Trends in World Christianity, 1900–2050

HDS 2121 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

In 1900, 82% of all Christians in the world lived in Europe and North America (defined by the United Nations as the "global North") and 18% of Christians lived in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania ("global South"). However, by 2020, only 33% of Christians lived in the global North, and 67% lived in the global South. As a result, a "typical" Christian today is a woman of color living in the global South with lower-than-average socioeconomic status and physical safety. This represents a vastly different typical Christian than that of 100 years ago, who would have been a White affluent European. The demographic shift of World Christianity is poised to continue and has brought to the surface many long-standing tensions in Christian communities related to power, money, interpretation, and influence.
This course covers past (twentieth century) and present (twenty-first century) trends in World Christianity from historical and social scientific perspectives. It explores many of the tensions in World Christianity today related to, for example, colonial/post-colonial realities, contextual theologies, race/racism, and global issues such as the climate crisis and religious freedom. This course has a particular focus on gender in World Christianity, where women make up the vast majority of churches worldwide yet are often denied leadership roles and decision-making opportunities. The course addresses topics unique to each continent (with a global South focus) as well as major Christian traditions -- Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, Independents, Evangelicals, and Pentecostals/Charismatics. Students will interact with relevant literature, debates, methods, and conversations in World Christianity studies and have the opportunity to write a research paper on a topic of their choice with professor approval.