The World's Reformation
How Protestantism Became a Global Religion
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Yale University Press
Publishing:26th May '26
£35.00
This title is due to be published on 26th May, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
A vivid history of how Protestantism was spread across the globe, from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century
Protestantism revolutionised early modern Europe. Radical theologians transformed the lives of thousands across the continent, irrevocably changing politics and society. But what about beyond Europe’s borders? Was global Christianity just a Catholic endeavour?
Alec Ryrie explores the untold history of how Protestants tried to spread their religion abroad, from Lapland to Chile and Barbados to Taiwan. At the story’s heart are the non-Christian people whom Protestants met more often than any others during this period: those they had enslaved in the Americas, Africa, and eastern Asia. We see how Protestants dealt with, or evaded, the moral failure of the slave trade, and how their missionary efforts were disappointments at best, utter fiascos at worst.
Their world Reformation, its failures, and its consequences for both good and ill, has largely been forgotten. This fascinating history makes the case for why it is worth remembering.
“This beautifully written book is both original and profound. Ryrie demonstrates that Protestant churches devoted far more energy and money to the conversion of non-Christians outside Europe than they are generally given credit for. This book is major contribution to global history and a must read for all scholars of the Reformation.”—Andrew Pettegree, author of The Book at War
“A monumental work of scholarship, remarkable for the breadth of its vision and the depth of its insights. It is frequently a tale of failure – sometimes iniquitous, sometimes heroic – but a failure out of which Christianity itself emerged transformed and improved.”—Peter Marshall, author of Heretics and Believers
“With extraordinary range and razor-sharp insight, The World’s Reformation compels us to rethink Protestantism itself…By the end of this engrossing book, the reader has met a cast of sailors and traders, colonial pastors, translators, schoolmasters, and tireless evangelists who dreamed of nothing less than the ‘Reformation of the whole world.’”—Bruce Gordon, author of The Bible: A Global History
ISBN: 9780300279047
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
576 pages