Christianity, Conflict, and Renewal in Australia and the Pacific

Book excerpt: Cultural expressions of Christianity show great diversity around the globe. While scholarship has tended to consider charismatic practices in distinct geographical contexts, this volume advances the anthropology of Christianity through ethnographically rich, comparative insights from across the Australia-Pacific region. Christianity, Conflict, and Renewal in Australia and the Pacific presents new perspectives on the performative dynamics of Christian belief, conflict, and renewal. Addressing experiences of cultural and spiritual renewal, contributors reveal how tensions can arise between spiritual and political expressions of culture and identity, opening up alternative spaces for spiritual realization and religious change. These local processes further mobilize responses of individuals and groups to state forces and political reforms, in turn, influencing the shape of translocal and transnational Christian practices. Contributors are: Diane Austin-Broos, John Barker, Alison Dundon, Yannick Fer, Kirsty Gillespie, Jessica Hardin, Rodolfo Maggio, Fiona Magowan, Gwendoline Malogne-Fer, Debra McDougall, Joel Robbins, Carolyn Schwarz, and John Taylor.