The Anthropology of Christianity: Context, Contestation, Rupture, and Continuity

Abstract

Still in its developmental stages, the anthropological study of Christianity is unsettled. This essay assesses the study of a faith tradition that has been relatively ignored until recently. The books under review offer examples of the emerging anthropology of Christianity. Four themes receive attention: challenges to the anthropology of Christianity, the comparative enterprise, authority and order, and the nexus of continuity and rupture. These themes provide a glimpse into anthropology's ongoing evolution in its own right and within the larger academy.

KEYWORDS:

• authority
• christianity
• continuity
• religion
• rupture