Conclusion

Abstract

Abstract Beginning with a brief look at the controversy in the worldwide Anglican communion over the northern churches’ attempts to normalize homosexual relationships, editor Sanneh insists that this conflict is evidence of a serious cultural gap between the northern churches and those of the global south and east. Northern forms of Christianity are trying to regain a hearing by becoming deeply accommodated to the demands of post-Christian culture, while after decades of hardship and persecution (e.g., in Ethiopia under the Dirge, a Marxist regime), non-western Christianity is emerging more vigorous and self-confident than ever. A fault line on a global scale is emerging, but because of massive emigration, world Christianity is present everywhere. Non-western or world Christianity has grown up amid the failure of nation-states and economies and has learned to carry much civic freight. It is better equipped than the northern churches to function in a new world order where state jurisdiction is less relevant. These new expressions of Christianity are opening up a new chapter in the history of religion.