1. The Eternal Return of Conversion: Christianity as Contested Domain in Highland Bolivia / Olivia Harris 51

2. Renewable Icons: Concepts of Religious Power in a Fishing Village in South India / Cecilia Busby 77

3. Possession and Confession: Affliction and Sacred Power in Colonial and Contemporary Catholic South India / David Mosse 99

4. Reading as Gift and Writing as Theft / Fenella Cannell 134

5. Materializing the Self: Words and Gifts in the Construction of Charismatic Protestant Identity / Simon Coleman 163

6. The Effectiveness of Ritual / Christina Toren 185

7. Forgetting Conversion: The Summer Institute of Linguistics Mission in the Piro Lived World / Peter Gow 211

8. The Bible Meets the Idol: Writing and Conversion in Biak, Irian Jaya, Indonesia / Danilyn Rutherford 240

9. Scripture Study as Normal Science: Seventh-Day Adventist Practice on the East Coast of Madagascar / Eva Keller 273

10. Appropriated and Monolithic Christianity in Melanesia / Harvey Whitehouse 295

Epilogue: Anxious Transcendence / Webb Keane 308

References 325

Contributors 353

Index 355

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction. The Anthropology of Christianity / Fenella Cannell 1

Peter Gow

Fenella Cannell

Olivia Harris

Cecilia Busby

David Mosse

Simon Coleman

Christina Toren

Danilyn Rutherford

Eva Keller

Harvey Whitehouse

Webb Keane

“The Anthropology of Christianity is a remarkable collection of consistently insightful discussions and analyses, and merits shelf space alongside classics in the anthropology of religion. However, it would be something of an intellectual tragedy if the book were consigned solely to anthropologists who specialise in religion. This volume demands attention not just for what it says about Christianity, but also for what it illuminates about the nature of anthropology itself. As such, it deserves to be read widely within the discipline. . . .” — Philip M. Fountain, Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology

“[T]his collection of studies exemplifies a new and promising turn in the anthropology of Christianity.” — Andrew Orta, Journal of Anthropological Research

“[T]his is an excellent volume of essays that vividly demonstrates the vitality of this growing area of anthropological research and writing.” — Paul-Francois Tremlett, Culture & Religion

“A book of many merits, providing insights into the enormous variety of themes and problems the anthropology of Christianity has to address. . . . Cannell’s collection is a valuable contribution to an anthropological field gaining momentum.” — Friedegard Tomasetti, Journal of Religious History

“It is a rare book that not only contributes to existing scholarship but succeeds in removing a serious blind spot from that scholarship, and Fenella Cannell’s edited volume The Anthropology of Christianity does just that. . . . [T]his volume is poised to become required reading for anyone interested in the variation of Christian practice and belief, the relationship between Christianity and modernity, and the intellectual-cum-theological history of anthropological thought. . . . This is a marvelous collection that should inspire readers not only to rethink Christianity but also to reckon with the vestiges of theology that remain in our disciplines.” — Deirdre de la Cruz, Journal of Asian Studies

“Lucid and masterly. . . .” — David Martin, Books & Culture

“Theoretically provocative and ethnographically rich, this book will deeply and positively influence the development of its title subject. In her introductory chapter, Cannell writes, ‘For many anthropologists, it seems that, unless special circumstances bring it into view, Christianity is still an occluded object’ (11). To anthropology’s benefit, this is becoming less and less the case thanks to works like this one.” — Matt Tomlinson, Anthropological Quarterly

“This collection, edited by anthropologist Cannell, presents engaging case studies that illustrate how putatively universal faith is localized in specific contexts: Protestants in Indonesia, Sweden, Melanesia, Amazonia, and Madagascar; Catholics in India, Bolivia, and the Philippines. At the same time, the authors in different ways critically evaluate the relationship between anthropology and Christianity.” — C. J. MacKenzie, Choice

