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Resumo

This article argues that careful attention to the role of time in the constitution of belief can help clarify some of the current debates about the nature of Christian conversion and the proper anthropological approach to the study of Christianity. It suggests that anthropologists have too often assumed that conversion entails a radical break with the past and the adoption of a new worldview. This assumption has made it difficult to understand why so many recent converts to Christianity continue to hold beliefs and engage in practices that seem at odds with their new faith. The article argues that conversion is better understood as a reorientation toward the future. Converts do not simply adopt a new set of beliefs; they also adopt a new way of thinking about time, one that is oriented toward the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises. This reorientation toward the future allows them to reinterpret their pasts and to reconcile seemingly contradictory beliefs and practices.

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