Decolonizing Christianity
Subtitle: Religion and the End of Empire in France and Algeria
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 251
ISBN-13: 9781107118171
Subjects: Postcolonialism; Decolonization; Africa, religion
Description: Decolonizing Christianity' traces the dramatic transformation of Christianity from its position as the moral foundation of European imperialism to its role as a radical voice of political and social change in the era of decolonization. As Christians renegotiated their place in the emerging Third World, they confronted the consequences of racism and violence that Christianity had reinforced in European colonies. This book tells the story of Christians in Algeria who undertook a mission to 'decolonize the Church' and ensure the future of Christianity in postcolonial Algeria. But it also recovers the personal aspects of decolonization, as many of these Christians were arrested and tortured by the French for their support of Algerian independence. The consequences of these actions were immense, as the theological and social engagement of Christians in Algeria then influenced the groundbreaking reforms developing within global Christianity in the 1960s.