“This is an elegantly written and thoughtfully put-together volume that highlights the potential of ‘local’ ethnography as a source of metatheoretical insight into the discipline, rather than just offering empirical validation of preexisting (Western) theories and methodologies. . . . This volume is valuable because it encourages local anthropologists to consider the breadth of the Freudian metaphor, which is central to Cannell’s argument. . . . The Anthropology of Christianity serves to encourage anthropologists to consider ethnography as a vehicle toward reconsidering the often taken-for-granted concepts of the discipline, rather than merely as a presentation of empirical data.” — Julius J. Bautista, Philippine Studies

“The Anthropology of Christianity is a remarkable collection of consistently insightful discussions and analyses, and merits shelf space alongside classics in the anthropology of religion. However, it would be something of an intellectual tragedy if the book were consigned solely to anthropologists who specialise in religion. This volume demands attention not just for what it says about Christianity, but also for what it illuminates about the nature of anthropology itself. As such, it deserves to be read widely within the discipline. . . .” —Philip M. Fountain, Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology

“[T]his collection of studies exemplifies a new and promising turn in the anthropology of Christianity.” —Andrew Orta, Journal of Anthropological Research

“[T]his is an excellent volume of essays that vividly demonstrates the vitality of this growing area of anthropological research and writing.” —Paul-Francois Tremlett, Culture & Religion

“A book of many merits, providing insights into the enormous variety of themes and problems the anthropology of Christianity has to address. . . . Cannell’s collection is a valuable contribution to an anthropological field gaining momentum.” —Friedegard Tomasetti, Journal of Religious History

“It is a rare book that not only contributes to existing scholarship but succeeds in removing a serious blind spot from that scholarship, and Fenella Cannell’s edited volume The Anthropology of Christianity does just that. . . . [T]his volume is poised to become required reading for anyone interested in the variation of Christian practice and belief, the relationship between Christianity and modernity, and the intellectual-cum-theological history of anthropological thought. . . . This is a marvelous collection that should inspire readers not only to rethink Christianity but also to reckon with the vestiges of theology that remain in our disciplines.” —Deirdre de la Cruz, Journal of Asian Studies

“Lucid and masterly. . . .” —David Martin, Books & Culture

“Theoretically provocative and ethnographically rich, this book will deeply and positively influence the development of its title subject. In her introductory chapter, Cannell writes, ‘For many anthropologists, it seems that, unless special circumstances bring it into view, Christianity is still an occluded object’ (11). To anthropology’s benefit, this is becoming less and less the case thanks to works like this one.” —Matt Tomlinson, Anthropological Quarterly

“This collection, edited by anthropologist Cannell, presents engaging case studies that illustrate how putatively universal faith is localized in specific contexts: Protestants in Indonesia, Sweden, Melanesia, Amazonia, and Madagascar; Catholics in India, Bolivia, and the Philippines. At the same time, the authors in different ways critically evaluate the relationship between anthropology and Christianity.” —C. J. MacKenzie, Choice

“This is an elegantly written and thoughtfully put-together volume that highlights the potential of ‘local’ ethnography as a source of metatheoretical insight into the discipline, rather than just offering empirical validation of preexisting (Western) theories and methodologies. . . . This volume is valuable because it encourages local anthropologists to consider the breadth of the Freudian metaphor, which is central to Cannell’s argument. . . . The Anthropology of Christianity serves to encourage anthropologists to consider ethnography as a vehicle toward reconsidering the often taken-for-granted concepts of the discipline, rather than merely as a presentation of empirical data.” —Julius J. Bautista, Philippine Studies

“The Anthropology of Christianity is a very fine and stimulating set of essays, framed elegantly by a terrific introductory piece by Fenella Cannell and a thoughtful, thought-provoking, and stylish essay by Webb Keane. One of the collection’s great virtues is that the essays are quite diverse in the interpretive directions they pursue even as they unanimously, and quite compellingly, make the case for rethinking the anthropology of Christianity.” — Donald Brenneis, University of California, Santa Cruz

“The anthropology of Christianity comes of age in this book. Fenella Cannell’s astute depiction of the paradoxes of religious transcendence and her acute analysis of the obstacles in shifting Christianity from predecessor, opponent, or silent partner of social science to full object of anthropological inquiry find fruition in eleven exemplary studies of local formations of Christianity from around the world. No student of religion will want to miss this timely work.” — Michael Lambek, editor of, A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion

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