Christianities in Asia

Peter C. Phan holds the Ignacio Ellacuría Chair of Catholic Social Thought at Georgetown University. The first non-Anglo person to be elected President of Catholic Theological Society of America, his books include Mission and Catechesis (1999), Christianity with an Asia Face (2003), and Vietnamese-American Catholics (2005).

• List of Maps xiNotes on Contributors xiiiPreface xv1. Introduction: Asian Christianity/Christianities 1Peter C. PhanWhich Asia? 1Which Christianity? 2Introducing Asian Christianities 42. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma/Myanmar 9Elizabeth KoeppingLocal Basics 11The Early Christian Presence in Mainland South Asia 14The First Attack on Contextualized South Asian Christianity 16A Second Attack on Contextualized South Asian Christianity 17Contextualization in Early Roman Catholicism Elsewhere in South Asia 18Protestant Contextualization – the Pietists 19The Baptists 21Laity and the Expansion of Christianity 22Contemporary Contextualisation in South Asia: Church, State, and People 24Violent Attacks Against Christian Churches 26Theological, Ecclesial, and Liturgical Contextualization 27The Performance of Christianity in South Asia 33Toward a Conclusion 353. Sri Lanka 45Jeyaraj RasiahThe Land, its Make Up and the People 45The Portuguese Period 46The Dutch Period 47The British Period 48Independent Sri Lanka 52At the Turn of the Century 55The Present Scenario 56Process of Inculturation and Contextualized Theology 56Whither Sri Lanka? 574. Indonesia 61John PriorLanguage 61Cultural Diversity 61Christian Diversity 62Outward Form, Inner Spirit 62Christians and Muslims 63Papua: Dignity and Identity 63Ambon: Conflict and Reconciliation 64Sulawesi: Vibrant and Vocal 64East Nusa Tenggara: Christian Heartlands 66Bali: A Minority within a Minority 67Java: Indigenous Roots 67Java: Education 68Java: Art and Music 68Java: Movers and Shakers 69Jakarta: Pietism and Social Engagement 70Sumatra: Local Roots, National Leadership 71Future Prospects 725. Malaysia and Singapore 77Edmund Kee-Fook ChiaThe Countries and Their People 77Political, Cultural, and Religious History 78British Imperialism and Racial and Ethnic Politics 79Christianity: Its Beginnings and Development 81Christianity: A Foreign Religion 82The Challenge of an Indigenous Church 84The Challenge of Islamization 85The Challenge of Ecumenism 87The Challenge of Church-State Relations 88The New and Growing Churches 906. The Philippines 97Jose Mario C. Francisco, S.J.Transplanting Spanish Catholicism 98Appropriating Christianity, Resisting Colonial Rule 102(Re)Building Mission 108Meeting National Challenges, Engaging the World 113“In But Not Of This World” 1197. Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand 129Peter C. PhanThe Socialist Republic of Vietnam 130Cambodia, Laos, Thailand 141A Look Into the Future 1448. Mainland China 149Ying Fuk-tsangA New China 149World Christianity and Chinese Christianity 150Christianity with Chinese Characteristics 153Christianity and Chinese Society 161Christianity’s Prospects in China 1629. Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau 173Lo Lung-kwongTaiwan 173Hong Kong 183Macau 18910. Japan 197Mark R. MullinsIntroduction 197The Cultural Diversity of Christianity in Japan 198Roman Catholic Mission in Pre-Modern Japan 198Persecution and Martyrdom 199Hidden Christians 200The Second Phase of Christian Mission: Increasing Diversity 200State Shinto and the Christian Churches 201The Place of Nagasaki in Japanese Catholicism 202Postwar Developments 203The Wider Impact of Christianity: Education and Social Welfare 204Christianity as a Japanese Religion: Diverse Appropriations 206From “Paternal” to “Maternal” Religion 206Uchimura Kanzo and the Non-church Movement 207Inculturation and the Ancestors in Japanese Christianity 208“Christian” Weddings and the Rites of Passage 209Inter-Faith Dialogue 209Future Prospects 21011. South Korea 217Andrew Eungi KimIntroduction 217The Beginning of Christianity in Korea 219Indigenous Christian Leaders, Past and Present 221Christianity as an Agency of Modernization 223The Rise of Christianity Amidst Rapid Industrialization and Urbanization 226This-Worldly Orientation of Korean Protestantism 227Individual Religiosity of Christians 228The Future of Christianity in Korea 22812. The Middle East 233Lois FaragThe Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch 234The Church of the East 240Missionary Activity of the Syriac Church 242Churches in Arabia 243The Maronite Church 245The Armenians in the Middle East 249The Last Century 251Conclusion: Whither Asian Christianities? 255Peter C. PhanA Prospective Glance 255Future Directions: A Triple Dialogue 256Asian and Pentecostal 259Index 263

"These praiseworthy books from Bays and Phan will enhance their readers' understanding of the manifold Christianities of China and Asia as well as of the global history of east-west relations." (Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 1 January 2013)"A stimulating and wide-ranging collection of often valuable introductions. There are also new insights in a range of settings, for student and scholar alike." (Asia Journal of Theology (vol. 26 no. 1, 2012)"Christianities in Asia is intended to be an accessible book on this subject. . . But overall, the book fulfils its function as an introduction to the various forms of Christianity in Asia." (Swedish Missiological Themes, 2011)"Leading off an impressive new Blackwell series on global Christianity, Christianities in Asia is a rich collection of essays on various regions by top-ranked names in the field." (The Christian Century, 7 October 2011)"This is a fascinating book, which corrects our Eurocentric understanding of the earliest Church and what happened during the later missionary eras." (Church Times, 1 June 2011)"They survey is intended to be accessible to nonspecialists and general readers." (Booknews, 1 February 2011)"As an introductory text, this volume sets a standard for the field that will not soon be surpassed. Essential. Lower-lever undergraduates through professional/practitioners." (Choice, 1 May 2011)"Christianities In Asia gives a wonderful sampling of essays written by Asian theologians who present the wide variety of Christianities currently in existence in Asia. Eleven theologians take on the arduous task of presenting the history, the current context, and the practices of Christianity within their own respective countries . . . nevertheless, as it stands, this book will prove invaluable for generations to come as it lays out the historical, social and political identity of Asia, which is imperative to understand Asian Christianity and by relation, the Christianity of the West." (Studies in Religion, 1 May 2011)