This volume provides multidisciplinary interpretations of and responses to one of the most complicated and controversial issues regarding the global transformation of Christianity today: the decline of "established Christianity" in the Western world.

Foreword, Robert J. Schreiter; 1 An Introduction to the Essays and to the Phenomenon of Established Christianity in the Western World, Paul Silas Peterson; Part 1: Background Issues and Theoretical Approaches; 2 Causes of the Decline: Historical, Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives, Paul Silas Peterson; 3 Analyzing Religious Decline: A Sociological Approach, Eva M. Hamberg; 4 Cultural Considerations in the Decline of Christianity, Neil Ormerod; 5 Interpretations of the Decline and Responses to it, Paul Silas Peterson; Part 2: Case Studies on Specific Regions and Groups; 6 More Than Just De-Christianization: Christian Mission in Face of Religious Indifference in East Germany, Eberhard Tiefensee; 7 Towards a Faithful Christian Community in Canada: A Missiological Response to Religious Change, Charles Fensham; 8 American Mainline Protestantism: On the History and Future of a Culture-Forming Confessional Identity, Richard R. Crocker; 9 An Evangelical Response to the Decline of Christendom, Timothy Larsen; 10 Going Big: Mega-Churches in the Midst of Declining Christianity in the West, Laceye Warner; Part 3: Perspectives from World Christianity and African Christianity; 11 An Opportunity to Foster Inter-Christian Reciprocity: The View from "World Christianity" and "the Next Christendom", Jorge Castillo Guerra; 12 Reframing our Experiences in the Light of the Cross: How African Christianity Sees the Decline, Esther E. Acolatse; Part 4: Contributions from Public Theology and the Philosophy of Religion; 13 Taking Sin Seriously Again: A Perspective from Theology and Public Life, Martyn Percy; 14 The Religion of Decline: A Perspective from the Philosophy of Religion, Olivier Abel; Part 5: Response and Outlook; 15 Christianity in the Western World after the Decline: Challenges, Opportunities and Outlooks, Paul Silas Peterson; 16 Exploring the Past for a Stronger Future: A Reflection on Meaning and Hope, Elizabeth Koepping