Beyond Mall Christianity: Megachurches Navigating Southeast Asian Urbanism

IF 1.4 4区社会学 Q1 AREA STUDIES

Pacific Affairs Pub Date : 2022-03-01 DOI:10.5509/20229515

T. Chong, Daniel P. S. Goh

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Abstract

The global spread of Pentecostalism has been facilitated by a combination of transnational impulses and indigenizing interests. In the case of independent Pentecostal megachurches, their growth in urban centres is reflected in both Western and Asian societies. Megachurches in America and Southeast Asia have flourished because of their unique blend of middle- class congregants, appeal to consumerist and popular culture, as well as their compatibility with the urban lifestyle patterns of their congregants. However, it would be a mistake to assume that the drivers of growth and the conditions behind the common features of these megachurches are the same. Examining Jakarta, Surabaya, Kuala Lumpur, and Manila, we show that megachurches are not located in shopping malls and commercial complexes merely for growth purposes or to align with the consumerism ethos of capitalism. Deeply local concerns, such as hostile neighbourhoods dominated by Muslim or Catholic majorities, have led to the camouflaging of Christian symbols in urban settings. The purposeful targeting of youth also reveals the Southeast Asian megachurch engaging with the new urban mobilities triggered by rapid economic development. We conclude that the Southeast Asian city's structure and layout are being repurposed by Christian innovation and reinterpretation. Christianity in the Southeast Asian city is hidden in plain sight.

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超越商场基督教:大型教会引领东南亚都市主义

跨国冲动和本土化利益的结合促进了五旬节主义在全球的传播。就独立的五旬节大教堂而言，它们在城市中心的发展反映在西方和亚洲社会中。美国和东南亚的大教堂之所以蓬勃发展，是因为它们独特地融合了中产阶级会众，吸引了消费主义和流行文化，并与会众的城市生活方式相兼容。然而，如果认为这些大教堂的增长驱动力和共同特征背后的条件是相同的，那就大错特错了。考察雅加达、泗水、吉隆坡和马尼拉，我们发现大型教堂位于购物中心和商业综合体并不仅仅是为了增长或与资本主义的消费主义精神保持一致。当地根深蒂固的担忧，比如穆斯林或天主教占多数的敌对社区，导致了基督教象征在城市环境中的伪装。有目的地针对年轻人也揭示了东南亚大教堂参与了由快速经济发展引发的新的城市流动。我们得出的结论是，东南亚城市的结构和布局正被基督教的创新和重新诠释所重新利用。东南亚城市的基督教隐藏在众目睽睽之下。

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来源期刊

Pacific Affairs AREA STUDIES-

CiteScore

1.60

自引率

12.50%

发文量

期刊介绍： Pacific Affairs has, over the years, celebrated and fostered a community of scholars and people active in the life of Asia and the Pacific. It has published scholarly articles of contemporary significance on Asia and the Pacific since 1928. Its initial incarnation from 1926 to 1928 was as a newsletter for the Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR), but since May 1928, it has been published continuously as a quarterly under the same name. The IPR was a collaborative organization established in 1925 by leaders from several YMCA branches in the Asia Pacific, to “study the conditions of the Pacific people with a view to the improvement of their mutual relations.”