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by daviddawson462742281

Different Legacies of Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Colonial Missions 

Catholic Counter-Reformation Missions

During the 15-16th Catholic Spain and Portugal became the richest kingdoms in Europe (Cooper, 2016, p. 86). They were given papal authorization to appoint priests and bishops in the Americas, Africa, and the Asian colonies. The Italian church also greatly enriched from treasures coming from Spain and Portugal, even as it reeled from the effects of the Reformation. But through all the changes during and after colonialism, Catholicism still thrives and expands across world till the present (p. 86). 

The Treaty of Tordesillas pope divided all newly discovered land between Spain and Portugal, separating the West and East respectively (p. 94). The main Christian influence in Latin America to this day is Spanish and Portuguese Catholicism. In the Caribbean, exploitative colonization led some Spanish monks to criticize settlers treatment of native peoples. But many priests benefitted from slavery, which only ended with the coming of English and Dutch colonies. The coming of Protestantism fragmented the Islands along national and ecclesiastical lines. In Cuba, the enduring presence of African cults, the failure of Catholicism to connect with locals, and the church’s association with Spain lead to a very low percentage of Christians in Cuba today (p. 94-96). 

The Catholics dominated Central America during colonialism, building banks, convents, churches, schools, and towns. The Catholic church became the largest landowner through tithes and taxes, but this changed after individual nations gained independence and the separation of church and state (p. 98). Protestant missions established a church that favored liberalism versus Catholics conservatism. But in the 20th century the Catholic Church made peace with liberalism and was able to minimize Protestant influence (p. 100). 

In South America, the Spaniard Pizarro conquered the Aztec and Inca Empires. Religious orders flooded the continent and the Catholic Church amassed huge wealth at the same time it was manipulated by totalitarian regimes. However, some prophetic voices of critique emerged from within the church having “marginal success” at curbing exploitation (p. 101); Protestantism came in the 19th century, gaining converts primarily among the middle class. Pentecostals followed with greatest response from the poor, and together with liberation theology these movements have been most influential in Latin American Christianity. The colonial connotations among Pentecostals are limited because in countries like Brazil the emergence of independent native leadership was almost immediate (p. 101-102). 

Protestants Enter the Scene

In Oceania British colonists constructed a modern world in Australia and New Zealand in which Christianity was initially foundational (p. 114). Among the natives of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia are some of the highest percentages of Christians in the world. This is remarkable since these island regions comprise one of the least evangelized parts of the world. Protestants were the first to send missions to Oceania n the 18th century followed by Catholics in the 19th century. Amidst a backdrop of historical isolation and warfare among diverse native peoples, Oceania is now united by Christianity, albeit influenced by rivalries of Protestant denominations (p. 114-115).

The end of slavery deprived Europeans of forced labor outside Africa, but within the continent colonial powers imposed forced labor upon indigenous peoples during the “Scramble for Africa” (p. 124). When the end of Western colonialism came, the church in Africa unexpectedly grew and spread once the Europeans left. Christianity reentered Africa in the 15th century with Islam already present. From the 17th to 20th centuries European (and later North American) Protestants came, with Portuguese missions in 16th century. But in the 20th century Africans dispossessed Europeans and established independent countries (p. 124-125). 

Formerly Christian Northern African is the region of greatest Muslim dominance in Africa today, but this transition occurred over centuries (p. 132). Western missions of the 19th century were seen as bringing a foreign, Western religion. Missions, however, were a small factor in the larger colonial project in North Africa, and those that did succeed were largely abandoned during decolonization after World War II (p. 132). 

Southern African countries today with Christian majority are those colonized by the English (p. 134). The Dutch Boers resented the English overlords when slavery abolished in the early 19th century. The Boers then embarked on the “Great Trek” out of British controlled areas seeing it as a form of biblical Exodus “leaving Egypt”. But those lands were inhabited by African tribes, and subsequent discovery of diamonds added to conflicts in the region. Afrikaners and British fought during the Boer Wars in late 19th and early 20th centuries, leading up to the establishment of an apartheid state with Dutch Reformed church approval. Western Africa is divided among Islam and Christianity because of Muslim conquest followed by Christian missions in the 15th century. The first Christian missions were the Catholic Portuguese along the coast, followed by the Spanish, Dutch and English (p. 135-136). 

Russian Orthodox Expansion

In Central Asia expansion of Russian empire brought Orthodox faith from the years 1500 to 1900 followed by era of religious repression under the USSR (p. 143). Eastern Asia saw the “Christian century” in Japan with Catholic missions from 1549-1650. This, however, was followed by expulsion of missionaries as the church was accused of being involved in political subversion. During this time from 5 to 6 thousand Christians were massacred. In Southeastern Asia the Portuguese, Spanish and French brought Christianity in 16th century with the Dutch and Germans bringing Protestantism in the 19th century. The pope granted Portugal religious jurisdiction over the East and Spain in West with the treaty of Tordesillas. The legacy of colonialism and Christian missions in Western Asia includes the domination of the church by foreign rulers for centuries – Islamic, Western Christian, and Ottoman. Many Christians ended up converting to Islam because of religious oppression. Although Christianity in Asian continues to grow consistently, it still largely bears association with Western imperialism (p. 144-154). 

References

Cooper, D. (2016). Introduction to World Christian History. IVP Academic.

by daviddawson462742281

Short-term Missions in a Postmodern, Postcolonial World

Various social institutions and sociological theories influence cross-cultural engagement. A postmodern anthropology looks at economics, development, religion, and social class. In this text, I will look at some sociological theories examining short term missions (STM).

Economics and Development

Christian anthropologist Mike Rynkiewich (2011) analyzes postmodernism and postcolonialism in his book Soul, self, and society. Attempts to provide a form of international assistance engage dynamics of reciprocity and exchange. A gift gives symbolic representation to a relationship, having “value and meaning beyond its appearance” (Rynkiewich, 2011, p. 81). Colonialism embodied the category of exchange known as redistribution, where goods move toward a center and then out from it. Globalization has brought the market exchange model where individuals bring their wares to a common market – physically or online – and seek exchange. Anthropologists have increasingly critiqued the notion that development and modernization are equivalent, and that advances in technology represent the most important aspect of development (Rynkiewich, p. 82-84). 

Practitioners of STM should be sensitive to each one of these paradigms of economics and development. Attempts by richer nations to help poorer ones as an expression of Christ’s love must not ignore the cultural dynamics of reciprocity and exchange. STMs runs the risk of inadvertently using colonialism’s paradigm of redistribution by acting as if Christ’s kingdom is centered in the sending country. This colonial association of Christianity with a particular culture – most notably the West – has been so destructive and yet runs the risk of being reproduced in the Global South. What makes students of church history think that the temptations of power will not affect the megachurches of the Global South. Why wouldn’t new emergent poles of Christian power assume that they are now the true people of God, as did the Portuguese and Spanish, Christened by the pope in the 15th century to colonize the New World (Coben, 2015)?

Perhaps the most accessible starting place for STMs in addressing cultural perspectives on economics and development is reciprocity and exchange. The giving of gifts is a universal mode of interaction between groups potentially symbolizing and communicating “the value of a relationship between groups” (Caillé, 2013). Reciprocity generally emerges through the “obligating social indebtedness” created by participants independent of the “coercive power of an external social institution” (Carrier, 1991). The spiritualization of reception is a process that “converts unequal material gifts from foreign hosts into spiritual understanding among STM travelers” (Addler & Offutt, 2017, p. 600). What is perceived as repayment takes the form of “spiritual gifts of self-understanding, growth, and awareness”. For example, American travelers in foreign countries become “aware of the blessing or bounty of their current life”. This is a hopeful example of how international partnerships can be done in a way that is “made meaningful across inequality” (Addler & Offutt, 2017, p. 612-617). 

Concept of Religion

STM must also consider the prominence of the Western concept of religion in the development of modern missions. It can be argued that the concept of religion as a belief system chosen by the individual is a Western construct. What Westerners conceived of as religion when they met with spiritual practices and traditions overseas was, for the indigenous peoples, a “way of life” consisting of many beliefs and practices that cannot be separated from each other (Rynkiewich, 2011, p. 99). For most peoples in human history, beliefs and rituals were understood as part of everyday experience, connected to land and community. To these premodern civilizations, spiritual forces were more conspicuous and evident than to the enlightened Westerners (p. 99). And contra the secularization hypothesis of the 20th century that predicted the demise of religion, the everyday reality of spiritual forces continues to be the majority opinion of the world population (Riesebrodt, 2000). Thus, STMs must account for the disruption that can occur when integral aspects of an individual or community’s identity are denigrated by the proclamation of the Christian gospel.

In a postcolonial world, STMs must abandon old paradigms of cultural development from simple to complex, used to justify Europe’s position “at the top of the ladder” (p. 99), simply because of their military superiority. Evolutionary theories of religion that posit progression from animism to polytheism and ultimately monotheism depict primitive peoples being benevolently guided to enlightenment by Western tutors (p. 101). But Western theories of the function of religion as a means of social cohesion and facing adversity negate humanity’s deep connection to spiritual belief and practice. Many in the West are content with explications of religion that provide a pretext to ignore it. But practitioners of STM must recognize the importance of the “middle range of religion” (Rynkiewich, 2011, p. 106) – the immanent, mystical experience of spiritual phenomena in the daily life of most Majority World cultures. 

The encounter of different cultural groups can cause the social constructions of each to come undone (Offutt, 2011, p. 805). As STM practitioners engage in the local world-building activities of indigenous peoples, they much take care not to cause harmful disruption. Hosts and travelers can mitigate against such damage by seeking “common stocks of knowledge” shared between them. What is shared can begin at the level of global culture such as international sports and then move to shared Christian beliefs. Once rapport is established between traveler and host, more profound dialogue can ensue as trust has been established (Offutt, 2011, p. 805). 

One ambitious STM model that has emerged is multicultural joint teams which recognizes that mission is now truly “from everywhere to everywhere”. This strategy mobilizes teams from two different cultures and perhaps different denominations. The two groups are then sent to a third cultural context where it is hoped that new forms of missional engagement may emerge. Another aspiration is that this practice bring reconciliation to cultural and denominational differences (Mulieri, 2020). 

Caste, Class, and Ethnicity

Rounding off this analysis, STMs must take account of caste, class, and ethnicity in its cross-cultural endeavors. Westerners may sneer at the concept of caste in Asia, but the idea of hierarchy is found in the West as well. The difference is that in most societies religion is used to provide the explanation and justification for social inequality (Rynkievich, 2011, p. 115). Ambiguity related to the conversion of indigenous peoples to Christianity for social advancement is something STM participants should be aware of. Since most STMs have come from richer countries endeavoring to serve poorer ones, the reality of class difference must also be considered. The influence of Western concepts of class associated with income, residence, profession, and education has come into stark conflict with non-Western communities concepts of identity. The Western concept of ethnicity has arisen in the colonial confrontation between different cultures, languages, and customs. Ethnic identity has been formed not within a community with certain biological, linguistic, and geographical connotations, but through this community’s interaction with others. As STM participants go into the world, they must consider how the context of caste, class, and ethnicity can undermine cross-cultural relationships (Rynkiewich, 2011, p. 117-123).

Research indicates that STM can help foster a “thicker global civil society within Christianity” (Offutt, 2011, p. 810). STM still currently consists of most Western teams and long-term missionaries going into the Majority World. But those Majority World churches that do send STMs feel enabled to engage in missions themselves locally and internationally. STMs result in the establishment of “overlapping networks that criss-cross the globe” establishing “higher levels of trust” between cultures. Unfortunately, research also indicates that STMs from the new non-Western centers of Christianity often have little or no intercultural training resulting in cultural misunderstandings and offenses (Offutt, 2011, p. 810). 

Other research, however, indicates that harmful attitudes about ethnicity are hard to mitigate against in the context of STMs (Huang, 2019, p. 55). International travel offers helpful challenges to the identity of STM participants. However, the inherent privilege of STM participants is often invisible to themselves. This level of privilege has led some to the conclusion that STM has little potential to reduce participants’ prejudice. More optimistic voices suggest STMs seek to be aware of the power and privilege of its participants and the “invisible ways” these “penetrate their organization”, intentionally embracing “ways that counter these tendencies” (Huang, 2019, p. 68-70). 

References

Adler, Gary J. & Offutt, Stephen (2017). The Gift Economy of Direct Transnational Civic Action: How Reciprocity and Inequality Are Managed in Religious “Partnerships”. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 56(3):600–619

Caille ́, Alain (2013_. Anti-utilitarianism and the gift-paradigm. In Handbook on the economics of reciprocity and social

enterprise, edited by Luigino Bruni and Stefano Zamagni, pp. 44–48. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Carrier, James. 1991. Gifts, commodities, and social relations: A Maussian view of exchange. Sociological Forum

6(1):119–36.

Coben, L. A. (2015). The Events that Led to the Treaty of Tordesillas. Terrae Incognitae, 47(2), 142–162. Complementary Index. https://doi.org/10.1179/00822884.2015.1120427

Huang, Lindsay A. (2019). Short-Term Mission Trips: Developing the Racial and Ethnic Consciousness of White Participants. Journal of Sociology and Christianity, Volume 9, Number 2

Mulieri Twibell, Simone (2020). Contributions, challenges, and emerging patterns of short-term missions. Missiology: An International Review, Vol. 48(4) 

Offutt, Stephen (2015). The Role of Short-Term Mission Teams in the New Centers of Global Christianity. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 50(4):796–811

Riesebrodt, M. (2000). Fundamentalism and the Resurgence of Religion. Numen, 47(3), 266–287.

Rynkiewich, M. (2011). Soul, self, and society: A postmodern anthropology for mission in a postcolonial world. Cascade Books.

by daviddawson462742281

How Europe Became the Center of Christianity Over 15 Centuries

In his book Introduction to World Christian History, Derek Cooper (2016) explores the underappreciated history of the church beyond Europe and North America. At the turn of the first millennium, Christianity began to fade in the eastern and southern Mediterranean world while it simultaneously grew in its western and northern parts (Cooper, 2016, p. 66). The crowning of Charlemagne by Pope Leo III in 800 marked was a watershed moment in the fusion of the Germanic and Roman cultures through a common faith and an imperialistic mindset. The other great part of European Christianity was the Byzantine Empire which had evangelized Belarus, Bulgaria, Greece, Malta, Macedonia, Moldavia, Serbia, Romania, and Russia. But as the Byzantine Empire declined it became vulnerable to the Muslim threat. Western Catholicism in contrast would expand into Africa, Asia, and eventually the Americas by the 15th century (p. 66). 

Eastern Europe was either Catholic or Orthodox based on the link to the Holy Roman or Byzantine empires. Further east in Belarus, Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, Russia and Ukraine was mostly Orthodox while the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia were Catholic (p. 67). Internal missionary battles existed between Catholics and Orthodox along the fault lines, particularly intense in Bohemia (p. 68). Although this competition could be seen as undermining Christianity in Europe, I believe it contributed to the intensification of its influence. 

Northern Europe was the last part of the continent to be evangelized, except for the British Isles (p. 69). The last areas to convert were Scandinavia and the Baltics, and in the latter all nations had adopted Christianity as the state religion by the 14th century. The conversion of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden came through the conversion of their kings who then instituted religious authoritarianism opposing religious diversity. Thus, in the North the influence of Christianity flowed from its connection to political power (p. 69-70). 

