The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity

288 Pages·2002·2.07 MB·English

by  Philip Jenkins

The Next Christendom:
The Coming of Global
Christianity
PHILIP JENKINS
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
THE NEXT CHRISTENDOM
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✛
THE NEXT
CHRISTENDOM
The Coming of Global Christianity
philip jenkins
1
2002
3
Oxford New York
Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogotá Buenos Aires Cape Town
Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi
Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi
Paris São Paulo Shanghai Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw
and associated companies in
Berlin Ibadan
Copyright © 2002 by Philip Jenkins
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.,
198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior
permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jenkins, Philip, 1952–
The next Christendom : the coming of
global Christianity / Philip Jenkins.
p. cm Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-19-514616-6
1. Christianity—Forecasting.
2. Church membership.
I. Title.
BR121.3 .J46 2002
270.8'3'0112—dc21 2001047554
Book design by Helen B. Mules
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
CONTENTS
List of Tables vii
Acknowledgments ix
Maps x
1
The Christian Revolution 1
2
Disciples of All Nations 15
3
Missionaries and Prophets 39
4
Standing Alone 55
5
The Rise of the New Christianity 79
6
Coming to Terms 107
7
God and the World 141
8
The Next Crusade 163
9
Coming Home 191
10
Seeing Christianity Again for the First Time 211
Notes 223
Index 259
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LIST OF TABLES
2.1
Distribution of Christians in Ancient and Medieval Times 24
4.1
Strength of Christian Denominations in 2000 61
5.1
The Most Populous Nations in the World, 2025 and 2050 84
5.2
The Largest Christian Communities, 2025 and 2050 90
5.3
The World’s Largest Urban Concentrations in 2015 93
8.1
The Religious Balance of Power among the Largest Nations
of the Twenty-first Century 167
9.1
Catholics Worldwide 2025: A Projection 195
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