A twentieth-century crusade: the Vatican’s battle to remake Christian Europe

Abstract

nomenon that has eroded some faithful away from the more established churches. Refreshingly, this section also has chapters on three important and yet often neglected subjects: the role of women in the church, ethnicity (and the way in which churches can be involved in resolving this major source of discord in many African countries), and— perhaps the most sensitive of the three—the Malawi churches’ united and forceful opposition to recognizing LGBTQ communities. The authors deserve much credit for highlighting this controversial issue. A notable absence in the book are two topics that deserve attention: the coexistence of Christianity and indigenous religious practices (which have survived nearly a century and a half of European cultural influence) and Islam (to which about 18 percent of Malawi’s population belongs). The old tension between Christian missionaries and Islam has persisted and has manifested itself clearly in the post-1994 era as wealthy Muslim countries have poured faith-based aid into Malawi, resulting in a rapid increase in the number of mosques and Islamic educational institutions, in proselytization, and in the general confidence of Muslims in Malawian national affairs. There is therefore justification for devoting some space to these issues even in a book that is specifically on church history. Despite these reservations, the publication of A Malawi Church History is very timely. This well-written book based on an extensive review of literature—most of which is published locally—is an indication of the advanced state of scholarship on religion in Malawi, and in this regard, it should guide researchers to possible topics for further exploration. Finally, this is the best university level textbook on Christianity in Malawi, and the authors and the ever-adventurous Mzuni Press have to be praised for this.