ABSTRACT
What is the meaning of “de-colonization” for sociology and Christianity today? Is it another buzzword that plays into identity politics and culture wars through a wholesale rejection of the Global North? This chapter reflects on the implications of de-colonization for theologians and Christian sociologists. The meaning of de-colonization is not restricted to political transition as witnessed in the retreat of the British Empire in the twentieth century. It refers more broadly to the ongoing processes and consequences of colonialism and imperialism under the new hegemonic order of global capitalism. Three specific tasks constitute the de-colonization project for sociology and Christianity. The first is to revisit the colonial roots of sociology as an academic discipline, reconnecting the metropole and periphery in its narrative of modernity, which recent scholarship has mandated. The second task is to de-colonize the secularization thesis by reassessing the role of Christianity and multiple theologies flourishing in the Global South. The final task is to call for envisioning a radical gospel. What is the messianic hope for the “wretched of the earth” (Fanon 1967)? If Christianity is the promise of good news for the post-colonial world, how can the Kingdom of God be re-imagined?
