
More Than Forty Years Ago, Conservative Christianity Emerged As A Major Force In American Political Life. Since Then The Movement Has Been Analyzed And Over-analyzed, Declared Triumphant And, More Than Once, Given Up For The Dead. But Because Outside Observers Have Maintained A Near-relentless Focus On Domestic Politics, The Most Transformative Development Over The Last Several Decades--the Explosive Growth Of Christianity In The Global South--has Gone Unrecognized By The Wider Public, Even As It Has Transformed Evangelical Life, Both In The Us And Abroad. The Kingdom Of God Has No Borders Offers A Daring New Perspective On Conservative Christianity By Shifting The Lens To Focus On The World Outside Us Borders. Melani Mcalister Offers A Sweeping Narrative Of The Last Fifty Years Of Evangelical History, Weaving A Fascinating Tale That Upends Much Of What We Know--or Think We Know--about American Evangelicals. She Takes Us To The Congo In The 1960s, Where Christians Were Enmeshed In A Complicated Interplay Of Missionary Zeal, Cold War Politics, Racial Hierarchy, And Anti-colonial Struggle. She Shows Us How Evangelical Efforts To Convert Non-christians Have Placed Them In Direct Conflict With Islam At Flash Points Across The Globe. And She Examines How Christian Leaders Have Fought To Stem The Tide Of Hiv/aids In Africa While At The Same Time Supporting Harsh Repression Of Lgbtq Communities. Through These And Other Stories, Mcalister Focuses On The Many Ways In Which Looking At Evangelicals Abroad Complicates Conventional Ideas About Evangelicialism. We Can't Truly Understand How Conservative Christians See Themselves And Their Place In The World Unless We Look Beyond Our Shores--jacket.
How has the global expansion of American evangelicalism fundamentally altered the movement's domestic identity and political trajectory over the last fifty years? Melani McAlister, a professor of American Studies and International Affairs, utilizes extensive archival research and historical analysis to challenge the domestic-centric view of American evangelicalism. She argues that the movement's engagement with the Global South—spanning missionary work, Cold War geopolitics, and humanitarian efforts—has been the primary catalyst for its modern evolution and internal contradictions.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Scholars and historians frequently cite this work as a necessary corrective to the domestic-focused literature on American religious history. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which provides a rigorous framework for understanding the transnational nature of modern conservative Christianity.
Page Count:
0
Publication Date:
1900-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press,
ISBN-10:
0190213450
ISBN-13:
9780190213459
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