Disciplinary Tensions in World Christianity: Methodology, Power Dynamics, and the History of Religions

Tensions lie at the heart of World Christianity's development as an academic field. From its beginning, World Christianity scholars have recognized the simmering conflicts between Eurocentric constructions of Christianity and those Christianities in the world outside of Europe. Today, conversations acknowledge that diverse facets of Christian expression and identity are often neglected by academic scholarship; yet, at the same time, many scholars of World Christianity are rushing to bring previously disregarded Christian groups and perspectives to the center of the field's attention.

Reflecting on these strains, antagonisms, and impasses in the academic study of World Christianity, this volume probes the tensions involved in Christian interactions with other religions, the power dynamics implicated in Christianity's spread, and the field's evolving set of methodologies for addressing these issues. The contributions offer scholars new resources for understanding and resolving significant tensions in the discipline of World Christianity.

Thomas Seat is a teaching fellow in the University Core at Seton Hall University.

Sunder John Boopalan is an associate professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Canadian Mennonite University.

Christie Chui-Shan Chow is a scholar of global Christianity and Chinese religions.

Deanna Ferree Womack is associate professor of history of religions and interfaith studies at Emory University's Candler School of Theology.