Is Christianity's ethos more rural than urban?

Dr. Lamin Sanneh of Yale (also a West African by birth and cultural roots) suggests that perhaps Christianity’s ethos is more rural than urban. One of the reasons he suggests this tendency is the statistics bear it out in India and Africa today. In those places Christianity has had more success in the rural locales. Secondly, the calendar of the church has been solar and it is in harmony with the cycle of the agrarian season. I have noticed this living in a subsistence farming community in northern Ghana that the lectionary series needs to harmonize with the cycle of the year. In fact historically it does very nicely. The solar calendar of the church deals in agrarian symbols and rhythms. Islam is lunar, and Sanneh argues, that it is more urban and less connected with the harvest cycle. Because of that the native celebrations become separated from Islam since the native festivals follow along the lines of the planting and harvesting cycles. The Islamic calendar strips native celebrations of their meaning and replaces it with Islamicized meaning. Christianity in Africa has more often become enmeshed in local festivals.

I find this statement about the two calendar systems to be extraordinarily accurate in rural West African life. The changing nature of the lunar calendar where holidays are always shifting to different times of the year in the harvest season is very contrary to the natural agrarian flows of life. For instance when Ramadan hits during the planting season, it is very tough to keep the festival. I never thought about the stripping effect Islam has for the traditional festivals. The strength of Islam is that it can then fill its own meaning into those festivals. At the same time, I must say I have not seen Christianity become as enmeshed with local festivals. However, he is citing Yoruba and Akan cultures that have been Christianized for more than a century as compared to Komba who have only been exposed to Christianity for a decade.

Some may say that this suggests that Christianity is more syncretistic in its approach. That may or may not be. I would suggest, following Sanneh, that syncretism occurs when the traditional native religion and Christianity are combined in facile, surface, and false ways rather than deep, honest and faithful ways.