Missions, Nationalism, and the End of Empire (review)

This volume contains some of the papers that were delivered at the conference with the same title as the book held at Queens' College, Cambridge, in September, 2000. Brian Stanley showed great wisdom in his choice of papers to reproduce for publication. In addition to the seven major presentations, all of which are presented in the book, he had to choose from twenty-four "communications." Those that he chose to present he has carefully edited. He has grouped these around various themes relevant to the topic. He is to be commended for the work that he has done.

All the papers presented were prepared by scholars from around the world with very diverse backgrounds. Each paper is worth reading and studying. However, the topic was so broad in terms of time-span (the first half of the twentieth century), geography (Asian and African themes dominated the conference and do so in the book), and interest (from political intrigue to personal testimony) that no major agreed-upon themes emerge from these papers. Also it is to be noted that the presentations came almost exclusively from the Protestant world; the key-note talk by Adrian Hastings (his last composition for publication before his death) was the exception and the sole Roman Catholic major contribution to this conference.

The mission historian interested in this period will find much new information on this significant period of transformation and will be left reflecting on the issues that the rapid nationalist growth in what had been "foreign missions" raised. In this work there are stories of missionaries and missionary societies who were reluctant to support the nationalist movement of the Africans and Asians as well as stories of people who made the remarkable journey of moving from suspicion to open support. But, as the papers show, even that move was not a simple one; it left the Church with many complex questions not only about national leadership in the churches but also about the role of the "foreign missionary" in the new situation.

One is reluctant to choose for comment one or another essay when each of the essays is of such high quality. However, there are two essays which are very challenging for the historian of this period. The first is that of Adrian Hastings: "Nationalism and Universalism at War inside Twentieth-Century Missionary Christianity." In his paper Hastings focused principally on the Roman Catholic missions, examining the change in attitude about nationalism that took place beginning with Benedict XV's Maximum Illud. He highlighted the conflict missionaries faced as they were asked to give up their own nationalism, but at the same time were being asked by the leaders of the local churches to support them in their growing nationalism. The second is that of Professor Daniel Bays: "Foreign Missions and Indigenous Protestant Leaders in the Twentieth-Century China: Chen Chonggui (Marcus Cheng) and the Issues of Identity and Loyalty in the Age of Nationalism." Professor Bays describes the rapidity with which change took place in China in the early twentieth century and the challenges this presented to the Chinese Christian leaders who on the one hand were loyal to their Christian organizations and yet were drawn to the nationalism that saw Christianity, as experienced in China, as a foreign imposition. This put both the indigenous and the foreign church leaders in a very difficult bind. Professor Hays treats this question with great sensitivity.

This reviewer would happily summarize many of the other essays if there were space, but hopefully these few comments will make the reader aware of the richness contained in this volume. In addition to each paper being presented in a scholarly fashion with appropriate footnotes there is also a useful bibliography of secondary sources at the end followed by a useful index.