 1,650,000 1,639,000 1,612,000 1,599,000 1,586,000 1,566,000 1,545,000 1,484,000 1,408,000 1,392,000 1,390,000 1,291,000 1,273,000 1,203,000 1,170,000 1,146,000 1,129,000 1,113,000 1,108,000 1,097,000 1,089,000

Religions Largest % Adherents by percentage RABAT Muslims 99.0 ChristiansCity YAOUNDÉ 64.4 BAMAKO Muslims 89.0 Muslims CONAKRY 62.0 HARARE Christians 68.3 LOMÉ Christians 57.0 Christians KAMPALA 69.5 Kolwezi Christians 96.5 MAPUTO Christians 66.0 Kaduna Muslims 50.0 Muslims MOGADISHU 96.0 Christians Lubumbashi 96.5 LUSAKA Christians 82.5 Christians PRETORIA 80.4 Christians BRAZZAVILLE 87.0 Christians Mbuji-Mayi 96.5 Muslims Banghazi 97.0 Christians Benin 79.0City OUAGADOUGOU Christians 57.4 KIGALI Christians 77.0 Christians MONROVIA 66.0 Christians Vereeniging 80.4 Harcourt Christians Port 60.0 Muslims N’DJAMENA 41.0 Christians Ogbomosho 50.0

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50 cities in Africa with the most Christians, 2010

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ProvRelig_Christian Per

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Note: Circles for populations less than 1 million are not to scale

44 21

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cent Christian

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5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 26

Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Jain Jew Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

Sikh Spiritist Zoroastrian

Religions Religions of Larget 25 Christian CitiesofinLarget Africa25 Christian Citie 10

Country Nigeria DR Congo Angola Kenya Ethiopia South Africa South Africa Ivory Coast South Africa South Africa Ghana DR Congo Tanzania Ghana DR Congo Nigeria DR Congo Congo Cameroon Egypt Zambia Cameroon Zimbabwe Madagascar Uganda

Cities listed in ALL CAPITALS are capital cities

Population 13,717,000 7,526,000 3,303,000 3,326,000 3,407,000 3,574,000 3,316,000 4,032,000 3,118,000 2,804,000 2,321,000 1,599,000 3,260,000 1,818,000 1,484,000 2,742,000 1,291,000 1,390,000 2,076,000 12,041,000 1,408,000 1,760,000 1,650,000 1,853,000 1,612,000

33

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50 urban areas in Africa with the most Christians, 2010 Urban area Lagos KINSHASA LUANDA NAIROBI ADDIS ABABA Johannesburg CAPE TOWN ABIDJAN Ekurhuleni Durban ACCRA Kolwezi DAR ES SALAAM Kumasi Lubumbashi Ibadan Mbuji-Mayi BRAZZAVILLE Douala CAIRO LUSAKA YAOUNDÉ HARARE ANTANANARIVO KAMPALA

27

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Religions Adherents by percentage

Christians % 9,766,000 71.2 Lagos 6,864,000 KINSHASA 91.2 3,015,000 91.3 LUANDA 2,974,000 89.4 NAIROBI 2,940,000ADDIS86.3 ABABA 2,873,000Johannesburg 80.4 2,765,000 CAPE 83.4 TOWN 2,540,000 63.0 ABIDJAN 2,507,000 Ekurhuleni 80.4 2,336,000 83.3 Durban 1,683,000 72.5 ACCRA 1,543,000 96.5 Kolwezi 1,500,000 DAR ES46.0 SALAAM 1,436,000 79.0 Kumasi 1,432,000 Lubumbashi 96.5 1,371,000 50.0 Ibadan 1,246,000 Mbuji-Mayi 96.5 1,208,000 BRAZZAVILLE 87.0 1,206,000 58.1 Douala 1,204,000 10.0 CAIRO 1,162,000 82.5 LUSAKA 1,133,000 YAOUNDÉ 64.4 1,127,000 68.3 HARARE 1,121,000 60.5 ANTANANARIVO 1,121,000 KAMPALA 69.5

26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

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Urban area PRETORIA Lagos City KINSHASA MAPUTO LUANDA KHARTOUM NAIROBI Benin City ADDIS ABABA LOMÉ Johannesburg Vereeniging CAPE TOWN KIGALI PortABIDJAN Elizabeth Ekurhuleni MONROVIA Durban BANGUI ACCRA Kananga Kolwezi LIBREVILLE DAR ES SALAAM OUAGADOUGOU Aba Kumasi Lubumbashi Port Harcourt Ibadan Kisangani Mbuji-Mayi Blantyre-Limbe BRAZZAVILLE Alexandria Douala LILONGWE CAIRO Pointe-Noire LUSAKA Kaduna YAOUNDÉ Ogbomosho HARARE Enugu ANTANANARIVO Mombasa KAMPALA Warri

26-50

26-50 Country Population South 1,392,000 PRETORIAAfrica City 1,586,000 Mozambique MAPUTO Sudan 5,178,000 KHARTOUM Nigeria 1,203,000 Benin City TogoLOMÉ 1,639,000 South 1,113,000 VereenigingAfrica Rwanda 1,146,000 KIGALI South 1,040,000 Port ElizabethAfrica Liberia 1,129,000 MONROVIA Central 945,000 BANGUIAfrican Rep DRKananga Congo 767,000 Gabon 771,000 LIBREVILLE Burkina Faso 1,170,000 OUAGADOUGOU Nigeria 878,000 Aba Nigeria 1,108,000 Port Harcourt DRKisangani Congo 712,000 Malawi 752,000 Blantyre-Limbe Egypt 4,109,000 Alexandria Malawi 686,000 LILONGWE Congo 658,000 Pointe-Noire Nigeria 1,566,000 Kaduna Nigeria 1,089,000 Ogbomosho Nigeria 716,000 Enugu Kenya 974,000 Mombasa Warri Nigeria 637,000

x

Christians % 1,119,000 PRETORIA 80.4 MAPUTO 1,047,000City 66.0 1,036,000 KHARTOUM 20.0 City 951,000 Benin 79.0 LOMÉ 934,000 57.0 895,000 Vereeniging 80.4 KIGALI 882,000 77.0 850,000 Port Elizabeth 81.8 745,000 MONROVIA 66.0 BANGUI 709,000 75.0 Kananga 692,000 90.2 683,000 LIBREVILLE 88.6 OUAGADOUGOU 671,000 57.4 Aba 669,000 76.2 Harcourt 665,000 Port 60.0 642,000 Kisangani 90.2 631,000Blantyre-Limbe 83.9 616,000 Alexandria 15.0 569,000 LILONGWE 83.0 559,000 Pointe-Noire 85.0 Kaduna 548,000 35.0 545,000 Ogbomosho 50.0 Enugu 531,000 74.2 508,000 Mombasa 52.1 Warri 485,000 76.2

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CHRISTIANITY IN CITIES, AFRICA

Agnostic Atheist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

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 Key for religion bars below

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Christianity in cities in Asia

A

sia’s five largest urban areas are among the eight largest urban areas in the world. While these urban areas have many Christians, the percentages of Christians within them are low. For example, Tokyo is the largest urban area in the world and the ninth-largest Christian urban area in Asia, but it is only 3% Christian. Fewer than half of the 50 largest Asian urban areas appear on the list of largest Christian urban areas in Asia. This is due in part to the presence of the centres of other major religions such as Hinduism (India), Buddhism (China, Japan) and Islam (Indonesia). Asia is also home to 43% of the world’s cities over 50,000 population. In addition, 42.7% of Asians live in urban areas, and this percentage is likely to increase to well over 50% in the twenty-first century. It is likely that in AD 2025 Tokyo will continue as the world’s largest urban centre and will remain predominantly Buddhist. Many cities in China, South Korea and the Philippines appear on the list with the most Christians. China has the highest total, with 16 listed. This has more to do with the large populations of these urban areas than with a large percentage of Christians in any of them. For example, Beijing, China’s capital since 1272, has a population of almost 12 million people, yet it is only 8% Christian. South Korea has 11 of the largest urban areas in Asia with the most Christians, ranging in percentage from 40.7% (Koyang) to 57.0% (Songnam). Seoul has the second-largest population of Christians in Asia with 4.4 million, representing 45.7% of the urban area’s population. The Christian population in this country is very active, and South Korea is now a major missionarysending country. While the Philippines has only seven urban areas on the list of largest Christian cities, most boast a relatively high percentage of Christians. This is due in large part to the fact that the Philippines was ruled by Roman Catholic Spain for over 300 years, and Spanish rulers were very active in converting the local population to Christianity. Manila, the largest Christian urban area in Asia and the fifth-largest Christian urban area in the world, is 94% Christian. The Asian urban area with the largest percentage of Christians is also found in the Philippines: Iloilo (97%). While Christianity is growing in some Asian countries, it is still under persecution in others such as Viet Nam (represented here with two major Christian urban areas) and Cambodia (not represented on this list), in which Christianity underwent major persecution by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. Western Asia, the birthplace of Christianity, has only four of the 50 urban areas with the most Christians. Riyadh is also the only city on the Asia list in which most Christians are foreigners (mainly Filipinos).

u Asia’s urban situation Asia has averaged an over-all annual urban growth rate of 2.55%. Extremely large urban areas such as Tokyo (35.5 million) and Mumbai (20.0 million) have kept the urban growth rate steady as cities in other countries continue to develop more rapidly. Western Asia, in particular Saudi Arabia, has seen great urban growth over the past decade. This is due largely to governments opening up to technological advancements. South-central Asia has the lowest urban percentage (32.2%), though it is also the poorest region. It is staggering to note that over 1.7 billion people in Asia are urban dwellers.

Urban area TOKYO Mumbai Delhi Shanghai Kolkata JAKARTA DHAKA Karachi MANILA BEIJING Osaka-Kobe Istanbul SEOUL Guangzhou Shenzhen TEHRAN Chennai Wuhan Tianjin Hong Kong Bangaluru Lahore BANGKOK Hyderabad Chongqing

Country Japan India India China India Indonesia Bangladesh Pakistan Philippines China Japan Turkey South Korea China China Iran India China China China India Pakistan Thailand India China

Population Largest 35,467,000 Buddhists 20,036,000 Hindus 16,983,000 Hindus 15,790,000 Chinese folk 15,548,000 Hindus 15,206,000 Muslims 14,625,000 Muslims 13,252,000 Muslims 11,799,000 Christians 11,741,000 Agnostics 11,305,000 Buddhists 10,546,000 Muslims 9,554,000 Christians 9,447,000 Agnostics 8,114,000 Agnostics 7,807,000 Muslims 7,545,000 Hindus 7,542,000 Agnostics 7,468,000 Agnostics 7,416,000 Agnostics 7,216,000 Hindus 7,201,000 Muslims 6,963,000 Buddhists 6,749,000 Hindus 6,690,000 Agnostics

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates

246

%UrbanPct2010_World urban 100 80 60 40 20 0

Urban growth rate, 2000–2010

UrbanGrPct_2000_2010_World Rate*

Urbanisation, 2010

22 10 4 2 0 -2

Asia’s Christian urban situation In 1910 most of Asia’s cities had virtually no Christians, but in 2010 almost half of Asia’s Christians are urban dwellers. It is likely that this percentage will grow as a result of migration of Christians and conversions, although perhaps slowly. Contrasts between regions are great: while 67% of Western Asia’s Christians live in urban areas, the figure is almost a mirror image (69% non-urban) for South-central Asia. Christians are noticeably more urban than the general population in South-eastern Asia.

Asia Eastern Asia South-central Asia South-eastern Asia Western Asia

Urban Population Dwellers 4,166,308,000 1,777,784,000 1,562,575,000 764,927,000 1,777,378,000 572,382,000 594,216,000 286,632,000 232,139,000 153,842,000

Rate* % 2000–2010 42.7 2.55 49.0 2.35 32.2 2.50 48.2 3.33 66.3 2.30

 Percentage of all Christians living in urban areas, 2010

% urban ACUrbanPct2010_World Christians 100 80 60 40 20 0

 Urban Christian growth rate, 2000–2010

UrbanGrPct_2000_2010_World Rate*

Urban Christians, 2010

22 10 4 2 0 -2

Asia Eastern Asia South-central Asia South-eastern Asia Western Asia

Urban Christians Christians Dwellers % 352,239,000 179,939,000 51.1 140,012,000 71,808,000 51.3 69,213,000 21,528,000 31.1 129,700,000 77,723,000 59.9 13,315,000 8,880,000 66.7

Rate* 2000–2010 2.67 2.19 2.11 3.48 1.17

Religions of Larget 25 CitiesReligions in Asia of Larget 25 Cities in A

1-25

1-25

50 largest urban areas in Asia by total population, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

 Percentage of total population in urban areas, 2010

Religions % Adherents by percentage 56.0 TOKYO 69.0 Bombay 78.0 Delhi 30.0 Shanghai 69.0 Calcutta 65.0 JAKARTA 90.0 DHAKA 93.0 Karachi 93.8 MANILA 36.0 BEIJING 55.0 Osaka-Kobe 95.0 Istanbul 45.7 SEOUL 36.0 Guangzhou 35.0 Shenzhen 95.0 TEHRAN 83.0 Madras 36.0 Wuhan 38.0 Tianjin 37.0 Hong Kong 76.0 Bangalore 97.0 Lahore 78.0 BANGKOK 83.0 Hyderabad 38.0 Chongqing

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26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Urban area BAGHDAD TOKYO City Bombay Ahmadabad Ho ChiDelhi Minh City Shanghai Pune Calcutta Shenyang JAKARTA Chittagong DHAKA RIYADH Karachi Dongguan MANILA Bandung BEIJING HANOI Osaka-Kobe YANGON Istanbul SINGAPORE SEOUL Chengdu Guangzhou Xi'an Shenzhen Surat TEHRAN Harbin Madras Guiyang Wuhan ANKARA Tianjin Nanjing Hong Kong KABUL Bangalore Pusan Lahore Surabaya BANGKOK PYONGYANG Hyderabad Changchun Chongqing Kanpur

26-50

26-50 Country Iraq BAGHDAD India Ahmadabad HoViet Chi MinhNam City IndiaPoona China Shenyang Bangladesh Chittagong Saudi Arabia RIYADH China Dongguan Indonesia Bandung Viet HANOI Nam Myanmar YANGON Singapore SINGAPORE China Chengdu ChinaXi'an IndiaSurat China Harbin China Guiyang Turkey ANKARA China Nanjing Afghanistan KABUL South PusanKorea Indonesia Surabaya North Korea PYONGYANG China Changchun Kanpur India

x

Population 6,593,000 City 5,716,000 5,698,000 5,000,000 4,952,000 4,914,000 4,863,000 4,850,000 4,786,000 4,703,000 4,635,000 4,590,000 4,266,000 4,178,000 4,166,000 4,003,000 3,980,000 3,914,000 3,813,000 3,753,000 3,529,000 3,473,000 3,439,000 3,400,000 3,363,000

Religions Largest % Adherents by percentage Muslims BAGHDAD 93.0 HindusCityAhmadabad 86.0 Ho Chi Minh City Buddhists 43.0 Poona Hindus 75.0 Agnostics Shenyang 40.0 Muslims Chittagong 88.0 RIYADH Muslims 85.0 Agnostics Dongguan 36.0 Bandung Muslims 84.0 HANOI Buddhists 43.0 YANGON Buddhists 74.0 Chinese folk SINGAPORE 40.0 Agnostics Chengdu 39.0 Xi'an Agnostics 32.0 Surat Hindus 87.0 Harbin Agnostics 34.0 Guiyang Agnostics 38.0 ANKARA Muslims 100.0 Nanjing Chinese folk 32.0 KABUL Muslims 98.0 Pusan Christians 52.0 Muslims Surabaya 83.0 Agnostics PYONGYANG 56.0 Agnostics Changchun 35.0 Kanpur Hindus 76.0

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50 cities in Asia with the most Christians, 2010

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5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 Key: Colour Per cent Christian

 Key for religion bars below Agnostic Atheist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Jain Jew Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

51 CitiesofinLarget Religions Religions of Larget 25 Christian Asia 25 Christian Cities in Asia

Sikh Spiritist Zoroastrian

This size equals about 5 million

Number Corresponds to number in the table below

Country Philippines South Korea Indonesia China India South Korea South Korea South Korea Japan China China Georgia Armenia Philippines Philippines Viet Nam Indonesia South Korea India South Korea Singapore South Korea Philippines Lebanon South Korea

Cities listed in ALL CAPITALS are capital cities

Religions Adherents by percentage

Population Christians % 11,799,000 11,068,000 93.8 MANILA 9,554,000 4,366,000 45.7 SEOUL 15,206,000 2,433,000 16.0 JAKARTA 15,790,000 2,368,000 Shanghai 15.0 20,036,000 2,004,000 10.0 Bombay 3,529,000 1,835,000 52.0 Pusan 2,695,000 1,482,000 55.0 Incheon 2,538,000 1,142,000 45.0 Taegu 35,467,000 1,064,000 3.0 TOKYO 7,416,000 1,001,000 Hong 13.5 Kong 11,741,000 939,000 BEIJING 8.0 1,024,000 907,000 88.6 TBILISI 1,102,000 904,000 YEREVAN 82.0 902,000 866,000 96.0 Cebu 1,511,000 846,000 56.0 Davao 5,698,000 798,000 14.0 Ho Chi Minh City 2,661,000 798,000 30.0 Medan 1,483,000 756,000 51.0 Kwangju 7,545,000 755,000 10.0 Madras 1,500,000 735,000 49.0 Taejon 4,590,000 721,000 SINGAPORE 15.7 1,228,000 687,000 56.0 Suwon 671,000 644,000 96.0 Bacolod 1,941,000 602,000 31.0 BEIRUT 1,256,000 590,000 47.0 Changwon-Masan

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Urban area 26 KochiMANILA City SEOUL 27 Shenzhen JAKARTA 28 Songnam Shanghai 29 Bangaluru 30 IloiloBombay Pusan 31 Wenzhou Incheon 32 Hangzhou 33 UlsanTaegu TOKYO 34 Koyang Hong Kong 35 Guangzhou BEIJING 36 HANOI TBILISI 37 Zhengzhou YEREVAN 38 Wuhan Cebu 39 Fuzhou Davao 40 Manado Chi Minh City 41 Ho Harbin Medan 42 Taiyuan Kwangju 43 Nanjing Madras 44 Osaka-Kobe Taejon de Oro 45 Cagayan SINGAPORE 46 Chongqing Suwon 47 RIYADH 48 Xi'anBacolod BEIRUT 49 Angeles 50 Changwon-Masan Xiamen

Country IndiaCochin China Shenzhen South SongnamKorea India Bangalore Philippines Iloilo China Wenzhou China Hangzhou South UlsanKorea South KoyangKorea China Guangzhou Viet HANOI Nam China Zhengzhou China Wuhan China Fuzhou Indonesia Manado China Harbin China Taiyuan China Nanjing Japan Osaka-Kobe Philippines Cagayan de Oro China Chongqing Saudi Arabia RIYADH ChinaXi'an Philippines Angeles Xiamen China

x

Population 1,609,000 City 8,114,000 981,000 7,216,000 558,000 2,556,000 3,269,000 1,084,000 1,183,000 9,447,000 4,703,000 2,738,000 7,542,000 2,834,000 503,000 4,003,000 3,104,000 3,813,000 11,305,000 522,000 6,690,000 4,863,000 4,178,000 390,000 2,739,000

Christians % Cochin 587,000 36.5 568,000City Shenzhen 7.0 559,000 Songnam 57.0 542,000 Bangalore 7.5 Iloilo 541,000 97.0 537,000 Wenzhou 21.0 523,000 Hangzhou 16.0 Ulsan 499,000 46.0 Koyang 482,000 40.7 472,000 Guangzhou 5.0 HANOI 470,000 10.0 466,000 Zhengzhou 17.0 Wuhan 453,000 6.0 Fuzhou 453,000 16.0 Manado 453,000 90.0 Harbin 440,000 11.0 Taiyuan 435,000 14.0 Nanjing 419,000 11.0 407,000 Osaka-Kobe 3.6 de Oro 407,000Cagayan78.0 401,000 Chongqing 6.0 RIYADH 389,000 8.0 Xi'an 376,000 9.0 Angeles 363,000 93.0 Xiamen 356,000 13.0

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Urban area MANILA SEOUL JAKARTA Shanghai Mumbai Pusan Incheon Taegu TOKYO Hong Kong BEIJING TBILISI YEREVAN Cebu Davao Ho Chi Minh City Medan Kwangju Chennai Taejon SINGAPORE Suwon Bacolod BEIRUT Changwon-Masan

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50 urban areas in Asia with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Size Approximate urban area population size

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Christianity in cities in Europe

D

espite dramatic religious demographic changes during the past 100 years (mainly the rise of atheists and agnostics), Europe remains home to large Christian populations. In 2010, 73% of Europeans live in urban areas. Seventy-two per cent of these urbanites adhere to Christianity. Forty-nine of the 50 largest European urban areas have Christian majorities. Northern Europe has an astounding 84% of its population living in urban areas, much higher than the percentage for the continent and the highest of all European regions. Even more surprising is that 84% of these people are affiliated Christians, again the highest percentage of affiliated urban Christians in all of Europe. Russia has eight of the largest urban areas in Europe, and seven of these appear on the list of the urban areas with the most Christians. Moscow, the largest European urban area, also has the largest number of Christians (9.2 million). Despite persecution of the Orthodox Church by the secular Communist regime from the 1917 revolution through the late 1980s, the percentages of Christians in most of Russia’s largest cities exceed the figure for Europe as a whole. Germany has eight of the urban areas in Europe with both the most people and the most Christians. The percentages of Christians in large urban areas in Germany range from 66% in Berlin, which has the largest number of Christians in the country, to 76% in Hanover. All five of Britain’s largest urban areas are also among those with the most Christians. London, the urban area with the second-largest Christian population in Europe, also has the lowest percentage among British cities (71%). Glasgow, Scotland, has a much higher Christian percentage (82%) than any of the English cities on the list. The highest concentrations of Christians in large European cities are found in Romania and Poland. All three Polish urban areas on the list of the largest Christian urban areas are over 90% Christian: Katowice (97%), Warsaw (95%) and Gdansk (97%). This is due in part to the intertwining of Poland’s national identity with the Roman Catholic faith. Parts of Southern Europe, such as Spain, have high percentages of Christians, which are reflected in the concentrations of urban Christians. Spain has only two urban areas on the list of the largest in Europe, Madrid (89%) and Barcelona (90%), but both of them rank among the ten largest Christian urban areas. Italy has four urban areas on each list, all over 75%: Rome (80%), Milan (79%) Naples (80%) and Turin (80%). The secularisation of Europe is apparent in the lists below as what were solid blue bars (nearly 100% Christian in 1910) now have significant minorities of agnostics and atheists. Other colours in the bars indicate the increasing presence of other religionists in Europe’s cities.

Urban area MOSCOW PARIS LONDON Rhine-Ruhr MADRID Saint Petersburg Barcelona BERLIN ROME ATHENS Milan LISBON Katowice KIEV Stuttgart VIENNA Birmingham Naples Manchester BUCHAREST MINSK Hamburg STOCKHOLM WARSAW BUDAPEST

Country Russia France Britain Germany Spain Russia Spain Germany Italy Greece Italy Portugal Poland Ukraine Germany Austria Britain Italy Britain Romania Belarus Germany Sweden Poland Hungary

Population 10,967,000 9,856,000 8,607,000 6,694,000 5,977,000 5,365,000 4,998,000 3,389,000 3,332,000 3,248,000 2,939,000 2,890,000 2,877,000 2,738,000 2,710,000 2,352,000 2,279,000 2,251,000 2,223,000 1,941,000 1,875,000 1,752,000 1,745,000 1,686,000 1,664,000

248

100 80 60 40 20 0

Urbanisation, 2010

UrbanGrPct_2000_2010_World Rate*

22 10 4 2 0 -2

Europe Eastern Europe Northern Europe Southern Europe Western Europe

Population 730,478,000 290,755,000 98,352,000 152,913,000 188,457,000

Urban Dwellers 530,232,000 198,951,000 83,026,000 103,199,000 145,056,000

Rate* % 2000–2010 72.6 0.19 68.4 -0.45 84.4 0.53 67.5 0.80 77.0 0.48

Percentage of all Christians living in urban areas, 2010

u Europe’s Christian urban situation Europe’s urban areas have always been predominantly Christian, following the over-all trend of the continent. Even as urban populations grow faster than the continental and regional averages, however, the urban Christian populations grow more slowly. Europe’s cities are less Christian now than in 1910, the result of secularisation among natives as well as the arrival of non-Christian immigrants from current and former colonies over the century.

% urban ACUrbanPct2010_World Christians 100 80 60 40 20 0

 Urban Christian growth rate, 2000–2010

Urban Christians, 2010

UrbanGrPct_2000_2010_World Rate*

22 10 4 2 0 -2

Europe Eastern Europe Northern Europe Southern Europe Western Europe

1-25

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Urban Christians Rate* Christians Dwellers % 2000–2010 585,739,000 423,426,000 72.3 0.17 246,495,000 167,446,000 67.9 -0.44 79,610,000 66,911,000 84.0 0.56 125,796,000 85,973,000 68.3 0.79 133,838,000 103,096,000 77.0 0.45

of Larget 25 Cities in Euro Religions of Larget 25 CitiesReligions in Europe

Religions Largest % Adherents by percentage Christians MOSCOW 84.0 Christians 61.1 PARIS Christians LONDON 71.0 Christians Rhine-Ruhr 73.0 Christians 89.0 MADRID Christians 80.0 Saint Petersburg Christians Barcelona 90.0 Christians 66.4 BERLIN Christians 80.0 ROME Christians 93.0 ATHENS Christians 79.4 Milan Christians 87.2 LISBON Christians Katowice 96.5 Christians 79.0 KIEV Christians 71.0 Stuttgart Christians 75.3 VIENNA Christians Birmingham 72.0 Christians 80.0 Naples Christians Manchester 73.0 Christians BUCHAREST 98.0 Christians 67.6 MINSK Christians Hamburg 67.0 Christians STOCKHOLM 62.5 Christians WARSAW 95.3 Christians BUDAPEST 83.0

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates

%UrbanPct2010_World urban

 Urban growth rate, 2000–2010

50 largest urban areas in Europe by total population, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

 Percentage of total population in urban areas, 2010

u Europe’s urban situation Europe has always been at the forefront of urbanisation, with London, England, as the first super-city in 1870. Even in 1815 the largest city in the world was London. Percentages of urbanites in Europe are still relatively high compared to other continents, notably the 84% figure in Northern Europe. Of particular interest is the annual decline, though small, in urbanisation in Eastern Europe (-0.45%) as residents who die or move out are not replaced through births and/or migration. No other region in the world is experiencing a decline in the number of urban dwellers.

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Urban area Turin MOSCOW City Yorkshire West PARIS LyonLONDON Rhine-Ruhr Novosibirsk MADRID Marseille Saint Petersburg Kharkiv Barcelona Porto BERLIN Bielefeld ROME Hanover ATHENS Munich Milan Yekaterinburg LISBONNovgorod Nizhniy Katowice Nuremberg KIEV PRAGUE Stuttgart Zurich VIENNA AMSTERDAM Birmingham Glasgow OmskNaples Manchester Samara BUCHAREST HELSINKI MINSK Rotterdam Hamburg Kazan STOCKHOLM DUBLIN WARSAW BELGRADE BUDAPEST COPENHAGEN

26-50

26-50 Country Italy Turin Britain West Yorkshire France Lyon Russia Novosibirsk France Marseille Ukraine Kharkiv Portugal Porto Germany Bielefeld Germany Hannover Germany Munich Russia Yekaterinburg Russia Nizhniy Novgorod Germany Nurnberg Czech PRAGUERepublic Switzerland Zurich Netherlands AMSTERDAM Britain Glasgow Russia Omsk Russia Samara Finland HELSINKI Netherlands Rotterdam Russia Kazan Ireland DUBLIN Serbia BELGRADE COPENHAGEN Denmark

x

Population 1,644,000 City 1,530,000 1,428,000 1,424,000 1,404,000 1,400,000 1,380,000 1,315,000 1,299,000 1,296,000 1,270,000 1,268,000 1,208,000 1,183,000 1,183,000 1,173,000 1,157,000 1,130,000 1,124,000 1,120,000 1,118,000 1,110,000 1,107,000 1,094,000 1,094,000

Religions Largest % Adherents by percentage Turin Christians 80.0 West Yorkshire ChristiansCity 72.0 Lyon Christians 68.0 Christians Novosibirsk 73.0 Marseille Christians 53.0 Kharkiv Christians 80.0 Porto Christians 89.4 Bielefeld Christians 73.0 Christians Hannover 75.8 Munich Christians 73.7 ChristiansYekaterinburg 79.0 Nizhniy Novgorod Christians 84.0 Christians Nurnberg 74.8 PRAGUE Christians 53.3 Zurich Christians 80.2 Christians AMSTERDAM 50.0 Glasgow Christians 81.7 Omsk Christians 71.0 Samara Christians 84.0 HELSINKI Christians 88.7 Christians Rotterdam 58.0 Kazan Christians 45.0 DUBLIN Christians 94.0 Christians BELGRADE 78.3 ChristiansCOPENHAGEN 83.1

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 Key for religion bars below Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Jain Jew Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

Religions 25 Christian Religions of Larget 25 Christian CitiesofinLarget Europe

Sikh Spiritist Zoroastrian

ProvRelig_Christian Per

0

Urban area MOSCOW LONDON PARIS MADRID Rhine-Ruhr Barcelona Saint Petersburg ATHENS Katowice ROME LISBON Milan BERLIN KIEV Stuttgart BUCHAREST Naples VIENNA Birmingham Manchester WARSAW BUDAPEST Turin MINSK Porto

Country Russia Britain France Spain Germany Spain Russia Greece Poland Italy Portugal Italy Germany Ukraine Germany Romania Italy Austria Britain Britain Poland Hungary Italy Belarus Portugal

Cities listed in ALL CAPITALS are capital cities

Population 10,967,000 8,607,000 9,856,000 5,977,000 6,694,000 4,998,000 5,365,000 3,248,000 2,877,000 3,332,000 2,890,000 2,939,000 3,389,000 2,738,000 2,710,000 1,941,000 2,251,000 2,352,000 2,279,000 2,223,000 1,686,000 1,664,000 1,644,000 1,875,000 1,380,000

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 Note: Circles for populations less than 1 million are not to scale

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cent Christian

Religions Adherents by percentage

Christians % 9,212,000 MOSCOW 84.0 6,111,000 LONDON 71.0 6,022,000 61.1 PARIS 5,319,000 89.0 MADRID 4,887,000 Rhine-Ruhr 73.0 4,498,000 Barcelona 90.0 4,292,000 80.0 Saint Petersburg 3,019,000 93.0 ATHENS 2,776,000 Katowice 96.5 2,666,000 80.0 ROME 2,520,000 87.2 LISBON 2,333,000 79.4 Milan 2,250,000 66.4 BERLIN 2,163,000 79.0 KIEV 1,924,000 71.0 Stuttgart 1,902,000 BUCHAREST 98.0 1,801,000 80.0 Naples 1,771,000 75.3 VIENNA 1,641,000 Birmingham 72.0 1,623,000 Manchester 73.0 1,606,000 WARSAW 95.3 1,381,000 BUDAPEST 83.0 1,316,000 80.0 Turin 1,267,000 67.6 MINSK 1,234,000 89.4 Porto

26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

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Urban area Hamburg MOSCOW City LONDON Kharkiv PARIS West Yorkshire MADRID STOCKHOLM Rhine-RuhrNovgorod Nizhniy Barcelona DUBLIN Saint Petersburg Novosibirsk ATHENS Yekaterinburg Katowice HELSINKI ROME Hanover LyonLISBON Milan Bielefeld BERLIN Munich ZurichKIEV Stuttgart Glasgow BUCHAREST Samara SOFIANaples VIENNA COPENHAGEN Birmingham Nuremberg Manchester BELGRADE WARSAW Chelyabinsk BUDAPEST Gdansk Perm Turin OmskMINSK Porto Dnipropetrovsk

26-50

26-50 Country Germany Hamburg Ukraine Kharkiv Britain West Yorkshire Sweden STOCKHOLM Russia Nizhniy Novgorod Ireland DUBLIN Russia Novosibirsk Russia Yekaterinburg Finland HELSINKI Germany Hannover France Lyon Germany Bielefeld Germany Munich Switzerland Zurich Britain Glasgow Russia Samara Bulgaria SOFIA Denmark COPENHAGEN Germany Nurnberg Serbia BELGRADE Russia Chelyabinsk Poland Gdansk Russia Perm Russia Omsk Dnipropetrovs' Ukrainek

x

Population 1,752,000 City 1,400,000 1,530,000 1,745,000 1,268,000 1,107,000 1,424,000 1,270,000 1,120,000 1,299,000 1,428,000 1,315,000 1,296,000 1,183,000 1,157,000 1,124,000 1,063,000 1,094,000 1,208,000 1,094,000 1,057,000 840,000 970,000 1,130,000 1,007,000

Christians % 1,174,000 Hamburg 67.0 Kharkiv 1,120,000City 80.0 1,101,000West Yorkshire 72.0 1,091,000 STOCKHOLM 62.5 Nizhniy Novgorod 1,065,000 84.0 DUBLIN 1,041,000 94.0 1,039,000 Novosibirsk 73.0 1,003,000Yekaterinburg 79.0 HELSINKI 994,000 88.7 985,000 Hannover 75.8 Lyon 971,000 68.0 Bielefeld 960,000 73.0 Munich 955,000 73.7 Zurich 949,000 80.2 Glasgow 946,000 81.7 Samara 944,000 84.0 SOFIA 924,000 86.9 909,000COPENHAGEN 83.1 904,000 Nurnberg 74.8 857,000 BELGRADE 78.3 835,000 Chelyabinsk 79.0 Gdansk 817,000 97.3 Perm 815,000 84.0 Omsk 802,000 71.0 795,000Dnipropetrovs' 79.0 k

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CHRISTIANITY IN CITIES, EUROPE

Agnostic Atheist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

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249

Christianity in cities in Latin America

T

he global shift of the centre of gravity of Christianity southward is evident in Latin America, which now has over a third of the world’s cities with the largest Christian populations. Already five of the ten largest are in Latin America. Currently, out of Latin America’s 50 largest cities, 49 of them appear on the list of cities with the largest Christian populations on the continent. By 2050 it is expected that Latin America will be close to 90% urbanised, with 80% of its population residing in urban agglomerations. Cities in Brazil and Mexico make up nearly half of the cities with the largest Christian populations on the continent. Brazil has 16 cities appearing on this list, more than any other Latin American country, and most also boast some of the world’s largest urban Christian populations. The majority of these Brazilian Christian cities can be found along the eastern coastline. They have a long history of Christianity, stemming from the Portuguese colonisation of the country. Today these cities are ethnically diverse: self-identified White, Pardo (‘brown’ in Portuguese), Black (with ancestry traced back to African slaves), Asian and Amerindian. There is also a high occurrence of mixing of ethnicities, especially in the urban areas. Despite this diversity of ethnicities, Brazil’s urban areas still retain a predominately Roman Catholic affiliation. Six of the eight Mexican cities with the largest Christian populations are at least 95% Christian: Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana and Puebla. In 1910 Mexico City did not appear on the list of largest Christian cities in the world, but in 2010 it tops the list. It is also projected to top the list in 2025, with four other cities from Latin America rounding out the top 10. While Brazil and Mexico have the most cities with large Christian populations in Latin America, neither country can claim the city with highest percentage of urban Christian. That distinction goes to two cities in Ecuador: Guayaquil and Quito, each of which is 97% Christian. Havana, Cuba, has had the most dramatic decline in Christian percentage of any Latin American city over the last century. In 1910 the city was 99% Christian, but in 2010 only 59% of the city’s population is Christian. This shift reflects the Communist government that has been in control since 1959. Historically, the primary Christian tradition in Latin America has been Roman Catholicism, stemming from the period of Spanish and Portuguese colonisation. While Roman Catholicism is still dominant, it has been on the decline. In 1910, 90% of the population was Roman Catholic, while in 2010 the percentage has dropped to 80%.

Percentage of total population in urban areas, 2010

Urbanisation, 2010 Population 593,696,000 42,300,000 153,657,000 397,739,000

Latin America Caribbean Central America South America

Urban growth rate, 2000–2010

Urban Dwellers 471,070,000 28,289,000 110,106,000 332,675,000

Urban area MEXICO CITY São Paulo BUENOS AIRES Rio de Janeiro BOGOTA LIMA SANTIAGO Belo Horizonte Guadalajara Porto Alegre BRASILIA Monterrey Recife Salvador Fortaleza Curitiba Medellín Valencia Campinas CARACAS Cali SAN JUAN Guayaquil Maracaibo PORT-AU-PRINCE

Country Mexico Brazil Argentina Brazil Colombia Peru Chile Brazil Mexico Brazil Brazil Mexico Brazil Brazil Brazil Brazil Colombia Venezuela Brazil Venezuela Colombia Puerto Rico Ecuador Venezuela Haiti

Population 20,688,000 19,582,000 13,067,000 12,170,000 8,416,000 7,590,000 5,982,000 5,941,000 4,237,000 4,096,000 3,938,000 3,914,000 3,830,000 3,695,000 3,598,000 3,320,000 3,304,000 3,090,000 3,003,000 2,988,000 2,767,000 2,758,000 2,709,000 2,639,000 2,460,000

UrbanGrPct_2000_2010_World Rate*

22 10 4 2 0 -2

250

100 80 60 40 20 0

q Percentage of all Christians living in urban areas, 2010

Urban Christians, 2010 Christians 548,958,000 35,379,000 147,257,000 366,322,000

Latin America Caribbean Central America South America

 Urban Christian growth rate, 2000–2010

UrbanGrPct_2000_2010_World Rate*

22 10 4 2 0 -2

x 0% 0

% urban ACUrbanPct2010_World Christians

Urban Christians Rate* Dwellers % 2000–2010 434,998,000 79.2 1.80 23,582,000 66.7 2.01 105,429,000 71.6 1.65 305,987,000 83.5 1.84

100 80 60 40 20 0

tu Latin America’s Christian urban situation Mexico City has the largest Christian urban population in Latin America and the world; in 2010 70% of affiliated Christians in Mexico are urban dwellers. In contrast, Guyana (the lightest country on the map at right) is only 51% Christian, with large communities of Muslims and Hindus, and its percentage of urban Christians is actually falling. Georgetown, the capital city, is the primary home of these other religionists; it is 40% Christian, primarily Anglicans.

of Larget 25 Cities in Lati Religions of Larget 25 CitiesReligions in Latin America

1-25

Religions Largest % Adherents by percentage Christians MEXICO 95.3 CITY Christians São 88.5 Paulo ChristiansBUENOS 91.4 AIRES ChristiansRio de90.0 Janeiro Christians 93.0 BOGOTA Christians 95.3 LIMA Christians SANTIAGO 85.3 ChristiansBelo Horizonte 90.0 Christians Guadalajara 95.0 Christians Porto91.0 Alegre Christians 89.0 BRASILIA Christians Monterrey 95.0 Christians 90.0 Recife Christians 91.0 Salvador Christians Fortaleza 94.0 Christians 94.0 Curitiba Christians 96.0 Medellín Christians 95.1 Valencia Christians Campinas 88.5 Christians CARACAS 94.1 Christians 96.0Cali Christians SAN 95.6 JUAN Christians Guayaquil 97.0 Christians Maracaibo 94.1 Christians 94.6 PORT-AU-PRINCE

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates

% 79.3 66.9 71.7 83.6

tu Latin America’s urban situation In 1910 Latin America had one mega-city (Buenos Aires) but by 2010 has over 50. South America has the highest urban percentage (83.6%), largely due to Brazil. Brazil has two of the five largest urban areas in Latin America, São Paulo at 19.6 million and Rio de Janeiro at 12.2 million. Mexico City (20.7 million) is the largest urban area in Latin America and the secondlargest in the world (after Tokyo, Japan). It is likely that urbanisation will continue to grow in Latin America, towards 90% by 2050.

50 largest urban areas in Latin America by total population, 20101-25 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

%UrbanPct2010_World urban

Rate* 2000–2010 1.80 1.75 1.69 1.84

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26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

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Urban area Country Belem, Para Brazil MEXICO CITY Belem, Para City São Paulo ASUNCION Paraguay ASUNCION BUENOS AIRESDOMINGO SANTO Dominican Rep SANTO DOMINGO Rio de Janeiro Goiânia Brazil Goiania BOGOTA HAVANA Cuba HAVANA LIMA Barranquilla Colombia Barranquilla SANTIAGO Tijuana Mexico Tijuana Belo Horizonte Manaus Brazil Manaus GuadalajaraJuárez Ciudad Mexico Ciudad Juárez Porto AlegreVitória Grande BrazilVitória Grande BRASILIASantista Baixada Brazil Baixada Santista Monterrey Puebla Mexico Puebla Recife LA PAZ Bolivia LA PAZ Salvador QUITO Ecuador QUITO Fortaleza Toluca de Lerdo Mexico Toluca de Lerdo LeónCuritiba de los Aldamas León deMexico los Aldamas SANMedellín SALVADOR ElSALVADOR Salvador SAN Valencia Santa Cruz Bolivia Santa Cruz Campinas Córdoba Argentina Córdoba CARACAS CITY PANAMA Panama PANAMA CITY Cali SAN JOSÉ Costa Rica SAN JOSÉ SAN JUAN Maracay Venezuela Maracay Guayaquil MANAGUA Nicaragua MANAGUA Maracaibo Maceió Brazil Maceió PORT-AU-PRINCE MONTEVIDEO MONTEVIDEO Uruguay

x

Population 2,335,000 City 2,264,000 2,240,000 2,189,000 2,159,000 2,042,000 2,003,000 1,898,000 1,841,000 1,829,000 1,810,000 1,801,000 1,692,000 1,680,000 1,669,000 1,665,000 1,662,000 1,551,000 1,492,000 1,379,000 1,374,000 1,333,000 1,312,000 1,281,000 1,260,000

Religions Largest % Adherents by percentage Para Christians Belem, 89.0 ChristiansCity ASUNCION 92.0 SANTO DOMINGO Christians 94.0 Goiania Christians 91.0 HAVANA Christians 59.0 Christians Barranquilla 96.0 Tijuana Christians 95.0 Manaus Christians 95.0 Juárez ChristiansCiudad 95.0 Vitória ChristiansGrande 95.0 Santista ChristiansBaixada88.5 Puebla Christians 95.0 LA PAZ Christians 90.2 QUITO Christians 97.0 de Lerdo ChristiansToluca 94.0 León de los93.0 Aldamas Christians ChristiansSAN SALVADOR 96.5 Cruz Christians Santa 91.1 Córdoba Christians 91.5 CITY ChristiansPANAMA 83.5 JOSÉ Christians SAN 95.4 Maracay Christians 95.1 Christians MANAGUA 95.0 Maceió Christians 92.0 Christians MONTEVIDEO 61.5

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50 cities in Latin America with the most Christians, 2010 31

33

11 45

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9 39 35

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37 47 44

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18 16 5

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48

Colour Per cent Christian

51

6

Size Approximate urban area population size

15 41

This size equals about 5 million

Number Corresponds to number in the table below

29

42

7

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8

 Key for religion bars below Jain Jew Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

Religions 25 Christian Cities in Latin America Religions of Larget 25 Christian CitiesofinLarget Latin America

Sikh Spiritist Zoroastrian

50 urban areas in Latin America with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Urban area MEXICO CITY São Paulo BUENOS AIRES Rio de Janeiro BOGOTA LIMA Belo Horizonte SANTIAGO Guadalajara Porto Alegre Monterrey BRASILIA Recife Fortaleza Salvador Medellín Curitiba Valencia CARACAS Campinas Cali SAN JUAN Guayaquil Maracaibo PORT-AU-PRINCE

Country Mexico Brazil Argentina Brazil Colombia Peru Brazil Chile Mexico Brazil Mexico Brazil Brazil Brazil Brazil Colombia Brazil Venezuela Venezuela Brazil Colombia Puerto Rico Ecuador Venezuela Haiti

Cities listed in ALL CAPITALS are capital cities

Population 20,688,000 19,582,000 13,067,000 12,170,000 8,416,000 7,590,000 5,941,000 5,982,000 4,237,000 4,096,000 3,914,000 3,938,000 3,830,000 3,598,000 3,695,000 3,304,000 3,320,000 3,090,000 2,988,000 3,003,000 2,767,000 2,758,000 2,709,000 2,639,000 2,460,000

3

1-25

1-25 Religions Adherents by percentage

Christians % 19,715,000 MEXICO 95.3 CITY 17,320,000 São 88.5 Paulo 11,944,000BUENOS 91.4 AIRES 10,953,000Rio de90.0 Janeiro 7,827,000 93.0 BOGOTA 7,230,000 95.3 LIMA 5,347,000Belo Horizonte 90.0 5,102,000 SANTIAGO 85.3 4,025,000 Guadalajara 95.0 3,727,000 Porto91.0 Alegre 3,718,000 Monterrey 95.0 3,505,000 89.0 BRASILIA 3,447,000 90.0 Recife 3,382,000 Fortaleza 94.0 3,362,000 91.0 Salvador 3,171,000 96.0 Medellín 3,121,000 94.0 Curitiba 2,939,000 95.1 Valencia 2,812,000 CARACAS 94.1 2,656,000 Campinas 88.5 2,656,000 96.0Cali 2,637,000 SAN 95.6 JUAN 2,628,000 Guayaquil 97.0 2,483,000 Maracaibo 94.1 2,326,000 94.6 PORT-AU-PRINCE

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Urban area Country SANTO Dominican Rep MEXICO CITYDOMINGO SANTO DOMINGO City São Paulo ASUNCION Paraguay ASUNCION BUENOS AIRES Belem, Para Brazil Belem, Para Rio de Janeiro Goiânia Brazil Goiania BOGOTA Barranquilla Colombia Barranquilla TijuanaLIMA Mexico Tijuana Belo Horizonte Manaus Brazil Manaus SANTIAGOJuárez Ciudad Mexico Ciudad Juárez GuadalajaraVitória Grande BrazilVitória Grande Porto Alegre Puebla Mexico Puebla Monterrey QUITO Ecuador QUITO SANBRASILIA SALVADOR ElSALVADOR Salvador SAN RecifeSantista Baixada Brazil Baixada Santista Fortaleza Toluca de Lerdo Mexico Toluca de Lerdo LeónSalvador de los Aldamas León deMexico los Aldamas Medellín LA PAZ Bolivia LA PAZ SantaCuritiba Cruz Bolivia Santa Cruz Valencia Córdoba Argentina Córdoba SANCARACAS JOSÉ Costa Rica SAN JOSÉ Campinas HAVANA Cuba HAVANA Cali Maracay Venezuela Maracay SAN JUAN MANAGUA Nicaragua MANAGUA Guayaquil Maceió Brazil Maceió Maracaibo CITY PANAMA Panama PANAMA CITY PORT-AU-PRINCE Rosario Rosario Argentina

x

Population 2,240,000 City 2,264,000 2,335,000 2,189,000 2,042,000 2,003,000 1,898,000 1,841,000 1,829,000 1,801,000 1,680,000 1,662,000 1,810,000 1,669,000 1,665,000 1,692,000 1,551,000 1,492,000 1,374,000 2,159,000 1,333,000 1,312,000 1,281,000 1,379,000 1,231,000

Christians % SANTO DOMINGO 2,105,000 94.0 2,083,000City ASUNCION 92.0 Para 2,078,000 Belem, 89.0 Goiania 1,992,000 91.0 1,961,000 Barranquilla 96.0 Tijuana 1,903,000 95.0 Manaus 1,803,000 95.0 Juárez 1,749,000Ciudad 95.0 Vitória 1,737,000Grande 95.0 Puebla 1,711,000 95.0 QUITO 1,630,000 97.0 1,604,000SAN SALVADOR 96.5 Santista 1,601,000Baixada88.5 de Lerdo 1,569,000Toluca 94.0 León de los93.0 Aldamas 1,548,000 LA PAZ 1,526,000 90.2 Cruz 1,413,000 Santa 91.1 Córdoba 1,365,000 91.5 JOSÉ 1,310,000 SAN 95.4 HAVANA 1,274,000 59.0 Maracay 1,268,000 95.1 1,246,000 MANAGUA 95.0 Maceió 1,179,000 92.0 CITY 1,151,000PANAMA 83.5 Rosario 1,138,000 92.5

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CHRISTIANITY IN CITIES, LATIN AMERICA

Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

2

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38

17

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

Agnostic Atheist Baha’i Buddhist Chinese folk

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Christianity in cities in Northern America

T

he only two sovereign countries in this area are Canada and the USA, both having majority Christian populations, 76% and 82%, respectively. The top three urban areas on the two lists below are the same: New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The USA dominates the list of largest urban areas, with Canada represented by only six: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa-Gatineau, Calgary and Edmonton. The combined populations of the other three countries in the region – Bermuda, Greenland, and St Pierre & Miquelon – are only about one-tenth the population of Ottawa-Gatineau. The 50 largest cities of this region hold 55% of its urban population and 52% of its urban Christians. It is likely that Northern America will continue to expand its urban agglomerations well into the twenty-first century, especially with the influx of immigrants (legal and illegal) into USA cities such as Los Angeles and New York. New York is the largest urban area in Northern America and also has the largest Christian urban population, yet its population is only 65% Christian (the smallest percentage for any of the USA’s largest cities and second only to Vancouver in Northern America). Of New York’s 20 million people, 13 million claim Christian adherence. The ethnic make-up of New York City greatly affects its Christian percentage; this is the most populous city in the USA and a safe haven for immigrants and refugees. Thirty-six per cent of the city’s population is foreignborn (though this percentage is higher in Los Angeles and Miami, two cities closer to popular gateways from Latin America). The enormous Jewish population in New York City also reduces the relative size of its Christian population. Los Angeles is the second-largest urban area (and has the second-most urban Christians) in Northern America, with 10.2 million out of 12.7 million people (80%) affiliated with Christianity. New York and Los Angeles are the two major ‘gateways’ into the USA for immigrants from around the world. Yet the percentage of Christians in the USA has declined. Secularisation of the nation is one reason (similar to the European pattern), but another major reason is the growth of immigrant religions. Both of these are immediately apparent in the coloured bars below. The tan colour below (agnostics) is the second-largest ‘religion’ in virtually every city. This is a profound change from 100 years ago. The USA has remained around 80% Christian over the past 15 years, while immigrant religions are on the rise. The percentage of Christians in the USA is not declining faster because 90% of all illegal immigrants are Christian. This has kept the Christian percentage stable, and this trend will likely continue into the future.

u Northern America’s urban situation  Percentage of total population in urban areas, 2010 Northern America has been on the forefront of urbanisation since the early 1900s. New York City was the world’s largest city in 1923 (7.7 million) and the first super-giant city in 1935. Although Northern America has been surpassed as home to the world’s largest cities, 82.1% of Northern Americans are urban dwellers in 2010. Most of these large urban areas are in the USA, with six Canadian cities also making the list. The urban growth also comes from births and immigrants, not just rural people moving in. %UrbanPct2010_World urban 100 80 60 40 20 0

 Urban growth rate, 2000–2010

UrbanGrPct_2000_2010_World Rate*

22 10 4 2 0 -2

Urbanisation, 2010 Urban Christians Rate* Population Dwellers % 2000–2010 348,575,000 286,316,000 82.1 1.37

Northern America

 Percentage of all Christians living in urban areas, 2010 u Northern America’s Christian urban situation Akin to Latin America, Northern America is predominantly Christian, so its major urban areas are as well. Many urban Christians are defecting from the Christian faith in favour of agnosticism and atheism, but the increase of immigrants (illegal and legal) keeps the urban Christian percentage largely the same. The largest Christian populations are in New York (65% Christian) and Los Angeles (80% Christian). These two cities are also have the largest foreign-born populations in the region.

% urban ACUrbanPct2010_World Christians 100 80 60 40 20 0

 Urban Christian growth rate, 2000–2010

UrbanGrPct_2000_2010_World Rate*

22 10 4 2 0 -2

Larget 25 Cities in Nor Religions of Larget 25 CitiesReligions in Northof America Urban Christians, 2010

Urban Christians Rate* Christians Dwellers % 2000–2010 283,002,000 232,488,000 82.2 1.23

Northern America

1-25

50 largest urban areas in Northern America by total population, 1-25 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Urban area New York-Newark Los Angeles Chicago Miami Toronto Philadelphia Dallas-Fort Worth Atlanta Houston Boston WASHINGTON, DC Detroit Montreal Phoenix-Mesa San Francisco-Oakland Seattle San Diego Minneapolis-St Paul Denver-Aurora Tampa-St Petersburg Baltimore Vancouver St Louis Portland Cleveland

Country USA USA USA USA Canada USA USA USA USA USA USA USA Canada USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA Canada USA USA USA

Population 20,009,000 12,738,000 9,186,000 5,739,000 5,737,000 5,615,000 4,976,000 4,682,000 4,596,000 4,585,000 4,451,000 4,192,000 3,787,000 3,677,000 3,619,000 3,195,000 2,994,000 2,688,000 2,389,000 2,383,000 2,316,000 2,309,000 2,254,000 1,941,000 1,939,000

Religions Largest % Adherents by percentage Christians 65.0 New York-Newark Christians Los80.0 Angeles Christians 78.0 Chicago Christians 80.0 Miami Christians 74.5 Toronto Christians Philadelphia 83.0 Christians 85.0 Dallas-Fort Worth Christians 84.0 Atlanta Christians 84.0 Houston Christians 80.0 Boston Christians 75.0DC WASHINGTON, Christians 77.0 Detroit Christians 87.0 Montreal ChristiansPhoenix-Mesa 79.0 Christians 75.0 San Francisco-Oakland Christians 70.0 Seattle Christians San 80.0 Diego Christians 85.0 Minneapolis-St Paul ChristiansDenver-Aurora 75.0 Christians 83.0 Tampa-St Petersburg Christians Baltimore 75.0 Christians Vancouver 55.7 Christians 83.0 St Louis Christians 70.0 Portland Christians Cleveland 81.0

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates

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Urban area Country 26 New Las Vegas USA York-Newark Las Vegas CityLos Angeles 27 Pittsburgh USA Pittsburgh Chicago 28 Riverside USA Riverside Miami 29 San Jose USASan Jose Toronto 30 Cincinnati USA Cincinnati Philadelphia 31 Sacramento USA Sacramento WorthBeach 32 Dallas-Fort Virginia USA Beach Virginia Atlanta 33 San Antonio USA San Antonio Houston 34 Kansas City USA Kansas City Boston 35 Indianapolis USA Indianapolis DC 36 WASHINGTON, Milwaukee USA Milwaukee Detroit 37 Orlando USAOrlando Montreal 38 Providence USA Providence Phoenix-Mesa Ohio 39 Columbus, USA Ohio Columbus, San Francisco-Oakland 40 OTTAWA-Gatineau Canada OTTAWA-Gatineau Seattle 41 Austin USAAustin San Diego 42 Birmingham USA Birmingham 43Minneapolis-St CalgaryPaul Canada Calgary Denver-Aurora 44 Memphis USA Memphis Tampa-St Petersburg 45 Edmonton Canada Edmonton Baltimore 46 Bridgeport-Stamford USA Bridgeport-Stamford Vancouver 47 New Orleans USA New Orleans St Louis 48 Buffalo USABuffalo Portland 49 Charlotte USA Charlotte Cleveland 50 Raleigh USARaleigh

x

Population 1,912,000 City 1,883,000 1,803,000 1,715,000 1,683,000 1,657,000 1,531,000 1,518,000 1,510,000 1,487,000 1,425,000 1,397,000 1,314,000 1,310,000 1,216,000 1,212,000 1,179,000 1,142,000 1,115,000 1,075,000 1,053,000 1,049,000 1,043,000 1,041,000 1,034,000

Religions Largest % Adherents by percentage Vegas Christians Las 70.0 ChristiansCity Pittsburgh 83.0 Riverside Christians 80.0 San Jose Christians 75.0 Christians Cincinnati 80.0 Christians Sacramento 80.0 Beach ChristiansVirginia 82.5 Antonio Christians San83.0 Christians Kansas 80.0City Christians Indianapolis 80.0 Christians Milwaukee 87.0 Orlando Christians 83.0 Christians Providence 83.0 Ohio ChristiansColumbus, 79.0 OTTAWA-Gatineau Christians 74.5 Austin Christians 83.0 Christians Birmingham 85.0 Calgary Christians 72.8 Christians Memphis 83.0 Christians Edmonton 72.8 Bridgeport-Stamford Christians 70.0 Orleans Christians New87.0 Buffalo Christians 81.0 Christians Charlotte 76.0 Raleigh Christians 84.0

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50 cities in Northern America with the most Christians, 2010

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ProvRelig_Christian Per

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Note: Circles for populations less than 1 million are not to scale

cent Christian

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100

 Key for religion bars below Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

Jain Jew Muslim New Religionist Shintoist

Sikh Spiritist Zoroastrian

Religions 25 Christian Religions of Larget 25 Christian CitiesofinLarget Northern America 1-25

1-25 50 urban areas in Northern America with the most Christians, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Urban area New York-Newark Los Angeles Chicago Philadelphia Miami Toronto Dallas-Fort Worth Atlanta Houston Boston WASHINGTON, DC Montreal Detroit Phoenix-Mesa San Francisco-Oakland San Diego Minneapolis-St Paul Seattle Tampa-St Petersburg St Louis Denver-Aurora Baltimore Cleveland Pittsburgh Riverside

Country USA USA USA USA USA Canada USA USA USA USA USA Canada USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

Cities listed in ALL CAPITALS are capital cities

Religions Adherents by percentage

Population Christians % 20,009,000 13,006,000 65.0 New York-Newark 12,738,000 10,190,000 Los80.0 Angeles 9,186,000 7,165,000 78.0 Chicago 5,615,000 4,660,000 Philadelphia 83.0 5,739,000 4,591,000 80.0 Miami 5,737,000 4,274,000 74.5 Toronto 4,976,000 4,230,000 85.0 Dallas-Fort Worth 4,682,000 3,933,000 84.0 Atlanta 4,596,000 3,861,000 84.0 Houston 4,585,000 3,668,000 80.0 Boston 4,451,000 3,339,000 75.0DC WASHINGTON, 3,787,000 3,295,000 87.0 Montreal 4,192,000 3,228,000 77.0 Detroit 3,677,000 2,905,000Phoenix-Mesa 79.0 3,619,000 2,714,000 75.0 San Francisco-Oakland 2,994,000 2,395,000 San 80.0 Diego 2,688,000 2,284,000 85.0 Minneapolis-St Paul 3,195,000 2,236,000 70.0 Seattle 2,383,000 1,977,000 83.0 Tampa-St Petersburg 2,254,000 1,871,000 83.0 St Louis 2,389,000 1,792,000Denver-Aurora 75.0 2,316,000 1,737,000 Baltimore 75.0 1,939,000 1,570,000 Cleveland 81.0 1,883,000 1,563,000 Pittsburgh 83.0 1,803,000 1,443,000 80.0 Riverside

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Urban area 26 New Portland York-Newark CityLos Angeles 27 Cincinnati Chicago 28 Las Vegas Philadelphia 29 Sacramento Miami 30 Vancouver Toronto 31 San Jose WorthBeach 32 Dallas-Fort Virginia Atlanta 33 San Antonio Houston 34 Milwaukee Boston 35 Kansas City DC 36 WASHINGTON, Indianapolis Montreal 37 Orlando Detroit 38 Providence Phoenix-Mesa OH 39 Columbus, San Francisco-Oakland 40 Austin San Diego 41 Birmingham Paul 42Minneapolis-St Memphis 43 New Seattle Orleans Tampa-St Petersburg 44 OTTAWA-Gatineau St Louis 45 Raleigh Denver-Aurora 46 Buffalo Baltimore 47 Calgary 48 SaltCleveland Lake City Pittsburgh 49 Tulsa Riverside 50 Charlotte

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26-50 Country USAPortland USA Cincinnati USA Las Vegas USA Sacramento Canada Vancouver USASan Jose USA Beach Virginia USA San Antonio USA Milwaukee USA Kansas City USA Indianapolis USAOrlando USA Providence USA Ohio Columbus, USAAustin USA Birmingham USA Memphis USA New Orleans Canada OTTAWA-Gatineau USARaleigh USABuffalo Canada Calgary USA Salt Lake City USA Tulsa Charlotte USA

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Population 1,941,000 City 1,683,000 1,912,000 1,657,000 2,309,000 1,715,000 1,531,000 1,518,000 1,425,000 1,510,000 1,487,000 1,397,000 1,314,000 1,310,000 1,212,000 1,179,000 1,115,000 1,049,000 1,216,000 1,034,000 1,043,000 1,142,000 995,000 976,000 1,041,000

Christians % Portland 1,358,000 70.0 1,346,000City Cincinnati 80.0 Vegas 1,339,000 Las 70.0 1,326,000 Sacramento 80.0 1,286,000 Vancouver 55.7 San Jose 1,286,000 75.0 Beach 1,263,000Virginia 82.5 Antonio 1,260,000 San83.0 1,240,000 Milwaukee 87.0 1,208,000 Kansas 80.0City 1,189,000 Indianapolis 80.0 Orlando 1,160,000 83.0 1,091,000 Providence 83.0 Ohio 1,035,000Columbus, 79.0 Austin 1,006,000 83.0 1,002,000 Birmingham 85.0 926,000 Memphis 83.0 Orleans 912,000 New87.0 OTTAWA-Gatineau 906,000 74.5 Raleigh 869,000 84.0 Buffalo 845,000 81.0 Calgary 832,000 72.8 Lake City 821,000 Salt 82.5 Tulsa 795,000 81.5 791,000 Charlotte 76.0

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Christianity in cities in Oceania

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n 2000 Oceania only had six mega-cities (over one million people), a far cry from any other continent in the world. This trend continues through 2010 and probably will continue throughout most of the twentyfirst century, though it is anticipated that Oceania will produce some super-cities by 2050. Since Oceania is predominantly Christian, so are its major urban areas. Of the 50 largest urban areas in Oceania, 40 are in the largest countries of Australia and New Zealand. Many of the island nations in Oceania do not have large enough populations to have urban agglomerations. Of note, though, is Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, which has a 90% Christian population, a higher percentage than any of the urban areas in either Australia or New Zealand. As Papua New Guinea’s Christian population rose dramatically during the twentieth century, so did the Christian population of its major city, which is now the 13th-largest city in Oceania (with the 11th-largest Christian population). Also of note are Suva and Lautoka, Fiji, which are the 15th- and 46th-largest urban areas in Oceania (Suva also has the 17th-largest Christian population). Both cities have large minority Hindu population, dissimilar to the agnostic minorities in most other cities. Sydney is the largest urban area and has the most Christians in Oceania. The first British colony in Australia in 1788, Sydney is the principal gateway for immigrants arriving in the country, giving it a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural composition. Sydney also has a significant overseas-born population, primarily from Britain, China, New Zealand and Viet Nam, yet Christianity is still the dominant religion in the city at 74.5%, or 3.4 million (out of 4.5 million) people. This is already seen in many areas within the cities: Auburn in Sydney is over 30% Muslim, Dandenong in Melbourne is over 15% Buddhist, Western Sydney’s Hindus make up 5% of the population, while agnostics in North Canberra and Yarra Ranges are over 35%. The dominance of Christianity suggested by the figures for the city as a whole is no longer seen in many parts of the larger cities. All of the largest urban areas in Oceania are majority Christian. There are 27.8 million Christians in Oceania, and all of the major Christian traditions are represented. The largest Christian traditions in Sydney are the same as those in all of Oceania: Anglican, Roman Catholic and Protestant. This is another example of how the demographics of cities often portray what is happening on a larger scale. The lists of largest urban areas and largest Christian urban areas look very similar. One important trend in virtually all of Oceania’s cities is the rise of agnosticism and atheism. One can see this trend by glancing at the religion bars below and on the facing page. Most cities have a significant agnostic presence that is increasing over time. Another trend is the growth of other religions, largely as the result of immigration. It is likely that Oceania’s cities will be more diverse in their religious makeup in the future.

