Sheep on an Open Range

Traditionally, Mongolian nomads are Buddhist, shamanist, or animist in religious beliefs and practices. However, there is a small but growing minority of Christian Mongolian nomadic herders. Normative Christianity includes church. But what does church mean to a people who move, who live away from towns, and who constantly have to care for and protect their livestock out on the open range? To what extent do Mongolian nomads connect or not connect with church, or possibly have church where they are out in the steppes, mountains, and deserts? The author traveled far and wide, employing ethnographic qualitative research, meeting and observing Christian Mongolian nomads across Mongolia to discover how they relate with church. Participants also revealed about their prayer and devotional life. This readable doctoral dissertation also gives description of Mongolian culture, society, and values, with a literature review of Christian mission activity after the Democratic Revolution of 1990.