Christianity had been in Southern Europe since the 1st century. In the Southwest Catholicism was supreme, holding the sword in the left hand and Scripture in the right uniting conquest and evangelization (p. 71). The Franks and Romans wed their powers under Charlemagne who, along with his successors, employed pious but violent imperial missionary efforts. From the 8-14th centuries Many Balkan kingdoms adopted Eastern Orthodox as official religion even as Byzantine Empire collapsed. In Serbia, the presence of Catholics and orthodox were grounds for future conflicts, eventually becoming predominantly Serbian Orthodox. The Balkans today are roughly one third Orthodox, Catholic, and Muslim. Serbian association with Orthodox Christianity made them not convert as willingly as groups with weaker national churches, such as Bosnians. Again, here in the South the evidence of the power of church survival and its connection to political power is evident (p. 71-73). 

The battle between Christianity and Islam continued in Western Europe decades after the Battle of Tours. The Carolingian Dynasty was blessed by the papacy, thus guaranteeing the survival of the Franks. This alliance became the basis of the Holy Roman Empire and led to crusades in Holy Land and Europe. But later, struggles would arise in the West between the papacy and monarchs (p. 74). Medieval monastic reform movements such as the Cluniacs and Cistercians spread from France across Europe playing a central role in education and evangelization. Fringe Christian protest groups emerged which were either suppressed or eventually approved by Rome, such as Dominican and Franciscan orders that invigorating the church. Urbanization and the decline of feudalism led to the creation of secular Christian universities derived from the cathedral schools Charlemagne had established. Scholasticism emerged in Paris with figures like Aquinas and other “spell-binding professors”, which some thought was “rotten” but eventually developed into the liberal arts education. The Black Death caused “widespread religious anxiety and despair” and the papal controversies contributed to the Hundred Years War between England and France in the 14th century (p. 74-77).

Thus, despite internal and external challenges, Europe became center of Christianity after second millennium, congealing by the 15th century into respective religious borders: Catholic Southwest, Northwest, and West versus Orthodox in the Southeast and Northeast (p. 77). 

References

Cooper, D. (2016). Introduction to World Christian History. IVP Academic.

by daviddawson462742281

Generalizations About the Poor Overshadow Innovation and Agency

Lisa Cliggett’s Grains From Grass (2005) studies the Gwembe Tonga people of Zambia. This research reveals diverse socioeconomic strategies developed to deal with the complexity of globalization (p. 3). We see development among the Tonga as happening through labor migration, negotiating kinship paradigms of assistance, and religious practice. These forms of finding sustenance can be studied statistically looking at groups but are employed and altered by individuals. Indeed, the individualism demonstrated in various forms of socioeconomic self-preservation counter romantic Western notions of such societies being inherently collectivist and altruistic (p. 2). 

It may seem like a stretch, but this situation made me reflect on my own socioeconomic experience as a missionary from the West. I have spent most of my life outside Southern California where I was born, in two countries – Brazil and Portugal – where supporting myself and my family are much easier with my vocation than back home. Although I come from a Pentecostal tradition that emphasizes divine guidance and prophecy, I believe that my wife and my choice of location has been affected by economic realities. After 16 years in Brazil, my wife and I moved back to Southern California for 3 years but eventually moved on to Portugal. The cost of living in that part of the U.S. was a very real part of our decision to move. We could have stayed in the U.S. but our vocation as missionaries meant this would likely result in a loss of financial support. 

For most missionaries, donations are the main source of income, but increasingly other forms of financial sustainability are sought. This should be done with supporters’ knowledge to preserve accountability and not undermine the validity of a missionary’s appeal for donations. Again, I realize the great different in the Gwembe Tonga experience and my own, but the reality of individual agency versus oversimplified generalizations is shared. I feel that long-term missionaries today are not helped by being given only a few legitimate options for financially supporting their work. 

Cliggett (2005) promotes using a “framework of vulnerability that highlights difference in terms of a group’s resources and its ability to control those resources” that “forces us to develop a more complex vision” of such societies (p. 16). Again, I blush at trying to connect the economic situation of the Gwembe Tonga to my context in Portugal, but I do see some relevance. The Portuguese media constantly discuss the exodus of young people to other parts of Europe looking for better wages (Portugal at a risk of poverty below the EU average, n.d.). A tradesperson, for example, can make 3 or 4 times more in a country like France or Germany. However, diverse groups of immigrants to Portugal are thriving as they compare its economic opportunities to those of former Portuguese colonial nations which they come from (Monteiro, 2024). More recently, increased amounts of immigrants to Portugal are coming from South Asia, who find the country an easier port of entry than other European nations. 

At the same time, Portuguese economists constantly criticize the culture of nepotism and “amigismo” (closing economic circles among friends) as the prime source of its relative poverty and underperformance in Western Europe (Pimentel, 2021). There is no other nation I know in Europe that has an economy like Portugal’s in comparison to its powerful neighbors. As I think of my children’s economic future here in Portugal, I am forced to think of where there are thriving sources of innovation and opportunity. As I look around the metro area of Lisbon where we live, it is obvious that economic prosperity exists here. This is like my experience living in large cities of Brazil. The Brazilian media constantly spoke of the lack of economic opportunities in the nation in comparison to other countries. However, in these huge, teeming metropolises I was aware of millions of people who were finding a way to survive and often thrive. Cliggett’s work encourages me to look beyond the media portrayal of national economics which always makes money off bad news. As a missionary, I believe Cliggett’s work provides encouragement towards a rejection of negative economic stereotypes of the nations we serve. 

Now I will proceed gears to the second discussion prompt regarding gendered land ownership and accusations of witchcraft. I believe it is possible that Gwembe Tonga women may be accused as bulozi(witches) because of increased access to land inheritance from husbands. Elderly men are believed to engage in sorcery to “manipulate the supernatural world for human goals” (Cliggett, 2005, p. 131). Sorcery is believed to be the cause of sickness and death to their relatives (p. 134), and land inheritance disputes are common to so many cultures. Elderly men’s use of mystical powers sometimes backfires, resulting in witch hunts aiming to cleanse the community of evil and unfair practices (p. 136). Therefore, I think it is reasonable to assume that elderly women’s empowerment related to land makes them vulnerable to accusations of witchcraft like elderly men. 

References

Cliggett, L. (2005). Grains from grass: Aging, gender, and famine in rural Africa. Cornell University Press.

Pimentel, A. H., Marina. (2021, December 23). Maria José Morgado: “Cultura de impunidade, nepotismo e amiguismo tem feito de Portugal um país pobre e atrasado.” PÚBLICO. 

Portugal at a risk of poverty below the EU average. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2024, from https://www.portugal.gov.pt/en/gc23/communication/news-item?i=portugal-at-a-risk-of-poverty-below-the-eu-average

Monteiro, C. (2024, April 16). Migração: Factos e Números 2024. EAPN. https://www.eapn.pt/centro-de-documentacao/migracao-factos-e-numeros-2024/

by daviddawson462742281

Do Traditional Cultures Still Exist?

Cliggett’s Intent and Purpose in Writing Grains from Grass

            Lisa Cliggett’s Grains from Grass (2005) studies the Tonga people of the Gwembe Valley in Southern Zambia. Her findings can speak to Western readers who are disillusioned with the individualism of their own societies. This disappointment motivates many Westerners to search for cultures that still honor the sacredness of the family (p. 1). But Cliggett disabuses Western readers of such a stereotype in her study of the Tonga people. In this community, diverse systems of collaboration, generosity, and charity exist based not primarily on “moral duty or altruistic sentiments” but on “necessity in the face of limited choices”. Of particular interest to this research is the relevance of gender-specific survival modes. Cliggett explores family dynamics related to survival in economically vulnerable communities. She discovers the significance of kinship networks for combating poverty and injustice. Cliggett’s understanding of vulnerability considers differences in access and control of resources among different members of Tonga society. Her findings correct simplistic notions regarding impoverished nations, let alone a continent such as Africa (Cliggett, 2005, p. 2-19). 

