From a major scholar, a postcolonial perspective on key current and historical issues in Anglicanism, foregrounding the voices of theologians and church leaders from the Global South.
In recent years, the Anglican Communion has been consumed by debates about gender, sexuality, authority, and biblical interpretation, which have frequently divided along North/South lines. Much of these controversies stem from the colonial history of Anglicanism.
Written by a pioneer in postcolonial theology, this groundbreaking volume challenges Eurocentrism and racism in the Anglican Communion by highlighting the voices of theologians and church leaders from the Global South. The Anglican Tradition from a Postcolonial Perspective scrutinizes Anglican theology and history to advocate for the decolonization of the Church. It examines controversies on Christianity and the social order, economic justice, worship, gender and sexuality, women’s leadership, and the Church’s mission in a religiously pluralistic world.
Kwok Pui-lan is Dean’s Professor of Systematic Theology at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, and a past president of the American Academy of Religion. An internationally known theologian, she is a pioneer of Asian and Asian American feminist theology and postcolonial theology. An author or editor of numerous books, she is the coeditor of Beyond Colonial Anglicanism and Anglican Women on Church and Mission. She received the Lanfranc Award for Education and Scholarship from the Archbishop of Canterbury in 2021. She splits her time between Boston and Atlanta.
“Here is the definitive global Anglican Studies text for our times. With consummate scholarly wisdom Kwok Pui-lan traverses the multiple complexities inherent in the subsequent developments of the colonially transplanted Church of England.”––Jenny Te Paa Daniel, Te Mareikura, Director, National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Otabo University, New Zealand
“Kwok Pui-lan is one of the major voices in postcolonial Anglican theologies today. Her astonishing ability to synthesize such a wide range of scholarly literature with depth and clarity is a gift to the academy and the church. Like several of her previous books, this one will be in use for a generation in support of a renewed vision of postcolonial Anglicanism.”––Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook, Professor of Practical Theology and Christian Histories, Claremont School of Theology
“In The Anglican Tradition from a Postcolonial Perspective Kwok Pui-lan calls us, once again, to move beyond the limits of Anglo-American hegemony in our understanding and experience of the global body of Christ known as Anglicanism. Using a postcolonial lens drawing upon many diverse voices from around the world, she provides hope and understanding to the challenges and changes before the Anglican Communion today.”––Ian T. Douglas, retired Bishop Diocesan of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut
"From 1543 to present challenges, Kwok Pui-Lan presents a clear-eyed look at the contexts of the Anglican Communion within the history of colonialism and empire. Kwok’s clarion call for truth and reconciliation, not gaslighting, among Anglicans could model healing for other Christian communities.”––Stephanie Y. Mitchem, Interim Chair, Women’s and Gender Studies, University of South Carolina
“This is a timely and engaging interaction of postcolonial perspectives with Anglican traditions and outlooks. It is a book that we have needed for some time. We are greatly in Kwok’s debt for what will quickly establish itself as a necessary text in Anglican and ecumenical studies.” ––Stephen Spencer, Advisor on Theological Education and Lambeth Conference Implementation, Anglican Communion Office
