Wuthnow, Robert. Boundless Faith: The Global Outreach of American Churches. University of California Press, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-520-25915-7.
Meet the Author
Robert Wuthnow is the Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor of Social Sciences and Director of the Center for the Study of American Religion at Princeton University. Wuthnow is widely published in the areas of sociology of religion, culture and civil society. His recent books include Boundless Faith: The Global Influence of American Churches; After the Baby Boomers: How Twenty- and Thirty-Somethings Are Shaping the Future of American Religion; America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity; and Saving America? Faith-Based Services and the Future of Civil Society. For more information visit his faculty page or view his curriculum vitae.
Book Basics
Boundless Faith claims to be the first book to look systematically at American Christianity in relation to globalization. It is a claim that Robert Montgomery, a Presbyterian missionary and the author of Introduction to Sociology of Missions, validates this in a recent book review: “Finally! A leading sociologist of religion has researched the overseas mission efforts of American Christianity. For over thirty years I have been hoping that sociologists of religion would give attention to this important aspect of American church life and work that reaches millions of people around the world. Instead, the major focus of sociology of religion has been on American congregations and on church growth and decline in Europe and America, particularly as influenced by secularization. At the same time, missiologists, while making some use of anthropology, have virtually ignored sociology of religion with its three American professional associations, its major international association, and its many publications. Robert Wuthnow of Princeton University, a very prolific researcher and writer, has broken the ice from the sociological side with a book showing how the mission efforts of American churches and their members have been major participants in and contributors to globalization.”
The research for this book consists of information from a nationally representative survey of 2,231 members of local
churches and in-depth qualitative interviews with 300 pastors, church leaders, and members who had been involved in transnational ministries. The data clearly indicates that we have entered a new era with the globalization of American Christianity: spending by churches on overseas ministries has risen to $4 billion annually; the number of full-time missionaries serving abroad has increased steadily; almost every international faith-based relief and development agency has expanded dramatically; and a majority of U.S. congregations are currently involved in ministries outside of the United States.
While this book is packed with data and requires a significant investment of time to adequately process, it is an important read for those involved in making decisions about congregational involvement in global ministries as well as for those individuals who are considering how best to deploy charitable giving to agencies engaged in Christian work worldwide.
So What?
In his concluding chapter, Wuthnow suggests that his book has provided the evidence required to cast “serious doubt on three widely held assumptions about American Christianity (p. 235)”
- American Christianity has withdrawn from the wider world, leaving global Christianity to flourish largely on its own
- Local congregations have imploded, serving as self-help societies for their own members and doing little to help people outside their communities, let alone outside the nation
- American Christianity is primarily an evangelical voice in U.S. foreign policy that encourages the nation’s leaders in imperialistic adventures involving free trade and unilateral military action
As you think about your congregation’s involvement, consider the following tensions:
- Connecting local and global
- Balancing service and spirituality
- “Doing” versus “partnering with”
The world is increasingly interconnected. American Christians must not only realize their impact beyond our nation’s borders, but also seek to be more thoughtful and strategic in crafting their ongoing interactions in the global village.