Book Review: The Next Christendom

The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity by Philip Jenkins

Rating: 4 ½ out of 5

For most of us the plight of Sub-Saharan Africa or Northern India rarely goes much past TV commercials or the occasional Time article. And often the explosive growth of Christianity in places like China and Tanzania is heard but never given thought. Jenkins gives an academic look into the social and spiritual changes that are taking place in the Southern Hemisphere. This research into the changing spiritual landscape is acute, balanced, and very practical, especially for globally minded Christians. He systematically goes through the changes that are taking place in the South and projects those changes into 2050, showing some serious opportunities and threats not only to Christianity but to the stability of humanity. He then shows the challenges of current trends and how Muslim and Christian zeal is intensifying, often on top of one another.

Anyone interested in global missions, humanitarianism, or simply want to know what the spiritual landscape will look like in forty years must read this book. Written from a Catholic perspective, this book enables the reader to come to grips with what Christianity is becoming: a non-Western, non-white, poor, and persecuted religion (which is probably a good thing). No longer will the Eastern Church or Western Church be the bastion of the message of Jesus, but it will be, as Jenkins has coined it, the “Third Church.”

If you pride yourself in being globally minded, a world traveler, or a humanitarian, know the facts. Read this book.



Soli Deo Gloria.