Christians in the City of Nairobi - (Christians in the City: Studies in Contemporary Global Christianity) by Kyama Mugambi & Mark Shaw (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book examines the diverse expressions of Christianity in Nairobi, a vital centre of a new global Christian pluralism, where 85% of inhabitants claim allegiance to one of the thousands of different Christian churches.

Book Synopsis

In this book Kyama Mugambi and Mark Shaw examine the diverse expressions of Christianity in Metropolitan Nairobi, a city boasting a population of ten million, which is one of the most religiously pluralistic cities in the world. Founded in 1899 as little more than a train depot for the Uganda Railway, Nairobi has come a long way; mosques, megachurches and temples serve as the backdrop for examining Christianity and public life in this vibrant city.

This volume covers all the major Christian traditions practiced in the city, including Protestantism, Orthodoxy and Catholicism. The city is a laboratory of a new global pluralism, and avital centre of a new global Christian pluralism specifically. Mugambi and Shaw argue that this kind of pluralism is reshaping religion everywhere in the majority world.

Other themes include the role of women in Christianity, Kenyan Independent Churches, and the Christian youth movement. The book illuminates how through Christianity, Africans have begun to come to terms with modern urban realities, including religious pluralism, hypothesising how this process could unfold in other parts of the world.

Review Quotes

A comprehensive and illuminating survey of the multiple forms of Christianity so evident in Nairobi today, with their historical development and strengths and appeal to particular ages and groups. Thoroughly recommended.
Paul Gifford, SOAS, UK

As lively and fast-paced as the city itself, this book introduces the Christian people, religious movements and church buildings that contribute to life in East Africa's economic hub. Shaw and Mugambi bring to the page the immediacy of varied and vibrant scenes without neglecting the contentious and challenging aspects of contemporary Christianity in Nairobi.
Emma Wild-Wood, University of Edinburgh, UK

In here you will find deeply evocative, 'bottom-up' stories of the re-sacralization of a secular space by diverse expressions of religiosity that populate the Nairobi urbanscape. From constancy and continuity, to change and fluidity reminiscent of the Christian faith in its two thousand year history. This book invites fresh engagement with the city employing questions of alienation and marginality, belonging and identity, and ultimately, life and hope.
Wanjiru M Gitau, Palm Beach Atlantic University, USA

About the Author

Kyama Mugambi is Assistant Professor of World Christianity at the Yale Divinity School.

Mark Shaw is the director of the Centre for World Christianity and Professor of Historical Studies at Africa International University.