Christianity in the Local Context

Contemporary Anthropology of Religion

by Brian M. Howell

How do Filipino Baptists who sing in English, quote from James Dobson, and download sermon illustrations from Alabama understand themselves, and their faith, as “local?” Comparing four congregations of Southern Baptists in the Philippines, Howell argues that Christianity becomes a local context as aspects of daily life are brought together with the obviously borrowed elements of the faith. This book moves away from the split of “global” and “local” to find out how Southern Baptists are able to create a “transcendent locality.” Told in rich ethnographic detail, Christianity in the Local Context argues that Filipino Baptists are actively constructing themselves in terms of a global faith that they have made their own.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Brian Howell is a professor at Wheaton College. He recieved his Ph.D. in Socio-Cultural Anthropology from Washington University, St. Louis, in 2002.

Howell is particularly interested in courses dealing with global Christianity, culture theory and inequality as well as anthropology and popular culture, and strives to incorporate such issues into his courses. Dr. Howell and his wife Marissa Sabio reside in Wheaton with their three children and are active church members.

Reviews

[John Paul Arceno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and pedagogically effective.