Research

The research agenda of the Center for Global Christianity is driven by the interests of the people who are part of its community. Reports about their ongoing work will be posted from time to time.

Russian Methodism

During the early twentieth century until the Japanese invasion of 1931, Harbin, Manchuria, was a crossroads for migrants, including Koreans, mixed-race North Asian populations, and Russians fleeing the Russian Revolution. In that challenging context, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, opened missions to the different refugee populations in Harbin. In 1927 the mission to Russian refugees closed. Russians fled the area, desperately migrating to whatever country would take them in.  In a video recorded lecture, Dana Robert reconstructs the memories of the Russian Methodist pastors of 1920s Harbin, in dialogue with her own search since the 1970s to uncover their history. This... More

The Korean Church of Boston 70th Anniversary Symposium

The Korean Church of Boston (PCUSA) looks back on the past as we welcome our 70th anniversary in 2023 as an immigrant church planted in the United States, and we thank God for God's great love bestowed upon us. Therefore, we have prepared events to commemorate our 70th anniversary under the title "Gratitude," and a meaningful symposium as below: Two Tales of a City upon a Hill: - Unlocking the Past for a Better Future Together: Stories of Native Americans & Korean American Churches 2023. 4.24-26 The Korean Church of Boston (PCUSA) 32 Harvard St. Brookline, MA 02445 Dr. Eunil David Cho, a CGCM faculty affiliate, will be speaking.  More... More

EAST-WEST SCHOLARS IN DIALOGUE: Ricci Institute Research Seminar Series

The Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History at Boston College presents two research seminars in February 2023, which will be delivered by the two Luce postdoctoral fellows in residence during the spring semester. Based on different historical studies, the two presentations will offer an opportunity for academic exchange among scholars today who are interested in the study of the history of Christianity in China and in the larger historical context of modern global history. The seminars are free and open to faculty and students at Boston College, and all interested scholars from other institutions. More details here...

New Book: “Global Christianity”

Gina Zurlo's ('17) Global Christianity is an accessible quick-reference guide to the global church. Filled with at-a-glance maps and charts, it puts relevant and up-to-date information into the hands of churches, mission organizations, and individuals. Useful for prayer, missions, outreach, and study of the global church, this is the new standard resource on the world's largest religion. Understand Christianity within each continent, country, tradition, and movement with: Current demographic information from the United Nations Research from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity A focus on historical, sociological, political, and religious contexts "Things to consider" within each local context, such as political... More

“Soundings Towards an Intercultural Identity for The United Methodist Church”

  A new article by Hendrik R. Pieterse and David W. Scott ('13) has been published in the 2022 edition of Methodist Review: “Soundings Towards an Intercultural Identity for The United Methodist Church: Some Historical and Theological Resources.” The abstract of the article reads: "The United Methodist Church today is in an identity crisis rooted in the role of culture, power, and agency in the negotiation of denominational identity.  To confront these challenges, the UMC must recognize the extent to which white American understandings of Methodism have functioned as normative in debates over Methodist identity.  To illustrate the intercultural dynamics at stake, we analyze the... More