BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Book Review

THE NEXT CHRISTENDOM
The Coming of Global Christianity

By Philip Jenkins
published in 2002 by
Oxford University Press, Inc.

When the 21st century began, commentators made much about the changing political and secular trends like fascism, communism, feminism and environmentalism. However, the commentators missed the most transforming - even the most revolutionary event - in the contemporary world. They overlooked the fantastic growth of the Christian faith in Asia, Africa and Latin America, one of the transforming moments in history.

In a fascinating book called The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity, by Philip Jenkins, Distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies at Pennsylvania University, the author posits that the gravity of the Christian world is shifting to the Southern Hemisphere. The Next Christendom is the first of many books that are beginning to take the full measure of the changing face of the Christian faith.

Prof. Jenkins points out that the fastest growing countries in the world are either predominantly Christian or else have sizeable Christian minorities. As a result, the vast majority of Christians will soon be neither white, European, nor Euro-American. Today, there are some two billion Christians. By 2050, there will be around three billion Christians. In fact, the era of Western Christianity has passed in this, our lifetime, and the day of "southern" Christianity has now dawned. Outside the ranks of scholars and church bureaucrats, however, few commentators have paid attention to this new Christendom. It is noteworthy too, that Christianity has a massive lead in numbers over the Islam faith. That is, there is a phenomenal growth in people in Muslim countries, but there is an even higher rate of growth in populous Christian countries.

Of significance to those of us who are social conservatives is that the Christians in the southern parts of the world will be far more conservative in terms of both beliefs and moral teaching than are North Americans and Europeans. This is because the denominations that are triumphing all across the global south are stalwartly traditional - especially by the standards of the western world. The churches that have made the most dramatic progress in the global south are Roman Catholic, Evangelical and Pentecostal. These churches preach deep personal faith and are founded on clear scriptural authority. On present evidence, a Southernized Christianity will be distinctly conservative.

It is predicted by Prof. Jenkins that political and national loyalties will play a secondary role to religious beliefs, and it will be on religion - either Christian or Muslim, - that people will define their identities. Across the Muslim world, some believers have already shown themselves willing to fight for the cause of international Islam with far more enthusiasm than they demonstrate for any individual nation. Putting these different trends together, we may have a volatile mixture that could well provoke horrific wars and confrontations by the middle of this century.

It is now a fact that Christianity's ancient stronghold in Europe is collapsing to the point that some observers now call it the "new dark continent". Some 5% of the European Union, or nearly 20 million persons, at present identify themselves as Muslims. Should current trends continue, that number will reach 10% by 2020, which will form a new transnational Muslim identity that may merge North African, Turkish sub-continental and other elements. The great national cultures - Italian, French, English, and others - are now withering and are being replaced by a new transnational Muslim identity. The fundamental question, then is whether Islam and Christianity can co-exist. For centuries the two faiths have existed side by side, often for long periods.

However, based on recent experiences around the world in Nigeria, Indonesia, the Sudan and the Philippines, population growth will probably be accompanied by intensified rivalry, by struggles for converts, and by competing attempts to enforce moral codes by means of secular law. Whether Muslim or Christian, religious zeal can unfortunately easily turn into fanaticism. Such struggles, Prof. Jenkins suggests, might well provoke civil wars, which could in turn become international conflicts. Even if actual violence is avoided, future governments will have to tread delicately to avoid inciting religious conflict. Future religious conflict is one of the reasons why France recently banned all religious symbols, such as headscarves, yarmulkes and crucifixes in public.

This scenario may be too pessimistic, but there can be no doubt about the underlying realities, demographic and religious, which ensure that Christianity will flourish in the new century. The world, as we know it, will be greatly changed.

Christian churches in the Southern Hemisphere will soon be evangelizing the north, converting or rechristianizing the population. Even today, some denominations are already drawing upon the burgeoning spiritual resources of the south by way of putting pastors and priests from these countries into their pulpits. We are living in fascinating times, and the book, The Next Christendom is bound to fascinate you as well.

BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS