Description
Book SynopsisIn 1982, David B. Barrett released his 1,000-page World Christian Encyclopedia, which presented a comprehensive quantitative assessment of World Christianity for the first time. This book is the first historical project to analyze Barrett’s archival materials, which shed light not only on the production of the Encyclopedia, but more importantly, on the development of World Christianity as a discipline and the importance of both African Christianity and quantitative perspectives in its history. This book captures innovations at the intersection of World Christianity, mission studies, and the sociology of religion – the kind of interdisciplinary research that makes World Christianity studies unique.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Abbreviations Figures Introduction 1 About a Man, His Book, and More 2 Method and Sources 3 Contents 1 From Aeronautical Engineer to Anglican Missionary 2 Missions from Nairobi to New York 1 British Colonial Rule in Kenya 2 The Church Missionary Society in Kenya 3 Mission among the Luo 4 From Nairobi to New York: 1962 3 Applied and Academic: The Christian Roots of Scientific Research on Religion 1 Christian Sociology 2 Twentieth-Century American Sociology 3 Translating to East Africa 4 Global Methodology, Developed in New York 1 Theology of Enumeration 2 Source Material 3 Comparative Statistics 4 Taxonomy and Classification 5 Methodological Critique 6 From New York to Nairobi: 1965 5 A New Missionary Commissioning: New York to Nairobi 1 Founding the Unit of Research 2 Trouble for the Unit of Research 6 Global Research on Religion: From Popular to Scholarly 1 Setting the Stage: Cast of Characters 2 The Task at Hand: World Christian Handbook, 6th Edition 3 Expanded Vision of the WCH 4 Advances in Technology 5 From Handbook to Encyclopedia 7 The World Christian Encyclopedia: Christianity in 223 Countries 1 Survey: Christianity in 223 Countries 2 Major Findings of the World Christian Encyclopedia 3 Reception of the World Christian Encyclopedia 4 Strengths of the World Christian Encyclopedia 5 Weaknesses of the World Christian Encyclopedia 8 Re-imagining Christianity from East Africa to the World 1 Shifting Understandings of World Christianity 2 Why the World Christian Encyclopedia? 3 Considering Barrett’s Vision Afterword Appendix: Brief Biographical Timeline of David B. Barrett Bibliography Index
