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Globalization of Christianity

early modern era: Christianity mostly limited to Europe

1500: Iberian Peninsula and British Isles in west to Russia in east

small and besieged communities of various kinds in Egypt, Ethiopia, southern India, Central Asia

internally: seriously divided

Roman Catholics (Western and Central Europe)

Eastern Orthodox (Eastern Europe and Russia)

externally: defensive against expansive Islam

Muslims ousted Christian Crusaders from Holy Lands by 300

Ottomans seized Constantinople in 1453 (prestigious capital of Eastern Orthodoxy)

Ottoman sieges of Vienna (1529, 1683) marked Muslim advance into heart of Central Europe

seemed future laid with Islam rather than Christianity

except in Spain, Sicily (recently reclaimed for Christendom after centuries of Muslim rule)

Protestant Reformation

early 16th

shattered unity of Roman Catholic Christianity

previous 1000 years was cultural and organizational foundation of emerging Western European civilization

Martin Luther

German priest

publicly invited debate about various abuses in Roman Catholic Church

Ninety-Five Theses

allegedly nailed to door of church in Wittenberg

start of Reformation (1517)

nothing particularly new; many long been critical of church life and practice

luxurious life of popes

corruption and immorality of some clergy

selling of indulgences (to remove penalties for sin)

others

theological basis

troubled, brooding, anxious about relationship with God

came to new understanding of salvation: faith alone

good works of sinner nor sacraments of church head bearing of destiny of soul

source of beliefs: Bible (not Church)

interpreted according to individual’s conscience

challenged authority of Church

called into question special position of clerical hierarchy and especially pope

Cathnolic/Protestant differences in 16th century

Cathnolic/Protestant differences in 16th century

Division

as result of Luther’s ideas

contrary to his original intentions

Catholic Christendom came to express variety of political, economic, social tensions

some kings, princes: found justification for own independence

long disputed political authority of pope

opportunity to gain lands and taxes previously held by church

middle-class urban dwellers: new religious legitimacy for growing role in society

Protestant idea that all vocations were of equal merit

Roman Catholic Church was associated in their eyes with rural, feudal aristocratic privilege

common people: express opposition to entire social order

offended by corruption, luxurious living of some bishops, abbots, popes

particularly in series of German peasant revolts in 1520s

Women

women not offered substantially greater role by Reformation teachings and practices

veneration of Mary and female saints ended

male Christ figure as sole object of worship

closing of convents

alternative to marriage

due to Protestant opposition to celibacy and monastic life

Protestants (other than Quakers) no more willing than Catholics to offer women official role in churches

stimulated education and literacy

reading Bible for self

little opportunity to use education outside of family

emphasis on women as wives/mothers subject to male supervision

Spread

helped by printing press brought to Europe

pamphlets, translation of New Testament to German soon widely available

divided into competing Protestant churches as it spread

France, Switzerland, England, etc.

Lutheran, Calvinist, Anglican, Quaker, Anabaptist

Calvinism: John Calvin emphasized doctrine of predestination (salvation for those chosen by God)

often subsequently subdivided

produced bewildering array of Protestant denominations

each distinctive

none gave allegiance to Rome or pope

Religious difference

in addition to class divisions, fractured political system of Europe

both within and between states

France: between Catholics and Huguenots (Protestant minority)

Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648): Catholic-Protestant conflict

began in Holy Roman Empire, eventually engulfed most of Europe

horrendously destructive

15-30% of German population perished from violence, famine, disease

Peace of Westphalia (1648) ended conflict

some reshuffling of boundaries

agreement that each state was sovereign (authorized to control religious affairs within own territory)

religious unity now permanently splintered

Catholic/Counter-Reformation

caused by Protestant breakaway and reformist tendencies within Catholic Church

Council of Trent (1545-1563)