Urbanisation, 2010 uq Oceania’s urban situation Oceania has moderate urban growth in 2010. Melanesia has the highest growth rate (2.01%) but continues to be the least-urbanised (19.2%). Melanesia is likely the most under-developed region in the world, as seen by its urban percentages. Australia/New Zealand is, not surprisingly, the most urban with the lowest growth rate, as these two countries have been ahead in urbanisation since the early 1900s.

Population Oceania 35,491,000 Australia/New Zealand 25,647,000 Melanesia 8,589,000 Micronesia 575,000 Polynesia 680,000

Urban Dwellers 25,089,000 22,754,000 1,651,000 391,000 293,000

Rate* % 2000–2010 70.7 1.36 88.7 1.30 19.2 2.01 68.0 1.83 43.1 1.54

q Percentage of total population in urban areas, 2010 %UrbanPct2010_World urban 100 80 60 40 20 0

UrbanPct2010

 Urban growth rate, 2000–2010

UrbanGrPct_2000_2010_World Rate*

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Urban Christians, 2010 uq Oceania’s Christian urban situation Despite Melanesia being the most under-developed region, it has seen the highest urban Christian growth rate (2.03%), largely due to Papua New Guinea, which saw tremendous Christian growth in the twentieth century. Australia/New Zealand has a similar urban Christian percentage as urban percentage. It is likely that Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia will continue to grow their urban Christian populations well into the twenty-first century. q Percentage of all Christians living in urban areas, 2010

Population Oceania 27,848,000 Australia/New Zealand 18,816,000 Melanesia 7,847,000 Micronesia 532,000 Polynesia 653,000

Urban Christians Rate* Dwellers % 2000–2010 18,734,000 67.3 1.36 16,696,000 88.7 1.29 1,400,000 17.8 2.03 357,000 67.1 1.81 281,000 43.0 1.47

% urban ACUrbanPct2010_World Christians 100 80 60 40 20 0

 Urban Christian growth rate, 2000–2010

UrbanGrPct_2000_2010_World Rate*

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of Larget 25 Cities in O Religions of Larget 25 CitiesReligions in Oceania

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Urban area Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Perth Auckland Adelaide Gold Coast-Tweed Newcastle Christchurch CANBERRA Sunshine Coast Wollongong PORT MORESBY Hobart SUVA WELLINGTON Geelong Hamilton Townsville Cairns Napier-Hastings Toowoomba Dunedin PAPEETE Lae

Country Australia Australia Australia Australia N Zealand Australia Australia Australia N Zealand Australia Australia Australia Papua NG Australia Fiji N Zealand Australia N Zealand Australia Australia N Zealand Australia N Zealand Fr Polynesia Papua NG

Population 4,540,000 3,796,000 1,866,000 1,560,000 1,208,000 1,179,000 542,000 520,000 370,000 340,000 285,000 277,000 263,000 213,000 194,000 180,000 170,000 154,000 150,000 130,000 125,000 120,000 119,000 114,000 110,000

Religions Largest % Adherents by percentage Christians 74.5 Sydney Christians Melbourne 69.1 Christians 76.3 Brisbane Christians 70.8 Perth Christians Auckland 72.2 Christians 71.1 Adelaide Christians 77.6 Gold Coast-Tweed Christians Newcastle 84.5 Christians Christchurch 73.0 Christians CANBERRA 70.7 ChristiansSunshine 74.8 Coast Christians Wollongong 82.6 ChristiansPORT MORESBY 90.1 Christians 75.6 Hobart Christians 65.0 SUVA Christians WELLINGTON 73.0 Christians 77.7 Geelong Christians Hamilton 75.0 Christians Townsville 78.2 Christians 73.5 Cairns ChristiansNapier-Hastings 79.0 Christians Toowoomba 87.2 Christians 77.0 Dunedin Christians 85.4 PAPEETE Christians 90.1Lae

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates

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Urban area 26 Darwin Sydney City Melbourne 27 Tauranga Brisbane 28 Launceston Perth 29 Albury-Wodonga Auckland 30 NOUMEA AdelaideCity 31 Ballarat Coast-Tweed 32 Gold Bendigo Newcastle 33 Burnie-Devonport Christchurch North 34 Palmerston CANBERRAValley 35 Latrobe Sunshine Coast 36 Mackay Wollongong 37 Rockhampton PORT MORESBY 38 HONIARA Hobart 39 Bathurst-Orange SUVA 40 Mandurah WELLINGTON 41 Bundaberg Geelong 42 Nelson Hamilton 43 Rotorua Townsville 44 Bunbury Cairns 45 Wagga Wagga Napier-Hastings 46 Lautoka Toowoomba 47 Coffs Harbour Dunedin 48 ARAWA PAPEETE 49 BAIRIKI 50 APIA Lae

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26-50 Country Population Australia 107,000 Darwin City 106,000 N Zealand Tauranga Australia 106,000 Launceston Australia 102,000 Albury-Wodonga N Caledonia 101,000 NOUMEA Australia 89,700 Ballarat City Australia 86,100 Bendigo Australia 82,700 Burnie-Devonport N Zealand 80,500 Palmerston North Australia 78,200 Latrobe Valley Australia 76,800 Mackay Australia 73,400 Rockhampton Solomon 70,600 HONIARA Islands Australia 69,600 Bathurst-Orange Australia 68,300 Mandurah Australia 62,900 Bundaberg N Zealand 59,400 Nelson N Zealand 58,200 Rotorua Australia 57,000 Bunbury Australia 55,400 Wagga Wagga Fiji Lautoka 50,100 Australia 49,100 Coffs Harbour Bougainville 47,200 ARAWA Kiribati 44,400 BAIRIKI APIA Samoa 43,500

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Religions Largest % Adherents by percentage Darwin Christians 66.7 ChristiansCity Tauranga 79.0 Christians Launceston 78.4 Albury-Wodonga Christians 80.5 Christians NOUMEA 83.1 Christians Ballarat 76.3City Bendigo Christians 75.3 Burnie-Devonport Christians 75.8 Palmerston North Christians 76.0 Valley ChristiansLatrobe 73.5 Mackay Christians 82.8 ChristiansRockhampton 83.4 Christians HONIARA 91.8 Bathurst-Orange Christians 89.7 Christians Mandurah 73.6 Christians Bundaberg 82.5 Nelson Christians 77.0 Rotorua Christians 79.0 Bunbury Christians 73.2 Wagga ChristiansWagga88.5 Lautoka Christians 51.0 Harbour Christians Coffs80.5 ARAWA Christians 94.1 BAIRIKI Christians 97.5 APIA Christians 96.4

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 Key for religion bars below Christian Confucianist Daoist Ethnoreligionist Hindu

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Urban area Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Perth Auckland Adelaide Newcastle Gold Coast-Tweed Christchurch CANBERRA PORT MORESBY Wollongong Sunshine Coast Hobart Geelong WELLINGTON SUVA Townsville Hamilton Toowoomba Lae Napier-Hastings PAPEETE Cairns Dunedin

Country Australia Australia Australia Australia N Zealand Australia Australia Australia N Zealand Australia Papua NG Australia Australia Australia Australia N Zealand Fiji Australia N Zealand Australia Papua NG N Zealand Fr Polynesia Australia N Zealand

Cities listed in ALL CAPITALS are capital cities

Population 4,540,000 3,796,000 1,866,000 1,560,000 1,208,000 1,179,000 520,000 542,000 370,000 340,000 263,000 277,000 285,000 213,000 170,000 180,000 194,000 150,000 154,000 120,000 110,000 125,000 114,000 130,000 119,000

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Christians % 3,383,000 74.5 Sydney 2,623,000 Melbourne 69.1 1,424,000 76.3 Brisbane 1,104,000 70.8 Perth 872,000 Auckland 72.2 838,000 71.1 Adelaide 439,000 Newcastle 84.5 421,000 77.6 Gold Coast-Tweed 270,000 Christchurch 73.0 240,000 CANBERRA 70.7 237,000PORT MORESBY 90.1 229,000 Wollongong 82.6 213,000Sunshine 74.8 Coast 161,000 75.6 Hobart 132,000 77.7 Geelong 131,000 WELLINGTON 73.0 126,000 65.0 SUVA 117,000 Townsville 78.2 116,000 Hamilton 75.0 105,000 Toowoomba 87.2 99,100 90.1Lae 98,800Napier-Hastings 79.0 97,400 85.4 PAPEETE 95,600 73.5 Cairns 91,600 77.0 Dunedin

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Urban area 26 NOUMEA Sydney City Melbourne 27 Tauranga Brisbane 28 Launceston Perth 29 Albury-Wodonga Auckland 30 Darwin AdelaideCity 31 Ballarat Newcastle 32 Bendigo Coast-Tweed 33 Gold HONIARA Christchurch 34 Mackay CANBERRA 35 Burnie-Devonport PORT MORESBY 36 Bathurst-Orange Wollongong North 37 Palmerston Sunshine Coast 38 Rockhampton HobartValley 39 Latrobe Geelong 40 Bundaberg WELLINGTON 41 Mandurah 42 WaggaSUVA Wagga Townsville 43 Rotorua Hamilton 44 Nelson Toowoomba 45 ARAWA 46 BAIRIKI Lae Napier-Hastings 47 APIA PAPEETE 48 Bunbury 49 Coffs Cairns Harbour Dunedin 50 PORT VILA

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26-50 Country Population N Caledonia 101,000 NOUMEA City 106,000 N Zealand Tauranga Australia 106,000 Launceston Australia 102,000 Albury-Wodonga Australia 107,000 Darwin Australia 89,700 Ballarat City Australia 86,100 Bendigo Solomon 70,600 HONIARA Islands Australia 76,800 Mackay Australia 82,700 Burnie-Devonport Australia 69,600 Bathurst-Orange N Zealand 80,500 Palmerston North Australia 73,400 Rockhampton Australia 78,200 Latrobe Valley Australia 62,900 Bundaberg Australia 68,300 Mandurah Australia 55,400 Wagga Wagga N Zealand 58,200 Rotorua N Zealand 59,400 Nelson Bougainville 47,200 ARAWA Kiribati 44,400 BAIRIKI Samoa 43,500 APIA Australia 57,000 Bunbury Australia 49,100 Coffs Harbour PORT VILA Vanuatu 41,800

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Christians % 83,900 NOUMEA 83.1 83,700City Tauranga 79.0 83,100 Launceston 78.4 Albury-Wodonga 82,100 80.5 Darwin 71,400 66.7 City 68,400 Ballarat 76.3 Bendigo 64,800 75.3 64,800 HONIARA 91.8 Mackay 63,600 82.8 Burnie-Devonport 62,700 75.8 Bathurst-Orange 62,400 89.7 Palmerston North 61,200 76.0 61,200Rockhampton 83.4 Valley 57,500Latrobe 73.5 51,900 Bundaberg 82.5 50,300 Mandurah 73.6 Wagga 49,000Wagga88.5 Rotorua 46,000 79.0 Nelson 45,700 77.0 ARAWA 44,400 94.1 BAIRIKI 43,300 97.5 APIA 41,900 96.4 Bunbury 41,700 73.2 Harbour 39,500 Coffs80.5 VILA 38,700 PORT 92.7

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Part V Christian mission

Missionaries sent and received, worldwide, 1910–2010

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he 1910 World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh was more than a meeting on mission strategy. It signalled a deepened commitment to church unity across Protestantism, and it reflected the visionary hope that followers of Christ would ultimately be found among all peoples and nations. But at its core, the conference was a meeting of missionaries and their supporters, who discussed investigative reports written about mission work. It grappled with the challenges missionaries were facing in the task of world evangelisation. Twelve hundred representatives from 160 missionary societies converged on Edinburgh to discuss such topics as education and nationalism, missionary preparation, the Christian message and other religions, and the relationship of missions to colonial governments. What did it mean to be a missionary in 1910, and what does it mean a century later? Both then and now, the missionary is an apostle – one who is sent to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. Demographic shifts in Christianity over the past century revealed new forms of the faith, and they also created new perceptions of ‘the missionary’. The evolving contexts for Christian witness have shaped missionary identities, including who is the sender and who is sent, the nature of the work, and its meaning in different times and places.

Missionaries in the early twentieth century In 1910 roughly three-quarters of the world’s Christians were of European descent. The migration of Europeans into colonial contexts provided the framework for the mission movement. Thus the typical missionary was a European sent by Western churches or mission societies to another continent for the purpose of spreading the gospel and founding churches among non-European peoples. The categories of workers in the missionary atlas produced for the Edinburgh 1910 conference reveal the official consensus over definitions. So, for example, workers among European colonial settler populations did not count as missionaries, but workers among ‘natives’ did. To be a foreign missionary required crossing both geographic and cultural boundaries. A home missionary typically crossed cultural but not national boundaries. Statistics on ‘native’ workers such as catechists, indigenous pastors and Bible women were kept separately from those on ‘missionaries’, thus underscoring the essentially European character of the professional missionary. Interdenominational cooperation shaped definitions of the missionary in 1910, but not without disagreements. From the perspective of European Christendom, neither South America nor European countries were mission fields because they had state churches or largely baptised populations. Thus European Catholic priests were not counted as missionaries in Latin America except when working among Indians. Catholics and Orthodox considered Protestants to be sheep stealers. On the other hand, for evangelical Protestants who functioned outside state-church systems, excluding countries with state churches or nominal Catholic and Orthodox populations was theologically unacceptable. From a free-church perspective, evangelisation involved personal conversion rather than baptism into inherited diocesan structures. To correct the omission of Latin America as a subject of discussion at Edinburgh 1910, Protestant mission societies in 1916 held a special conference that claimed full missionary identity for workers in Latin America. The dominant geographic pattern for early twentieth-century missionaries was that of West to East. Fascination with the unreached millions in India and China, and desire to engage ancient world religions, drew most missionaries to Asia. Missionaries gained footholds in colonial treaty ports and then moved inland. At the beginning of the century, the French and the British provided the largest Catholic and Protestant mission forces, respectively. India and China were the biggest mission fields. In 1910 Roman Catholic missionaries sent by European religious orders, including priests, brothers and sisters, numbered around 35,000, and Protestant missionaries numbered roughly 22,000. When the roughly 400 Russian Orthodox missionaries to north Asia are factored in, in 1910 Asia was the chief destination for missions across all branches of Christianity. Whether in India, China, Oceania or Turkey, the first steps for the Protestant missionary were to translate the Bible and to gather converts into churches. While Catholic priests translated catechisms rather than the Bible, they sought to found churches in which Christ

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would be present through the Eucharist. Thus for both Protestants and Catholics, the chief missionary was the ordained male who devoted his time to churchplanting and raising up a native ministry. By the twentieth century, however, the founding of schools, medical work, ‘industrial’ training and social services such as orphan care had taken their place as major forms of mission alongside churchcentric activities. Lay missionaries included printers, agricultural and industrial experts, teachers, social workers, Catholic brothers and sisters, and missionary wives. In effect, missionaries were the 1910 equivalent of development workers. Thus missionary atlases divided Protestant mission work into several major categories, including ‘general and evangelistic’, ‘educational’, ‘medical’ and ‘philanthropic and reformatory’. Human rights advocacy was another important realm of mission endeavour, particularly in defence of oppressed Christian populations such as Armenians under the Ottoman Turks. Reasons for the expansion into ‘kingdom-centric’ mission work were many: the colonial framework of the high imperial era revealed the value of Western education as a path to modernisation for indigenous leaders; new theologies raised doubts about the eternal damnation of the unsaved, but supported holistic approaches to human personhood; and colonial governments used missions to provide relatively cheap social services. Because missions operated largely in a context of Western colonialism, the institutional side of mission work sometimes received support through land grants and subsidies that promoted ‘progress’ in the colonies. Another reason for the focus on social services was the founding of new religious communities of sisters and the formation of Protestant women’s missionary societies that increased opportunities for women to serve as missionaries. By 1910 the Protestant foreign mission force was approximately 45% male and 55% female; for Catholics, sisters numbered 62% while priests and lay brothers constituted the rest. As laity, missionary women worked primarily as teachers, medical personnel and evangelists and in social services oriented toward women and children. During World War I, the deaths of millions of European soldiers resulted in Northern America overtaking the British as the chief source of Protestant missionaries, and many of the new missionaries were women. The self-destruction of European Christendom during World War I led to disillusionment with Western civilisation and the realisation by many missionaries that they needed to separate Jesus Christ from Western cultural forms for the gospel to attract non-European peoples. E. Stanley Jones, for example, hailed by Time magazine in 1938 as the world’s greatest missionary, argued in his 1925 classic The Christ of the Indian Road that Indians would not accept Western creeds and churches, but they would be willing to follow Christ dressed as an Indian holy man, living among the crowds and healing them. Under the leadership of ethnographer Edwin Smith, founder of the journal Africa, the International Missionary Council’s conference of Africa missionaries held in Le Zoute, Belgium, in 1926 identified positive features in African religions that would be fulfilled rather than replaced by Christianity. Karl Reichelt founded the Tao Fong Shan centre as a place where Chinese Buddhists could experience Christianity as compatible with a Buddhist symbol system. In Catholicism, the papacies of Benedict XV and Pius XII marked new eras of missionary expansion. In the 1920s Benedict XV consecrated six Chinese, a Japanese and a Vietnamese bishop, and Catholic missions renewed emphasis on the training of a native priesthood. Although most Western missionaries remained trapped in colonial mindsets and structures, for both Catholics and Protestants the most significant new development in the period between the World Wars was the idea that the gospel should adapt to the forms of each culture.

Missionaries at mid-point: 1950s to 1970s After World War II, European nations gradually released their colonies to form independent nations. In a landmark study published in 1962, Sri Lankan D. T. Niles named the ‘Westernity of the base’ as a major problem for missions, because of Christianity’s Western character and structures. The painful process of decolonisation stretched into the 1970s and was accompanied by radically changed contexts for established mission agencies. The victory of Chinese

Communism and the advent of the Cold War meant the elimination of missions in China and North Korea, the nationalisation of mission schools and hospitals, and the suppression of Christianity. Non-Christian nations such as India and Indonesia began restricting visas for Western missionaries. Civil wars in Algeria, DR Congo, Kenya and other countries forced the withdrawal of missionaries from well-established mission fields. The redeployments by older mission agencies, combined with new waves of independent evangelical missionaries, shifted post-War missionary attention to Latin America, Africa and formerly isolated tribal areas such as Papua New Guinea and the Amazon basin. In the early 1970s indigenous leaders and regional church councils in Latin America, South-eastern Asia and Africa called for a ‘moratorium’ on Western missionaries so as to break once and for all the historic relationship between Western colonialism and the mission movement. The total rejection of Western missionaries was short-lived, but doubts about the entire mission enterprise led to a rapid decline in Western missionaries from the older ‘mainline’ churches. In 1968 the numbers of unaffiliated and evangelical missionaries from the USA (the largest single source of missionary personnel) had surpassed those of the mainline churches that had led the Protestant mission movement since the 1800s. In addition to having doubts about the necessity of converting non-Christians to Christianity, mainline mission agencies turned mission institutions such as schools and hospitals over to local control. The reorganisation of women’s societies led to a decline in unmarried women missionaries, who had long been the backbone of social service missions. New practices of mission partnership emerged between Western denominations and their non-Western offspring, in which Westerners provided funding and specialised expertise rather than large numbers of missionaries. Funded by state-church taxes and spurred by guilt over colonialism, European mission councils that had previously supported traditional missions remade themselves into development agencies that sponsored projects in emerging independent nations. Partnership and development downplayed – or even rejected – the traditional evangelistic aspects of mission work. The post-colonial era also broke the geographic paradigm of West to East that had characterised the missions of European Christendom. In 1963 the mission wing of the World Council of Churches (WCC) affirmed the notion of ‘mission in six continents’. Mission was not based in the actions of Western churches, but in the nature of the Triune God (missio Dei) who sent Christ’s followers into the world from everywhere to everywhere. The term ‘frontier’ expressed the postgeographic, post-colonial nature of the missionary task. To theological liberals, frontier mission involved addressing the boundaries of Christian faith – places where racism, injustice, poverty and materialism were violating the human spirit. Denominations connected with the WCC put into place ‘frontier internships’ in which young people were sent as short-term missionaries to various ‘frontiers’ around the world. One of the models for this expanded understanding of mission was the worker-priests of the 1940s and 1950s, who had lived among French factory workers and saw their task as making faith and justice bloom amidst the struggles of the urban proletariat. An even more influential definition of ‘frontier’ arose in connection with the conceptualisation of ethnolinguistic blocs of people who had not been exposed to the gospel. The limitation of post-colonial partnership models was the assumption that the ‘nations’ referred to in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19–20) were politically defined nation-states, and that the churches in each nation were adequate to evangelise the whole country. But missionary Donald McGavran, founder of the School of World Mission (now the School of Intercultural Studies) at Fuller Theological Seminary, argued (based on his experience observing mass conversion movements in India) that the biblical word for nations, ethne, meant ethnolinguistic groups. One of McGavran’s colleagues at Fuller, Ralph Winter, added that to claim that cross-cultural missions were no longer necessary in an age of nation-states was biblically and sociologically inaccurate. The world still contained thousands of ‘unreached peoples’ who could not hear the gospel except through cross-cultural ‘frontier’ missionaries. The redefinition of the mission task to mean the evangelisation of unreached people groups was affirmed by the First International Congress on World

Evangelisation (the ‘Lausanne Conference’) of 1974, a foundational meeting of evangelical mission leaders from around the world. Even as mainline missions leaders were reducing their missionary numbers, the recognition of ethnolinguistic frontiers stimulated a new wave of evangelical missionaries that offset the decline. The total number of foreign missionaries in 1970, from all traditions, was 240,000. Catholicism remained the largest branch of Christianity at mid-century. The Second Vatican Council (1962–5), a historic meeting of the world’s Catholic bishops, marked the beginning of a new stage of missions. The council document Ad Gentes (To the Nations) affirmed the missionary nature of the church, rooted in the missio Dei. While it called for the evangelisation of the millions who had never heard the gospel, it urged missionaries to respect the cultures and learn the languages of the peoples, including new support for Bible translation. In 1961 Pope John XXIII called for 10% of Northern American religious communities to go to Latin America as missionaries, and thousands answered his call during the early and mid-1960s. But the inculturation processes initiated by Vatican II came into direct conflict with the military dictatorships that controlled most of the continent. As Catholic missioners accompanied the poor in their struggles, started collaborative ‘base Christian communities’ and documented the victims of government violence, entrenched powers persecuted the Church. Government-backed militias martyred 850 bishops, priests and nuns in Central America during the 1970s and early 1980s. Even though by the 1960s Christianity had begun its rapid growth in Asia, Africa and Latin America, the role of the ‘missionary’ was still seen as a largely Western one. But even as the numbers of stereotypical white missionaries began to diminish, the contributions of non-Westerners to mission received increasing attention. Mission scholars during the 1960s began studying the expansion of African independent churches (AICs), churches defined by the New Zealand-born missiologist Harold Turner as those founded in Africa, by Africans, for Africans. Although AICs did not use the title ‘missionary’ for their own cross-cultural evangelists, their churches were nevertheless engaged in mission. Historians began recovering the stories of non-Western missionaries such as William Wadé Harris, who evangelised thousands in Ivory Coast during the 1910s; and John Sung, who preached throughout China and South-eastern Asia in the 1930s. While ‘native assistants’ and catechists had often outnumbered the missionaries themselves, and some indigenous Christians had received missionary appointments or had founded mission societies, the word ‘missionary’ at mid-century still implied a Westerner, supported full-time by other Westerners from the ‘home base’. Until the ghost of colonialism was laid to rest, the title ‘missionary’ would not be entirely freed from the Western baggage that weighed it down.

Missionaries toward 2010 At the 1998 World Council of Churches General Assembly in Harare, Zimbabwe, participants gave Nelson Mandela a hero’s welcome. When he took the podium, the South African leader thanked the missionaries for all they had done to support the struggle against apartheid. Mandela’s speech symbolised the rehabilitation of the word ‘missionary’ from its colonial captivity. Similarly in China, where during the Cold War mission schools and hospitals had been condemned as imperialist outposts, scholars began writing on the positive contribution of mission institutions to the modernisation of the country. By the twenty-first

century, much opposition to missionaries had waned in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. The fiercest grassroots anti-missionary rhetoric came from Muslim radicals and Hindu nationalists, who for contemporary political and religious reasons continued to recycle decades-old anti-missionary treatises written during the colonial period. What caused the widespread change in attitude toward missionaries by the early twenty-first century? One reason was simply the passage of time. Millions had no personal memory of colonialism, and thus could weigh histories of missionary paternalism against the good works they performed. Most latetwentieth-century missionaries functioned without political privileges; mission societies typically would not even pay ransom if missionaries were kidnapped when working in dangerous areas. But a more significant reason for renewed appreciation for missionaries was the growth of Christianity in Asia, Africa and Latin America. By the year 2000, roughly two-thirds of the world’s Christians were from what had been mission fields a century earlier. During the second half of the twentieth century, Christianity became a non-Western religion, concentrated in the Global South. The end of the century saw an explosion of interest in missions among Christians from Asia, Africa and Latin America. Just as European Christians had revelled in the mobility provided them by steamship, railroad and telegraph a century before, so did nonWestern Christians see the missionary task through the lens of their own migratory patterns. The tide of emigration from Europe had reversed after World War II, bringing Christians from former colonies into the heartlands of the old empires. The missionary was now seen as the bridge figure between cultures. The idea of the missionary as bridge, working to fulfil the Great Commission, could be appropriated by all Christians on the move, in any direction. A series of international conferences gave nonWestern Protestants – most of whom were members of growing evangelical or Pentecostal churches – a chance to claim missionary identity for themselves. For example, in 1987 Latin Americans held the first Ibero-American Missionary Congress (COMIBAM) in Brazil to create a network for moving Latin Americans from being the recipients of mission to the initiators of mission. In 1995 the Global Consultation on World Evangelization held in Seoul focused on the evangelisation of Asia by Asians. Its 3,293 participants hailed from 186 countries. At one evening meeting, 60,000 Korean youth pledged themselves to support missions. In addition to special conferences, periodic meetings by various communions of related churches affirmed multiple forms of mission outreach such as partnership arrangements and cooperative mission projects. For instance, in 2005 mission personnel from Methodist churches in South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, France, Switzerland, China, the Philippines and Northern America formed a joint Methodist Mission in Cambodia. Rather than following the unidirectional definition of missions as in the colonial past, by the twenty-first century Protestant missionaries were organising themselves into multicultural, multidirectional networks that operated in the context of globalisation. With the advent of frequent air travel and Internet communication came the democratisation of missions. The 1990s witnessed the proliferation of short-term mission trips, defined as two weeks or less. An estimated 1.5 million Northern Americans undertook some kind of short-term mission trip in 2005. The principal beneficiaries of the short-term mission were the participants themselves, who deepened their own spiritualities and learned about poverty in cross-cultural situations.

But sometimes long-term relationships developed from initial short-term encounters. Although it is questionable whether short-termers should be called missionaries, the proliferation of volunteer groups is a significant component of the missions scene in the twenty-first century. Approximately half the world’s Christians were Catholics at the beginning of the twenty-first century, and half of those were in the Americas. Unlike Protestantism, however, the large parish system characteristic of Catholicism, and the traditional division between diocesan priests and religious orders, meant that distribution of church personnel did not track with Catholic populations. So, for example, despite its declining percentage of Catholics, European Catholicism still exported the lion’s share of Roman Catholic missionaries. Latin America had the largest Catholic population and huge parishes but was a net receiver of priests. Asian Catholics were only a small percentage of their populations, but they produced a disproportionate number of religious vocations. Many young priests who ought to have been missionaries to their own regions instead migrated to the USA, where 20% of seminarians were foreigners. Thus within Catholicism, itself an interconnected global system, missionaries from wealthy countries served in poor areas, while many priests from poor countries become migrants to the wealthier parts of the world. By 2005 there were approximately 443,000 foreign missionaries working around the world from all branches of Christianity. The largest mission-sending country was still the USA, with over one-quarter of the total. Those sending over 20,000 each were Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and Brazil, with Britain and Canada close behind. That the West had become both a mission field and the recipient of heavy immigration was reflected in the largest missionary-receiving countries – the USA, Brazil, Russia, France, Britain and DR Congo. The opening of eastern Europe and the revitalisation of Orthodox missions were also important developments late in the century. Western missionaries predominated in the count of foreign missionaries, but countries with large diaspora populations like Brazil, South Korea, Nigeria and China were notable for the vigour of their overseas mission movements. New, non-Western denominations provided much of the mission energy among migrants. Although the Global South continued to receive more missionaries than it sent, there were still 44,000 missionaries from Latin America, 18,400 from Africa, 26,000 from Asia, and 9,000 from Oceania. A century ago, India and China had the largest foreign missionary presence, with ‘foreign’ defined as mostly European. Today their governments keep out foreign missionaries through visa restrictions. But within their borders, tens of thousands of ‘home’ missionaries evangelise other ethnic groups. The distinctions between mission-sending and missionreceiving countries have narrowed. A century after Edinburgh 1910, missionaries are more diverse than in any previous era of human history.

DANA L. ROBERT Gerald H. Anderson (ed.), Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions (New York: Macmillan Reference, 1998). David B. Barrett, ‘Statistics of Mission and Missionaries’, in Jonathan Bonk (ed.), Encyclopedia of Missions and Missionaries (New York: Routledge, 2007), pp. 426–32. James S. Dennis, Harlan P. Beach and Charles H. Fahs (eds), World Atlas of Christian Missions (New York: Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions, 1911). Bryan T. Froehle and Mary L. Gautier, Global Catholicism (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2003). Dana L. Robert, Christian Mission: How Christianity Became a World Religion (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009).

Missionaries and national workers by country, 2010 Most missionaries sent* Total 127,000 34,000 21,000 21,000 20,000 20,000 15,000 14,000 10,000 8,500

Most missionaries received* 2010 Per million Christians Palestine 3,401 Ireland 2,131 Malta 1,994 Samoa 1,802 South Korea 1,014 Belgium 872 Singapore 815 Northern Cyprus 741 Tonga 619 USA 614

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 USA Brazil Russia DR Congo South Africa France Britain Argentina Chile India

Total 32,400 20,000 20,000 15,000 12,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 8,500 8,000

Most national workers* 2010 Per million people FS Micronesia 4,779 Samoa 4,167 Tonga 3,922 Netherlands Antilles 3,317 Guam 2,833 French Polynesia 1,612 Virgin Is of the US 1,532 Belize 1,438 Vanuatu 1,399 New Caledonia 1,344

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 USA India Germany Italy Ethiopia Russia France Britain Spain Canada

Total 3,454,000 711,000 711,000 640,000 593,000 474,000 474,000 474,000 403,000 308,000

*Countries >100,000

2010 Per million people Samoa 30,729 Malta 18,491 Tonga 13,725 Ireland 13,102 Belgium 12,355 USA 10,975 Italy 10,842 Guadeloupe 10,352 Luxembourg 9,731 Canada 9,125

259

MISSIONARIES

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 USA Brazil France Spain Italy South Korea Britain Germany India Canada

Foreign missionaries and national workers, 2010

O

Total

National workers

20,000 80,000 200,000 500,000 > 500,000

CitWorkerPM

200 800 2,000 5,000 900,000

Foreign missionaries sent and received by UN region, 2010 10,000

iv These regions send fewer missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive more missionaries per million population, than the global average.

 Sending and receiving of missionaries by UN regions/continents The graph to the right shows sending and receiving for all UN regions and continents. Missionaries received is per million population, suggesting the potential impact on the entire population of the region of service. Missionaries sent is per million affiliated Christians, indicating the strength of mission sending by the Christian community. Both axes use a logarithmic scale because the data values vary by several orders of magnitude. Lines plotted at the average values of these variables separate the data points into four quadrants, described more fully above. Note that only one region, Eastern Asia, appears in quadrant i (above-average sending and below-average receiving). In quadrant ii (above-average sending and receiving) one finds primarily the Global North. In the past, these regions would have been in quadrant i, but all the regions of the Global North have become strong receiving regions. In quadrant iii, both missionary sending and receiving are below the global average. This is where most Asian regions reside, largely due to their enormous non-Christian populations. Quadrant iv contains the other traditional mission fields of the twentieth century: Latin America and Africa. These regions still receive large numbers of missionaries but are gradually moving towards quadrant ii as they send their own missionaries. One exception is Eastern Europe, which in its post-Communist context still receives more missionaries than it sends.

260

Missionaries sent per million affiliated Christians

iii These regions send fewer missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive fewer missionaries per million population, than the global average.

Workers per CitWorkerPm_World million people >5,000 5,000 2,000 800 200 0  National workers (per million population) European and Northern American countries have the highest saturation of national workers among their populations. Though these workers arguably are needed, the distribution of workers reveals gaps in other parts of the world. The rise of Christianity in Africa over the past century has been accompanied by a rapid rise of national leadership, but often there is a deficit of available leadership training. India has the secondhighest number of workers of any country in the world (711,000), though it falls far short of the 4,000,000 available to the countries of Europe, which have a smaller collective population than all of India.

Quadrant meanings These quadrant lines represent the total global missionaries sent (per million affiliated Christians) against the total global missionaries received (per million population).

ii These regions send more missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive more missionaries per million population, than the global average.

 National workers (total) Numbers of national Christian workers, although still relatively large, are declining in most European countries. Brazil has large numbers, and so do India and China, where Christianity is growing more rapidly. India, in fact, has as many national Christian workers as Germany; only the USA has more. Many Latin American countries, however, have low numbers of national workers compared to the sizes of their Christian populations. This is especially surprising because of the dominant presence of Christianity in Latin America, as well as the call from the Second Vatican Council for missionaries to go to Latin America.

CitWorker

Missionary scatter plot quadrants, 2010

i These regions send more missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive fewer missionaries per million population, than the global average.

Total workers CitWorker_World >500,000 500,000 200,000 80,000 20,000 0

Per million

ver the past 100 years, as global Christianity has been shifting gradually to the South, the number of foreign missionaries sent from the South has been increasing. In 1910 the vast majority of missionaries were sent from Europe and Northern America to Asia, Africa and Latin America. In 2010 the sending of foreign missionaries is more even across continents, although Europe and Northern America still have much higher per-capita sending rates than most countries of the Global South. These pages depict foreign missionaries (those who cross national boundaries), but it should be noted that much of the growth of the missionary movement has been in home missionaries (those who work as missionaries within their own national boundaries). This is especially true for India and Nigeria, which rank second in foreign-missionary sending in Asia and Africa, respectively, but which also have many home missionaries among their national workers. Thus, the combined numbers of Southern foreign and home missionaries are sometimes contrasted with only the numbers of Northern foreign missionaries, excluding the large numbers of home missionaries and other national workers in countries such as the USA and Britain. Note that we have reduced our estimates for the number of foreign missionaries from 443,000 in 2005 to about 400,000 in 2010. This is due mainly to new figures showing significant decline in sending from the Global North. The table on the facing page reveals the significant variations in the numbers of national workers, missionaries sent and missionaries received for each UN region. It is particularly instructive to compare workers or missionaries per million population (or per million affiliated Christians in the case of missionaries sent). For example, in 2010 Polynesia sends the fewest foreign missionaries of any region, but the most by far per million affiliated Christians. Another profound change over time has been the distance that missionaries travel. In 1910 Northern American and European missionaries took lengthy and often hazardous journeys. Today, especially in the Global South, foreign missionaries often work in an adjacent country. The vocations of missionaries have changed as well. One hundred years ago, large numbers of missionaries were involved in schools, hospitals and other social projects. By the middle of the twentieth century many of these institutions were handed over to national workers. At that time missionaries from newer denominations came in, planting churches and holding evangelistic crusades. In the early part of the twenty-first century, Protestant and Independent missionaries increasingly are involved in social projects, ranging from microenterprise to schools. What has not changed, however, is the enormous dangers of the missionary enterprise. Missionaries, North or South, continue to find themselves in harm’s way. Every year several Christian missionaries are killed in the midst of their work. Today, though, they are just as likely to be Korean as British and just as likely to be African Independent as Roman Catholic.

= Global average

i

ii

1,000

26 21 14

15 8

9

27 7

100

5

22

25

20 11

17 10 6

1

19

4 2

13

iii

10

23

16 12

18

24

3

iv Numbers correspond to table on the facing page.

1 1

10

100

1,000

Missionaries received per million population

10,000

Missionaries sent

Missionaries received

Total

Total MissionSent_World missionaries >10,000 10,000 1,000 100 10 0

TotalMissionRecv_World missionaries >15,000 15,000 5,000 2,500 500 0

 Missionaries sent (total)  Missionaries received (total) Northern America and Europe continue to send the bulk of cross-cultural missionaries today (over 65%). This map shows that the countries with the most Christians also receive the largest numbers of missionarThis is due largely to the financial strength of these predominantly Christian countries. Brazil is an exception; ies. This makes some sense if one considers that invitations are a major avenue for missionary sending. MissionRecv most of its missionaries are Roman Catholics working in Latin America, the USA and Europe. Such missionSponsorships are also more likely where the Christian population is large. The 13 countries receiving the 500 ary sharing is seen in the ‘Missionaries received’ map at right, which displays the pattern of predominantly most missionaries are majority-Christian themselves. These are followed by India (#14) and Japan (#15), the 2,500 5,000 Christian countries receiving the most missionaries. An increasing number of Protestants and Independents, largest receiving countries that are not predominantly Christian. India, however, receives only seven foreign 15,000 however, are being sent to Africa and Asia, as well as being sent from there. The map below of missionaries missionaries per million population, making it one of the lightest-shaded countries on the map below. 35,000 sent per million Christians illustrates this reality.

Per million

Missionaries per MissionSentPmAC_World million Christians >400 400 130 50 30 0

Missionaries per MissionRecvPm_World million people >700 700 200 100 30 0

 Missionaries sent (per million affiliated Christians)  Missionaries received (per million population) This map reveals the rise of missionary sending in the Global South. It is interesting to note that many Missionaries today are sent from everywhere and received everywhere. But from the standpoint of evangecountries with very low Christian populations (such as Palestine, Japan, Algeria and Mongolia) lising non-Christians, one can see a problem: countries with largely Christian populations receive relatively MissionRecvPm still send missionaries from their countries, while others with large Christian populations, such as many more missionaries than majority non-Christian countries. One dramatic example of this is Brazil (a largely 30 in Eastern Europe, 100 send virtually none. Many factors, however, such as church tradition, governmental politics and financial Christian country), which receives a total of 20,000 missionaries, whereas Bangladesh, with nearly as many 200 resources, impact the ability of a group of Christians to send missionaries from their country. people, receives only 1,000 missionaries. 700 26,000

Missionaries sent and received, 1910

*p.m.c. = per million affiliated Christians

Missionaries sent and received and national workers, 2010 % 9.4 15.9 1.1 9.7 37.0 1.7 2.4 0.4 1.5 10.8 22.9 94.5 89.6 98.1 96.9 98.7 95.2 97.7 99.0 93.1 96.6 78.6 96.9 15.4 76.7 99.2 34.8

Sent 350 50 30 20 200 50 300 100 100 50 50 39,950 2,500 18,000 8,000 11,450 400 100 100 200 20,400 600 200 100 100 200 62,000

Missionaries p.m.c.* Received p.m.** 30 8,500 68 Africa 9 2,000 61 Eastern Africa 145 1,300 67 Middle Africa 6 850 27 Northern Africa 79 3,450 506 Southern Africa 90 900 27 Western Africa 12 26,800 26 Asia 44 12,600 23 Eastern Asia 19 11,900 34 South-central Asia 5 1,200 13 South-eastern Asia 7 1,100 33 Western Asia 99 2,120 5 Europe 16 1,320 7 Eastern Europe 298 400 7 Northern Europe 107 200 3 Southern Europe 105 200 2 Western Europe 5 22,000 281 Latin America 13 1,850 226 Caribbean 5 8,600 414 Central America 4 11,550 234 South America 223 1,430 15 Northern America 106 1,050 146 Oceania 38 300 56 Australia/New Zealand 408 450 282 Melanesia 1,458 100 1,119 Micronesia 1,538 200 1,527 Polynesia 101 62,000 35 Global total

Population Population Christians 1,032,012,000 494,668,000 332,107,000 214,842,000 129,583,000 105,830,000 206,295,000 17,492,000 56,592,000 46,419,000 307,436,000 110,084,000 4,166,308,000 352,239,000 1,562,575,000 140,012,000 1,777,378,000 69,213,000 594,216,000 129,700,000 232,139,000 13,315,000 730,478,000 585,739,000 290,755,000 246,495,000 98,352,000 79,610,000 152,913,000 125,796,000 188,457,000 133,838,000 593,696,000 548,958,000 42,300,000 35,379,000 153,657,000 147,257,000 397,739,000 366,322,000 348,575,000 283,002,000 35,491,000 27,848,000 25,647,000 18,816,000 8,589,000 7,847,000 575,000 532,000 680,000 653,000 6,906,560,000 2,292,454,000

National workers Missionaries % Total p.m.** Sent p.m.c.* Received p.m.** 47.9 1,680,000 1,628 20,700 44 93,700 91 64.7 929,000 2,798 4,400 21 32,700 99 81.7 289,000 2,232 2,400 24 24,500 189 8.5 20,200 98 510 30 4,300 21 82.0 209,000 3,700 8,300 207 15,500 273 35.8 232,000 756 5,200 48 16,700 54 8.5 1,481,000 355 47,100 135 59,200 14 9.0 404,000 259 26,900 194 19,500 12 3.9 734,000 413 10,500 153 14,200 8 21.8 310,000 522 8,600 68 20,300 34 5.7 33,000 142 1,000 79 5,400 23 80.2 4,038,000 5,528 132,800 237 90,000 123 84.8 777,000 2,672 5,500 23 32,100 110 80.9 580,000 5,897 29,300 431 14,900 151 82.3 1,154,000 7,549 47,100 378 17,100 112 71.0 1,527,000 8,101 50,700 405 25,900 138 92.5 839,000 1,414 58,400 107 102,000 172 83.6 41,000 970 1,800 53 10,500 249 95.8 251,000 1,636 8,200 56 20,000 130 92.1 547,000 1,375 48,400 133 71,400 180 81.2 3,763,000 10,794 135,000 596 40,200 115 78.5 199,000 5,602 6,000 255 14,900 421 73.4 146,000 5,674 5,000 327 6,000 235 91.4 42,600 4,960 340 48 5,600 647 92.5 2,000 3,434 120 235 1,400 2,399 96.1 8,700 12,835 520 810 2,000 2,917 33.2 12,000,000 1,737 400,000 184 400,000 58

**p.m. = per million population

261

MISSIONARIES

1 Africa 2 Eastern Africa 3 Middle Africa 4 Northern Africa 5 Southern Africa 6 Western Africa 7 Asia 8 Eastern Asia 9 South-central Asia 10 South-eastern Asia 11 Western Asia 12 Europe 13 Eastern Europe 14 Northern Europe 15 Southern Europe 16 Western Europe 17 Latin America 18 Caribbean 19 Central America 20 South America 21 Northern America 22 Oceania 23 Australia/New Zealand 24 Melanesia 25 Micronesia 26 Polynesia 27 Global total

Population Population Christians 124,228,000 11,663,000 33,030,000 5,266,000 19,443,000 207,000 32,002,000 3,107,000 6,819,000 2,526,000 32,933,000 557,000 1,028,265,000 25,123,000 556,096,000 2,288,000 345,121,000 5,182,000 94,104,000 10,124,000 32,944,000 7,529,000 427,154,000 403,687,000 178,184,000 159,695,000 61,474,000 60,326,000 76,940,000 74,532,000 110,556,000 109,134,000 78,269,000 74,477,000 8,172,000 7,986,000 20,777,000 20,566,000 49,320,000 45,925,000 94,689,000 91,429,000 7,192,000 5,650,000 5,375,000 5,206,000 1,596,000 245,000 89,400 68,600 131,000 130,000 1,759,797,000 612,028,000

Missionaries sent and received from continent to continent, 1910–2010

B

y definition, foreign missionaries are sent from one country to another country. On these two pages, the origins and destinations of these missionaries are examined. While there are no comprehensive statistics on where missionaries are sent, their general destinations can be estimated. Note that these figures include all Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican, Independent and Marginal Christian missionaries and therefore might not be easily assignable to any single tradition. Each of these traditions, and denominations within traditions, has a different pattern of missionary deployment.

The tables on the facing page represent attempts to estimate continental mission sending and receiving of missionaries for 1910 and 2010. The six maps and pie graphs (below and on the facing page) illustrate each continent’s estimates. The graphs compare the situations in 1910 and 2010 by showing the distribution of foreign missionaries sent from a given continent. Note that, in most cases, the principal destination of foreign missionaries is within their own continent. This analysis reveals two different shifts over the 100-year period. First, the proportions of missionaries sent out from the six continents have changed dramatically. In 1910 virtu-

ally all missionaries were sent from Europe and Northern America. In 2010, these two continents send out about two-thirds of all missionaries. In this way the missionary movement evidences both continuity and discontinuity (since only 40% of all Christians today are represented by Europe and Northern America). The second shift is the changing destinations of missionaries over the 100-year period. These are detailed in the tables and in some of the comments on these two pages.

Missionaries from Africa

In 1910 only a handful of African Christians were missionaries, and virtually all of these worked in surrounding countries within Africa. Today there are over 20,000 African missionaries. The vast majority still work within the African continent in other countries, such as Kenyans at work in Tanzania or Nigerians at work in Benin. Nonetheless, African missionaries are becoming increasingly common in Europe, Northern America and other parts of the caAsia Europe Northern globe. Oceania LatinAfricaAsia Europe Latin Latin America America

Latin America

America

2010

Europe  Destination of African missionaries

1910

Europe

Northern America

Northern America

2010

7.1% 7.1%

Oceania

1.0% 4.8% 9.7% 1.9% 0.5%

85.7%

To Asia 400

America

2010

1910

To Europe 2,000

To Northern America 1,000

82.1%

1.0% 4.8% 9.7% 1.9% 0.5% Africa

To Latin America 200

Oceania

82.1%

Africa

Asia

Europe

Latin America

Northern America

Oceania

To Africa 17,000

Africa

To Oceania 100

Missionaries sent from Africa, 2010

Asia

Asia

Missionaries from Asia To Europe 3,600

To Northern America 2,300

To Asia 38,400 Northern America

To Africa 700

6.7% 83.3% Oceania

AfricaAsia Europe Northern Latin America America

There were very few missionaries from Asian countries in 1910, and virtually all of them worked within Asia. While the number has grown significantly, most Asian missionaries still work within Asia. This can be misleading, however, because of the enormous size of Asia. For example, Filipino missionaries working in Saudi Arabia or Korean missionaries in Kazakhstan 6.7% would be considered Asian missionaries working 83.3% within Asia. Oceania

0.0%

1910

To Latin America 1,300

AfricaAsia Europe Latin Latin America America

Europe

Europe

 Destination of Asian missionaries

10.0%

6.7%

10.0%

83.3%

Africa

Asia

Europe

Latin America

Northern America

Oceania

caAsia Europe Northern Latin America America

2010

1910

Europe

Europe

 Destination of European missionaries

1910

2010 Oceania

3.0%

3.0%

To Asia 13,000

To Africa 21,600

Northern America

Northern America

2010

1.8% 2.5%

To Europe 54,700

To Northern America 4,000

To Latin America 36,000

Oceania

Africa

Africa

25.0%

%

15.5%

27.1% 54.4%

Missionaries sent from Europe, 2010

9.8%

9.8%

2.6%

2.6%

Africa

Asia

Europe

Latin America

Northern America

Oceania

To Oceania 3,500

41.2%

16.2%

16.2%

0.8%

262

41.2%

27.1%

Asia

Asia

2.8% 1.5% 4 1.7%

8

81.5%

Missionaries from Europe

In 1910, two-thirds of all missionaries were Europeans. By 2010 this had dropped to approximately one-third. In 1910 half of all European missionaries were at work in Asia, but this dropped precipitously as colonial powers faded. Today the principal destination for European missionaries is within Europe itself (for example, British missionaries at work in Russia). The number of European missionaries sent out has been declining since 1970, while at the same time Europe AfricaAsia Europe Latin receivesOceania more from the other five Latinmissionaries Latin America America continents.America

Northern America

2010 2.8% 1.5% 4.9% 7.6% 1.7%

6.7%

To Oceania 800 83.3%

201

2010

1910

1910

Missionaries sent from Asia, 2010

Latin America

0.0%

Missionary exchange, 1910

Missionary exchange, 2010

aAsia Europe Northern Latin America America

Africa Asia Europe Latin America Northern America Oceania Global total

Asia 0 250 21,750 0 4,850 50 26,900

Received by

Europe L America N America 25 0 25 20 0 30 1,000 10,000 700 25 300 75 1,000 11,700 500 50 0 100 2,120 22,000 1,430

Oceania 0 0 300 0 350 400 1,050

Global 350 300 39,950 400 20,400 600 62,000

Africa 17,000 700 21,600 1,000 53,100 300 93,700

Africa Asia Europe Latin America Northern America Oceania Global total

Sent from

Sent from

Received by Africa 300 0 6,200 0 2,000 0 8,500

Asia 400 38,400 13,000 1,000 5,700 700 59,200

Europe L America N America 2,000 200 1,000 3,600 1,300 2,300 54,700 36,000 4,000 5,000 24,000 27,100 24,000 40,200 5,100 700 300 700 90,000 102,000 40,200

Oceania 100 800 3,500 300 6,900 3,300 14,900

Global 20,700 47,100 132,800 58,400 135,000 6,000 400,000

Missionaries from Latin America

To Europe 5,000

To Northern America 27,100

To Asia 1,000

Northern America

Oceania 0.0%

In 1910 very few missionaries were sent out from Latin America, and most worked in neighbouring countries within Latin America. Today the Latin American missionary movement is growing. Nonetheless, the majority of missionaries work in Latin America and Northern America (such as the 3,000 Roman Catholic missionaries sent from Brazil Africa Africa Latin Latin 75.0%American LatinNorthernto the USA). OceaniaLatin 75.0% Asia Europe Americamissionaries are increasAsia Europe America 0.0% America 0.0% America 0.0% ingly working in Africa and Asia, however, and these numbers continue to rise. Europe

To Africa 1,000

2010 8.6% 1.7% 1.7%

6.3%

6.3%

To18.8% Oceania 300

18.8%

46.3%

46.3%

41.2%

75.0%

75.0%

Missionaries sent from Latin America, 2010

20

 Destination of Latin American missionaries

1910 To Latin America 24,000

Northern America Europe

2010

1910

1910

Latin America

Africa

Asia

Europe

Latin America

Northern America

Oceania

Missionaries from Northern America

In 1910 missionaries from Northern America represented about one-third of all missionaries sent out globally. By 2010 this proportion was still about onethird even though the total number had increased by 115,000 over the 100-year period. What has changed is the destination of these missionaries. In 1910 Africa claimed only 10% of Northern American missionaries. By 2010 almost 40% of all Northern American missionaries are at work in Africa. In 1910 Oceania AfricaAsiathe Latin America recipient of over halfLatin of all Europe Latin was Latin America America missionaries (RomanAmerica Catholic and Protestant). By 2010 this has dropped to less than one-third. 2010 1910 Europe

Europe

 Destination of Northern American missionaries

1910

% 1.7%

4.4%

29.7%

9.8% 1.7%

29.7%

To Africa 53,100

Northern America

3.8%

17.8%

23.8% 57.4%

2010

Northern America

Oceania

3.8%

To Europe 24,000 To Asia 5,700

2010

2.5% 4.9%

%

To Northern America 5,100

17.8%Africa 4.4%

To Latin America 40,200

Oceania

Africa

To Oceania 6,900

5.1%

5.1% 39.2%

39.2%

Missionaries sent from Northern America, 2010

Africa

Asia

Europe

Latin America

Northern America

Oceania

Asia

Asia

Missionaries from Oceania

To Europe 700

To Northern America 700

To Asia 700 Asia Northern America

Africa 0.0%

Northern Europe Latin America America

To Oceania 3,300

1910

To Latin America 300

Africa Oceania 8.3% Latin0.0% America

16.7%

Missionaries sent from Oceania, 2010

201

Northern America

 Destination of Oceanian missionaries

8.3% 8.3%

Europe

2010

1910 1910

8.3%

Latin America

Europe Latin Europe America

16.7%

2010 8.3%

5.0%

11.7% 5.0%

11.7%

5.0%

11.7% 55.0%

66.7%

66.7%

11.7% 5.0%

MISSIONARIES SENT AND RECEIVED

To Africa 300

Oceania 8.3%

In 1910 most missionaries from Oceania were Australians or New Zealanders. Today there are significant numbers of missionaries sent out from island nations such as American Samoa and Tonga. While most work within Oceania, these missionaries increasingly are found in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Missionaries from Oceania have been lauded as extremely adaptive in foreign cultures and Asia contexts.

