Europe as the other : external perspectives on European Christianity

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

Europe as the other : external perspectives on European Christianity

edited by Judith Becker and Brian Stanley

(Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Europäische Geschichte Mainz, suppl. 103)

Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, c2014

Available at  / 3 libraries

Search this Book/Journal

Note

Bibliography: p. [255]-270

Description and Table of Contents

Description

There has been much academic debate over recent years on Europe defining itself over against the "Other." This volume asks from the opposite perspective: What views did non-Europeans hold of "European Christianity"? In this way, the volume turns the agency of definition over to non-Europeans. Over the last centuries, the contacts between Europeans and non-Europeans have been diverse and complex. Non-Europeans encountered Europeans as colonialists, traders, missionaries and travellers. Most of those Europeans were Christians or were perceived as Christians. Therefore, in terms of religion Europe was often identified with Christianity. Europeans thus also conveyed a certain image of Christianity to non-European countries. At the same time, non-Europeans increasingly travelled to Europe and experienced a kind of Christianity that often did not conform to the picture they had formed earlier. Their descriptions of European Christianity ranged from sympathetic acceptance to harsh criticism. The contributions in this volume reveal the breadth of these opinions. They also show that there is no clear line of division between "insiders" and "outsiders", but that Europeans could sometimes perceive themselves as being "outsiders" in their own culture while non-Europeans could adopt "insider" perspectives. Furthermore, from these encounters new religious and cultural expressions could emerge. There has been much academic debate over recent years on Europe defining itself over against the "Other." This volume asks from the opposite perspective: What views did non-Europeans hold of "European Christianity"? In this way, the volume turns the agency of definition over to non-Europeans. Over the last centuries, the contacts between Europeans and non-Europeans have been diverse and complex. Non-Europeans encountered Europeans as colonialists, traders, missionaries and travellers. Most of those Europeans were Christians or were perceived as Christians. Therefore, in terms of religion Europe was often identified with Christianity. Europeans thus also conveyed a certain image of Christianity to non-European countries. At the same time, non-Europeans increasingly travelled to Europe and experienced a kind of Christianity that often did not conform to the picture they had formed earlier. Their descriptions of European Christianity ranged from sympathetic acceptance to harsh criticism. The contributions in this volume reveal the breadth of these opinions. They also show that there is no clear line of division between "insiders" and "outsiders", but that Europeans could sometimes perceive themselves as being "outsiders" in their own culture while non-Europeans could adopt "insider" perspectives. Furthermore, from these encounters new religious and cultural expressions could emerge.

by "Nielsen BookData"

Related Books: 1-1 of 1

Details

  • NCID
    BB15639482
  • ISBN
    • 9783525101315
  • Country Code
    gw
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    Göttingen
  • Pages/Volumes
    277 p.
  • Size
    24 cm
  • Classification
  • Parent Bibliography ID
Page Top