Christendom, A Planetary Sketch Christianity in the Twentieth Century: A World History (review)

Abstract

Christendom, A Planetary Sketch Christianity in the Twentieth Century: A World History Peter Heinegg One hundred years of religion as practiced by billions of people in practically every corner of the globe—and all in 500 pages? Can't be done, and Stanley, who is a church historian and director of the Centre for the Study of World Christianity at Edinburgh University, hasn't tried to (he calls his work “an impossible book”). What he offers instead is a schematic survey of the growth (or decline), evolution, challenges, and critical moments of Catholic and Protestant communities of almost every major denomination (except the Mormons). Rather than recounting in depth complex events and developments or the lives of leading religious figures, he outlines everything and leaves it to the reader to pursue the myriad threads he's teased out. Stanley begins with the response of British and American churches, among others, to the First World War. In France, Italy, and Germany, the patriotic participation of Catholics helped remove some of the bias they had suffered from anticlerical governments. After Versailles, the British took over vast stretches of foreign territory, including previous German mission settlements, and mostly continued to promote their colonialist version of the faith. Neo‐orthodox theology arose largely as a reaction to “the more facile expressions of Christian liberalism and social optimism” that many Protestant churches had embraced at the dawn of the century. And one accidental consequence of rejecting liberal Protestantism was the spectacular growth of fundamentalism in America. As Billy Sunday said, “If you turn hell upside down, you will find ‘Made in Germany’ stamped on the bottom.” Stanley proceeds to examine the “uneasy marriages” of Christianity and nationalism and capitalism that took place long before the emergence of Tea Party evangelicals and the “prosperity Gospel.” This union seemed to work well in Korea—except that it led some Koreans to exalt ethnicity over human rights and civic commitment. And, of course Catholic piety (especially Marian devotion) welded to age‐old memories of tragic defeat and oppressive occupation helped Poland overthrow the Soviets. But that didn't erase a legacy of anti‐Semitism and contempt for democracy. With the fading of European imperialism, many sub‐Saharan African Christians created new and highly unorthodox churches, inspired by heroic “prophetic” and reputedly miracle‐working personalities like Garrick Sokari Braide (ca. 1884‐1918) in Nigeria, William Wadé Harris (1869‐1929) in Liberia, and Simon Kimbangu (c. 1887‐1951) in the Belgian Congo. These men and their thousands of followers are virtually unknown to western readers, so Stanley spends more time than usual on their careers and adventures. In “Making War on the Saints” Stanley chronicles the tribulations but ultimate survival of the French Catholic Church, despite the official hard‐line programs of laïcité, and the positively thriving of the Russian Orthodox Church after all the murderous assaults by the Soviets. This chapter (4) explores one of Stanley's key themes: the unexpected resilience of churches in a cataclysmic and, to many observers, godless age. Mainstream American and European congregations have been steadily, irretrievably, losing numbers since at least the end of WWII, while the Pentecostalists have been surging everywhere. Secular modernity continues to make inroads into every region of religious life, but Stanley's statistics show that reports of its coming demise are grossly exaggerated. He moves on to contrast of religious habits in America and Scandinavia, where, as the saying goes, people tend to “belong without believing.” Lutheranism is so thoroughly woven into the fabric of the culture, that most citizens just take it (lukewarmly) for granted, whereas Americans go to church (or claim to, anyway) far more often, are passionate in their theological convictions and inclined, as consumers in the sprawling marketplace of religious choices, to shift from one “brand” to another. Fiercely bigoted Protestant‐Catholic conflicts may have vanished from the scene, but Stanley judges the ecumenical movement harshly: Its fond hopes of merging the Christian churches in a kind of loving, diverse family have never been realized. Stanley notes that In Korea, for example, a single Presbyterian Church of Korea was established in 1907, served by four different missions (Northern Presbyterian, Southern Presbyterian, Canadian Presbyterian...