FROM THE EDITORS May 2, 2005 Issue

WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?

LAST MONTH, Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for The New York Times, reported a piece from "the heart of Christendom" ("Where faith thrives," March 26, 2005). Hmmmm. Where might that be, you wonder. Peoria? London? Rome? Try Zimbabwe. Not that Africa is the official "heart of Christendom." But consider Kristof's stats:

"On Eastor, more Anglicans will attend church in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda—each—than Anglicans and Episcopalians together will attend services in Britain, Canada, and the US combined. More Roman Catholics will celebrate Easter Mass in the Philippines than in any European country. The largest church in the world is in South Korea. And more Christians will probably attend Easter services in China than in all of Europe together. In short," Kristof, writes, "for the first time since it began two millenniums ago, Christianity is no longer 'Western' in any very meaningful sense."

This isn't breaking news. Scholars, including Philip Jenkins, David Lyle Jeffrey, and others, have been pointing out this shift for a while now. And researchers report that the denominations gaining the most ground in these countries are evangelicals and Pentecostals. According to Kristof, what he's seeing when he compares Christianity in Africa with Westernstyle Christianity is that "where faith is easy, it is fading; where it's challenge, challenge, it thrives" (ibid).

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