To Whom Does Christianity Belong?: Critical Issues in World Christianity (Understanding World Christianity)

To Whom Does Christianity Belong? is a question that is asked, at least implicitly, throughout the world today. The issues that surround this question open up a host of others: Is Christianity a primitive religion that has little to say to twenty-first-century people? Is it a Western religion that has been exported through colonialism? Is it a religion poised to increase in size? Should it? Does Christianity lead to economic prosperity? Does it foster violence or peace? Does it liberate or restrict women? Who gets to claim Christianity as their own?

In this exciting new volume, an anchor to the Understanding World Christianity series, Dyron B. Daughrity helps readers map out the major changes that have taken place in recent years in the world's largest religion. By comparing trends, analyzing global Christian movements, and tracing the impact of Pentecostalism, interreligious dialogue, global missions, birth rates, and migratory trends, Daughrity sketches a picture of a changing religion and gives the tools needed to understand it. From discussions of sexuality and afterlife to contemporary Christian music and secularization, this book provides a global perspective on what is happening within Christianity today.