Christianity comes in three varieties
Christianity comes in three varieties
Linda Woodhead explores varieties of Christianity, illustrating each with an intriguing figure from the history of Christianity in Britain.
1. Biblical Christianity
In trying to explain Christianity to undergraduates studying the sociology of religion, I have learned to break it down into three main varieties. Each is ancient, each has roots in scripture, but each is different. In this series I will give a distillation of what I mean, illustrating each type with an intriguing figure from the history of Christianity in Britain.
William Carey arrived in Serampore, a small town north of Calcutta on the Hooghly river, in 1800. A Northamptonshire cobbler, schoolmaster, and Baptist missionary, Carey exemplifies the audacious energy of Biblical Christianity, perhaps the most familiar of the three varieties of Christianity I will explore.
Carey’s aim was to save the East. It was obvious to him that he should do so with words. He set to work translating the Bible into more than six languages, and he imported the first steam engine to India to print them. He built a college, schools, and a botanic garden. He was an avid amateur scientist and a champion of modern progress.
Carey’s model was the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, when the invention of printing and the first translations of the Bible into modern languages led to a religious revolution in Europe. Subsequent reformers like Carey were intent on spreading moral, religious and scientific progress even further afield. EXPECT GREAT THINGS FROM GOD, ATTEMPT GREAT THINGS FOR GOD was his motto.
Today this variety of Christianity is as potent as ever. It has shaped the USA, including the evangelicals who helped elect Donald Trump. Like Carey, they believe in Biblical truth, the hardworking common man, the nuclear family, and the superiority of Western civilization.
In India, ironically, Biblical Christianity had less success, but in other parts of Asia, Africa and South America, it has flourished. In its fundamentalist forms it puts all the emphasis on the Word; in its Pentecostal or Charismatic versions, it celebrates both Word and Spirit. Biblical Christians often call themselves ‘evangelicals’ or ‘born again’.
The greatest success of this version of Christianity in our lifetimes has been persuading much of the non-Christian world that it is the one true Christianity. It is not, and in my next reflections I will explore two other varieties, the sacramental and the mystical.