Africa

Asia

Europe

Latin America

Northern America

Oceania

263

5

Missionaries sent and received, Africa, 1910–2010

T

he opening decade of the twentieth century provided little indication of the phenomenal and unparalleled growth that would transform African Christianity into a prominent expression and representation of global Christianity by the closing decade. In 1910 Muslims outnumbered Christians by more than three-to-one. The fate of African societies and the fortunes of Christianity on the continent seemed tied to the designs and dominating control of European powers and foreign agents more unalterably than at any time previously. European missions The turn of the century was the high-water mark of the ‘scramble era’: the arbitrary partitioning and forcible occupation of the sub-continent by aggressive European nations. In many parts of Africa, foreign missionaries (especially Germans) arrived well in advance of colonial structures, and key components of Christian missions such as schools, vernacular translation, the telegraph and newspapers inaugurated the earliest and most momentous changes in pre-modern African society. But the turn of the century witnessed new medical breakthroughs and major technological advances in communication and transportation that facilitated unprecedented penetration of African societies and profoundly transformed missionary engagement. The invention of the bicycle in 1876 had altered the scope and nature of European missionary service. Now, under colonial administration, road and railway construction proceeded at a rapid pace. The unprecedented access to the African interior engendered by colonialism meant that the way lay open for Christian missions in a manner inconceivable only a few decades previously. Colonial expansion was also accompanied by a dramatic increase in the numbers of European missionaries. The total Protestant foreign missionary force in Africa burgeoned from roughly 1,171 in 1890 to 6,289 in 1925. Half of this 1925 workforce came from Britain, more than a third resided in South Africa, and the vast majority were still drawn from the evangelical tradition. By 1920 there were 1,950 foreign Catholic priests, 800 brothers, and 4,000 sisters on the continent. The disproportionately high number of female missionaries was a peculiarity of Catholic foreign missions. Not until the late nineteenth century were significant numbers of single women sent to the mission field by Protestant sending agencies. From the turn of the century, single women missionaries constituted a rapidly growing number of the foreign missionary force, and their work among the female population greatly expanded the reach of missions. Re-energised, better organised and imbued with a renewed spirit of confidence, Christian missions expanded vigorously. Improved transportation and communications infrastructure greatly increased missionary mobility, though foreign missionaries were less likely to devote their entire careers to the mission field due to the ease of travel between Europe and Africa. Mission stations proliferated, the number of mission-run hospitals and clinics expanded and elementary schools (the primary tool of European mission) mushroomed in unprecedented fashion. Education of the most elementary kind was the touchstone of missionary evangelisation efforts throughout Africa, even though Africans increasingly sought education for purely secular reasons. Medical clinics and hospitals also became valuable instruments of evangelisation, and disease epidemics invariably produced a flood of conversions. With greater numbers of foreign agents on the ground, missionary control of churches and Christian institutions became even more complete and paternalistic, reversing the policy of promoting African leadership sporadically implemented among Protestants from the 1860s. Since colonial expansion reinforced missionary nationalism, longstanding rivalries and animosities between Catholic and Protestant missions intensified. The new generation of missionaries were generally more educated than their predecessors, more confident and assertive. While they were, generally speaking, more knowledgeable about African culture and religious life, they were also more harshly critical and intolerant of African beliefs and values. On the whole, twentieth-century Western missions were marked by a patent triumphalism imaged on Western economic dominance and technological supremacy. With few exceptions, European missionaries upheld the overarching imperative of refashioning African Christianity in the image of Europe and safeguarding European hegemony. Those who recoiled from

264

this vision were few and far between. One noteworthy example was John V. Taylor (1914–2001), a Church Missionary Society (CMS) missionary in Uganda (later CMS Secretary and Bishop), who drew attention to the acute tensions between the European and African worldviews and understood better than most that faithful interaction between the Christian message and the African religious universe was indispensable for authentic African Christianity. But in an age of empire, little distinguished foreign missionaries from foreign merchants and colonial officers. All were integral to structures of inequality and European hegemony. The historic 1910 Edinburgh World Missionary Conference gave no consideration to Africans as agents of mission. The four million African Christians in Egypt and Ethiopia (by conference estimates) were dismissed as lacking missionary character, while the missionary potential of more recently formed indigenous Christian communities in Western and Eastern Africa was not even considered. Sadly, this exceptionally narrow understanding of the missionary task – as an exclusive Western undertaking – completely misdiagnosed the spread of Christianity in Africa and hopelessly misapprehended its prospects. Africans and African Christianity From the start, African initiatives, agency and creative energy were vital to the establishment and spread of Christianity. It could not be otherwise. Foreign action and influence, even at the height of colonialism, was everywhere provisional and subject to profound limitations. This is not to deny the enormous influence and venerated status that most European missionaries enjoyed. But, in reality, the majority of Africans had only minimal exposure to a white missionary, and the preaching of the gospel by European missionaries seldom produced many conversions. The dramatic growth in the numbers of European missionaries in the first three decades of the twentieth century was accompanied by even more remarkable increases in the number of African agents employed in Protestant missions. European missionary clout and resources invariably paved the way for missionary expansion into new areas. But these initial steps did not produce African conversions. In both Protestant and Catholic missions, it was African agents, serving as catechists, schoolmasters and interpreters, or dispersed as traders and labour migrants, who formed the main vanguard of Christian expansion throughout the continent. Most Africans have heard the gospel from other Africans. Crucially, indigenous responses and appropriation of the Christian message provided direct engagement with the African spiritual world and produced new understandings that directly addressed African questions and concerns. Throughout the twentieth century, this process stimulated the emergence under African leaders of substantial and recurrent movements that rejected the alien garb of missionary Christianity and fomented African expressions. The nature, impact and timing of the movements depended on shifting sociopolitical contexts and complex factors such as the extent of vernacular translation, the size of the European population, the duration of the European missionary presence, the proportion of educated African Christians and the nature of white domination. Almost always, these movements produced churches independent of European established denominations. All emphasised ‘spiritual power’ (or the Pentecostal experience) over creedal orthodoxy. Already in the late nineteenth century, African reactions to missionary Christianity had produced Ethiopianism, a movement of African cultural nationalism and religious protest (influenced by African American racial ideologies) that challenged European domination in church and society and produced new African church movements in Western and Southern Africa. While it lacked the charismatic impulse, Ethiopianism laid a certain foundation for the rise of prophet-healing movements – labelled ‘Zionists’ in Southern Africa, ‘Aladura’ in Western Africa and ‘Abaroho’ in Eastern Africa – in the early twentieth century. Undoubtedly the most important single factor in the rise of African renewal movements was the vernacular translation of Scriptures. Other factors that account for their emergence and extraordinary impact include rebellion and resentment triggered by foreign missionary control; wholesale condemnation of African culture; the proclamation of a form of Christianity that was limited to external observances and creedal

statements and ignored the African religious universe; the divisive image and impact of denominational sectarianism; and the upheavals generated by colonial invasion (including massive displacement of peoples) combined with more incidental catastrophes like the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918. The earliest prophet-healing movements emerged in Western Africa, where William Wadé Harris was active in the Ivory Coast from 1909, Garrick Sokari Braide in the Niger Delta from 1912, and Simon Kimbangu in the Congo from 1921. Both Harris and Braide demanded the destruction of all idols and traditional shrines, healed the sick, cast out demons, admonished abstinence from liquor, preached strict sabbatical observance, condoned polygamy and promptly baptised those who confessed their sin. Both were persecuted by colonial authorities. Many ministries were short-lived and most produced multiple splinter groups. But there are still Harrist Churches today in the Ivory Coast, Liberia and Ghana. However, the most significant and extensive prophethealing movement to come out out of the region was the Aladura (a Yoruba word meaning ‘prayer people’) movement that emerged in Western Nigeria between 1918 and 1930. Despite Simon Kimbangu spending the last 30 years of his life in prison, the movement he began, the Church of Jesus Christ on Earth, became the largest of all the original prophet-healing movements. Throughout the African subcontinent, the same pattern of explosive charismatic movements headed by prophet-healing figures (both male and female) – usually members of mission churches – recurred with astonishing regularity. It is worth noting in passing that these African ‘Pentecostal’ movements emerged independently of the 1906 Azusa Street Revival. Independent, Western Pentecostal missionary initiatives in Africa generally failed; the most successful were those (such as Assemblies of God missions) that responded to African invitation and adapted to African priorities. Over time, Pentecostalism in Africa benefited from external interventions and religious flows, but African Pentecostalism, in all its varieties of expression, remained firmly rooted in the African religious universe. In South Africa, the Zionist movement emerged through American Pentecostal influences but quickly became a predominantly Zulu movement. Isaiah Shembe (c. 1870–1935), the most famous Zionist prophet, was already famous as a healer by the time he broke away from the African Native Baptist Church to establish the Church of the Nazarites (Ama-Nazaretha) in 1911. Women featured prominently in the new movements, and many of the leading new prophet-healers were young women. The Aladura Cherubim and Seraphim Church was founded in 1925 by Christiana Abiodun Akinsowon, a 15-year-old Anglican girl, and Moses Orimolade Tunolashe, an illiterate prophet. The Lumba Church was founded in north-eastern Zambia in 1955 by Alice Mulenga Lenshina. In 1963, two lay Catholic Luo Christians (in Kenya), Simeon Odento and Gaudencia Aoko (a young woman), led the largest secession from the Roman Catholic Church in Africa, Legio Maria (Legion of Mary). These African-instituted/renewal movements incorporated African worldviews and cultural practices more substantially than mainline churches. Healing practices, for instance, typically included the use of symbolic objects such as blessed water, ropes, staffs, papers, even ash. All emphasised spiritual power. Accusations of ‘syncretism’ typically ignore their vigorous confrontation with traditional religion, including a stance against witchcraft, idol worship and spirit possession. Attitudes to ancestorship or polygyny remained more ambigious. Some also became so nativistic in their expressions or veered so deeply into the esoteric that biblical authority was usurped and Christian identity nullified. But, as distinct alternatives to Europeanised Christianity, these African renewal movements represented a vibrant and popular form of African Christianity with extraordinary appeal among youths (hinting at a generational gap), women and marginalised or displaced groups. In addition to the appeal of African spirituality, the extensive migration movements engendered by the colonial economy contributed greatly to their rapid growth and expansion. For all that, the vast majority of African Christians have remained within the mission-founded denominations. For one thing, the phenomenon of African renewal or reform did not always lead to independent or separately instituted churches. The East African (or Balakole, meaning ‘saved ones’) Revival that began in

Rwanda and Uganda in the 1930s is a case in point. Incorporating strands of Keswick Holiness teaching, this revival was marked by intense conversion experiences and public confession of sin. While it produced bitter divisions and major schisms, its main impact was within Protestant denominations throughout the region. Also, countless numbers of African Christians regularly attend an Aladura church (or its equivalent) without relinquishing membership in a mainline denomination – all in an effort to achieve congruence between spiritual needs and social standing. Decolonisation, Western missions and the African Church The factors that account for the phenomenal growth of African Christianity are exceedingly complex. Importantly, the two World Wars, which saw the deportation or withdrawal of many European missionaries and the eclipse of the British missionary force, did nothing to slow the surging expansion. If anything, the foreign missionary shortage highlighted the primary role of African agency. Within Catholic missions, burgeoning churches and a shrinking priesthood galvanised efforts to train African leadership. In more subtle ways, the spectre of ‘Christian nations’ turning on each other with bloody ferocity severely undermined the image of cultural and moral superiority long championed by European missionaries. On the face of things, most churches in Africa remained under foreign control, but by the late 1950s, the eve of decolonisation, Christianity in Africa was on its way to becoming an African religion. In the wake of World War II, missions reorganised and, mainly through their monopoly of education (with government subsidies), reasserted their dominance within African societies. Both Protestant and Catholic missions flourished. Africans with Christian education (acquired at home and abroad) increasingly monopolised employment in the modern sector of the developing colonial economies. Neither European missionaries nor colonial officials anticipated that this rising African class – mainly associated with mainline denominations – would become the most vocal critics of Western missions as well as prominent leaders in the national movements that would bring colonial rule to an end. Many also underestimated the subversive, if more subtle, political impact of the prophet-healing/ independent movements, whose popularity and mass appeal symbolised forms of resistance and effectively undermined European domination and control. The colonial powers scrambled out of Africa between the 1950s and the 1970s. The collusion between Western missions and colonial governments, real and imagined, meant that decolonisation had far-reaching implications for the Western missionary project. With the rise of independent African governments, white control of ecclesiastical structures became untenable, and state take-over of mission schools immediately curtailed foreign missionary enterprise. By and large, European missionaries and white settler populations strongly opposed nationalist movements and liberation struggles, while the majority of African Christians and clergy identified with both. This made for bitter divisions – perhaps most acutely in South Africa. Virtually everywhere, the transition to African autonomy was marked by ill-feeling and widespread anti-missionary (even anti-Christian) sentiments. Foreign missions ceded control of churches reluctantly. Mistrust and resentment hardened when the newly independent African countries and African-led churches found themselves in a new global order dominated by Western nations and institutions, a state of affairs that preserved old structures of inequality and control. Extreme reaction produced calls for a moratorium on the sending of foreign missionaries and money to Africa. But most African Christian leaders (and their

Western counterparts) saw greater possibilities in reconciliation, partnership and interdependence. The older, Europe-based missionary societies had declined, giving way to a growing influx of American evangelical missionaries. But unprecedented shifts related to processes of globalisation were already reconfiguring the contours of global Christianity and altering the shape of the global missionary movement. African Christianity in a new global context The growth of Christianity in Africa from 1900 to 2000 was unsurpassed anywhere in the world and has no parallels in the history of Christianity. What was apparent to only a few scholars in the 1960s slowly became a commonplace assertion by the end of the twentieth century: namely, that massive decline of the Christian faith in the Western world accompanied by phenomenal accretions in Africa, Latin America and Asia had dramatically transformed the shape of global Christianity. Throughout Africa the decades following political independence were marked by endemic political chaos and enduring economic crises that threatened the survival of entire populations. The myriad catastrophes afflicting the continent contributed to the emergence of two significant developments with major implications for the growth and expansion of African Christianity. First, it engendered the emergence of a new African Pentecostal-Charismatic renewal movement from the 1970s that formed a new cutting edge of Christian growth; second, it contributed to a mammoth tide of intra- and inter-continental migrations of Africans that has contributed to the rise of a massive non-Western missionary movement. The origins of the New Pentecostal-Charismatic churches that now dominate the African Christian landscape are complex. Like the older prophet-healing movements, their emergence coincided with a period of tremendous social change and crises. They also drew some stimulus from the healing-deliverance practices and prosperity doctrines disseminated by ministries and parachurch movements based in the USA, Europe and South Korea. Like earlier African renewal/revival movements, manifestations of the Holy Spirit or the experience of spiritual power is a driving force. The earliest manifestations are traceable to an outbreak of healing and Pentecostal revival in the 1970s among secondary and university students in Nigeria as well as the extensive evangelistic ministry of Nigerian evangelist Archbishop Benson Idahosa. Defining features of the new PentecostalCharismatic movement include the practice of spiritual gifts in the lives of the individual believers; a fervent commitment to outreach ministries and evangelistic campaigns; major emphasis on healing and deliverance ministries; a focus on teachings related to prosperity and success in the life of the believer; and church services marked by vibrant worship and innovative use of modern media technologies. The movement appeals most strongly to upwardly mobile, formally educated youths and middle-class professionals, and female participation is much more extensive than in the older African-instituted churches or mainline denominations. The leaders are generally men and women in their 30s and 40s who have a gift for charismatic leadership and tend to be relatively well-educated. The energetic evangelism and dynamism of the new Pentecostal-Charismatic movement is a major reason why the Church may be growing faster in Africa than anywhere else. Membership in many of these churches runs into several thousands, and most have extensive international ministries. Importantly, the impact of the movement on mainline churches (Catholic and Protestant) has been extensive. Charismatic practices

have proliferated in Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist denominations, as well as Catholic churches, throughout Africa. Some individual mainline churches can easily be mistaken for Pentecostal-Charismatic churches. Many prophet-healing churches have also reinvented themselves as Pentecostal-Charismatic churches. It has been claimed that the new movement has ‘Pentecostalised’ African Christianity. Even so, it is noteworthy that most African Christians are still to be found in mainline denominations. An overlooked factor in the expansion of African Christianity during the final decades of the twenty-first century is the unprecedented rise in Africa’s migrant population. Between 1970 and 2005 the volume of African migrants rose dramatically as escalating conflicts, brutal regimes and economic collapse induced massive displacements of peoples. By 1995 Africa was home to about a third of the world’s refugees and asylum seekers. In the same way that the new labour migrations stimulated by the colonial economy contributed to the expansion of prophet-healing movements, the voluminous flow of migrants in the post-colonial era has contributed greatly to missionary expansion, only more so. Christian immigrants invariably establish new churches in destination countries, and Christian groups instinctively seek to evangelise migrant-refugee populations. Moreover, most of the new PentecostalCharismatic churches have expanded their ministries to other parts of Africa by utilising migrant networks and the international movement of their members. Perhaps even more significantly, the massive outmigration of Africa’s inhabitants coincides with its emergence as a major heartland of global Christianity. From the late 1970s, the volume of African migrants to Western industrialised countries rose dramatically as, convulsed by escalating conflicts and crises, the continent spewed out a steady flow of economic refugees and asylum seekers. By the end of the century, African migrants were widely dispersed among the wealthy industrialised countries of the North, and everywhere they went they established new Christian congregations. In effect, African migrations have provided a vital stimulus for missionary expansion, for the simple reason that every Christian migrant is a potential missionary. In both Europe and Northern America, African immigrant congregations have grown in unprecedented fashion and represent (along with other immigrant or ‘ethnic’ churches) the cutting edge of Christian growth. Soon after 1910, the global Christian landscape began to undergo a radical reshaping of its demographic and cultural contours, leading to the emergence of Christianity as a non-Western faith. This epochal development was unforeseeable, but in 2010 it defines a new chapter in the history of world Christianity in which the emergence of a massive and distinctive nonWestern missionary movement is pivotal. Prominent features associated with the Western missionary project, such as the links to empire and a territorial, one-directional understanding of mission, are absent. Yet, in much the same way that the earlier Western missionary movement laid the foundation for unprecedented transformations within global Christianity, the surging missionary movement from the new heartlands will determine its future.

JEHU HANCILES Richard Gray, Black Christians and White Missionaries (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1990) Adrian Hastings, The Church in Africa, 1450–1950 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994). Elizabeth A. Isichei, A History of Christianity in Africa: From Antiquity to the Present (London: SPCK, 1995). Ogbu U. Kalu (ed.), African Christianity: An African Story (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2007). Ogbu U. Kalu, African Pentecostalism: An Introduction (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008).

Missionaries and national workers in Africa, 2010 Most missionaries sent* Total 8,000 3,700 1,200 1,000 610 560 440 440 440 360

Most missionaries received* 2010 Per million Christians Comoros 543 Djibouti 366 Algeria 310 Morocco 283 South Africa 227 Niger 176 Cape Verde 167 Swaziland 162 Senegal 155 Tunisia 139

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 DR Congo South Africa Nigeria Kenya Tanzania Mozambique Cameroon Zambia Zimbabwe Ethiopia

Total 15,000 12,000 6,000 6,000 4,500 3,500 3,500 3,500 3,000 2,500

Most national workers* 2010 Per million people Swaziland 767 São Tomé & Príncipe 727 Namibia 649 Equatorial Guinea 624 Spanish North Africa 448 Lesotho 357 Gabon 317 Reunion 311 Zambia 277 Mauritius 264

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 Ethiopia South Africa DR Congo Nigeria Kenya Uganda Ghana Angola Tanzania Cameroon

Total 593,000 190,000 154,000 119,000 83,000 71,100 59,300 59,300 54,500 35,600

*Countries >100,000

2010 Per million people Reunion 6,818 Ethiopia 6,621 Lesotho 4,159 Congo 4,139 Swaziland 4,052 South Africa 3,856 Gabon 3,381 Angola 3,207 Central African Rep 2,591 Ghana 2,382

265

MISSIONARIES, AFRICA

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 South Africa Nigeria DR Congo Kenya Ghana Uganda Cameroon Malawi Zimbabwe Angola

Missionaries sent and received, Africa, 2010

B

Total

National workers

Total workers CitWorker_World >500,000 500,000 200,000 80,000 20,000 0

 National workers (total) ‘National workers’ are defined as citizens who are working in a Christian vocational ministry in their own countries. It is no surprise that the African countries with the most Christians – Nigeria, DR Congo, Ethiopia and South Africa – have the highest numbers of national workers. It might be surprising, though, to see that Ethiopia has the most national workers even though it has neither the most Christians nor the highest percentage of Christians in Africa. But Ethiopia has a long-standing Christian tradition and boasts some 593,000 national workers.

Per million

etween the 1880s and the outset of the First World War in 1914 (the period of New Imperialism), the European colonial powers competed in a ‘Scramble for Africa’. Coincident with territorial expansion by European colonists was the expansion of Christian missionary activity. Although by 2010 the African nations have gained independence from their former colonial masters, there still exist a great many foreign (primarily Western) missionaries on the continent, continuing the work that began at the start of the twentieth century. DR Congo currently receives the most missionaries of any country in Africa (15,000). Increasingly, however, foreign missionaries in Africa are Africans from surrounding countries or, sometimes, from African countries farther afield. For example, the bulk of Nigeria’s mission sending is, first, within Nigeria itself (counted here under ‘National workers’), and, second, to surrounding Western African countries. This is especially true of the Independent churches – the fastest-growing in the region. Nigerians, of course, are also involved in mission work in both Europe and Northern America. In addition, there are increasing numbers of Latin Americans and Asians at work as missionaries in Africa. While traditional European and Northern American mission agencies are at work in Africa, their numbers are declining. At the same time, Independent movements, especially in the USA, continue to send large numbers of missionaries to Africa. The last century also saw growth in missionary sending by many of the countries of Africa. As can be seen on the ‘Missionaries sent’ map, such activity is unevenly distributed across the region. Currently, South Africa and Nigeria send the most missionaries – 8,000 and 3,700 respectively. Countries without any sent missionaries are Mauritania, Mayotte, Sahara and Somaliland. As is shown on the ‘Missionaries sent per million Christians’ map, large numbers of missionaries are sent from the Muslim-majority countries of Morocco, Algeria and Niger relative to the sizes of their Christian populations. Though these countries send small numbers of missionaries compared to the rest of Africa, they send larger percentages of their church members. This phenomenon can also be seen in Comoros, Tunisia, Senegal and Djibouti. Missionary data for countries within Africa are plotted as points on the scatter plot below. Each numbered point corresponds to a country on the ‘Missionaries sent and received: Africa, 2010’ table on the opposite page. As shown on this plot (as well as the global scatter plot earlier in this section of the atlas), Africa as a whole currently receives more missionaries per capita, and sends fewer per million affiliated Christians, than the global average. Also in the table on the opposite page is the number of national workers per country. These are Christians working in some vocational ministry in their native countries. Though these workers may at times be considered ‘missionaries’, for current purposes they are here distinguished from those who have left their native country to conduct vocational ministry in another country.

Workers per million people CitWorkerPm_World >5,000 5,000 2,000 800 200 0

 National workers (per million population) Northern Africa has a serious deficit of national Christian workers compared with the rest of Africa. Ethiopia again has the highest proportion of citizens who are Christian workers, but South Africa, Congo, Angola and Gabon also have very high numbers relative to their populations. The high numbers in these last two countries are particularly interesting, because Angola and Gabon are among the many African nations considered partially closed to missionary workers.

Missionary scatter plot quadrants, 2010

10,000

= Global Average

Quadrant meanings The blue lines show the total global missionaries sent (per million affiliated Christians) against the total global missionaries received (per million population).

i These countries send more missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive fewer missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent. ii These countries send more missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive more missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent. iii These countries send fewer missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive fewer missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent. iv These countries send fewer missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive more missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent.  Sending and receiving of missionaries by Africa The graph to the right shows missionaries received and missionaries sent for countries in Africa. Missionaries received is per million population, suggesting the potential impact on the entire population of the country of service. Missionaries sent is per million affiliated Christians, indicating the strength of mission sending by the Christian community. Both axes use a logarithmic scale because the data values vary by several orders of magnitude (from 2 to 5,000 for missionaries received and from 0 to 900 for missionaries sent). Lines plotted at the continental average values of these variables separate the data points into four quadrants, described more fully above. Global averages are also shown for comparison. Ethiopia (19), one of the African countries with the most Christians, falls into quadrant iii on this graph, meaning it both sends and receives fewer missionaries than the African averages. This is also true for majority Christian Uganda (58) as well as many less-Christian countries such as Guinea (23) and Sudan (53). The largest African sending forces per million Christians are countries with relatively small populations, such as Saint Helena (44) and British Indian Ocean Territory (5).

Missionaries sent per million affiliated Christians

The grey lines show the missionaries sent by the continent (per million affiliated Christians) against the total missionaries received in the continent (per million population).

= Africa Average

i

1,000

ii

44

15

1

36 39

57

100

4 34

49

18

60 25 21 24 8 10 22 27 31 13 56 26 59 32 30 58 2 7 14 20 3 55 42 37 6 41 48 11

29 53

iii

23

47

54

52 17 45

28

40

16

10

51 9

46

19

38

iv Numbers correspond to table on the facing page. = zero

1

35

33 43

50

1

10

100

1,000

Missionaries received per million population

266

5

12

10,000

Missionaries sent

Missionaries received

Total

TotalMissionSent_World missionaries

Total missionaries MissionRecv_World

>10,000 10,000 1,000 100 10 0

>15,000 15,000 5,000 2,500 500 0

 Missionaries sent (total) Africa is not yet a prolific foreign-missionary-sending force, even though there was a great shift of global Christianity towards the continent during the twentieth century. South Africa historically has been and remains the largest African sending force. It is likely, though, that other nations will catch up in the twenty-first century, particularly Nigeria and DR Congo, which have the second- (3,700) and third-largest (1,200) numbers of missionaries sent in 2010.

 Missionaries received (total) Africa is historically more a receiving continent than a sending one, as this map and the one at left illustrate. Even though South Africa is the largest sending country, it is also one of the largest receivers, probably due to European influence in the nation, allowing open doors for missionary work very late into the twentieth century. Of note are Morocco and Egypt, countries typically hostile to Christian witness that nonetheless have significant populations of foreign missionaries.

Per million

Missionaries per MissionSentPmAC_World million Christians >400 400 130 50 30 0

Missionaries per MissionRecvPm_World million people >700 700 200 100 30 0

 Missionaries sent (per million affiliated Christians) At first glance, it is surprising to see on the above map the higher numbers of missionaries sent per million affiliated Christians from countries such as Morocco, Algeria, and Niger. These are all countries with extremely small Christian populations, so such high ratios can be achieved if only a few missionaries are sent. Countries with more Christians, such as Zambia and DR Congo, have lower ratios, although South Africa’s is also quite high.

 Missionaries received (per million population) Majority Christian Namibia and Gabon have high ratios of missionaries received per million people. But these countries also have small populations – only 2.2 million and 1.4 million, respectively – so fewer missionaries are needed to yield a fairly high ratio. Again, note on this map the relative lack of missionary activity in Northern Africa and the gradual increase as one moves south, into countries with higher Christian percentages.

Missionaries and national workers: Africa, 2010

*p.m.c. = per million affiliated Christians

Christians 64,600 17,327,000 3,872,000 1,283,000 1,700 3,401,000 8,879,000 11,161,000 539,000 3,048,000 2,986,000 3,800 3,607,000 65,803,000 14,100 10,293,000 483,000 2,512,000 52,477,000 1,258,000 81,400 15,309,000 362,000 202,000 7,119,000 33,393,000 1,889,000 1,764,000 171,000 11,030,000

National workers Total p.m.** 280 8 59,300 3,207 3,800 385 2,400 1,229 50 25,000 14,200 882 19,000 1,989 35,600 1,811 470 829 11,900 2,591 5,900 504 50 65 16,600 4,139 154,000 2,232 120 137 11,900 150 1,200 2,202 1,900 357 593,000 6,621 4,700 3,381 1,200 650 59,300 2,382 830 83 100 54 19,000 933 83,000 2,042 8,500 4,159 5,700 1,322 100 15 33,200 1,559

**p.m.= per million population

Missionaries Sent p.m.c.* Received p.m.** 20 310 560 16 360 22 2,200 119 55 14 660 67 90 87 440 225 1 735 10 5,000 40 12 1,000 62 170 21 1,200 126 440 45 3,500 178 90 167 120 212 90 39 1,200 261 30 11 830 71 2 543 40 52 140 44 890 222 1,200 19 15,000 217 5 366 85 97 340 33 1,500 19 60 126 340 624 140 56 220 41 270 5 2,500 28 20 17 440 317 4 51 190 103 610 44 2,200 88 2 6 120 12 10 50 210 113 340 50 1,900 93 1,000 31 6,000 148 60 38 730 357 80 59 560 130 5 30 120 18 340 32 2,000 94

National workers Population Christians Total p.m.** 31 Malawi 15,037,000 12,001,000 14,200 944 32 Mali 13,506,000 384,000 950 70 33 Mauritania 3,363,000 8,600 25 7 34 Mauritius 1,289,000 435,000 950 737 35 Mayotte 130,000 940 25 192 36 Morocco 32,247,000 54,100 710 22 37 Mozambique 22,635,000 11,925,000 19,000 839 38 Namibia 2,157,000 1,967,000 3,800 1,762 39 Niger 15,791,000 57,100 190 12 40 Nigeria 158,313,000 72,302,000 119,000 752 41 Reunion 836,000 731,000 5,700 6,818 42 Rwanda 10,601,000 8,390,000 9,500 896 43 Sahara 530,000 750 0 0 44 Saint Helena 6,800 6,500 25 3,676 45 São Tomé/Príncipe 165,000 158,000 50 303 46 Senegal 13,311,000 664,000 1,900 143 47 Seychelles 87,600 84,300 170 1,941 48 Sierra Leone 6,185,000 767,000 2,800 453 49 Somalia 5,407,000 59,200 70 13 50 Somaliland 4,079,000 4,400 25 6 51 South Africa 49,278,000 40,260,000 190,000 3,856 52 Spanish North Africa 134,000 91,200 25 187 53 Sudan 41,230,000 6,788,000 7,100 172 54 Swaziland 1,160,000 1,021,000 4,700 4,052 55 Tanzania 43,542,000 23,690,000 54,500 1,252 56 Togo 7,122,000 3,245,000 2,800 393 57 Tunisia 10,664,000 29,300 100 9 58 Uganda 34,040,000 28,923,000 71,100 2,089 59 Zambia 12,625,000 10,775,000 9,500 752 60 Zimbabwe 13,760,000 9,512,000 14,200 1,032 Africa 1,032,012,000 494,668,000 1,680,000 1,628

Missionaries Sent p.m.c.* Received p.m.** 440 44 1,500 100 10 26 500 37 0 0 60 18 40 94 340 264 0 0 30 231 15 283 1,000 31 170 15 3,500 155 60 34 1,400 649 10 176 510 32 3,700 51 6,000 38 10 14 260 311 140 17 1,300 123 0 0 10 19 5 876 20 2,941 20 135 120 727 100 155 1,200 90 15 186 170 1,941 10 13 780 126 4 70 50 9 0 0 10 2 8,000 227 12,000 244 10 110 60 448 120 18 800 19 120 162 890 767 340 15 4,500 103 90 34 660 93 4 139 220 21 560 20 2,500 73 270 27 3,500 277 440 52 3,000 218 20,700 44 93,700 91

267

MISSIONARIES, AFRICA

1 Algeria 2 Angola 3 Benin 4 Botswana 5 British Indian Ocean 6 Burkina Faso 7 Burundi 8 Cameroon 9 Cape Verde 10 Central African Rep 11 Chad 12 Comoros 13 Congo 14 DR Congo 15 Djibouti 16 Egypt 17 Equatorial Guinea 18 Eritrea 19 Ethiopia 20 Gabon 21 Gambia 22 Ghana 23 Guinea 24 Guinea-Bissau 25 Ivory Coast 26 Kenya 27 Lesotho 28 Liberia 29 Libya 30 Madagascar

Population 35,423,000 18,493,000 9,872,000 1,953,000 2,000 16,097,000 9,553,000 19,662,000 567,000 4,592,000 11,715,000 773,000 4,011,000 69,010,000 877,000 79,537,000 545,000 5,323,000 89,566,000 1,390,000 1,845,000 24,890,000 10,028,000 1,853,000 20,375,000 40,645,000 2,044,000 4,311,000 6,530,000 21,299,000

Missionaries sent and received, Asia, 1910–2010

‘W

hen we enter their gates, they’d call out to each other in mocking tones, “The dirty tribals are coming.” They would not welcome us while we’d try to invite ourselves into their homes, seeking ways to tell them the story of Jesus.’ This is what Mizo missionary Hmingthansangi wrote about her early years as a missionary-evangelist among the Meitei Hindus in Manipur in the 1970s. The unassuming approach of such humble missionaries has yielded much fruit. In response to the question of what difference an Asian missionary made to fellow Asians, John Hong, a Korean missionary to Thailand who later became a professor of evangelism, said, ‘We are easily accepted as one of their own, and we, on our part, understand better their situation and ways of thinking.’ In the further narration of his story, Hong placed importance on the self-supporting nature of the church he helped to start. ‘When I first got there, I made it very clear that I have nothing except myself to offer. What they often expect from Western missionaries, the natives did not expect from me…. It was such a great joy to see the new Christians raise funds from themselves to build their own church. At that point, I also helped to raise more funds.’ Stories such as these abound amidst many other stories of ill-conceived projects and resultant frustrations in the emerging Asian missions. Between 1910 and 2010, one striking development is that Asia has turned from being a major recipient continent to being a continent distinguished for the sending of missionaries. If the 1910 World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh represents the high point of the modern missionary movement from the West to Asia, Edinburgh 2010 marks another high point, namely Christian missions from Asia, by Asians, in Asia and around the world. The Asian missionary movement is just underway at this time. This, however, is not to say that all regions of Asia are actively involved in mission, nor is it the intention to indicate that there is an Asia-wide Christian movement. Not only do we now see the faces of Asian missionaries, but also that the Western missionary enterprise itself has been transformed. Many missionary agencies have re-oriented their workers from a model of being ‘the’ missionary to one of being a partner-missionary. A new generation of missionaries from the West are now reinventing what it means to be missionary. Missions in the early twentieth century Edinburgh 1910 took place at the apex of the Western missionary movement. Mission historian Stephen Neill aptly summarised what Western missions had accomplished by the second decade of the twentieth century in his book A History of Christian Missions: The missionary ‘occupation’ carried out between 1792 and 1914 was so extensive and so effective that, in dealing with the period subsequent to 1914, it is only rarely possible to speak of absolutely fresh beginnings of Christian works in countries which prior to that date had had no contact whatever with the preaching of the gospel. By 1910 Christians had made their presence felt in most parts of Asia, except in states with strict religious laws such as Afghanistan, Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan. Yet secularism and the effects of two World Wars caused a decline in European involvement in missions, especially in the second half of the twentieth century. Meanwhile, the USA had become a major missionary-sending nation from the early part of the century. Asia continued to be a major missionaryreceiving continent. As the changing political scene dramatically reduced the number of Western missionaries, the composition of the Western missionary contingent also changed from dominance by mainline denominations to that of parachurch and conservative Christians. Socially and politically, the twentieth century was a period of revolutionary change in Asia. For many Asians, the revolutionary atmosphere provided an alternative vision for the future of the society and the Church. Amidst political instability and anti-Western sentiments, Chinese Christianity began to feature independent church movements from the second decade of the century. At the time the Communists took over China in 1949 and began to severely restrict

268

Christianity, there were estimated to be 700,000 Christians in China. Although there never was any dramatic growth of the church in Japan, the first two decades of the century marked the beginning of ‘Christian resurgence’ in Japan, which continued until the beginning of World War II in 1939. Christianity was rooting itself steadily in Korea in the midst of oppressive Japanese colonisation. The early decades of the twentieth century was a period also relatively conducive to Christianity in Western Asia. In parts of the Middle East, Christians formed around a quarter of the population, a proportion which would dramatically decline during the twentieth century. In the period from the 1870s to the 1930s India saw what historians called ‘mass movements’ to Christianity among the Dalits (‘outcastes’ or ‘untouchables’ for the Hindus) and tribal communities. The Catholic Church had established itself strongly in the Philippines and had an influential presence in Viet Nam. The Dutch Reformed Church had established strong churches in parts of Indonesia.

While Asia has the largest number of active practitioners of non-Christian religions in the world, as well as one of the lowest percentages of Christians among the continents, Asian Christians are now seriously engaging in mission. As far as missionary presence was concerned, China and India – the two largest nations of Asia – continued to be the major recipients of missionaries in the first half of the twentieth century. The high-water mark was reached in China in 1925, with more than 8,000 Protestant missionaries. Their numbers steadily decreased for the next 25 years until all missionaries were expelled by the Maoist Communist government. At the time the Communists came to power in 1949, 121 foreign missionary societies of some 70 denominations were working in China. India experienced an increase in missionary personnel, mainly from Northern America, soon after independence in 1947. Donald Eugene Smith, in his book India as a Secular State, reported that this increase soon caused alarm, and in 1952 ‘an unprecedented number of applications for visas for new missionaries … was refused’. With steady but slow progress, Christian missions maintained a stable presence in Japan until 1940, when the Japanese government placed new restrictions on missionary work and took steps to bring Protestant bodies together. As a result, Nippon Kirisuto Kyodan (the Church of Christ of Japan) came into being. After the military collapse of Japan in 1945, a large number of Protestant missionaries, mostly from Northern America, entered Japan in the hope of a great conversion to Christianity. The rate of Christian numerical growth did increase in comparison to the pre-War period, but a landslide movement never happened in Japan. Japanese occupation of a number of Eastern and South-eastern Asian nations caused difficulty during World War II, and the number of Western missionaries has not been increasing since then in most Asian nations. Mid-century crisis The superiority complex of Western enlightenmentdriven civilisation which dominated much of the non-Western world, and the cultural blindness of many Western missionaries, received widespread criticism. The term ‘colonial mission’ has often been used not so much to suggest that missionaries were colonial in every way, but to describe the missionaries’ domineering mentality. Many observers in the middle part of the twentieth century felt that the outcome of the missionary movement did not match the effort and expense in Asia as the most popular destination of missionaries of the modern Western missionary movement. Established religious and philosophical systems, in part, appear to have withstood much of the Western missionary effort. When one Asian historian, K. M. Panikkar (in his book Asia and Western Dominance), declared in the early 1950s that Western missions’ ‘attempt to conquer Asia for Christ has definitely failed’, he seemed to have every reason to draw such a conclusion. Anti-

Christian feelings, which were closely tied with antiWestern sentiments, had grown along with nationalist sentiments in various parts of Asia. In the 1950s most Asian nations were either freeing or had just freed themselves from Western domination. Along with strong anti-Western feelings, nationalist movements also stimulated indigenous identities and invigorated non-Western Asian religions. During the second half of the century, a good number of the newly independent nations in the continent adopted a specific religion as their state religion. Religious identity has become so important in the continent that every free nation, be it secular or otherwise, is largely defined by the dominant religion or the conflicting religious groups. In others, Communism came to be adopted, which meant repression for religions, especially Christianity. At the time of the Japanese military dominance and occupation of much of Asia during World War II, Christians and missionaries suffered major repression in the occupied nations and had a difficult time recovering even after the collapse of Japan’s military control. Communist takeover of China, North Korea and Viet Nam resulted in the expulsion of missionaries and the closing of doors for missionaries to these nations. The emergency in Malaysia in the 1950s and political conflicts in various other nations impeded Christian work severely. Both Catholic and Protestant Christian communities in China were divided between ‘Patriotic’ groups, which were registered under the government, and ‘Underground’ Christians, who rejected the government’s controlled system of religious recognition. By 1958 most churches in China were closed. The climax of Christian subjugation was reached during the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976. In India, the nationalist movement began to signal its concern about missionaries from the 1930s. Such concern was clearly expressed by the Niyogy Commission of 1954–6 in the state of Madhya Pradesh, which allegedly ‘found’ that Christians used foreign funding under the guise of humanitarian services to ‘induce’ conversion among the poor. By the late 1950s the Indian government had made new rules curtailing missionaries from acquiring visas. From the 1960s, what Christians called ‘anti-conversion law’ under the rubric of ‘freedom of religion’ began to surface. Three states adopted the new rule as a law in the 1960s. With the rising Hindu fundamentalism from the late 1980s, which increasingly became anti-Christian in the 1990s, this new rule came to be adopted by a few other states in India in the first decade of the twentyfirst century. Indigenisation and early indigenous missions Proposals to utilise Indian philosophical systems to do theology for Indians and attempts to form indigenous churches had begun among a few individuals and groups in India from the nineteenth century. Among those who were influential in indigenising missionary practice in India in the twentieth century were Sunder Singh, Pandita Ramabhai, V. S. Azariah and M. M. Thomas. However, Western influence continues to be strong among Christians. In China, the anti-Western agitations led to indigenisation. In the 1920s and 1930s many Chinese Christians broke away from traditional denominations to form independent groups. Beginning with ‘The True Jesus Church’ founded in 1917 and ‘The Jesus Family’ in 1921, this line of development was thoroughly evangelical or fundamentalist in its theology, and involved such well-known leaders as Watchman Nee, Wang Mingdao and John Sung. Indigenisation of Christianity in China also took a somewhat opposite form under the recognised ThreeSelf Patriotic Movement led by such leaders as Bishop K. H. Ting. In other parts of Asia, the contributions of leaders and thinkers like evangelist-theologian D. T. Niles in Sri Lanka, missionary-theologian Kosuke Koyama of Japan and Taiwan-born C. S. Song are particularly significant in developing indigenous missiology. In concluding that Western missions had failed in Asia, K. M. Panikkar added that ‘the collapse has been most complete’ in China. Against such a pessimistic conclusion, another Asian made a relatively optimistic prediction. Shortly before his death in 1944, one of the most influential Chinese evangelists, John Sung, is quoted as saying that God had showed him the future of the Chinese church. ‘A great revival,’ he said, will be coming, before which all the Western

missionaries would depart China. What the Chinese church has been experiencing since the 1980s is nothing less than a great revival and is likely to grow into greater revival. After the Maoist Cultural Revolution (1966–76), the Communist government in China liberalised its economy and industrialised the nation. This, in turn, has brought relative freedom for religions, as the government began to relax the fierce restrictions on religious activity after 1979, resulting in the growth of Christianity at an astounding speed. We do not know the exact number of Christians in China today. While the government’s official statistics record some 17 million Protestants and 6 million Catholics, different unofficial estimates place the number of Christians to be anywhere between 50 million and 150 million. The most noticeable Christian growth in Asia in the twentieth century was in South Korea. While the Communist North represses the once-strong Christian existence there, astounding growth of Christians, both in numbers and in vitality, came about in South Korea, especially after the 1960s. By the 1970s one-quarter of the South Korean population had become Christians. The growth has plateaued since the 1980s but has also found expression in a major worldwide missionary movement. Significant growth of Christianity, especially among the non-Malay (mostly Chinese) population, in Malaysia and Singapore was seen in the 1970s and the 1980s. Asian missionaries today Responding to my question of how many generations of his family have been Christians, Father Augustine, a young Roman Catholic priest, said, ‘My ancestors were among the first Chinese Christians some 400 years ago during the time of Matteo Ricci.’ He added, ‘In my province of Shanxi, there were some 40,000 Catholic Christians at the end of the Cultural Revolution, and today we must be around 100,000. That increase happened mainly through lay missionaries.’ Remarkable stories of Catholic missionary witness in Asia by Asians were heard in the First Asian Mission Congress of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2006. While Asia has the largest number of active practitioners of non-Christian religions in the world, as well as one of the lowest percentages of Christians among the continents, Asian Christians are now seriously engaging in mission. Korean missionaries are now to be found in 180 countries across all the continents of the world. Missionaries from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are to be found in various parts of Southeastern Asia. Chinese house churches have sent out many missionary-evangelists across China, and some have made headway to fulfil the ‘Back to Jerusalem’ mission project. Many more Chinese Christians of other confessions (Catholic and Protestant) give daily witness to the gospel, gathering new Christians. Indian Christians from southern and north-east India have sent missionaries to various parts of northern India, Nepal and Bhutan. Japanese Christians have a good record of missionary work, with several hundred serving in different parts of Asia. The service of the Japan Christian Medical Association merits particular recognition.

South Korea is second only to the USA today in terms of the number of Protestant missionaries it is sending out. According to the Korea Research Institute for Missions, there were 14,905 Protestant and 634 Catholic missionaries in 2006 serving in 180 different countries. These are conservative figures and include only known cross-cultural missionaries and exclude those working among the Korean diaspora. It is simply impossible to definitively count how many Chinese missionary-evangelists are operating in China. There are more than 100 small Bible schools of the house church movement, where evangelistmissionaries are trained to plant new churches in China and where cross-cultural workers under the banner of ‘Back to Jerusalem’ are trained. In recent years, some have come out of China to neighbouring states for comparable training. The ‘Back to Jerusalem’ project was first envisioned by the Jesus Family in 1921 to take the gospel all the way back to Jerusalem by the old Silk Road. The vision has been resurrected as a movement in recent years, with the challenge to take the gospel to the Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu heartlands between China and Jerusalem. Overseas Chinese have significant contributions as partners with the Church in China to evangelise China and other Asian countries. Passionate Christians from Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea are now working in large numbers in Cambodia, Thailand and Viet Nam. Evangelical Christians from the Philippines have also made a significant contribution, especially among Chinese. It is impossible to know with certainty how many Indian missionaries are working in India today. The India Missions Association (IMA), an independent evangelical mission-networking organisation that links various conservative-evangelical missionary agencies, is reported to have nearly 200 mission organisations under its umbrella, with a total of more than 30,000 workers. Besides those associated with the IMA and similar evangelical organisations, there are a number of missionary organisations affiliated with denominational and church bodies. In Operation World, Patrick Johnstone estimated Indian missionaries to number more than 41,000 in 2001. DAWN (Discipling a Whole Nation), another agency, gives a much higher estimate. While the majority of missionaries from south India belong to independent mission organisations, most of these from north-east India are affiliated with mission-minded churches. Mission as presence and proclamation The ecumenical movement of the twentieth century, which was spawned by the Edinburgh 1910 World Missionary Conference, reached Asian Christian soil soon after the 1910 conference. National Missionary Councils, which later transformed themselves into National Councils of Churches, soon sprang up in various states in Asia under the initiative of John R. Mott, the chairman of the Continuation Committee of the 1910 conference. When the continent went through the period of intense revolution in the middle of the twentieth century, a good number of ecumenical leaders clearly affirmed the prevailing anti-Western Christian sentiments as a part of their efforts to

identify with nationalist movements. In effect, the missiological emphasis shifted from a focus on evangelisation to one of social witness amidst rapid social change. At the first Asia-wide ecumenical gathering organised by the International Missionary Council and the World Council of Churches in Bangkok in 1949, the question of how Asian churches should face the revolutionary situations of their lands with the message of the gospel was seriously tackled. In the conference where the East Asia Christian Conference (which was later renamed the Christian Conference of Asia) was inaugurated in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1959, Asian church leaders identified Christian presence in the secular world as their approach to mission. From that time, as Ken Miyamoto has written, ‘God’s this-worldly presence has remained as the central theological motif in Asian ecumenical thinking’. The tradition of missionary engagement that came out of the Asian ecumenical movement includes identification with, and liberation of, the poor and marginalised sections of human society, liberation of the environment and respectful engagement of people of other faiths through dialogue. Faith in God’s ‘this-worldly’ affirmation as a basis for Christian missionary engagement is significant. However, if such a mission is to be carried out mainly through ‘presence’, and thus service, other Asian Christian groups have an alternative priority. For conservative evangelical Christians, the ‘this-worldly’ affirmation of God’s work within the ecumenical movement leads to and limits mission only as serving the needy in the world. As an alternative, they have affirmed their priority as what has popularly been termed ‘evangelism’, or converting non-Christians to Christianity. The great majority of Asian missionaries we have described are engaged in this enterprise of making new Christians, while secondarily concerned with serving the needy. The inherited tendency of cultural imperialism, lack of coordination and unity in the evangelistic task, and failure to respect the dignity and views of people of other faiths impinge upon the missionary work of this cluster of missionary-evangelism. Despite the fact that this Asian missionary movement is only a few decades old, signs of improvement in strategy and growth toward more holistic missionary practice are also appearing.

LALSANGKIMA PACHUAU Saphir Athyal (ed.), Church in Asia Today: Challenges and Opportunities (Singapore: Asia Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, 1996). Mario Saturnino Dias (ed.), Telling the Story of Jesus in Asia: A Celebration of Faith and Life at the First Asian Mission Congress (Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 2007). Hugh McLeod (ed.), The Cambridge History of Christianity, Volume 9. World Christianities c.1914 – c.2000 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006). (Essays by Chandra Mallampalli, John Roxborogh, and Richard Fox Young) Tarek Mitri, ‘Christians in the Arab East: An Interpretation of Contemporary History’, in Habib Badr, Saud Abou el Rouss Slim and Joseph Abou Nohra (eds), Christianity: A History in the Middle East (Beirut: Middle East Council of Churches, Studies and Research Program, 2005), pp. 851–69. Ken C. Miyamoto, God’s Mission in Asia: A Comparative and Contextual Study of This-Worldly Holiness and the Theology of Missio Dei in M. M. Thomas and C. S. Song (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2007).

Missionaries and national workers in Asia, 2010 Most missionaries sent* Total 20,000 10,000 6,000 5,600 890 890 660 560 440 270

Most missionaries received* 2010 Per million Christians Palestine 3,401 South Korea 1,014 Singapore 815 Northern Cyprus 741 Israel 384 Taiwan 379 Japan 349 Bhutan 225 India 172 Lebanon 156

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 India Japan Philippines Indonesia China South Korea Taiwan Thailand Sri Lanka Viet Nam

Total 8,000 8,000 8,000 6,000 5,000 3,000 3,000 2,000 1,700 1,500

Most national workers* 2010 Per million people Bhutan 322 Cyprus 321 Singapore 218 Northern Cyprus 204 Palestine 181 Israel 165 Mongolia 163 Lebanon 156 Taiwan 127 Sri Lanka 87

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 India China Indonesia Philippines South Korea Japan Viet Nam Myanmar Lebanon Taiwan

Total 711,000 237,000 119,000 119,000 119,000 37,900 37,900 17,800 14,200 9,500

*Countries >100,000

2010 Per million people Cyprus 4,810 Lebanon 3,359 South Korea 2,445 Philippines 1,280 Northern Cyprus 612 India 583 Indonesia 497 Georgia 488 Viet Nam 417 Singapore 414

269

MISSIONARIES, ASIA

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 South Korea India Philippines China Japan Viet Nam Indonesia Singapore Taiwan Myanmar

Missionaries sent and received, Asia, 2010

A

Total

National workers

CitWorker_World Total workers >500,000 500,000 200,000 80,000 20,000 0

 National workers (total) Countries with more Christians tend to have more national workers. India is only 4.8% Christian but has over 700,000 national workers, increasing the prospects for Christian growth in the twenty-first century. The story is similar for China, only 8.6% Christian (though that amounts to 115 million believers), yet with nearly 240,000 national workers.

Per million

sia is the birthplace of Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and many other religions. The continuing prominence of these religions means that in 2010 only 8.5% of the population of Asia – the birthplace of Christianity as well – is Christian. This is reflected in generally low numbers of missionaries sent from the continent. On average in 2010 each Asian country sends about 940 missionaries. South Korea stands out by sending 20,000; of the other Asian countries only China, India and the Philippines send more than the average (although Japan and Viet Nam come close). For a number of reasons, Asia continues to receive relatively fewer missionaries than other continents. First, many Asian people groups are hostile toward outside religions, particularly a ‘Western’ religion, as Christianity is sometimes perceived to be. Second, many people groups speak minority languages that are more difficult (such as Mongolian, Arabic dialects, tonal languages, and ‘character’ languages such as Chinese dialects) for Christian speakers of other languages (notably English and Spanish) to learn. Third, it is generally more difficult for Westerners to engage in cross-cultural mission work in Muslim and Asian cultures because these cultures are so vastly different from their own. It is notable, however, that many Asian institutes of higher education (especially in China) are requesting teachers of Christian ethics; perhaps in the future Asia will not be as closed to Christian missionary presence as it historically has been. At the same time, it is now the case that over half of all foreign missionaries in Africa are from Asia. If home missionaries were included in countries like India, then the numbers of Asian missionaries would be much larger. This is likely the main category of missionaries in Asia in the future. In 2010 Asia receives less than two-thirds of the number of missionaries received by Africa, Europe or Latin America, even though Asia has over four times the population of Africa, over five times the population of Europe and over seven times the population of Latin America. Of the 50 Asian countries listed on the opposite page, 12 (24%) receive fewer than 100 missionaries in 2010. India, Japan and the Philippines each receives 8,000 missionaries in 2010, the most of all Asian countries. Thirteen other Asian countries receive over 1,000 missionaries in 2010. Mongolia, Bhutan, Israel and Cyprus are among those receiving the largest numbers of missionaries relative to their country populations. However, none of these numbers represent much more than 0.03% of each country’s population. South Korea is notable for being among the countries that send both the most total missionaries and the most missionaries per million Christians. Although less than 2% Christian, Palestine sends the most missionaries per million Christians of any country in the world. Other Asian countries with high missionary-sending ratios include Israel, Japan, Northern Cyprus, Singapore and Taiwan.

Workers per CitWorkerPm_World million people >5,000 5,000 2,000 800 200 0  National workers (per million population) The map above gives a clearer picture of the national worker situation in Asia. South Korea has a high ratio of national workers, not surprising for a nation with robust Christian growth during the twentieth century. While many countries in Western Asia have low ratios of national workers (Saudi Arabia and Yemen being the lowest), Cyprus and Lebanon – home to ancient Christian communities – have the highest levels in Asia.

Missionary scatter plot quadrants, 2010

10,000

= Global average

Quadrant meanings The blue lines show the total global missionaries sent (per million affiliated Christians) against the total global missionaries received (per million population).

i These countries send more missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive fewer missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent. ii These countries send more missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive more missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent. iii These countries send fewer missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive fewer missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent. iv These countries send fewer missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive more missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent.  Sending and receiving of missionaries in Asia The graph to the right shows missionaries received and missionaries sent for countries in Asia. Missionaries received is per million population, suggesting the potential impact on the entire population of the country of service. Missionaries sent is per million affiliated Christians, indicating the strength of mission sending by the Christian community. Both axes use a logarithmic scale because the data values vary by several orders of magnitude (from 1 to 400 for missionaries received and from 0 to 3,500 for missionaries sent). Lines plotted at the average values of these variables separate the data points into four quadrants, described more fully above. Global averages are also shown for comparison. Most countries in Asia fall below the global averages for both missionary sending and receiving ratios. The list of countries exceeding both is diverse, including Palestine (33), Israel (16) and Bhutan (6) as well as South Korea (38) and Singapore (37). Neither Afghanistan (1) nor Maldives (25) sends any missionaries.

Missionaries sent per million affiliated Christians

The grey lines show the missionaries sent by the continent (per million affiliated Christians) against the total missionaries received in the continent (per million population).

= Asia average

33

i

1,000

38

37

ii

30 41 16

17

6

12 45

100

27 14

10

40

21

49 15

39

28 18

9 42 50 35 3 2 24 5 8 20 43 46 22 13 11 32 31 47 19 48 36

23 26

10

34

4

44 7

iii

iv

29 Numbers correspond to table on the facing page. = zero 25

1

1 1

10

100

1,000

Missionaries received per million population

270

10,000

Missionaries sent

Missionaries received

Total

TotalMissionSent_World missionaries >10,000 10,000 1,000 100 10 0

TotalMissionRecv_World missionaries >15,000 15,000 5,000 2,500 500 0

 Missionaries sent (total) Most countries with many Christians (China, Philippines, India, South Korea) also send many missionaries; Indonesia is an exception. Other countries in Asia send far fewer, at least in part because Christians are small minorities in most. Outside the Philippines, where Christians are the majority (Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia) they tend to be Orthodox, a tradition that historically sends fewer missionaries than the others.

 Missionaries received (total) Government restrictions mean Western Asia, the region with the lowest percentage of Christians, receives hardly any missionaries. This is also true for the countries of the former Soviet Union and several in Southeastern Asia. Foreign missionaries have much greater access to countries such as India, Indonesia, Japan and – surprisingly – China. Many also go to the Philippines and South Korea, where Christians constitute large shares of the population.

Per million

Missionaries per MissionSentPmAC_World million Christians >400 400 130 50 30 0

Missionaries per MissionRecvPm_World million people >700 700 200 100 30 0

 Missionaries sent (per million affiliated Christians) For countries with small Christian populations, sending only a few missionaries can give high numbers per million affiliated Christians. For example, Mongolia sends only five foreign missionaries – but from a Christian population of only 47,000 this is over 100 per million. The situation is similar for Bhutan, Turkey, Jordan and several others.

 Missionaries received (per million population) The countries receiving the most missionaries per million population generally have at most a few million citizens (although Taiwan is an exception). Bhutan, Cyprus and Northern Cyprus (with fewer than one million residents each) have three of the highest ratios.

Missionaries and national workers: Asia, 2010

*p.m.c. = per million affiliated Christians

National workers Total p.m.** 500 16 590 198 120 14 140 177 5,700 34 120 175 100 242 700 46 237,000 177 3,300 4,810 2,100 488 711,000 583 119,000 497 950 13 5,000 163 1,200 165 37,900 297 1,900 294 710 45 50 16 360 65 1,300 211 14,200 3,359 7,100 254 0 0

Missionaries Sent p.m.c.* Received p.m.** 0 0 200 7 120 47 60 20 15 54 120 14 5 68 60 76 30 35 1,000 6 2 225 220 322 2 32 30 72 10 33 340 22 5,600 49 5,000 4 60 99 220 321 70 19 120 28 10,000 172 8,000 7 660 23 6,000 25 20 53 220 3 40 82 500 16 60 384 1,200 165 890 349 8,000 63 15 77 220 34 30 15 220 14 10 34 120 39 30 99 60 11 5 26 90 15 220 156 660 156 100 40 1,000 36 0 0 10 31

26 Mongolia 27 Myanmar 28 Nepal 29 North Korea 30 Northern Cyprus 31 Oman 32 Pakistan 33 Palestine 34 Philippines 35 Qatar 36 Saudi Arabia 37 Singapore 38 South Korea 39 Sri Lanka 40 Syria 41 Taiwan 42 Tajikistan 43 Thailand 44 Timor 45 Turkey 46 Turkmenistan 47 U Arab Emirates 48 Uzbekistan 49 Viet Nam 50 Yemen Asia

National workers Population Christians Total p.m.** 2,707,000 47,100 240 89 50,051,000 4,002,000 17,800 356 29,898,000 935,000 1,400 47 24,015,000 484,000 360 15 196,000 3,100 120 612 2,767,000 131,000 120 43 173,351,000 3,923,000 7,100 41 4,409,000 82,800 950 215 93,001,000 83,151,000 119,000 1,280 885,000 84,700 70 79 26,416,000 1,182,000 70 3 4,592,000 740,000 1,900 414 48,673,000 20,150,000 119,000 2,445 19,576,000 1,714,000 5,900 301 21,428,000 1,174,000 1,700 79 23,562,000 1,420,000 9,500 403 7,062,000 101,000 70 10 65,125,000 849,000 4,700 72 1,271,000 1,077,000 470 370 77,703,000 214,000 950 12 5,163,000 79,400 50 10 4,732,000 597,000 240 51 28,580,000 371,000 120 4 90,845,000 7,796,000 37,900 417 24,475,000 41,300 190 8 4,166,308,000 352,239,000 1,481,000 355

Missionaries Sent p.m.c.* Received p.m.** 5 108 440 163 270 68 220 4 120 128 1,000 33 2 4 20 1 2 741 40 204 2 16 40 14 60 15 1,200 7 270 3,401 800 181 6,000 74 8,000 86 4 50 10 11 10 9 120 5 560 815 1,000 218 20,000 1,014 3,000 62 220 129 1,700 87 100 86 200 9 440 379 3,000 127 5 50 40 6 30 36 2,000 31 40 37 100 79 30 151 560 7 2 26 60 12 10 17 140 30 5 14 220 8 890 114 1,500 17 2 52 170 7 47,100 135 59,200 14

**p.m. = per million population

271

MISSIONARIES, ASIA

1 Afghanistan 2 Armenia 3 Azerbaijan 4 Bahrain 5 Bangladesh 6 Bhutan 7 Brunei 8 Cambodia 9 China 10 Cyprus 11 Georgia 12 India 13 Indonesia 14 Iran 15 Iraq 16 Israel 17 Japan 18 Jordan 19 Kazakhstan 20 Kuwait 21 Kyrgyzstan 22 Laos 23 Lebanon 24 Malaysia 25 Maldives

Population Christians 30,389,000 32,600 2,987,000 2,550,000 8,671,000 280,000 792,000 73,500 166,638,000 859,000 684,000 8,900 414,000 63,300 15,224,000 305,000 1,335,860,000 115,009,000 686,000 630,000 4,301,000 3,690,000 1,220,182,000 58,367,000 239,600,000 28,992,000 74,276,000 393,000 30,688,000 508,000 7,272,000 162,000 127,758,000 2,903,000 6,453,000 197,000 15,759,000 2,106,000 3,051,000 301,000 5,497,000 322,000 6,173,000 194,000 4,227,000 1,414,000 27,920,000 2,530,000 323,000 1,400

Missionaries sent and received, Europe, 1910–2010

W

ith the exception of the Oriental Orthodox churches of Asia and Africa, in 1910 Christian churches across the world were led by Europeans or people of European descent. Few, if any, suspected that just half a century later the empires that facilitated the European missions would have crumbled and that by 2010 Europe itself would be regarded as a ‘mission field’. This essay will map and account for the sea changes in patterns of mission activity in, from and to Europe, by looking at Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant and new missionary movements.

Orthodox churches and mission The Eastern Orthodox were not, by and large, part of the great missionary expansion into the rest of the world represented by the Edinburgh 1910 World Missionary Conference. Many Orthodox Christians in Europe were still living under the Ottoman Empire. Out of their experience of being a poor, minority religious community, Orthodox missiologists understand mission as ‘witness’ and emphasise the ‘gathering’ of the people to God rather than ‘sending’. After their freedom from the Ottomans, Orthodox Christians were subjected to missionary activities by Roman Catholic and Protestant mission agencies, which they felt lacked respect for their ancient Christian heritage. Meanwhile, the Russian Orthodox Church had sent out missionaries across Siberia and as far east as Alaska and Japan. But after the revolution of 1917, the Church was persecuted to an unprecedented extent by a militantly atheist state. Those who dared to confess Christian faith faced discrimination, imprisonment and not infrequently martyrdom. Orthodox grandmothers (babushkii) played a crucial role in teaching the faith to their grandchildren and taking care of parish affairs. In the aftermath of World War II, many more Christians in Eastern Europe found themselves under atheistic Communist regimes. During the Cold War, overt missionary work in most of Central and Eastern Europe, and in the USSR, was impossible. Some organisations from western Europe, such as Open Doors, tried to spread the gospel there secretly. Others used political pressure, such as Keston College in Oxford, England, which monitored persecution of Christians in the Soviet bloc. Until 1990 only the Orthodox Church of Greece was able to witness to the gospel freely, although it has been chiefly concerned to defend Orthodoxy at home and in the region. Its foreign missionary work was revived when it was approached by an Africaninitiated church in Eastern Africa that wished to become Orthodox. After the collapse of Communism in central and eastern Europe, in almost every country of the former Soviet bloc Christianity underwent a significant revival. The Orthodox churches struggled to baptise and instruct new Christians – for many of whom religious language and thought were alien – and to train up a new generation of leaders with limited resources and aging personnel. The ancient churches are learning how to engage in new and bewildering societies with all sorts of religious competitors. Many Orthodox churches re-asserted themselves and formed alliances with the state, using these to resist proselytising on their territory. The Russian Orthodox Church is particularly powerful and is actively engaged in mission aimed at conversion in Russia, and also in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the West. Roman Catholic missionaries In 1910 the Roman Catholic Church still faced a struggle for recognition in public life in many of the new republics of Europe. Yet the spiritual revivals of the nineteenth century, particularly in France, had spawned many new religious congregations, through which many clergy and lay people served as missionaries overseas. These included the White Fathers and the Society of the Divine Word, and female congregations, such as the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny. As well as planting churches, missionaries engaged in education, health, agriculture, charitable works and, increasingly, advocacy – although missionaries tended to support the aims of their colonial governments. In the twentieth century new congregations founded in Europe were relatively few. As a result of the privations of war and economic instability in the first half of the century, European missionary presence

272

diminished globally, and the initiative was seized by missionaries from the USA. Until after the Second Vatican Council (1962–5), the aims of mission were limited to winning converts and planting churches. Missionaries were expected to confront religions and cultures with the truth of the gospel. In practice, however, many missionaries on the ground practised inculturation, making links between traditional cultures and Christian faith. Within Europe, mission took place between the two competing ideologies of Fascism and Communism. Popes were conservative on moral issues and supported private property but at the same time expressed a growing concern for the urban poor. They supported Catholic Action (a movement of priests and laity), which laid the foundations for Catholic trade union associations and Christian Democratic parties (which campaigned for justice). Rapid secularisation in France caused abbés Godin and Daniel to ask as early as 1943 whether France was now a mission field. The model of Christian presence demonstrated by Charles de  Foucauld led to the formation of small communities in France and around the world that did not preach or teach, but lived and worked alongside people in friendship and solidarity with them.

The greatest change since Edinburgh 1910 is the transformation in the perception of Europe from sending continent to mission field, and with it the assumption of responsibility for mission by local churches. In what is recognised as a post-Christian society, western European churches have sought new ways of reaching out to an unchurched generation. The effects of Vatican II were extremely far-reaching for Christian mission. The emphasis shifted from confrontation with the world toward invitation and dialogue with other faiths and ideologies. Proclamation continued to be the main form of mission activity, but the validity of presence, inculturation and witness in deed was affirmed, and mission was given a firm theological foundation in the doctrine of the Trinity. The Church itself was defined as missionary, pointing beyond itself toward the kingdom of God. In 1969 the assignment of missionary congregations to particular mission territories by the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith was discontinued. Bishops in Europe and worldwide now took responsibility for mission activities within their own dioceses. Congregations (societies following a common rule of life and bound by simple vows) now had to be invited in to serve under the local church. The abrupt changes brought about by Vatican II, combined with the social changes of the 1960s, meant the European Church and its missionaries experienced something of a crisis going into the 1970s, when the sharp decline in missionary vocations in Europe set in. Proclamation and foreign mission were questioned in many quarters, especially in view of the affirmation of the preparatory role of other religions in salvation. Widespread discussion led to a new understanding of mission as anticipating the reign of God, formalised by the 1974 encyclical of Pope Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi. The Church still distinguished ‘mission ad gentes’, to those who have never known Christ, from ‘evangelisation’, which is directed to the renewal of communities who have already heard the gospel, such as most in Europe. After 1990 many Roman Catholic Christians in central and eastern Europe were once again free to propagate their faith, especially in Poland but also in Ukraine, Romania and other countries, although not without opposition from some Orthodox churches. In the newly united Europe, many have migrated westwards and invigorated the life of formerly declining Catholic Churches there. Many of the missionary congregations founded in Europe now have a majority of members from other continents, although senior positions in the Roman Catholic hierarchy continue to be occupied mainly

by Europeans. The election as Pope in 1978 of Karol Józef Wojtyła, Archbishop of Krakow, Poland, the first non-Italian since the sixteenth century, had a major influence on Christian mission. As Archbishop in the 1980s, he had supported the workers’ movement Solidarity against the Communist state, and so he shared the ‘option for the poor’ of Latin American liberation theology but not its tendency to socialist views. He was also anxious about new christologies from Asia that seemed to undermine the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. Consequently, John Paul II’s encyclical Redemptoris Missio (1990) re-emphasised the importance of proclamation and the missionary obligation to share the salvation offered (only) in Jesus Christ. At the same time, John Paul II advanced inter-faith dialogue, as long as it was complemented by proclamation.

