Transloyalties, Connected Histories and World Christianity during the Interwar Period

This book introduces the approach of "transloyalties" to study "connected histories" in World Christianity. The term "transloyalties" is used to analyze the multifaceted processes in various contact zones through which cultural and religious identities were transformed in the tension between different loyalties. The volume tests this approach in various case studies, most of them focusing on Lutheran churches and "World Lutheranism" between 1919 and 1939, a time of rapidly changing political circumstances. Traditionally, the United States, Germany, and Scandinavia had been identified as the three centers of Lutheranism. However, while the structures in these centers were well established and "World Lutheranism" was something "out there," with limited impact back home, negotiation processes on "Lutheran identity" were crucial in contexts where new Lutheran churches emerged. Asian and African church leaders operated in a new context of loyalties: They pushed for cooperation, and they often interacted with mission organizations from all three centers, and also with other religions, traditional cultures, and political movements. Therefore, it is significant what happened, for instance, in the Lutheran Church of China or at Umphumulo in South Africa. Including theoretical reflections and case studies, this volume is valuable reading for scholars of the history of World Christianity.

Frieder Ludwig is Professor of Global Studies and Religion in the Faculty of Theology and Social Sciences at VID Specialized University in Stavanger, Norway. Ellen Vea Rosnes is Professor of Intercultural Communication and Global Studies in the Faculty of Theology and Social Sciences at VID Specialized University in Stavanger, Norway. Joar Haga is Professor of Church History in the Faculty of Theology and Social Sciences at VID Specialized University in Stavanger, Norway. Marina Xiaojing Wang is a post-doctoral research fellow in the Centre of Mission and Global Studies (now the Centre of the Study of World Christianity and Religion) at VID Specialized University in Stavanger, Norway (2020-2023). Jairzinho Lopes Pereira is a post-doctoral research fellow in the Centre of Mission and Global Studies (now the Centre of the Study of World Christianity and Religion) at VID Specialized University in Stavanger, Norway (2020-2023).

Part One: Introduction and Theoretical Perspectives 1. Introduction 2. Transloyalties 3.From Ancient Loyalty to Modern (Trans-)Loyalties: A Study from Cosmological, Sociological, Philosophical, and Theological Perspectives Part Two: Contesting Denominational and Political Boundaries during the Interwar Period 4. Formation and Concepts of "World Lutheranism" in the Context of International Developments after 1918 5. The Lutheran Church of China and World Lutheranism: Through the Lens of Loyalties and Transloyalties, 1920-1949 6. Transloyalties and the Rheinische Missionsgesellschaft in German New Guinea during the First World War 7. The Complicated Loyalties of Lutherans in the United States during the 1920s 8. Reframing Boundaries: Loyalties and Transloyalties in Early Twentieth-Century Chinese Protestantism 9. Navigating through Difficult Times: The Ecumenical Movement in the 1930s Part Three: Interactions between International Educational and Health Care Strategies, Colonial Governments and Christian Agencies 10. Transloyalties in Protestant Education and Health Care 11. Contested Concepts in Lutheran Education and Health Care: Umpumulo (Natal/South Africa) as a Centre of International Networks 12. African Voices in the Natal Native Teachers' Journal and Different Views on "Progressive Compromise" 13. On Mission in Northern Norway: Transnational Deaconesses. Vocations, Loyalties, Negotiations, ca. 1900-1930 14.In Service of Whom? Medical Missions in Hunan, China, 1920-1949 15. Family, Country, Patient: The Trans-loyalties of a German Medical Missionary in China. Index