            Cliggett (2005) investigates the ways that older women and men in the Gwembe Valley interact with a relational world acutely affected by scarcity of resources (p. 22). And this research explores the ways family and community provide for or ignore the needs of elderly women and men in ways not obvious to an outside observer. The purpose of such analysis is to correct oversimplified visions of social problems in Africa on the one hand, as well as ingenuous ideas of the noble altruism of African families. It is argued that care for the elderly needy is not a natural phenomenon to any human society whether industrialized and modern or agricultural and traditional. A more nuanced vision of the multifaceted process of decision making in relation to helping needy family members is needed. This helps societies worldwide to be wiser about the connection between family relationships, poverty, and globalization. Thus, Cliggett addresses naïve Western notions of former times and other places where the support of family members simply flowed out of the goodness of human nature. Caring for the elderly is not a “natural” component of non-industrialized societies, which begs the question, “Where can we find positive examples of this behavior?” Cliggett’s aim to identify differences – “gender, class, generational or historical” – amidst generalizations about “poor and disaster prone” peoples, yields a more comprehensive view of our world’s complex reality. The result is a framework that ties together the agency of the individual, kinship economic models, and long-term analysis of at-risk populations. Cliggett (2005) hopes this will produce theoretical concepts which give “broader meaning” to the phenomena social science research observes in vulnerable communities (Cliggett, 2005, p. 22-75). 

The Resource Bases of Elderly Tonga Women and their Strategies to Access Them

            Cliggett (2005) gives a general description of Gewmbe villagers’ economic situation as consisting of resource ownership, small entrepreneurialism, government assistance, and wage employment (p. 80). In times of economic adversity all these factors are used by individuals in ways that reflect their gender, age, social networks, and the “capacity to negotiate relationships” for survival (p. 80). 

Cliggett (2005) found that women made the adjustment to old age with less disruption, and even with positive expectations regarding its potential benefits. Tonga society practices matrilineal kinship in which primary family identity is shared between women and their children (p. 20). Perhaps surprisingly, in this system widowhood or divorce can give women new freedom to work autonomously, or preferably to be supported from the households of their adult children. Thus, elderly women’s means of survival are connected to their maternal identity in relation to the children they spent their lives sacrificing for and serving. Matrilineal kinship strongly influences how the Tonga people strategize for obtaining resources. But this social system is not tidy, rather, individuals must make compromises and bargain creatively (Cliggett, 2005, p. 19-20). 

Women have been excluded from significant sources of sustenance and have therefore formed innovative means for self-perseveration in old age (Cliggett, 2015, p. 64). Women have less access than men to resources that can be used to generate income, but the former employ diverse types of “craft and service-oriented skills”. The primary way elderly Gwembe women provide for themselves is developing social networks from which they can receive food and other goods. As Gwembe women advance in age, they hope these strategically built relationships can help them procure food, housing, service, and general needs. The most precarious situation for an elderly woman is if she has no close adult male kin who can provide help (Cliggett, 2015, p. 83-108). 

The Resource Bases of Elderly Tonga Men and their Strategies to Access Them

            Tonga men tend to hold on to their position of social power as they age and cannot work the fields and care for themselves (Cliggett, 2015, p. 19). As stated earlier, matrilineal kinship means fathers do not share primary family identity with their children. In this family model, elderly men mitigate against disenfranchisement by exerting their right to adult son’s labor and through bride price, the amount paid for daughters. Despite men’s lack of shared clan identity with wives and children, they do have kinship roles giving them control over resources at the level of the nuclear family. Thus, men’s relationships with their offspring are largely based on formal rights. Women’s relationship with their adult children, on the other hand, depends on connection through kinship and the ties of the “mother-child experience”. By the time they become elderly, men have generally been able to accumulate an amount of wealth which can be used to support themselves. And in a polygamous society, an elderly man is likely to have at least one living wife residing in his home who can care for him (Cliggett, 2015, p. 20-38). 

Tonga men are more able than women to clear new bush fields and a man’s inheritance is traditionally passed on to male heirs. Therefore, predominant male ownership of land has been perpetuated over several generations (Cliggett, 2015, p. 65). Cash-producing activities that men have access to include selling agricultural tools they make, milk from cattle, and garden produce. Men can also offer their services in home construction, brickmaking, and other forms of manual labor. By the time a man is older, one reason his need for such forms of small income decreases is because of accumulated resources. A second reason is that a man’s dependents, such as daughters soon to marry and sons with incomes of their own, will provide additional resources. It is through residential arrangements with extended family members that most elderly men receive the bulk of their food and have their basic needs met (Cliggett, 2015, p. 83-97). 

The idea of a father receiving and “income” from his adult children seems strange to a Westerner like me who prizes independence and would see a parent being supported in such a way as a sign of failing to achieve independence. But from a Zambian perspective, such an arrangement can be seen as a form of retirement at the end of a life lived in significant part to supporting offspring.

How Such Strategies Relate to Elderly Men and Women’s Connections to the “Ritual World”

            In Africa, roughly a century of European slave trade followed by a century of industrialization and colonization have deeply affected “social, economic, and belief systems” (Cliggett, 2015, p. 53). In Zambia, differences in how global economic vulnerability has affected different regions produced richer and poorer regions. Seasonal fluctuation of food availability has led to agricultural migration, profoundly altering people’s connection to their land. This in turn has undermined the importance of ritual institutions and their leaders, elderly men (Cliggett, 2015, p. 56-62). 

            The funeral homestead is a “market of sorts” where people exchange and sell as well as singing funeral songs and developing relational networks, i.e. catching up on local gossip and current events (Cliggett, 2015, p. 82). Thus, a wide range of goods could be found by villagers and visitors at these recurring rural markets. Women’s participation in religious funeral rights is fundamental in the form of food preparation. The preparation of food is empowering to women, in fact the funeral period officially ends when the women finish clearing out the fire ovens (Cliggett, 2-15, p. 82-121). 

            Christianity has grown in the Gwembe valley, but the elderly population is not a significant presence in church life (Cliggett, 2015, p. 117). I wonder if elderly men and women do not see as much of the benefits of Christianity as a theology and community versus the younger more entrepreneurial population. The Pentecostal type of Christianity that has been so influential in Africa is highly individualistic, emphasizing God’s intervention in the life of the individual, the potential to receive his blessing on finances and health. Perhaps the elderly see this as not contributing to the traditional cultural and social institutions that benefit them, or worse, perhaps they see them as threatening. Ancestor worship is a traditional part of indigenous Tonga religious practice, and I am curious how different Christian denominations have interacted with this practice. 

            Men are seen as having agency regarding the spirit world in a direct way while women are beset upon by spirits, at times harmlessly but in some cases dangerously (Cliggett, 2015, p. 132). Women can use the cultural belief that they are vulnerable to possession by evil spirits as a means for requesting help (p. 140). A situation of spiritual attack makes an elderly woman victim a sympathetic plight for members of her kinship network. 