Protestant missionaries Edinburgh 1910 was a gathering of representatives of overseas missionary societies. The Salvation Army and many social service organisations recognised Europe as their mission field, but their work was structurally separate from overseas mission. Most of the societies had close links with established Protestant denominations and saw establishing churches as the main aim of mission activity. The world was divided up by the system of comity into different zones in which it was understood that a particular European church had a monopoly on conversions. Missionary work in the field focused around missionary compounds, usually comprising a church, school, hospital and other institutions, including hostels where school children and orphans were cared for. Converts were also accommodated there, especially in contexts where the surrounding society was hostile to Christian faith. Women as wives or single missionaries now made up at least half of the expatriate mission population and often exercised a level of leadership denied them at home. Europeans were reluctant to hand over leadership to local people without stringent safeguards, having imperialist attitudes that were strongly criticised by Roland Allen in his book Missionary Methods in 1912. There were two ends of the spectrum of missionaries for whom establishing churches was not such a high priority, however. The first was the ‘social gospel’ movement of liberal Christianity. This focused on the goal of the Kingdom of God, which was interpreted largely in ethical and social terms. It encouraged the growth of trade unions and welfare states in Europe, and benevolent European empires abroad. Overseas missionaries cooperated closely with colonial authorities by running mission institutions. One of the few missionaries who actively opposed imperial rule was C. F. Andrews of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), who formed deep friendships with Indian independence leaders. Other missionaries supported movements for national independence through youth Christian movements such as the YMCA and the Student Christian Movement. By the first full meeting of the International Missionary Council (IMC) in Jerusalem in 1928, the social gospel approach was dominant, although it was resisted strongly by many continental Europeans. The second end of this spectrum comprised the missionaries of the nondenominational ‘faith missions’. Their priority was the salvation of souls deemed to be lost without an explicit knowledge of Jesus Christ and doctrines concerning eternal salvation. To this end, they went where the Church was not, and used whatever gifts and means they could (including identification with the people in dress and lifestyle) to convert individuals. Faith missionaries had less time for social and political issues. They encouraged converts to form independent local churches but often exercised tight doctrinal control over them. By the 1930s the first faith mission, the China Inland Mission, was the largest Protestant missionary body in China, but the faith missions were increasingly estranged from the missionaries of the social gospel. Missions from Germany, which after World War I no longer had any colonies, gave greater consideration than British ones to building an indigenous church. Between the wars, Lutherans such as Bruno Gutmann in Eastern Africa argued for the establishment of Volkskirche or ‘churches of the people’ in each nation. However, Nazi use of the German myth of the Volk to justify aggression and anti-Semitism called these mission theories into question. In the 1930s, under

the influence of Karl Barth, mission strategists like Karl Hartenstein of the Basel Mission emphatically rejected this approach and insisted on mission as prophetic proclamation. The failure of the European churches to defend the Jews led to a reappraisal of Christian-Jewish relations and a withdrawal by many missionaries from strategies of conversion. The weakening of European power and rising nationalist movements led to the independence of former mission churches. Sometimes, as in India, this happened gradually and preparation could be made, but in other cases, such as Indonesia, the transition was more traumatic. The Dutch fought a war, during which relations between missionaries and the Indonesian Church became very strained. In China in 1950, almost overnight missionaries were forced to withdraw and regroup after the triumph of the Communists. This led to a long period of questioning of missionary complicity with imperialism, and of mission itself. The post-War period saw increased social programmes and the creation by churches of non-governmental organisations such as Christian Aid in Britain, which worked initially in the rebuilding of Europe and later in Third World development. Many of these agencies distanced themselves from the missionary movement for reasons of politics and funding. The 1960s marked a cultural revolution that arguably precipitated rapid numerical decline of the historic churches, beginning in Britain and spreading by the end of the century to almost the whole of western Europe. Churches were preoccupied with matters of maintenance rather than mission. This change of climate affected European missionaries in two main ways. First, the European funding base was eroded, and so missionary sending and training were severely curtailed. Second, missionaries began to turn their attention to Europe itself, and experience gained overseas in inter-religious dialogue, inculturation, church growth and action for liberation began to be applied at home. Since the 1970s Protestant missionaries from the historic churches of Europe have been deeply affected by the reconstruction of mission in the ecumenical movement under the influence of Barthian and Eastern Orthodox theology. The mission of the Church is understood as secondary to the missio Dei (mission of God) but integral to the Church’s nature as a sign and instrument of the kingdom. Mission is now seen as a partnership activity with churches around the world. Gradually European churches and missions restructured themselves to recognise this new reality. The most radical changes were in the Reformed churches, following the example of the London Missionary Society (LMS) in 1971. The LMS, together with the churches it founded, formed the Council for World Mission, in which decision-making and resources are shared. Other overseas mission agencies remained but increased exchange activities, training of Third World leaders, facilitation of the local mission activities of former mission churches, and mission directed at Europe – for example, mission among immigrant groups and advocacy work on issues of global justice. Where missionaries were sent, they were often now known as ‘mission partners’. The (Anglican) Church Mission Society (CMS) was one of the most innovative under two outstanding leaders, Max Warren and John V. Taylor, between 1942 and 1975. Evangelicals who stressed the importance of proclamation and the role of mission agencies were alarmed by the questioning of evangelism and the subjection of missions to churches, as illustrated by the integration in 1961 of the IMC into the World Council of Churches (WCC). Criticising the secularising tendencies of the

Dutch missiologist Hans Hoekendijk and others, Evangelicals arranged their own forums, believing the WCC had betrayed the mandate for evangelism. Evangelical Anglican John Stott was instrumental in drafting the Lausanne Covenant (1974), which gave priority to evangelism but affirmed social action as an integral part of mission. By the turn of the millennium, the historic Protestant churches of western Europe were heavily committed to mission as development, often working very closely with government as they did in the colonial period, and with funding from secular sources. Mission as evangelism was suspect for many Christians in these churches, but in Evangelical and Pentecostal churches and movements, proclamation and church-planting at home and overseas continued as they had for most of the century, encouraged often by Northern American, and increasingly Asian and African, models.

New initiatives Northern American mission initiatives in Europe had begun in earnest after World War II. American churches sent personnel for rebuilding and reconciliation work, and Evangelical bodies became increasingly involved in evangelism and church planting, especially in Catholic countries. Rising secularism and Communism in Europe were of grave concern to Evangelicals from the USA, who began to perceive even western Europe as in need of evangelisation. Billy Graham’s first European tours in 1954–5 attracted the support of a wide range of churches and encouraged the use of personal evangelism and revival-style appeals. A number of USA young people’s initiatives, such as Campus Crusade for Christ and Operation Mobilisation, became active in Europe from 1960 onwards, making full use of literature, film and other media. These parachurch organisations, which both targeted Europe and also mobilised young Europeans for mission in Europe and beyond, were often criticised by the establishment, but their enthusiasm and optimism fed back into Evangelical churches. Such organisations undermined the idea that missionaries serve for a lifetime, and popularised short-term service and ‘mission trips’. The Charismatic movements that have swept through most countries in Europe since about 1970 have had profound effects on most of the historic churches. One of these effects is a reduction in inhibitions among Europeans about testifying to a personal experience of God. Another is encouragement of the practice of healing, which is a point of contact for mission with other movements for holistic spirituality, such as New Age and Pagan groups. The liveliest and the fastest-growing churches in Europe are migrant churches from Africa, Asia and the Americas. The largest churches include black-led Pentecostal churches, such as the Embassy of God in Ukraine and Kingsway International Christian Centre in London. The more well-established black churches are partners in mission ventures such as city missions and prayer networks. Some of the new churches are part of deliberate and growing movements of ‘reverse mission’ from Protestant, Pentecostal and Independent churches in former colonised countries, by people shocked by what they see as the decline of Christianity on the continent from which they inherited the faith. At a time when religion is a live public issue in most parts of Europe, there are Christians seeking to serve the community and address issues in the public sphere. Many European Christians are pressurising their leaders to act on behalf of the world’s poorest through movements such as the Make Poverty History campaign in 2005. Another way in which European Christians have served the wider community is in

peace-making, which has a long history in which Quakers have played a particularly important part. Another example is the ecumenical community founded at Taizé in France by Brother Roger after World War II, which bridged the Catholic–Protestant divide as well as national enmities. Since then local Christians and missionaries have been working for peace between divided communities in the Balkans and in Northern Ireland, among other places. The resurgence of other world religions since 1910 has led to the growing importance of inter-faith relations in missionary work. Throughout the century Europeans tried approaches to other faiths that are more respectful than the rather patronising one of fulfilment, exemplified by the Scottish missionary scholar J. N. Farquhar at Edinburgh 1910, and the confrontational approach articulated by Hendrik Kraemer at the IMC meeting at Tambaram, India, in 1938. In India British missionaries such as Bede Griffiths (Catholic) experimented with contemplative communities on the model of Hindu ashrams. In preCommunist China, Karl Ludwig Reichelt (Lutheran) pioneered Christian-Buddhist exchange, and in the post-War Middle East Kenneth Cragg (Anglican) encouraged Christians to listen and learn from Islam before attempting to share their faith. Such methods of dialogue have been applied inside Europe too by organisations such as Areopagos in Denmark. At the same time, as Christians in Europe experience a growing presence, and even mission activity, of other religions, they are also inclined to be assertive of their religious freedom and more inclined to profess their own faith publically. The greatest change since Edinburgh 1910 is the transformation in the perception of Europe from sending continent to mission field, and with it the assumption of responsibility for mission by local churches. In what is recognised as a post-Christian society, western European churches have sought new ways of reaching out to an unchurched generation. The most successful example is the Alpha courses originating at Holy Trinity Brompton in London and now a global phenomenon, designed to draw individuals into Christian faith in a low-key way. Following the lead of British churches, where numerical decline has been most advanced, some churches in other countries have also begun to restructure themselves to be ‘missionshaped’ churches. Initiatives range from alternative worship services and youth church to café church and community centres. The ‘new evangelisation’, proclaimed by John Paul II at the outset of his pontificate, encourages public demonstrations of faith and popular religion, such as mass events and pilgrimages. In this context the role of overseas missionaries is somewhat eclipsed, and their continued existence is regarded by many as an anachronism. At the same time, European Christians are perhaps now more directly engaged in mission than in 1910 through local mission activities, and globally through international church networks and direct church links.

KIRSTEEN KIM Stephen B. Bevans and Roger P. Schroeder, Constants in Context: A Theology of Mission for Today (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2004). David J. Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1991). Grace Davie, Europe: The Exceptional Case: Parameters of Faith in the Modern World (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 2002). Philip Jenkins, God’s Continent: Christianity, Islam, and Europe’s Religious Crisis (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007). Timothy Yates, Christian Mission in the Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).

Missionaries and national workers in Europe, 2010 Most missionaries sent* Total 21,000 21,000 20,000 15,000 14,000 8,000 7,000 5,000 3,500 2,700

Most missionaries received* 2010 Per million Christians Ireland 2,131 Malta 1,994 Belgium 872 Netherlands 602 Spain 516 France 497 Italy 422 Britain 381 Norway 373 Portugal 365

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 Russia France Britain Germany Italy Ukraine Spain Belgium Netherlands Switzerland

Total 20,000 10,000 10,000 8,000 8,000 4,500 2,500 2,500 2,000 2,000

Most national workers* 2010 Per million people Slovenia 445 Croatia 331 Albania 274 Switzerland 264 Belgium 238 Slovakia 222 Latvia 196 Montenegro 183 Denmark 183 Norway 167

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 Germany Italy Russia France Britain Spain Poland Belgium Netherlands Romania

Total 711,000 640,000 474,000 474,000 474,000 403,000 178,000 130,000 107,000 68,700

*Countries >100,000

2010 Per million people Malta 18,491 Ireland 13,102 Belgium 12,355 Italy 10,842 Luxembourg 9,731 Spain 8,934 Germany 8,632 Britain 7,705 France 7,583 Austria 6,740

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MISSIONARIES, EUROPE

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 France Spain Italy Britain Germany Ireland Belgium Netherlands Portugal Poland

Missionaries sent and received, Europe, 2010

E

Total

National workers

CitWorker_World Total workers >500,000 500,000 200,000 80,000 20,000 0

 National workers (total) The larger European countries have very high numbers of national workers. From the Nordic countries to the Mediterranean Sea, however, the numbers of national workers are much lower. Many of these countries, especially in the Balkans, have seen strife during the twentieth century that has hindered their national worker growth. In many countries, comparatively small national populations also contribute, as does a relative lack of Catholics (and thus religious vocations, which would boost numbers).

Per million

urope historically has been the most robust Christian missionary-sending force in the world, only during the twentieth century to be matched by Northern America. Due to this history, Europe generally had not been considered as a missionary destination, though increasing numbers have lost their faith in God. Nonetheless, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, a large number of African missionaries are serving on the continent, in essence going back to the old colonial masters to preach to them the faith they introduced to the colonies during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Only five European countries receive 8,000 or more missionaries in 2010. These five – Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia – also are the five most populous countries in Europe. Russia receives twice as many missionaries as either Britain or France, clear evidence of the rush of missionaries into the former Soviet republic after the collapse of Communism. Of all European countries listed on the opposite page, 17 of 50 (34%) receive over 1,000 missionaries each in 2010. These missionaries are equally divided into (1) expatriates who share the dominant Christian tradition, helping to staff its institutions, and (2) expatriates from other Christian traditions attempting to gain a foothold. As is evident from the ‘Missionaries sent’ map, Spain, France, Italy, Britain and Germany send the most missionaries. Together these five countries send some 91,000 missionaries in 2010 (nearly 70% of Europe’s total). As five of Europe’s most populous countries, they also receive large numbers of missionaries (10,000 each for Britain and France). Russia – the continent’s most populous country – also receives the most missionaries in 2010 (20,000). It should be noted that in most of Europe the number of missionaries sent is declining while the number being received is increasing. One reason for the increase in missionaries received is the growing practice of filling the need for priests and pastors with foreign missionaries from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Below, each numbered point on the scatter plot corresponds with a country on the ‘Missionaries sent and received in Europe, 2010’ table on the opposite page. The European averages are marked by the grey lines. Comparison with the global averages (blue lines) shows that the global averages for missionaries sent per million Christians and missionaries received per million people are less than those for Europe. Unique among the world’s countries is the Holy See. As the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, some 90% of its residents are considered national workers. It also both sends and receives the most missionaries per million. Because its small population and unique status magnify these results, however, it is not listed in the national worker and missionary tables earlier in this section.

Workers per CitWorkerPm_World million people >5,000 5,000 2,000 800 200 0

 National workers (per million population) Interestingly, this map reflects a reality comparable to the one above, with a similar gap separating western Europe versus Scandinavia and eastern Europe. The historically Roman Catholic countries – France, Italy and Spain, especially – have higher concentrations of national workers, as does historically Anglican Britain. The former Soviet-bloc countries generally have the fewest national workers per million population, although Russia, Poland and Romania are notable exceptions.

Missionary scatter plot quadrants, 2010

10,000

= Global average

Quadrant meanings The blue lines show the total global missionaries sent (per million affiliated Christians) against the total global missionaries received (per million population).

i These countries send more missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive fewer missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent. ii These countries send more missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive more missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent. iii These countries send fewer missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive fewer missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent. iv These countries send fewer missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive more missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent.  Sending and receiving of missionaries in Europe The graph to the right shows missionaries received and missionaries sent for countries in Europe. Missionaries received is per million population, suggesting the potential impact on the entire population of the country of service. Missionaries sent is per million affiliated Christians, indicating the strength of mission sending by the Christian community. Both axes use a logarithmic scale because20 the data values vary by several orders of magnitude (from 20 to 26,000 for missionaries received and from 10 to 26,000 for missionaries sent). Lines plotted at the average values of these variables separate the data points into four quadrants, described more fully above. Global averages are also shown for comparison. The European averages for both missionary sending and receiving are higher than the global averages. Several historically prominent missionary nations fall around the European average, including Britain (7), Finland (15), Norway (37) and Sweden (48). Russia (41) sends the fewest missionaries per million affiliated Christians, while Poland (38) receives the fewest per million population. The Holy See, the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church (and 100% Christian), both sends and receives by far the most missionaries per capita (roughly 26,000 per million each). The Holy See (number 20) is not pictured on the sent and received graph to the right because its numbers are ‘off the chart’.

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Missionaries sent per million affiliated Christians

The grey lines show the missionaries sent by the continent (per million affiliated Christians) against the total missionaries received in the continent (per million population).

Off chart: 20. Holy See

= Europe average

i

ii

23

32

14 5

1,000 36

28

46 16 24 39 1525 37 49 30 48 3 7 17 6 26 9 22 12

100

29

38

10

34

35 11 1 31 13 27 33

10

18 42 45

43

19

iii

47

2

8

21

4 40

44 50

41

iv

Numbers correspond to table on the facing page.

1 1

10

100

1,000

Missionaries received per million population

10,000

Missionaries sent

Missionaries received

Total MissionRecv_World missionaries >15,000 15,000 5,000 2,500 500 0

 Missionaries sent (total) The map above highlights the reality that most European missionaries come from only a handful of countries. Western Europe especially, though declining in Christian adherence itself, continues to send the most missionaries of any region on the continent. Individually, France and Spain each send the most missionaries (21,000), and Italy adds another 20,000 in 2010. Most of these missionaries are Roman Catholics.

 Missionaries received (total) Russia receives the most missionaries in 2010 of any European country, which is as might be expected since it is also the most populous. Germany, France and Britain are also high on the list of receiving countries, which is also interesting because they send out so many Christian missionaries. Also note that countries with high numbers of national workers (Italy, Russia, France, Spain) are also receiving large numbers of foreign missionaries.

Per million

Missionaries per MissionSentPmAC_World million Christians >400 400 130 50 30 0

Total

TotalMissionSent_World missionaries >10,000 10,000 1,000 100 10 0

Missionaries per MissionRecvPm_World million people >700 700 200 100 30 0

 Missionaries sent (per million affiliated Christians) When viewed from the standpoint of their Christian populations, more countries are large missionarysending forces. Ireland sends around 2,100 missionaries per million affiliated Christians, the most in Europe (excluding the Holy See), and Malta about 2,000. Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, where Christians are minorities, send more per million than Denmark or Iceland.

 Missionaries received (per million population) Countries with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants receive the most missionaries per million population. Among larger countries, Slovenia ranks first, followed by Croatia and Albania. Interestingly, missionary reception by Kosovo (less than 40% Christian) is below the European average, while even on a permillion basis Britain and France still exceed the European average.

Missionaries and national workers: Europe, 2010

*p.m.c. = per million affiliated Christians

Christians 1,001,000 69,000 6,708,000 7,020,000 8,636,000 1,552,000 49,325,000 6,269,000 126,000 4,176,000 5,824,000 4,686,000 956,000 48,900 4,778,000 42,990,000 58,123,000 25,700 10,419,000 780 8,687,000 295,000 4,310,000 65,800 47,502,000

National workers Total p.m.** 2,400 740 50 668 56,900 6,740 2,800 294 130,000 12,355 1,200 304 474,000 7,705 7,100 950 120 800 2,800 618 9,500 934 7,100 1,297 1,200 908 100 2,004 6,200 1,165 474,000 7,583 711,000 8,632 50 1,712 40,300 3,593 700 897,436 16,600 1,670 710 2,305 59,300 13,102 280 3,567 640,000 10,842

Missionaries Sent p.m.c.* Received p.m.** 60 60 890 274 40 601 10 134 1,500 237 1,200 142 120 18 560 59 7,000 872 2,500 238 270 175 610 155 15,000 381 10,000 163 120 19 220 29 15 153 10 67 340 86 1,500 331 270 70 1,700 167 660 144 1,000 183 40 67 170 129 60 1,239 30 601 1,600 351 560 105 21,000 497 10,000 160 14,000 261 8,000 97 10 398 40 1,370 440 42 560 50 20 26,144 20 25,641 270 31 1,400 141 40 140 40 130 8,000 2,131 560 124 20 386 4 51 20,000 422 8,000 136

26 Kosovo 27 Latvia 28 Liechtenstein 29 Lithuania 30 Luxembourg 31 Macedonia 32 Malta 33 Moldova 34 Monaco 35 Montenegro 36 Netherlands 37 Norway 38 Poland 39 Portugal 40 Romania 41 Russia 42 San Marino 43 Serbia 44 Slovakia 45 Slovenia 46 Spain 47 Svalbard/Jan Mayen 48 Sweden 49 Switzerland 50 Ukraine Europe

National workers Missionaries Population Christians Total p.m.** Sent p.m.c.* Received p.m.** 2,084,000 178,000 3,600 1,727 30 176 110 53 2,243,000 1,567,000 1,900 847 70 45 440 196 36,200 32,400 70 1,934 25 834 20 552 3,336,000 2,979,000 3,600 1,079 240 85 440 132 483,000 437,000 4,700 9,731 140 322 40 83 2,041,000 1,314,000 710 348 60 46 170 83 411,000 403,000 7,600 18,491 770 1,994 30 73 3,707,000 3,568,000 1,700 459 120 34 560 151 33,000 28,500 260 7,879 20 714 170 5,152 600,000 471,000 1,200 2,000 30 64 110 183 16,502,000 10,653,000 107,000 6,484 5,000 602 2,000 121 4,781,000 4,370,000 6,400 1,339 1,600 373 800 167 37,902,000 36,523,000 178,000 4,696 2,700 76 780 21 10,725,000 9,645,000 33,200 3,096 3,500 365 830 77 21,147,000 20,883,000 68,700 3,249 220 11 1,200 57 140,318,000 115,120,000 474,000 3,378 1,200 10 20,000 143 31,500 28,900 50 1,587 5 177 20 635 7,841,000 6,329,000 14,200 1,811 390 65 800 102 5,396,000 4,609,000 4,300 797 80 18 1,200 222 2,001,000 1,813,000 3,300 1,649 170 99 890 445 45,108,000 40,871,000 403,000 8,934 21,000 516 2,500 55 4,100 2,400 70 17,073 2 885 5 1,220 9,242,000 6,101,000 19,000 2,056 2,000 331 800 87 7,567,000 6,230,000 42,700 5,643 2,000 325 2,000 264 45,170,000 37,991,000 14,200 314 440 12 4,500 100 730,478,000 585,739,000 4,038,000 5,528 132,800 237 90,000 123

**p.m. = per million population

275

MISSIONARIES, EUROPE

1 Albania 2 Andorra 3 Austria 4 Belarus 5 Belgium 6 Bosnia-Herzegovina 7 Britain 8 Bulgaria 9 Channel Islands 10 Croatia 11 Czech Republic 12 Denmark 13 Estonia 14 Faeroe Islands 15 Finland 16 France 17 Germany 18 Gibraltar 19 Greece 20 Holy See 21 Hungary 22 Iceland 23 Ireland 24 Isle of Man 25 Italy

Population 3,245,000 74,800 8,442,000 9,529,000 10,522,000 3,942,000 61,517,000 7,471,000 150,000 4,532,000 10,175,000 5,473,000 1,321,000 49,900 5,323,000 62,507,000 82,365,000 29,200 11,215,000 780 9,940,000 308,000 4,526,000 78,500 59,032,000

Missionaries sent and received, Latin America, 1910–2010

A

fter centuries of evangelisation by Roman Catholics, the nineteenth century saw the beginning of Protestant missionary work in Latin America. This was a controversial matter at the Edinburgh 1910 World Missionary Conference since it was decided to regard Latin America as an ‘already evangelised’ continent in light of the extensive presence of Roman Catholic Christianity. This decision was greatly resented by Protestants who were active in missionary work in Latin America and who had no doubt that there was much to be done in terms of evangelism. In order to correct what they believed to be the mistaken impression given by the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference, Protestants held evangelical congresses in Panama in 1916, in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1925 and Havana, Cuba in 1929. These congresses legitimised missionary efforts in Latin America and stimulated new initiatives in mission. From these seeds Protestant churches took root and grew in Latin American soil until the time came when they would be not primarily receivers but primarily senders of missionaries. Today Latin America forms a significant theatre for the renewal of Christian faith and a sending base for many missionaries working both within the continent and beyond it. The pattern of Protestant missionary penetration was to first reach countries on the west and east coasts and later to reach countries with no access to the sea, like Bolivia and Paraguay. Priority was given to reaching the elite first, with progressive concern for the lower classes. By the middle of the nineteenth century there were Protestant missions in every South American country, except Bolivia and Ecuador. Freedom of worship allowed Methodists, Presbyterians and Baptists to establish their churches. The political context was one of tension between the Roman Catholic Church and religiously-liberal governments. As a result of having liberal ideas and values, most of the missionaries and the new churches they planted became solidly anti-Catholic. Several of the Protestant missionary pioneers played an influential political role in terms of promoting freedom of worship. As a result, some Latin American national political constitutions were changed to allow freedom of worship and abolish the exclusivity of the Roman Catholic Church, while still maintaining its official status and hegemony. Meanwhile the Roman Catholic Church was challenged by the emergence of Protestant and later Pentecostal movements and developed its own renewal movements that equipped it for missionary engagement. Protestants have often questioned the validity of the faith professed by the Roman Catholic majority. On the other hand, Catholics have sometimes derided the Protestants as a Northern American conspiracy and an invasion of sects. In the early twentieth century Protestant missionary action and presence were often interpreted as part of a liberal-masonicCommunist conspiracy, while later they were often regarded as part of a Northern American imperialist conspiracy. Despite the opposition, there has been an unmistakable and rapid rise in the number of missionaries active in and from the continent in the course of the century.

Spanish-speaking Evangelicals After more than a century of Protestant missionary work, diverse yet distinctive Evangelicalism is found in every corner of Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. Small, medium and large church buildings are everywhere, not just in the capitals and big cities but also in almost all communities. The Evangelical movement now forms an essential part of Latin American identity. The first decades of missionary work on the continent relied heavily on the hundreds of devoted Northern American and European missionaries who dedicated their lives sacrificially for the sake of the gospel. Today foreign personnel are still active but not indispensable to the missionary task. What makes mission occur today are the thousands of local and national partners working every day as missionaries not only within their own continent but also all over the world. Thousands of official and unofficial Latino missionaries are serving worldwide. The vitality of the Latin American missionary movement is apparent not only in its geographical extent but also in the quality of its work. Its vision has a holistic character and embraces social, liturgical and political aspects. Admittedly it is a movement

276

distinguished more for its activism than its reflective character. Nonetheless, the Evangelical missionary movement has made some important contributions to theological thinking. While it is commonly understood that Liberation Theology was initiated by Roman Catholic scholars, Samuel Escobar has demonstrated that committed Evangelicals were involved in the roots of this new theology. In the midst of military dictatorships and extreme poverty, the 1960s and 1970s saw both Catholics and Protestants seeking to relate social and political realities to the gospel in a more pragmatic and dialectical manner. The ferment provoked by Liberation Theology was at its height when the seminal Lausanne Conference was held in 1974. Amongst the most influential voices at Lausanne were two Latino theologians, Samuel Escobar from Peru and Rene Padilla from Argentina. Their papers on Christian mission and social justice made an insightful evaluation of Western missionary practice and a crucial validation of the capacity for wholeness found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Consequently, a holistic understanding of mission, often described as ‘integral mission’, came to prevail within the Evangelical movement, having influenced the theology and missionary practice of the Latin American church.

The first decades of missionary work on the continent relied heavily on the hundreds of devoted Northern American and European missionaries who dedicated their lives sacrificially for the sake of the gospel. Today foreign personnel are still active but not indispensable to the missionary task. What makes mission occur today are the thousands of local and national partners working every day as missionaries not only within their own continent but also all over the world. Pentecostal missionaries In the course of the twentieth century Latin America became the most Pentecostal continent in the world. Contrary to the common assumption, its origins lie not in Northern America but in indigenous revival movements. Chile would appear to have been the birthplace of Pentecostalism in Latin America. In the city of Valparaiso, Willis C. Hoover (1858–1936), an American who served as pastor of the largest Methodist Church, together with his wife, had a Pentecostal experience in 1907. The Hoovers were influenced by a revival in an orphanage for young women in Pune, India, which started in 1905, led by Pandita Ramabai. They also heard, through Methodist colleagues, about similar revivals happening in other parts of the world, like Venezuela and Norway. They encouraged their church to pray for a revival of the Holy Spirit. In April 1909 they experienced charismatic manifestations such as tongues, visions, uncontrollable laughter and crying, and falling to the floor, and they then gave themselves to intensive preaching in the streets. The local Methodist leaders, public authorities and press reacted against the revival. Those who had been baptised with the Holy Spirit were expelled from the Episcopal Methodist Church, which also wanted to send the Hoovers back to the USA for a year as a preventive measure. However, the Chilean church members then persuaded the Hoovers to establish a new church, and the Pentecostal Methodist Church was born. A Chilean, Manuel Umana Salinas, started pastoring this church in 1911, becoming its main leader after Willis Hoover. This movement was completely autochthonous, having no connection with the Northern American Pentecostal movement. From the start, it had its own identity marked by authoritarian leadership, lay participation, autonomy in managing church affairs, a populist attitude inherited from Catholicism and an extraordinary motivation for the evangelisation of the masses.

In Argentina, Pentecostalism arose in the immigrant community. Millions of immigrants arrived in Argentina in the first part of the twentieth century; most were European, and many were Protestants. In 1909, the Norwegian Berger Johnson, the Canadian Alice Wood, and the US Italian Luigi Francescon (1866–1964) were the main pioneers working in different parts of Argentina. Later, missionaries from the Free Swedish Mission founded a work that formed an association with the Assemblies of God Church from the USA. Argentinian Pentecostalism was based on a community formed by immigrants from Protestant countries, whereas in Chile it was a movement carried on by Chilean urban working people among those of their own class. The range and character of missionary engagement in Latin America can be exemplified by consideration of the case of Brazil. The case of Brazil Brazil was solid Roman Catholic territory in 1910. During the second half of the nineteenth century evangelical mission initiatives began in the region, although it was illegal to construct buildings which looked like churches, and to use the cross in public places. It took the Brazilian evangelical churches a long time to become committed to mission. They were supported by foreign missionaries who saw neither the need nor the possibility of the Brazilian church sending missionaries as there was so much to be done in Brazil. Things changed gradually, as can be seen from a sample of the diversified activities undertaken by Brazilian missionaries – Evangelical and Roman Catholic – in the last 100 years. (1) First period, 1910–50 These years were marked by pioneering mission and church-planting, mostly done by foreign missionaries and gradually by Brazilians as well. A few missionaries were sent abroad. Indian tribal mission was seen as an important challenge. The missionaries who came to Brazil were theologically conservative, serving in colportage, personal and itinerant evangelism, discipleship and church-planting. Erasmo Braga (1877–1932), the first Brazilian missiologist, was present at the 1916 Congress in Panama, organised as a response to Edinburgh 1910. A Committee for Cooperation in Latin America was created, and Braga became the leader of its Brazilian branch, representing Latin America at international conferences. Church growth was particularly rapid in Brazil, and throughout the continent there was widespread evidence of a favourable reception of the missionary message. John Mackay, an influential missionary pioneer in Latin America, challenged participants at the International Mission Council conference in Tambaram in 1938 to consider Latin American Christians as a potential missionary force. The first missionary of the Presbyterian Church was Mota Sobrinho, sent to Portugal in 1911. The Baptists organised their mission board in 1907, sending missionaries to Chile and Portugal. In 1910 Pentecostal missionaries Gunnar Vingren and Daniel Berg, Swedish immigrants to the USA, arrived in Belém. They had no theological training and no financial support, but identified with the local people. Their gospel songs were adapted to the local culture. The church they planted was called Assemblies of God, which sent its first missionary to Portugal in 1913. By mid-century they had a presence in every state in Brazil, and membership was growing rapidly. Henry Whittington, a Scottish missionary working in Paraguay, took an interest in Brazilian tribal groups. He arrived among the Terena tribe in 1912 and established the first evangelical church among the indigenous groups in the country; this church is still thriving. Albert Maxwell, an American Presbyterian missionary, travelled through central and northern Brazil to choose a location for a mission among tribal people. He slept in the open air and ate what he found. Exhausted and weak, he reached Vilhena, where a man helped him to build a canoe. They travelled for 40 days on the Aripuanã and Madeira rivers, arriving at a settlement of rubber gatherers. From there Maxwell took a boat to Manaus, on to Rio de Janeiro, and finally to Lavras, where fellow missionaries had thought him dead. In 1929, he established a mission among Caiuá Indians, inviting teachers, an agronomist, a medical

doctor and a dentist – all Brazilians, developing a holistic ministry. Maxwell led the mission until 1943, when Orlando Andrade became leader. In 1938, at the age of 19, Lóide Bonfim began teaching at the Caiuá Mission. Later she studied nursing and married Orlando. In 1951 they organised a conference to encourage the local Christians. Unexpectedly, groups from unreached tribes came as well. One leader said: ‘I am a poor man. I could not bring my family. I walked day and night to come here. I have nothing to give Jesus, but I gave him my heart and want to follow him’. Then another chief stood up and gave his testimony. There were 60 new converts, including Marçal de Souza, who decided to serve the Lord and help evangelise his people. Such stories could be told of many of the missions active in Brazil in the first half of the twentieth century. More unusual is the case of Padre Cícero, venerated as a saint in the impoverished northeast of Brazil even though Rome excommunicated him. He had messianic ideas, wanting to make Juazeiro a great city, economically, politically and religiously. He felt predestined to this mission, and was convinced it would take place in an apocalyptical climate of struggles and persecution. Cícero declared the independence of Juazeiro, and served as its mayor from 1910 until 1927. Everywhere in Juazeiro there are images of Padre Cícero for sale to pilgrims who come to seek his blessing. (2) Second period, 1950–80 The evangelical churches grew significantly. A renewal movement in the traditional denominations led to the formation of churches with an emphasis on spiritual gifts, evangelism, church-planting and prayer for the whole world. In 1975 the Antioch Mission was founded by leaders from a Charismatic Presbyterian Bible Institute. The Lausanne Congress of 1974 had a significant influence. In 1976 it inspired the Aliança Bíblica Universitária (student movement affiliated to the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students) to organise a missionary conference, encouraging students to become involved in holistic mission. In 1983 the First Brazilian Congress for Evangelism was held, also influenced by Lausanne. At this stage most churches still felt unable to practise trans-cultural mission, but some Bible schools with an emphasis on mission were organised, and slowly churches began to understand their responsibility for mission. Many leaders still argued that they were unable to send missionaries because there was too much work to be done in Brazil. In 1959 Guenther and Wanda Krieger, Baptist missionaries, began to serve among the Xerente Indians. The New Testament which Krieger translated was distributed in October 2007. In 1960 they published the first Xerente hymnbook; the Gospel of Mark in 1970; the Acts of the Apostles in 1978; and New Testament texts in 1990. In May 2005 Krieger suffered a stroke. Before his stroke he would sit with the Indians, discuss the best translation and make notes, but now the Indians had to make notes that Wanda would type on the computer. In 1946 the Baptist Board sent the first couple to Bolívia: Waldomiro and Lygia Motta with their three children. Soon after their arrival in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, there was a revolution and their hotel was attacked. They faced diseases and many dangers. Lygia became very ill, and they had to return to Brazil in 1955. In 1949 Motta was imprisoned by the mayor of Santa Cruz, but several citizens defended him. One result was the conversion of one of the mayor’s nephews. The Mottas organised a church, did evangelism by radio and trained a leader for the ministry.

Frans and Margrietha Schalkwijk, Dutch Reformed missionaries, came to Brazil in 1959. They served in Carambeí, Paraná. He organised Sunday school and services in Portuguese in the Dutch Immigrant Church, and organised evangelistic teams to visit surrounding communities. In 1962 the first people reached through this work were baptised, and in 1965 a new church was started. Schalkwijk was invited to teach at the Presbyterian Seminary in Recife in 1972 and served as Principal for 10 years. Finally, from 1989 until retirement he served the Evangelical Missions Center in Viçosa. The couple never lost their joy and contagious enthusiasm for the Lord and his work. The Second Vatican Council has changed the face of the Roman Catholic Church. Soon after the Council, the Latin American Council of Bishops was held in Medellin (1968), taking the Church further forward, and the ‘option for the poor’ changed the role and direction of its ministry. There was a strong influence of Liberation Theology. The Catholic Charismatic Renewal was brought to Brazil by Harold Rahm and Edward Dougherty, who organised retreats promoting Experiences of Prayer. These groups soon spread all over Brazil. In 1971 a young priest, Jonas Abib, became committed to the Charismatic Renewal, and in 1978 he organised the New Song Community, with a widespread influence on radio and TV. Today there are around eight million Charismatic Catholics in Brazil and about 60,000 prayer groups. (3) Third period, 1980–2010 This is the period during which the Brazilian evangelical churches have become increasingly involved and enthusiastic about sending missionaries. COMIBAM, the Ibero American Missions Congress in São Paulo in 1987, stimulated the growth of mission from Brazil. Brazilian missionaries are serving mainly in Latin America; in Portugal and Spain; in Africa (especially Angola, Mozambique and Guinea Bissau); in East Timor; and increasingly in the 10/40 Window, including countries where missionary work is officially forbidden. During this period the first Bible School for tribal leaders was founded: Instituto Bíblico Cades Barnéia, led by Jair de Oliveira, from the Terena tribe. The National Council of Indian Evangelical Leaders (CONPLEI) seeks to unify and strengthen tribal mission. In September 2008 they organised a conference with 1251 participants, representing 47 tribes. As the initiative increasingly passed into local hands, from the 1990s the number of foreign missionaries in Brazil began to decline. In 2003 there was a Roman Catholic Missionary Conference in Belo Horizonte, under the theme: ‘Sent to the Ends of the Earth to Announce the Gospel of Peace, from a position of Poverty, Otherness and Martyrdom…’ They declared that ‘the Christian is missionary by nature: it is his reason for being. No church can escape from its responsibility relating to mission.’ Today Latin American Roman Catholic missionaries are serving in all parts of the world. The spirit of today’s Latin American missionaries can be gauged by some words of Terezinha Ramos, a missionary in Angola: ‘I have been in Angola since 1988. I have worked with amputees, children, couples, young women… In 1993 I spent 55 days under heavy bombardment, eating once a day. But my place is here, my heart is missionary…’

faith. If they submitted to some basic rites, this was considered enough. So when evangelists appeared, offering Bibles and New Testaments, there was a strong reaction against them from the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, people started to discover and love the Scriptures. Only after the Second Vatican Council was there was less animosity against evangelicals. In the early twentieth century Latin American churches understood mission as meaning people coming from abroad to help and serve the people. Slowly there were some indigenous missionary initiatives and a growing confidence that Latin Americans themselves could also be part of the great missionary outreach to all peoples of the world. From the 1970s onwards there was a growing missionary outreach. At first many were sent with very little training and with little support. Even some of those who did good work came back broken and disillusioned. This influenced their churches as people concluded that mission was something too difficult or that those who went were not capable enough. There was little understanding of the need for member care, keeping contact, and helping missionaries to go through difficult experiences and persevere. The Roman Catholic Church also grew in missionary commitment, sending people with a heart to serve the very poor and needy in several cultures. In the 1990s and early this century, more mission agencies reached a deeper understanding about how to prepare their missionaries and how to care for them. More missionaries were able to stay on the field and complete good work. Some characteristics like the outgoing and friendly nature of Latin Americans and their focus on family life, as well as the fact that they were not linked directly with powerful Western nations, helped them to integrate well into many cultures. They continue to make mistakes. For example, sometimes churches independently send missionaries with very little guidance. Some of them have caused troubles to national churches in several countries, through lack of understanding of the need to contextualise, through seeking to impose their way of being church, and through showing lack of respect for local leaders. Among evangelicals there are two contrasting tendencies: on the one hand, leaders and missionaries seeking to work together in greater unity, and at the same time, independent churches and new agencies wanting to ‘do their own thing’. But a variety of consultations and conferences are enabling leaders to come together to evaluate what has been done and how to improve their service, both in the Roman Catholic and in the evangelical churches. The Latin American missionary movement is at an early stage in its development, but the indications are that it will be a significant force in the shaping of world Christianity in the years to come.

MARCELO VARGAS AND ANTONIA LEONORA VAN DER MEER WITH LEVI T. DECARVALHO Elben César, História da Evangelização do Brasil (Viçosa: Ultimato, 2000). Pablo A. Deiros, Historia del Cristianismo en América Latina (Buenos Aires: Fraternidad Teologica Latinoamericana, 1992). Ondina E. González and Justo L. González, Christianity in Latin America: A History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008). David Martin, Tongues of Fire: the Explosion of Protestantism in Latin America (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1990). José Míguez Bonino, Rostros del Protestantismo Latinoamericano (Buenos Aires: Nueva Creación, 1995).

Missionaries in perspective Since the colonisation carried out by Portugal and Spain, Latin America was considered a natural Roman Catholic territory. There was not much concern about leading people to an intelligent profession of Christian

Missionaries and national workers in Latin America, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 Brazil Mexico Colombia Bolivia Argentina Chile Venezuela Puerto Rico Peru Costa Rica

Total 34,000 5,500 3,900 3,200 2,000 1,900 1,000 1,000 890 780

Most missionaries received* 2010 Per million Christians Guadeloupe 369 Bolivia 348 Puerto Rico 261 Martinique 238 Uruguay 233 Panama 222 Virgin Is of the US 221 Trinidad & Tobago 212 Brazil 188 Costa Rica 173

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 Brazil Argentina Chile Mexico Colombia Peru Venezuela Bolivia Guatemala Ecuador

Total 20,000 10,000 8,500 8,000 7,500 7,000 6,000 4,000 3,600 3,500

Most national workers* 2010 Per million people Netherlands Antilles 3,317 Virgin Is of the US 1,532 Belize 1,438 Grenada 1,333 French Guiana 1,014 Saint Lucia 994 Bahamas 991 Guadeloupe 969 Suriname 946 Uruguay 741

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 Brazil Mexico Colombia Argentina Chile Peru Venezuela Ecuador Guatemala Costa Rica

Total 296,000 213,000 83,000 56,900 35,600 21,300 16,600 16,600 9,500 8,500

*Countries >100,000

2010 Per million people Guadeloupe 10,352 Martinique 5,970 Virgin Is of the US 3,243 Belize 3,105 Bahamas 2,915 Guyana 2,873 Barbados 2,795 Jamaica 2,576 Grenada 2,286 Saint Lucia 2,105

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MISSIONARIES, LATIN AMERICA

Most missionaries sent*

Missionaries sent and received, Latin America, 2010

B

Total

National workers

Total workers CitWorker_World >500,000 500,000 200,000 80,000 20,000 0

 National workers (total) It is no surprise that Brazil and Mexico have the most national workers in Latin America, since they also have the largest populations (and the largest Christian populations). Likewise, the smaller the country, the fewer the Christians and national workers. The country that comes closest to Mexico and Brazil’s numbers is Colombia: 48 million people, 96% Christian and 83,000 national workers.

Per million

razil, the largest country in Latin America, is home to around both one-third of the continent’s population and one-third of its Christians. Not unexpectedly, it also has about one-third of all national workers in Latin America. Surprisingly, however, Brazil sends more individuals as foreign missionaries than the rest of Latin America combined (nearly 60% of the continent’s total, and six times as many as second-ranking Mexico). Even accounting for Brazil’s large population, this is still almost twice the continental average per million Christians. And although it also receives the most individual missionaries, on a population basis Brazil receives fewer than the Latin American average. In contrast, 32 of the 46 Latin American countries (70%) send fewer than 500 missionaries in 2010. Twenty-four of these, however, have fewer than one million Christians, and 15 have fewer than 200,000. Yet even accounting for their Christian populations, only 13 countries send more than the global average per million Christians. These figures are surprising considering the abundance of Christians on the continent. In general, larger countries receive more total missionaries, and smaller countries receive more per million population. Mexico stands out as a notable exception to the former, receiving fewer missionaries than either Argentina (with one-third Mexico’s population) or Chile (with onesixth) – and fewer per million population than any country except Communist Cuba. Among countries with populations under five million, only Aruba receives fewer missionaries per million residents than the continental average. Below, the countries within Latin America are plotted as points on the scatter plot. Each numbered point corresponds with a country on the ‘Missionaries sent and received in Latin America, 2010’ table on the opposite page. The Latin American average for this scatter plot is marked as the centre of the four quadrants. In comparison – and somewhat ironically, given Latin America’s status as a ‘Christian’ continent – the global average of missionaries sent per million Christians is greater than the Latin American average, and the global average of missionaries received per million people is smaller than the Latin American average. Also worth noting is the point cluster revealed on this graph in comparison with other scatter plots in this section. The countries of Latin America tend to be more similar in terms of missionary sending and receiving as compared with the other continents, despite the outliers of Cuba, Haiti and the Falkland Islands. Cuba receives the fewest missionaries per million population in Latin America; it is officially closed to all foreign missionary activity. Despite this, the country is nearly 100% evangelised and has a large number of national workers. Due to its proximity, Latin America (especially Central America and the Caribbean) is also a popular destination for short-term mission teams from the USA.

Workers per CitWorkerPm_World million people >5,000 5,000 2,000 800 200 0

 National workers (per million population) The map above gives a clearer picture of the national worker situation in Latin America. Among countries with more than half a million population, Guyana – only 51% Christian and with just 2,100 national workers – has among the most per million population. It, along with Belize and Chile (both of which are also slightly less Christian than the Latin America average), have the highest ratios among mainland countries. Islands nations, with few workers but small populations, typically have the highest ratios.

Missionary scatter plot quadrants, 2010

10,000

= Global average

Quadrant meanings The blue lines show the total global missionaries sent (per million affiliated Christians) against the total global missionaries received (per million population).

i These countries send more missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive fewer missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent. ii These countries send more missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive more missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent. iii These countries send fewer missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive fewer missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent. iv These countries send fewer missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive more missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent.  Sending and receiving of missionaries in Latin America The graph to the right shows missionaries received and missionaries sent for countries in Latin America. Missionaries received is per million population, suggesting the potential impact on the entire population of the country of service. Missionaries sent is per million affiliated Christians, indicating the strength of mission sending by the Christian community. Both axes use a logarithmic scale because the data values vary by several orders of magnitude (from 20 to 3,400 for missionaries received and from 3 to 2,000 for missionaries sent). Lines plotted at the average values of these variables separate the data points into four quadrants, described more fully above. Global averages are also shown for comparison. Colombia (13) and Paraguay (35) sit near the Latin American average for sending and receiving missionaries in 2010. Cuba (15), on the other hand, lies far below the averages, while the Falkland Islands (20) are far above them. Many Latin American countries fall in quadrant ii, meaning they send and receive above-average numbers of missionaries per million Christians and population. Ironically, Uruguay (44) – one of the least-Christian countries in Latin America – sends more missionaries per million affiliated Christians than the global average.

278

Missionaries sent per million affiliated Christians

The grey lines show the missionaries sent by the continent (per million affiliated Christians) against the total missionaries received in the continent (per million population).

= Latin America average

i

ii

20

1,000 1 23 31 8 10 293744 46 9 14 42 34 12 41 43 22 13 35 21 5 11 16 3 33 30 38 4 18 7 45 24 6 2 27 19 3628 25 40 39 17

100

iii

10

32

iv

15

26

Numbers correspond to table on the facing page.

1 1

10

100

1,000

Missionaries received per million population

10,000

Missionaries sent

Missionaries received

Total

Total missionaries MissionSent_World

Total missionaries MissionRecv_World

>10,000 10,000 1,000 100 10 0

>15,000 15,000 5,000 2,500 500 0

 Missionaries sent (total) As expected, Brazil is the largest missionary-sending force in Latin America, with 34,000 missionaries sent in 2010. The evangelical missionary movement in Brazil did not take off until the 1970s, when indigenous agencies were founded. Despite their numbers, missionaries sent from Brazil face financial struggles. However, no other Latin American country comes close to having the resources or personnel that Brazil does in terms of missionary sending.

 Missionaries received (total) Ironically, as Brazil and Mexico are the largest missionary-sending countries, they are also two of the largest receiving countries (Mexico largely due to its close proximity to the USA). Argentina also receives a large number of missionaries (10,000 in 2010). Interestingly, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana receive relatively few foreign missionaries (fewer than 450 each in 2010), although these countries have some of the least-Christian populations in the continent.

Per million

Missionaries per MissionSentPmAC_World million Christians >400 400 130 50 30 0

Missionaries per MissionRecvPm_World million people >700 700 200 100 30 0

 Missionaries sent (per million affiliated Christians) Despite the picture presented above, other nations in Latin America beyond Brazil do send out missionaries. Among the countries with the highest levels per million affiliated Christians are Bolivia, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Trinidad & Tobago. Though sending from most of Latin America is below the global average, this is expected to rise as the missionary movement continues to grow in the continent.

 Missionaries received (per million population) Here Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana are all much darker than on the map above. Although they receive few missionaries, their populations are also small. Note the high numbers of missionaries received, per million population, of island nations in the Lesser Antilles: Netherlands Antilles, Montserrat and the Virgin Islands of the US. In fact, the Netherlands Antilles receives more foreign missionaries than it has national workers.

Missionaries and national workers: Latin America, 2010

*p.m.c. = per million affiliated Christians

National workers Total p.m.** 50 3,817 240 2,727 56,900 1,397 100 971 1,000 2,915 830 2,795 950 3,105 7,100 708 296,000 1,488 50 2,146 240 4,878 35,600 2,078 83,000 1,733 8,500 1,822 3,600 320 360 5,389 2,400 236 16,600 1,205 4,700 658 25 8,065 240 1,106 240 2,286 4,700 10,352

Missionaries Sent p.m.c.* Received p.m.** 4 356 10 763 2 29 80 909 2,000 54 10,000 245 4 42 15 146 20 68 340 991 10 47 220 741 10 37 440 1,438 3,200 348 4,000 399 34,000 188 20,000 101 4 249 10 429 2 67 20 407 1,900 128 8,500 496 3,900 86 7,500 157 780 173 1,500 322 20 3 270 24 5 80 90 1,347 150 16 2,000 196 440 33 3,500 254 220 32 1,600 224 4 1,937 10 3,226 20 110 220 1,014 10 99 140 1,333 160 369 440 969

24 Guatemala 25 Guyana 26 Haiti 27 Honduras 28 Jamaica 29 Martinique 30 Mexico 31 Montserrat 32 Netherlands Antilles 33 Nicaragua 34 Panama 35 Paraguay 36 Peru 37 Puerto Rico 38 Saint Kitts & Nevis 39 Saint Lucia 40 Saint Vincent 41 Suriname 42 Trinidad & Tobago 43 Turks & Caicos Is 44 Uruguay 45 Venezuela 46 Virgin Is of the US Latin America

Population Christians 14,377,000 13,993,000 731,000 370,000 10,060,000 9,574,000 7,533,000 7,277,000 2,756,000 2,328,000 402,000 388,000 110,293,000 105,583,000 6,000 5,700 199,000 187,000 5,832,000 5,597,000 3,509,000 3,058,000 6,460,000 6,164,000 28,894,000 27,866,000 4,056,000 3,918,000 52,400 49,500 171,000 164,000 122,000 108,000 465,000 232,000 1,348,000 844,000 26,200 24,100 3,374,000 2,155,000 29,045,000 27,443,000 111,000 105,000 593,696,000 548,958,000

National workers Total p.m.** 9,500 661 2,100 2,873 7,300 726 5,900 783 7,100 2,576 2,400 5,970 213,000 1,931 50 8,333 360 1,809 7,100 1,217 1,700 484 5,500 851 21,300 737 7,100 1,750 240 4,580 360 2,105 190 1,557 710 1,527 1,700 1,261 50 1,908 5,200 1,541 16,600 572 360 3,243 839,000 1,414

Missionaries Sent p.m.c.* Received p.m.** 510 38 3,600 250 10 27 340 465 30 3 1,700 169 220 31 890 118 50 41 780 283 90 238 220 547 5,500 53 8,000 73 2 351 10 1,667 20 118 660 3,317 270 49 2,000 343 660 222 2,000 570 510 84 1,400 217 890 32 7,000 242 1,000 261 2,500 616 2 42 40 763 4 25 170 994 2 24 90 738 25 120 440 946 170 212 560 415 2 109 10 382 500 233 2,500 741 1,000 37 6,000 207 20 221 170 1,532 58,400 107 102,000 172

**p.m. = per million population

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MISSIONARIES, LATIN AMERICA

1 Anguilla 2 Antigua 3 Argentina 4 Aruba 5 Bahamas 6 Barbados 7 Belize 8 Bolivia 9 Brazil 10 British Virgin Is 11 Cayman Islands 12 Chile 13 Colombia 14 Costa Rica 15 Cuba 16 Dominica 17 Dominican Republic 18 Ecuador 19 El Salvador 20 Falkland Islands 21 French Guiana 22 Grenada 23 Guadeloupe

Population Christians 13,100 11,900 88,000 81,700 40,738,000 37,429,000 103,000 98,700 343,000 315,000 297,000 284,000 306,000 279,000 10,031,000 9,223,000 198,982,000 180,932,000 23,300 19,700 49,200 39,800 17,134,000 15,010,000 47,890,000 45,949,000 4,665,000 4,517,000 11,257,000 6,562,000 66,800 63,000 10,191,000 9,672,000 13,775,000 13,364,000 7,142,000 6,953,000 3,100 2,600 217,000 183,000 105,000 101,000 454,000 435,000

Missionaries sent and received, Northern America, 1910–2010

M

issionary proclamation as well as religious freedom were in the original consciousness of those who arrived in the New World. The gospel had seized the seventeenth-century Pilgrims and Puritans, and this fact has been foundational in Northern American mission history. These Protestants and their mainly Roman Catholic neighbours in Canada unknowingly worshipped the same God. Both embraced the newness of Northern America with tenacity of Christian faith in the midst of great hardship and suffering. And both grasped a glimpse of God through the lens of their understandings formed, gifted and limited by particular historical, cultural, political and ecclesial persuasions. Their belief in the gospel and their courage in confronting new frontiers quickly became a passion for mission. In addition, their prejudiced understandings of each other were reinforced as they strengthened their efforts to save either Catholics or Protestants from the error of their ways. Knowledge about the beliefs and cultures of other peoples was very limited. Their realisation that large numbers of people throughout the world had never heard the gospel spoke volumes to these women and men who had been touched by God’s Word. To announce the gospel and to proclaim the freedom of the New World merged frequently. From the perspective of today, we realise how these fusions needed more discernment. And yet, despite a need for purification of heart, the gospel arrived in Northern America.

Receiving missionaries into Northern America Already in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries missionaries from Europe were in Northern America preaching the gospel to the Native Americans or First Peoples. Pilgrims and Puritans stated their intention to convert the natives, and the charters of most explorers in the New World highlighted the need ‘to convert the heathen’. Catholics sent missionaries – men and women members of religious congregations – from Europe to work with Native/First Peoples in Northern America for the same purpose. Immigrations motivated by economic and religious reasons increased significantly by the early twentieth century. Ministers, lay workers, priests and members of religious orders were sent to accompany the immigrants in their adaptation to a new land. These Christian workers did not come to Northern America to convert people who had not heard the gospel; they came to minister to immigrants who for the most part were already Protestant, Orthodox or Catholic – at least nominally, helping them to realise their faith in a new cultural setting. These missionaries moved from a known cultural situation to one that was unknown, motivated by concern for the immigrants and their relation to God. When immigrants did not speak English, as well as for other cultural reasons, local places of worship sometimes functioned as social clubs. In addition to finding nourishment in faith and worship, immigrant peoples thus found a place to gather with the possibilities of discovering ways to survive and eventually to integrate. In the late eighteenth century, Russian monks brought the Orthodox tradition to Northern America, setting up the Alaska mission. Orthodoxy is rooted in deeply inculturated expressions of Christian faith frequently moulded through persecutions and experiences of being a remnant people. Sometimes Orthodox say they are a people from nowhere, but they possess a vibrant faith. Orthodox immigrants to Northern America brought their rich traditions from Greece, Asia Minor, Carpatho-Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe. Their material possessions were few, but they included icons and crosses. In Northern America they constructed churches so they could pray together and teach their faith to others. Thomas Fitzgerald notes that these crosses, icons and church buildings were the external signs ‘that Orthodox Christianity was taking root in a new place and that it would affect a new people in a new world’. A profound encounter between faith and culture is a basic mission concern of Orthodox Christians. This encounter requires ongoing clarification between belief and those practices essentially rooted in the apostolic faith, which are unchanging, and practices that are relative, belonging to a particular culture, time or place. While there were many examples of good missionary support from the immigrants’ churches of origin,

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some immigrants had no one ministering to their spiritual needs in situations of significant material poverty in the New World. Different denominations reached out to these persons in a missional way. Some missionary practices enabled the immigrants to grow in faith and integrate into a new society. In addition, there are examples of zealous persons who intentionally crossed denominational lines ministering in a spirit of competition. In all instances, however, the complexities of the cultures the immigrants left and the cultures they entered, as well as the cultural influences of their religious practices, were major factors largely unrecognised, but certainly present, in the first part of the twentieth century. Persecution and poverty led very vulnerable immigrants into a new culture where God’s presence interacted with events in their faith journey. In their interaction with the immigrants, missionaries helped give form and meaning to the lives of many.

Today missionaries from churches in the southern hemisphere are ministering in Northern America. The decrease in ministerial personnel in many Catholic and Protestant churches has provided these missionaries with the possibility of ministering among the economically poor and rich. Today missionaries from churches in the southern hemisphere are ministering in Northern America. The decrease in ministerial personnel in many Catholic and Protestant churches has provided these missionaries with the possibility of ministering among the economically poor and rich. New dynamics emerge as these missionaries bring their Christian faith convictions to practising Christians and to those who are unchurched or who need a new evangelisation. Groups who received missionaries in 1910 are now sending missionaries to Northern America. Influences of fresh ways of thinking, new insights and reading God’s Word from different cultural perspectives give Northern American congregations the potential to develop innovative energies for mission. Acceptance and rejection that usually accompany new ministerial situations likewise shape mission.

Sending missionaries from Northern America Protestants have been the most numerous among missionaries from Northern America to other parts of the world. A surge in mission sending preceded 1910, and a new surge followed the end of World War II, especially among Evangelicals and Fundamentalists. Sending missionaries abroad defined in large part the beginnings of modern participation of laity in mission, first for Protestants and much later for Catholics. Mission boards of the major denominations, including the mainline Protestants, Anglican/Episcopalian boards, Evangelical organisations, Pentecostal groups and various faith missions, continue to organise mission sending, although styles differ among the groups, representing variants in missiology. The impetus of the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference in 1910 for greater collaboration in mission fields now empowers improved ecumenical practice. Northern Americans dialogue with Christians around the world through mission studies, theology and concerns for justice, peace, the environment and mission practice. This collaboration brings together important contributions of scholars and practitioners from Orthodox, Protestant, Evangelical and Catholic traditions. Increasing cultural awareness by Christians from other continents in dialogue with colleagues from Northern America has led to sharper examinations of mission motivations. Missiological insights likewise include ecumenical theological input from the many peoples who constitute the Northern American population. Evangelical mission movements, including Pentecostal and faith missions, have increased since the 1950s. Joel Carpenter notes how these groups rose up especially in Northern America following the end of World War II in 1945. They adopted the motto,

‘the evangelisation of the world in this generation’, from the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions, whose influence had diminished by the 1930s. Strategies adapted from wartime practice as well as educational benefits for veterans contributed in a major way to resurrecting the idea of a global conquest among Evangelical mission promoters. Planning and promotion united in energising a revival in the USA. At the same time that some Protestants from mainline traditions were questioning the traditional missionary mandate, Evangelicals and Fundamentalists stressed by their actions the right of all people to hear the gospel. This renewed energy around mission sending in the second half of the twentieth century is different from the ecumenical stream in the modern missionary movement. However, there are examples of honest dialogue between the two movements. Sometimes narrowly-defined, nineteenth-century evangelistic theology, faith missions or sectarian evangelism bears some typically American baggage. Andrew Walls describes this baggage as ‘vigorous expansionism, readiness of invention and a willingness to make the fullest use of contemporary technology, finance, organisation and business methods’. Importantly, there are also more promising ways being forged. Recently a missionary from a Northern American-based faith mission spoke about his experience among a Muslim people to whom he had been sent. He had learned their language and something about their culture, and was confident of his readiness to witness. Once he arrived, he began to strategise how to approach the people and settled upon a particular man. When the missionary approached the man, he was invited to sit down. An inner wisdom urged the missionary to ask the man about his experience of God. The man was a Muslim in the Sufi tradition. As the Sufi spoke of his relation with Allah-God, the missionary found his heart burning within, not in contradiction to the gospel, but as an affirmation of the mystery of God. The missionary did not abandon his vocation, but new insights about relating with God and with one another surfaced over time. In the past most traditions did not allow women to become pastors or preachers. Many women, either single missionaries or spouses of pastors, became engaged in what Dana Robert describes as ‘women’s work for women’. While women’s work for women provided the only outlet for women who burned with desire to proclaim the gospel, this missionary practice actually led to new ways of relationship and collaboration. Partnerships among women emerged, especially in education and health care. By the second half of the twentieth century, these styles of interaction contributed significantly to defining greater mutuality between younger churches and the original sending churches. The strong missionary commitment of young Protestant women at Smith College in the early twentieth century became a formative influence in the life of Mary Josephine (Molly) Rogers, then a student at Smith. Subsequently, this influence extended to the origins of the Roman Catholic missionary movement in the USA. After her graduation, Rogers became associated with the work of James A. Walsh, who together with Thomas F. Price founded the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, better known as Maryknoll. Rogers began the Maryknoll Sisters of St Dominic. Similar societies began in Canada with the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society in 1918 and the Société des Missions-Étrangères du Québec in 1921. These foundations represent the first official sending of significant numbers of Catholic missionaries from Northern America. A number of religious communities from Europe established foundations in Canada and the USA that sent missionaries to other parts of the world even before 1910. This practice continued through the twentieth century, although the numbers have now decreased. There was a surge in missionary vocations among priests and religious in the late 1940s through the 1960s. The motivation related, as it did for Protestants, to the end of World War II 1945. Dries describes the context as an ‘emerging world order struggling with the presence of communism’. Since the 1950s Catholic organisations have been sending increasing numbers of lay missionaries. In the 1960s Pope John XXIII requested the sending of 10% of church personnel in Northern America to Latin

America. Religious orders in both Canada and the USA responded positively. The Orthodox Church sends missionaries from Northern America to Russia, the Balkans and other parts of eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Far East. These missionaries go to join Orthodox Christians and collaborate in teaching the faith, building churches and clinics, and caring for the needy. Several Orthodox engage in various ecumenical programmes to deepen understandings of mission together with Protestants and Catholics. The importance of more thorough preparation for mission was recognised and pursued as the century unfolded. Many Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants, including a number of Evangelicals, affirmed this need and at times realised programmes together. The Overseas Mission Study Center (OMSC) in New Haven, Connecticut, has played an important role in the ongoing and ecumenical education of missionaries as well as in the development of mission research and study. All these undertakings penetrate mission practice, missiological understandings and ecumenical commitment with new insights resulting in a positive shift towards ecumenical relations from 1910 to 2010. Today mission practice tends toward greater solidarity with a people. It is rooted in the conviction that the missionary who carries the gospel message is a learner who accompanies the people in their life journey from the perspective of faith. At the same time, sending missionaries from Northern America requires examination of cultural biases that so often have tainted a genuine desire to communicate the gospel. With the growth of Christianity in the South and a more positive appreciation of the world, these biases have been unsparingly criticised. The call to mission is part of a process of radical purification. An essential aspect of this purification is receiving in mission, a dynamic that must accompany sending in mission. Practical implications of sending and receiving need to be unpacked further in the context of the emerging world. Localisation is a powerful determinant in decision-making today. Because of their structures, the Protestant mission boards more quickly assumed this way of acting. The Catholic Church, due to its centralised understanding of authority, has more gradually realised decentralisation. Among the Orthodox, decentralisation relates more to continued existence within specific political, ecclesiastical or cultural entities.

