Theological Developments in the Non-European World, 1500–1800
Theological developments in the non-European early modern world, including Mesoamerica, India, China, and Japan, are examined in four sections. First, this paper analyzes the theme of overseas missions in the confessional polemics between Protestants and Catholics, and the disagreements between Pietists and orthodox within the Lutheran Church on the sending of missionaries. It then examines the problem of language and conversion, including the Chinese Rites controversy, and surveys the ways in which theological terms and the Bible were translated in different missionary territories. Finally, it focuses on the impact of non-European missions on developments in sacramental theology and ecclesiology, which would eventually challenge the Eurocentric and sacerdotal visions of global Catholicism.