New Book: Changing Christians: What Changed After Salvation?2021-09-11
Changing Christians: What Changed After Salvation?
While Christianity is considered a foreign religion in Taiwan, its origin and development in Taiwan is significantly different than in the West and does not fit the context or discussion of Western religious sociology. For years, the research in religious sociology conducted in Taiwan has been influenced by the theories of Western religious sociology while overlooking Taiwanese history and culture. Additionally, most of the studies in religious sociology in Taiwan have been focused on new folk Buddhism, traditional folk religions, and other local religions, with scant attention paid to Christianity.
Changing Christians, Changing Churches: A Sociological Analysis of Christianity in Taiwan assembles the research of scholars in sociology, demography, economics, and religion. Drawing on data from the 2012 and 2017 National Changing Christians: What Changed After Salvation? Christianity Survey as well as the 2015 Taiwan Christian Missionary Survey, the book presents the development of the Christian Church in Taiwan from the perspectives of churches, preachers, and Christians. Utilizing the analytic tools of socio-demographic research, the book examines the differences in beliefs, practices, and identifications among different denominations in Taiwan. Furthermore, it presents diverse perspectives on macro (Taiwan’s political, economic, and historical development); meso (local churches, inter-church networks, seminaries and organizations); and micro (individual believers) levels.
The editors of this book are Chin-Chun Yi, a Distinguished Research Fellow in the Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, and Kuo-Hsien Su, a professor in the Department of Sociology at NTU.