The notion that Christianity is and was a global religion is now well entrenched in academic circles, and as such the History of global Christianity series is called for. Three volumes, covering the modern age from 1500, were published by Brill in the winter of 2017–18 under the general editorship of Jens Holger Schjøring (professor emeritus at the University of Aarhus) and Norman A. Hjelm (Lutheran pastor in Pennsylvania). The first volume deals with European and global Christianity in the early modern age. It aspires to present the ‘many interactions of Christianity with society, politics, economics, philosophy, art’ (preface).
It does a splendid job doing precisely this. The first volume is a robust 450-page bird's-eye view of early modern global Christianity, covering a wide spectrum of topics clustered in geographically oriented sections. The ten chapters deal with the Catholic empires of Spain and Portugal, Russian Christianity, Christians in the Ottoman Empire, and in Africa, Asia and North America. These parts present an image of the truly global character of Christianity, from Catholic and Reformed Christianity in Europe, to its expansion overseas. They show how Christianity was already entrenched all over the Middle East and indeed in Africa and India. They also cover the tragic histories of Christianity in Japan and Taiwan. In addition, there are also three chronological chapters focusing on Europe in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries respectively. One thematic chapter deals with challenges to the Central European Church.
Such a spatial approach to global Christianity is sensible, but the mix between geographical and chronological approaches, combined with one thematic chapter, is slightly off. One possibility would have been to add more thematic chapters on missions, interactions with other religions, the relationship between Christianity and empire, Christianity in the public sphere and suchlike. Moreover, although the editors consistently underscore the need for global history, the overall book is more Eurocentric than they acknowledge. Notwithstanding the fine quality of the individual researchers and chapters, it strikes me as odd that the contributors are exclusively from north-west Europe and the US and (almost) exclusively male. It also strikes me as surprising that the editors believe that publishing the volumes in two languages, English and German, renders them capable of ‘reflecting the global character of this project’ (p. vii).
At the same time, the authors are deeply aware of the possibilities and challenges of global history. In an excellent introduction Hartmut Lehmann (German Historical Institute, Washington, DC) hammers out a series of problems and challenges with regard to the study of world Christianity, of which an inherent Eurocentrism is but one. Thus whereas the polycentric structure of global Christianity is acknowledged (p. 13), it is not so easy to write a truly polycentric history. Indeed, the periodisation of 1500–1789 as early modern is in itself of course a European paradigm. All in all, however, these observations merely point out the current limitations of global history and the need for precisely the sort of overview that the History of global Christianity aspires to offer. It will be indispensable for early modern historians, global historians and scholars of religious history alike.
The same can be said for A companion to the early modern Catholic global missions, which deals with similar themes and has a similar structure. Edited by Ronnie Po-chia Hsia (Pennsylvania State University), the volume aims to give an overview of the spread of Catholicism in the early modern age. Like the History of global Christianity, it chooses geographical range as its organising principle. The 500-page volume is divided into five parts, focusing on the Americas (with chapters on Mexico, the Andes, Paraguay, Brazil and New France), Africa (with a chapter on Sub-Saharan Africa), Asia (chapters on South Asia, Vietnam, Japan and China) and the Islamic world (chapters on the Ottoman Empire and Persia) respectively. A fifth part is thematic, and deals with financial support and the personnel of the missionary endeavour. The criticism directed at the History of global Christianity pertains to this volume as well. Would it not have been fruitful to commission chapters on translation, inculturation, the theology of mission, the role of women or the confrontation with other religions? Of course, any chosen structure for a companion volume of this sort has pros and cons, but in this case the anonymous introduction (presumably by the editor) is structured precisely along such themes.
Perhaps the structures of the two books under review merely reflect the ways in which research fields are currently studied, and it would be unfair to level this criticism without taking stock of the fact that fascinating themes are covered in the diverse chapters in various ways. For instance, the chapter by Ines Župenov on South Asia does precisely deal with questions of inculturation and translation. Christoph Nebgen touches upon the missionary activities of nuns and discusses female converts, or more specifically the lack of primary sources on this subject. The angle of Alan Strathern's chapter is more on the convergence of diplomacy and mission, or ‘theological diplomacy’ as he terms it (p. 153). In this way, the Companion paints a rich kaleidoscope in which we are presented with what Ronnie Po-chia Hsia sees as ‘multiple globalizations’, different trajectories of globalisation through commercial, cultural, religious and diplomatic encounters (introduction). As such, the Companion does a splendid job in presenting the manifold aspects of this process.
Taken together, these two volumes illustrate the fascinating and breathtaking spectacle of the spread and nature of global Christianity in the early modern age, and mark both the achievements as well as the challenges for researchers in the field.