Some Effects of Migration on Traditional Kinship Support Paradigms

            Economic pressures and opportunities lead many of the Tonga people to migrate away from their home villages. But connections with family back home are generally maintained, not through remittances but sporadic gifts. Such contributions would not amount to a reliable or significant source of income (Cliggett, 2015, p. 148). And for those who migrate, making their new lives work is the main priority. The imposition of requests for help from visitors from a migrant’s home village makes greater distance helpful. The farther migrants move away, the more of a “buffer from such impositions” exists. The best way a visitor from back home can obtain a gift from a prosperous migrant relative is to make the request in person. Often the gift request is attended to, and sometimes at significant cost to the giver. But the gift is based on the nature of the interaction and is not a given, therefore the person requesting goes to great efforts to be gracious and diplomatic. Such gifts do not amount to a reliable source of income for villagers who remain back home. At best these contributions are a helpful part of a village’s economic system, but not a main source. If a migrant does not maintain ties with his or her home village, there is also a downside. This will result in being cut off from social ties to the home village and material, emotional, and spiritual benefits it can offer (Cliggett, 2015, p. 152-5).

Conclusion

            Cliggett (2005) makes a compelling argument that simplistic stereotypes of the drama and needs of the African people result in misguided endeavors to save victims and solve problems without tackling foundational causes (p. 48). The “framework of vulnerability” approach rightly advocates for multifaceted research on issues such as environmental crises, access to food, and kinship. This approach mitigates against tendencies in the social sciences to generalize about the circumstances of all members of a village, region, or nation (p. 49). I agree with the notion that at-risk populations’ foundational problem is relational. And each member of a family negotiates for resources within the kinship network with differing “desires, abilities, and power” (p. 50). 

I understand the need to find out who copes better or worse among vulnerable populations. First, those who cope poorly can learn from those who have innovated, negotiated, strategized, and succeeded. Second, I appreciate the importance of determining what unjust phenomena may be creating situations of inequality of coping. Thirdly, it is vital simply to determine who the poorest copers are to target them as those in greatest need. 

            Cliggett’s work demonstrates that support is channeled through “continually negotiated social networks” in different ways by elderly men and women (p, 158). With the participation of multiple family members in the chain of resources, a decision or failure to perform by any individual threatens the entire system. Cliggett (2004) demonstrates how individual’s in the Gwembe valley are able not only to survive but to prosper (p. 167). This account of individual human agency in poor communities emphasizes the endeavor to progress and flourish contra the caricature of acquiescence and acceptance of poverty. Cliggett’s work effectively counters the error of overly attributing worldview – how people think in sweeping generic national-ethnic terms – instead of observing reality of experience and agency on the ground (p. 167). I agree with the general position of this work as it posits that the most simple and foundational method of combatting the reductive tendency towards sociocultural analysis is the place the target community in “center stage” (p. 168), rather than giving too much credence to stereotypes and generalizations about vulnerable peoples such as the Tonga of the Gwembe valley. 

References

Cliggett, L. (2005). Grains from grass: Aging, gender, and famine in rural Africa. Cornell University Press.

by daviddawson462742281

Missiology for Plural Realities and Plural Christianties

In the 1980s, anthropology took a postmodern turn expressed in deconstruction and a “loss of certainty” in the social sciences and philosophy (Rynkiewich, 2011, p. 12). In the West, the individual was traditionally thought of as the “basic unit of society”. But neuroscience has increasingly cast doubt upon the objectivity of the individual’s perception of reality. It turns out that people do not perceive the world “as it is”, but in a highly fragmented and subjective way (p. 16-17). Thus “grand theories” of early anthropologists came to be seen as founded more upon their own Western philosophical tradition than observable human practice (p. 20). In my highly culturally diverse context of Western Europe, Christian witness that makes sweeping claims about the world are expected to come with the disclaimer, “in my opinion”. 

Since the emergence of anthropology as a discipline, a variety of successive attempts have been made to define culture. Some modern anthropologists believed that cultural differences could be explained by a universal evolutionary process. From a Western perspective, the peoples of the world could be conceived as moving from being savages, to barbarians, to civilized (Whiteman, 2020, p. 2). Another extrapolation from the notion of cultural evolution held that societies processed from “magic to religion to science” (p. 2). But the Darwinian theory was countered by historical particularism which argues that “historical, geographic and environmental factors” cause cultural development rather than a uniform evolutionary trajectory (Whiteman, 2020, p. 2). Later, missionaries found the interpretive definition of culture helpful, which defines culture as consisting of symbolic forms used to communicate and propagate knowledge and feelings about life (p. 3). These symbols may appear to have a straightforward meaning but have deeper meanings only discoverable through extensive field study (p. 4). In Portugal where I live, the religious symbols of Catholicism are present everywhere. As an Evangelical, it is easy for me to interpret Catholic architecture and liturgical art superficially versus seeking a thick understanding such as Geertz would recommend (Hua Cai, 2024). 

A common denominator in postmodern conceptions of culture is that it is a means people use to adapt to their environments (Rynkiewich, 2011, p. 20). “Entangled in language”, culture gives shape to the phenomena of our world, in a process that is learned and shared (p. 21,22). And culture is “peculiar” as a lens we acquire for seeing and interpreting the world while soon forgetting that culture is a “social construct” (p. 22). The linguistic turn of modern philosophy in the work of Wittgenstein and others ended up not offering a universal conception of language. I find this evident in my conversations with Europeans about spiritual matters as strident affirmations regarding the correct use of terms is perceived as arrogant. 

Postmodern anthropology critiques a modern ethnocentrism that seeks to understand non-Western cultures through its own unique perspective (Rynkiewich, 2011, p. 24). Cultural relativism, pioneered by anthropologist such as Franz Boas holds that each culture possesses knowledge which is original and constitutional, only to be understood within its own context (p. 25). I agree with the approach of methodological relativism which seeks to keep prejudices from distorting the interpretation of culture. Judgement is suspended initially while the anthropologist seeks to understand a culture. But aspects of a culture that undermine justice, for example, should be judged at the right stage of research, but not prematurely (p. 25). Even the most postmodern interlocutors I encounter in Portugal generally agree to the appropriateness of some degree of judging cultural phenomena. 

While modern anthropology tended to treat culture as something existing apart from human beings, the postmodern turn deconstructs culture by restoring agency to human beings (Rynkiewich, 2011, p. 30). This account reminds us that culture doesn’t do anything, people do. However, people’s actions are always contingent on their environments (p. 30). A constructivist view like this holds that while culture has powerful influence over people, it is also contingent on the materials and agency of people (p. 31). I find this perspective helpful in dialoguing with a population who values individual freedom and the subjectivity of human experience. As I witness to my experience of Christ to another human being – no matter what culture they represent – a constructivist account unites us in our shared experience of making sense of the world with the resources available. 

It has been argued that what unites postmodernism is: 

a commitment to a set of cultural projects that privilege heterogeneity, fragmentation, and difference and a widespread mood in literary theory, philosophy, and the social sciences that question the possibility of impartiality, objectivity, or authoritative knowledge (Whiteman, 2000, p. 5). 

It is easy to see why the postmodern turn in anthropology has received much criticism. Its attack on the objectivity of ethnography undermines the scientific legitimacy of anthropology as a field (p. 6). The obsession with polyvocality (multiple versions of reality or truth) and reflexivity threatens to make anthropologists overly anti-objectivist and introspective (p. 6,7). 

I believe that the concept of culture should still be used by missiologists as a heuristic descriptive device which acknowledges that culture is “contested, contingent, constructed, contextual, complex, changing, and creative” (Whiteman, 2000, p. 9). What is problematic is when missionaries use the concept of culture “prescriptively instead of descriptively”, such as in essentialist paradigms of people groups and honor/shame cultures (p. 9). We do a disservice to the field of missions studies when we try to reduce the complexity of the cultural phenomenon of our world in ways that “papers over complexity and camouflages important and critical differences in human beings” (p. 9). Polycentric missiology is a promising paradigm which recognizes the existence of “plural realities” and even plural Christianities (p. 9-10). If we hope to be able to combat racism and ethnocentrism, we must embrace the beneficial points of postmodernism such as cultural relativism without relinquishing critical thought (p. 10). 

