Asian Christianities: History, Theology, Practice

Considering history, theology, and prac­tice, Peter Phan offers a sweeping review of what he terms, deliberately, Asian Christianities—a reflection of the multiplicity and diversity among cultures and traditions in Asia. Focusing chiefly on East and South Asia, Phan gives special attention to the project of inculturation of Christianity into local cultures and the vexed question of Christian identity: Are Asian Christians primarily Asian and sec­ondarily Christian or vice versa?

In the case of Catholicism, he looks at the re­ception of Vatican II and the challenge of a new “way of being church” in Asia. In addition, he covers a range of topical issues from migra­tion, to interreligious dialogue, popular devo­tion, and ecological responsibility.

Peter C. Phan, a native of Vietnam, immigrated to the U.S. in 1975. He obtained three doctorates from the Universitas Pontifica Salesiana in Rome and the University of London. He is currently Ignacio Ellacuría Professor of Catholic Social Thought at Georgetown University. A former president of the Catholic Theological Society of America, he is also a recipient of the Society’s highest honor, the John Courtney Murray Award.