The center of Christianity moved slowly but surely during the twentieth century from the Developed World to the Developing World, so that the majority of Christians today are nonwhite (Jenkins, 2002). However, this “Southernized Christianity” has not confined its impact to the Global South: the patterns of international migration have shifted in recent decades, bringing…… Continue reading Immigrant Influx: The Impact of Large Numbers of Immigrants from the Developing World on Seventh-day Adventism in England, France, and The Netherlands
Category: Ethnic Diversity
The Fragmenting of Apocalypticism within a Denominationalizing Sect: The Case of Seventh-day Adventism
Research has shown that over time many religious sects reduce the tensions between themselves and surrounding society, and thus move from sect towards denomination. For a millenarian sect to follow this process, its apocalyptic must become less urgent: it must become less rejecting of the present society and put down roots there. However, the dynamics…… Continue reading The Fragmenting of Apocalypticism within a Denominationalizing Sect: The Case of Seventh-day Adventism
Twenty-First Century Adventism: The Impact of The Decline of The Church in The Developed World and Its Rise in The Developing World
I will begin by showing you the dramatic changes that have taken place in recent decades in the global distribution of all Christians, and of Adventists in particular. I will then compare and contrast the Adventist statistics with those of the other major religious groups that emerged, as we did, in the U.S. during the…… Continue reading Twenty-First Century Adventism: The Impact of The Decline of The Church in The Developed World and Its Rise in The Developing World
Questions Concerning the Relevance of Adventist Teachings in Animist Cultures
I am completing an ambitious sociological study of global Adventism. My research has taken me to 56 countries in all divisions of the world church. Today I will focus on Africa and Papua-New Guinea, both of which have pervasive animist cultures. I will share with you some vignettes that will raise some issues where I…… Continue reading Questions Concerning the Relevance of Adventist Teachings in Animist Cultures
From American Church to Immigrant Church
In 1945 Seventh-day Adventism in Metropolitan New York was divided administratively into two conferences, one of which had an almost completely Caucasian membership, the other Afro-American. Both groups grew substantially during the following twenty-five years, but this growth was accompanied by the beginning of a flow of immigrants who had become Adventists as a result of missionary activity in their homelands in the developing world. Since 1970, the influx of immigrants – and of conversions among their non-Adventist peers – has burgeoned, while American-born members, both black and white, have declined sharply in total number and precipitously as a proportion of the total. The data …
