Śladami pierwszych misjonarzy protestanckich w Himalajach

The Moravian Brethren formed a very particular community within the Protestant Church. Above all, they had a distinct understanding of the Christian ministry and, consequently, their group had a disctinct missionary character. They were the first to undertake Protestant missions among peoples living far from the centers of civilization and administrative power. This paper describes the author’s encounter with the Himala- yan cultures and traces of Moravian missionaries’ work in the area, discerned over many years of research focusing on the past European activity, its contexts and the durability of cultural solutions it promoted.

Calvinism as a Chinese Contextual Theology

The history of Protestant missions to China has included every major Presbyterian, Congregational, and Reformed denomination entering Chinese lands as early as the seventeenth century. However, the lasting forms of Chinese Protestantism that existed after the end of the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) were much more informed by the evangelical faith mission tradition than any denominational tradition. Yet observers of Protestantism in mainland China have noted the rapid embrace of Calvinist Christianity since the 1990s. Tracing these developments across two major strata of Chinese society, this chapter shows how socio-political factors since 1989 have resulted in the growth of Calvinism as a Chinese contextual theology.

Protestant Missions Collections

Collections documenting the history of Protestant missions are of great and ongoing interest to a wide range of researchers. Global in scope, they capture histories and perspectives often not otherwise available and support learning and scholarship in disciplines such as history, anthropology, and religious studies. This panel addressed librarians, students, and scholars working with theological, religious studies, or related collections and institutions, particularly where the documentation and study of colonial legacies is a primary concern for researchers, faculty, and students. It emphasized the need for critical engagement -- for instruction, management, outreach -- with complex and high-interest primary sources.

Conversionary Protestants Do Not Cause Democracy

In The Missionary Roots of Liberal Democracy, Robert D. Woodberry (2012) claims that conversionary Protestantism influenced the emergence of stable democracies around the world. While his historical analysis is exhaustive, the accompanying empirical evidence suffers from severe inconsistencies. This letter replicates Woodberry's analysis using twenty-six alternative democracy measures and extends the time period over which the democracy measures are averaged. These two simple modifications lead to the breakdown of Woodberry's results. We find no significant relationship between Protestant missions and the development of democracy, which raises concerns about the robustness and broader applicability of Woodberry's findings. The letter discusses some alternative explanations for Woodberry's results, which can inform future research on this topic.