World Christianity: Its Implications for History, Religious Studies, and Theology

Abstract

The paper traces the emergence of the concept of “World Christianity” to designate a new academic discipline beyond ecumenical and missiological discussions. It then elaborates the implications of “World Christianity” for the History of Christianity in contrast to Church History and for the study of Christianity as a “world religion.” The paper argues for an expansion of the “cartography” and “topography” of Church History to take into account the contributions of ecclesiastically marginalized groups and neglected charismatic/pentecostal activities. Furthermore, it is urged that in the study of Christianity as a world religion greater attention be given to how local communities have received and transformed the imported Christianities, the role of popular religiosity, and the presence of Evangelical/Pentecostal Churches. Finally, it is suggested that “World Christianity” requires the expansion of theological method and reformulation of some key Christian doctrines.

Recalling the Term ‘World Christianity’: Excursions into Worldings of Literature, Philosophy, and History

“…These excursions make clear that worldings imply a committed hermeneutics of written texts, and an exploration of being (the ultimate question of identity and relationality) as understood through lived experiences expressed verbally and non-verbally. As long as there is an outspoken desire for recognising philosophical (especially in terms of transcendental philosophy) and religious traditions (Phan 2012), while commensurability is considered (Cabrita, Maxwell and Wild-Wood 2017), and there is a commitment to developing new terminologies that address difference and similarity (Tan and Tran 2016), these need to be tackled in an ongoing conversation about recognition and identity through presentation and representation. With reference to these latter notions, I shall now start my third excursion into worlding history.…”

Interreligious Dialogue: A Case Study Approach in Respect to the Vatican and the World Council of Churches

“…Building on Henry van Dusen's conceptualisation of World Christianity as a quest to promote Christian mission and unity (Robert 2009), this contribution considers World Christianity to indicate this consciousness of belonging to a worldwide Christian oikoumene and sees the World Council of Churches and the Vatican, being "two extensive networks that knit together Christians from various parts of the world" (Cabrita and Maxwell 2017: 31), as key institutions that promote such a consciousness. Within this Christian oikumene there has been an increasing consciousness about 'the religious other' and about the need to reflect on the encounter with people of other faith traditions, highlighted by scholars such as Peter Phan and Dale Irvin who define their research as studies in World Christianity (Phan 2012: 183, Irvin 2016. This contribution explores the dynamics and models of relating to 'the religious other' as developed within the World Council of Churches and the Vatican.…”