Catholics clarified and reaffirmed doctrines, sacraments, practices

authority of pope

priestly celibacy

veneration of saints and relics

importance of church tradition and good works

things rejected by Protestants

corrected abuses and corruption that stimulated Protestant movement

new emphasis on education of priests, supervision by bishops

censorship of books, fines, exile, penitence, sometimes burning of heretics

more attention to individual spirituality, personal piety

new religious orders (e.g. Society of Jesus/Jesuits) provided dedicated brotherhood of priests committed to renewal and extension of Catholic Church

Impact

profoundly religious but encouraged skeptical attitude towards authority and tradition

successfully challenged immense prestige and power of pope and established Church

fostered religious individualism

people read and interpreted scriptures for selves

sought salvation without medication of Church

some turned into thinking independently against all conventional religion

opened space for new directions in European intellectual life

Outward-bound

Christianity motivated and benefited from European political and economic expansion

Catholic Spanish, Portuguese viewed movement overseas as continuation of crusading tradition (only recently completed liberation from Muslim control)

no contradiction or hypocrisy in blending of religious and material concerns

Empire support

colonial settlers, traders brought faith and sought to replicate in newly conquered homelands

New England Puritans planted distinctive Protestant version of Christianity in North America

education

moral purity

personal conversion

civic responsibility

little tolerance for competing expressions

little interest in converting native peoples

sought to push them out of ancestral territories

missionaries (mostly Catholic) actively spread Christianity beyond European communities

organized in missionary orders

Dominicans

Franciscans

Jesuits

Portuguese missionaries in African and Asia

Spanish and French missionaries in Americas

Russian Orthodox missionaries as Russia expanded across Siberia

priests and monks ministered to Russian settlers and trappers

often donated first sable furs to church or monastery

Reasons for success

most success in Spanish America and Philippines

two critical elements beyond colonization by Spain

Overwhelming European presence

experienced variously

military conquest

colonial settlement

missionary activity

forced labor

social disruption

disease

must have seemed like old gods had been bested, any possible future lay with religion of European invaders

Absence of literate world religion

throughout modern era: peoples solidly rooted in Confucian, Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic traditions were more resistant to Christian message than those who practiced more localized, small-scale, orally-based religions

Spanish America vs. China: difference between societies where Christianity became widely practiced and those where it was rejected

Conversion and adaptation in Spanish America

conquest of Aztecs and Inca empires and all that followed (disease, population collapse, loss of land to Europeans, forced labor, resettlement) created setting in which Christianity took hold in Spanish American colonies

Europeans saw political and military success as demonstration of power of Christian god

Native American peoples generally agreed

by 1700: vast majority baptized, saw themselves in some respects as Christians

other conquerors (Aztecs, Incas) had always imposed their gods on defeated peoples

made sense (practically, spiritually) to affiliate with Europeans’ god, saints, rites, rituals

many millions accepted baptism, attended services, embraced images of saints

cost of conversion was high, especially for women

despite prominence of Virgin Mary as religious figure across Latin America

many women who had long served as priests, shamans, ritual specialists had no corresponding role in Catholic church led by all-male clergy

convent life was reserved largely for Spanish women in Americas

provided some outlet for female authority and education in Catholic Europe

only a few exceptions

took root in new cultural environments but was distinctly Andean or Mexican, not just copy of Spanish

Difference of Europeans

earlier conquerors: no attempt to eradicate local deities and religious practices

flexibility, inclusiveness of Mesoamerican and Andean religions

made it possible for subject people to accommodate gods of new rulers while maintaining own traditions

Europeans claimed exclusive religious truth

sought utter destruction of local gods and everything associated with them

missionaries often proceeded by persuasion and patient teaching

operated within Spanish colonial regime that actively encouraged conversion

sometimes frustration boiled over into violent campaigns designed to uproot old religions

1535: bishop of Mexico proudly claimed he had destroyed 500 pagan shrines, 20,000 idols

