British Protestant Missions, Europe and "imaginary colonialism"

"This (excellent!) 2021 book is the first account of British Protestant conversion initiatives directed towards continental Europe between 1600 and 1900.

Continental Europe was considered a missionary land—another periphery of the world, whose centre was imperial Britain. British missions to Europe were informed by religious experiments in America, Africa, and Asia, rendering these offensives against Europe a true form of "imaginary colonialism".

British Protestant missionaries often understood themselves to be at the forefront of a civilising project directed at Catholics (and sometimes even at other Protestants). Their mission was further reinforced by Britain becoming a land of compassionate refuge for European dissenters and exiles. This book engages with the myth of International Protestantism, questioning its early origins and its narrative of transnational belonging, while also interrogating Britain as an imagined Protestant land of hope and glory."

Link.

"God needs no defense": Evangelicals and Muslims share views

Yes, Evangelicals and Muslims compete, but they also do talk.

In April of 2020, leaders of the World Evangelical Alliance and Nahdlatul Ulama — including Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher, Dr. Christine Schirrmacher, Dr. Thomas K. Johnson, Kyai Haji Yahya Cholil Staquf and C. Holland Taylor — established the Humanitarian Islam/WEA Joint Working Group. This volume is a product of the Joint Working Group’s Subcommittee on Jurisprudence, Human Rights and Ethics.

Founded in 1846, the World Evangelical Alliance is the largest international organization of evangelical churches, representing over 600 million Protestants and national evangelical alliances in 140 countries. It refers to the Gospel of Jesus-Christ as the main teaching, and promotes faith and evangelism through local communities.

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) federates 90 millions of Indonesian Muslims, and develops within its ranks a movement called Humanitarian Islam, rooted in the principle of rahmah — stressing the need to contextualize and adapting Islamic teachings, while presenting Islam not as a supremacist ideology or vehicle for conquest, but rather, as one of many paths through which humans may attain spiritual perfection. Link

"The Christian Right: What Convergences today?"

An international conference not to be missed! Research on evangelicals being at the heart of current events, the objective of this international conference will be to broaden the field by crossing analyses and observations in order to better identify the dynamics at work in the Christian world on the level of interactions between religion and politics.

The conference intends to put forward early career researchers. Papers will be in French or in English, to be followed by ensuing publications.

Link

Transatlantic Charismatic Renewal, c.1950-2000, a MUST READ

In Transatlantic Charismatic Renewal, c.1950-2000, Andrew Atherstone, Mark Hutchinson and John Maiden bring together leading researchers to examine one of the globally most important religious movements of the twentieth century. Variously referred to as the charismatic ‘renewal’ or ‘revival’, it was a key Christian response to globalization, modernity and secularization. Unlike other accounts (which focus either on denominational pentecostalism or charismatic phenomena outside the West), this volume describes transatlantic Christianity drawing deeply on its pneumatic roots to bring about renewal. New research in archives and overlooked journals illuminate key figures from David du Plessis to John Wimber, providing insights which challenge the standard interpretations of the charismatic movement’s origins and influence. 

Link.

Faith in Flux, Pentecostalism and Mobility in Rural Mozambique

Anthropologist Devaka Premawardhana arrived in Africa to study the much reported "explosion" of Pentecostalism, the spread of which has indeed been massive. It is the continent's fastest growing form of Christianity and one of the world's fastest growing religious movements.

Yet Premawardhana found no evidence for this in the province of Mozambique where he worked. His research suggests that much can be gained by including such places in the story of global Christianity, by shifting attention from the well-known places where Pentecostal churches flourish to the unfamiliar places where they fail.

A must-read book (link)