Sending/receiving within Northern America In the past 100 years there has been considerable mission sending and receiving within Northern America. Part of this activity is the continued mission among Native Americans/First Peoples. Today there is greater awareness of the myths and stories that shape the worldviews of indigenous peoples, and there are efforts to penetrate more deeply into their meanings in relation to basic understandings of God. Both Protestants and Catholics, among others, recognise the need to ask forgiveness from these peoples for the ways they have been treated. In this way new starting places for genuine dialogue are opened. A number of Christian Native Americans are assuming responsibilities in their respective denominations. In recent years, mission sending within the continent usually has been to immigrant groups who are poor, struggling to survive. This mission is not a first proclamation or first evangelisation as traditionally

understood. Missionaries more often cross cultural boundaries to be in solidarity with another people, especially the poor, helping them to find ways of survival and growth from the perspectives of justice and faith, and especially to facilitate their discovery of God. These people experience situations of ravaging injustice. Victims of trafficking or sexual abuse are among those who are served as well as those who illegally cross dangerous borders because of the hunger of their children. The suffering of peoples within Northern America takes on new importance for those called to bring God’s Word to people with hope for justice and transformation. There are also those who no longer give expression to their faith through church membership. A number of missionaries are persons who have already worked in another country. Some refer to them as returned missionaries, but this name implies a geographical concept of mission that no longer adequately reflects mission in today’s world. Mission sending within Northern America abounds in new challenges and situations, not the least of which is discovering the meaning of missionary proclamation of the gospel in this time and place. John Paul II, in his encyclical letter Redemptoris Missio, offered the image of the Areopagus to describe emerging missionary situations. Referring to the Acts of the Apostles, he described how Paul went to the Areopagus in Athens to proclaim the gospel in a language and space appropriate to and understandable in those surroundings. The world today confronts missionaries with new areopagi. There is a shift toward a new level of consciousness. Emerging epistemologies revolutionise our understandings of what is involved in hearing God’s Word, and this affects understandings and practices of mission. Concrete experiences of the gospel offer new ways of perceiving and living mission. One of these events occurred in 2006, when five Amish schoolgirls in Pennsylvania were killed by a deranged man. While forgiveness according to the gospel is a central tenant of Amish practice, the incident brought out the costliness of this forgiveness. The day after burying their children, the community, including those whose children died, went to the funeral service for the man who had also killed himself. In turn, they embraced his widow and family members. Still torn by the rawness of their own unhealed pain, their gospel conviction led them to hold their own suffering and the suffering of the man’s widow and family, without curtailing the importance of either. Jesuit theologian Jon Sobrino notes that the new definition of solidarity – the tenderness of peoples – is ‘those who are unequal carrying each other’. Reconciliation is a path of mission today.

Shaping mission in Northern America today Ecumenism was one of the most important dynamics integral to the self-understanding of Edinburgh 1910. The rooting of the modern ecumenical movement in mission nourishes the improvement in relations among Orthodox, Protestant, Catholic and Evangelical Christians. Yet there is still much that is unfinished. Each stream of Christianity brings ways of enlightenment to the gospel witness. In spite of deeply felt obstacles to fuller communion, greater appreciation for common orientations and convictions appear. Yet there are still examples of competition and discrimination, along with a tendency to identify the gospel with the Northern American reality.

The mandate for mission given in Matthew 28:19–20 continues to be the principal dynamic motivating mission: ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.’ Sending among other peoples is no longer limited to geographic borders. Commitment to seek effective common witness has emerged from those committed to mission, who are engaged in the ongoing difficult search for a path leading beyond the divided witness of Christians. Today we observe the missionary vigour represented among Orthodox, Protestant and Catholic when together they are willing to give a common witness and to identify the questions that still separate Christians, to remain in conversation when the questions are difficult and defy easy responses, to respect the truth of each tradition and to act together rather than separately when possible. Missiologists Lamin Sanneh and Andrew Walls differentiate between the missionary’s bringing the gospel and its reception by a people, who ultimately inculturate the message. A world Christianity is developing that will eventually redefine mission. There is a conviction among many Christians that God loves all peoples and leaves no people without some sign of that love which sustains them. Mission needs to be a dialogue with other peoples and their cultures, and this dialogue needs to begin with attentive listening to what God is doing and has done among a people. This listening involves learning the name by which a people refer to the Source of all life. The good news of the gospel, grounded in the faith of the missionary, is an essential part of this conversation. Mission as dialogue seeks deeper understanding about discipleship rooted strongly in the truth of God’s gracious gift to us, the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. It also asks of us a profound receptivity to the mystery of God, a mystery beyond all imagining. Missionaries today grapple with situations probably not imagined in 1910. Issues arising from injustice, abuse of earth’s resources, natural disasters, and sectarian and racial hatreds continue to pose challenging questions to the gospel. God’s mission in the world (missio Dei), Christian responsibility, the right of everyone to hear the gospel message, improved understandings about the gifted difference of every people, and ecumenical challenges chisel our working definitions of mission. Examples of exclusiveness, rejection of Christian expressions other than one’s own and fear of the other still exist in all Christian traditions. Along with these realities, a changing world order, the appearance of deeply committed Christians in the South, greater appreciative knowledge of the world’s peoples and intermingling of populations are some factors that lead into research about how mission is being shaped in Northern America today.

MARY MOTTE, FMM Joel Carpenter, Revive us Again: The Reawakening of American Fundamentalism (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997). J. R. Carpenter and W. R. Shenk (eds), Earthen Vessels: American Evangelicals and Foreign Missions 1880–1980 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990). Angelyn Dries, The Missionary Movement in American Catholic History (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1998). Thomas E. Fitzgerald, The Orthodox Church (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998). Dana Robert, American Women in Mission: A Social History of Their Thought and Practice (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1996).

Most missionaries sent 1 2 3 4 5

2010 USA Canada Bermuda St Pierre & Miquelon Greenland

Total 127,000 8,500 10 4 2

Most missionaries received 2010 Per million Christians Saint Pierre & Miquelon 667 USA 614 Canada 415 Bermuda 193 Greenland 49

1 2 3 4 5

2010 USA Canada Bermuda Greenland St Pierre & Miquelon

Total 32,400 7,500 120 70 40

Most national workers 2010 Per million people Saint Pierre & Miquelon 6,250 Bermuda 1,846 Greenland 1,182 Canada 222 USA 103

1 2 3 4 5

2010 Total USA 3,454,000 Canada 308,000 Greenland 470 Bermuda 360 St Pierre & Miquelon 30

2010 Per million people USA 10,975 Canada 9,125 Greenland 7,939 Bermuda 5,538 Saint Pierre & Miquelon 4,688

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MISSIONARIES, NORTHERN AMERICA

Missionaries and national workers in Northern America, 2010

Missionaries sent and received, Northern America, 2010

T

Total

National workers

CitWorker_World Total workers >500,000 500,000 200,000 80,000 20,000 0

 National workers (total) The USA has the most national workers of any country in the world: 3.4 million. Many of these national workers serve in the nation’s denominations. Canada has the second-largest number of national workers in Northern America (308,000). Bermuda, Greenland and Saint Pierre & Miquelon have small numbers, though this is not surprising considering their small national populations and Christian populations.

Per million

hroughout the twentieth century, Northern American Christians had an abundance of national Christian workers (clergy, nuns, church administrators and others) as well as sending large numbers of foreign missionaries. In recent years, Northern America has become a major destination for missionaries from the rest of the world as well. For example, the top destination for Brazilian missionaries (Roman Catholic, Protestant and Pentecostal) is the USA. These foreign missionaries, and thousands like them, initially came to the USA to serve their own people but are increasingly evangelising the general population. Thus, countries that were receiving American or Canadian missionaries in 1910 are now sending missionaries to these countries in what has been termed ‘reverse mission’. Another phenomenon contributing to missionary sharing at a global level is the shortage of national workers in some Christian traditions in Northern America. Church administrators increasingly are filling positions (such as priests among Roman Catholics) with trained personnel from Africa, Asia and Latin America. The USA sends more missionaries in 2010 than any other country globally, with 127,000 missionaries, a significant number of missionaries per million Christians (614). While many of the traditional sending agencies in the USA have seen their numbers decline in recent years, a fresh wave of independent missionaries – many sent directly from their churches – have more than compensated for this loss. Initially these were mainly short-term workers, but now many are established in long-term missions all over the world. The USA also receives the most missionaries (over 32,000 in 2010). (Brazil and Russia are second and third with 20,000 each.) Canada receives 7,500, more than 23% of the USA total. All these figures can be viewed graphically by looking at the scatter plot at the bottom of this page. Each numbered point corresponds to a country in the table on the opposite page. The Northern American average for this scatter plot is marked as the centre of the four quadrants. The global average for missionaries sent per million Christians is smaller than the Northern American average in 2010, as is the global average for missionaries received per million population. In addition, the average number of national workers in Northern America per million population is more than six times the global average, and the number per million Christians is more than double the global average in 2010. In fact, of all the UN regions, Northern America has the second-highest number of national workers per million Christians and per million population in 2010 (after Polynesia), and the second-largest numbers for any continent (after Europe).

Workers per million people CitWorkerPm_World >5,000 5,000 2,000 800 200 0

 National workers (per million population) When comparing Northern American countries by the number of national workers per million population, the USA’s huge national worker force is not as impressive. All the Northern American countries have high ratios of national workers, even Saint Pierre & Miquelon, which has only 30 national workers (but in a population of just 6,400). The USA still has the highest percentage of its population as national workers (1.1%), though Canada is not far behind (0.9%).

Missionary scatter plot quadrants, 2010

10,000

= Global average

Quadrant meanings The blue lines show the total global missionaries sent (per million affiliated Christians) against the total global missionaries received (per million population).

i These countries send more missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive fewer missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent. ii These countries send more missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive more missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent. iii These countries send fewer missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive fewer missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent. iv These countries send fewer missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive more missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent.  Sending and receiving of missionaries in Northern America The graph to the right shows missionaries received and missionaries sent for countries in Northern America. Missionaries received is per million population, suggesting the potential impact on the entire population of the country of service. Missionaries sent is per million affiliated Christians, indicating the strength of mission sending by the Christian community. Both axes use a logarithmic scale because the data values vary by several orders of magnitude (from 100 to 6,300 for missionaries received and from 50 to 700 for missionaries sent). Lines plotted at the average values of these variables separate the data points into four quadrants, described more fully above. Global averages are also shown for comparison. Not surprisingly, the USA (5) – home to some 90% of both the total and Christian populations of the region – falls almost directly on the population-weighted average for Northern America. Canada (2), like the USA, sends more missionaries than it receives. Tiny Saint Pierre & Miquelon (4) sends the most missionaries per million Christians, yet it also receives the most missionaries per million population. In addition, Bermuda (1), Greenland (3) and Saint Pierre & Miquelon (where nine in ten people are Christian, surpassing the USA and Canada) each receives at least ten times as many missionaries as it sends.

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Missionaries sent per million affiliated Christians

The grey lines show the missionaries sent by the continent (per million affiliated Christians) against the total missionaries received in the continent (per million population).

= Northern America average

i 1,000

ii 4

5 2

1

100 3

iii

iv

10

Numbers correspond to table on the facing page.

1 1

10

100

1,000

Missionaries received per million population

10,000

Missionaries sent

Missionaries received

Total

MissionSent_World Total missionaries >10,000 10,000 1,000 100 10 0

MissionRecv_World Total missionaries >15,000 15,000 5,000 2,500 500 0

 Missionaries sent (total) The USA sends out more missionaries per year than any other country. USA missionaries often are backed with the most financial support, from every Christian tradition (most notably, Protestant and Marginal). It is important to note, however, that even the smallest populations in this region send out missionaries; Saint Pierre & Miquelon sends four missionaries in 2010 and Greenland sends two.

 Missionaries received (total) Despite the fact that Northern America is such a prominent force in missionary sending, the region also receives many missionaries from overseas. The order of missionary receiving follows the same order of countries as sending, largest to smallest: the USA receives the most missionaries, followed by Canada, Bermuda, Greenland and Saint Pierre & Miquelon.

Per million

Missionaries per MissionSentPmAC_World million Christians >400 400 130 50 30 0

Missionaries per MissionRecvPm_World million people >700 700 200 100 30 0

 Missionaries sent (per million affiliated Christians) In comparing missionaries sent per million affiliated Christians in Northern America, the USA still leads Canada (614 and 415, respectively), although by a smaller margin than for total missionaries. Remarkably, Saint Pierre & Miquelon sends out the most missionaries per million affiliated Christians – 667 – though this is only four people. These figures indicate that the countries of Northern America are not quite the missionary-sending powers they are often assumed to be.

 Missionaries received (per million population) Although Saint Pierre & Miquelon receives only 40 missionaries in 2010, that is more per million population (6,250) than in any other Northern American country. Next is Bermuda (1,846), followed by Greenland (1,182). Canada and the USA receive the fewest missionaries per million population (222 and 103, respectively).

Top five missionary-sending countries, globally Missionaries sent (thousands)

Missionaries received (thousands)

120

120

120

120

120

80

80

80

80

80

40

40

40

40

40

0

0

0

0

0

USA

Brazil

1 Bermuda 2 Canada 3 Greenland 4 St Pierre & Miquelon 5 USA Northern America

National workers Missionaries Population Christians Total p.m.** Sent p.m.c.* Received p.m.** 65,000 57,900 360 5,538 10 193 120 1,846 33,752,000 25,570,000 308,000 9,125 8,500 415 7,500 222 59,200 56,700 470 7,939 2 49 70 1,182 6,400 6,000 30 4,688 4 667 40 6,250 314,692,000 257,311,000 3,454,000 10,975 127,000 614 32,400 103 348,575,000 283,002,000 3,763,000 10,794 135,000 596 40,200 115

*p.m.c. = per million affiliated Christians

Spain

Italy

 Top five missionary-sending countries Despite the tremendous increase of missionaries from the Global South over the past 100 years, the USA and European countries continue to top the list for missionary sending worldwide. Though countries such as Brazil and South Korea (second- and sixth-largest sending countries, respectively) are quickly overtaking European countries as the top missionary senders, the USA, due to its large Christian population, likely will continue to be the top missionary-sending country well into the future. The graphs above display this wide margin, but they also highlight another key figure – the missionary influx into the USA and Europe. The USA receives the most missionaries of any country in the world; Brazil and France (shown above) also appear among the top ten receiving countries.

**p.m.= per million population

283

MISSIONARIES, NORTHERN AMERICA

Missionaries and national workers: Northern America, 2010

France

Missionaries sent and received, Oceania, 1910–2010

O

ceania was a major focus of Christian mission throughout the nineteenth century. While the report on Oceania from Commission I of the 1910 Edinburgh World Missionary Conference was drawn from a reasonable cross-section of the missionaries working in the region, Oceania no longer loomed large either through representative delegates or as an area critical to the conference’s agenda. Oceania was partially viewed as a region valued more for its missionary history and its inspiration and as an ongoing source ‘for the study of the science of missions’. Perhaps this reflected a perception that the task of evangelisation was nearly complete and that the issues for the region revolved more around the problems of maintaining church life and structures. Melanesia, especially New Guinea, was noted as the one exception to this; even so, the tone was optimistic, progressive and paternalistic. There were, however, a range of issues that would remain prominent in the century to come. Key amongst these were the linguistic and cultural diversity of the region, with major implications for Bible translation and ministry training; the proliferation of distinct island and people groups, each requiring different strategies; the breakdown of traditional religion in the face of Westernisation; the growing ethnic and religious complexity of societies like Fiji; the influence of Asian cultures and religions on indigenous populations; and the impact of European imperial rivalries. An earlier Australasian Catholic congress in 1904, whilst canvassing most of these issues, also highlighted the complications raised by missionary and denominational competition. A further survey by New Zealand Methodist missionary John Burton, in 1930, traced out these contours more closely. He argued that perhaps just over 30% of the region’s population could be considered ‘Christian’ (and predominantly Protestant). Apart from Australia and New Zealand, the island groups considered to be ‘wholly evangelised’ included French Polynesia, the Cooks, Samoa and Tonga. Conversely, New Guinea, the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) and the Solomon Islands were still only ‘partly evangelised’. He placed overall emphasis, however, on both ‘evangelisation’ and ‘Christianisation’. The goal, as at Edinburgh, was the formation of churches that would be genuinely ‘indigenous, self-supporting, self-governing, and … self-propagating’. Oceania up to 1939 Christianity in Oceania was complex. Historic missions had planted churches and catalysed successive waves of indigenous evangelists across the whole Pacific and in New Zealand. Missionaries and European settlers had also transplanted familiar forms of denominational and cultural Christianity. By the early 1900s Polynesian missionaries, especially Cook Islanders, Samoans and Tongans, were still actively evangelising the New Hebrides, the Solomons and Papua alongside European missionaries. Tongan Methodist missionaries Semisi and Matelita Nau and the Anglican Christian Brotherhood, both in the Solomons, were two noted examples. However, in this period before the demise of the British Empire, European missionaries became more prominent. Perhaps they were perceived to be more important in the face of rapidly growing nationalist aspirations. They certainly retained control over field operations, in some cases well beyond the 1930s. Oceania was still very much the focus of global missionary activity, with at least 500 Europeans active across the whole region in 1925. Australian and New Zealand denominations supported various home mission projects amongst Aborigines and Māori, reflecting nineteenth-century race relation issues that differed in each country. It would not be until the 1960s that this situation would significantly change. At the same time, Australian and New Zealand churches promoted an extensive range of missionary projects both in the Pacific and beyond. By the 1930s, for example, over 800 New Zealand Protestants had gone as missionaries to a wide range of locations, prominent amongst which were the Pacific, India and China. The same was true for Australasian Catholic religious, working within both diocesan and sodality networks across the western Pacific. These projects required sustained support through the management of sizeable budgets. Missionaries were increasingly recruited and trained from within the two settler societies, with much less

284

dependence upon British structures and support. While economic stringencies curtailed operations in the 1930s, the longer-term trend was one of continued growth and expansion. Women were especially important, with single women making up perhaps two-thirds of the Australasian missionary workforce by the 1920s. Like their Anglo-American counterparts, women and children were also instrumental organisers and supporters of missions. The faith mission model also became increasingly popular, with Australasian recruits joining home-grown, British and American missions in greater numbers after World War I. The historic missionary societies still had a significant presence in Oceania, but they operated within an environment of increasing change. Consider, for example, the London Missionary Society (LMS). Historically the first Protestant society to enter the Pacific, in 1797, the LMS maintained its profile up to its restructuring in 1977. Fifty-eight per cent of the 150 LMS missionaries active in Oceania between the late 1800s and 1950 had arrived after 1910. In this period the percentage of LMS missionaries in the Pacific also increased to 16% of the total. Some of this growth can be attributed to changing circumstances and new opportunities, especially in Papua from the 1920s and in Micronesia as the result of an agreed withdrawal of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions from the northern Gilberts. At the same time, there was still a strong commitment to historic LMS operations, with up to 60% of new Pacific missionaries going to Samoa in the period 1900–50. But growth in Samoa was deceptive, with most of these new arrivals completing relatively short terms of service. In part, this reflected the exigencies of their context: the change from German control to New Zealand mandate from 1914; the 1918 flu epidemic (in which over 20% of the population died); and the nationalist disturbances of the late 1920s. It also reflected a longer process, dating from the late 1800s, by which the Samoan Congregational Church under the LMS became progressively self-governing. This was achieved by 1942 after a long and sometimes acrimonious process of negotiation. This process was repeated over the same period in such other LMS ‘fields’ as the Cook Islands. Papua was a ‘younger’ venture for the LMS, and the complexities of culture and topography meant that, by the 1940s, there was less consensus over the rate of progress. The numbers of Polynesian missionaries had declined markedly by the 1930s, indicating that Papuans were taking on more pastoral and evangelistic responsibilities. In 1947 a General Assembly of Papuan churches under the LMS was formed as a consultative, if not a completely autonomous, body. Foreign missionaries were by no means exclusively British or Protestant. The Marist brothers had an enduring presence that linked Fiji, Samoa and New Zealand, as did the Dominican sisters. Spanish Capuchin brothers were active in Micronesia. Also in Micronesia, changing geo-politics allowed the Japanese Congregational churches to establish the Nanyo Dendo Dan (or South Sea Mission) in 1920. German Protestant missionaries were engaged by the LMS in Western Samoa, and the Liebenzell Mission operated in the Marshall Islands. Maurice Leenhardt, of the Société des Missions Evangélique de Paris, helped to lay the foundations for a self-sustaining Kanak Protestant Church in New Caledonia. New Guinea and Papua were increasingly missionary sites for a host of British and continental European societies and denominations, especially after 1926, when discovery of gold in the highlands also revealed to the European gaze the great proliferation of tribal groups. Neither were all the mission societies denominational. A complicating factor was the entrance during this period of at least three nondenominational societies. Two of these, the South Seas Evangelical Mission (SSEM) in the Solomons and the Unevangelised Fields Mission in western Papua, were based on the faith mission model popularised earlier by the China Inland Mission. The SSEM grew out of an earlier Australian mission to Melanesian labourers in Queensland, founded by Florence Young, and had strong links with both Australian and New Zealand Open Brethren assemblies. The third was the Kwato Extension Association in eastern Papua, an offshoot LMS organisation under the leadership of Charles Abel. Such groups reflected either the inability of

older mission societies to effectively embrace all methods, or the growing influence of Anglo-American conservative evangelicalism. They were the product of visionary and dynamic individuals who did not always respect the older missionary comities. Perhaps the biggest change in this period was the devolution of Oceanic missionary responsibility to Australian and New Zealand churches. By the 1930s just under half of all the Protestant missionary societies working in the Pacific were Australasian in origin. Missionary commentators had anticipated this as a goal for the region as early as the 1870s. In New Zealand this occurred from 1882, when the Church Missionary Society (CMS) initiated a handover of its Māori responsibilities to the colony’s various Anglican dioceses. By World War I both colonies had well-established relationships with the Pacific through Wesleyan Methodist work in Tonga, Fiji and the western Solomons, the Presbyterian Mission in the New Hebrides, and two Anglican ventures in the eastern Solomons (Melanesian Mission) and eastern Papua (Anglican Papua Mission). These connections were boosted and expanded in the post-World War I period, reflecting two sets of influences. One was changing geo-politics. Settler society aspirations for imperial power in the southwest Pacific were realised when each was given mandated territories by the League of Nations. New Zealand gained responsibility for Niue, Tokelau, the Cooks and Western Samoa, although it could be argued that New Zealand’s presence in Samoa was more of an invasion than a welcomed presence. Australia took over in the Solomons, northern New Guinea and the island groups to the east of Papua. The second influence driving greater Australasian missionary responsibility in the Pacific was the way in which the two colonies’ denominations were maturing, particularly amongst Protestant churches. The Wesleyan Methodist Connexion was a case in point. In 1913 the Australasian Connexion formally separated into two autonomous bodies, Australian and New Zealand, each taking complete responsibility for their own missionary projects. In 1922 the New Zealand Methodist Church took over Methodist missionary work in the Solomons. This became the Church’s main, if not exclusive, focus for the next several decades. Service in the Solomons became an important marker of Methodist identity for people ‘at home’ and for a large number of ordained, medical, educational and other lay missionaries. This was no less the case for the various Australasian branches of Catholic orders. The young Marist priest Father Emmet McHardy, whose brief time in the northern Solomons (1929–33) was prematurely cut short by malarial complications, was typical of young adults from the two dominions whose lives were inspirational and formative of Catholic identity back home. Oceania since 1939 World War II signalled a weather change ahead. It disrupted mission stations, infrastructure and programmes in territories occupied by the Japanese Imperial Army in New Guinea and the Solomons. Around 330 Melanesians and missionaries died, with the greatest burden carried by Catholic men and women of the Divine Word, Sacred Heart and Marist missions. Some of the incidents, such as the 62 executions on the Japanese destroyer Akikaze in 1943, were later categorised as war crimes. These were terrible events, which have been more recently acknowledged and apologised for by the Japanese Catholic Church. Yet they did not, in the longer term, terminate established work. Indigenous pastors and catechists successfully continued what Europeans often were forced to abandon. Out of these shared experiences of ministry and suffering emerged a heightened desire for greater ecumenism and ecclesial autonomy. The experiences of war also signalled at least two other changes. Firstly, the Pacific was opened up to greater globalisation. Nations in the entire region were brought into more direct contact with American culture by the presence of thousands of troops. In New Guinea, Australian troops brought Westernisation into hitherto unreached communities. Indigenous peoples also had first-hand evidence that political power was not solely a European prerogative. Secondly, improved technologies offered new opportunities. Roads, air travel and radio all promised the potential for more effective contact to

be made and maintained with isolated communities. The Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), for example, directly owed its genesis to returned Australasian servicemen. The double tyranny of distance and time began to shrink. Missionaries could now conceive of completing the ‘unfinished task’. Missionary interest in Oceania remained high after the War, with Papua and New Guinea the focus of renewed energy. In 1948 the number of Western missionaries in Oceania (Protestant and Catholic) stood at over 1,800. The Catholic and Protestant missions continued to expand their work. The LMS, for instance, injected a further 268 missionaries into the region between 1945 and 1977, just over a quarter of all LMS missionaries worldwide. Half of these worked in Papua and New Guinea. At the same time, Australasian Baptist and Open Brethren churches also expanded overseas mission programmes to include Papua and New Guinea. For example, just over one-third of all New Zealand Brethren missionaries, 245 in total, lived and worked there between 1950 and 1990. Nondenominational missions also increased their involvement, alongside newcomers like MAF, the New Tribes Mission and Wycliffe Bible Translators. Other relative newcomers included Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Latter-day Saints. Newer Australasian Pentecostal churches also viewed the western Pacific as a critical ‘field’. One estimate is that overall by the 1990s there were a staggering 150 different agencies at work in Papua New Guinea alone. However, the dynamics of this began to change by the 1960s, if not earlier. An Australasian Missionary Councils’ conference in 1948 identified three aspects of ‘the unfinished task’: helping churches in already evangelised areas to meet the challenges of autonomy and Westernisation; completing the evangelisation of Melanesia; and finding strategies to work with growing numbers of Indian and East Asian immigrants. The conference did recognise the complexity of the challenges of the post-War era, with particular concern for the potential disappearance of traditional ways of life and the ongoing difficulties of effectively working amongst Fiji’s indentured Indian communities. Yet it is also instructive to note that the conference was held in Australia, and that its delegates did not include any indigenous or nondenominational missionaries. By way of contrast, the (First) Conference of Churches and Missions in the Pacific of 1961, organised by the International Missionary Council, was held in Western Samoa, and almost half of the delegates were indigenous Pacific Christians. This conference’s concerns were multiple, with evangelism simply one of a number of concerns. Equal discussion time was directed to issues of local ministry (especially theological education), family life, the relevance of Christianity in changing times, and the place of young people in the Church. A continuation committee led to the formation of two ecumenical church councils (for Melanesia in 1965 and the Pacific in 1966). By the early 1970s the Catholic Church had also joined, influenced by the ecumenical initiatives of the Second Vatican Council. Taken together, the 1948 and 1961 conferences canvassed missiological issues that were fundamentally important to later theological thinking and practice in the region. Longer term, they also indicated that the future relationship between island and Australasian churches would be one of co-operative but autonomous partnership. The transition from mission to church was inevitable and was given impetus from the 1960s onwards by the political independence of many island nations. It was felt across the geographic breadth of Oceania, irrespective of whether missions were deemed to be

‘young’ or ‘old’, and embraced both Catholic and Protestant. In some cases, different mission churches united to form their own structures. In 1968 Papuan LMS, Methodist and Australian-linked churches formed the United Church of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. This process also affected such nondenominational missions as the SSEM in the Solomons, which became the South Seas Evangelical Church in 1975 and whose members were intimately involved with an influential revival movement. Indigenous archbishops and bishops were being appointed in both Anglican and Catholic communions by the early 1970s. Missionaries were engaged to varying extents in these transitions, depending on how local people perceived the missionary-church relationship at the time. A fundamentally important development that paralleled this process was the establishment of local theological institutions. Prime amongst these were the non-aligned Christian Leaders’ Training College in Papua New Guinea (1964), the ecumenical Protestant Pacific Theological College in Suva, Fiji (1966), and the ecumenical Melanesian Institute in Papua New Guinea (1968). These institutions have helped Pacific Christian communities to develop independent theological thinking and to face global problems that have become local realities: environmental sustainability, the impact of climate change, HIV/AIDS and economic development, amongst many others. This same movement towards autonomy also marked the relationship of Australasian churches with their respective indigenous peoples. In New Zealand, nineteenth-century land wars and confiscations had served to weaken Māori links with the traditional churches, while contributing to the popularity of a range of indigenous religious movements. Two of the most influential were the Ringatu and the Ratana churches. Most denominations continued to think of Māori as missionary subjects up to the 1960s, when the first Māori ordinations took place. By the 1990s Māori were exercising total autonomy within many church structures, reflecting the political will in the country to judicially redress past grievances. In Australia the moves towards autonomy and selfexpression for Aboriginal Christians took place at the same time, but without the same earlier groundswell of interest in Christianity that had occurred in New Zealand. Many denominations and societies like the United Aborigines Mission had exercised a range of ministries amongst Aborigines, with varying attitudes to issues of inculturation and adaptation. It is possible that evangelical revival movements and more recent Charismatic renewal have had as great an impact amongst Aborigines as mission strategies, especially because such movements blurred denominational boundaries and accentuated the affective dimensions of Christianity. If indigenous missions are now passé in both societies, then growing ethnic and religious diversity of the populations has exercised churches over how to think and respond missiologically in a completely new set of directions. Ironically, perhaps, one of the key missiological tasks focuses on how to relate to ‘kiwis’ and ‘aussies’ who are increasingly disconnected from any form of organised religion. Furthermore, these two countries are themselves receiving non-Western missionaries, especially amongst the significant immigrant communities from the Pacific and east Asia. The post-World War II era, however, has seen significant growth in Australasian involvement in world mission. Comprehensive figures do not yet exist for both nations, and anecdotes abound. Preliminary analysis of New Zealand’s main denominations

suggests that missionary numbers increased dramatically from the 1950s and 1960s onwards. For some groupings like the Baptists and Open Brethren, this showed little sign of abating by the 1990s. An estimate for 2001 suggests that both countries still rank highly on international scales for the per capita rate of missionaries sent. Involvement has been consistent across the conservative-ecumenical spectrum, and has embraced a range of missionary modes from direct evangelism to community development. The contribution has also been academic, as in the case of the ground-breaking work on New Religious Movements by the Presbyterian missionary Professor Harold Turner. By the 1950s the notion that missions were intrinsic to both denominational identity and priorities was well entrenched. What gave this further impetus was a combination of historical factors: postWar reconstructionist ideals; relative affluence in the 1950s and 1960s; a population boom and burgeoning church growth until the early 1970s; cultural shifts that gave young adults a greater sense of empowerment; evangelical enthusiasm; and Charismatic renewal. There has been a certain penchant for innovation, as witnessed in the Australasian-derived agency Servants to Asia’s Urban Poor, with its focus on incarnation and advocacy. Mission agencies like Tear Fund and World Vision also have struck a strong resonant chord with the wider non-church population, through such programmes as the Forty Hour Famine and child/ community sponsorship. In all these respects New Zealand and Australia share similar characteristics and motivations with other smaller mission-sending nations like Ireland, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden at the other end of the world. Missionaries, both foreign and indigenous, have been centrally important to Oceanic Christianity. Current statistics that indicate high rates of missionary sending and receiving for the region serve to remind us of this. Historically, however, attitudes have changed and collective memory can be short. Many European missionaries certainly have viewed their role as both central and indispensable. In the process they have transmitted both culture and Christianity. Others have taken a more inculturated approach, or at least acknowledged in earlier decades the need for Pacific Christians to be politically and ecclesiastically autonomous. Polynesian and Melanesian missionaries also have been important. Yet the question remains as to how free they have been from European structures and mentalities, especially up to the 1960s. The missionary relationship has been as complex and localised as anywhere else. Critical for the future is the need to reflect on the ways in which this relationship might continue to be important. The Oceanic churches that will thrive in the future will be those that stay internationally connected and nurtured. Globalisation, and even imperialism before it, remind us that ‘receiving’ and ‘sending’ must be an act of partnership rather than one of hegemony. Such partnership is both a gospel imperative and a modern necessity.

HUGH MORRISON Ian Breward, A History of the Churches in Australasia (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001). Manfred Ernst (ed.), Globalization and the Re-Shaping of Christianity in the Pacific Islands (Suva: Pacific Theological College, 2006). Charles W. Forman, ‘Finding Our Own Voice: The Reinterpreting of Christianity by Oceanian Theologians’, International Bulletin of Missionary Research, July 2005, pp. 115–22. Hugh Morrison, ‘“It is our Bounden Duty”: The Emergence of the New Zealand Protestant Missionary Movement, 1868–1926’, Ph.D. diss. (Auckland: Massey University, 2004). Darrell Whiteman, Melanesians and Missionaries: An Ethnohistorical Study of Social and Religious Change in the Southwest Pacific (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1983).

Missionaries and national workers in Oceania, 2010 Most missionaries sent* Total 4,000 1,000 340 120 120 70 60 60 45 30

Most missionaries received* 2010 Per million Christians Samoa 1,802 Tonga 619 FS Micronesia 573 New Zealand 459 Australia 304 Fiji 229 New Caledonia 160 Guam 151 French Polynesia 121 Solomon Islands 93

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 Papua New Guinea Australia New Zealand Samoa Fiji Solomon Islands FS Micronesia Guam French Polynesia Tonga

Total 3,500 3,000 3,000 800 660 600 540 510 440 400

Most national workers* 2010 Per million people FS Micronesia 4,779 Samoa 4,167 Tonga 3,922 Guam 2,833 French Polynesia 1,612 Vanuatu 1,399 New Caledonia 1,344 Solomon Islands 1,130 Fiji 773 New Zealand 700

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 Australia Papua New Guinea New Zealand Samoa Fiji Solomon Islands Tonga Kiribati Vanuatu New Caledonia

Total 130,000 33,200 15,400 5,900 4,700 2,800 1,400 1,200 950 710

*Countries >100,000

2010 Per million people Samoa 30,729 Tonga 13,725 Australia 6,087 Fiji 5,504 Solomon Islands 5,273 Papua New Guinea 5,125 Vanuatu 3,909 New Zealand 3,594 New Caledonia 2,806 FS Micronesia 2,124

285

MISSIONARIES, OCEANIA

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 Australia New Zealand Samoa Papua New Guinea Fiji American Samoa FS Micronesia Tonga Solomon Islands French Polynesia

Missionaries sent and received, Oceania, 2010

I

National workers

Total

CitWorker_World Total workers >500,000 500,000 200,000 80,000 20,000 0

CitWorker

20,000 80,000 200,000 500,000 > 500,000

 National workers (total) The map above illustrates the low numbers of national workers in Oceania. It is no surprise, however, that Australia has the most national workers (130,000), since it is the country with the largest Christian population. The next largest national worker population is in Papua New Guinea (33,200), due largely to the surge of Christianity there over the past 100 years. Some countries, however, have only a handful, such as Christmas Island (40 national workers) and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (25).

CitWorkerPm_World Workers per million people >5,000 5,000 2,000 800 200 0

Per million

n 2010 Papua New Guinea receives the most missionaries (3,500) of any country in Oceania, followed by Australia and New Zealand (3,000 each). However, when examining missionaries received per million people (see the scatter plot on this page or the map on the following page), we see that other, smaller countries receive higher proportions of missionaries than these three major countries. Among the leaders are the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (number 5 on the scatter plot and in the table), the Cook Islands (6), Niue (16) and Norfolk Island (17). Of the 28 countries in Oceania, after the tiny Pitcairn Islands, Papua New Guinea (number 20 on the scatter plot and in the table) sends the fewest missionaries in 2010 per million Christians, although it has the second-most Christians (after Australia). Cocos Islands and Niue send the most missionaries per million Christians. In terms of absolute numbers of missionaries, Australia sends the most with 4,000, followed by New Zealand with 1,000. Samoa is third, with 340 missionaries sent in 2010. Concerning national workers, there are many island countries within Oceania that far exceed the global average per million population in 2010. We find that the global average of national workers was 0.23 per 100 Christians in 2010. However, over 75% of Oceania’s countries evidence averages higher than this. In fact, ten island nations have more than one national worker per 100 Christians. Below, the countries within Oceania are plotted as points on the scatter plot. Each numbered point corresponds with a country on the table on the opposite page. The Oceania average for this scatter plot is marked as the centre of the four quadrants. One can compare this graph with the global scatter plot earlier in this section of the atlas. In comparison, the global average of missionaries sent per million Christians and the global average of missionaries received per million people are less than the Oceanian averages. It is evident from this graph that the Oceanian average for missionaries received per million people is significantly affected by Australia, which has both more people and more Christians than the rest of Oceania combined. Australia is represented by the point numbered 2 on the scatter plot. Note that the other countries of Oceania receive more missionaries per million than Australia, while the Australian and Oceanian averages for missionaries sent per million Christians are similar. Another factor somewhat unique to Oceania is the large number of Marginal Christian missionaries both sent and received in the region. In particular, Latter-day Saints (LDS) have a long history in Oceania, with large proportions of the population in Tonga (54%) and Somoa (36.5%). LDS missionaries from both of these countries can be found throughout Oceania and the rest of the world.

CitWorkerPM

200 800 2,000 5,000 900,000

 National workers (per million population) The map above gives a more accurate picture of the national worker situation. Even though Australia and Papua New Guinea have many more national workers, here those two countries are shaded the same as Tonga (1,400 national workers), the Tokelau Islands (190), the Cook Islands (140), Niue (70) and many others. Even though many countries have small Christian communities, they have comparatively large national worker populations.

Missionary scatter plot quadrants, 2010

10,000

i These countries send more missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive fewer missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent. ii These countries send more missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive more missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent. iii These countries send fewer missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive fewer missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent. iv These countries send fewer missionaries per million affiliated Christians, and receive more missionaries per million population, than the average for the continent.  Sending and receiving of missionaries in Oceania The graph to the right shows missionaries received and missionaries sent for countries in Oceania. Missionaries received is per million population, suggesting the potential impact on the entire population of the country of service. Missionaries sent is per million affiliated Christians, indicating the strength of mission sending by the Christian community. Both axes use a logarithmic scale because the data values vary by several orders of magnitude (from 0 to 7,500 for missionaries received and from 0 to 7,000 for missionaries sent). Lines plotted at the average values of these variables separate the data points into four quadrants, described more fully above. Continental averages are also shown for comparison. Oceania both sends more missionaries per million affiliated Christians and receives more missionaries per million population than the global averages. Most countries in the region receive more missionaries than they send out.

= Oceania average

Missionaries sent per million affiliated Christians

The grey lines show the missionaries sent by the continent (per million affiliated Christians) against the total missionaries received in the continent (per million population).

5

= Global average

Quadrant meanings The blue lines show the total global missionaries sent (per million affiliated Christians) against the total global missionaries received (per million population).

17

i

4

ii

1,000

26 10

100

3

6

25 12

19

15 2

22 1

24

13

7 11

14 8 28 23 18

9

27

20

iii

iv

10

Numbers correspond to table on the facing page. = zero

1

21

1

10

100

1,000

Missionaries received per million population

286

16

10,000

Missionaries sent Total MissionSent_World missionaries >10,000 10,000 1,000 100 10 0

MissionRecv_World Total missionaries >15,000 15,000 5,000 2,500 500 0

Total

nt

0 00

Missionaries received

MissionRecv

500  Missionaries sent (total) 2,500 Considering that most of Oceania became predominantly Christian only during the past 1005,000 years, it is 15,000 not surprising that these regions do not have large missionary-sending forces. Three countries send more 35,000 missionaries than they receive in 2010: Australia (4,000), Niue (5) and Norfolk Island (5). Even the smallest Christian communities in these island nations send out missionaries; Tokelau Islands, with only 1,300 Christians, sends one missionary in 2010.

 Missionaries received (total) Compared to other continents, Oceania receives an inadequate number of missionaries per year. Twenty countries in Oceania receive fewer than 500 missionaries, and many of these countries have hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. It is logical that Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea would receive more missionaries since they have the largest populations.

PmAC

MissionRecvPm_World Missionaries per million people >700 700 200 100 30 0

Per million

Missionaries per millionMissionSentPmAC_World Christians >400 400 130 50 30 0

MissionRecvPm

30 100

 Missionaries sent (per million affiliated Christians) 200 700 numbers Compared to their Christian populations, many countries in Oceania do not send proportionate 26,000 of missionaries. Nineteen of the 28 countries in Oceania send less than 0.05% of their affiliated Christian populations. Surprisingly, Australia and Papua New Guinea – who send the highest number of missionaries – are included in that list.

 Missionaries received (per million population) The map above gives a clearer picture of the received missionary forces in Oceania. Although many of these island nations receive very small numbers of missionaries, it is important to note that their general populations are also very small. Palau, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and Marshall Islands have high percentages of missionaries received per million population even though their numbers of received missionaries are 20, 510, 140 and 90, respectively.

Missionaries and national workers: Oceania, 2010

*p.m.c. = per million affiliated Christians

Christians 69,600 15,816,000 217,000 380 180 12,000 529,000 256,000 169,000 96,500 60,300 107,000 7,700 214,000

National workers Total p.m.** 360 5,085 130,000 6,087 240 1,043 40 25,000 25 37,313 140 11,200 4,700 5,504 470 1,722 240 1,333 1,200 12,060 120 1,893 240 2,124 25 2,427 710 2,806

Missionaries Sent p.m.c.* Received p.m.** 70 1,020 220 3,107 4,000 304 3,000 140 10 47 120 522 1 3,030 10 6,250 1 6,993 5 7,463 10 869 80 6,400 120 229 660 773 30 121 440 1,612 25 151 510 2,833 10 104 60 603 10 168 90 1,420 60 573 540 4,779 2 271 20 1,942 30 160 340 1,344

15 New Zealand 16 Niue 17 Norfolk Island 18 Northern Mariana Is 19 Palau 20 Papua New Guinea 21 Pitcairn Islands 22 Samoa 23 Solomon Islands 24 Tokelau Islands 25 Tonga 26 Tuvalu 27 Vanuatu 28 Wallis & Futuna Is Oceania

Population Christians 4,285,000 2,998,000 1,500 1,500 2,200 1,900 88,500 71,900 20,500 19,400 6,478,000 6,152,000 50 46 192,000 190,000 531,000 506,000 1,400 1,300 102,000 97,400 10,700 10,100 243,000 230,000 15,600 15,200 35,491,000 27,848,000

National workers Total p.m.** 15,400 3,594 70 46,667 70 31,818 100 1,130 50 2,439 33,200 5,125 2 40,000 5,900 30,729 2,800 5,273 190 135,714 1,400 13,725 70 6,542 950 3,909 120 7,692 199,000 5,602

Missionaries Sent p.m.c.* Received p.m.** 1,000 459 3,000 700 5 3,610 4 2,667 5 3,546 4 1,818 6 84 140 1,582 10 526 20 976 120 22 3,500 540 0 0 0 0 340 1,802 800 4,167 45 93 600 1,130 1 794 2 1,429 60 619 400 3,922 2 203 6 561 10 45 340 1,399 2 132 30 1,923 6,000 255 14,900 421

**p.m. = per million population

287

MISSIONARIES, OCEANIA

1 American Samoa 2 Australia 3 Bougainville 4 Christmas Island 5 Cocos (Keeling) Is 6 Cook Islands 7 Fiji 8 French Polynesia 9 Guam 10 Kiribati 11 Marshall Islands 12 Micronesia 13 Nauru 14 New Caledonia

Population 70,800 21,358,000 230,000 1,600 670 12,500 854,000 273,000 180,000 99,500 63,400 113,000 10,300 253,000

Missionaries sent and received by peoples, 2010

A

nother way of viewing the Christian missionary enterprise is from the standpoint of ethnolinguistic peoples rather than countries, regions and continents. These two pages present data on the sending and receiving of foreign missionaries and personnel by peoples. ‘Foreign’ here refers to persons who cross national boundaries to work in countries other than their own. It should be noted, however, that most missionaries from the Global South work in their home countries, but among peoples other than their own. These ‘domestic’ cross-cultural missionaries are not included in this analysis. This page examines the sending of foreign missionaries by peoples. The map shows the relative strength of missionary sending by the ethnolinguistic peoples of the world. Different peoples within a single country can have quite different levels of commitment to the international

missionary enterprise. This map thus has the advantage of showing some of the variations among peoples within the world’s countries. At first glance this map looks similar to the map showing the percentage of Christians by province. Thus, missionary sending appears to be proportional to the Christian share of the total population. On closer examination, however, one can see variations from this expectation. First, some peoples in Christian contexts appear to send few missionaries. Second, other peoples with few Christians send out disproportionately large numbers of foreign missionaries. While the majority of Christians now live in the Global South, foreign-missionary sending is still strongest among peoples of the Global North. One explanation is the long history of missionary sending there, which has resulted in institutions, funding, recruiting and other

factors that help to maintain missionaries. Christians in the Global South are, in many cases, only beginning to send missionaries (and, as pointed out earlier, most work within their own countries’ borders). Under one concept of mission, the ultimate ideal for a people is no longer that it should be first and foremost a missionary-sending people, but instead that it should both freely send and freely receive substantial numbers of such personnel. ‘Missionaries should flow ever more freely from and to all 6 continents in a spirit of humble service’ (Lausanne Covenant, 1974, paragraph 9). From the point of view of maximum international co-operation and effectiveness in evangelisation, the ideal for peoples, as for countries, may well be sharing in large-scale sending and receiving of missionaries and other personnel.

Missionaries sent by peoples, 2010

Missionaries sent per million affiliated Christians LangXc_World (Missionaries sent per million Christians)

>400 >50 to 400 0 to 50 0 (church planting under way) 0 (no churches)

Missionaries sent by peoples by category 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

People group USA White German English Italian French Latin American Mestizo Brazilian White Latin American White Brazilian Mulatto Polish Russian Han Chinese (Mandarin) Ukrainian Romanian Detribalised Quechua Albay Bicolano Sudanese Arab Capisano Simalungun Batak Isekiri Bangri Solorese Nawar Kashubian Dagoda

Country USA Germany Britain Italy France Mexico Brazil Argentina Brazil Poland Russia China Ukraine Romania Peru Philippines Sudan Philippines Indonesia Nigeria India Indonesia Iran Poland Timor

Population Christians 126,800,000 105,372,000 71,374,000 52,319,000 52,930,000 44,146,000 32,969,000 27,109,000 LangXc_World 32,427,000 24,728,000 189,533,0005 184,594,000 103,356,0004 93,854,000 97,484,0003 89,097,000 43,790,0002 41,163,000 42,245,0001 40,279,000 132,491,0000 115,188,000 853,467,000 88,621,000 40,431,000 35,354,000 20,690,000 20,271,000 11,534,000 11,321,000 2,325,000 2,302,000 26,470,000 967,000 784,000 776,000 1,375,000 756,000 720,000 677,000 17,935,000 628,000 411,000 296,000 4,041,000 140,000 98,500 88,700 52,600 47,300

 Largest foreign-missionary–sending peoples by category The table above lists the largest peoples within five different categories of missionary sending. At the top of the table, the peoples with the strongest commitment to missionary sending are listed. These categories reflect the number of missionaries sent out per million affiliated Christians in each people.

288

Missionaries sent by peoples Latin American Mestizo

Latin American White

GlobalPeopleXcCat_world_GROUPBY Urdu

Orisi Polish

Bengali

Brazilian White

USA White

Vietnamese Maitili

Javanese

Bhojpuri Bihari Brazilian Mulatto

Tamil Malayali Japanese Han Chinese (Wu)

Han Chinese (Mandarin)

Kanarese French Egyptian Arab

Russian Maratha

Yoruba

Han Han Han African English Ukrainian Chinese Chinese Chinese Eastern AmerPunjabi (Xiang) (Hakka) (Gan) ican Hindi

Telugu

Korean

Western Punjabi

Each rectangle represents a Global People Name Each rectangle's area is determined by the value of Ppop2010 (SUM) compared to a total of 6,861,649,881 Han  Foreign-missionary sending Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of Xc Cat (MIN) Chinese

Han Chinese (Yue)

German

Sundanese

Hausa Italian

Han Han Chinese Gujarati Chinese (Min Nan) (Jinyu)

Turk

Color Key (Xc Cat (MIN))

2 the affiliated 4 5 3 The tree map above shows the world’s peoples by total size, with Christians among Hanthe relative commitments to missionary1 sending by them shown by colour (the scale is the same(Cantonese) as the map legend). Here one can see that the largest peoples in the world make some contribution to Chinese the missionary enterprise. In fact, Christians from the largest(Huanese) people groups, such as the Han Chinese or Latin American Mestizo, are gradually increasing their commitment to missionary sending.

T

he map and tables below depict foreign missionaries received by peoples. As on the facing page, ‘foreign’ refers to the crossing of national boundaries. What is immediately striking about this map and the accompanying tables is how closely they seem to resemble the ‘missionary sending’ map and tables on the previous page. The world’s peoples most active in missionary sending are also, for the most part, the peoples who receive the largest numbers of missionaries. In a similar way, those who send the fewest, receive the fewest. These patterns of missionary deployment are the result of several factors. First, missionaries traditionally have been sent where they are invited. In recent years local churches around the world have invited missionaries to assist in teaching, worship, church planting, social programmes and many other ministries. Second, there has been confusion over the status of ‘unreached

peoples’. With the proliferation of Christian denominations, much missionary effort has been expended by one Christian denomination sending missionaries to peoples already represented by other Christian denominations. Lists of unreached peoples and other tools intended for strategic deployment of missionaries have reinforced this confusion by sometimes including heavily-Christian peoples. Third, missionaries have been encouraged to go to ‘harvest’ fields or responsive peoples. These are normally heavily Christian peoples who represent an opportunity for church planting by new Christian groups. Finally, the unreached fields themselves have been considered ‘resistant’, an ironic label for peoples among whom there has been little or no Christian outreach. In a post-colonial context, missionary sending has taken on new significance. Missionaries today are rarely sent from a colonial power to a colony. Instead,

missionaries are sent from peoples in every part of the world to other peoples, both near and far. In addition, missionaries today are once again heavily involved in social programmes ranging from education to medicine to community development. While one application of this map would be to highlight peoples of the world who receive too few missionaries, another is to try to understand how the international sharing of personnel has evolved over the past 100 years. Maps and data presented in 1910 clearly showed that missionaries were Northern Americans and Europeans sent to the rest of the world. Today’s maps show that the missionary enterprise is ‘from all peoples to all peoples’.

Missionaries received by peoples, 2010

Missionaries received per million population LangWa_World (Missionaries received per million)

>100 100 50 20 5 0

Missionaries received by peoples by category People group Latin American Mestizo Russian USA White Brazilian White Latin American White Han Chinese (Mandarin) Tamil Korean Han Chinese (Min Nan) Kanarese Bengali Hindi Japanese Telugu Maratha Turk Bhojpuri Bihari Maitili Hausa Sudanese Arab Moorish Bedouin Bagri Lampungese Khandeshi Northern Luri

Country Mexico Russia USA Brazil Argentina China India South Korea China India Bangladesh India Japan India India Turkey India India Nigeria Sudan Algeria India Indonesia India Iran

Population Christians 189,533,000 184,594,000 132,491,000 115,188,000 126,800,000 105,372,000 103,356,000 93,854,000 97,484,000 89,097,000 853,467,000 88,621,000 LangWa_World 84,679,000 12,865,000 10 23,256,000 77,687,000 8 64,777,000 4,268,000 47,300,000 2,600,000 6 220,827,000 612,000 4 139,039,000 1,740,000 2 129,933,000 3,838,000 0 96,152,000 8,654,000 90,074,000 901,000 55,809,000 29,400 42,678,000 406,000 42,392,000 373,000 34,310,000 32,100 26,470,000 967,000 8,109,000 1,100 2,528,000 4,900 2,333,000 0 1,998,000 4,000 1,979,000 28

 Largest foreign-missionary–receiving peoples by category While it is not surprising to see small, somewhat isolated non-Christian peoples at the bottom of the list (receiving few or no missionaries), it is startling to see large, heavily Christian peoples at the top of the list (receiving the most missionaries). This is partly the result of the fragmentation of Christianity – where one form of Christianity targets other forms in its missionary sending (for example, Protestants at work among Roman Catholics in Latin America).

Latin American Mestizo

Latin American White

Urdu

Orisi Polish

Bengali

Brazilian White

USA White

Vietnamese Maitili

Javanese

Bhojpuri Bihari Brazilian Mulatto

Tamil Malayali Japanese Han Chinese (Wu)

Han Chinese (Mandarin)

Kanarese French Egyptian Arab

Russian Maratha

Yoruba

Han Han Han African English Ukrainian Chinese Chinese Chinese Eastern AmerPunjabi (Xiang) (Hakka) (Gan) ican Hindi

Telugu

Korean

Western Punjabi

Each rectangle represents a Global People Name Each rectangle's area is determined by the value of Ppop2010 (SUM) compared to a total of 6,861,649,881 Han  Foreign-missionary receiving Each rectangle's some color is of determined by the value of Wa Cat (MIN) Chinese Although the world’s largest peoples receive many foreign missionaries,

Han Chinese (Yue)

German

Sundanese

Hausa Italian

Han Han Chinese Gujarati Chinese (Min Nan) (Jinyu)

Turk

Color Key (Wa Cat (MIN))

4 3 others receive relatively 1few. While2 some peoples (in India, for 5 Han example) also receive domestic missionaries(Cantonese) (not shown here), other large peoples (such as the Bengali and Turks) have few or no national workers or Chinese domestic missionaries. Colours correspond to those in the (Huanese) map legend.

289

MISSIONARIES BY PEOPLES

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Missionaries received by peoplesGlobalPeopleWaCat_world_GROUPBY

Great Commission Christians, 1910–2010 ‘I had to try as far as possible, to help the devoted and dedicated members of the Society [CMS] at home to welcome the brave and strange new world in which the Gospel had to be interpreted’. Max Warren, General Secretary of the Church Missionary Society, 1942–63. 1910–45 Although Max Warren wrote this in December 1941, these words also could well have heralded the arrival of the ‘strange new world’ that appeared soon after the conclusion of the Edinburgh 1910 World Missionary Conference. The Conference took place towards the end of the high imperial period, and its reports, conclusions and projections reflected the hope of ongoing progress. Yet the report that was concerned with the ‘Home Church’, meaning the Church in the West, warned that increasing luxury and wealth might quench the missionary spirit. The focus of the report was on the responsibility of the Home Church – the church of the evangelised world of Europe and Northern America – to raise the resources and send missionaries to evangelise the non-Christian world while the opportunity was still there and before it was too late. The Conference seemed to assume that the evangelised West would be the key to providing the people and the resources to do this. Looking back on the 100 years since 1910, the task of world evangelisation has not been that straightforward. The basis of this secure worldview was swept away by the devastation of the Great War. Missionarysending countries were at war with one another, and in Europe resources to support the missionary enterprise lessened. However, even the Great War did not weaken the belief that the ‘Christian West’ had the right to impose its view on others, because it was believed that the gospel had made the West strong and great, and therefore it would do so for other nations as well. In the period following World War I, one of the most popular texts was John 10:10: ‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.’ Abundant life was interpreted materially: mission would bring material improvement to deprived and depraved peoples. The increased optimism of the era, the fact that women were now able to work as missionaries and the emergence of various revival movements meant that more missionaries were being sent overseas than ever before from both Protestant Europe and the USA. This is what the home base supporters were enthusiastically providing resources for, and this required ongoing and sustained funding. The Church Missionary Society (CMS) offers an interesting case study of a mainline Protestant mission society during this period. The home base support of CMS remained active and in good heart during World War I. The Church Missionary Gleaner from December 1915 reported that combined work parties for war and missions were held, so that some attended who would not normally have attended an ordinary Gleaners’ meeting. Although their contributions were down from the previous year, they were ‘determined not to let the missionary cause suffer’. Even during these difficult years, much was happening at the home base to raise awareness and to support mission. There were study circles and prayer groups, groups for young people, men’s groups and women’s groups; and new branches were formed and new members enrolled. Regular publications (three for children and four for adults) kept members well informed of the work of the Society in order to maintain prayer, interest and regular giving. By 1926, in the post-War period, the General Secretary of the CMS, the Revd Wilson Cash, was keenly promoting the work of the Home Missionary Education Movement to awaken the mind of the whole Church to its role in mission. The CMS was working hard at keeping world mission before not only its supporters but also the Home Church. The CMS Home Gazette detailed the work of the Young People’s Department, the Women’s Unions, the Study Department, the Medical Mission Auxiliary, the Exhibitions Department, the Loan Department (costumes, drawings, maps, photographs and other materials) and the local CMS Associations. The role of these Associations was to present particular aspects of the world call to global mission to adults, young people and children, and to secure a definite response in prayer, offers of service and gifts. The CMS put much thought and effort into educating the home base for mission support, and the emergence of yet another

290

World War in 1939 did not weaken their resolve. The CMS Executive Committee passed a Resolution on 27 September 1939 that summoned ‘all members and friends of the Society to help in this emergency, that the work of God overseas be not weakened but strengthened’. Women played an important role in raising funds for missionary support, especially in Europe during the years of both World Wars, as most of the men of earning potential were away fighting. In the USA by 1900 nearly half of the mission sending boards were women’s boards. Women were on the move in mission, organising and managing their own structures and sending women to be involved with women’s issues. Women were raising financial support, interviewing candidates, corresponding with women overseas and educating their support bases to be more intelligently involved with mission. Yet these boards were relatively short-lived; by the time of World War II, the women’s missionary movement in the USA had virtually ceased to exist. Women’s boards merged or were integrated into the general boards, and although women vigorously fought this integration, they were forced to accept it. The dismantling of the women’s missionary movement is disheartening, especially as women were not in favour of integration. It could be that the collapse of the women’s missionary movement throughout the mainline Protestant churches in the USA was a forerunner to overseas mission work becoming a lower priority for these churches. (By contrast, it should be noted that the annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering® for International Missions – organised by women – today remains one of the largest fundraisers for the Southern Baptists.)

In these years we have seen mission policies and mission structures change considerably. We have also seen definitions of mission change, an ongoing guilt complex in the West about the legacy of mission, and some confusion about missionary vocations. Theology and the introduction of biblical criticism also influenced attitudes towards mission and mission support during these years. Karl Barth’s theology was accused of having a paralysing effect on mission because Barth critiqued the traditional ‘home/mission field’ dichotomy. Mission work was beginning to mean less preaching and a broader range of transformational activities, salvation was understood to have more of a focus on this world, and the emphasis in mission had shifted from the individual to society. The mission support base had to be persuaded of these new approaches. 1945–2010 The onset of World War II saw a shift in mission dominance from Britain to the USA. The post-War era saw major changes politically, economically and socially – all of which affected the understanding of, engagement in and support of mission. Political changes such as independence for countries in Africa, Asia and the South Pacific heralded the arrival of the post-colonial era and its subsequent impact on mission thinking, leading to many studies on the relationship of mission and empire. The rise and demise of Communism, the emergence of global terrorism and the dramatic increase in the number of violent conflicts have made missionary engagement and support more complex. Economic changes such as the rise of the USA as a superpower and more recently the rise of India and China have meant changes in the traditional support base for mission. Social changes, such as the women’s movement, feminism, postmodernity and the increasing confidence of major world religions, have caused supporters to question some traditional understandings of mission. The expansion of rail services and shipping and the arrival of air travel and then of the Internet have meant improved and rapid communications, so that the faraway and exotic are now closer to home.

One of the most significant missiological developments of this era has been the new understanding of Missio Dei that emerged from the International Missionary Council (IMC) conference in Willingen, Germany, in 1952. Missio Dei means that all mission is God’s mission, that God is the sending agent and that all churches together cooperate in engaging in mission, in obedience to God. It also means that the whole world is the ‘mission field’ – there is no longer a sending and receiving divide. God is the sender, and mission is from anywhere to anywhere. This understanding led to increasing ecumenical partnerships, enhanced by the founding of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in 1948, and to what was perceived by many as an increasing emphasis on humanisation rather than evangelism. Evangelical groups were not happy with this emphasis, and in 1974 evangelicals from all corners of the globe gathered at Lausanne for the International Congress on World Evangelization and the establishment of the Lausanne Movement. Increasingly, mission was seen to incorporate social transformation as well as evangelism, and this led to differing emphases on activities of mission and changing policies with mission agencies and churches. The concept of partnership was challenged in the 1970s in both Asia and Africa, with local leaders insisting that partnership, as it was understood, could only be between the weak and the strong. These leaders called for a moratorium on foreign missionaries, and while this moratorium did not occur in any significant way, the call set the stage for rethinking mission and for the great debates on contextualisation that were soon to emerge. Calls were being made for mission to become central to the life of the Church and not just something that was done ‘over there’. The CMS expressed this in terms of mutual responsibility and interdependence in the Body of Christ, and the CMS began to bring missionaries to Britain in an interchange of mission personnel. Home base supporters were being asked to support a wider range of mission activities as well as to raise funds for more traditional missionaries. In 1973 parish and individual giving rose by 6% in the CMS, and supporters were told that there were still not enough missionaries. By the 1980s the CMS supporters were being asked to increase their giving by 20%. At this time another hugely significant development affected the very shape and nature of mission and therefore the support of mission. This was the shift in the centre of gravity of Christianity from the West to the Majority World. We are now in a situation where the majority of the world’s Christians are in Africa, Asia and Latin America. At the beginning of the twenty-first century two out of every three Christians live in the Majority World, so that we are truly seeing the transformation of Christianity into a non-Western religion. Perhaps Western missionary initiatives and activities remain the most visible, but they might no longer be the most significant. Another important factor, especially since the 1960s, is migration. The West is now experiencing a huge wave of international migration, mainly from the Majority World. These two factors have enormous implications for the engagement in and support of mission. The USA, for example, remains a major missionary-sending nation. It is also an immigrant nation, and in this way it also becomes a missionary-receiving nation. Therefore, the concept of ‘home-base support’ becomes increasingly complex and fluid. It may mean supporting missionaries off-shore or next door. It may require large financial outlay or simple but generous hospitality as we welcome migrant workers keen to share their faith within the secular West. It may mean prayer for missionary movements we will never see, as local initiatives and agencies in other parts of the world take up the missionary mandate and engage in mission far from Western eyes in ways appropriate to their contexts and means. In these years we have seen mission policies and mission structures change considerably. We have also seen definitions of mission change, an ongoing guilt complex in the West about the legacy of mission, and some confusion about missionary vocations. There is no doubt that Western missionary giving is down from the previous period and that the number of Western missionaries is declining. However, this does not necessarily mean that enthusiasm for mission has diminished. The non-Western missionary movement is not merely an extension of the Western missionary movement, so mapping and defining ‘Great

Commission Christians’ is becoming an increasingly difficult task as Western categories and assumptions no longer apply. The increasing number of Christians in the Majority World testifies to the reality that they are keenly involved in evangelism and holistic mission in ways appropriate to their contexts and in ways that Westerners might never even have imagined. Pentecostals Global Pentecostalism is a twentieth-century phenomenon that might represent the largest global shift in the religious landscape in the last 40 years. Pentecostalism has developed over the century to combine social ministry with its original emphases on baptism in the Spirit and speaking in tongues. Pentecostals are well known for their evangelistic fervour, but recent research has shown that Pentecostals have also become much more involved in social ministry. There is substantial evidence both for the social uplift associated with Pentecostalism and that their social networks create supportive communities. Increasingly, Majority World Pentecostals are reaching out evangelistically and socially not only to their own communities but also in the West. The largest church in the world, Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea, is a Pentecostal church sending out many of its own missionaries. In the Majority World the most successful Pentecostal churches are those that are not dependent on foreign funding and not led by Western missionaries. Their focus on self-sufficiency does not mean that the West should ignore the Majority World but rather that Westerners should be sensitive to their impact in mission engagement and mission support. Worldwide estimates of Pentecostals vary from 250 to 500 million – either way it has a huge number of adherents and is a tradition that has sustained its missionary enthusiasm during the twentieth century. African Initiated Churches (AICs), while not Pentecostal churches, are an important Independent church phenomenon since Edinburgh 1910. Dissatisfied with missionary-founded churches and their lack of holiness, the first wave of AICs was founded towards the end of the nineteenth century, while the second wave emerged during the period 1910–30. These churches wanted a spiritual independence from the religious imperialism of Western ideas. They represented a rediscovery of Christianity by Africans who wished to emphasise their own religious heritage, including prophecy, healing and spiritual power. There are hundreds of AICs, with the most famous being the Kimbanguist Church founded by Simon Kimbangu in 1921 in the Belgian Congo. AICs are beginning to develop their own theological training centres and to articulate their own understanding and support of mission. A particular contribution in this area is their understanding of earth-keeping, which is a theology of creation care – a relatively new focus for mission in the Western world. Roman Catholics After World War I the Roman Catholic Church recommenced its missionary efforts with a mission model of expansion and a belief that it had an exclusive claim to the truth. In these years Catholic Europe was not in a position to revive its missionary efforts overseas, so Catholics in the USA saw this period as a time

when they could make a special contribution. Over 45 American Catholic mission magazines were in circulation in the USA in 1930. The mission education programmes of the Maryknoll Order did much to shape the understanding of mission for American Catholics between the 1920s and the 1950s. Most Catholic missionaries were celibate men and women sent out and supported by Catholic orders. The Second Vatican Council (1962–5) was the most important event for the Roman Catholic Church during the twentieth century. This Council thoroughly rethought the Catholic practice of and engagement in mission. It declared that ‘the pilgrim church is missionary by its very nature’ and affirmed a Trinitarian basis for mission. At about the same time, liberation theology was emerging in Latin America, with its focus on listening to the voices of the poor and on justice. The ‘preferential option’ for the poor became a theme highlighted in Latin America, while interreligious dialogue became a focus for Catholics in Asia, as did inculturation in Africa. Vatican II also emphasised the role of the laity, which allowed women to have more of a role. For example, about 45% of Catholic missionaries from the USA who served in the latter half of the twentieth century were women. The number of lay people involved in short-term mission is also growing. Missionary societies are being founded in the Majority World. Various encyclicals during the latter half of the twentieth century have rooted the Church’s mission in the Trinitarian God, have focused on establishing God’s reign in all creation and have pointed to the centrality of Christ. As with the Protestant world, the shape of the Catholic world is changing, and this change has had an impact on who is engaged in mission and who supports the missionary enterprise. Missionary orders such as Maryknoll or the Society of the Divine Word might have individuals supporting them in the form of sponsorship, legacies or direct giving. Other mission societies might be supported in a more centralised way by dioceses on a rota system. Mission engagement and activity are still central to the life of the church – both clergy and laity are increasingly encouraged to live out the missionary nature of the Church. Orthodox The Orthodox churches, along with the Roman Catholic Church, claim a continuous link back to the early Church, taking on a modified form of the imperial institutions of the apostolic era. The Balkan wars at the beginning of the twentieth century, the First and Second World Wars and the establishment of Communist regimes in most of the countries of eastern Europe threatened Orthodoxy with extinction. After World War II, teaching, education and worship ministries were restored to these churches outside eastern Europe, and a similar development took place after the collapse of Communism in 1989 for those churches in eastern Europe. From an Orthodox perspective, the mission of the Church is a social activity, not just propagation and expansion. There is very little visible missionary initiative and no study of missiology in most Orthodox theological colleges. However, the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) is an exception; in 1984–5 it established the Missionary Department of the ROC. For the

ROC, mission is carried out through the catechism, by partaking of the eucharist and in salvation. The ROC believes that an unhealthy church cannot draw people to Christ and salvation. There is no distinction between internal and external mission, as mission is about coming closer to the world and sanctifying and renewing it. Forms and methods of mission may include apologetic mission, informational mission, the mission of reconciliation, missionary camps, mission among youth, the missionary parish and the missionary service of lay people. The main mission of the ROC is internal mission – bringing back to the ROC those who left it during the twentieth century. The focus in diaspora communities has been on serving the immigrants and preserving their religious and cultural identity. The eucharist is understood as the mission of the church as it represents the meeting point of God and his people and an eschatological celebration of the forthcoming Kingdom. The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America has a Missions and Evangelism Department, established in 1988, to ‘make America Orthodox’. They also send mission teams overseas to encourage the growth of Orthodoxy. As mission is understood to be so integral to the daily parish life, it is difficult to map home-base support, but it does appear that intentional mission is on the increase in some parts of the Orthodox Church. ‘Great Commission Christians’ are harder to define than ever before, and so it is correspondingly difficult to trace and categorise home-base support for mission. Christianity is now a faith of many centres, and mission is multi-directional – from anywhere to anywhere. Christians in various parts of the world engage in mission differently and in new ways. We are experiencing Christianity as a kind of multicoloured and multi-layered quilt with many shapes, sizes, fabrics and textures. Support for missions may take more traditional forms, or it may be more radical as those with the fewest resources step out in faith. It might need the infrastructure of large missionary organisations, or it might not. The responsibility for mission and mission support no longer belongs to the Western ‘Home Church’ so central to the discussions of Edinburgh 1910. Great Commission Christians who engage in and support mission are to be found everywhere in the world. Still, we find ourselves on the cusp of a ‘brave and strange new world’ into which the Spirit leads and in which the gospel still has to be interpreted.

CATHY ROSS Jonathan Bonk (ed.), Between Past and Future: Evangelical Mission Entering the Twenty-first Century (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2003). David J. Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1992). Donald Miller and Tetsunao Yamamori, Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2007). Jocelyn Murray, Proclaim the Good News: A Short History of the Church Missionary Society (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1985). Scott Sunquist and Caroline Becker (eds), A History of Presbyterian Missions, 1944–2007 (Louisville, KY: Geneva Press, 2008).

Great Commission Christians (GCCs) by country, 1910 and 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Britain USA Russia Italy Germany India France Spain Ukraine Turkey

GCCs 14,070,000 12,731,000 7,880,000 7,087,000 4,178,000 3,790,000 3,705,000 3,249,000 2,466,000 2,314,000

Highest percentage* 2010 China USA India Brazil Germany France Italy Britain South Korea Spain

GCCs 110,800,000 107,000,000 46,700,000 29,000,000 25,644,000 24,500,000 23,148,000 21,500,000 19,600,000 18,104,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 Ireland Britain Italy Spain Samoa Switzerland Turkey Netherlands USA Belgium

Fastest growth* % GCC 41.0 34.9 20.0 16.0 15.2 15.1 15.0 15.0 14.5 14.0

2010 Ireland Malta Samoa Belgium South Korea Spain Canada Italy France Portugal

% GCC 48.6 46.4 45.8 45.2 40.3 40.1 39.6 39.2 39.2 36.1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910–2010 Ivory Coast Burkina Faso Burundi Chad Nepal Central African Rep Rwanda Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates Montenegro

*Countries >100,000

% p.a. 13.40 13.15 12.51 12.43 11.91 10.46 10.06 9.40 9.05 8.93

2000–2010 Afghanistan Cambodia United Arab Emirates Uganda Timor Burundi Gambia Burkina Faso Sierra Leone Chad

% p.a. 14.41 7.03 6.89 6.59 5.64 5.04 4.50 4.23 4.22 4.21

291

GREAT COMMISSION CHRISTIANS

Largest population*

Great Commission Christians, 1910–2010

C

Great Commission Christians by province, 2010

hrist’s final command to his disciples was to preach the gospel to all people everywhere so that they too might follow him. Now commonly known as the Great Commission, this command is found in six places in the New Testament: Matthew 28:18–20, Mark 16:15–18, Luke 24:45–9, John 20:21–3, John 21:5–22 and Acts 1:3–14. ‘Great Commission Christians’ (GCCs), then, are believers in Jesus Christ who are aware of the implications of his Great Commission, have accepted its personal challenge in their lives and ministries, and are seeking to influence the Body of Christ to implement it. Measuring this phenomenon is quite difficult. One approach is to consider ten areas related to the Great Commission: personal commitment to Christ, church attendance, stewardship of resources, awareness of the Great Commission, full-time or volunteer Christian work, Scripture reading/distribution, meeting human needs, personal evangelism, contact with non-Christian religions, and martyrdom. An individual who scores high in at least five of the criteria may be considered a GCC. For a church or denomination the information most readily available is the amount of the effort expanded in evangelism and foreign missions. These data are then used to measure GCCs. Of the six major Christian traditions, Independents have the highest percentage of GCCs (roughly half), Orthodox have the lowest (one-fifth), and Roman Catholics are the next lowest (one-fourth). As might be expected, the spread of GCCs over the twentieth century follows the pattern of Christianity in general (see Part II). A closer look, however, reveals an inverse relationship between the number of Christians in a country or region and the percentage of GCCs relative to all affiliated Christians. Countries and regions with the fewest Christians, relatively speaking, generally have the highest percentages of GCCs. The countries with the lowest percentages of GCCs are mostly countries where a large percentage of the population (over 80%, and usually over 90%) are Christians and where most Christians are Roman Catholic or Orthodox. For example, South-central Asia (the region with the lowest percentage of Christian adherents) is less than 5% Christian, but nearly 80% of those Christians are GCCs. The pattern is similar in Eastern Asia and Northern Africa (although, interestingly, not in Western Asia, where fewer than 30% of Christians are GCCs). Conversely, although more than 95% of the population of Central America (the region with the highest percentage of Christian adherents) is Christian, only 7% of Christians are GCCs. Again, the pattern generally is similar in other regions of high Christian adherence, although Polynesia (where more than 30% of Christians are GCCs) is an exception. One might therefore conclude that Christians tend to be most committed to the Great Commission where being a Christian is costliest.

Central America Central America (primarily Mexico) has the highest percentage of Christians of any region but also the lowest percentage of GCCs.

ProvRelig_GCC Per cent Great Commission Christian

0

2

5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100 = Few or none

Provincial data for Great Commission Christians are estimated by applying national percentages to provincial data on all Christians.

1910

Great Commission Christians by country

2010

1910

1910 GCC1910 0 0.001

2

5

10

40

60

75

85

90

95

0.7% 4.3% 15.8% 13.7% 3.4%

Renewalists 614 million

GCC GCCofAC

GCCs 707 million

0 0.001

2

5

10

0 0.001

40

60

2

5

10

40

60

75

 Explanation of GCC typology as compared to other typologies Several typologies have been devised to explain global Christianity as a worldwide movement of renewal transcending denominations and traditions. Both GCCs and Evangelicals are part of the ‘Evangelical Renewal’. The two designations are not mutually exclusive; neither, however, are they completely overlapping. An individual might be both an Evangelical and a GCC, or alternatively one but not the other. Similarly, a person might be both a GCC (or an Evangelical) and also a Renewalist (part of the ‘Pentecostal/Charismatic Renewal’), or even all three.

292

75

85

90

17.0%

16.5%

32.0%

62.0%

95

90

1.4%

8.8%

 GCCs as a percentage of affiliated Christians GCCs make up at least half of all affiliated Christians (ACs) in some 70 countries (led by South Korea, China and Cambodia). In over 40 of these countries, less than 10% of the general population is Christian. Conversely, in most of the 30 or so countries in which GCCs are less than 10% of all ACs (headed by Romania, Greece and Bulgaria), the general population is at least 90% Christian.

85

2010

0.7% 4.3% 15.8% 13.7% 3.4%

62.0%

Legend same as above

Evangelicals 263 million

1910

95

Enumerating and evaluating Great Commission Christians Obtaining accurate information on each of the ten areas defining a GCC is difficult (if not impossible). However, a simplified method compares the number of cross-cultural missionaries sent or supported to a set standard. A denomination of one million would need to send and support at least 100 cross-cultural missionaries to be considered ‘Great Commission’. A congregation with 10,000 members would need to send and/or support one missionary, and an individual Christian would need to give the equivalent of one– ten-thousandth of the cost of sending and supporting a missionary. Although that sounds like very little, some two-thirds of the world’s denominations, congregations and affiliated Christians do not meet this standard.

24.3%

Africa

Asia

Europe

Latin America

Northern America

Oceania

 GCCs by continent GCCs grew at a faster rate than the general population on every continent between 1910 and 2010. As a result, the share of global GCCs declined in slowest-growing Europe as it rose on every other continent. Asia saw the greatest absolute growth, surpassing Europe as the continent with the most GCCs. Africa had the largest relative increase in its share of the global total.

Rate* Growth_CGrPct_2000_2010 1910–2010 30 14 4 0 -4 -14 -30

 Growth of Great Commission Christians, 1910–2010 GccGrPct_1910_2010 -30 -14 -4 0 4 14 - 30

1910 !

Great GCC Commission centre Christianof centre gravity of gravity

!

2010

Global centre of gravity The present global centre of gravity of GCCs (in Libya) is north and east of the centre of gravity of all Christians (in Mali), reflecting the larger share of GCCs in Asia relative to all Christians. Highest concentrations of GCCs Three of the regions with the lowest percentages of Christian adherents (Eastern Asia, South-central Asia and Northern Africa, all less than 10% Christian) have the highest concentrations of GCCs relative to all Christians.

Great Commission Christians by UN region, 1910 and 2010 1910 GCCs 3,664,000 1,363,000 176,000 1,044,000 653,000 428,000 11,698,000 1,787,000 4,521,000 2,405,000 2,985,000 52,792,000 13,623,000 16,769,000 11,781,000 10,619,000 2,905,000 404,000 625,000 1,875,000 13,404,000 621,000 538,000 63,500 7,000 11,800 85,083,000

% Population 2.9 1,032,012,000 4.1 332,107,000 0.9 129,583,000 3.3 206,295,000 9.6 56,592,000 1.3 307,436,000 1.1 4,166,308,000 0.3 1,562,575,000 1.3 1,777,378,000 2.6 594,216,000 9.1 232,139,000 12.4 730,478,000 7.6 290,755,000 27.3 98,352,000 15.3 152,913,000 9.6 188,457,000 3.7 593,696,000 4.9 42,300,000 3.0 153,657,000 3.8 397,739,000 14.2 348,575,000 8.6 35,491,000 10.0 25,647,000 4.0 8,589,000 7.8 575,000 9.0 680,000 4.8 6,906,560,000

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

GCCs 116,637,000 47,482,000 13,912,000 11,247,000 13,050,000 30,946,000 225,827,000 133,905,000 54,734,000 33,319,000 3,869,000 171,775,000 26,803,000 30,649,000 49,090,000 65,233,000 62,323,000 5,687,000 9,806,000 46,829,000 120,376,000 9,868,000 8,601,000 1,002,000 73,000 192,000 706,806,000

Rate* 1910–2010 % 1910

% 11.3A 14.3A1 10.7A2 5.5A3 23.1A4 10.1A5 5.4C 8.6C1 3.1C2 5.6C3 1.7C4 23.5E 9.2E1 31.2E2 32.1E3 34.6E4 10.5 L 13.4L1 6.4L2 11.8L3 34.5N 27.8P 33.5P1 11.7P2 12.7P3 28.2P4 10.2zG 0% 0

% 2010 3.52 3.61 4.47 2.41 3.04 4.37 3.00 4.41 2.53 2.66 0.26 1.19 0.68 0.60 1.44 1.83 3.11 2.68 2.79 3.27 2.22 2.80 2.81 2.80 2.37 2.83 2.14

20

40 50% 60

80

100% 100

GCCs

Population

Rate* 2000–2010

2.14A 2.33 A1 1.91 A2 1.88 A3 2.14 A4 2.26 A5 1.41C 1.04 C1 1.65 C2 1.86 C3 1.97 C4 0.54E 0.49 E1 0.47 E2 0.69 E3 0.53 E4 2.05L 1.66 L1 2.02 L2 2.11 L3 1.31N 1.61P 1.57 P1 1.70 P2 1.88 P3 1.66 P4 1.38 zG -2 -2

2.56 2.31A 2.73 2.59A1 3.09 2.86A2 1.38 1.69A3 1.57 0.86A4 2.97 2.53A5 2.46 1.18C 2.73 0.57C1 2.49 1.60C2 1.57 1.34C3 0.92 1.90C4 -0.08 0.03E -0.80 -0.47E1 0.30 0.42E2 0.19 0.48E3 -0.13 0.27E4 1.70 1.28L 0.47 0.92L1 1.77 1.26L2 1.85 1.32L3 1.05 1.00N 0.98 1.33P 0.87 1.10P1 2.06 2.06P2 1.15 1.47P3 1.05 1.04P4 1.47 1.21zG

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 88 9 10 10 11 12 12

-2 -2

GREAT COMMISSION CHRISTIANS

Population Africa 124,228,000 Eastern Africa 33,030,000 Middle Africa 19,443,000 Northern Africa 32,002,000 Southern Africa 6,819,000 Western Africa 32,933,000 Asia 1,028,265,000 Eastern Asia 556,096,000 South-central Asia 345,121,000 South-eastern Asia 94,104,000 Western Asia 32,944,000 Europe 427,154,000 Eastern Europe 178,184,000 Northern Europe 61,474,000 Southern Europe 76,940,000 Western Europe 110,556,000 Latin America 78,269,000 Caribbean 8,172,000 Central America 20,777,000 South America 49,320,000 Northern America 94,689,000 Oceania 7,192,000 Australia/New Zealand 5,375,000 Melanesia 1,596,000 Micronesia 89,400 Polynesia 131,000 Global total 1,759,797,000

GCC growth rates* by UN region, 100-year and 10-year 2010

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 8 9 10 11

293

Christian finance, 1910–2010

T

he ‘Summary statement of societies and contributions’ appearing in the Statistical Atlas of Christian Missions, published in conjunction with the World Missionary Conference of 1910 in Edinburgh, included a table (right) of mission society ‘funds dedicated to work among non-Christians’. Accompanying the table was an explanation of actual or estimated figures, together with assurances of precautions taken to avoid duplication. The table reveals as much by what it does not include as by what it does. Information on missionary orders and evangelising activities of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions was not included. Christian mission was understood to be a Western, Protestant enterprise. This being so, evangelisation was financed almost entirely from the coffers of Christendom (Greater Europe) and neo-Christendom (Northern America). Today, while statistics on Roman Catholic evangelistic initiatives are freely available, it remains difficult to find adequately comprehensive information on Orthodox evangelisation efforts. Nevertheless, a resurgence in Orthodox missions is increasingly evident, most spectacularly in Albania, where a Church seemingly extinct in 1991 is not only resurrected but programmatically and materially vibrant, thanks to the efforts of Orthodox missionaries under the inspiring leadership of Anastasios, Archbishop of Tirana, Durres and All Albania. The Orthodox Christian Mission Center in Florida, the Missionary Centre in Moscow, and the Institute for the Study of Mission and Ecumenism in St Petersburg, Russia, are among the many signs pointing to the re-emergence of the missionary vision that was such a quintessential part of early Orthodoxy. For the great denominational missions after 1910, support continued to be an aspect of integrated denominational budgets. In the case of ‘faith missions’ such as the China Inland Mission (CIM, now Overseas Missionary Fellowship – OMF), the Sudan Interior Mission (SIM), Worldwide Evangelisation Crusade (WEC) and the literally hundreds of other nondenominational volunteer societies, missionaries were much more directly and intimately connected to those who ‘held the ropes’. Financial support was garnered from friends, relatives and church congregations by missionaries themselves, who in some instances (as in the cases of CIM and WEC) were duty-bound to never explicitly solicit money. The operative principle of the CIM until late in the twentieth century was the founder’s famous dictum, ‘God’s work done in God’s way will not lack God’s supply.’ In old Christendom (Europe) – erstwhile fountainhead and chief beneficiary of the political, military, economic and religious forces that defined and dominated the world of 1910 – missionary thinking about the ‘uttermost parts’ was, and to a great extent still is, framed in territorial terms. Christianity was the religious élan of all that was best about the West. Sometimes offered to and frequently imposed on the rest, missionaries were self-conscious carriers of its seminal essence. Thanks in no small part to the appalling savagery of two ‘civilised world’ wars, together with the fatally corrosive effects of post-Enlightenment thinking on meaningful belief in the Transcendent, today in Europe the Christian faith has all but disappeared as an element of serious intellectual discourse or political self-identification. Churches stand as architecturally impressive but spiritually mute monuments to a bygone, more credulous age. Even in hegemonic neo-Christendom (the USA) – the engine and until recently dominant manipulator of globalisation – it is only the influx of Hispanic, Asian and African migrants that masks a similar decline among the incumbent descendants of European immigrants. One hundred years after the great Edinburgh World Missionary Conference of 1910, Christianity is a predominantly non-Western religion. Not surprisingly, a corresponding shift in the deployment and support of mission-related personnel and programmes is now well underway. This is by no means the sudden shift that some might imagine it to be. In his introduction to the Interpretative Statistical Survey of the World Mission of the Christian Church, John R. Mott observed that ‘since the valuable survey of 1925 there has been a marked shifting of the centre of gravity from the missionary societies and the missions to the Churches established by the missionaries.’ This ‘shifting of the centre of gravity’ continues apace. As membership in Western ‘mainline’ denominations continues to decline, Western independent agencies together with Evangelical and Conciliar

294

Summary statement of societies and contributions ‘dedicated to work among non-Christians’ Countries* American and Canadian societies Canada USA Australasian societies Australia Tasmania New Zealand British and Irish societies England Ireland Scotland Wales Continental societies Denmark Finland France Germany The Netherlands Norway Sweden Switzerland South African societies West Indian societies Societies in Africa, except South Africa Societies in Asia China India and Ceylon [Sri Lanka] Japan Korea Turkish [Ottoman] Empire Societies in Malaysia Dutch East Indies [Indonesia] Philippine Islands Totals

# of societies Pounds sterling

Contributions USA dollars National currency

29 204

£155,138 1,852,317

29 4 7

46,129 31,871

136 10 35 3

1,714,365 28,546 335,630 18,210

8,342,100 138,905 1,633,176 88,610

10 4 6 68 18 13 15 3 32 5 8

15,968 11,197 36,671 427,455 43,229 49,747 70,682 11,903 97,771 1,200 16,137

77,699 54,483 178,435 2,079,989 210,351 242,064 343,993 57,918 475,754 5,839 78,518

27 76 34 2 4

25,264 40,004 37,148

4 2 788

1,715 411 £5,071,225

2,517

$754,897 9,013,376

USD (2007) $17,218,000 205,578,000

224,464 No statement of incomes received 155,084

5,120,000 3,537,000 190,268,000 3,168,000 37,2450,000 2,021,000

Kr. 289,922 F.Mk. 282,297 Fr. 924,535 Mk. 8,739,449 Fl. 523,260 Kr. 904,716 Kr. 1,283,557 Fr. 300,093

1,772,000 1,243,000 4,070,000 47,441,000 4,798,000 5,521,000 7,846,000 1,321,000 10,851,000 133,000 1,791,000

122,931 194,650 180,757 No statement of incomes received 12,244

2,804,000 4,440,000 4,123,000

8,343 2,000 $24,676,580

279,000 190,000 46,000 $562,827,000

Source: Statistical Atlas of Christian Missions

*Country names refer to 1910 boundaries

denominations are caught up in the complex challenges that have always bedevilled fiscal and operational partnerships between entities of widely disparate means. While the West still holds the purse strings, increasingly the principal agents of mission and evangelism are non-Western churches and missionaries. How can the sacrosanct three-self principle of Roland Allen – selfsupport, self-governance and self-propagation as the quintessential signs of a healthy church – be sustained if irrepressibly evangelistic non-Western churches are dependent on Western funds? On the one hand, those who have should share generously with those in need. On the other hand, any church convinced of its entitlement to and reliance upon Western finance will not be likely to thrive. This Gordian knot continues to frustrate the best efforts of those who have attempted to untangle it. Over the past century, nevertheless, global foreign missions income grew from an estimated USD  200 million in 1900 to USD 23 billion by mid-2008. In 1900 such money financed the activities of some 62,000 Christian (excluding Catholic and Orthodox) foreign missionaries. In 2008 – excluding the tens of thousands taking annual short-term mission junkets of two weeks or less – an estimated 458,000 foreign missionaries were on the global roster. While churches in the USA and other Western countries continue to give generously to various mission-related causes, it is significant to note from the table below that support is most generous for those

organisations involved in relief and development – the modern equivalent to what 100 years ago would have been referred to as the ‘civilising’ mission. In the West, at least, there is no evidence of a corresponding increase of funding for evangelisation. In 2005, 33,714 US citizens were engaged overseas as long-term (four years or more) missionaries with US agencies; another 7,615 were serving as middle-term (one to four years) missionaries; while 144,318 were doing short-term (two-weeks to one-year) stints. The total funds raised in the USA for overseas ministries were USD 5,241,632,384. With the now visibly accelerating decline of various Western hegemonies, and the corresponding explosive growth of Christian populations outside of Europe and her far-flung progeny in the Americas, Australia/New Zealand and South Africa, it is not surprising that 100 years after Edinburgh 1910 there should be a consequent shift in patterns of missionary personnel and support. According to the 2006 Vatican Statistical Yearbook of the Church, the Roman Catholic Church worldwide reflects a similar shift in its centre of gravity. Twenty countries have Catholic populations over ten million. As indicated in the chart on the facing page, the ‘workforce for the Apostolate’ at the end of 2006 had become heavily non-Western. The total ‘Apostolate workforce’ worldwide tallied 4,241,876, of which less than 13% was Northern American. In January 2007 the International Bulletin of Missionary Research published a synoptic overview of

US mission agencies reporting USD 90 million or more income for overseas missions, 2005 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

US mission agency Reported income for overseas ministries (USD) World Vision, Inc. 752,348,000.00 MAP International 319,511,000.00 Southern Baptist Convention 242,140,000.00 Northwest Medical Teams International 225,202,506.00 Christian Aid Ministries 190,608,201.00 Assemblies of God World Missions 181,178,453.00 Compassion International 136,234,672.00 Samaritan’s Purse 121,842,371.00 Christian Broadcasting Network 115,104,000.00 Opportunity International 112,064,000.00 Wycliffe Bible Translators 103,425,000.00 Campus Crusade for Christ 98,321,000.00 Habitat for Humanity 95,475,655.00 Food for the Hungry 93,826,618.00 United Methodist Church 91,200,000.00 Source: Mission Handbook 2007–2009 (Evangelism and Missions Information Service)

1.8 billion church members in some 37,000 denominations represented by 350 Christian world communions. Particularly germane to this essay are the total numbers of ‘Foreign mission personnel sent out by and received by 238 countries, 7 continents, and the world’. While the tallies are impressive, they are here used simply to intimate a corresponding, albeit difficult to measure, shift in both the support and support structures of world evangelisation away from nearly exclusive reliance on Western resources at the beginning of the twentieth century to ingenious and at times sacrificial self-reliance today. Of the estimated 443,525 foreign missionaries (Roman Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox) serving around the world in 2006, 18,406 were from Africa, 35,862 were from Asia, 43,967 were from Latin America, and 8,957 were from Oceania. Most of the rest came from Northern America (133,122) and Europe (203,211).

Workforce for the Apostolate, 31 December 2006 Category Worldwide USA Bishops 4,898 438 Priests, diocesan and religious 407,262 44,728 Permanent deacons 34,520 15,101 Religious brothers 55,107 5,254 Religious sisters 753,400 64,973 Catechists 2,986,689 405,071 Total Catholics 1,130,750,000 67,530,000

USA % 8.9% 11.0% 43.8% 9.5% 8.6% 13.6% 6.0%

Source: Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2006 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana)

Missionary-sending churches from economically disadvantaged countries are remarkably resourceful when it comes to funding their missionary efforts. One such example is the Presbyterian Synod of Mizoram, in North-east India. Christianity arrived in illiterate Mizoram at the end of the nineteenth century – a mere decade before the great Edinburgh 1910 conference. Today 90% of the Mizo population is Christian, boasting the second-highest literacy rate among Indian states. Across the state, Baptist and Presbyterian churches were swept by revivals in 1906, in 1913, in 1919 and in the 1930s. Revivalism continues to be an integral part of church life, with successive waves of renewal accounting for the remarkable vitality of Christianity in Mizoram to this day. Following 20 years of armed resistance by the Mizo National Front (MLF), on 20 February 1987 Mizoram was formally absorbed into greater India as the nation’s twenty-third state. Presbyterian and Baptist leaders played key roles in negotiating a political settlement that would ensure both the cultural integrity and the missionary dynamism of Mizo churches. Since Mizo missionaries would now be able to move freely anywhere in the sub-continent, political subservience to a predominantly Hindu nation was understood to be a providential key to the evangelisation of India. Twenty years later (2007) some 1,712 fully supported workers served with the Mizoram Presbyterian Synod Mission Board, which in turn was supported by the 493,567-member Mizoram Presbyterian Church. Given the state’s modest annual per capita income of approximately INR 18,900 (USD 400), how such a small, relatively poor church provides for so many missionaries is germane to the subject of this essay. The short answer is that the entire culture is missional, seeing the task of proclaiming the gospel as their responsibility as a nation. In 2007, Mizoram Presbyterians gave INR 598,714,400 (USD 12.7 million) to the church. Of this, INR 229,069,400 (USD 4.9 million) was devoted to world evangelisation. As of this writing, Mizo missionaries were serving in India, Nepal, China, Taiwan, Myanmar, Kiribati, Samoa, American Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Madagascar, Wales and Northern America.

Only the most extraordinarily focused sense of the primacy of evangelisation can begin to account for this level of financial support. Since 1913, in a practice known as buhfai tham, mission-minded women have set aside a handful of rice when they prepare morning and evening meals. This rice is collected regularly from each household and sold at an auction, with proceeds going to the Synod Mission Board. In 2007, the ‘handful of rice’ offerings raised INR 55,112,271 (USD 1.2 million) for missions. Similarly, as children forage for firewood, sticks set aside from each load are contributed to the ‘mission firewood pile’ on Sunday mornings. Churches in rural areas frequently dedicate entire gardens, farms and teak plantations to missions, while their urban counterparts open small shops and tea stalls. The human time and effort necessary to run such enterprises is provided by volunteers, with all profits going to support missions. Some churches construct buildings, with rental revenues going entirely to the mission fund. A high percentage of women practise imaginary field visits, praying and collecting the amount of money that it would take to actually travel to the selected mission field, with accumulated monies going to Synod Mission Board mission funds. A significant number of churches have even sacrificed their lavish Christmas feasts, celebrating instead the joy of diverting the money towards missionary support. Some church members, especially women, miss one meal a week, donating the value of that meal to the mission fund. And, finally, church members practise tithing, giving a minimum of 10% of their monthly income to the church. Tithers designate their offerings for one of four options, two of which are mission-related. Similar stories can be found around the world – in countries like Ethiopia, for example, or in Myanmar, where the centenary of the arrival of the gospel among the Kachins was celebrated with a special three-year evangelistic thrust. Drawing inspiration from the defeat of the mighty Midianites by Gideon and his elite band of 300 warriors (Judges 7), 300 young Kachin missionaries devoted themselves to bringing the gospel to Kachin descendants scattered across northern Burma and into China. From among the many hundreds of volunteers, only 300 were selected as ‘Brave and selfconsecrated … soldiers of Christ...’, serving with prayer support but no financial undergirding. Preparations for the three-year endeavour began with 40 days of intensive Bible training, followed by 24 hours of prayer throughout the entire Burma Baptist Convention. At a special commissioning service, spiritual power was then called down upon the band of missionaries. In the words of Mauding Hkau Sau, ’the late onlookers … saw to their joy and surprise that the Church as well as the heads of 3/300 Mission were brightly illumined with a spiritual light. The 3/300 [missionaries] were free from sadness, dissatisfaction and fright. They became bold and encouraged.’ Thus commissioned and equipped, dressed in specially designed uniforms and carrying 3/300 identity cards, the mission was launched. Precise records were maintained, and the cumulative results were – to the Western mind – astonishing. The Revd Mauding Hkau Sau’s 130-page report is replete with vivid accounts of healing, exorcism, harrowing escapes, transforming conversions and even a resurrection from the dead. Western Christian missionary activity peaked and then began to wane in the century following Edinburgh 1910. The modern missionary movement was itself inseparable from a 500-year global phenomenon referred to by Andrew Walls as the Great European Migration [in which] first hundreds and then thousands and eventually millions of people left Europe for the lands

beyond Europe. Some went under compulsion, as refugees, indentured laborers, or convicts, some under their conditions of employment as soldiers or officials, some from lust of wealth or power. Most, however, were simply seeking a better life or a more just society than they found in Europe. The missionary movement from the West, Walls goes on to observe, ‘was always a semi-detached part of the Migration [arising] among the radicals of Christendom, and [remaining] the sphere of the radicals, the enthusiasts, people usually of minor significance in the church, rarely the holders of ecclesiastical power or the leaders of ecclesiastical thought’. Today, Christianity is the largest religion in the world. While it is no longer a Western religion, it is still the religion of a substantial proportion of the world’s dislocated populations. These Christian emissaries figure no more prominently than did their European predecessors against the prevailing standards of ecclesiastical or economic or political significance. In terms of personnel, modus operandi and finance, evangelisation in the twenty-first century is an increasingly non-Western passion. It is within such a framework that the topic of this essay has been considered. While there is a direct correlation between numbers of missionaries and the volume of finance dedicated to evangelisation, the bewildering array of methods, categories and levels of support utilised by agencies and denominations over time and across cultures varies widely, making any degree of analytical precision impossible. Evangelising initiatives such as those described above seldom are reflected in Western financial ledgers, and similar stories are increasingly common throughout the non-Western world. Prudence is therefore essential to any attempt to establish a direct correlation between money expended and evangelisation accomplished. To return to the migration thesis of Andrew Walls, the great missionary movement of the twenty-first century is, like the one it is superseding, neither initiated nor controlled by ‘the holders of ecclesiastical power or the leaders of ecclesiastical thought’. Indeed, it is for the most part scarcely noticed by such people. Much contemporary evangelisation is part of a vast migration surpassing in scale and potential import the one that saw Europeans sweep the globe. Like European migrants of the recent epoch, so those carried along in the building diasporic movements of the present day are ‘simply seeking a better life or a more just society than they find in their home countries’. A great majority of them are deceptively inconsequential, profoundly Christian and explicitly evangelistic. The evangelisation that is taking place in our time is difficult to measure financially because, like the missionary movement from the West, it is the besetting preoccupation not of the learned and the titled and the connected, but of ‘the radicals, the enthusiasts, people usually of minor significance in the church’. But they have already turned the Christian world upside down.

JONATHAN J. BONK Jonathan J. Bonk, Missions and Money: Affluence as a Missionary Problem … Revisited, revised and expanded edn (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2006). Mauding Hkau Sau, ‘3/300 Mission: The 1977–1981 Evangelism Outreach of The Kachin Baptist Association of Myanmar’ (Myitkyina: Unpublished manuscript prepared as a report for the Burma Baptist Convention, c. 1982). Lynette Hoppe, Resurrection: The Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania, 1991–2003 (Tirana: Ngjallja Publishers, 2004). Statistical Atlas of Christian Missions. Containing a Directory of Missionary Societies, A Classified Summary of Statistics, An Index of Mission Stations, and a Series of Specially Prepared Maps of Mission Fields (Edinburgh: World Missionary Conference, 1910). Andrew F. Walls, ‘Christian Mission in a Five-hundred-year Context’, in Andrew Walls and Cathy Ross (eds), Mission in the 21st Century: Exploring the Five Marks of Global Mission (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2008), pp. 193–204.

Christian finance by country, 2010 Highest combined net worth USD (millions) 45,230,000 15,952,000 15,051,000 7,947,000 7,933,000 7,402,000 7,066,000 5,859,000 4,197,000 4,161,000

Christians USA Britain Italy Germany France Brazil Spain Canada Mexico Russia

Highest combined income USD (millions) 36,983,000 6,361,000 5,686,000 5,224,000 4,029,000 3,816,000 3,770,000 2,282,000 2,269,000 2,027,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Population USA Japan China Germany Britain France Italy Spain Canada Brazil

USD (millions) 14,287,000 4,804,000 3,473,000 3,188,000 2,639,000 2,457,000 1,995,000 1,349,000 1,333,000 1,174,000

Poorest countries per capita Christians USA Germany Britain France Italy Spain Brazil Canada Mexico Russia

USD (millions) 11,682,000 2,249,000 2,116,000 1,690,000 1,606,000 1,222,000 1,067,000 1,010,000 866,000 863,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Country wealth Vanuatu Solomon Islands Samoa Grenada Sahara Micronesia Tonga Bougainville Mayotte São Tomé & Príncipe

USD p.c. 2,500 1,900 1,900 1,600 1,200 1,100 1,000 830 670 530

Country income Comoros Samoa Vanuatu Solomon Islands Guinea-Bissau Micronesia Tonga Bougainville São Tomé & Príncipe Sahara

USD p.c. 460 460 440 390 370 280 230 180 150 110

295

FINANCE

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Population USA Japan China India Britain Germany Italy France Brazil Spain

Christian finance, 2010

A

basic resource in any Christian activity is money. Three views of annual global Church income and expenses, Christians often account for money with greater Para-church income Church income 120,867,374,935 182,152,241,099 precision than for any other resource. On other occasions ecclesiastical embezzlement reaches astonishing proportions. Money plays an important role in denomina50% tions, churches, missions and evangelism. Income distribution is unequal, however. While the 40% majority of Christians are coping or well off, a significant Direct income 30% minority are poor, with 10% living in absolute poverty. 70.0% Some 250 million Christians live in the world’s 27 poorest 20% Indirect income countries; of these, 98% live in Africa, the largest coun10% 20.0% tries being DR Congo, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania. Despite such great differences in the incomes of 0% Christians, the Church is largely financially self-supportInstitutional ing, relying on the local resources of its members. The investments Secular income personal incomes of the poorest Christians average a 7.0% 3.0% mere USD 250 per year, but their churches operate on  Ministry and mission income  Income from donors a combined income of well over USD 400 million per This analysis is from the standpoint Income here is broken down by the Secular income (state support etc) of mission and ministry. Income has major traditions in Christianity. Nearly year, and they run major relief programmes of all kinds. Institutional Investments four sources: direct (tithes, offerings, half of all income is received by the (Finance figures in this atlas differ from previously pubdonations), indirect (such as legacies, Roman Catholic tradition, which lished figures because atlas figures are based on current Indirect Income from Past Christians trusts, endowments), institutional has the most adherents. Although values for gross national income (GNI) and because, in Ecclesiastical investments (that is, generated by the Independents are now more numerous crime 18,725,931,325 Direct some cases, atlas figures are for allIncome Christians rather than institutions themselves) and secular than Protestants, their income is far less (outside investments, support from than that of Protestants, who have a only for affiliated Christians.) government/business). The total sum is stronger presence in Europe and about Uneven distribution of personal wealth exists not handled through over 20 million sepaequal numbers in Northern America, only between countries, but also within countries. Poor rate and unrelated bank accounts, with the two most affluent continents. Christians are citizens of countries that are also home to no overall control, oversight, reporting relatively affluent fellow Christians. or even awareness. At present, about 82% of Christian expenditure is dedicated to the pastoral ministries of the churches in the home countries of the givers, mostly in the Home missions 12% heartlands of the Christian faith. Another 12% is spent Foreign Evangelised on home missions in those same countries, with 5.6% missions non-Christians 5.6% going to foreign missions. Much of this money, however, 2.9% is spent on work among Christians (in the case of foreign missions) or in affluent countries that already have large Non-evangelised Christians Christian populations (in the case of home missions). As a non-Christians 96.8% Home pastoral 0.3% result, only 0.3% of total Christian expenditure is actually ministry 82.4% directed towards unevangelised non-Christians. The annual total of USD 35 billion embezzled exceeds the worldwide Church’s foreign mission expenditures of USD 32 billion. Probably 80% of all cases  Beneficiaries of expenses  Ministry and mission expenses of embezzlement are kept private or swept under the Perhaps not surprisingly, Christians are The vast majority of mission and carpet, but each year many thefts of over USD 1 million the main beneficiaries of the vast sums ministry expenditures each year are received by the major traditions above. spent at home in local churches. This each are uncovered and publicised in the secular media. In fact, almost 97% of all this income is manifests itself in numerous ways, from Of the top recent massive embezzlements of Christian used by Christians for their own needs. large numbers of seminars and courses funds, many occurred in the USA and Europe, by presiMost of this is in the form of maintainrun by churches to multiple translations dents, officials, treasurers and pastors of various church ing local churches and parachurch of Scripture in the world’s most affluent and parachurch organisations. There have also been an organisations, ranging from salaries churches. Next, over 10% is spent on to building repair and maintenance. home missions – missionaries working alarming number of Ponzi schemes involving Christian The smallest portion, less than 0.5%, in their own countries. These ministries leaders, both as perpetrators and as victims.

Congregations Africa 835,000 Eastern Africa 347,000 Middle Africa 126,000 Northern Africa 15,200 Southern Africa 83,500 Western Africa 263,000 Asia 2,098,000 Eastern Asia 1,432,000 South-central Asia 366,000 South-eastern Asia 277,000 Western Asia 22,500 Europe 493,000 Eastern Europe 143,000 Northern Europe 91,500 Southern Europe 139,000 Western Europe 120,000 Latin America 783,000 Caribbean 50,500 Central America 172,000 South America 560,000 Northern America 581,000 Oceania 60,100 Australia/New Zealand 25,800 Melanesia 30,600 Micronesia 1,300 Polynesia 2,300 Global total 4,850,000

296

Church and parachurch National workers Income in USD 1,680,000 9,549,081,000 929,000 1,544,308,000 289,000 1,572,989,000 20,200 476,949,000 209,000 4,345,441,000 232,000 1,609,396,000 1,481,000 22,241,000,000 404,000 14,744,000,000 734,000 1,294,005,000 310,000 4,172,816,000 33,000 2,030,186,000 4,038,000 252,608,000,000 777,000 31,187,900,000 580,000 62,307,800,000 1,154,000 61,525,000,000 1,527,000 97,587,600,000 839,000 55,277,300,000 41,000 3,325,778,000 251,000 17,429,500,000 547,000 34,522,000,000 3,763,000 226,029,000,000 199,000 12,299,900,000 146,000 11,800,500,000 42,600 224,960,000 2,000 154,269,000 8,700 120,155,000 12,000,000 578,004,000,000

Denominational and church income 36%

Parachurch income 64%

An gl ic Ind Cat an ep hol en ic Ma den r t Or gina th l Pro odo tes x tan t

Total annual expenses

often work among immigrants, sometimes already Christian and sometimes non-Christian. Finally, a small portion goes to foreign missions – missionaries working in foreign countries.

Church and parachurch finance, 2010

Income statements

Donors

Total annual income

Ministry

2010

goes to unevangelised non-Christians, who represent over one-fourth of the world’s population.

 Income categories The graph above shows the breakdown of income by churches and denominations versus parachurch agencies. There has been a major shift in these categories over the past 100 years. In 1910 nearly 90% of all Christian income was denominational. The vast proliferation of parachurch organisations over the century has shifted much financial support from churches to these agencies. Many work in partnership with churches, but some are also in direct competition.

m) 2.3% l) 2.8% k) 4.5%

n) 6.7%

e) 4.0% h) 3.3%

g) 14.0%

Category % of total Income 100.0 Direct (tithes, offerings) 70.0 Indirect (legacies) 20.0 Institutional (investments) 7.0 Secular (governments) 3.0

Category Income Anglican Independent Marginal Christian Orthodox Protestant Roman Catholic

Category Income Denominational Parachurch

Expenditures (spent on) Christians Evangelised non-Christians Non-evangelised

100.0 96.8 2.9 0.3

f ) 29.0%

 Expense items The 14 categories depicted on the graph above, which are identified in the table below, represent the categories that most church and parachurch organisations use in their accounting. Administration accounts for 29% of all expenditures. It should be noted that 6% of all Christian funds are embezzled each year. Other large expenditures include salaries and education, together claiming another 29% of the total.

Income statement

100.0 82.4 12.0 5.6

d) 5.0%

i) 7.3%

Donors and beneficiaries

Expenditures Home pastoral Home missions Foreign missions

b) 0.3% c) 3.0%

j) 2.7%

Ministry and mission

% of total 100.0 5.1 14.7 2.6 6.9 21.3 49.6

a)15.1%

Expenditures a) Ministry salaries b) Pensions c) Ministry expenses d) Ministry programmes e) Ministry training f) Administration g) Education h) Health services i) Communications j) Broadcasting k) Computers l) Conferences m) Travel n) Miscellaneous

% of total 100.0 36.0 64.0 100.0 15.1 0.3 3.0 5.0 4.0 29.0 14.0 3.3 7.3 2.7 4.5 2.8 2.3 6.7

 Church income statements Financial statements are often categorised in order to help understand the sources and distribution of income. Different categories can be applied to the same income to achieve specific purposes. For example, spending USD 600 on a computer, USD 200 on software and USD 200 on books adds up to USD 1,000 in expenditures; however, one could also categorise those expenditures as USD 800 on technology and USD 200 on non-technology. There are at least three ways to look at the breakdown of annual Church income and the expenditure of that income. The three columns above highlight those categories by first using a graphic to display the proportions of total income by source, and then a graphic to display itemised expenditures of that income. Following the column down, the data for both the income and expenditures are displayed in the corresponding tables. Each of the three columns shows 100% of global annual Church income and 100% of expenditures, but categorises the income and expenses differently to give a multifaceted view of the breakdown of the Church’s income. To use the percentages above to find actual figures for expenditures, one needs to use the global total from the table to the left in conjunction with the percentage above. For example, the global total of Church income in 2010 is USD 578 billion. To determine the dollar amount spent on foreign missions, multiply USD 578 billion by the percentage in column 1 (5.6%). Globally, then, in 2010 the Church will spend about USD 32 billion on foreign missions, which equates to roughly USD 7,000 per congregation, or about USD 15 per Christian. Likewise, one could calculate the income of the global Anglican Church by using the same calculation method with the 5.1% listed in column 2. Thus, in 2010 the global Anglican Church will receive almost USD 30 billion in income.

T

Combined Gross National Income of Christians by country, 2010

US dollars (billions)

CtryScan_GniC

> 2,200 2,200 1,200 600 200 60 0 Primary source: World Bank 2008

Combined wealth of Christians by country, 2010

US dollars (billions)

CtryScan_NetWorthC

> 6,000 6,000 2,000 1,500 750 190 0

he map to the top left shows the total personal annual income of each country’s population of affiliated Christians. Christian income is calculated by the simple method of multiplying a country’s Gross National Income (GNI) per capita by the number of Christians. Total Christian income in 2010 is a startling USD 32.5 trillion; the highest concentration of Christian income is in Europe (43.7%), with Northern America close behind (39.1%). The influential worldwide community of Evangelicals alone have personal income totalling around USD 4 trillion. Roman Catholics in Europe are the most financially well-off Christians by a wide margin, followed by Independents in Northern America and Protestants in Europe. In Africa, Asia and Northern America Independents are the most wealthy, while in Europe, Latin America and Oceania, Roman Catholics are. Contrary to popular stereotype, many denominations in the Global South, even in areas of extreme poverty, generate substantial annual incomes. The Kimbanguist Church of DR Congo has 9.7 million members handling USD 1.4 billion in personal annual income, of which they donate over USD 10 million annually to their denomination. In South Africa, Zion Christian Church’s 5 million members have personal income of USD 28 billion, from which the ZCC gets an annual income of USD 200 million. The largest Protestant denomination in the Global South, the Assemblies of God in Brazil, has 23 million members with personal income of USD 137 billion; church income averages USD 1 billion a year. Lastly, China’s 115 million Christians have personal income of USD 300 billion, of which USD 2 billion is donated to their churches. The map at the bottom left depicts Christian wealth, which is an application of the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University (UNU-WIDER) measurement of net worth, or household wealth. Its goal is to depict the distribution of wealth around the world not just by means of personal income, but also by personal assets, both physical and financial. Here, the (UNU-WIDER) net worth per capita by country is multiplied by the number of Christians in the country, giving an overview of the current assets held by Christians as a whole within the country. The map illustrates what might be expected – that the personal assets of Christians around the world are primarily held by Northern American and European Christians. As Christianity continues to move southward and into poorer areas, the Church must discover mechanisms for global sharing that do not distort local, national and regional initiative and responsibility.

Primary source: UNI-WIDER 2006

Distribution of annual global income and wealth, 2010

Percentage of all Christians

50%

40%

30% Europe

Latin America Africa 20% Asia

Northern America 10% Oceania 0% 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Percentage of all Christian wealth

 Christian wealth distribution by continent The graph above illustrates a simple set of data – each continent’s percentage of all Christians versus its portion of all Christian wealth. Thus Europe and Northern America have disproportionately large shares of Christian wealth, while Africa, Asia and Latin America have disproportionately small shares. These proportions are shifting over time as the world’s wealth continues to shift southward, with countries such as China and India showing much economic growth.

297

FINANCE

Population (monetary values in billion USD) Christians (monetary values in billion USD) Population % Income % Wealth % Christians % Income % Wealth % Africa 1,032,012,000 14.9 1,230 2.3 5,248 3.0 494,668,000 21.6 536 1.7 1,929 2.0 Eastern Africa 332,107,000 4.8 132 0.2 900 0.5 214,842,000 9.4 87 0.3 580 0.6 Middle Africa 129,583,000 1.9 108 0.2 309 0.2 105,830,000 4.6 88 0.3 233 0.2 Northern Africa 206,295,000 3.0 461 0.9 2,471 1.4 17,492,000 0.8 27 0.1 201 0.2 Southern Africa 56,592,000 0.8 300 0.6 875 0.5 46,419,000 2.0 244 0.8 715 0.7 Western Africa 307,436,000 4.5 229 0.4 694 0.4 110,084,000 4.8 90 0.3 220 0.2 Asia 4,166,308,000 60.3 14,392 26.8 59,470 34.4 352,239,000 15.4 1,249 3.8 5,178 5.4 Eastern Asia 1,562,575,000 22.6 9,603 17.9 35,766 20.6 140,012,000 6.1 828 2.6 2,730 2.9 South-central Asia 1,777,378,000 25.7 1,766 3.3 12,545 7.3 69,213,000 3.0 73 0.2 478 0.5 South-eastern Asia 594,216,000 8.6 1,199 2.2 6,144 3.5 129,700,000 5.7 234 0.7 1,634 1.7 Western Asia 232,139,000 3.4 1,823 3.4 5,017 2.9 13,315,000 0.6 114 0.4 340 0.4 Europe 730,478,000 10.6 18,121 33.8 46,397 26.8 585,739,000 25.6 14,191 43.7 36,433 38.1 Eastern Europe 290,755,000 4.2 2,079 3.9 5,233 3.0 246,495,000 10.8 1,752 5.4 4,412 4.6 Northern Europe 98,352,000 1.4 4,296 8.0 10,194 5.9 79,610,000 3.5 3,500 10.8 8,200 8.6 Southern Europe 152,913,000 2.2 4,055 7.6 13,076 7.5 125,796,000 5.5 3,456 10.6 11,070 11.6 Western Europe 188,457,000 2.7 7,692 14.3 17,894 10.3 133,838,000 5.8 5,482 16.9 12,701 13.3 Latin America 593,696,000 8.6 3,364 6.3 11,900 6.8 548,958,000 23.9 3,105 9.6 10,979 11.5 Caribbean 42,300,000 0.6 224 0.4 934 0.5 35,379,000 1.5 187 0.6 814 0.9 Central America 153,657,000 2.2 1,023 1.9 2,889 1.7 147,257,000 6.4 979 3.0 2,768 2.9 South America 397,739,000 5.8 2,117 3.9 8,077 4.7 366,322,000 16.0 1,939 6.0 7,400 7.7 Northern America 348,575,000 5.0 15,627 29.1 48,259 27.7 283,002,000 12.3 12,698 39.1 39,337 41.1 Oceania 35,491,000 0.5 934 1.7 2,294 1.3 27,848,000 1.2 691 2.1 1,707 1.8 Australia/New Zealand 25,647,000 0.4 902 1.7 2,181 1.3 18,816,000 0.8 663 2.0 1,605 1.7 Melanesia 8,589,000 0.1 15 0.0 59 0.0 7,847,000 0.3 13 0.0 51 0.1 Micronesia 575,000 0.0 9 0.0 23 0.0 532,000 0.0 9 0.0 21 0.0 Polynesia 680,000 0.0 7 0.0 30 0.0 653,000 0.0 7 0.0 29 0.0 Global total 6,906,560,000 100.0 53,668 100.0 173,569 100.0 2,292,454,000 100.0 32,472 100.0 95,595 100.0

Bible translation and distribution, 1910–2010

E

ven though translation is part of the very fabric of Christianity, grounded in the foundational doctrine of the incarnation of the Word, active engagement in translation has had its ebb and flow. New translation efforts were not very prominent at the beginning of the twentieth century, but Bible distribution was steadily increasing around the world. Through the dedicated service of a network of travelling Bible distributors, known as colporteurs, five million copies of the Bible were distributed in 1914. This is nearly half the total circulation of the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) in the world up to that time. The BFBS, founded in 1804, was the most significant organisation working around the world in Bible translation. Already for many decades prior to 1910, Bible society colporteurs had been (literally) carrying out the task of distributing Bibles to some of the most remote parts of the world. In many parts of the world, awareness of increased literacy rates sparked the realisation that the new readers needed Bibles. The BFBS, however, was not alone in this global mission in the decades leading up to 1910. For example, the International Bible Society (IBS), founded in 1809, and the American Bible Society (ABS), founded in 1816, were important partners in Bible translation and distribution. One of the most significant changes in the decades after 1910 was the steady increase in translation in numerous new languages. As a point of reference, in the decade following 1810, translation work was done in 26 languages, giving a total of 107 languages with at least some Bible translation. In the decade following 1910, 102 new languages were added to the list – almost as many were added in one decade as the cumulative total a century before. The trend continues: in 1910 the cumulative total was 722 languages, and in the year 2010 the total will surpass 2,500. By 1910 the colportage movement was already one of the key strategies for Bible distribution around the world. In the following decades, other steps were taken toward even greater decentralisation. In the years immediately following the centenary of the BFBS, between 1.5 and 2 million volumes were sent out annually from London, but increasing quantities of the Bible were also printed abroad, often to avoid the reproach of ‘foreign books’ being introduced into the countries concerned. The following decades were characterised by the formation of an increasing number of ‘joint agencies’ and independent Bible societies. Eventually the desire for greater cooperation among the Bible societies led to the formation of the United Bible Societies (UBS), the global fellowship that now consists of 145 national Bible societies, working in over 200 countries and territories. An interesting turn in the history of colportage took place in Guatemala in the 1920s. A young colporteur named William Cameron Townsend encountered Kaqchikel speakers who were not able to read the Spanish Bibles he was selling. Their desire for God to speak their language prompted Townsend to learn Kaqchikel and subsequently to begin the translation of the New Testament in that language. Townsend soon realised that translation was needed in many other languages in the world, and in 1934 he organised the first ‘Camp Wycliffe’ to teach insights from the newly developing field of linguistics in order to train others to work in Bible translation. This set the stage for the eventual founding of the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), an organisation that would bring linguistics and other academic disciplines to bear on the analysis of numerous indigenous languages in diverse regions of the world. Eugene Nida, a distinguished student in Latin and Greek at the University of California, Los Angeles, had also taken courses in the fledgling field of linguistics. He enrolled in the 1936 Camp Wycliffe and for many subsequent years was a regular instructor in these ‘summer institutes’. Nida traveled to Mexico with Townsend to work on analysis of the Tarahumara language, but developed health problems and was forced to return to the USA. After his recovery, he did further study at the University of Michigan, receiving his doctorate in linguistics in 1943. Ken Pike, who would become one of SIL’s prominent linguists, also was studying at Michigan, which gave Nida and him opportunities for interaction at this early stage of the development of their theories. Later that same year, Nida joined the staff of the ABS in New York to be involved in the checking of manuscripts. His experience with the translators of

298

SIL, his own language work in Mexico, and his linguistic study at the University of Michigan convinced him that working with translators in the field, rather than examining manuscripts in New York, would ensure higher-quality translations. The training programmes of SIL and the systematic training and translation theory developed by Nida converged with the modern missionary movement to contribute to the steady increase in the numbers of new translations in the decades following World War II.

New translations added 1950s

142

1960s

258

1970s

290

1980s

175

During the next decades, other agencies – new and existing – joined the Bible translation movement, extending its national and denominational scope. The mission of the Bible societies had always been ecumenical, but the involvement in translation of certain denominational agencies allowed their personnel, in some circumstances, to work more directly with their constituencies and respond to their needs in ways that the ecumenical societies and agencies were not able to do. Unfortunately, space does not permit detailed treatment of each agency and its individual history.

Dates of incorporation of Bible translation agencies New Tribes Mission

1942

Lutheran Bible Translators

1964

Institute for Bible Translation

1973

Evangelical Bible Translators

1976

Pioneer Bible Translators

1976

Word for the World

1981

Regardless of the particulars of the agency involved, the translation theory of functional equivalence developed by Nida in the foundational books Toward a Science of Translating (1964) and The Theory and Practice of Translation (1969) was pervasive. In the training programmes of SIL, the standard textbooks for translation were deeply influenced by the approach developed by Nida, such as John Beekman and John Callow’s Translating the Word of God (1974), Katherine Barnwell’s Bible Translation (1986) and Mildred Larson’s Meaning-Based Translation (1997). Developed in the broader context of the rapidly growing field of descriptive linguistics, Nida’s theory provided important conceptual tools for Bible translators working in very diverse linguistic and cultural settings around the world. Nida was convinced that the best way to improve translation quality was to work directly with translators in the field. He was instrumental in developing translation policy for the UBS, which contemplated the following initiatives: (1) The growing cooperation in translation by the various Bible societies. (2) Interconfessional cooperation involving both Roman Catholic and Orthodox constituencies. (3) The development of the Greek New Testament text published by the Bible societies particularly for translators. (4) The Hebrew Old Testament Text Project. (5) The Versión Popular in Spanish and the Today’s English Version as models for popular language translations. (6) The development of translation consultants to assist in translation projects throughout the world. (7) The production of helps for translators: sample concordances, thematic indices, reference systems, and handbooks on separate books of the Bible. (8) The preparation of special helps for readers, including particularly the publication of study Bibles.

