Introduction; 1. A new way of thinking about a global faith; 2. Historical sketches of El Salvador and South Africa; 3. Encountering transnational religious social forces; 4. Exercising local influence: an entrepreneurial approach; 5. The social contours and global reach of the new centers of global evangelicalism: enlarging organizations, exporting religion, and creating social stratification; 6. New strategies of public engagement: integrated political engagement, increasing social engagement, and shifting beliefs; Conclusion.
This book argues that local and global religious social forces are primarily responsible for the social developments in communities in the global south.
Stephen Offutt is Assistant Professor of Development Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary, Kentucky. His work has been published in a number of peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Contemporary Religion, the Journal for the Social Scientific Study of Religion, Pneuma: The Journal for the Society of Pentecostal Studies, and Sociology of Religion. He has contributed to edited volumes such as The New Evangelical Social Engagement, Sociology of Religion: A Reader, and The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Globalization. Offutt also writes for popular audiences, with work appearing in magazines such as Books and Culture: A Christian Review, and Prism.
'The explosive growth of Evangelical Protestantism in many
countries is one of the most important religious developments
today. This book by Stephen Offutt, based on original research in
El Salvador and South Africa, provides a fascinating picture of the
interaction of international and local Evangelical forces. Without
ever losing sight of the big picture, Offutt tells lively stories
of how individual believers fit into this picture.' Peter L.
Berger, Boston University
'Stephen Offutt's book is an important addition to the growing
literature on global evangelicalism. Its focus on evangelical
elites and on transnational flows allows it to nuance some elements
of the general picture that has been built up in recent years and
throws more light on the internal dynamics of global evangelical
Christianity. At least in the two countries studied, various forms
of Western evangelical presence remain a key factor in any
explanation of Christianity's flourishing as a 'global southern'
faith.' Paul Freston, Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario
'Stephen Offutt provides an extremely helpful guide to scholarly
debates and discussions on global evangelicalism. He moves the
discussion forward with compelling original research and insightful
analysis of the ways in which key evangelical centers in the global
South are connected with global evangelicalism.' Robert J. Priest,
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
'In this marvelously well-researched book, Stephen Offutt
significantly contributes to our understanding of global
evangelicalism by showing its growing diversity and embeddedness in
international flows of information, personnel, and resources.
Without de-emphasizing the importance of faith itself, Offutt shows
how faith is being remolded by transnational social networks, large
entrepreneurial organizations, stark economic inequality, and
changing political realities.' Robert Wuthnow, Princeton
University, New Jersey
'The author is to be commended for the wealth of detail, and for
the straightforward manner in which it is presented. … the book is
highly recommended to those interested in global evangelical
Christianity, due to its rich analytical detail on how the
evangelical churches in those two countries are functioning at the
institutional and national level.' Edwin Zehner, Anthropos
'Stephen Offutt's book provides an in-depth examination of how
evangelicalism in the global South evolved. New Centers of Global
Evangelicalism in Latin America and Africa makes an excellent
contribution to graduate and undergraduate courses about religion
and globalization in general, and Christianity in Latin America and
Africa in particular. This book also serves as a valuable resource
to broaden the understanding of the multifaceted interactions of
global, national, and grassroots religious forces in post-colonial
El Salvador and South Africa.' Joy K. C. Tong, Sociology of
Religion
'Offutt's book fits nicely into the increasingly robust literature
on global evangelical Christianity, with its focus on global
relationships and issues as they relate to the lives of believers.
Thanks to largely qualitative and ethnographic research - vital and
welcome approaches to the topic - we get a good sense of how the
religious 'entrepreneurs' central to Offutt's analysis engage the
public and the world, with examples from both South Africa and El
Salvador. Offutt's volume should be read for its learned analysis
and its effective ability to draw together a considerable amount of
information on two very different countries and make it work.'
Brendan Jamal Thornton, Latin American Research Review
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