Most cited papers in Christian Theology and Mission

Christian Theology and Mission

What are the most cited papers in Christian Theology and Mission?

The most cited paper in Christian Theology and Mission is "Christian moderns freedom and fetish in the mission encounter" (Webb Keane, 2007), with 1,497 citations. Next come "The Multinational Mission: Balancing Local Demands and Global Vision" (874) and "The Globalization of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity" (818).

Published TypeAccessCitations

Showing 50 of 99 papers. Every paper with more than 68 citations is listed.

Most cited papers, sortable by citations and release date
#	Paper
1	Christian moderns freedom and fetish in the mission encounter Webb Keane	2007	1,497
2	The Multinational Mission: Balancing Local Demands and Global Vision Kendall Roth · Journal of International Business Studies	Jun 1988	874
3	The Globalization of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity Joel Robbins · Annual Review of Anthropology Review	Oct 2004	818
4	Christian theology: An introduction Alister E. McGrath, M. Sarot · Sophia	Dec 1995	405
5	Pax in development Peter Gruß, Claudia Walther · Cell	May 1992	404
6	Between Babel and Pentecost: Transnational Pentecostalism in Africa and Latin America Paul Gifford, André Cortèn, Ruth Marshall-Fratani · Africa	2003	375
7	convicted by the holy spirit: the rhetoric of fundamental Baptist conversion Susan Harding · American Ethnologist Open access	Feb 1987	349
8	Gender and society Allan Heaton Anderson · Cambridge University Press eBooks Book chapter	24 Oct 2013	288
9	White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America Dianne Dentice · Ethnic and Racial Studies	5 Oct 2021	269
10	Theological roots of Pentecostalism Donald W. Dayton	1987	264
11	Strategic Virtues: Dusya M. Vera, Antonio Rodriguez‐Lopez · Organizational Dynamics	12 Nov 2004	252
12	A Problem of Presence: Beyond Scripture in an African Church Isabel Hofmeyr · Journal of Religion in Africa	2008	250
13	Faith matters: faith‐based organisations, civil society and international development Gerard Clarke · Journal of International Development	24 Jul 2006	235
14	On the paradoxes of global Pentecostalism and the perils of continuity thinking Joel Robbins · Religion	Jul 2003	224
15	SOME RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN AFRICAN CHRISTIANITY Paul Gifford · African Affairs Open access	Oct 1994	205
16	China and the Christian Impact. A Conflict of Cultures Stephen Lyon Endicott · Pacific Affairs	Dec 1986	183
17	Beyond Cultural Imperialism: Cultural Theory, Christian Missions, and Global Modernity Ryan Dunch · History and Theory	Oct 2002	182
18	Commodities and the Power of Prayer: Pentecostalist Attitudes Towards Consumption in Contemporary Ghana Birgit Meyer · Development and Change	Oct 1998	181
19	Agents of transformation? donors, faith-based organisations and international development Gerard Clarke · Third World Quarterly	2007	174
20	Ghana's new christianity : pentecostalism in a globalising african economy Cédric Mayrargue · Critique internationale Open access	2005	167
21	REASONABLE FAITH: Christian Truth and Apologetics Hendra Yohanes · Jurnal Amanat Agung Open access	Jun 2019	166
22	HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies Yonathan Purnomo, Muner Daliman, Hana Suparti et al. · SSRN Electronic Journal PreprintOpen access	2025	164
23	Spiritual aspects of nursing Linda Anne Ross · Journal of Advanced Nursing	Mar 1994	161
24	God’s Century: Resurgent Religion and Global Politics Michael Oluf Emerson · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews	26 Oct 2012	153
25	Voices from the Margin: Interpreting the Bible in the Third World Susan L. Smith · Mission Studies	2009	145
