A History of Global Anglicanism (review)

"Not English, but Anglican" is the theme Kevin Ward chooses for this ambitious and well-researched book. He offers an account of Anglican Church history from the sixteenth century to the present, focusing on the faith and agency of Anglicans from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. Ward's approach is descriptive, not seeking overarching definitions or directions but simply presenting the histories of peoples who have called themselves Anglican.

The book is organized by region. This presents the risk of downplaying global linkages, but Ward mitigates this hazard by consistently pointing out cross-regional connections, such as immigrants, diasporic groups, and missionaries to and from many nations. Ward's impressively wide-ranging research enables him to address every Anglican region, including lesser-known examples such as the Episcopal Church in Sudan. Sweeping historical overviews are punctuated with stories of individuals and incidents that provide windows into the imposition, appropriation, and adaptation of Anglicanism around the globe. In such narratives Ward offers glimpses of how people have made meaning and shaped history with the resources of their Anglican heritage, though the scope of the book makes it difficult for Ward to go deeply into matters of meaning and identity.

Ward's History is clearly and engagingly written; it is both easy to read and excellent as a reference for those interested in particular regions. The book provides solid background for non-Anglican readers. Yet it will be interesting to Africanists and scholars of global religion for many of its recurring themes: the intrinsic theological diversity of Anglicanism and how different streams have taken root in different contexts; colonialism, nationalism, and identity issues (which Ward shows are not just twentieth-century issues, but were part of Anglicanism's history in the British Isles starting in the sixteenth century); relations among Anglican churches and political and economic elites; ecumenical cooperation and (conversely) competition between Christian groups; struggles with racism and enculturation; and women's presence and agency—a minor theme, but one that is faithfully acknowledged.

In the first and final chapters, Ward addresses the current Anglican crisis over homosexuality, offering helpful explanations and insights. But one could wish this topic were better integrated into the rest of the book. For example, Ward has elsewhere written perceptively about East African attitudes toward homosexuality, yet this volume gives little sense of the rationale for East African Anglican leaders' participation in this global debate. Another possible critique of the book is that in his eagerness to decenter Western hegemony, Ward downplays the unequal power relations inherent in (neo)colonial and missionary situations. Ward may be accused of disproportionate overvaluing of "positive" examples—like Ambrose Reeves, the only South African Anglican bishop in the 1950s to refuse to collude in the racial segregation of church schools; however, reclaiming hidden histories may require taking such risks. Ward himself spent many years teaching in Uganda; he is well aware of the unequal patterns of global power, and alludes to them often. His relative lack of attention to the familiar themes of oppression and domination results from his eagerness to begin to tell the stories that have not been told so often: the stories of people who, even in the highly determined situations of colonization and missionization, found ways to make a new faith their own. Ward's success in this endeavor makes this volume a valuable contribution to the study of global Christianity.