The Christian Century

As Christianity has spread around the globe, interfaith contacts have become vastly more complex. Not only do Christians now interact much more extensively with Bud­dhists, Hindus and members of other Asian faiths, but they no longer do so solely as humble minorities. Euro-Americans might find the re­sulting religious politics quite unsettling.

Consider for instance the nation of Fiji, a country in the Pacific known to West­erners mainly as an exotic tourist destination or a splendid layover en route to New Zealand or Australia. In re­cent years, though, the country has ac­quired a troubling reputation for religious and ethnic confrontations.