Peter C. PHAN, Asian Christianities: History, Theology, Practice. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2018. Pp. 318.$50.00 ISBN 978- 62698-093-8. Reviewed by Nathan R. KOLLAR, St. John Fisher College, Rochester, NY 14618.

If you are seeking to understand Asian Christianties this is a good place to start.  Notice that it deals with Christianities. Certainly it deals with Roman Catholicism both because of the author’s background and the fact that Catholicism is the largest of the Christian religions. It gives a nod to the other colonial Christianities  because of their historical role in the colonialization of Asia and their  current role as a seed bed of new Christianities. The future of Christianity in Asia seems to be in the hands of the Pentecostal/Charismatic  Christianities that are quickly spreading throughout Asia.

Asia, of course, is the largest Continent on earth with a population of seven billion people. Except for Northern Asia, which is not covered in the book, Christianity is and has been a minority religion in Asia and thus it necessarily brings to international Christianity a different perspective and imperatives of culture not found in other world Christianitities.

Phan divides the book into three categories of investigation: history, theology, and practice. His focus is upon the reception and response of East and South Asian Catholicism to Vatican II. In particular in Part One he deals with Asian Catholicism, Protestantism, Church-State in Vietnam, the presence of Chinese Catholics in Vietnam since 1865, and the tension between being a Catholic modeled according to the norms of Europe and the mores of one’s Asian community.  He offers theological reflections in seven chapters dealing with systematic theological themes surrounding migration and interreligious dialogue within their Asian context.  For example within an interfaith dialogue wouldn’t it be best to start with seeking doctrinal consensus starting with pneumatology rather than Christology or de Deouno? within the context of migration we should ask: “extra migrationem nulla ecclesia? Extra migrationemnulla salus?  The description of Asian history and the context for Asian theology leads, naturally to asking “what should we do?” Certainly, he says, we should concentrate on building the kingdom of God rather than church cathedrals; devotions that stimulate one’s faith and the energy to affect such building; accept, in an Asian context, the suggestions of Laudato Si to build the Kingdom of God fully aware of and sensitive to all of God’s creation.

Each chapter is clearly introduced by agreeing upon definitions, describing the most recent writing on the topic, summarizing the major categories inherent in discussing the topic and finally defending his position on the topic usually indicated in the chapter’s title.

Fifteen of the sixteen chapters have already been published in other books or journals. The book itself originated in Phan’s Edward Cadbury Lectures that he delivered in April of 2010. Footnotes are at the end of each page, for which a reviewer such as me is always grateful. It makes checking sources easier. It should also be mentioned that almost all references are dated from at or before 2011. With so much of the book published in other stand-alone chapters and articles there is a great deal of repetition as one moves from chapter to chapter in this book.  If you know little about Christianity in Asia many of the chapters would be a good introduction. Otherwise it is a good introduction to Phan’s thought.