The research project explores Protestant internationalism, American missionaries, and Asian Christianity between 1920 and 1950. It focuses on analyzing the structure, formation, and impact of an American-influenced, Protestant internationalist, and missionary network during a late colonial phase. The project examines the possibilities for action and strategies developed by Asian actors within a field shaped by processes of secularization, indigenization, and decolonization.

The interwar period (1918-1939) represents a high point of internationalism, which also manifested in religious matters, for example, through numerous conferences. During this time, American missionaries and Protestant internationalists engaged intensively with Asia, particularly in countries such as India, Japan, and China. Various secular cooperation programs were initiated, based on a missionary strategy that no longer solely aimed at the ‘conversion’ of religious beliefs. Instead, the focus was on improving people's living conditions as a means to effect religious change.

At the same time, Asian Christians in the 1920s and 1930s navigated the tension between the emancipation of indigenous Christianity from its missionary heritage and significant political, economic, and social transformations within their societies.

The starting point of the study is the International Missionary Council, particularly its 1928 World Missionary Conference in Jerusalem. This conference served as a central hub where the paths of various actors intersected. The Council provided a platform for organizing and negotiating diverse global and local cooperation projects in areas such as education, workers' welfare, rural development, and peace work.

Contact

Dr. Michael Philipp Brunner
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Center for Religion and Modernity
Robert-Koch-Str. 29
48149 Münster
T: +49-251-83-25448
michael.brunner@uni-muenster.de

Funded by