How to Study Global Christianity

This book provides students with an accessible–yet critically oriented–introduction to the foundational methods and themes in Global Christianity scholarship over the past 40 years. While the field of Global Christianity is itself interdisciplinary, it largely has not reflected upon the various disciplines of which it is comprised. In addressing different methods that have constituted this field of scholarship, Jason Bruner draws students’ attention to the ways in which these elements have worked together, and what the implications for their use have been in the past and might be in the future. In addition to identifying themes within the discourse, this book offers a survey of where the field has been, what its analytical priorities are, and how future scholars might develop new research projects and trajectories in light of the its history.

“I have been waiting for a book like this for a long time and there is no one better to write it than Jason Bruner. Bruner is one of the leading minds in World Christianity studies and this book reflects a keen insight into the field at large. The book is equal parts accessible and insightful, groundbreaking and relevant. Bruner provides critical tools for studying global Christianity in all of its diversity whilst not sacrificing depth for breadth and accessibility. I will be assigning this book to my students with great enthusiasm!” (David C. Kirkpatrick, Associate Professor of Religion, James Madison University)

“Lucidly written and lively, Jason Bruner's How to Study Global Christianity is a pitch-perfect introduction–not only for students but also for teachers–to a newish field of academic concentration, found at the intersection between disciplines. Revealing an impressive pedagogical acumen road-tested in the classroom, Bruner offers readers a multilevel tool-kit of interdisciplinary approaches for interpreting Christianity's kaleidoscopic diversity.” (Richard Fox Young, Timby Chair, History of Religions, Princeton Theological Seminary)

“This book is an essential resource for students and instructors of Global Christianity. Jason Bruner captures the multiplicity of disciplinary approaches within the field and in a nuanced manner describes common themes of focus, showing the field’s achievements and recognizing its growing edges in neglected areas like gender and sexuality. In instructing readers how to study Global Christianity, Bruner’s book stands apart from other available texts. How to Study Global Christianity is uniquely geared toward the needs of university courses and academic programs in this growing area of study.” (Deanna Ferree Womack, Associate Professor of History of Religion and Interfaith Studies, Candler School of Theology at Emory University)

“Jason Bruner has written a concise yet comprehensive primer on Global Christianity as an empirical phenomenon and academic field. How to Study Global Christianity brings beginning students up to speed while also offering advanced readers a chance to think through the disciplines and themes that constitute the field, and some necessary critiques that will help push it forward. Highly recommended for everyone drawn to understanding the vitality and the varieties of Christianity today.” (Devaka Premawardhana, Emory University)

Jason Bruner is Associate Professor of Global Christianity at Arizona State University, USA. He is the author of Living Salvation in the East African Revival in Uganda (2017) and Imagining Persecution: Why American Christians Believe There Is a Global War Against Their Faith (2021), as well as a co-editor (with David Kirkpatrick) of Global Visions of Violence: Agency and Persecution in World Christianity (forthcoming).