Robert Louis Stevenson and the Pacific: The Transformation of Global Christianity

Robert Louis Stevenson's engagement with Pacific Islands cultures demonstrates processes of inculturation and the transformation of global Christianity. His Scottish and Pacific periods connect through unexplored religious contexts, and his writing is interpreted within Pacific cultural and historical frameworks. The book explores neglected and unpublished work on mission work and evangelization, re-orienting Stevenson's intellectual biography in the distinctive cultural environment of the Pacific. It offers a model of interdisciplinary scholarship.

Format: Hardback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 31 March 2023
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Robert Louis Stevenson's engagement with Pacific Island cultures is a rich and complex subject that demonstrates processes of inculturation and the transformation of global Christianity. Connecting his Scottish and Pacific periods through unexplored religious contexts, the book interprets Stevenson's writing within Pacific cultural and historical frameworks. It also analyzes neglected and unpublished work on mission work and evangelization, re-orientsing the intellectual biography of Stevenson by presenting him in the distinctive cultural environment of the Pacific.

The book argues that Stevenson was religiously literate within a Scottish Presbyterian tradition and therefore well-placed to grasp the breadth and dynamics of a Christianized Pacific culture. It considers his legacy with respect to issues of indigenous sovereignty and agency and positions him within an important and wide-ranging modern debate about inculturation, defined as the emergence of Christianity from within a particular culture rather than imposed on it from outside.

Through this study of a major Scottish writer, the book offers a model of interdisciplinary scholarship that sheds new light on the complex and multifaceted relationship between religion, culture, and society. It demonstrates the ways in which Stevenson's writing and experiences in the Pacific influenced his understanding of Christianity and contributed to the development of a more inclusive and culturally sensitive form of the faith.

Weight: 436g
Dimension: 161 x 241 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781474494816