Article April 22, 2002 Issue

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE NEW CENTER OF CHRISTIANITY

Philip Jenkins

The Chronicle of Higher Education

"Over the past century ... the center of gravity in the Christian world has shifted inexorably southward, to Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Already today, the largest Christian communities on the planet are to be found in Africa and Latin America. If we want to visualize a 'typical' contemporary Christian, we should think of a woman living in a village in Nigeria or in a Brazilian favela. Whatever Europeans or North Americans may believe, Christianity is doing very well indeed in the global south—not just surviving but expanding.

"This trend will continue apace in coming years. Many of the fastest-growing countries in the world are either predominantly Christian or else have very sizable Christian minorities. Even if Christians just maintain their present share of the population in countries like Nigeria and Kenya, Mexico, and Ethiopia, Brazil and the Philippines, there are soon going to be several hundred million more Christians from those nations alone."

Philip Jenkins
"A New Christendom" excerpted from
The Next Christendom:
The Coming of Global Christianity
The Chronicle of Higher Education
March 29, 2002