26	Instrumental, Narrow, Normative? Reviewing recent work on religion and development Ben Jones, Marie Juul Petersen · Third World Quarterly	Aug 2011	144
27	Perspectives on Ecclesiology and Ethnography Peter D. Ward	15 Mar 2012	142
28	African Conceptions of Human Dignity: Vitality and Community as the Ground of Human Rights Thaddeus Metz · Human Rights Review Open access	4 Aug 2011	141
29	Pentecostal Networks and the Spirit of Globalization: On the Social Productivity of Ritual Forms Joel Robbins · Social Analysis	2009	137
30	African Theology: Inculturation and Liberation Kwasi Yirenkyi, Emmanuel Martey · African Studies Review	Sep 1995	136
31	An Atlantic Genealogy of “Spirit Possession” Paul C. Johnson · Comparative Studies in Society and History	29 Mar 2011	135
32	Heaven Below: Early Pentecostals and American Culture R. Marie Griffith, Grant Wacker · Journal of American History	Jun 2002	132
33	Church, World, and the Christian Life: Practical-Prophetic Ecclesiology Nicholas M. Healy · Pro Ecclesia A Journal of Catholic and Evangelical Theology	Nov 2003	131
34	An Introduction to Pentecostalism H. Chad Hillier · Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses	Sep 2005	129
35	China and Christianity: Burdened Past, Hopeful Future. Douglas R. Reynolds · Pacific Affairs	Sep 2001	124
36	On the Trail of Voodoo: African Christianity in Africa and the Americas John Kelly Thornton · The Americas A Quarterly Review of Latin American History	1988	121
37	The Restore-L Servicing Mission Benjamin B. Reed, Robert C. Smith, Bo J. Naasz et al. · AIAA SPACE 2016 Conference paper	9 Sep 2016	118
38	Evangelical Christians and English Language Teaching Manka M. Varghese, Bill J. Johnston · TESOL Quarterly	Mar 2007	115
39	The Analogical Imagination: Christian Theology and the Culture of Pluralism. Author's Response David Tracy · Horizons	1981	111
40	The greatest possible blessing: Calvin and deification Carl Mosser · Scottish Journal of Theology	Feb 2002	110
41	Chiluba's Christian nation: Christianity as a factor in Zambian politics 1991–1996 Paul Gifford · Journal of Contemporary Religion Open access	Oct 1998	110
42	The Bible and the Third World: Precolonial, Colonial and Postcolonial Encounters Bonnie Roos, R. S. Sugirtharajah · Journal of Biblical Literature	2003	109
43	The Role of Faith in Christian Faith-Based Humanitarian Agencies: Constructing the Taxonomy Laura Thaut · VOLUNTAS International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations	2 Nov 2009	108
44	Religion and the Sustainable Development Goals Emma Tomalin, Jörg Haustein, Shabaana Kidy · The Review of Faith & International Affairs Open access	3 Apr 2019	107
45	Faith and the Discourse of Secular Humanitarianism Alastair Ager, Joey Ager · Journal of Refugee Studies	4 Aug 2011	106
46	CAN A GIFT BE GIVEN? PROLEGOMENA TO A FUTURE TRINITARIAN METAPHYSIC John Milbank · Modern Theology	1995	105
47	In the Shadow of Empire: Reclaiming the Bible as a History of Faithful Resistance Foka van de Beek · Journal of Reformed Theology	2011	105
48	Apostle to the conquered: reimagining Paul's mission Oscar L. Cole-Arnal · Consensus Open access	2008	105
49	Christianity Politics and Public Life in Kenya Steven Lichty · Journal of Church and State	Sep 2009	103
50	Prime Time Preachers: The Rising Power of Televangelism Rex Warner, Jeffrey K. Hadden, Charles E. Swann · Sociological Analysis	1981	103

Citations are OpenAlex's own counts, from its 2026-09-23 snapshot, so the ranking can differ from Google Scholar or Web of Science. A paper is listed for a field when OpenAlex files it under one of the field's topics; retracted papers and papers whose citation count cannot be traced to citing works are left out, and a preprint and the article it became are shown once. Release dates are OpenAlex's: where a source gave only a month or a year, that is what is shown. How the lists are chosen.