View author and book videos on our YouTube channel.
“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
If you are requesting permission to photocopy material for classroom use, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at copyright.com;
If the Copyright Clearance Center cannot grant permission, you may request permission from our Copyrights & Permissions Manager (use Contact Information listed below).
If you are requesting permission to reprint DUP material (journal or book selection) in another book or in any other format, contact our Copyrights & Permissions Manager (use Contact Information listed below).
Many images/art used in material copyrighted by Duke University Press are controlled, not by the Press, but by the owner of the image. Please check the credit line adjacent to the illustration, as well as the front and back matter of the book for a list of credits. You must obtain permission directly from the owner of the image. Occasionally, Duke University Press controls the rights to maps or other drawings. Please direct permission requests for these images to permissions@dukeupress.edu.
For book covers to accompany reviews, please contact the publicity department.
If you're interested in a Duke University Press book for subsidiary rights/translations, please contact permissions@dukeupress.edu. Include the book title/author, rights sought, and estimated print run.
Instructions for requesting an electronic text on behalf of a student with disabilities are available here.
The contributors examine the contours of Christianity among diverse groups: Catholics in India, the Philippines, and Bolivia, and Seventh-Day Adventists in Madagascar; the Swedish branch of Word of Life, a charismatic church based in the United States; and Protestants in Amazonia, Melanesia, and Indonesia. Highlighting the wide variation in what it means to be Christian, the contributors reveal vastly different understandings and valuations of conversion, orthodoxy, Scripture, the inspired word, ritual, gifts, and the concept of heaven. In the process they bring to light how local Christian practices and beliefs are affected by encounters with colonialism and modernity, by the opposition between Catholicism and Protestantism, and by the proximity of other religions and belief systems. Together the contributors show that it not sufficient for anthropologists to assume that they know in advance what the Christian experience is; each local variation must be encountered on its own terms.
Contributors. Cecilia Busby, Fenella Cannell, Simon Coleman, Peter Gow, Olivia Harris, Webb Keane, Eva Keller, David Mosse, Danilyn Rutherford, Christina Toren, Harvey Whitehouse
Fenella Cannell is Lecturer in Anthropology at the London School of Economics. She is the author of Power and Intimacy in the Christian Philippines.
Sign up for Subject Matters email updates to receive discounts, new book announcements, and more.