Migration and the Making of Global Christianity

Abstract

This book documents how Christian migrants from the origins of Christianity until 1500 helped establish Christianity as a world religion. Its sociohistorical methodology identifies and celebrates the contributions of ordinary Christian migrants in cross-cultural and transnational contexts. It argues that Christian missionary engagements are often incorrectly associated with empire and institutional authorities; in reality, however, most of the cross-cultural missionary work was done by ordinary Christian women and men who migrated for various purposes. This book thus embodies a new historiography based on migration, providing ample evidence of the reality, complexity, and relevance of migration for World Christianity.