Making Christ Present in China: Actor-Network Theory and the Anthropology of Christianity (2020)

An anthropological theorization of the unity and diversity of Christianity, this book focuses on Christian communities in Nanping, a small city in China. It applies methodological insights from Actor-Network Theory to investigate how the Christian God is made part of local social networks. The study examines how Christians interact with and re-define material objects, such as buildings, pews, offerings, and blood, in order to identify the kind of networks and non-human actors that they collectively design. By comparing local Christian traditions with other practices informing the Nanping religious landscape, the study points out potential cohesion via the centralizing presence of the Christian God, the governing nature of the pastoral clergy, and the semi-transcendent being of the Church.

About the Author

Michel Chambon is Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Hanover College, USA. He completed a Master’s in Theology at the Catholic University of Paris, France and a Ph.D. in Anthropology at Boston University, USA. He has also been a visiting researcher at the University of Notre Dame, USA.

Hardcover : 304 pages

ISBN-10 : 3030556042

ISBN-13 : 978-3030556044

Dimensions : 5.83 x 0.75 x 8.27 inches

Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan; 1st ed. 2020 edition (October 25, 2020)

Language: : English

Table of contents (7 chapters)

Studying Chinese Christianity  Pages 1-31

Building Churches on Chinese Soil  Pages 35-77

Responding Together in the Face of the Lord  Pages 79-130

Revealing the Pastoral Church Through Elderly Care  Pages 131-195

The Overflow of Gifts  Pages 199-237

The Bloody Business of Christian Conversion  Pages 239-276

Conclusion: The Tree of Life  Pages 277-286