The Realignment of Inter-Religious Relations in The Christian Century, 1910-1933

The Re-Thinking Missions Controversy in American Protestantism

Abstract

Historians have claimed that Protestant America was generally hostile toward Asian religions during the first half of the twentieth century, an era of anti-immigration sentiments and theological conservatism. However, by analyzing The Christian Century, arguably the most influential Protestant journal in this period, this paper will claim that inter-religious relations were continuously being redefined by transnational factors from the 1910s to the 1930s, such as the growth of secularism and the liberalization of foreign missions.

As of the 1910s, the articles in the Century were certainly hostile toward Asian religions. Taking an “inclusivist” position, many writers claimed that Christianity embodied all the truths, while other religions possessed only some truths. Besides, almost no articles in the magazine considered dialogue or cooperation between Christians and non-Christians seriously; rather, most authors were convinced that Asian religions would be soon eradicated or replaced by Christianity.

However, this triumphant approach was abandoned by the early 1930s. Even when Re-Thinking Missions (1932), an extremely tolerant report about other religions, caused a huge sensation among missionaries, the editors of The Christian Century chose to defend the report. This suggests that the magazine was no longer as enthusiastic about the superiority of Christianity as it had been in the 1910s. Furthermore, agreeing with Re-Thinking Missions, several writers of the Century began to support the idea of inter-religious dialogue and cooperation for social services.