The development of translation theory, the implementation of practical help for translators, and the publication of helps for translators were valuable services not only to the UBS, but also to translators in other organisations. Similarly, the training courses offered by SIL helped prepare translators in various organisations. Translation had always been a part of making the Bible accessible to people, but this special attention to the needs of translators resulted in an unprecedented number of trained translators working on Bible translation around the world. This undoubtedly contributed to the dramatic increase in numbers of new translations. It is important, however, to view the development of functional equivalence as a translation theory as a part of the whole flow of mid-twentieth-century intellectual history, particularly within the newly developing field of descriptive linguistics. In SIL, in particular, the linguistic training was characterised by practical problem-solving approaches that would enable translators to analyse and describe the languages spoken by the people with whom they worked. Translation also developed with a very practical, methods approach, focusing on typical kinds of translation problems that translators might encounter in the world’s diverse languages. The convergence of modern linguistics, translation theory and the missionary movement following World War II contributed directly to the quantity of translations being worked on around the world. Historians of global Christianity have noted the impact that these Bible translations have had on the growth of the Church in numerous regions of the world. However, the principles that had produced the Versión Popular in Spanish and the Today’s English Version as models for popular language translations were not only applied in remote corners of the world, but were also influencing an increasing number of versions in English (New International Version, New Living Translation), Spanish (Nueva Versión Internacional), Portuguese (Nova Versão Internacional, Biblia na Linguagem de Hoje), German (Die Gute Nachricht) and French (Français Courant), among others. It did not take long, however, before developments within linguistics and several related fields started to impact training for translators as they sought the best possible methods and strategies for their task. The growth of multiple disciplines and the consequent specialisation that is characteristic of the modern era produced two effects. First, it became impossible for Bible translators to be specialists in every field that impinges upon their work; and, secondly, a number of disciplines that had not existed at the time many translators began their careers were impacting the way translators carried out their work. This underscores the crucial importance of training consultants as envisioned by Nida. Not every translator could receive advanced training, but trained consultants could work alongside translation teams, allowing them to share their expertise in the effort to improve the quality of new translations. From the perspective of intellectual history, it is not surprising that further developments in linguistic and translation theories eventually would bring some of the basic assumptions of the functional equivalence model into question. It seemed less and less feasible to ensure that the new translations could produce the same impact on readers as had the original texts. It became more and more apparent that this was a theoretical ideal based on a particular view of linguistic form and meaning. Traditional exegesis of biblical texts shares many basic assumptions with this view – that it is possible to apply the right procedures and principles and determine the meaning of the linguistic code of the source text. Applied to translation, the form of the source language was seen merely as the vehicle to convey the meaning. Once the meaning was deduced from the original form, the appropriate form in the target language was found to become the vehicle to convey the meaning. It was never assumed that it was simple to arrive at the meaning and express it well in a new translation, but the process itself was assumed to be rather straightforward. The advent of approaches to translation as communication theory raised even deeper questions about the process by which humans construct meaning during the communication process. The application of the principles of Relevance Theory to translation focused attention on the central role of inference

in the process of constructing meaning. From this perspective, meaning is not so much in the text itself as it is inferred by the dynamic process of the reader/ hearer interacting with the text. The application of Relevance Theory to translation theory, primarily in the SIL context, is intended to enrich the translator’s understanding of the complexities of the communication process and how this impacts translation. The history of linguistics can be seen through the lens of three basic periods: prescriptive, descriptive and interpretive. The shift from prescriptive to descriptive coincides with the development of Nida’s theory of functional equivalence. The shift from the descriptive approach to more interpretive models, focusing more on hermeneutics, cognition and the role of inference in communication, is accompanied by an increasing awareness of the influence of context – both ancient and contemporary – on the biblical text and its translation, interpretation and use. The move toward producing more study Bibles is motivated by similar concerns, namely, that the reader’s understanding can be greatly enhanced by notes and helps that accompany the biblical text. This is an acknowledgement of the reality that many readers, who are both temporally and culturally distant from the settings in which the biblical texts were written, will benefit from additional information to fill in the gaps in their understanding of that original setting. Many of the translations to which study notes are being added are produced by teams who follow the general principles of functional equivalence, but the notes are evidence of the value attributed to providing contextual information to be used as part of the process of understanding the ancient text. Translation agencies and translators are becoming increasingly sensitised to changes in the world that impact perceptions of the appropriate role of Western organisations in the post-colonial world. Ethical issues involved in personnel decisions, distribution of resources, and publication priorities are common topics of discussion. In the past, most translation agencies trained and sent out their personnel, acting unilaterally in obedience to their missionary mandate. In the final decades of the twentieth century and especially at the outset of the twenty-first, the translation task has been increasingly perceived as part of the mission of the global Church and not just the vision of the West. In many cases, this has called for significant realignment of organisational structures and reorientation of personnel who trained and worked under the previous paradigm. One of the consequences of the modern missionary movement was that many of its earliest translators and consultants were of Western origin, which coincided with where the UBS, SIL and many other agencies were founded. As the Western world has become more aware of the growth of the global Church, translation agencies have looked for appropriate ways to work in a world that has changed dramatically since the beginnings of their involvement in Bible translation. It has never been adequately acknowledged that few translations could have been done without the invaluable work and cooperation of translators from the linguistic communities for whom Bible translation is taking place. Even though the Western missionary has often been referred to as the translator, the crucial participation of the speaker(s) of the languages as translators cannot be denied. From 1970 there has been evidence of a move away from translations being made by non-native speakers and toward those undertaken by native speakers. One of the key elements in this move has been the development of translation training courses offered by translation agencies or theological colleges at numerous locations across the

globe. This has been a very significant change in the global translation movement, but much remains to be done to work toward appropriate levels of participation in translation by all interested parties in the global Church. Translation is no longer a task of the West to the rest, but is increasingly perceived as a mission of the global Church. This calls translation agencies to consider ethical issues that might result from some of their traditional practices and strategies. Throughout the history of Bible translation, the various agencies have had different goals or strategies related to the translation of whole Bibles, the New Testament, or some other portions. The statistics such as those given earlier on the number of new languages added in a particular decade do not reflect whether the new translation in a particular language was just a Gospel, the New Testament or the entire Bible. More recent statistics are more transparent in this regard; as of 2008, the numbers of languages with some portion of the Bible were as follows:

Languages with translations Portions New Testaments Bibles Total languages

887 1,231 458 2,576

It might seem disheartening that less than 20% of the world’s languages have complete Bibles, but it is important to note that the most recent statistics indicate that the 2,393 remaining languages with probable need of Bible translation represent 200 million people. This is still a significant number of people, especially when considered together with the 1,998 languages in which translation has been initiated but in which there is still no adequate Scripture. The number of languages with New Testaments as opposed to those with whole Bibles reflects several factors, one of the primary ones being the strategy of translation agencies to give priority to New Testament translation. Other pragmatic factors often are involved in these decisions, such as limited human and financial resources to accomplish the overwhelming task worldwide. In some situations, the translation process has taken the better part of the translator’s career, and it would be impractical to think of translating additional books of the Bible. (In numerous other situations, overviews or summaries of the Old Testament have been produced, but this is not reflected in these statistics.) Many situations may exist in which the decision was made two or three decades ago to translate only the New Testament, but if the decision were made today it might be to translate the whole Bible. It is inappropriate, however, to question yesterday’s decisions on the basis of today’s circumstances. But at the same time, it seems fair to say that the New Testament-only decision was motivated by a complex set of historical and theological factors that, in essence, did give priority to the New Testament as the set of books to translate. It is more common now, at the outset of the twenty-first century, for Old Testament translation to be an integral part of translation projects. Limited human and financial resources are still considerations, but healthy awareness of the Old Testament as Scripture for the Church is changing how many project goals are defined. One of the essential principles of the Bible translation movement has been that the Word of God is for all people, regardless of creed or country. Even though there has been a markedly Protestant character to many translation agencies, there also has been a determined effort on the part of, for example,

UBS and SIL to encourage ecumenical participation in translation projects. This was evidenced as early as 1964 in the UBS document ‘Outline of Proposed Guiding Principles for Possible Cooperation by Roman Catholic and Protestant Translators of the Bible’. Much remains to be done, however, to increase interconfessional understanding and cooperation among Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant translators and consultants. One definite indicator of increased inter-agency cooperation in the global translation movement has been the formation of the Forum of Bible Agencies International (FOBAI). Founded in 1990, FOBAI brings together many of the Bible translation, distribution and engagement agencies currently working in the world, providing an opportunity for greater communication and cooperation among agencies that might not otherwise have the opportunity to interact. In the years since the creation of this international forum, a number of regional forums have been established to accomplish at a more local level what FOBAI is attempting to do globally. Through its annual meetings, FOBAI is creating an environment in which representatives of the diverse agencies develop relationships, share information and discuss goals and strategies. Significant changes have taken place since 1910. The age of colportage and Bible depots seems lightyears away from the digital age of MP3 downloads and online Bibles. Some distribution issues might be solved by downloads, but the same question of use or engagement remains. The digital Bible on a computer is no improvement over a printed Bible on a shelf if it is not being used. This echoes the same concern expressed by Hendrik Kraemer at the 1938 Woudschoten Conference, when he challenged the Bible societies to cooperate with the churches to encourage the use of the Bible. This does not mean, of course, that new distribution strategies should not be used. The efforts to make the Bible available even in SMS format for mobile devices might encourage people who frequently use these technologies to use and engage with the Bible when they would be unlikely to use a print edition. However, even though dramatic change has taken place in many of the world’s urban areas, many of these changes have not reached the remote areas where the remaining Bible translation is taking place. The mountain trails, jungle rivers and vast savannahs present many challenges for both traditional and progressive modes of distribution of printed Scripture. In spite of these challenges, the achievements of this global movement of translation and distribution are demonstrated in the sustained annual distribution rates of over 71 million Bibles, 78 million New Testaments and 73 million portions.

BRYAN HARMELINK Aloo Mojola and Ernst Wendland, ‘Scripture Translation in the Era of Translation Studies’, in Timothy Wilt (ed.), Bible Translation: Frames of Reference (Manchester: St Jerome Publishing, 2002), pp. 1–25. Stephen Pattemore, ‘Framing Nida’, in Philip A. Noss (ed.), A History of Bible Translation (Rome: Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2007), pp. 217–63. Edwin H. Robertson, Taking the Word to the World: 50 years of the United Bible Societies (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1996). James Moulton Roe, A History of the British and Foreign Bible Society, 1905–1954 (London: The British and Foreign Bible Society, 1965). Philip Stine, Let the Words be Written: The Lasting Influence of Eugene A. Nida (Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2004).

Largest languages with translations, by translation category 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Bibles Chinese, Mandarin Spanish English Bengali Portuguese Hindi Russian Japanese Telugu Marathi

New Testaments Arabic, Egyptian Bhojpuri Arabic, Sudanese Uzbek, Northern Arabic, Algerian Braj Bhasha Seraiki Magahi Marwari Kurdish, Northern

Portions Maithili Arabic, North Levantine Haryanvi Chhattisgarhi Sylheti Arabic, South Levantine Zhuang, Northern Dhundari Lombard Varhadi-Nagpuri

None Chinese, Jinyu Chinese, Xiang Chinese, Gan Arabic, Najdi Arabic, Sa`idi Chittagonian Thai, Northeastern Arabic, Mesopotamian Deccan Bundeli

Annual distribution of Scriptures, by country 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Country Bibles Country New Testaments USA 20,655,000 USA 40,969,000 Brazil 15,268,000 Brazil 36,376,000 China 3,726,000 Philippines 12,472,000 Spain 3,393,000 India 6,014,000 Philippines 2,385,000 Spain 4,479,000 India 1,998,000 China 4,140,000 South Korea 1,548,000 South Korea 3,190,000 Mexico 1,413,000 Germany 2,657,000 Indonesia 1,313,000 Indonesia 2,381,000 Italy 1,121,000 Mexico 2,007,000

Country USA Brazil Philippines India China Spain Mexico South Korea Germany Colombia

Portions 68,888,000 41,525,000 26,108,000 10,573,000 4,915,000 4,794,000 4,277,000 3,418,000 3,415,000 2,816,000

Country China India Indonesia Russia Japan Viet Nam Pakistan Bangladesh Turkey Nigeria

Portions shortfall 92,778,000 41,041,000 13,239,000 9,950,000 9,556,000 5,679,000 5,036,000 5,018,000 4,963,000 4,948,000

299

BIBLE TRANSLATION AND DISTRIBUTION

Translation and distribution of Bibles, 2010

Bible translation, 2010

B

ible translators have created different methodologies, orthographies and translations of Scripture over the years. As a result, serious contradictions and incompatibilities in nomenclature are now found in different computer databases. For example, the language databases of the American Bible Society, the United Bible Societies and Wycliffe Bible Translators contain numerous languages under different names, without clarification (see World Christian Encyclopedia, Part 9). This means it is often impossible to identify whether, or to what degree, Scripture has been translated into a particular language. On these two pages we offer an expanded and complementary view of the statistics presented in the essay on the previous two pages. Scriptures may reach a specific people in four different kinds of language/translation: (1) in the mother tongue; (2) in a near language or cluster language (where no mother-tongue Scripture translation exists); (3) in an intercultural language (often called a language of wider communication, or lingua franca); or (4) in any other second language that the people happen to use.

Bible portions

Globally, 90% of people have at least a portion of the Scriptures in their mother tongue. In Yemen the figure is only one in ten; because distribution is low, most have likely never seen any of the Christian Scriptures. This is also true in some countries where mother-tongue translations exist, however. In countries with large populations, low unavailability still translates into millions (or tens of millions) of people without a mothertongue translation. Conversely, lack of a mother-tongue version does not mean that no comprehensible translation is available. In many Caribbean countries, for example, no translations exist in the Creole vernaculars, but translations into the ‘parent’ languages (such as English) are widely available and used.

The first and most obvious absence of adequate access to Scripture concerns languages with no existing translations in the mother tongue, nor any planned. The map on the facing page indicates the Bible translation need by language. Languages that have only very small Christian populations are still in great need for translations of Scripture. The Bible distribution goals on the following pages reveal a preference for languages with higher Christian populations. This preference is again illustrated by the map on the facing page. Peoples in much of Africa and Western Asia, along with pockets of languages in China, have practically no access to any Christian Scripture in their mother tongues. Even in South America – one of the regions with highest Christian adherence in 2010 – there are peoples without access to Scripture, particularly in the Amazon basin. The table on the facing page shows the availability of portions, New Testaments and Bibles by United Nations region according to two criteria: How many individuals have access to a particular form of the Scriptures they can understand, and into how many languages the

High and low country values 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Country* South Korea Poland North Korea Romania Cuba Haiti Burundi Belarus Switzerland Bulgaria

% 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Saint Vincent Barbados Guyana Grenada Yemen Guadeloupe Martinique Jamaica São Tomé & Príncipe Maldives

13 13 13 10 10 6 6 5 4 3

Percentage of people with portion translations CtryScan_TranslationPctPortions available 100 90 75 50 20 0

TranslationPctPortions

New Testaments

The translation situation slightly worsens when looking at the people with available translations of the New Testament. Those who need Scripture translations are not just deep within inaccessible places in countries where there are few Christians, a new problem with the increased movement of people that occurred during the twentieth century. New translations of Scripture have become for many a local necessity. Also of note are larger countries such as India that offer less availability of New Testaments than portions. This again is representative of millions of people who are without adequate translations of the New Testament in their languages.

High and low 20 country values 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Country* South Korea Uruguay Haiti Estonia North Korea Belarus Brazil Taiwan Puerto Rico Lithuania

50 75 90

100

Syria Guyana Yemen Guadeloupe Jamaica Maldives Martinique Jordan Tunisia São Tomé & Príncipe

% 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 10.2 9.8 8.3 6.0 4.8 2.8 2.6 2.5 2.5 1.7

Percentage of people with New Testament translations CtryScan_TranslationPctNT available 100 90 75 50 20 0

TranslationPctNT

Full Bibles

The bulk of the work to be done in translation is of full Bibles. Many languages in much of Africa, Western Asia and South-eastern Asia are without translations of the full Bible, even if they do have New Testaments or portions. Mongolia and Central Asia here show dramatic shifts in the percentages of people who have translations of the full Bible (versus New Testaments). The lowest Scripture translation availability, however, is still mostly among the countries of Western Asia and Northern Africa, which show up in eight of the bottom ten countries to the right.

20 High and low country values

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Country* South Korea Uruguay Haiti North Korea Puerto Rico Cuba Rwanda El Salvador Poland Lesotho

50 75 90

100

Iraq São Tomé & Príncipe Syria Sahara Jordan Mauritania Egypt Algeria Guinea Tunisia

*Country populations >100,000

300

TranslationPctBible 20 50

% 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.2 0.8 0.5 0.5 0.2 0.1

Percentage of people with full Bible translations CtryScan_TranslationPctBible available 100 90 75 50 20 0

Scriptures have been translated. Australia/New Zealand has the highest percentage of full Bibles (98.2%) for their languages, with Northern Europe close behind (at 97.6%). Melanesia has the lowest percentage at 24.1%, though this region also has one of the highest numbers of languages in the world (1,054, second only to Southeastern Asia with 1,274 languages). Of the world’s 7,299 languages, 4,723 are without any Christian Scripture whatsoever (64.7%), and only 458 (6.3%) have translations of the full Bible. The Ethnologue, 15th edition, includes 7,299 languages, of which 6,912 are called ‘living languages’ and the remainder are either extinct languages (such as Frankish) or are said to be ‘Second language only’ (such as Latin). Many of these non-living languages have Scripture translations available, and some, such as Latin, are in widespread liturgical use. The data on these pages remind Christians of how much remains to be done in the task of offering the full benefits of Holy Scripture to the globe’s populations in the entirety of their linguistic complexity.

Scripture translation by language, 2010

Language category LangTranslationsEth Complete Bible New Testament only Scripture portions only No translation

Largest languages by translation category Bible translation categories, 2010 LangPNB_world Japanese

Javanese

English

tament only e portions only

Gujarati Russian Chinese, Min Nan Spanish Hindi

German

Turkish Portuguese Chinese, Mandarin

Chinese, Yue

Panjabi, Western

Chinese, Jinyu

French

Arabic, MalayKannada Bhojpuri Maithili Egyptian alam

Hausa

Bengali Telugu

Marathi

Each rectangle represents a Ethid Each rectangle's area is determined by the value of Ethpop (SUM) compared to a total of 6,863,644,686 Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of vPNB (MIN)

Chinese, Wu

Tamil

Vietnamese

Urdu

Korean

Color Key (vPNB (MIN)) 0

1

2

3

 Bible translation categories The tree map to the left depicts the relative sizes of all of the languages of the world (size of box) as well as the translation status of the Bible into each language (colour of box). This uses the same colour set as the map above and the listing to the right of largest languages by translation categories. It is easy to see that all of the world’s largest languages have Scripture translations available, so the five largest languages of the world (Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, English, Bengali and Portuguese) are also the five largest languages with full Bible translations available, as shown in the table to the right. Some mid-sized languages are still lacking any Scriptures, which can be seen by the lightcoloured squares on the tree map to the left. The largest of these mid-sized languages with no translation available is Jinyu Chinese. Many of these languages have translation efforts already in progress, but lack adequate distribution methods and literacy programmes for the translations to be effective among the majority of speakers.

3

People with available mother-tongue Scripture translations by UN region, 2010 % 52.0 69.9 53.6 11.2 96.7 51.3 74.9 86.3 69.2 75.4 40.7 85.5 92.3 97.6 69.0 82.0 95.3 86.8 92.6 97.2 96.6 79.7 98.2 24.1 69.7 94.4 75.5

New Testaments Portions Total % Total 793,471,000 76.9 882,741,000 282,011,000 84.9 302,744,000 90,189,000 69.6 106,160,000 137,482,000 66.6 160,266,000 55,876,000 98.7 56,272,000 227,914,000 74.1 257,299,000 3,448,843,000 82.8 3,682,324,000 1,369,513,000 87.6 1,386,415,000 1,475,183,000 83.0 1,622,836,000 490,041,000 82.5 522,296,000 114,106,000 49.2 150,778,000 659,659,000 90.3 713,766,000 283,485,000 97.5 289,935,000 96,510,000 98.1 97,278,000 113,946,000 74.5 147,662,000 165,717,000 87.9 178,891,000 576,900,000 97.2 584,038,000 37,017,000 87.5 37,140,000 148,169,000 96.4 151,703,000 391,715,000 98.5 395,195,000 340,062,000 97.6 346,683,000 32,199,000 90.7 34,084,000 25,270,000 98.5 25,546,000 5,856,000 68.2 7,317,000 425,000 73.9 550,000 648,000 95.3 671,000 5,851,134,000 84.7 6,243,637,000

% 85.5 91.2 81.9 77.7 99.4 83.7 88.4 88.7 91.3 87.9 65.0 97.7 99.7 98.9 96.6 94.9 98.4 87.8 98.7 99.4 99.5 96.0 99.6 85.2 95.7 98.7 90.4

None Total 149,271,000 29,363,000 23,423,000 46,029,000 320,000 50,137,000 483,984,000 176,160,000 154,542,000 71,920,000 81,361,000 16,712,000 820,000 1,075,000 5,251,000 9,566,000 9,658,000 5,160,000 1,954,000 2,544,000 1,891,000 1,407,000 102,000 1,272,000 24,900 8,600 662,923,000

People group Chinese, Jinyu Chinese, Xiang Chinese, Gan Arabic, Najdi Arabic, Sa`idi Maithili Arabic, North Levantine Haryanvi Chhattisgarhi Sylheti Arabic, Egyptian Bhojpuri Arabic, Sudanese Uzbek, Northern Arabic, Algerian Chinese, Mandarin Spanish English Bengali Portuguese

Country China China China Saudi Arabia Egypt India Syria India India Bangladesh Egypt India Sudan Uzbekistan Algeria China Spain Britain Bangladesh Portugal

Population 55,973,000 39,230,000 38,312,000 23,602,000 21,510,000 42,392,000 32,424,000 29,349,000 14,477,000 12,792,000 53,593,000 43,127,000 29,155,000 26,008,000 24,637,000 876,583,000 380,764,000 338,342,000 220,861,000 211,015,000

Christians 2,239,000 160,000 575,000 86,400 3,589,000 373,000 6,763,000 895,000 188,000 13,000 7,495,000 420,000 1,016,000 23,500 28,700 88,673,000 359,593,000 280,185,000 616,000 193,079,000

Languages with available Scripture translations, 2010 % 14.5 8.8 18.1 22.3 0.6 16.3 11.6 11.3 8.7 12.1 35.0 2.3 0.3 1.1 3.4 5.1 1.6 12.2 1.3 0.6 0.5 4.0 0.4 14.8 4.3 1.3 9.6

Need** Total % 46,711,000 4.5 10,977,000 3.3 12,785,000 9.9 9,042,000 4.4 213,000 0.4 13,693,000 4.5 195,021,000 4.7 15,138,000 1.0 83,580,000 4.7 42,745,000 7.2 53,558,000 23.1 1,921,000 0.3 183,000 0.1 66,300 0.1 1,650,000 1.1 21,100 0.0 1,364,000 0.2 94,100 0.2 145,000 0.1 1,125,000 0.3 150,000 0.0 721,000 2.0 15,600 0.1 696,000 8.1 9,000 1.6 250 0.0 245,888,000 3.6

Total 2,075 443 760 218 82 860 2,107 270 680 1,274 152 347 167 140 100 145 806 37 370 450 321 1,245 184 1,054 32 30 7,299

Full Bibles New Testaments # % # % 203 9.8 342 16.5 108 24.4 82 18.5 77 10.1 108 14.2 41 18.8 31 14.2 40 48.8 11 13.4 55 6.4 166 19.3 172 8.2 302 14.3 47 17.4 31 11.5 101 14.9 110 16.2 101 7.9 185 14.5 58 38.2 22 14.5 120 34.6 59 17.0 48 28.7 34 20.4 85 60.7 23 16.4 48 48.0 13 13.0 82 56.6 17 11.7 83 10.3 291 36.1 22 59.5 2 5.4 40 10.8 146 39.5 59 13.1 148 32.9 86 26.8 39 12.1 116 9.3 253 20.3 86 46.7 16 8.7 46 4.4 231 21.9 15 46.9 5 15.6 16 53.3 1 3.3 458 6.3 1,231 16.9

Portions None # % # % 246 11.9 1,284 61.9 49 11.1 204 46.0 96 12.6 479 63.0 29 13.3 117 53.7 6 7.3 25 30.5 98 11.4 541 62.9 237 11.2 1,396 66.3 25 9.3 167 61.9 70 10.3 399 58.7 149 11.7 839 65.9 20 13.2 52 34.2 85 24.5 83 23.9 40 24.0 45 26.9 16 11.4 16 11.4 21 21.0 18 18.0 34 23.4 12 8.3 137 17.0 295 36.6 2 5.4 11 29.7 73 19.7 111 30.0 67 14.9 176 39.1 58 18.1 138 43.0 171 13.7 705 56.6 30 16.3 52 28.3 140 13.3 637 60.4 1 3.1 11 34.4 4 13.3 9 30.0 887 12.2 4,723 64.7

Need** # % 527 25.4 103 23.3 193 25.4 49 22.5 14 17.1 199 23.1 459 21.8 51 18.9 152 22.4 247 19.4 30 19.7 50 14.4 23 13.8 14 10.0 10 10.0 9 6.2 249 30.9 10 27.0 90 24.3 152 33.8 133 41.4 294 23.6 42 22.8 244 23.1 4 12.5 8 26.7 2,307 31.6

**Need = Speakers and languages that have no Scripture translation available through primary or secondary or relatively close language. Indicates most urgent translation need.

301

BIBLE TRANSLATION

Full Bibles Total Africa 537,093,000 Eastern Africa 232,193,000 Middle Africa 69,430,000 Northern Africa 23,027,000 Southern Africa 54,714,000 Western Africa 157,729,000 Asia 3,122,290,000 Eastern Asia 1,349,230,000 South-central Asia 1,230,451,000 South-eastern Asia 448,104,000 Western Asia 94,505,000 Europe 624,237,000 Eastern Europe 268,355,000 Northern Europe 95,950,000 Southern Europe 105,471,000 Western Europe 154,462,000 Latin America 565,725,000 Caribbean 36,726,000 Central America 142,331,000 South America 386,668,000 Northern America 336,559,000 Oceania 28,294,000 Australia/New Zealand 25,183,000 Melanesia 2,068,000 Micronesia 401,000 Polynesia 642,000 Global total 5,214,197,000

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Bible distribution, 2010

F

Hakone distribution goal #1

or Christians, the Bible represents the definitive presentation about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, salvation, discipleship and God’s plans for the future. Christians have always recognised their obligation to pass the Scriptures on to all peoples, populations and languages throughout the world. Nevertheless, entire populations still do not have adequate access to the Scriptures, defined as printed copies of the Bible, the New Testament alone, or at least portions of Scripture. In many countries there are three varieties of Bible distribution. First is commercial distribution, in which copies are sold in bookshops by secular or religious publishers at commercially viable prices. Second is subsidised distribution, which is the policy of Bible societies, churches and agencies, in which the large Scriptures (New Testaments, Bibles) are always sold, but for a subsidised price. Third is free distribution, in which all varieties of Scripture are systematically given away free of charge; this is the method followed by The Gideons and similar organisations. The maps on these two facing pages indicate access as determined using the Hakone formula developed in 1963 at the United Bible Societies’ (UBS) 17th Council Meeting and World Assembly held in Hakone, Japan. At this meeting the following three-step formula was developed and was aimed to be completed by 1966: ‘A Bible for every Christian home. At least a New Testament for every Christian. At least a Portion for all who can read and for every literate.’ Notably absent at that time was any goal referring to the world’s nonliterate adult nonChristians, blind persons, deaf persons, handicapped persons or children. The maps to the right indicate that these goals certainly were not met by 1966, though clear progress has been made. The status of the three goals in Ethiopia is also examined on these pages. Most people in the world have some access to the Scriptures, or at least the prospects of access as soon as current translation programmes are completed. It is easily seen that much of Northern America, South America, Oceania and Europe are saturated with Scripture. Some parts of the non-Western world (such as southern India and parts of China) also have extensive access to the Scriptures. Naturally, the regions with higher Christian adherence have more access to Scripture. In the lightershaded areas, primarily Northern Africa and Western Asia, more Bible distribution is needed. Over 200 million individuals – many of whom are found in these regions – do not have access to or hope of soon receiving the Scriptures. Distribution statistics are laid out in detail by UN region in the table on the opposite page. Note that the annual shortfall is highlighted for each region related to BMetPct each of the Hakone goals.

3 UBS Bible distribution

One Bible for every literate

One New Testament fo every literate Christian

Example: Distribution of Example: Bible distribution in Ethiopia, 2010 Complete Bibles in Ethiopia

Example: Distribution o New Testaments in Ethio

At least one Bible every Christian for household literate Christian family

Literate Christian households 4,206,000 Longevity of one Bible in Ethiopia 20 years

Literate Christians 10,833,000

Longevity of one New Testament in 20 years

Bibles needed per year 210,300

New Testaments needed per y 541,650

Actual Bibles distributed per year 135,000

Actual New Testaments and Bi distributed per year 145,000

Percentage of distribution goal met 64.4%

Percentage of distribution goa 26.8%

Annual shortfall 75,300

Annual shortfall 396,650

Goal #1: Bible distribution goal met, by country, 2010

Percentage of distribution goal met CtryScan_BMetPct > 500 500 100 50 25 0

 Bible distribution goal met, by country In many countries literate Christian families have at least one Bible. The map above might at first look surprising – many countries in Asia and Africa have the same percentage met as countries with higher Christian adherence (USA, Brazil). In many Asian and African countries, however, Christian adherence rates or literacy rates (or both) are lower than in the other continents. The number of Bibles required for distribution to literate Christian families is thus much reduced. Northern Europe, Eastern Europe and Middle Africa are the only regions below 100% met.

0 - 25 26 - 50 51 - 100 101 - 500

501 - 15000  Key factors in Bible distribution Three other major factors affect the distribution goals of printed Scripture. First, printed words are useful only to those who are able to read them; thus literacy must be taken into account when determining print production for Bibles. It is true that in many cases the Scriptures have been the impetus for literacy and education, with many missionaries focused not only on translation of the Bible, but also on educating those who will use it. Nevertheless, it is also true that someone who learns how to read from the Scriptures must do so from another who knows how to read. The second major factor for distribution of Scriptures is the longevity

of a single Bible or portion of a Bible. Often, distribution goals are seen statically and simplistically as calculations of one Bible per person in a particular language, people group or area. This fails to take into consideration, however, the reality that books have a lifespan and need to be replaced over time. In turn, this failure introduces the need to talk about Bible distribution as a continuous annual goal rather than a one-time massive effort. Such an approach also divides what might otherwise appear to be overwhelming numbers (representing the total need) into manageable yearly pieces. As can be seen below in the example of

Ethiopia, our calculation gives an estimate of a 20-year average lifespan for a full Bible or for a New Testament, and a 10-year average lifespan for a portion of the Scriptures. The third major factor affecting the Scripture distribution need is the age of recipients. In order to calculate a reasonable distribution number, only adults are counted as the needed recipients of Bibles, portions and New Testaments. Adults are defined here as all persons aged 15 and older.

Average Scripture longevity

% literate CtryScan_LitAdultPct adults 100 95 80 60 40 10

Adult literacy, 2010

% of Hakone goal #1 met

LangBMet_ethiopia

> 500 500 100 50 25 0 No distribution of available translation No Scripture translation LangBMet

302

20 years

20 years

10 years

Bibles

New Testaments

Portions

% of Hakone goal #2 met

LangNMet_ethiopia

> 500 500 100 50 25 0 No distribution of available translation No Scripture translation LangNMet

% of Hakone goal # 3 met

LangPMet_ethiopia

> 500 500 100 50 25 0 No distribution of available translation No Scripture translation LangPMet

Distribution goals are to adults (15 years +)

 Case study: Bible distribution by languages in Ethiopia It is impossible to separate adequate distribution of the Bible from the adequate translation of the Bible into various languages. The maps to the left depict different language groups in Ethiopia and the adequacy of Bible distribution to these language groups. The same Hakone goals depicted on the larger maps on these two pages are pictured here for Ethiopia’s languages. Thus one can see that most languages in Ethiopia do not have adequate numbers of Bibles, New Testaments or portions of Scripture distributed yearly. Unfortunately, data for Scripture distribution at the language level are available only for small segments of the global population.

3 UBS Bible distribution goals 3 UBS Bible distribution goals

Hakone distribution goal #2 One Bible forNew every literate for One Testament

ble for every literate istian household

Hakone distribution goal #3

One New for One Testament Scripture portion for

One Scripture portion for

At least one New Testamentevery forevery least one Scripture portion Christian literate Christian literate non-Christian everyhousehold literate Christian literate non-Christian Atevery every literate Christian for every literate person

Example: Bibleof and New Testament Example: Bible, NewDistribution Testament of and portion Example: Distribution Example: Distribution of Example: Example: Distribution of Example: Distribution of distribution in Ethiopia, 2010 distribution in Ethiopia, 2010 Complete Bibles in Ethiopia New Testaments in Ethiopia Scripture Portions in Ethiopia New Testaments in Ethiopia Scripture Portions in Ethiopia

ibution of s in Ethiopia

Literate Christian households Literate Christians 4,206,000 10,833,000

households 00

ble in Ethiopia s

Literate Christians Literate non-Christians 10,833,000 18,626,000

Longevity ofLongevity one Bibleof in one Ethiopia Longevity of one New Testament in Ethiopia New Testament in Ethiopia Longevity of one portion in Ethiopia 20 years 20 years 20 years 10 years Bibles needed perTestaments year New needed per year 210,300 541,650

per year 0

Actual Bibles distributed per Testaments year Actual New and Bibles 135,000 distributed per year 145,000

buted per year 0

New Testaments needed perneeded year per year Portions 541,650 1,862,600

Literate non-Christians 18,626,000 Longevity of one portion in Ethiopia 10 years Portions needed per year 1,862,600

Actual New Testaments and Bibles Actual portions, New Testaments and Actual portions, New Testaments and distributed per year Bibles distributed per year Bibles distributed per year 145,000 190,000 190,000

goal met goal met bution goal met Percentage of distribution Percentage of distribution goal met Percentage of distribution Percentage of distribution goal met Percentage of distribution goal met 26.8% 10.2% 64.4% 26.8% 10.2% % Annual shortfall Annual shortfall 75,300 396,650

ortfall 0

Annual shortfall Annual shortfall 396,650 1,672,600

Annual shortfall 1,672,600

Goal #2: Bible and NT distribution goal met, by country, 2010

Goal #3: Bible, NT and portion distribution goal met, by country, 2010

Percentage of distribution goal met CtryScan_NMetPct

Percentage of distribution goal met CtryScan_PMetPct

> 500 500 100 50 25 0

> 500 500 100 50 25 0

 Bible and New Testament distribution goal met by country Obtaining a full Bible counts toward distribution goal #2, every literate Christian owning a New Testament; PMetPct goal #2 builds upon goal #1 in this way. Fewer countries are saturated in terms of New Testament distribution. Middle Africa has the lowest percentage met. Eastern Europe and Eastern Africa also have low 0 - 25 percentages met (23.3% and 45.2% respectively). 26 - 50 51 - 100

 Bible, New Testament and portion distribution goal met by country Although goal #3 also includes goals #1 and #2, meeting goal #3 is hindered by a lack of translations (or the money to produce and distribute them) in the languages of peoples who are largely non-Christian. Ethiopia, a historically Christian nation, has a mere 10.2% of this goal met. South America and Northern America are the only regions that exceed 100% in this goal, largely because of Brazil, the USA and Canada. Almost no countries in Africa and Asia come close to meeting this goal.

101 - 500 501 - 15000

Bible distribution by Hakone goals, 2010

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BIBLE DISTRIBUTION

Goal #1: Complete Bible for every Christian family Goal #2: New Testament for every literate adult Christian Goal#3: Portions of Scripture for every literate adult Christian families Goal per year Current % met Shortfall Literate Christians Goal per year Current % met Shortfall Literate adults Goal per year Current % met Shortfall Africa 60,083,000 3,004,000 4,420,000 147.1 174,639,000 8,732,000 5,962,000 68.3 2,770,000 376,959,000 37,696,000 8,425,000 22.3 29,271,000 Eastern Africa 25,200,000 1,260,000 1,317,000 104.6 69,373,000 3,469,000 1,567,000 45.2 1,902,000 108,261,000 10,826,000 2,485,000 23.0 8,341,000 Middle Africa 12,117,000 606,000 336,000 55.5 270,000 36,106,000 1,805,000 370,000 20.5 1,435,000 45,415,000 4,542,000 441,000 9.7 4,101,000 Northern Africa 2,345,000 117,000 337,000 287.5 7,745,000 387,000 1,386,000 357.8 94,349,000 9,435,000 2,321,000 24.6 7,114,000 Southern Africa 7,149,000 357,000 723,000 202.1 22,663,000 1,133,000 823,000 72.6 310,000 31,793,000 3,179,000 1,034,000 32.5 2,145,000 Western Africa 13,272,000 664,000 1,706,000 257.1 38,752,000 1,938,000 1,817,000 93.8 121,000 97,139,000 9,714,000 2,143,000 22.1 7,571,000 Asia 64,188,000 3,209,000 12,618,000 393.2 222,512,000 11,126,000 34,684,000 311.8 - 2,429,043,000 242,904,000 56,702,000 23.3 186,202,000 Eastern Asia 31,841,000 1,592,000 5,650,000 354.9 103,819,000 5,191,000 10,065,000 193.9 - 1,165,994,000 116,599,000 11,325,000 9.7 105,274,000 South-central Asia 7,848,000 392,000 2,595,000 661.3 30,041,000 1,502,000 6,970,000 464.0 741,179,000 74,118,000 12,047,000 16.3 62,071,000 South-eastern Asia 21,989,000 1,099,000 4,069,000 370.1 79,246,000 3,962,000 15,696,000 396.1 389,619,000 38,962,000 30,528,000 78.4 8,434,000 Western Asia 2,510,000 126,000 305,000 243.1 9,406,000 470,000 1,954,000 415.4 132,251,000 13,225,000 2,802,000 21.2 10,423,000 Europe 190,652,000 9,533,000 10,445,000 109.6 471,208,000 23,560,000 17,885,000 75.9 5,675,000 613,478,000 61,348,000 24,416,000 39.8 36,932,000 Eastern Europe 74,753,000 3,738,000 1,556,000 41.6 2,182,000 205,613,000 10,281,000 2,397,000 23.3 7,884,000 246,428,000 24,643,000 4,593,000 18.6 20,050,000 Northern Europe 26,061,000 1,303,000 1,185,000 91.0 118,000 56,275,000 2,814,000 3,121,000 110.9 81,378,000 8,138,000 5,052,000 62.1 3,086,000 Southern Europe 38,403,000 1,920,000 4,671,000 243.2 103,738,000 5,187,000 6,825,000 131.6 126,818,000 12,682,000 7,580,000 59.8 5,102,000 Western Europe 51,434,000 2,572,000 3,034,000 118.0 105,582,000 5,279,000 5,542,000 105.0 158,854,000 15,885,000 7,190,000 45.3 8,695,000 Latin America 108,591,000 5,430,000 22,036,000 405.9 349,636,000 17,482,000 47,746,000 273.1 383,236,000 38,324,000 60,651,000 158.3 Caribbean 6,484,000 324,000 593,000 182.9 19,904,000 995,000 1,035,000 104.0 26,245,000 2,624,000 1,842,000 70.2 782,000 Central America 24,763,000 1,238,000 2,989,000 241.4 89,177,000 4,459,000 3,963,000 88.9 496,000 94,486,000 9,449,000 6,936,000 73.4 2,513,000 South America 77,344,000 3,867,000 18,454,000 477.2 240,555,000 12,028,000 42,747,000 355.4 262,505,000 26,251,000 51,874,000 197.6 Northern America 86,978,000 4,349,000 21,459,000 493.4 182,060,000 9,103,000 42,576,000 467.7 279,797,000 27,980,000 71,078,000 254.0 Oceania 6,268,000 313,000 446,000 142.1 16,027,000 801,000 1,040,000 129.8 25,168,000 2,517,000 1,610,000 64.0 907,000 Australia/New Zealand 5,133,000 257,000 350,000 136.5 12,463,000 623,000 919,000 147.5 20,845,000 2,085,000 1,408,000 67.5 677,000 Melanesia 932,000 46,600 70,600 151.6 2,785,000 139,000 93,800 67.3 45,200 3,481,000 348,000 173,000 49.8 175,000 Micronesia 93,900 4,700 8,900 189.9 354,000 17,700 9,600 54.0 8,100 389,000 38,900 10,100 26.0 28,800 Polynesia 109,000 5,500 15,600 286.1 425,000 21,300 17,700 83.2 3,600 451,000 45,100 18,700 41.4 26,400 Global total 516,760,000 25,838,000 71,425,000 276.4 - 1,416,081,000 70,804,000 149,894,000 211.7 - 4,107,680,000 410,768,000 222,882,000 54.3 187,886,000

Print and audiovisual media, 1910–2010

T

he Christian faith places a premium on communication, being grounded in the belief that God has communicated with humankind supremely in Jesus Christ. While such belief is a constant in Christianity, the form that communication takes has varied greatly. The past century has seen particularly rapid change in the communication media as new technologies have been introduced. New forms of communication not only offer new possibilities for spreading the gospel but also influence the way in which mission and evangelisation are understood. Marshall McLuhan argued that the medium shapes the message, thus providing a new missiological hermeneutic. When the towers of media transmission became higher than the churches, they symbolically replaced the centre of influence through their powerful impact on people’s faiths, values and cultures. Every medium brought changes in the way people communicated and thus provided challenges and crises for their faiths. The Edinburgh 1910 World Missionary Conference demonstrated an appreciative and innovative approach to new communication technologies and media. There was a general missionary zeal towards using and exploring the possibilities of the emerging media technology of that time. One of the Commission Reports received by the 1910 World Missionary Conference stated, ‘The animated picture has already taken a leading place in the secular community. There is a general feeling that it ought not to be left for secular purposes alone, but should be used with effectiveness and power for arousing interest in world evangelisation.’ This statement shows an interest in the use of a particular medium for evangelisation of the world. The Commission Report also called for worldwide united planning, organisation and use of the modern means and methods for evangelisation. It stated, ‘A beginning has been made in the use of radio, audiovisual aids and other modern techniques, but availability and use should be increased a hundredfold in the next ten years.’ It is not only communication technologies that have since changed, but also other social processes. Modernisation created new spaces both in public and in private for people to communicate among themselves. Local and small-scale public spheres were brought together into a more rationalised mass sphere through the new technologies of printing, radio and films, where the values of modernity were discussed, shared and interpreted. According to Jürgen Habermas, the public sphere later began to shrink due to privatisation and also to private ownership of the mass media, which resulted in profit-oriented practices. This limited popular involvement and privileged the interests of the rich and powerful. This has also provided a challenge to Christian mission. More critical and well-informed approaches towards communication methods and media were developed during the course of the twentieth century. Whenever new technologies emerged, the missionary movement was quick to adopt them or reinvent them to propagate the gospel to those who had never heard it. Many missionary associations used technology ranging from print to film in order to promote the gospel among non-Christian communities. However, traditionally-minded churches and mission organisations often have exhibited a fear of new technology. Charismatic and Pentecostal groups and institutions have been much more innovative and adventurous in adopting and using new media to promote their message in the public sphere. Established churches and institutionalised mission agencies have lagged behind as charismatic leaders and business people have seized the opportunities offered by new communication media. Much evangelistic work, therefore, takes place outside the churches and traditional mission agencies. Print media There has been strong commitment among mission agencies to use the print media for mission purposes. Tracts and pamphlets for distribution are a familiar genre in printing. Such a simple method is still used by many indigenous mission agencies today in Asia and Africa. Even before 1910, print technology was used by mission agencies to print Bibles and other Christian material in different languages and dialects. After 1910, mission agencies began to make Christian literature available not only to non-Christians but also to newly converted Christians in order to sustain

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their faith. The first meeting of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism of the World Council of Churches, in Mexico City in 1963, established the Christian Literature Fund (CLF) to train and encourage writers and publishers to improve means of publication and to organise a network of distribution centres for the sale of books, periodicals and other publications. After the mandate of the CLF had expired, a new organisation took its place, the Agency for Christian Literature Development, which led to the development of many Christian publishing centres, including the Christian Literature Societies (CLS) in Asia and Africa. After 1975 the World Association for Christian Communication, under its first General Secretary Albert Devasirvatham Manuel, provided an international forum for the development of best practice.

Technologies have radically transformed and changed the perspectives and praxis of mission. The Internet provides a new convergent technology where audio, video and text can be brought together into a single screen. It also has made communication more interactive than ever before by narrowing the gap between sender and receiver. Printed tracts penetrated strong non-Christian communities and made a huge impact on them. With the help of printing technology, Scripture portions have been printed in many languages and dialects. As desktop publishing technology and offset printers are used for mission purposes, both international and indigenous mission agencies are engaged in producing large quantities of literature for distribution among non-Christians. Not only are tracts with Christian contents produced, but also other materials related to HIV/AIDS, health awareness, ecological education and community relationships. This shows that the print media are often used for the proclamation of the gospel, witness to the kingdom of God and serving people of various faiths. So powerful has been the impact of tracts in communicating information that many development organisations and government agencies have produced them for developmental and educational purposes. This has widened the understanding and practice of mission by the churches and other missionary organisations. As the rate of literacy increased, there was a demand for Bibles, tracts, magazines and other literature among non-Christians and new converts. The printing of Christian literature, particularly in vernacular languages, has increased in order to promote the gospel. However, when the nature of the audience is not fully taken into account, the literature can end up being thrown away or used for other purposes rather than being absorbed through reading and reflecting. Much of this print material is aimed at converting or persuading people to accept Christ or Christianity, but it has also had extensive social impact. Print technology introduced by mission organisations has led to a growth of literacy, development of education and also positive social changes in many contexts. This has been an important witness and has contributed substantially to human development. Audio media Besides printing, audio recording technology has been used extensively for missionary purposes during the past century. Before audio cassettes became a favoured method, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association made use of phonograms from 1950. With the advent of the audio cassette, many indigenous missionary organisations in Africa and Asia began to build recording studios and used them for audio recordings that could be distributed to people free of charge. This made them dependent on those who supported such ministry. In 1946 the Foreign Missions Conference set up an audiovisual aids committee. This committee established the Christian Association for Radio and Audio Visual Services (CARAVS) in Jabalpur, India. Since the 1960s CARAVS has been

involved in producing audio cassettes in many Asian languages and utilising indigenous genres such as drama and dialogue with local musical instruments. They have used audio cassettes not only to proclaim the gospel but also to promote educational, human rights and developmental issues among the poor and marginalised in Asia. Many other organisations have followed this example in setting up studios and producing audio cassettes. Such audio mission has enabled people to record, to listen to and to share the gospel in their own mother tongue and thus enhance their own oral versions of the stories of Christianity. This became an extension of evangelising through tracts and paved the way for radio evangelism. Many of the audio studios later became centres for the production of Christian radio programmes. With the technological advance of discovering the transmission and reception of radio waves, radio became a popular medium at the beginning of the twentieth century. Once again, it was innovators who committed to invest in this medium, including Charismatic groups who wished to expand their influences beyond their regular congregations. They used radio as an extension of the pulpit. By contrast, many churches or mission institutions were not interested in investing much in new emerging media such as radio, film and television; the Roman Catholic Church, with the introduction of Vatican Radio in some countries, was an exception to the rule. Neglect of radio by churches and mission organisations led to individuals (such as technical specialists or business persons), parachurch organisations such as the Far East Broadcasting Company, Trans World Radio and HCJB World Radio (now HCJB Global), and other emerging churches such as the Adventist churches to invest in and operate these media for spreading the gospel to all those who had never heard it before. As the understanding of mission began to evolve, these Christian radio stations began to use development, awareness and education as part of their communication. The mission of God through the media was realised not only outside the churches’ mission but also outside the traditional missionary organisations through the initiative of individuals and Charismatic organisations. This also provided new models and methods of mission and Christian communication. The Voice of Peace in Thailand was a good example of such mission: Danish Covenant Church missionaries turned a van into a mobile studio in 1968, and besides gospel proclamation this radio series provided other types of information to benefit listeners in Thailand and neighbouring countries. Radio broadcasting recently has taken new directions in doing and interpreting mission, particularly in converting events and texts into audio texts. Radio receivers had been produced on a large scale and made available inexpensively in different areas of the world. Radio programmes fit well into oral communities, where people sit together, listen and discuss the programmes and their contents. Radio also can travel into every household where missionaries cannot go. Before television was ever introduced, many people listened to Christian programmes and responded to them by writing to the organisations. There are other types of mission work through radio for specific audiences such as prisoners and others for education or developmental purposes. Operated by Christian agencies, community radio projects in Africa and South America carry out much developmental and education work that is often not interpreted or understood as part of Christian mission. Yet some Christian institutions, particularly faith-based developmental organisations, have looked at this as an opportunity to fulfil their mission. In some countries Christian mission agencies such as the Far East Broadcasting Association are not allowed to broadcast the Christian gospel openly, and so some of them have opted to use the local media for the development, awareness and education aspects of Christian mission and thus often redefined the prevailing understanding of mission itself. Radio and newspapers dominated the public sphere as mass media in the middle of the twentieth century. Due to privatisation and secularisation, the technologies were unavailable to developing countries for printing and for broadcasting. In some cases there was a close alliance between the profit-oriented radio industry and profit-making Charismatic groups. Some of the programmes that were produced mainly

for Christian audiences in the USA or elsewhere were sometimes broadcast through missionary radio stations. Unfortunately, some of the Christian programmes and their content showed ignorance of other people and other faiths. It has taken considerable time for the mission radio programmers to recognise the different audiences and thus be sensitive to the varied and complex audiences and their differing needs. Film and video While evangelistic radio stations grew in numbers, as the century progressed the visual media increasingly became available for the purposes of Christian communication. Earlier in Church history, visuals were used in churches, notably through the specialist art of iconography. Yet this proved controversial, and iconoclastic movements dedicated themselves to the removal of the icons. The sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation was deeply opposed to the use of images in worship, and a large quantity of visual art was removed from churches at that time. Despite their Protestant heritage, many modern missionary organisations tended to use visual technology for evangelisation and other mission purposes. Thus when magic lanterns, film projectors and video cameras were introduced in broadcasting, many Evangelical and Charismatic organisations began to use them for promoting the gospel. Again, on the whole, the mainline churches (such as Anglicans, Methodists and Presbyterians) and their affiliated missionary organisations did not engage in production or distribution of such films. Once again, mission through films and other types of media was initiated by those outside the churches and traditional missionary organisations. Since then, organisations such as the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Campus Crusade for Christ have produced films and videos with a view to Christian mission. In 1979 the film Jesus, based on the Gospel of Luke, was made by Campus Crusade for Christ at a cost of £6 million. For 25 years Paul Eshleman led the team that has to date translated the film into more than 1,000 languages. It is claimed that Jesus has been watched by more than five billion people, making it the most widely viewed film in human history. Many other Christian organisations have produced films on video cassettes, CDs and DVDs and also for MP3 players. Particularly prominent have been Trinity Broadcasting Network, Cloud Ten Pictures, Namesake Entertainment and HCJB Global. The visual media have been used by organisations that are neither part of the mainline churches nor related directly to missionary organisations. Evangelical organisations with a vision to spread the gospel to different cultural groups and communities have invested in such media. Some of them became aware of those towers of radio and television broadcasting that were higher than the church towers and that had begun to replace the churches, schools and family institutions in terms of influence on values, worldviews and faiths. The use of television for evangelistic purposes was pioneered by such popular preachers as Pat Robertson, who founded the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) in 1961. His 700 Club became a popular institution, and today CBN broadcasts programmes in 70 languages around the world. Many Charismatic and revival agencies and individuals who had access to public gatherings made use of these media uncritically, thus adopting certain values of media practice without understanding their harmful effects. For example, taking programmes that were prepared with an American audience in mind and presenting them to audiences in entirely different

contexts did not make for effective communication. In some cases such films could prove inflammatory to audiences of different faiths and cultures. Another major issue is that the mass media of radio and television have centralised production and distribution in such a way that audiences remain mere receivers; communication is from the few to the many, and the receivers do not have many options. When investors have taken over these media, the contents have become economically valued and thus do not attribute importance to public issues or the concerns of the masses. Visual media have presented various challenges for mission. Ecumenical institutions such as the World Council of Churches, the World Association for Christian Communication and other related organisations have challenged the ways some of these media have been used and abused and also the ways these media have commercialised the public space. To some extent, such challenges have prompted churches and other mission organisations to distance themselves from using such powerful media. In some cases there is a clear need and demand for distinguishing evangelisation – which includes proclamation, witness and conversion – from Christian fundamentalisms that offend other religions, advertisement for fixed doctrines and commercialisation of Christianity. Ecumenical missionary and church agencies often have failed to promote adequate awareness of the negative impact of an over-commercialised approach and have not provided a model for producing programmes that present the gospel in the public space. In some cases, non-Christian institutions or individuals have come up with films and television programmes that contain Christian values and messages. In the 1990s Christian developmental organisations produced audio and video programmes with a view to promoting human dignity and countering social marginalisation. Some of these activities point to a new paradigm of mission by presenting human solidarity as an expression of Christian mission. In this perspective, participating in the search for true humanity is part and parcel of the search for a relationship with God. When the movement of mission is understood to be from God as well as from people, missionary activity is a matter of recognising the intersections between the two and participating in the mission of God. The World Association for Christian Communication has recognised and developed this area of mission, particularly in Asia, Africa and South America, through funding, theologies and strategies. It involves recognising God’s active involvement even outside the Church and its missionary organisations. It is able to appreciate God’s involvement and presence in activities that are not explicitly Christian and so to work together with all who are involved in God’s mission. Computer and Internet The new technologies of the computer and Internet have brought together earlier methods and types of communication into a single system. These technologies have radically transformed and changed the perspectives and praxis of mission. The Internet provides a new convergent technology where audio, video and text can be brought together into a single screen. It also has made communication more interactive than ever before by narrowing the gap between sender and receiver. Some mission agencies now use the Internet to provide developmental and counselling services, advocacy, sharing, interactive engagement, dialogic witness, preaching resources and other services. The Internet provides networking facilities for mission agencies and can operate as a knowledge bank for

mission work. It also offers the possibility of online broadcasting, both radio and video, at low cost. It can be an alternative medium of communication by giving a voice to those who are neglected in the mainstream media. Only a few missionary organisations have used such facilities to their full potential. Recently, tools such as blogging, YouTube® and online discussion boards have provided new means of religious engagement. The technology has changed the way people communicate by giving individuals opportunities to take the initiative. This has challenged the way mission happens in terms of sharing the gospel. It calls for a much more individual approach. Mission in this context means being ready to travel with people and to listen to them while sharing our own interpretation of the gospel. Christian mission has become interactive, participatory and user-based. It involves both local indigenous agencies and international networks. Because they have become user-based, mission organisation websites differ widely in content, perspective and approach. Many churches and missionary organisations have used this technology as an extension of their notice boards and pulpits, featuring sermons and church announcements. The diversity of mission websites has raised many questions about the perspectives and praxis of mission. The old paradigm of sending and receiving is being questioned and replaced with interactive and participatory mission. If media enhance such mission, the follower of Christ should use them. Jesus himself used parables and other signs. It is recognised, of course, that the media can distort the gospel and its values. However, when the churches and other mission agencies have been sceptical about using some of these media for mission purposes, they have lost the chance to be present in the public sphere, witnessing to Christ. Some have used the media as extensions of the pulpit. Those who took the risk have been developing their mission perspectives and strategies in their own limited ways. In order to bring a holistic approach and praxis, churches need to proclaim the gospel, listen to people of other faiths, work together with others in development and in issues of human rights, and thus bear witness to Christ in all the world. When churches and traditional mission agencies have been slow to engage with some of these media in mission, it has been a few individuals and Charismatic groups who have taken the lead in using them for the purposes of mission. Paradigms of mission are shifting with changes of technology. There is a need for fresh thinking among Christian communicators in order to use to the maximum the opportunities offered by contemporary media for the dissemination of the gospel. In the process, they will continue to be challenged to rethink the meaning of their missionary mandate.

JOSHVA RAJA International Missionary Council, The Witness of a Revolutionary Church (London: Morrison and Gibb, 1947). Jürgen Habermas, The Theory of Communicative Action, Vol. 2: Lifeworld and System: A Critique of Functionalist Reason, translated by Thomas McCarthy (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1987). Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (Corte Madera, CA: Gingko Press, 2003). Viggo Søgaard, Media in Church and Mission: Communicating the Gospel (London: Atlantic Books, 1993). Johannes Verkuyl, Contemporary Missiology: An Introduction, translated and edited by Dale Cooper (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1978).

Broadcasting and the Jesus film by country and language, 2010 % who listen to Christian broadcasts % 91 86 85 84 84 84 82 82 80 79

191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Countries >100,000

Lowest Pakistan Bangladesh Azerbaijan Guinea Tajikistan Somalia Turkmenistan Somaliland Sahara Afghanistan

% 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.3

Largest languages with the Jesus film 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Language Chinese, Mandarin Spanish English Bengali Portuguese Hindi Russian Japanese Telugu Marathi

Native speakers 876,583,000 380,764,000 338,342,000 220,861,000 211,015,000 146,257,000 134,330,000 128,947,000 96,286,000 90,108,000

Christians 88,673,000 359,593,000 280,185,000 616,000 193,079,000 1,884,000 114,886,000 3,074,000 8,651,000 901,000

Largest languages without the Jesus film % 10.1 94.4 82.8 0.3 91.5 1.3 85.5 2.4 9.0 1.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Language Chinese, Jinyu Chinese, Gan Arabic, North Levantine Arabic, Najdi Arabic, Sa`idi Azerbaijani, South Arabic, South Levantine Arabic, Sanaani Arabic, Ta'izzi-Adeni Dhundari

Native speakers 55,973,000 38,312,000 32,424,000 23,602,000 21,510,000 14,796,000 11,933,000 11,225,000 11,222,000 10,420,000

Christians 2,239,000 575,000 6,763,000 86,400 3,589,000 550 719,000 2,200 2,800 10,400

% 4.0 1.5 20.9 0.4 16.7 0.0 6.0 0.0 0.0 0.1

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MEDIA

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Highest Micronesia Guam Ecuador Mexico Puerto Rico Belize USA Ireland Canada Virgin Is of the US

Print and audiovisual media, 1910–2010

C

hristian evangelism has its mandate and imperative of ‘preaching’. One mode of this encompasses evangelising words directly visible or audible to all nonChristians around, especially nonliterates. These words are notable signs, preparing hearers for the gospel as Christians go, visit, help, show, live, suffer, even die in representation of Jesus Christ. Audiovisual ministries employ a large variety of materials reproducing audible or visible versions of the gospel. Over the past century, these have included gramophone records, audio cassettes, audio compact discs (CDs), flash cards, posters, flannelgraphs, filmstrips, motion pictures, video cassettes, video compact discs (VCDs), digital video discs (DVDs) and MP3 files, to name only a few. Agencies such as Gospel Recordings (part of the Global Recordings Network) produce sermons and other teaching materials using a variety of these media, along with special playback devices for use in areas where electricity and batteries are hard to afford or obtain. Cumulatively, these can be termed evangelistic gospel recordings. Such recordings are available in over 5,700 different languages, and they continue to proliferate among languages and people groups worldwide. Since its origin in 1921, Christian broadcasting has reached more people per hour than any other variety of evangelism. Even hostile anti-Christian countries benefit: for example, 10% of the population of Yemen listens to Christian radio. Broadcasting (both radio and television) has by far the largest ‘media factor’ (that is, audience size benefitting from one hour of exposure). The result in 2010 is that the world’s 4,000 Christian radio and television stations reach 510 million persons monthly with Christian programming. An additional 1.4 million hear Christian programmes monthly over secular stations. Around two-thirds of all this is due to radio and one-third to television. Film is another realm of evangelistic outreach that grew rapidly in the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. There has been a long history of movies portraying the life of Jesus, but in particular the Jesus film, produced by Campus Crusade for Christ, has made significant strides since its initial release in 1979, and it continues to be a ubiquitous source of Christian evangelism in 2010. This film has been shown to well over one billion viewers in 550 languages in 200 countries. Despite its wide reach, however, thousands of people groups and their corresponding languages still do not have this resource at their disposal. Among all the varieties of evangelism, this one makes one of the deepest impressions on recipients. Even more than those who hear a proclaimed message, or read words of Scripture, or listen to a friend’s witness, viewers of the Jesus film receive a vivid and indelible personal impression that turns them, in many cases, into lifelong personal witnesses themselves.

Jesus film viewership by language, 2010

Audience of Christian broadcasts, 2010

 Christian broadcasting Here broadcasting is defined as both radio and television programming. Naturally, where radio and television are more prolific in the world, so is Christian broadcasting. Because of this, Christian radio and television can reach into areas from which traditional missionaries and evangelists are barred. Power increases for the transmission of television programmes for Europe are now producing expanded signals also for much of Northern Africa, the Middle East and Turkey. In addition, vast changes in satellite use mean that for the first time over 40 million Muslim Arabs and 50 million Turks can be reached via television. So far, as seen by the map below, Christian agencies have been slow to realise the new potential in those areas.

Africa Eastern Africa Middle Africa Northern Africa Southern Africa Western Africa Asia Eastern Asia South-central Asia South-eastern Asia Western Asia Europe Eastern Europe Northern Europe Southern Europe Western Euorpe Latin America Caribbean Central America South America Northern America Oceania Australia/New Zealand Melanesia Micronesia Polynesia Global total

LangJFilm 0 1 2 3 4

306

Population 1,032,012,000 332,107,000 129,583,000 206,295,000 56,592,000 307,436,000 4,166,308,000 1,562,575,000 1,777,378,000 594,216,000 232,139,000 730,478,000 290,755,000 98,352,000 152,913,000 188,457,000 593,696,000 42,300,000 153,657,000 397,739,000 348,575,000 35,491,000 25,647,000 8,589,000 575,000 680,000 6,906,560,000

Audience as a % of pop. All Christian Secular stations stations stations 24.9 9.6 17.6 27.4 11.5 18.7 18.2 5.8 13.9 9.3 5.0 4.9 51.2 7.7 46.3 30.8 12.7 21.1 17.4 8.1 10.0 18.1 14.4 4.1 17.1 3.8 14.0 21.2 6.1 16.4 5.5 3.5 2.1 50.6 10.6 42.9 36.0 16.4 23.8 63.0 11.2 55.6 57.4 3.6 55.1 61.3 7.0 55.9 66.8 15.2 55.9 35.7 10.1 29.2 75.2 6.7 70.5 66.8 19.0 53.0 81.8 56.1 74.0 58.5 11.9 49.5 62.7 14.5 51.7 43.6 4.9 39.9 83.3 6.4 80.4 65.9 5.5 62.9 29.7 11.6 22.0

Broadcast 10 20

Extent of Jesus film viewership by language, 2010 LangJFilm Pervasive viewership Widespread viewership Moderate viewership Limited viewership No film available

Another issue in terms of broadcasting is that of urban media. The world’s 7,000 metropolises over 50,000 in population, and urban areas in general, get first opportunity to experience new forms of communication. Rural areas trail far behind, which helps explain some of the lighter shading on this map in some less-developed nations. Consequently, urban areas and their 2.6 billion urbanites have considerably higher exposure to the newest forms of electronic evangelism. Of these metropolises, every year some 20% hold citywide evangelistic campaigns featuring radio, television, relays, satellites, video instruction, computer networks and the Internet.

