An Interdisciplinary Virtual Event
2021 McDonald Centre Annual Conference
Christianity, Commerce, and Civilisation?
Missions and Empire in the Modern World
27-28 May 2021
During the Modern period the study of patterns of colonialization and the development of empires has focussed on the expansion of the Western mercantile powers from the early Iberian colonisation of the Americas through to the commercial dominance of the USA and the development of multinational companies during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
A perennial question in reviewing these processes of history, commerce and politics has been the question of the role of religion and more particularly the place of Christian Missions. It is reflected in the well-known remark of David Livingstone which forms the title for our conference. The relationship is complex and took different forms over a period of four centuries, and in different areas of the globe. Just as there is not one history of empire, so too there is not simply one explanation of the role of religion or of the place of missions and missionaries in the story.
Whilst the complexity and nuances of the issues have often been recognised by professional historians, in popular discourse the debate has often been caught up in current ‘culture wars’, in which missions and missionaries have too often simply been assumed to be ‘agents of empire’. The aim of this conference, and the volume which we hope will result from it, is to explicate further the complexities of the relationships between Christianity, Missions, Colonies and Empire as they developed in the Modern era, and thereby to contribute a more considered and nuanced voice to the current polarised discussions.
Plenary Speaker
Brian Stanley
Professor of World Christianity, University of Edinburgh
Empires Human and Divine: The Multiple Ambiguities of Mission Christianity in Imperial Contexts
Featured Speakers
(Alphabetical)
Dr Ashish Alexander
Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences
Dr James Butler
Church Mission Society/University of Roehamptom
Prof Hilary Carey
University of Bristol
Prof Kirsteen Kim
Fuller Theological Seminary
Dr Cathy Ross
Church Mission Society/Regent's Park College
Prof Alec Ryrie
Durham University/Gresham College
Prof Michael Snape
Durham University/Durham Cathedral
Dr Nicholas Wood
University of Oxford
Prof Robert D Woodberry
Baylor University
Registration
Please register your interest in attending the virtual conference by completing the registration form linked below: