The Center for the Study of World Christian Revitalization Movements

 Revitalization: the process of infusing new life or vitality.      Why choose this word over its close synonyms: revival, rebirth, reform? All these concepts can be attached to one’s understanding of a particular movement, whether the Reformation, the Renaissance, the Welsh Revival of 1905, or the Great Awakening.      The term revitalization stands out because it has a history in religious studies and in anthropology, and because it is a theoretical concept that still generates interesting questions.      The landmark article was written by Anthony F. C. Wallace (1956a). Anthropologists already had a history of reporting on a variety of…