Spread of Christianity to India and Oceania - Essay Example

Spread of Christianity to India and Oceania Since the days of Jesus Christ, Catholic missionaries have been trying to spread Christianity to different parts of the world. In their quest to accomplish this, they discovered that most of the cultures that they met were deep rooted in other religions or ways of life. This presented a setback. This did not discourage them, however. Paul in his address to the Athenians, informed them that the “unknown God” that they were worshipping was in fact Jesus (Acts 17:22-23). It is in this form that the missionaries assumed their task. They adapted Christianity to local customs of different cultures, all the while maintaining the rituals and beliefs of their faith. In this way, they were able to get many followers from different regions. This paper compares the spread of catholic religion in India and Oceania. One of the oldest religions in India was Hinduism. Hinduism can be viewed more as a way of life rather than a religion (Buckley, Frederick & Trent 112). Most of its beliefs and rituals have been as a result of interactions with different other religions. Christianity was first introduced to this region in the first or second centuries. St Thomas arrived in India in the year 52 and formed a church (Buckley, Frederick & Trent 113). The followers were allowed to maintain their Hindu culture as they practiced Christianity. However, the Portuguese who later arrived were determined to sway the Thomas Christians, as they were known, to align themselves with the Roman church. This did not go well since the Thomas Christians were not ready to alter their ways of worship. In Goa, different Christian factions were involved in the efforts to convert the Indians. They included the Dominicans, Jesuits, Carmelites and the Augustinians (Buckley, Frederick & Trent 115). The Portuguese were able to convert many Indians, but the higher Hindu castes remained untouchable. A Jesuit, Fr Valignano, saw the need for the Jesuits to learn the local languages. The Jesuits were able to foster and maintain good relations with the Indians due to close interaction with the Hinduism way of life. They were able to translate the Christian message into a form that appealed to the intellect of the Indians (Buckley, Frederick & Trent 116). In this way, the converts were comfortable with their new found religion as well as their traditions. This form of cultural interaction was essential in the spread of the catholic faith. A Jesuit by the name of Robert de Nobili was a pioneer of this culture. He was a missionary in the south of India. He adopted most Brahmin customs and traditions that were not in opposition to the catholic faith (Buckley, Frederick & Trent 117). The new converts were allowed to practice their customs while still believing in the catholic faith. Contact with the catholic missionaries also had other lasting effects. The culture of Christians in this region is a blend of European and Hindu cultures. The culture may differ across the different regions within India. For example, in Kerala ornamental umbrellas are used in religious festivities. The region of Goa has a strong Portuguese culture that is seen in their music, dances and cuisine (Buckley, Frederick & Trent 116). Most Christian weddings held in India are conducted in the same way as European weddings. However, there are instances where the bride may wear a sari instead of a wedding gown. Oceania is made up of several different islands that are categorized as Micronesia, Polynesian, Melanesia, as well as the continent of Australia (Buckley, Frederick & Trent 221). Christianity first came into the region in sixteenth century when the region came under Spanish influence. However, the Spaniards did not rule for long. The British took over the region and imposed its rule (Buckley, Frederick & Trent 222). The colonial authorities in Australia sought clergy services from London in order to quench the spiritual thirst of the catholic population in the region. During this time a faction of Benedictines were determined to impose a catholic culture that was focused on a monastic way of life. This dream did not last for long. Francis Patrick Moran was appointed as Sydney‘s archbishop (Buckley, Frederick & Trent 223). He had a different vision. During his time he was known to push for developments in the field of education. Several universities were established during that period including Melbourne and Sydney Universities. These universities eliminated theology from their curriculum. Cardinal Moran set out to solve this problem by introducing the catholic school system (Buckley, Frederick & Trent 223). These schools incorporated a religious subject while still teaching the secular subjects recommended by the government. This led to the massive importation of various religious orders to staff these schools. The sisters of these orders were responsible for teaching children all over the region. These sisters contributed towards the education al and social lives of the people in the region. In spreading religion to this region, catholic Christians were careful not to upset the locals. Thomas Poynton, the first catholic Christian to New Zealand, landed in1828. With his wife, they pleaded for catholic priests to be sent to the region. The priest who arrived did his best to create good relations with the natives (Buckley, Frederick & Trent 228). As a way of converting new followers the priest advocated for a more gradual approach to introducing Christianity. The locals were permitted to worship in their native dresses; he learnt their language and composed hymns in the same language. He proposed the condemnation of only the practices that were quite dissimilar to the Christian catholic faith (Buckley, Frederick & Trent 229). The spread of the catholic faith to these regions has had a great influence on the local people and their culture. In the islands of Futuna and Wallis there exists a strong French way of life (Buckley, Frederick & Trent 232). These islands have adopted the French language. In Samoa, the locals replaced their previous culture of animism for Christianity (Buckley, Frederick & Trent 232). Today the churches are always crowded. In the Solomon Islands the work of missionaries has been widely felt. The literacy rates have fallen below 20% mostly due to the missionaries’ schools that have been devoted to provide education. Since 2000, after the armed coup, the Catholic Church has been devoted to provide relief to the country. The Catholic Church is the largest nongovernmental provider of welfare in Australia. The welfare is in form of 40,000 volunteers, 2,900 staff members who work round the clock to serve over 800,000 people each year (Buckley, Frederick & Trent 228). The work of spreading the catholic faith to these regions was marred with many obstacles. During those times tribal warfare was very common. Most cultures and communities native to these regions practiced ritual cannibalism. This ritual was regarded as protection against the spirits of those killed in battles. Ten missionaries were massacred while trying to resolve a conflict between the Baining and the Tolai people (Buckley, Frederick & Trent 231). The catholic missionaries felt that it was their responsibility to help the local communities deal with their conflict. Catholic missionaries have spread wide and far to spread their faith to other cultures. This is what led them to the two regions: India and Oceania. The introduction of the catholic faith to these regions has been almost the same, through colonization. There has been opposition to the introduction of a new religion in both regions. However, the mode of opposition differs. Missionaries to the Oceania region have witnessed a lot of hostility from the locals as compared to missionaries in India. The Christian communities in these regions have adopted a blend of culture. They have incorporated their traditions with the catholic practices. However, only traditional cultures that were not a threat to the catholic faith were adopted. The way of life of the locals has also been improved. For instance, education has been provided by the missionaries; thus, lowering the illiteracy rates. The mode of introducing the faith in the two regions was somewhat the same. For instance, the missionaries took their time to understand the Indian culture. In this way, they were able to create relations between the Hindu way of life and Christianity. The same was the case in the regions of Oceania, where a priest would learn the local language and create hymns using it. However, in some cases it became necessary to use force to replace the local culture. For instance, the sorcery enacted in 1971 forbade anyone from using or claiming to have any sorcery powers (Buckley, Frederick & Trent 231). Work Cited Buckley, James Joseph, Frederick Christian. Bauerschmidt, and Trent Pomplun. The Blackwell Companion to Catholicism. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2007. Print. Read More