References

Hua Cai. (2024). The predicament of social sciences in the 20th century: A dialogue with Clifford Geertz’s essay “Thick description: Toward an interpretive theory of culture” (Part I). International Journal of Anthropology and Ethnology, 8(1), 1–20. Directory of Open Access Journals. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41257-023-00102-2

Rynkiewich, Michael A. (2011). Soul, Self, and Society: A Postmodern Anthropology for Mission in a Postcolonial World. Cascade Books  

Whiteman, D. (2020). The Concept of Culture in Missiology: To abandon or adapt considering the rise of postmodern anthropology. Biola University. 

by daviddawson462742281

Anthropology has Moved on, Should Missiology?

Claude Stipe’s (1980) analysis of anthropologists’ negative attitudes towards missionaries is based on two prevalent assumptions. These are that “primitive cultures are characterized by an organic unity and that religious beliefs are essentially meaningless” (p. 166). Based on functionalism, the organic-unity concept sees primitive cultures as possessing an internal equilibrium and integrity. Therefore, unless internally motivated, cultural change amounts to “upsetting a delicate machine” (Colson, 1976, p. 267). This anthropological perspective posits that options are bad for pristine ancient cultures. But inconsistently, options are good for the West to “free ourselves, and our peers, from constraining tradition” (Colson, 1976, p. 276). 

The religion as meaningless concept can be connected to the experience of most early anthropological writers on religion. Not surprisingly, this was negative, and probably led to their subsequent attitudes towards religion (Stipe, 1980, p. 167). By discrediting primitive religion as “outmoded superstition” of a prescientific age (Evans-Pritchard, 1972, p. 205), higher religions can also be dismissed (Stipe, 1980, p. 167). The religion as meaningless position holds that its study should focus “on the rites rather than the beliefs” (Radcliffe-Brown, 1952, p. 155). Since religion does not produce an integrating theory of the world, human experience of the divine can be dismissed as a manifestation of the “supreme archetypal social relationship” (Horton, 1971, p. 96). This would explain anthropologists dislike of missionaries, who take seriously the religious beliefs of the cultures they encounter which anthropologists have rejected (Stipe, 1980, p. 168). 

A more helpful attitude today on the part of both missionaries and anthropologists has been proposed. Since both hold positions regarding truth and a desire to protect the people they work among, missionaries and anthropologists can build relations based on these similarities (Salamone, 1977, p. 409). 

The concept of culture as “homogenous and patterned” and attempts to totalize culture “from one small community into a country and even a continent” has led missiologists to an exaggerated focus on understanding and changing worldview (Yip, 2014, p. 401). Globalization has led to a view of cultures as fragmented and non-discrete, overlapping each other resulting in a lack of clear-cut boundaries (Yip, 2014, p. 403). Postmodern missiologies are needed that focus on the multicultural and diasporic (Yip, 2014, p. 403). A helpful anthropology of religion is bricolage – that a person’s beliefs are a loose assortment of diverse sources (Vroom, 2003, p. 74). Based on postmodern concepts of instrumentalism and idealism, a missiology can be formed that recognizes the limitations to scientifically knowing the cultural “other” whether such a reality exists (Hiebert, 1999, p. 51,37,38). Yip’s (2014) polythetic and progressive contextualization helpfully recognizes the variations and exceptions present in any culture (p. 408). This approach recognizes the presence of diverse subgroups within a culture as well as its constant mutation (p. 409). 

Another helpful suggestion for missiology within a global community constantly in flux is that the field of study be placed within applied theology (Rynkiewich, 2020, p. 336). This subfield sees to “utilize anthropological knowledge and skill for practical human needs” (Luzbetak, 1988, p. 34). By observing applied anthropology in other fields such as medicine, missiologists can identify different critical phases (Rynkiewich, 2020, p. 341). Medical anthropology progressed from assuming that culture was the problem to the people are the problem. Finally, the conclusion was reached that we are the problem (Rynkiewich, 2020, p. 338). The first two phases can be seen in missiology up to present, but not the third critical phase, that we are the problem (Rynkievich, 2020, p. 340-1). Returning to Yip’s (2013) polythetic and progressive contextualization approach, postmodern missions training should focus on teaching research methods and data analysis (Rynkiewich, 2020, p. 343-4). Challenges to contextualization include migration, cultural hybridity, multilingualism, and multiculturalism (Rynkiewich, 2020, p. 345), all of which require a missiology focused on constant inquiry and adjustment of theory and praxis. 

References

Colson, Elizabeth (1976). Culture and progress. American Anthropologist, 78:261-71.

Evans-Pritchard, E.E. (1972). Religion and the anthropologists. Practical Anthropology, 19:193-206. (Originally published in Blackfriars 41[480]:104-18, April 1960.)

Hiebert, P.G. (1999) Missiological Implications of Epistemological Shifts. Trinity Press International.

Horton, Robin. 1971. African conversion. Africa 41.

Luzbetak, Louis J. (1988). The Church and Cultures: New Perspectives in Missiological Anthropology. Orbis Books

Radcliffe-Brown, A. R. (1952). “Religion and society,” in Structure and function in primitive society. Edited by A. R. Radcliffe-Brown, Free Press.

Rynkiewich, Michael A. (2020). The Challenge of Teaching Mission in an Increasingly Mobile and Complex World. International Bulletin of Mission Research, Vol. 44(4) 

Salamone, Frank A. (1977). Anthropologists and missionaries: Competition or reciprocity? Human Organization, 36.

Stipe, Claude E. (1980). Anthropologists versus Missionaries: The Influence of Presuppositions. Current Anthropology, Vol. 21, No. 2

Vroom, H.M. (2003). Bricolage and fullness: on multiple participation. In Daneel I, Engen C Van

and Vroom HM (eds) Fullness of Life for All: Challenges for Mission in Early 21st Century. Rodopi

Yip, George (2014). The contour of a post- postmodern missiology. Missiology: An International Review, Vol. 42(4)

by daviddawson462742281

The Forgotten History of the Asian Church

I have been aware that Christianity emerged through interaction with existing cultural and political systems. However, most of my study has been on the influence of Western culture and politics on Christianity. But looking at the development of the church from 1st to 7th centuries outside the West reveals other directions Christian doctrine and practice can take. East Syrian Christianity was dominant in Asia – though not tolerated by the church of the Roman Empire – and West Syrian Christians were dominant in Africa (Cooper, 2016, p. 13). These different branches of Christianity emphasized their differences rather than what they had in common. The most foundational point of contention was interpreting how Christ’s humanity and divinity related to each other (Cooper, 2016, p. 13). As we think of evangelism today, diverse forms of global Christianity should spend more energy seeking consensus that reasons to not collaborate. 

I was unaware of the interaction of Christianity with other religions outside the West. Christianity experienced intense challenges from other religions in Asia where it originated (Cooper, 2016, p. 15). By the fourth century, Christianity was thriving in several parts of the Middle East (p. 20). More theological diversity existed in Middle Eastern Christianity compared to Byzantine, Constantine’s chosen capital which became the core of church doctrine and practice (p. 17, 21). Christianity in Central and Eastern Asia was arguably “the most evangelistic of any tradition in the early and medieval church”. Unfortunately, the study of early Christianity in these regions is “still in its infancy” (p. 23). 

