Rodney Stark 1934-2022

I just read that Rodney Stark died this past summer at 88. I don't have many favorite authors (because I usually don't remember names), but I enjoyed his clarity, readability and style. That said, I really didn't know much about him. From Breakpoint: "His book "The Rise of Christianity" was published in 1996. In it, Stark argued that the incredible growth and spread of Christianity were because it offered more to people than any of its competitors. In particular, Stark argued that the rapid growth of the Church was, in large part, due to how Christians treated women. This, especially compared to the pagan treatment of women, led to more conversions, which led to the faith being spread through social networks. Also, prohibitions of abortion and infanticide led to an organic growth of the Church, and how Christians responded to persecution and plague led to a growth in credibility. "The Rise of Christianity" was so groundbreaking that it was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize . . . In 2005 Stark wrote what may be his greatest book, "The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success." "

So first century Christians saved babies from abortion and infanticide and their numbers grew. And Christians responded to plagues. Or maybe God blessed them. Just a thought.

2022-IJRR-Are-Religious-Nones-Really-Not-Religious.pdf (baylorisr.org) Are Religious “Nones” Really Not Religious?: Revisiting Glenn, Three Decades Late This 2022 article may be his last.

Christians in Japan

Although I haven't started to actually read Rodney Stark's The Triumph of Faith (2015), I had flipped through the pages, quickly reading some of the charts.  He was so far off on his figure of Christianity in Nigeria (he reported zero percent and it's about 50.1%), I decided to check Japan, which he listed as 2%. After checking several on-line sources, I figured 2% is a little high.

"Christian missionaries find Japan a tough nut to crack. They always have, ever since the first of them, St. Francis Xavier, landed in Kyushu in 1549. His first impression, based on an initially friendly reception, was, “In my opinion no people superior to the Japanese will be found among the unbelievers.” Two years later, he left disheartened, calling Japanese Buddhism “an invention of the devil.”

Missionaries today use different language but express similar frustration. The Japanese have so eagerly embraced everything Western — from fads to philosophies, baseball to scientific method. Why not Christianity? Even China, officially atheist and repressive of anything outside state control, counts 52 million Christians. In South Korea, 30 percent of a population of 50 million professes Christianity. In Japan? Less than 1 percent." http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/12/20/national/history/christian-missionaries-find-japan-tough-nut-crack/#.WMkd_LhSKGY

It's always interesting to read the comments about on-line articles (often one or two completely ignorant of history) and then everyone else chimes in. The internet is full of anti-Christian trolls and haters. Unfortunately, they love to see themselves in cyber-print.