Christian Mission and Secularism

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    Abstract

    This chapter elucidates the prospects and pitfalls for Christian witness and public engagement provoking as well as confronting multiple secularisms. It disputes the claim of secularism to be a progressive, urban, gender equal, non-colonial principle of statecraft and personal conviction. It questions mission theories that either neglect or deny contemporary secularism by overemphasizing the persistence of Christianity in ethics and new spirituality, or by a retreat in fundamentalism. The chapter scrutinizes the thesis that mission and secularism can become mutual exorcists, liberating each other from various evils. The endeavour to understand - and not merely denounce - different secularisms, is imperative for any contextualised Christian mission.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationThe Oxford Handbook of Mission Studies
    EditorsKirsteen Kim, Knud Jorgensen, Alison Fitchett Climenhaga
    Place of PublicationOxford
    PublisherOxford University Press
    Chapter28
    Pages493-507
    Number of pages17
    ISBN (Print)9780198831723
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2022

    Publication series

    NameThe Oxford Handbooks
    PublisherOxford University Press

    Keywords

    • Mission
    • Secularism
    • Religious-Secular Binaries
    • Feminism
    • Mutual Exorcism

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