Paradoxes of Pluralism, Privilege, and Persecution: Explaining Christian Growth and Decline Worldwide
This article examines the effect of church–state relations on rates of Christian population growth or decline worldwide. It makes the paradoxical argument that contexts of both pluralism and persecution do not impede Christian growth rates. In these environments, Christians do not have the luxury of...
| Published in: | Sociology of religion |
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| Authors: | ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford Univ. Press
2022
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| In: |
Sociology of religion
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
State
/ Church
/ Religious pluralism
/ Christian persecution
/ Growth
/ Decrease of
/ Christianity
/ History 2010-2020
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| RelBib Classification: | CB Christian life; spirituality CC Christianity and Non-Christian religion; Inter-religious relations CH Christianity and Society KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history SA Church law; state-church law |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article examines the effect of church–state relations on rates of Christian population growth or decline worldwide. It makes the paradoxical argument that contexts of both pluralism and persecution do not impede Christian growth rates. In these environments, Christians do not have the luxury of becoming complacent. On one hand, pluralism means that Christianity must actively compete with other faith traditions in order to gain and maintain adherents. On the other hand, persecution can, paradoxically, sometimes strengthen Christianity by deepening attachments to faith and reinforcing solidarity among Christians. Rather, it is a third type of relationship—privilege, or state support for Christianity—that corresponds to the greatest threat to growth in Christianity. Countries where Christianity is privileged by the state encourage apathy and the politicization of religion, resulting in a less dynamic faith and the overall decline of Christian populations. We test these propositions using a cross-national, time-series analysis of a global sample of countries from 2010 to 2020. Our findings provide support for our theory that Christianity suffers in contexts of privilege but not in environments of pluralism or persecution. The finding is robust to a number of model specifications and statistical approaches. |
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| ISSN: | 1759-8818 |
| Reference: | Errata "Correction to: Paradoxes of Pluralism, Privilege, and Persecution: Explaining Christian Growth and Decline Worldwide (2023)"
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociology of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/socrel/srab006 |