Although the legacy of the church’s political privilege in the West after Constantine is ambiguous, the consensus is that it helped Christianity’s survival in the region. In contrast, because Chinese Christianity was attached to the court of the Tang dynasty, it did not survive the transition to the Sung dynasty (Cooper, p. 25). Christianity spread to Africa by second half of first century, producing some of the most important Christian figures and writings (p. 28). Before 7th century Muslim invasion, several African kingdoms adopted Christianity as the official religion (p. 29,33). Bur the Ethiopian church was allowed a level of freedom by Islamic conquerors (Cooper, 2016, p. 34). The history of non-Western Christianity yields a richer resource for learning to share the gospel in our pluralistic world. These early brothers and sisters had to negotiate the expression of their faith in Christ often from the margins of society or as diplomatic emissaries. 

Because of unfamiliar terms such as Nestorian and Jacobite, we can perceive the Eastern and African churches as obscure sects of “alien religions” instead of vibrant streams of Christian faith (Jenkins, 2008, p. 20). It is well known that the spread of Christianity to the West was facilitated by Roman roads and defended sea routes as well as the widely spoken Greek and Latin languages. But the lands east and northeast of Jerusalem also had familiar trade routes, leading through Syria, Mesopotamia, to the far East (p. 21). Although the history of Christianity in Western Europe is more familiar to most, Jerusalem is closer to Central Asia than France (p. 22). The church-state alliance in Rome and Constantinople created persecution of Christians living under the rule of the rival Persian superpower (p. 23). But operating outside the purvey of Rome was beneficial for Christian sects condemned by the Catholic and Orthodox establishments. So other Christians living on the frontiers of the Empire had to flee to peripheral regions that became “fertile territory for religious innovation and interaction”. The Nestorians and Jacobites in Asia were two alternative churches that rivaled the Orthodoxy of Constantinople. The Persian Empire was happy to protect these “potential enemies to Roman power”, and. Nestorian missionaries had success in China and India (p. 23, 26-7). In the post-Christian West, the church can learn much from early non-Western Christianity on how to live out our faith from a place of humble witness. When cultural and political powers oppose the spread of Christianity, cultivating the art of religious diplomacy and dialogue can make survival, even flourishing, possible. 

Each Christian tradition that emerged offered their adherents experiences that appealed to the senses, with Monasticism as the highest form of spirituality (Jenkins, 2008, p. 29). Mystical practice, however, declined in the West as the institutional church grew in the Roman Empire (p. 29). The Eastern churches opposed dependence on mere human reason, although they were enthusiastic about learning (p. 30). Eastern Christian scholars admired and credited the contributions of other cultures, and they highly influenced emerging Islamic science and philosophy (p. 31). Whereas Roman and Byzantine Christianity adapted to mainstream culture distancing itself from Semitic roots, Eastern Christianity was “founded in a Semitic tradition” closer to the apostles (p. 32). The latter were keenly aware that Biblical events had occurred in the part of the world where they lived (p. 33). The Eastern churches had to engage with diverse cultures and religions which they accommodated in various ways and degrees. There Buddhist and Christian monasteries were often located next door to each other, and often collaborated. Contrary to popular conceptions, the written record of Eastern Christianity shows a conservative approach to Scripture and a “distinctively Christian message”, despite drawing upon interactions with Buddhism and Islam (p. 35). 

I believe that recuperating the diversity of Christian devotion and service is key to making our message more attractive to the world in the third millennium. After 2000 years of church history, many adherents of diverse Christian traditions are fatigued with the rote practice and doctrine they have grown to take for granted. As we discover the variety in the historical body of Christ, I believe we will be inspired to express the vision of his kingdom in innovative and compelling ways. 

References

Cooper, D. (2016). Introduction to World Christian History. IVP Academic.

Jenkins, Philip. (2008). The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia—And How It Died. Harper Collins.

by daviddawson462742281

How the Church Grew Without Evangelism and Missions?

The “Patient Ferment” of Early Christianity

After Constantine’s conversion in 312 CE, the growth of the church is easy to explain, but not before (Kreider, 2016, p. 9). Up to that decisive point, Christian writings focused on church order with the theme of evangelism practically nonexistent (p. 10). Leadership structure was elaborated but didn’t include apostles or evangelists, and worship services were not used to attract new adherents (p. 10-11). Kreider refers to the mysterious, decentralized, uncoordinated spread of Christianity during that time as “patient ferment” (p. 12). Cyprian, Justin, Origen, and Tertulian emphasized the effectiveness of Christian witness as depending on their lifestyle, how their patience intrigues and attracts people to faith (p. 14-29). 

The growth of Christianity was more accelerated, whose characteristic patience became degraded (p. 245, 251). Constantine “Christianized” the law, but without abandoning his “unreformed habitus” (p. 263.1-2). Ge governed according to the traditional Roman approach, favoring the church and suppressing dissidents (p. 267, 269). Constantine offered Christians control over missions endeavors (p. 274), power of state for conversion (p. 275) and suppression of dissidence (276). And the emperor was in a hurry to implement these changes to Christian practice (277). 

By the 4th century, “the papacy and the imperial court seemed wobbly” and Augustine (354-430) felt “out of control” (p. 281). Augustine failed to see the corrective in the Christian habitus of patience to Roman habitus of impatience (p. 290), Augustine shifted focus in his teaching emphasizing the inward Christian life rather than on praxis (p. 290). In the 5th century Augustine’s increased anxiety leads him to shift hears encouraging political powers to use “top-down methods for Christian ends” (p. 295). 

Rewiring the Convert’s “Habitus”

While after Constantine’s conversion Christianity offered social benefits, before this catechesis and worship were the two means Christian communities sought to rewire convert’s habitus (p. 41). This term refers to the deeper motivator linked to socioeconomic and psychological realities coined by Pierre Bourdieu, “corporeal knowledge” we carry in our bodies (39.2). 

The heroic witness of Christian victims of persecution before the reign of Constantine demonstrate that they had allegiances that didn’t fit the Roman structure (p. 45). The Christians were of different social classes (p. 46). They could not control their surrounding circumstances but “they could be themselves” (p. 47). Christians used public persecution as an opportunity to witness to crowds regarding impending judgement (p. 48). Thus, such heroic Christian habitus was transmitted through role models who embodied the message (p. 50). Habitus was transmitted in the repetition of powerful phrases for context of suffering (p. 50), and the kinesthetic effects of worship (p. 51). 

In the Roman world during the emergence of Christianity, private associations provided adherents with face-to-face relationships and sense of participation and responsibility (p. 52). These associations “sustained the life of local people” and “formed their habitus” (p. 56). Christianity offered an alternative association which offered some preferable conditions (p. 56). Contribution was voluntary and members saw themselves as a family which transcended gender and class boundaries (p. 59). However, Christian associations were secretive, leading to rumors of “cannibalism and sexual license” (p. 58). 

The growth of Christianity before Constantine happened despite a lack of planning and control (p. 74). They believed God’s sovereignty was involved, and thus didn’t seek to discern and record strategic insights. Christians prioritized developing Christian habitus over evangelism, and believed the main agents of change were marginal members of society – the humble and anonymous (p. 74). Even during this period, however, increased numbers led to a degradation of habitus which precipitated more vigorous preaching and catechization (p. 125). Evangelization shifted in some contexts from the witness of the community to that of individual piety of monks (p. 126). Inflated communities led to a greater presence of lukewarm members (p. 135), and full meals were replaced by symbolic liturgies (p. 136). 

Is Christian Habitus Attractive Today?

In my context of secular, nominally Roman Catholic Latin Europe – Portugal, Spain, and Italy – a focus on Christian practice versus doctrine has been an emphasis for some time now. The Catholic Church has taken strides to emphasize involvement in social justice and assistance of the poor. I have been impressed by the number of social projects that are present in the dioceses in the Lisbon metro area. 