17th, early 18th: church authorities in Andes periodically launched movements of “extirpation”

designed to fatally undermine native religion

destroyed religious images and ritual objects

publicly urinated on native “idols”

desecrated remains of ancestors

flogged “idolators”

held religious trials and “processions of shame” aimed at humiliating offenders

Resistance

1600: Peruvian nobleman Guaman Poma de Ayala commented on posture of native women towards Christianity

“They do not confess; they do not attend catechism classes ... nor do they go to mass.... And resuming their ancient customs and idolatry, they do not want to serve God or the crown”

Overt resistance

occasional, quickly smashed by colonial authorities

1560s: religious revivalist movement in central Peru known as Taki Onqoy (dancing sickness)

possessed by spirits of local gods (huacas), traveling dancers and preachers predicted that alliance of Andean deities would:

soon overcome Christian God

inflict intruding Europeans with the diseases they had brought to the Americas

restore world of Andes to imagined earlier harmony

important: some Spanish missionaries opposed atrocities committed against Native Americans

notably: Bartolomé de las Casas argued at Spanish court for better treatment of Native Americans

Blending

more common: efforts to blend two religious traditions

reinterpret Christian practices within Andean framework

incorporate local elements into emerging Andean Christianity

examples

female dancers in Taki Onqoy movement sometimes took names of Christian saints to appropriate for themselves the religious power of Christian figures

women might offer blood of llama to strengthen village church or make cloth covering for Virgin Mary and shirt for image of huaca with same material

state cults of Incas faded but missionary attacks did not succeed in eliminating influence of local huacas

images and holy sites destroyed but souls of huacas remained, representatives gained prestige

Blending in Mexico

immigrant Christianity assimilated into patterns of local culture

churches built on or near sites of old temples became focus of community identity

cofradias (church-based associations of laypeople) organized processions and funerals, made provisions for proper funerals and burials

central to emerging Mexican Christianity: saints who paralleled functions of precolonial gods

imagined as parents of local community, true owners of its land

images paraded through streets during great feasts, collected by individual households

Virgin of Guadalupe combined Mesoamerican and Spanish notions of Divine Motherhood

parish priests almost always Spanish

fiscal (leader of church staff) was native Christian of great local prestige

carried on traditions and role of earlier religious specialists

took part in rituals derived from past with little sense of incompatibility

practices provided spiritual assistance in areas of everyday life not directly addressed by Christian rites

incantations to various gods for good fortune in hunting, farming, healing

sacrifices of self-bleeding

offerings to sun

divination

use of hallucinogenic drugs

examples

wax candles (normally used in Christian services) might appear in front of stone image of precolonial god

anger of neglected saint (rather than traditional god) might explain illness, require offerings, celebration, new covering to regain favor

Asian comparison: China and Jesuits

Chinese comparison: very different from Native Americans in Spain’s New World Empire

most obvious difference: political context

Spanish America: peoples defeated, societies disrupted, cultural confidence shaken

China: encountered during Ming and Qing dynasties, political independence and cultural integrity was never threatened

Strategy

Europeans needed permission of Chinese authorities to operate in China

Jesuits (leading order in China) took deliberate aim at official Chinese elite

followed example of Matteo Ricci (in China 1582-1610, most famous missionary)

learned Chinese

became thoroughly acquainted with classical Confucian texts

dressed like Chinese scholars

initially downplayed mission to convert, emphasized interest in exchanging ideas, learning China’s ancient culture

carried recent secular knowledge to curious Chinese scholars

science

technology

geography

mapmaking

respectful of Chinese culture

pointed out parallels between Confucianism and Christianity instead of portraying it as something new and foreign

defined Chinese rituals honoring emperor or venerating ancestors and secular or civil observances rather than religious, so they did not have to be abandoned

Outcomes

no mass conversion

modest number of Chinese scholars and officials

personal lives of missionaries

interest in Western science

moral certainty offered

Jesuit missionaries briefly found favor at Chinese imperial court

useful knowledge

mathematical

astronomical

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