The World's Christians Who they are, Where they are, and How they got there

The World’s Christians provides a panorama of Christianity as it currently exists around the globe. Acknowledging Christian commonalities but emphasizing the movement’s incredible diversity, The World’s Christians is the most complete and comprehensible introduction to world Christianity currently in print. Written in a winsome and engaging style, the book focuses not only on facts about the globalization of the Christian movement, but also on the many ways in which Christians experience their faith differently in particular locations and varied cultures around the world. This new and revised edition brings the global story of Christianity up to date and includes new excerpts from a range of primary sources that add flavor and grist for discussion.  The book’s clear presentation of Christian history and contemporary diversity make it required reading for anyone trying to understand Christianity today.   

Douglas Jacobsen (Ph.D., University of Chicago) served as Distinguished Professor of Church History and Theology at Messiah University (Pennsylvania, USA) and currently co-directs the Religion in the Academy Project. He is the award-winning author of a dozen books on a wide range of topics related to religion.  

Introduction

Part I: Who They Are – Four Christian Mega-Traditions 

Introduction

1 The Orthodox Tradition

2 The Catholic Tradition

3 The Protestant Tradition

4 The Pentecostal Tradition

Part II: How They Got There – A Global History of Christianity 

Introduction

5 The Ancient Tradition: Beginnings to 500

6 The Great Division and the Age of the East: 500 to 1000

7 The Rise of the West and Decline of the East: 1000 to 1500

8 Christianity in a Global Era: 1500 to the Present

Part III: Where They Are – Christianity in Nine World Regions

Introduction

9 The Middle East and North Africa: Barely Surviving

10 Eastern Europe: Nationalism and New Mission

11 Central and South Asia: Confidence and Complexity

12 Western Europe: Thin, but Alive

13 Sub-Saharan Africa: Hope and Despair

14 East Asia: Piety and Politics

15 Latin America: After Monopoly

16 North America: Power, Freedom, Race, and Nation

17 Oceania: Experiments in Identity

Appendix: Counting Christians