Shifting Centers (Geographical and Demographic centers)- Christian Issues and Trends in Mission and Evangelism

Shifting Centers (Geographical and Demographic centers)

Table: Distribution of Christians in Ancient and Medieval Times

Continents	Christians (in millions)
	500	1000	1200	1500
Africa	8	5	2.5	1.3
Asia	21.2	16.8	21	3.4
Europe/Russia	14.2	28.6	46.6	76.3
Global	43.4	50.4	70.1	81

Sl.no.	1910	Christians		2010	Christians
1	USA	84, 800, 0000		USA	257, 311, 00
2	RUSSIA	65, 757, 000		RUSSIA	115, 120, 000
3	GERMANY	45, 755, 000		GERMANY	58, 123, 000
4	FRANCE	40, 894, 000		FRANCE
5	BRITAIN	39, 298, 000		BRITAIN
6	ITALY	35, 330, 000		ITALY
7	UKRAINE	29, 904, 000
8	BRAZIL	21, 576, 000		BRAZIL	21, 576, 000
9	SPAIN	20, 357, 000		SPAIN
10	CHINA			CHINA	115, 009, 000
11	INDIA			INDIA	58, 367, 000
12	POLAND	22, 102, 000
13	PHILLIPINES			PHILLIPINES	83, 151, 000
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Christianity’s Demographic Transformation 1910-2010:

1. Christianity has shifted grammatically to the South

2. Christianity is fragmented

3. Christians are experiencing unprecedented renewal

4. Christian resources are not evenly distributed

5. There is enough evangelism to reach everyone in the world

6. Most Christian outreach never reaches non-Christians

7. Christians are out of contact with Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists.

Recurrent Themes in the Analytical Essays:

1. The many and the one: Diversity and unity

2. Migration and Mission

3. Rise of Pentecostalism

4. Missionaries-not so foreign

5. Integrity in discipleship

“In 1970 less than half (41.3%) of all Christians worldwide were from Africa, Asia, or Latin America. By 2020 this figure is expected to approach two-thirds (64.7%).” “North America and Europe were home to 57.2 % of the world’s Christian in 1970. By 2010 this had dropped to 37.7%, and by 2020 it will likely fall to 34.4%.” “In the years 1970-2010 and 2010-20, the growth of Christianity is greatest in Eastern Asia (averaging, respectively, 5.6% and 3.0% per year).” The Christian population in Western Asia is being depleted, largely because of emigration. In 1970 Western Asia was 7.3% Christian, but by 2020 the region will likely be only 5.4% Christian.” “Christianity in Europe grew between 1970 and 2010 but now is in decline. (492 million to 580 million to 575 million)” In Latin America, Roman Catholics declines while Evangelicals and Renewal lists grows. “Christianity’s share of the population has been shrinking dramatically in Canada.”(94.5% to 66%)

b. Post-Christian West and Post-western Christianity

The Characteristics of a Post-Christian Environment:

1. The end of Christian influence

2. The return of a pre-Christian paganism

The Effect of the post-Christian environment on the Church:

1. Ethical values are divorced from the Church’s teaching

2. Contextual confusion within the Churches

3. The Church as a commercial organization

4. Christian identity no longer depends on territory In the first place, Christianity is not the proprietary right of "The West" or "Christendom"; and second, it is-literally by Divine Right-the religion of anyone, anywhere.

“A post-Christian West is not so far gone that it cannot make live contact with a post-Western Christianity.” Christianity in the twenty-first century as representing the 'post-Christian west and a post-western Christianity.

The development of mother tongues as the means of receiving the gospel caused the shift and variation between Christendom and worldwide Christianity.

Bible Translation was a catalyst to a historical shift in Christianity’s theological centre of gravity by pioneering a strategic alliance with local conceptions of religion mainly in the non-western world. There are more languages being used in prayer, worship, and the reading of Scripture in World Christianity, then in any other religion in the world. He advocates the indigenous discovery of Christianity rather than the Christian discovery of indigenous societies. Local peoples’ initiative. Local people encountering the Christian faith rather than an external adherence to a set of religious rules.

Shifting Centers (Geographical and Demographical Centers) and Post Christian West and Post western Christianity

The essence of this topic is that the Center of gravity of Christianity is shifting southward of the Globe. Earlier Christianity is considered to be a Western religion because majority of the Western countries were with hundred percent Christian people. Mission was understood as “Whiteman’s burden to reach the unreached/uncivilized/un evangelized of the Eastern part of the world. But at present majority of the people in western countries are not following any religion, though they may be nominally called Christians. Similarly the Islam as well as other religions has some increasing influence. This concept is well established by Philip Jenkins in his book, In the Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity (Oxford Press, 2001). In this book he observed that the center of gravity of the Christian world had shifted from Europe and the United States to the Southern Hemisphere. The fact that there are now nearly 50 million Protestant believers and over 400 million Catholics in South America (Jenkins 2001:57) are indications of such a shift demographically.

Christian faith is growing not in the West, but in the global South. He argues, “Christianity is now rooted in the Third World, and the religion’s future lies in the global South.” Jenkins observes that within the past century, Christianity has shifted from “white” nations to Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Even further, he claims, “the emerging Christian world will be anchored in the southern continents” and “soon, the two main centers of Christianity will be Africa and Latin America.” To prove his point, he states a startling statistic: “In 1950, a list of the world’s leading Christian countries would have included Britain, France, Spain, and Italy, but none of these names would be represented in a corresponding list for 2050.” Actually Christianity was born in global South. But this Christian heritage is often overlooked due to western power. But as Christianity moves south, it is in some ways returning to its roots.

Jenkin also observes that churches of the South tend to be “enthusiastic, much more concerned with prophesy and healing.” This type of Christianity is little different from the Christianity of the North. Another difference is that the North practices a separation between church and state, where as the South infuse politics and religion together. However, Christianity is not the only growing religion. Islam is rising fast and Jenkins confirms his insight that Islam and Christianity will raise weapons once again in the “Next Crusade.”