Percentage of CtryScan_Broadcast total population

>70 70 50 30 20 10 0

Audience of Christian broadcasts, 2010

Source: Jesus Film Project

Jesus film viewership, 2010 Limited viewership Languages Population 267 451,810,000 117 197,895,000 79 63,225,000 24 113,214,000 20 13,478,000 88 63,998,000 230 1,621,306,000 44 362,308,000 131 970,399,000 94 181,209,000 40 107,390,000 94 152,791,000 47 66,056,000 47 29,054,000 24 34,337,000 47 23,344,000 116 331,681,000 9 30,708,000 63 139,664,000 61 161,308,000 42 16,348,000 62 3,499,000 36 1,778,000 33 1,444,000 1 71,700 3 205,000 638 2,577,436,000

Moderate viewership Widespread viewership Pervasive viewership % Languages Population % Languages Population % Languages Population % 43.8 85 303,749,000 29.4 37 71,511,000 6.9 68 127,100,000 12.3 59.6 39 103,986,000 31.3 13 1,748,000 0.5 13 16,731,000 5.0 48.8 23 20,647,000 15.9 8 12,226,000 9.4 21 9,219,000 7.1 54.9 15 70,673,000 34.3 11 9,516,000 4.6 15 5,479,000 2.7 23.8 18 36,834,000 65.1 4 1,524,000 2.7 4 4,630,000 8.2 20.8 37 71,609,000 23.3 16 46,498,000 15.1 48 91,041,000 29.6 38.9 62 1,532,541,000 36.8 31 464,305,000 11.1 28 370,232,000 8.9 23.2 16 1,003,194,000 64.2 9 70,723,000 4.5 7 4,136,000 0.3 54.6 33 253,121,000 14.2 19 311,335,000 17.5 16 228,255,000 12.8 30.5 32 190,273,000 32.0 21 77,917,000 13.1 20 107,117,000 18.0 46.3 29 85,952,000 37.0 13 4,331,000 1.9 6 30,725,000 13.2 20.9 45 206,229,000 28.2 18 172,802,000 23.7 16 130,753,000 17.9 22.7 29 93,720,000 32.2 7 129,320,000 44.5 6 1,035,000 0.4 29.5 33 2,565,000 2.6 15 5,009,000 5.1 9 60,289,000 61.3 22.5 14 22,217,000 14.5 10 34,753,000 22.7 4 21,853,000 14.3 12.4 25 87,728,000 46.6 13 3,720,000 2.0 13 47,576,000 25.2 55.9 37 29,813,000 5.0 14 224,612,000 37.8 9 4,547,000 0.8 72.6 8 10,401,000 24.6 5 61,700 0.1 4 1,129,000 2.7 90.9 22 9,242,000 6.0 8 745,000 0.5 7 2,537,000 1.7 40.6 21 10,171,000 2.6 8 223,806,000 56.3 4 882,000 0.2 4.7 29 14,750,000 4.2 18 8,629,000 2.5 12 306,632,000 88.0 9.9 30 1,919,000 5.4 20 1,316,000 3.7 13 23,224,000 65.4 6.9 24 1,250,000 4.9 18 1,007,000 3.9 11 21,463,000 83.7 16.8 9 268,000 3.1 7 27,300 0.3 5 1,635,000 19.0 12.5 6 172,000 29.9 4 179,000 31.1 2 39,100 6.8 30.1 4 229,000 33.7 3 103,000 15.1 2 87,000 12.8 37.3 164 2,089,002,000 30.2 66 943,176,000 13.7 105 962,489,000 13.9

307

MEDIA

Global totals No Jesus film Languages Population Languages Population % Africa 2,075 1,032,012,000 1,618 77,841,000 7.5 Eastern Africa 443 332,107,000 261 11,747,000 3.5 Middle Africa 760 129,583,000 629 24,265,000 18.7 Northern Africa 218 206,295,000 153 7,413,000 3.6 Southern Africa 82 56,592,000 36 126,000 0.2 Western Africa 860 307,436,000 671 34,290,000 11.2 Asia 2,107 4,166,308,000 1,756 177,924,000 4.3 Eastern Asia 270 1,562,575,000 194 122,214,000 7.8 South-central Asia 680 1,777,378,000 481 14,268,000 0.8 South-eastern Asia 1,274 594,216,000 1,107 37,700,000 6.3 Western Asia 152 232,139,000 64 3,742,000 1.6 Europe 347 730,478,000 174 67,902,000 9.3 Eastern Europe 167 290,755,000 78 624,000 0.2 Northern Europe 140 98,352,000 36 1,436,000 1.5 Southern Europe 100 152,913,000 48 39,753,000 26.0 Western Euorpe 145 188,457,000 47 26,089,000 13.8 Latin America 806 593,696,000 630 3,043,000 0.5 Caribbean 37 42,300,000 11 0 0.0 Central America 370 153,657,000 270 1,470,000 1.0 South America 450 397,739,000 356 1,573,000 0.4 Northern America 321 348,575,000 220 2,215,000 0.6 Oceania 1,245 35,491,000 1,120 5,532,000 15.6 Australia/New Zealand 184 25,647,000 95 148,000 0.6 Melanesia 1,054 8,589,000 1,000 5,214,000 60.7 Micronesia 32 575,000 19 114,000 19.8 Polynesia 30 680,000 18 55,500 8.2 Global total 7,299 6,906,560,000 6,326 334,457,000 4.8

Evangelisation, 1910–2010 vangelisation, here and on the pages that follow, is measured by assessing whether individuals have had an adequate opportunity to hear the gospel and to respond to it, whether they respond positively or negatively. This is estimated by assessing evangelistic ministries at work in countries and peoples. The most notable change in evangelisation over the past 100 years is in the continent of Africa. In 1910 Middle Africa (14.1%) and Western Africa (14.3%) were the least-evangelised regions of the world. None of the countries in Africa were over 75% evangelised. Yet in 2010 Africa is 75% evangelised. The regions that had the lowest percentages in 1910 have vastly increased percentages by 2010: Middle Africa went from 14.1% to 91.3% evangelised, and Western Africa went from 14.3% to 69.7%. These regions have two of the fastest-growing current evangelisation rates in the world at 2.89% and 2.62% respectively, yet Africa still has six of the world’s least-evangelised countries in 2010. Although Africa had more countries with low evangelisation, Asia also had low evangelisation percentages in 1910. The primary difference is that Asia continues to have relatively low percentages in 2010. The entire continent is only 58.3% evangelised, whereas Africa is 75.8% evangelised. In 1910 Nepal (0%) was the leastevangelised country in the world, and in 2010 Sahara (17.9%) takes that position. While the percentages in the least-evangelised countries have been increasing over the last 100 years, the percentages in the most-evangelised countries have decreased slightly. In 1910 all ten of the countries appearing on the ‘most-evangelised’ list were 100% evangelised; in 2010 none of the top 10 countries are 100%, but the other countries on the list still remain in the 99% range. By contrast, the least-evangelised countries in 1910 were mostly 0% with the exceptions of Burundi (0.1%), Central African Republic (0.1%) and Rwanda (0.2%). In 2010 the 10 least-evangelised countries start at 17.9% evangelised and go to 34.7% evangelised. This indicates that the world has become increasingly evangelised over the past 100 years. The Caribbean has been and continues to be a well-evangelised region. In 1910 four countries from this region were 100% evangelised: Barbados, Netherlands Antilles, Aruba and Virgin Islands of the US. In 2010 two other Caribbean countries made the ‘most-evangelised’ list, Haiti and Dominican Republic.

Evangelisation by province, 2010

PerProvRelig_Evangelized cent evangelised 100 90 70 50 30 10 0

Largest populations evangelised 2010 China India USA Brazil Indonesia Russia Nigeria Mexico Japan Philippines

Highest 10 percentage evangelised

Evangelised 855,860,000 EPct1910 670,182,000 10 30 309,192,000 50 197,577,000 70 90 140,100,000 100 129,318,000 124,813,000 109,579,000 89,528,000 87,431,000 Countries >100,000

1910 % evangelised 1 Finland 100.0 230 Slovenia 100.0 3 Malta 100.0 4 Barbados 100.0 550 Netherlands Antilles 100.0 6 Samoa 100.0 7 Virgin Is of the US 100.0 870 Tonga 100.0 9 Aruba 100.0 10 Spain 100.0

2010 % evangelised Romania 99.7 Solomon Islands 99.5 Cape Verde 99.5 French Polynesia 99.5 São Tomé & Príncipe 99.5 Malta 99.5 Tonga 99.5 Dominican Republic 99.5 Haiti 99.5 Guatemala 99.5

1910–2010 1 Nepal 100 2 Chad 3 Niger 4 Oman 5 Somaliland 6 Bhutan 7 Burundi 8 Maldives 9 United Arab Emirates 10 Rwanda

2000–2010 Afghanistan Sahara Timor United Arab Emirates Eritrea Niger Somaliland Qatar Liberia Burundi

90 growth in evangelisation Fastest % p.a. 15.09 14.20 14.16 12.47 12.43 10.32 9.58 9.21 8.95 8.94

Evangelisation by country

100% L America

80%

N America Oceania

60%

Europe Africa

40%

Asia World

20%

8,000 7,000

1930

1950

1970

1990

6,000 5,000

Northern America

4,000

Latin America

3,000

Year

Evangelised

Europe

Unevangelised

2,000

0 1910

2010

Total

Oceania

1,000 0% 1910

Global

Asia Africa 1930

1950

1970

1990

2010

Year

 % of world evangelised  Year evangelisation began The chart above shows that Regions where Christian evanalmost 100% of Oceania, Northern gelisation began the earliest are America, Europe and Latin now the most unevangelised in America are evangelised. The the world. Western Asia saw the percentages in Africa and Asia first Christian evangelists and have increased significantly since converts but is now less than 50% 1910. evangelised.

 Evangelisation total  Evangelisation growth rate In 1910 slightly more than half the Nepal, Chad and Niger have the global population was unevanhighest evangelisation growth gelised. In 1950 the evangelised rates, over 14%. Many regions population began to increase have less than 1% evangelisation rapidly, largely due to missionary growth rates, with countries in efforts after World War II. Africa averaging over 3%.

Countries >100,000

% p.a. 5.84 4.65 4.53 3.97 3.87 3.83 3.80 3.78 3.69 3.66

YearEvangelismBegan AD 33 - 200 201 - 400 401 - 600 601 - 800 801 - 1000

308

Evangelized

1910

Growth_CGrPct_2000_2010

Evangelized

Evangelised 87,838,000 87,771,000 71,007,000 46,279,000 41,123,000 40,285,000 39,646,000 35,416,000 30,724,000 24,081,000

% evangelised

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 USA China Russia Germany France Britain India Italy Ukraine Poland

Global population (millions)

E

Year evangelisation began

YearEvangelismBegan

Growth rate of evangelised, % p.a., 1910–2010 EGrPct_1910_2010

33

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800 -30

1001 - 1200

-14

1201 - 1400

-4

1401 - 1600

-0.0001

1601 - 1800

4

1801 - 2000

14

2000

-30 -14 -4 0 4 14 30

Evangelised population by UN region, 1910 and 2010

*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified

Growth rates* by UN region, 100-year and 10-year 2010 Evangelised 782,120,000 289,320,000 118,253,000 104,840,000 55,304,000 214,403,000 2,429,866,000 1,019,135,000 912,772,000 387,859,000 110,100,000 702,387,000 277,664,000 95,785,000 147,510,000 181,428,000 588,849,000 41,901,000 152,636,000 394,312,000 342,091,000 34,551,000 24,922,000 8,385,000 569,000 676,000 4,879,865,000

Rate* 1910–2010 % 1910

% 75.8A 87.1A1 91.3A2 50.8A3 97.7A4 69.7A5 58.3C 65.2C1 51.4C2 65.3C3 47.4C4 96.2E 95.5E1 97.4E2 96.5E3 96.3E4 99.2L 99.1L1 99.3L2 99.1L3 98.1N 97.4P 97.2P1 97.6P2 99.0P3 99.4P4 70.7zG 0% 0

% 2010 3.47 3.52 3.83 2.90 2.86 3.89 2.58 2.34 2.93 2.71 2.17 0.52 0.49 0.45 0.67 0.50 2.07 1.65 2.02 2.14 1.29 1.77 1.55 3.02 1.96 1.65 1.81

20

40 50% 60

80

100% 100

Evangelised

Population

Rate* 2000–2010

2.14A 2.33 A1 1.91 A2 1.88 A3 2.14 A4 2.26 A5 1.41C 1.04 C1 1.65 C2 1.86 C3 1.97 C4 0.54E 0.49 E1 0.47 E2 0.69 E3 0.53 E4 2.05L 1.66 L1 2.02 L2 2.11 L3 1.31N 1.61P 1.57 P1 1.70 P2 1.88 P3 1.66 P4 1.38 zG -2 -2

2.47 2.31A 2.68 2.59A1 2.89 2.86A2 2.11 1.69A3 0.86 0.86A4 2.62 2.53A5 1.36 1.18C 0.87 0.57C1 1.76 1.60C2 1.59 1.34C3 1.90 1.90C4 0.03 0.03E -0.45 -0.47E1 0.39 0.42E2 0.48 0.48E3 0.25 0.27E4 1.27 1.28L 0.92 0.92L1 1.26 1.26L2 1.32 1.32L3 0.99 1.00N 1.30 1.33P 1.05 1.10P1 2.10 2.06P2 1.46 1.47P3 1.08 1.04P4 1.28 1.21zG

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 88 9 10 10 11 12 12

-2 -2

EVANGELISATION

Population Africa 124,228,000 Eastern Africa 33,030,000 Middle Africa 19,443,000 Northern Africa 32,002,000 Southern Africa 6,819,000 Western Africa 32,933,000 Asia 1,028,265,000 Eastern Asia 556,096,000 South-central Asia 345,121,000 South-eastern Asia 94,104,000 Western Asia 32,944,000 Europe 427,154,000 Eastern Europe 178,184,000 Northern Europe 61,474,000 Southern Europe 76,940,000 Western Europe 110,556,000 Latin America 78,269,000 Caribbean 8,172,000 Central America 20,777,000 South America 49,320,000 Northern America 94,689,000 Oceania 7,192,000 Australia/New Zealand 5,375,000 Melanesia 1,596,000 Micronesia 89,400 Polynesia 131,000 Global total 1,759,797,000

1910 Evangelised % Population 25,884,000 20.8 1,032,012,000 9,094,000 27.5 332,107,000 2,749,000 14.1 129,583,000 6,026,000 18.8 206,295,000 3,296,000 48.3 56,592,000 4,719,000 14.3 307,436,000 190,974,000 18.6 4,166,308,000 100,578,000 18.1 1,562,575,000 50,729,000 14.7 1,777,378,000 26,851,000 28.5 594,216,000 12,815,000 38.9 232,139,000 416,527,000 97.5 730,478,000 169,489,000 95.1 290,755,000 61,421,000 99.9 98,352,000 75,289,000 97.9 152,913,000 110,328,000 99.8 188,457,000 76,129,000 97.3 593,696,000 8,132,000 99.5 42,300,000 20,719,000 99.7 153,657,000 47,278,000 95.9 397,739,000 94,506,000 99.8 348,575,000 5,977,000 83.1 35,491,000 5,337,000 99.3 25,647,000 427,000 26.8 8,589,000 81,700 91.4 575,000 131,000 100.0 680,000 809,998,000 46.0 6,906,560,000

-1 0% 0 1 22 3 44 5 66 7 8 9 10 11

309

Evangelisation by peoples and languages, 2010

L

anguage is critical in any assessment of evangelisation precisely because virtually all evangelistic effort takes place in a specific language. Thus, when measuring the extent of evangelisation, language is the natural starting point. One of the first questions to ask is ‘Have the scriptures been translated into this particular language?’ If the answer is ‘yes’ then there are possibilities for evangelisation that do not exist if the answer is ‘no’. But language is also central to evangelisation beyond just the written Scriptures. The preaching of the gospel will be carried out in a people’s mother tongue (or, in some cases, in a trade language). Radio broadcasting, film and other audiovisual resources are also languagespecific. Christian worship will eventually be performed in a specific language. Even the name for God will be translated into a new language. Evangelisation here is measured by assessing the extent to which a people or language has evangelistic resources in a mother tongue (or, to a lesser extent, a trade language). A more detailed explanation of the method for determining this is found below and in ‘Methodological notes’. The 10 largest people groups also have some of the largest absolute numbers of evangelised persons. As might be expected, five of these ten are more than 99% evangelised. Four of these groups are found mainly in Northern America and Latin America. Surprisingly, the other five peoples have considerably lower percentages, including the Han Chinese (72%), who have the largest number of evangelised individuals due to their large population size. The languages of the most-evangelised people groups are also the largest evangelised languages. This is to be expected, since language is one of the defining characteristics of a people group. However, many different people groups can speak the same language, and many languages can be spoken within one people group. Therefore, not all of the languages on the list correspond exactly (or only) to one of the ten largest people groups. Mandarin Chinese, the primary language spoken by the Han Chinese people group, is the largest evangelised language in the world even though only 72% of native speakers have been evangelised. The language list follows the same pattern as the people groups list: half the list has evangelisation percentages over 99%, and the other half has percentages considerably lower. German is one language on the list not spoken by any of the largest evangelised people groups. The map to the right illustrates evangelisation by language throughout the world. As might be expected, the pattern of this map closely tracks with the maps of Christian adherence by province in Part I and Part III.

Largest peoples by evangelisation category 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

People group Latin American Mestizo Russian USA White Brazilian White Latin American White Han Chinese (Mandarin) Japanese Tamil Javanese Vietnamese Bengali Hindi Telugu Han Chinese (Wu) Maratha Western Punjabi Bhojpuri Bihari Han Chinese (Gan) Maitili Han Chinese (Xiang) Han Chinese (Jinyu) Deccani Tajik Magadhi Bihari South Azerbaijani Bakhtiari Tunghsiang Daza Zaghawa Bilala

LangEPct 10 30 50 70 90

100

310

Main country Mexico Russia USA Brazil Argentina China Japan India Indonesia Viet Nam Bangladesh India India China India Pakistan India China India China China India Afghanistan India Iran Iran China Chad Sudan Chad

Population Evangelised 189,533,000 188,534,000 132,491,000 131,703,000 ProvRelig_Evangelized 126,800,000 125,907,000 100 103,356,000 102,792,000 97,484,000 96,924,000 90 853,467,000 617,272,000 70 129,933,000 91,905,000 50 84,679,000 68,186,000 30 80,902,000 61,465,000 10 78,951,000 57,937,000 0 220,827,000 117,737,000 139,039,000 83,757,000 96,152,000 67,215,000 85,947,000 55,010,000 90,074,000 53,143,000 74,372,000 35,699,000 42,678,000 15,175,000 38,312,000 14,750,000 42,392,000 13,132,000 39,230,000 12,905,000 55,973,000 16,232,000 15,318,000 4,442,000 15,205,000 4,367,000 15,045,000 4,062,000 14,655,000 3,497,000 1,114,000 107,000 438,000 41,600 598,000 37,700 367,000 29,600 453,000 29,300

Evangelisation by language, 2010

Per cent evangelised ProvRelig_Evangelized 100 90 70 50 30 10 0

 Measuring evangelisation by languages and peoples We estimate the percentage of a language or people that is evangelised by assessing Christian presence and evangelistic ministries at work among that language or people. Our basic instrument is a formula with 20 elements, each measuring a different aspect of evangelism. Each element has a code whose value is applied to the formula as a percentage of the population that is evangelised. The elements include percentage Christian, scripture availability, discipleship effort, mass evangelism, mission agencies at work and Christian broadcasting. Three elements that may hinder evangelisation are also taken into account: religious liberty, human development and literacy. All 20 elements with their code ranges are listed in ‘Methodological notes’ in the Appendices.

GlobalPeopleEPct_world_GROUPBY All peoples by evangelisation category Latin American Mestizo

Latin American White

Orisi

Urdu

Polish

Bengali

Brazilian White

USA White

Vietnamese Maitili

Javanese

Bhojpuri Bihari Brazilian Mulatto

Tamil Malayali Japanese Han Chinese (Wu)

Han Chinese (Mandarin)

Kanarese French Egyptian Arab

Russian Maratha

Yoruba

Han Han Han African English Ukrainian Chinese Chinese Chinese Eastern AmerPunjabi (Xiang) (Hakka) (Gan) ican Hindi

Telugu

Korean

Western Punjabi

Han Chinese (Yue)

Sundanese

Hausa Italian

Han Han Chinese Gujarati Chinese (Min Nan) (Jinyu)

German

Turk

The tree map above shows all of the world’s people groups through a series of individual boxes. The area of each individual box is proportional to the Color Key (Epct Cat (MIN)) of the people group that is evangelised (see map legend).

Each rectangle represents a Global People Name population sizeis of that people group. The colour ofcompared the boxto depicts the percentage Each rectangle's area determined by the value of Ppop2010 a total of 6,861,649,881 Han (SUM) Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of Epct Cat (MIN) Chinese

(Cantonese)

Han Chinese (Huanese)

1

2

3

5

6

Largest languages by evangelisation category Language Spanish English Portuguese Russian German Chinese, Mandarin Japanese Tamil Korean Vietnamese Bengali Hindi Telugu Chinese, Wu Marathi Urdu Panjabi, Western Bhojpuri Maithili Chinese, Xiang Chinese, Jinyu Deccan Tajiki Magahi Azerbaijani, South Bakhtiari Dongxiang Dazaga Zaghawa Naba

Main country Mexico USA Brazil Russia Germany China Japan India South Korea Viet Nam Bangladesh India India China India India Pakistan India India China China India Tajikistan India Iran Iran China Chad Sudan Chad

Population Evangelised 380,764,000 378,325,000 338,342,000 334,027,000 211,015,000 209,814,000 134,330,000 132,460,000 65,227,000 64,722,000 ProvRelig_Evangelized 876,583,000 627,337,000 128,947,00010090,786,000 84,598,00090 68,120,000 77,212,00070 62,126,000 80,364,00050 58,813,000 220,861,000 117,756,000 30 146,257,000 87,305,000 10 96,286,000 67,240,000 0 85,943,000 55,006,000 90,108,000 53,155,000 80,204,000 39,949,000 74,759,000 35,813,000 43,127,000 15,414,000 42,392,000 13,132,000 39,230,000 12,905,000 55,973,000 16,232,000 15,318,000 4,442,000 15,219,000 4,371,000 15,045,000 4,062,000 14,796,000 3,533,000 1,114,000 107,000 438,000 41,600 598,000 37,700 414,000 32,100 423,000 27,200

All languages by evangelisation category LangEPctCat_world Japanese

Javanese

English Gujarati Russian Chinese, Min Nan Spanish Hindi

German

Turkish Portuguese Chinese, Mandarin

Chinese, Yue

Panjabi, Western

French

Chinese, Jinyu

Arabic, MalayKannada Bhojpuri Maithili Egyptian alam

Hausa

Bengali Telugu

Marathi

Chinese, Wu

Tamil

Vietnamese

Urdu

Korean

The tree map above shows all of the world’s languages through a series of individual boxes. The area of each individual is proportional to the Each rectangle represents a EthIDECat Colorbox Key (Epct Cat (MIN)) Each rectangle's is determined by of the that value language. of Ethpop (SUM) to athe totalbox of 6,863,644,686 number ofarea native speakers Thecompared colour of depicts the percentage of native speakers who are evangelised (see map legend). Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of Epct Cat (MIN) 1 2 5 6 3

311

EVANGELISATION

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Worlds A, B and C, 1910–2010

W

hen applied to individuals, World A includes all unevangelised persons; World B includes all nonChristians who have been evangelised; and World C includes all Christians. When applied to peoples or to countries, World A means fewer than 50% of individuals are evangelised; World B means at least 50% evangelised but less than 60% Christian; and World C means at least 60% Christian. In 1910 World A consisted primarily of Africa, Asia and parts of Oceania. Notable exceptions included Ethiopia, Madagascar and South Africa (World B) and the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand (World C). The largest World A country by total population was China, and eight of the ten largest were in Asia. Only eight countries total – all except Ethiopia colonies of the Global North – were in World B in 1910. Most World B countries in Africa and Asia had large native non-Christian populations, while Guyana and Suriname were home to large numbers of immigrants from Asia and Africa.

World C in 1910 consisted mostly of Europe and the Americas. The USA was the largest World C country; Brazil was the only other non-European country among the ten largest (see the tables on the following page). During the last century, however, many African and Asian countries moved out of World A, reflecting efforts to evangelise previously unreached peoples and areas. By 2010 most of Middle and Southern Africa are in World C, as is Papua New Guinea. DR Congo now ranks among the 10 largest World C countries (still led by the USA, with Brazil now second), as do Mexico and the Philippines (both part of World C in 1910), leaving Europe with only five countries on the list. The new additions reflect the shift of the global centre of Christianity to the southern hemisphere. Other former World A countries are now part of World B. As a result, in 2010 World A countries are concentrated in Northern and Western Africa and in Western and South-central Asia. None of Oceania remains in World A. In addition, seven of the largest World A countries in 1910 now rank among the largest World B countries. The other

Worlds A, B and C by country, 2010

Most unevangelised, non-Christian countries in 1910 were non-Western, mainly in Africa and Asia. Ethiopia, Madagascar and South Africa stand out as some of the only evangelised countries in Africa. Asia’s only evangelised country was the Philippines.

By 2010 many of the former World A countries are either World B or C. In the past 100 years, the gospel has powerfully impacted Eastern, Middle and Southern Africa, along with the majority of Asia, leading to many becoming evangelised or Christians. The Middle East continues to be unevangelised.

WorldA2010 In 1910 there were only a handful of evangelised, non-Christian countries, the largest being Ethiopia, South Africa, Madagascar and Guyana. In other parts of the world there was either aAlack of missionary B effort or minimal responses to such efforts.

With more widespread evangelistic efforts by 2010, more nations fall into the category of evangelised but still non-Christian. Half of 1910’s World B countries (South Africa, Reunion, Nauru and British Indian Ocean Territory) are now in World C.

WorldA1910 A B

C

World B

C

Evangelised Non-Christians

World A

Unevangelised Non-Christians

Worlds A, B and C by country, 1910

three – Pakistan, Bangladesh and Turkey – are now three of the largest World A countries. Not all transitions are due to vocational missionary activity, however. The petroleum industry and its resultant prosperity have drawn Christians from elsewhere in Asia (as well as the Global North) to Persian Gulf countries, moving some (such as Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates) from World A to World B through both their presence and their witness. Yet the century also saw the evangelised percentage decline in a number of countries. The reluctance of Christians in some World C countries to evangelise the large numbers of non-Christian immigrants (and often to engage them on any level) is one reason. Another is the over-representation of Christians among emigrants (in Lebanon, for example, which moved from World C in 1910 to World B in 2010). Secularisation, sometimes combined with Communist rule, similarly decreased the evangelised percentages in many countries (and transferred Cuba, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Czech Republic from World C to World B).

WorldB2010

WorldB1910 A

Christians

B

World C

C

A In 1910 almost all of the Global North was predominantly Christian (Albania and Kosovo were part of World A). In the Global South, most of Latin America and large portions of OceaniaB also were in C World C, as were Armenia, Georgia and the Philippines in Asia.

312 WorldC1910

WorldC2010

A

A

B

B

In 2010 there are only slight changes in the World C population. Although much of Southern and Middle Africa is predominantly Christian, the rest of Africa, the Middle East and Asia are more resistant to the Christian faith.

Worlds A, B and C by province, 2010

World A (unevangelised) World B (evangelised) World C (Christians)

Worlds A, B and C by province The map above portrays Worlds A, B and C at the province level, whereas the maps on the facing page present Worlds A, B and C by country. It is easily seen from this map, however, that even on the province level Northern Africa and large parts of Asia (especially Western and South-central Asia) still remain unevangelised and non-Christian (World A), though they do contain pockets of provinces that have been evangelised but are still

non-Christian (World B). India is unique in that it also has several World C provinces. The biggest changes in Christianity by province over the past 100 years have occurred in Africa and Asia. Africa is split evenly between World C and World A, the southern and northern portions, illustrating the dividing line between Christianity and Islam on the continent. South-eastern Asia and China are

also a mix of evangelised and unevangelised provinces, though the map indicates that the Chinese provinces farther inland are less evangelised. The Western world remains predominantly Christian, though both less Christian and less evangelised than in 1910; secularisation and immigration will likely continue the trend.

Largest World A countries, 1910 and 2010

Largest World B countries, 1910 and 2010

Largest World C countries, 1910 and 2010

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 China India Japan Indonesia Bangladesh Pakistan Nigeria Turkey Viet Nam Egypt

Total population 486,638,000 253,108,000 50,779,000 44,790,000 31,216,000 27,424,000 18,785,000 15,426,000 13,200,000 12,156,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 Pakistan Bangladesh Turkey Iran Sudan Algeria Morocco Iraq Afghanistan Nepal

Total population 173,351,000 166,638,000 77,703,000 74,276,000 41,230,000 35,423,000 32,247,000 30,688,000 30,389,000 29,898,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1910 Total population Ethiopia 9,035,000 South Africa 6,017,000 Madagascar 2,849,000 Guyana 308,000 Reunion 186,000 Suriname 93,600 Nauru 1,700 British Indian Ocean 570

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2010 China India Indonesia Nigeria Japan Viet Nam Ethiopia Egypt Thailand Myanmar

Total population 1,335,860,000 1,220,182,000 239,600,000 158,313,000 127,758,000 90,845,000 89,566,000 79,537,000 65,125,000 50,051,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1910 USA Russia Germany France Britain Italy Ukraine Poland Brazil Spain

World C 11,663,000 A 5,266,000A1 207,000A2 3,107,000A3 2,526,000A4 557,000A5 25,123,000 C 2,288,000C1 5,182,000C2 10,124,000C3 7,529,000C4 403,687,000 E 159,695,000E1 60,326,000E2 74,532,000E3 109,134,000E4 74,477,000 L 7,986,000L1 20,566,000L2 45,925,000L3 91,429,000 N 5,650,000 P 5,206,000P1 245,000P2 68,600P3 130,000P4 612,028,000zG

%A

00%

%B

25

Total population 314,692,000 198,982,000 140,318,000 110,293,000 93,001,000 82,365,000 69,010,000 62,507,000 61,517,000 59,032,000

50%

50

Population World A 1,032,012,000 249,893,000 332,107,000 42,787,000 129,583,000 11,330,000 206,295,000 101,455,000 56,592,000 1,288,000 307,436,000 93,033,000 4,166,308,000 1,736,442,000 1,562,575,000 543,440,000 1,777,378,000 864,606,000 594,216,000 206,357,000 232,139,000 122,039,000 730,478,000 28,091,000 290,755,000 13,091,000 98,352,000 2,567,000 152,913,000 5,403,000 188,457,000 7,029,000 593,696,000 4,847,000 42,300,000 399,000 153,657,000 1,021,000 397,739,000 3,427,000 348,575,000 6,483,000 35,491,000 940,000 25,647,000 726,000 8,589,000 204,000 575,000 5,700 680,000 3,600 6,906,560,000 2,026,696,000

%C

75

100%

100

2010 World B World C 287,451,000 494,668,000 A 74,478,000 214,842,000A1 12,423,000 105,830,000A2 87,348,000 17,492,000A3 8,885,000 46,419,000A4 104,319,000 110,084,000A5 2,077,627,000 352,239,000 C 879,123,000 140,012,000C1 843,559,000 69,213,000C2 258,159,000 129,700,000C3 96,785,000 13,315,000C4 116,648,000 585,739,000 E 31,169,000 246,495,000E1 16,175,000 79,610,000E2 21,714,000 125,796,000E3 47,590,000 133,838,000E4 39,891,000 548,958,000 L 6,522,000 35,379,000L1 5,379,000 147,257,000L2 27,990,000 366,322,000L3 59,090,000 283,002,000 N 6,703,000 27,848,000 P 6,105,000 18,816,000P1 538,000 7,847,000P2 37,300 532,000P3 23,400 653,000P4 2,587,410,000 2,292,454,000zG

%A

0%

0

20

%B

40

50%

%C

60

80

100%

100

313

WORLDS A, B AND C

World B 14,221,000 3,828,000 2,542,000 2,919,000 770,000 4,161,000 165,851,000 98,290,000 45,547,000 16,728,000 5,286,000 12,840,000 9,794,000 1,095,900 757,000 1,194,000 1,652,000 145,600 153,400 1,353,000 3,077,000 327,000 130,800 183,000 13,100 900 197,969,000

2010 USA Brazil Russia Mexico Philippines Germany DR Congo France Britain Italy

1-25

1910 World A 98,344,000 23,936,000 16,694,000 25,976,000 3,523,000 28,215,000 837,291,000 455,518,000 294,392,000 67,252,000 20,129,000 10,627,000 8,695,000 52,100 1,651,000 228,000 2,140,000 40,400 57,600 2,042,000 183,000 1,215,000 38,200 1,168,000 7,700 100 949,800,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1-25

World A, B and C individuals, 1910 and 2010 Population Africa 124,228,000 Eastern Africa 33,030,000 Middle Africa 19,443,000 Northern Africa 32,002,000 Southern Africa 6,819,000 Western Africa 32,933,000 Asia 1,028,265,000 Eastern Asia 556,096,000 South-Central Asia 345,121,000 South-Eastern Asia 94,104,000 Western Asia 32,944,000 Europe 427,154,000 Eastern Europe 178,184,000 Northern Europe 61,474,000 Southern Europe 76,940,000 Western Europe 110,556,000 Latin America 78,269,000 Caribbean 8,172,000 Central America 20,777,000 South America 49,320,000 Northern America 94,689,000 Oceania 7,192,000 Australia/New Zealand 5,375,000 Melanesia 1,596,000 Micronesia 89,400 Polynesia 131,000 Global total 1,759,797,000

Total population 87,954,000 78,807,000 46,422,000 41,164,000 40,327,000 35,434,000 30,777,000 24,324,000 22,405,000 20,360,000

Worlds A, B and C by languages and peoples, 2010

W

orld A consists of unevangelised non-Christians; World B, evangelised non-Christians; and World C, Christians. Worldwide there are roughly two billion individuals in each of these three categories. Nonetheless, there are far more World C countries at 149, compared to World B (50) and World A (41). There are currently more evangelised, non-Christian (World B) cities than cities in World A or World C. Dividing languages and people groups into Worlds A, B and C reveals the status of Christian evangelisation on a more intimate level. The tally of 149 World C countries does not reveal particular people groups within those countries that are not predominantly Christian. Likewise, categorising a city as World B does not mean that speakers of each of the different languages within that city are also World B. The mini-maps below illustrate Worlds A, B and C by languages in 2010. Most speakers of Mandarin Chinese,

the language with the largest number of native speakers, fall in World B (evangelised but non-Christian). Native speakers of Spanish and English, which rank second and third, are mostly Christians (World C). It is clear that the greatest concentrations of unevangelised peoples live in Northern Africa, across the Middle East and deep into Asia. This has been true for more than 100 years despite missionary efforts in these regions. Late in the twentieth century, special attention was focused on least-evangelised peoples – alternately referred to as hidden peoples, unreached peoples, or frontier peoples. Their geographic location was dubbed as the ‘10/40 Window’, referring to 100–40º north latitude in Africa and Asia. As can be seen from the maps below and the tables on the facing page, relatively fewer languages (and peoples) can be classified as World B than as World A.

The pattern throughout the twentieth century was that many of those who were evangelised became Christians. Such a pattern therefore could encourage individuals and peoples in World C today to reach out to those still in Worlds A and B. Viewing the data by languages allows one to easily see that evangelism requires more than speaking a dominant world language; it is the smaller, perhaps lesser-known, tongues that merit the special attention of Christians. Christians thus need to learn and speak World A languages such as Western Panjabi, various dialects of Arabic, and Uzbek. This analysis also highlights the fact that although Christianity has shifted to the Global South over the past 100 years, there are still thousands of peoples in the Global South relatively untouched by the Christian gospel. Today responsibility for reaching these belongs to the global Church, often from peoples geographically or culturally near but in some cases from those far away.

World B

Evangelised Non-Christians

World A

Unevangelised Non-Christians

Worlds A, B and C by languages, 2010 Largest World A peoples and languages, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Peoples Western Punjabi Han Chinese (Jinyu) Bhojpuri Bihari Maitili Han Chinese (Xiang) Han Chinese (Gan) Sudanese Arab Northern Uzbek Eastern Pathan Awadhi

Total 74,372,000 55,973,000 42,678,000 42,392,000 39,230,000 38,312,000 26,470,000 25,973,000 25,928,000 25,076,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Languages Urdu Panjabi, Western Chinese, Jinyu Bhojpuri Maithili Chinese, Xiang Chinese, Gan Haryanvi Arabic, Sudanese Uzbek, Northern

Total 80,204,000 74,759,000 55,973,000 43,127,000 42,392,000 39,230,000 38,312,000 29,349,000 29,155,000 26,008,000

The largest World A peoples and languages in 2010 represent various religions. The peoples at positions 1, 3, 4 and 10 are predominantly Hindu; those at 2, 5 and 6 are predominantly agnostic; and those at 7, 8 and 9 are predominantly Muslim. World A languages show a similar pattern: four are spoken mainly by Hindus, three by agnostics and three by Muslims.

Largest World B peoples and languages, 2010 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Peoples Han Chinese (Mandarin) Bengali Hindi Japanese Telugu Maratha Han Chinese (Wu) Tamil Javanese Vietnamese

Total 853,467,000 220,827,000 139,039,000 129,933,000 96,152,000 90,074,000 85,947,000 84,679,000 80,902,000 78,951,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Languages Chinese, Mandarin Bengali Hindi Japanese Telugu Marathi Chinese, Wu Tamil Vietnamese Korean

Total 876,583,000 220,861,000 146,257,000 128,947,000 96,286,000 90,108,000 85,943,000 84,598,000 80,364,000 77,212,000

The World B population worldwide, as seen by the map to the left, is extremely scattered. As with World A peoples and languages, the World B lists show variety by geography and religion. Agnostics, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians can be counted as the largest group of adherents for at least one of these peoples or languages.

World C

Christians

Largest World C peoples and languages, 2010

314

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Peoples Latin American Mestizo Russian USA White Brazilian White Latin American White German English Brazilian Mulatto Polish Ukrainian

Total 189,533,000 132,491,000 126,800,000 103,356,000 97,484,000 71,374,000 52,930,000 43,790,000 42,245,000 40,431,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Languages Spanish English Portuguese Russian German French Polish Ukrainian Tagalog Italian

Total 380,764,000 338,342,000 211,015,000 134,330,000 65,227,000 60,773,000 40,863,000 39,955,000 33,145,000 29,131,000

The majority of Christians live in the Americas, Europe and Middle/Southern Africa, as indicated by the map to the left. The presence of four Latin American people groups on the list – along with Spanish and Portuguese (spoken mostly by Latin American peoples) and Tagalog (from the Philippines) – reflects the reality of Christianity’s movement to the Global South over the past 100 years.

World A, B and C peoples, 2010 There are 6,791 global peoples in the world (12,331 if tallied separately by country). Despite centuries of Christian evangelisation, there are still 2,224 World A (unevangelised, non-Christian) global peoples. Only in the twentieth century did Christians, especially missionaries, begin to think about evangelisation in

terms of people groups and not simply countries. Every country has a Christian presence, but such is not the case for every people group. Not surprisingly, Asia contains the most unevangelised people groups (1,389), followed by Africa (759). These two continents also have the largest total numbers of people

World A, B and C global peoples, 2010 People groups Africa 2,208 Eastern Africa 480 Middle Africa 796 Northern Africa 250 Southern Africa 92 Western Africa 886 Asia 2,257 Eastern Asia 292 South-central Asia 737 South-eastern Asia 1,316 Western Asia 181 Europe 430 Eastern Europe 186 Northern Europe 168 Southern Europe 126 Western Europe 168 Latin America 879 Caribbean 72 Central America 389 South America 489 Northern America 350 Oceania 1,273 Australia/New Zealand 200 Melanesia 1,066 Micronesia 39 Polynesia 38 Global total 6,791

People groups World A World B 759 600 114 178 152 155 173 39 17 21 397 275 1,389 353 220 42 572 75 623 270 112 36 121 85 83 35 29 36 16 19 29 37 38 172 3 14 7 11 33 164 16 45 44 129 23 65 23 73 0 3 1 3 2,224 1,218

groups. Asia is home to only 515 World C (Christian) people groups. Oceania also has a large number of people groups, most of whom are Christian; this is especially true in Melanesia (970 peoples in World C – most of them in Papua New Guinea).

GlobalPeopleABC_world_GROUPBY World C 849 188 489 38 54 214 515 30 90 423 33 224 68 103 91 102 669 55 371 292 289 1,100 112 970 36 34 3,349

Latin American Mestizo

Latin American White

Orisi

Urdu

Polish

Bengali

Brazilian White

Vietnamese Maitili Bhojpuri Bihari

Javanese

USA White

Brazilian Mulatto Tamil Malayali

Japanese Han Chinese (Wu)

Han Chinese (Mandarin)

Kanarese French Egyptian Arab

Russian Maratha

Yoruba

Han Han Han African English Ukrainian Chinese Chinese Chinese Eastern AmerPunjabi (Xiang) (Hakka) (Gan) ican Hindi

Telugu

Korean

Western Punjabi

Han Chinese (Yue)

Hausa Italian

Han Han Chinese Gujarati Chinese Turkish (Min Nan) (Jinyu)

German

ABC value (MIN)) WorldColor B Key (World World C

World A

Each rectangle represents a Global People Name Each rectangle's area is determined by the value of Ppop2010 (SUM) compared to a total of 6,861,649,881 Han Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of World ABCChinese value (MIN)

Sundanese

Peoples in Worlds A, B and C

1 1.5 2.5 2 Han (Cantonese) Chinese The colours of the above tree map indicate the status of global peoples in terms of World A, B or C. The two (Huanese)

3

largest peoples in the world, Han Chinese and Bengali, are evangelised, non-Christian peoples (World B).

World A, B and C languages, 2010 The world’s 6,244 languages (7,299 including small and extinct languages) present Christians with a difficult challenge in fulfilling their mandate to preach the gospel to every tribe, tongue and nation. The largest Christian languages are Spanish and English, followed by Portuguese and Russian – all European

languages. Mandarin Chinese is the largest spoken language in the world; many evangelisation efforts are under way among speakers of Mandarin Chinese, but much remains to be done. Note that the Han Chinese, above, speak many languages, of which Mandarin is only one. There are still over 2,000 languages

in World A; 1,283 of these are in Asia. Oceania contains the highest number of World C languages (1,061). Africa has the next-largest share (786). Asia has 485 Christian languages, with Western Asia having the fewest of any region (22).

World A, B and C languages, 2010 Languages World A World B 691 573 100 161 148 146 138 37 16 18 382 277 1,283 325 206 38 522 70 601 259 96 32 106 70 77 35 27 30 12 14 26 31 34 141 1 11 4 8 32 138 15 36 43 128 23 65 21 73 0 3 0 2 2,042 1,118

LangABC_world World C 786 176 463 34 43 196 485 25 87 404 22 169 55 81 74 88 581 24 351 238 246 1,061 95 948 29 27 3,084

Japanese

Javanese

English Gujarati Russian Chinese, Min Nan Spanish Hindi

German

Turkish Portuguese Chinese, Mandarin

Chinese, Yue

Panjabi, Western

French

Chinese, Jinyu

Arabic, MalayKannada Bhojpuri Maithili Egyptian alam

Hausa

Bengali Telugu

Marathi

Each rectangle represents a Ethid Each rectangle's area is determined by the value of Ethpop (SUM) compared to a total of 6,863,644,686 Each rectangle's color is determined by the value of World ABC value (MIN)

Languages in Worlds A, B and C

Chinese, Wu

Tamil

Vietnamese

Urdu

Korean

ABC value (MIN)) WorldColor B Key (World World C

World A 1

1.5

2

2.5

3

This tree map makes it visually clear that the largest languages in the world have been evangelised. There are relatively few large World A – unevangelised, non-Christian – languages in comparison to Worlds B and C.

315

WORLDS A, B AND C

Africa Eastern Africa Middle Africa Northern Africa Southern Africa Western Africa Asia Eastern Asia South-central Asia South-eastern Asia Western Asia Europe Eastern Europe Northern Europe Southern Europe Western Europe Latin America Caribbean Central America South America Northern America Oceania Australia/New Zealand Melanesia Micronesia Polynesia Global total

Languages 2,050 437 757 209 77 855 2,093 269 679 1,264 150 345 167 138 100 145 756 36 363 408 297 1,232 183 1,042 32 29 6,244

Personal contact between Christians and non-Christians, 2010

W

ith a global population of over two billion, Christians make up one-third of the world’s people. It therefore might be expected that a significant number of non-Christians would have some kind of personal contact with a Christian. This is not the case, however. One reason is immediately obvious: Christians are not evenly distributed globally. Some countries have large Christian majorities, while in others Christians constitute small minorities. Yet within a country, or even a city, adherents of different religions can be isolated from each other in many ways, including geographically, ethnically, socially and economically. In order to estimate the number of non-Christians who have personal contact with a Christian, a formula has been developed and applied to each ethnolinguistic people group. This formula is described in the ‘Methodological notes’ section in the Appendices. Thus, for every non-Christian population in the world, there is an indication of Christian presence and contact. Summing values for each country, region and continent produces a global total. Although these numbers are

Buddhists who know a Christian, 2010

Countries with high percentages of Buddhists who know Christians tend to have a combination of small Buddhist populations and large Christian populations. It is no surprise to see high percentages in Latin America and parts of Europe, where the Christian population is by far the majority. Countries where few Buddhists know a Christian have small Buddhist populations, but they also have either small Christian populations or Buddhist populations isolated from the Christian majority (Romania, Iceland).

estimates, they offer a preliminary assessment of a critical shortfall in Christian mission. Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims have relatively little contact with Christians. In each case, over 86% of these religionists globally do not personally know a Christian. Agnostics and atheists are in closer touch than other religionists with Christians (except in Asia); this is not unexpected, since many agnostics and atheists in the West are former Christians reacting against Christianity. Of interest is that ethnoreligionists have more contact with Christians as well, likely because ethnoreligionist peoples were a major focus of Christian mission in the twentieth century. Non-Christians in Asia are more isolated from Christians than in any other continent in the world. At least two factors contribute to this: (1) isolation of Christians in majority Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim cultures; and (2) relatively fewer Christian missionaries sent to and within Asia than to the rest of the world. Muslims in Africa have only slightly more contact with Christians than the world average for Muslims.

Highest and lowest percentages 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Country* Guatemala Trinidad & Tobago Estonia Reunion French Polynesia Vanuatu Samoa Madagascar Colombia Suriname

% 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Romania Oman North Korea Pakistan Guinea Yemen Qatar Iceland Israel Afghanistan

8 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 3

Percentage of Buddhists who know a Christian CtryScan_B_WhoKnow 100 90 60 40 10 1 0

B_WhoKnow 0

Hindus who know a Christian, 2010

Hindus follow the same pattern as Buddhists: countries with high percentages of Hindus who know Christians have small populations of Hindus and large populations of Christians. Also as with Buddhists, countries where few Hindus know a Christian generally have relatively small Hindu populations and either small Christian populations or (in the case of Austria) Hindu populations isolated from the Christian population.

10

Highest and lowest40percentages 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Country* Estonia Guadeloupe Martinique Latvia Grenada Argentina Colombia French Guiana Reunion Tonga

60 90 100

% 100 100 100 100 100 99 92 76 70 50

Indonesia Austria Eritrea Cambodia Equatorial Guinea Djibouti Laos Japan Israel Afghanistan

10 10 9 8 8 8 7 6 6 5

Percentage of Hindus who know a Christian CtryScan_H_WhoKnow 100 90 60 40 10 1 0

H_WhoKnow 0

Muslims who know a Christian, 2010

Muslims who know Christians also tend to be found in majority-Christian countries. Unlike the situation for Buddhists and Hindus, however, most countries where the fewest Muslims know Christians have Muslim majorities. In China and Mongolia, Muslims and Christians tend to be geographically isolated from each other. Aruba has few Muslims, while Japan has small populations of both Muslims and Christians.

10

Highest and lowest40percentages 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Country* Cape Verde Grenada Guam Rwanda Namibia Uganda Chile Malta Burundi Puerto Rico

191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Somalia Sahara Mongolia Algeria Somaliland Japan Mauritania China Afghanistan Aruba

60 90 100

% 100 99 99 99 98 97 96 93 89 83 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 5 3 2

*Country populations >100,000

316

M_WhoKnow 0 10 40

Percentage of Muslims who know a Christian CtryScan_M_WhoKnow 100 90 60 40 10 1 0

Christians in the Global South face a formidable challenge in their lack of contact with non-Christians, especially Muslims. Additionally, there is a sizeable difference between the percentage of Muslims in Europe who know Christians and the corresponding percentage in Northern America. This is likely a reflection of the tendency of European Muslims to isolate themselves (or to be isolated by others) in Muslim communities. What can be done to change this situation? First, Christians must reconfigure their worldview to a more global outlook, reaching beyond their own worlds and into the worlds of those without the gospel. Christians also must stress the importance of learning about the beliefs and cultures of adherents of other world religions. Ultimately, however, Christians must seek out and intentionally develop personal relationships with people who do not know a Christian, even learning their language or living among them in order to share their lives and witness.

Non-Christians who know a Christian, 2010

Percentage of non-Christians who know a Christian CtryScan_X_WhoKnow 100 90 60 40 10 1 0

Non-Christians who know a Christian As would be expected, countries where Christianity is the majority religion have high percentages of non-Christians who know or have personal contact with Christians. Latin America, Northern America, Europe, Middle and Southern Africa, and parts of Oceania represent this situation. In many of these countries adherents of different religions often live and work nearby, making it difficult not to interact with one another. By contrast, in countries where the population has a majority of non-Christians, their contact with Christians generally is fairly low. These countries are located mostly in Africa (Northern, Western, Eastern) and Asia. In addition, most of the countries in which the fewest non-Christians know a Christian have Muslim majorities; exceptions include North Korea (agnostics), Nepal (Hindus), Bhutan (Buddhists) and Mongolia (a mix of religions). One major factor determining the degree of interaction of Christians with non-Christians is the amount of religious

freedom allowed in the country, or more specifically, the amount of hostility that is targeted towards Christians in the country. North Korea, Iran, Somalia and Afghanistan are some of the largest countries with the lowest interaction between Christians and non-Christians, largely due to the persecution of Christians in these countries. Christianity or Christians are often equated in these countries with Western ideals or intrusive American nationalism, while Western media focus primarily on the hostility present in these countries. Both prejudices fuel a further divide in the interaction of Christians with non-Christians. Guyana and Suriname (in Latin America) and BosniaHerzegovina and Albania (in Europe) are conspicuous in their continents for the lower numbers of Christians present and for distinctly separated groupings of non-Christians and Christians among the peoples in those countries.

Percentage of non-Christians who know a Christian* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Highest percentage Grenada Haiti Cape Verde Guatemala Lesotho French Polynesia São Tomé & Príncipe Poland Slovakia Channel Islands

% 100 100 99 99 99 99 99 99 98 98

191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

Lowest percentage North Korea Yemen Turkey Iran Somalia Sahara Algeria Somaliland Mauritania Afghanistan

% 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 3

Personal contact between Christians and non-Christians, 2010 % 48 65 82 8 82 36 8 9 4 22 6 80 85 81 82 71 92 84 96 92 81 78 73 91 93 96 33

Buddhists Total Know Christian % 292,000 110,000 37.7 75,800 19,300 25.4 5,700 2,300 40.1 22,000 2,600 11.8 159,000 82,000 51.5 29,600 3,900 13.2 461,464,000 62,797,000 13.6 276,177,000 38,630,000 14.0 26,764,000 3,590,000 13.4 158,139,000 20,509,000 13.0 384,000 67,200 17.5 1,833,000 549,000 30.0 604,000 123,000 20.4 282,000 93,100 33.0 116,000 37,400 32.3 830,000 295,000 35.6 800,000 530,000 66.3 14,700 7,700 52.1 71,400 22,100 30.9 714,000 500,000 70.1 3,720,000 1,327,000 35.7 627,000 183,000 29.1 599,000 171,000 28.6 15,000 5,300 35.0 12,100 5,400 44.6 780 580 74.6 468,736,000 65,497,000 14.0

Hindus Total Know Christian % 2,891,000 671,000 23.2 1,577,000 310,000 19.7 105,000 17,100 16.3 7,600 1,200 16.1 1,182,000 339,000 28.7 19,900 3,200 16.3 941,485,000 123,225,000 13.1 45,700 5,300 11.5 932,792,000 121,984,000 13.1 7,544,000 980,000 13.0 1,103,000 256,000 23.2 1,008,000 227,000 22.6 51,000 17,800 34.8 664,000 133,000 20.1 30,400 8,300 27.4 262,000 68,100 26.0 780,000 208,000 26.7 385,000 110,000 28.6 27,700 7,900 28.4 367,000 90,100 24.5 1,820,000 402,000 22.1 524,000 107,000 20.5 271,000 50,400 18.6 253,000 56,800 22.4 0 0 0.0 100 50 50.2 948,507,000 124,840,000 13.2

Muslims Non-Christians Total Know Christian % Total Know Christian 417,644,000 83,046,000 19.9 537,344,000 140,027,000 72,436,000 26,767,000 37.0 117,265,000 50,431,000 12,403,000 2,216,000 17.9 23,753,000 10,226,000 182,154,000 21,859,000 12.0 188,803,000 24,248,000 1,262,000 891,000 70.6 10,173,000 7,772,000 149,389,000 31,311,000 21.0 197,352,000 47,351,000 1,082,537,000 110,576,000 10.2 3,814,069,000 489,014,000 21,775,000 1,128,000 5.2 1,422,563,000 196,166,000 637,021,000 62,366,000 9.8 1,708,165,000 204,170,000 217,705,000 27,720,000 12.7 464,516,000 67,041,000 206,036,000 19,362,000 9.4 218,824,000 21,637,000 41,082,000 7,436,000 18.1 144,739,000 103,786,000 17,417,000 2,877,000 16.5 44,260,000 27,398,000 2,377,000 384,000 16.1 18,742,000 15,097,000 10,154,000 1,994,000 19.6 27,117,000 18,631,000 11,134,000 2,181,000 19.6 54,619,000 42,658,000 1,860,000 895,000 48.1 44,738,000 40,220,000 125,000 38,300 30.7 6,921,000 5,737,000 392,000 233,000 59.5 6,400,000 5,913,000 1,342,000 623,000 46.5 31,417,000 28,571,000 5,740,000 3,870,000 67.4 65,573,000 51,846,000 582,000 128,000 22.0 7,643,000 5,662,000 518,000 115,000 22.1 6,831,000 5,172,000 63,200 13,200 20.8 742,000 434,000 670 360 53.8 43,000 30,100 80 40 50.1 27,000 26,100 1,549,444,000 205,952,000 13.3 4,614,106,000 830,554,000

% 26.1 43.0 43.1 12.8 76.4 24.0 12.8 13.8 12.0 14.4 9.9 71.7 61.9 80.6 68.7 78.1 89.9 82.9 92.4 90.9 79.1 74.1 75.7 58.4 69.9 96.7 18.0

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Africa Eastern Africa Middle Africa Northern Africa Southern Africa Western Africa Asia Eastern Asia South-Central Asia South-Eastern Asia Western Asia Europe Eastern Europe Northern Europe Southern Europe Western Europe Latin America Caribbean Central America South America Northern America Oceania Australia/New Zealand Melanesia Micronesia Polynesia Global total

Population Christians 1,032,012,000 494,668,000 332,107,000 214,842,000 129,583,000 105,830,000 206,295,000 17,492,000 56,592,000 46,419,000 307,436,000 110,084,000 4,166,308,000 352,239,000 1,562,575,000 140,012,000 1,777,378,000 69,213,000 594,216,000 129,700,000 232,139,000 13,315,000 730,478,000 585,739,000 290,755,000 246,495,000 98,352,000 79,610,000 152,913,000 125,796,000 188,457,000 133,838,000 593,696,000 548,958,000 42,300,000 35,379,000 153,657,000 147,257,000 397,739,000 366,322,000 348,575,000 283,002,000 35,491,000 27,848,000 25,647,000 18,816,000 8,589,000 7,847,000 575,000 532,000 680,000 653,000 6,906,560,000 2,292,454,000

Evangelism offers, 2010

E

vangelising is a core tenet of the Christian faith. This term, though, encompasses a wide variety of activities. In Christ’s ministry on earth he evangelised on three different levels: by his presence, by his witness, and by his evangelism. These three modes represent for today’s Christians three different levels of evangelising activity: presence, witness and evangelism. These modes also enable us to measure the time spent evangelising. To quantify that time, assume (1) the ‘normal’ Christian’s conscious day is 16 hours, giving 5,840 waking hours in a year; (2) evangelising hours include all hours spend in the three modes presented above; and (3) the normal Christian spends 4 hours daily actively witnessing and 30 minutes in active evangelism. A ‘waking year’ thus includes 1,460 witness-hours and 182 evangelism-hours. If every Christian operated under these assumptions, then in one year the world’s 2 billion-plus Christians

would spend 13.4 trillion presence-hours on evangelism. Since only about a third of Christians operate on this timetable, however, this drops to 4.5 trillion presence-hours. Dividing by the global population of 6.9 billion gives 650 Christian presence-hours per inhabitant in 2010. Dividing instead by the world’s 4.6 billion non-Christians gives 970 presence-hours per non-Christian, while dividing by the 2 billion unevangelised gives 2,200 presence-hours per unevangelised person in 2010. This would seem to be enough to evangelise the entire world in one year, but these hours are not shared and distributed evenly. For example, in 2010 the USA’s 206 million church members produce 1.2 trillion presence-hours, or 3,830 per USA inhabitant. Individual Great Commission Christians (GCCs) by their own personal evangelism produce 13 billion evangelism-hours per year, or 41 per year per inhabitant. Adding all the other 44 ministries

or types of evangelism listed in the table ‘Types of evangelism’ below, the annual total climbs to around 100 evangelism-hours per inhabitant. Because one evangelism-hour can produce multiple disciple-opportunities, the result is over 314 million disciple-opportunities in the USA (one per resident) each day, as shown in the evangelism offers tables below and on page 320. Thus, the average USA non-Christian gets multiple opportunities to hear about and follow Christ. At the same time, GCCs in the USA also receive many unneeded disciple-opportunities (because they are already disciples). This illustrates clearly the lopsided distribution of the Church’s evangelistic efforts. The relationship between evangelism-hours, disciple-opportunities and response to evangelisation is described in detail in World Christian Trends, pp. 675–778.

Types of evangelism Evangelism hours for each area and people of the world are calculated using data from the three major fields shown below: evangelisers, evangelism and hindrances to evangelism. Evangelism is itself further divided into seven sub-categories, giving a total of 45 different factors affecting the amount of evangelism present .

Evangelisers Number of Christians present

Evangelism Hidden words Intercession Inner renewal Visual words

Personal words

Proclaimed words

Evangelism CtryScan_OfferPd offers per day 350,000,000 200,000,000 100,000,000 40,000,000 10,000,000 0

Christian lifestyle Audiovisual ministries Plays/concerts/operas/shows Jesus film Audio Scriptures Scripture leaflets/selections Every-home visitations Most and fewest total offers received per day* New Reader Scriptures OfferPd Most offers Total p.d. Fewest offers Total p.d. Braille Scriptures 191 Mongolia 1 USA 314,347,000 21,300 67 - 10,000,000 Signed/deaf Scriptures 192 Djibouti 2 Brazil 311,183,000 19,200 10,000,001 - 40,000,000 Christian suffering 193 Mauritania 186,922,000 8,300 40,000,001 - 100,000,000 3 Russia 194 Somaliland 100,000,001 - 200,000,000 4 Mexico 170,268,000 6,200 Personal evangelism by GCCs 200,000,001 - 350,000,000 5 Philippines 195 Bhutan 133,016,000 4,400 Martyrdoms 196 Comoros 6 Nigeria 97,596,000 3,600 197 Northern Cyprus 7 DR Congo 92,249,000 3,000 Full-time home church workers 198 Maldives 8 Germany 80,141,000 1,700 Foreign missionaries 199 Mayotte 9 China 73,473,000 1,300 Evangelists, catechists 200 Sahara 10 Colombia 72,765,000 840 Short-term workers Part-time evangelisers Mission agencies Evangelism offers, Worlds A, B and C, 2010

Written words Portions/Gospels New Testaments (NTs) Bibles Second-language Gospels Second-language NTs Second-language Bibles

 Evangelism offers received per day The map above shows the total number of evangelism hours received each day by each country of the world. Because one of the factors of evangelism hours is the number of Christians present, this map bears a strong resemblance to the Christian distribution map located in Part II of this atlas. However, it also very strongly highlights those countries that receive the most evangelistic attention. The USA, Russia and Brazil, which have the largest Christian presences, clearly receive the most evangelistic efforts in the world. While this situation may address large needs due to population sizes (indicated in the per capita map on the facing page), it is also true that it leaves much of the world deprived of a needed presence. Central and Western Asia receive the least Christian witness.

Offers per % of % of Population Christians person per year offers Population 62,369,000 11 2.0 29.3 World A (unevangelised) 2,026,696,000 World A World B (evangelised) 2,587,410,000 391,134,000 55 12.6 37.5 World B World C (Christians) 2,292,454,000 2,659,151,000 423 85.4 33.2 World C Total 6,906,560,000 3,112,654,000 165 100.0 100.0

% of offers

 Offers to Worlds A , B and C

% of population

0%

50%

100%

Over 85% of evangelism offers are directed at current Christians whereas only 2% are directed at the unevangelised.

Printed words Denominational materials Local church output Outside Christian literature Church-planting output Institutional ministries/records Christian books Christian periodicals Tracts Other documentation Electronic words Programmed training Christian radio programmes Christian TV programmes Urban media Christian-owned computers Internet/e-mail networks

Hindrances Isolation Lack of religious liberty Lack of human development Illiteracy

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Evangelism offers directed at religionists, 2010 Christians Muslims Hindus Agnostics Buddhists Chinese folk Ethnoreligionists Atheists New Religionists Sikhs Jews Spiritists Daoists Baha'is Confucianists Jains Shintoists Zoroastrians Total

2010 Evangelism Offers per % of % of Adherents offers per day person per year offers Population 2,292,454,000 2,659,151,000 423 85.4 33.2C 1,549,444,000 68,639,000 16 2.2 22.4M 948,507,000 28,327,000 11 0.9 13.7H 639,852,000 189,238,000 108 6.1 9.3Q 468,736,000 21,227,000 17 0.7 6.8B 458,316,000 22,090,000 18 0.7 6.6 F 261,429,000 55,187,000 77 1.8 3.8T 138,532,000 32,978,000 87 1.1 2.0A 64,443,000 8,521,000 48 0.3 0.9N 24,591,000 214,000 3