At the same time, my informal inquiries inform me that the number of young Portuguese Catholics doing formal catechism is low. Much more popular are small group models like Alpha Course which has been used to introduce many nominal churchgoers to a deeper understanding of the faith. 

The pre-Constantine Christian emphasis on the habitus of the humble and anonymous as the primary evangelistic strategy can be restored as part of Catholic tradition. Within the Catholic Church the hierarchy’s influence is powerful and evident. But in the wider secular society, the witness of servant-hearted Christians who seek the common good is a welcome change. The predominant caricature of the church is an institution only concerned with defending the leverage of its doctrinal positions on issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage, and Christian religious supremacy. 

References

Kreider, Alan. (2016). The Patient Ferment of the Early Church: The Improbable Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Baker Academic.

by daviddawson462742281

Downtrodden Victims or Resilient Adaptors?

Intent and Purpose of Shaw’s Study of Oxford Pakistanis

Alison Shaw (2000) seeks to counter any notion that Pakistani immigrants in Oxford, England are fundamentally “the downtrodden victims of political, economic and social processes beyond their control” (p. 3). On the contrary, evidence is given that these immigrants are flexible and resilient in adapting to the “structural and cultural resources” they find in Britain. With these assets, Pakistanis have improvised and constructed their lives “on their own terms”. Shaw’s (2000) goal is to demonstrate “both continuity and change” in the experience of this community. Coming from rural agrarian contexts, these immigrants are confronted with the contrasts of industrial urban life. But they adapt “quite easily” to these material changes, proving quite capable of maintaining their traditional beliefs and values (p. 3-4). 

Shaw (2000) gives particular attention to perceptions in Brittain of Pakistani women – now in their third generation – versus the reality of their lives (p. 5). In the West, an emphasis on duty is generally seen as detracting from individual freedom. But even the younger generation of Pakistani immigrants values “advantages and satisfactions” that accompany duty (p. 7-8). 

Contrary to generalizations in Brittain regarding South Asian immigrants, Shaw’s (2000) research indicates this community’s significant internal diversity. Shaw (2000) argues that seeing them as a “homogenous group with a common culture” complies with the political agenda of a white majority concerted about competition for resources (p. 10). These Pakistanis identify their native culture, including their ancestral region, caste, or linguistic group. But they come to identify with much of British culture as well. The aspect of a Pakistani’s identity that is emphasized in each moment – “whether it is more or less exclusive” – depends on the context (p. 10).

How Kinship Influences Behavior and Attitudes 

Family structure allowed the first generation of Pakistani migration, for a man’s parents could be trusted to take care of his wife and children as he went abroad. Families would encourage this type of arrangement for the benefit of remittances that would benefit immediate kin at home (Shaw, 2000, p. 23). Chain migrationrefers to the practice of relatives pooling cash to sponsor one man who would in turn facilitate the way for his kinsmen. This help would include finding housing and employment, resulting in a cluster of related men from the same region of Pakistan (p. 27). This practice mitigated against the high probability of South Asians being rejected by white English landlords (p. 40). 

For the first several years, multi-occupational lodgings were the most common arrangement for male Pakistani immigrants (p. 42). When housing was purchased by Pakistanis, it was often through relatives pooling their resources. And these kinship groups also embarked upon partnerships in business, even offering interest-free loans or participating in rotating credit associations (p. 51). In ancestral Pakistani communities, relatives tended to live in adjacent dwellings and villages were formed by kinship groups (p. 69). At the end of the 19th century, the British built villages where Muslim, Hindu and Sikh colonizers were incentivized to settle in sections according to their cast (p. 71).

How Gender Influences Behavior and Attitudes 

The premium placed on female virginity at marriage has numerous effects upon how young men and women relate to peers, their education, and marriage (Shaw, 2000, p. 168). Sons receive far more leniency in general from their parents, having fewer domestic responsibilities and spending most leisure time outside the home (p. 168). Socially acceptable activities for sons include helping their father’s business, frequenting the mosque, or spending time with other young men. These colleagues may be of diverse ethnic backgrounds: other South Asians, English, or Afro-Caribbeans (p. 168). And though Pakistani parents do not closely monitor their sons’ activities, the latter are expected to keep an eye on their sisters (p. 168). 

A daughter’s responsibilities have direct bearing upon the reputation of the men in her family. This means men must defend the honor of the women in their family, whether it be their own misbehavior or any affront they may suffer (Shaw, 2000, p. 169). An implicit double-standard often exists for Pakistani men in relation to sexual promiscuity. While women in their family are expected to be chaste, all women outside a man’s family can be seen as potential sexual partners (p. 169). Pakistani men who date English girls often do not see this as disobedience to the expectation that they will eventually accept an arranged marriage. English girls are outside Pakistani cultural norms related to marriage and are therefore considered “sexually available” (p. 170). 

Daughters have increasingly negotiated permission from their parents to pursue higher education and the development of careers outside the home (Shaw, 2000, p. 179). Such negotiations involve a daughter’s commitment to fulfilling the traditional duties of a wife in the future. And once a Pakistani daughter is married, families increasingly see her ability to make a good income outside the home as helpful to the success of the marriage (p. 179). 

How Marriage Influences Behavior and Attitudes 

Despite fascination in British society over the punishment of Pakistani daughters who elope with white men, Shaw’s (2000) research only found such cases involving other Pakistanis, South Asians, or Muslim men (p. 161-2). Elopements by Pakistani sons and daughters may lead to the complete severing of ties with family. Girls who do not honor marriage norms – such as finding a husband within their caste or family circles – are seen as denying their fathers the privilege of giving them away respectfully. But young people who reject arranged marriages usually don’t see this as a “wholesale rejection” of traditional values in favor of Western ones. Rather, these Pakistani youth see their actions as an “attempt at reform from within” (p. 185, 186, 189).

How Gift-Giving Influences Behavior and Attitudes 

Married women follow the traditional custom of playing the major role in sustaining the relationships of “informal reciprocity” as well as formal relationships of “gift exchange between households” (Shaw, 2000, p. 227-8). The practice of gift giving is a feature of a wife’s engagement in rituals and events of the domestic life cycle (p. 228). Gifts given at weddings, birthday parties, or dinner invitations involve some “expectation of return” (p. 228). Types of gifts are considered appropriate for specific occasions, such as sweets for the birth of a baby and money for a wedding or when a family will travel abroad (p. 238, 241). 

Both Pakistani men and women understand that these types of gifts will result in similar help from the community when the occasion arises for them (p. 241). This can be described as a form of “rotating credit, though with a less predictably timed outcome” (p. 241). Reciprocities like these exert a form of “social and moral control” as a means for evaluating the status of an individual or household (p. 256). And the occasions in which gift giving takes place are also the context for “exchange of news and gossip”, not merely on banalities but important matters such as marriage prospects or disputes in the mosque (p. 256). 

Conclusion

Shaw (2000) effectively demonstrates that Pakistani immigrants in Oxford, England preserve much individual and collective agency while engaging the majority culture. They would not have come to England from their ancestral lands if they did not believe there would be significant social and material benefits. Indeed, they were acquainted with British culture through colonialism. This meant that Pakistanis coming to the Empire’s headquarters were well-informed on much of what they would face. These immigrants counted the cost and demonstrated organization and strategical ingenuity at every step of their transition to life in Britain. Shaw’s (2000) study leaves one wondering who influenced the other more culturally – the British upon the colonized Pakistanis, or vice versa. And in the decadence of Western culture due to an overemphasis on individualism, one wonders how increasingly attractive and influential collectivist South Asian cultures will become.

References

Alison Shaw. (2000). Kinship and Continuity: Pakistani Families in Britain. Routledge. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=nlebk&AN=696804&authtype=sso&custid=s6133893&site=ehost-live&custid=s6133893