Empire and Colonialism - Interaction with Local Religion - Essay Example

empire and colonialism Department empire and colonialism INTERACTION WITH LOCAL RELIGION It is beyond any doubt that the notion of religion plays an exceptional place in the social environment. Indeed, the earliest forms of it can be traced up to the very dawn of the society when people tried to understand the world around them. What is even more important as that as the human civilization evolved, the role of religion evolved too. Rather than being a mythological interpretation of the natural phenomenon, new religions which emerged in the further centuries raised questions which focused on the issues of morality. Therefore, it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that there are different categories in which religions might be divided into: more primitive ones and more highly developed one. What is more important is that the level of religion often reflects the level of evolution of the society. So, when two social environments interact with each other, for example, in case of a colonial expansion, the religions that guide them also interact. 1. Clash of civilizations and their religions 2. Presumption of a not developed religion 3. Colonialism as a tool to spread modern knowledge 4. Treasures of local religions 5. The role of missionary schools 6. “Colonial anxiety” 7. Colonialism versus globalization in terms of religion 8. Analysis and comments 1. Clash of civilizations and their religions One would make no mistake suggesting that the interaction of people who come from different cultural background can be found quite early in the history. That is why the phenomenon of clash of civilizations is not modern. What is more important is that the lands across the Mediterranean see are known to have experienced many similar episodes1. All this leads to the understanding when no matter in what way civilizations expand, including colonialism, they bring their religion with them and the conflict is inevitable. Therefore, one might conclude that such a phenomenon may be witnessed in every given period of time and is conditioned by the very process of development of a social environment beyond its original boundaries. 2. Presumption of a not developed religion If one takes a close look at the way empires that tried to claim new territories looked at the spiritual teachings of the locals, one can not omit the fact that the empire always thinks that its colonies are following some primitive beliefs which must be substituted by a more developed as well as more progressive national religion. It is quite understandable that such an approach features many fallacies which is proved by many different events from history, when a supposedly developed civilization encountered a new culture which was thought to be barbaric, but actually featured a finely tuned spiritual life: the first encounter of the Muslims or the Indians2. All this leads to the understanding that colonialism is largely based on a fallacious idea of supremacy of its religion. 3. Colonialism as a tool to spread modern knowledge According to empires, colonialism is thought to be the process of spreading a better understanding of the world and bringing certain parts of the world to a higher standard. It is obvious that many tend to forget that this bringing up to a higher standard as often forced on the locals which have no other option, but to “evolve”3. The religious life of the native community, being an inseparable part of the social life, should be changed as well. Nevertheless, this necessity to spread a better understanding of spirituality is often conditioned by the desire to eliminate the spiritual root of the locals and make them adopt a new ground which will tie them even closer to the empire which conquered them. 4. Treasures of local religions As it had already been noted, the countries which are objects of the global politics are often seen as undeveloped and, therefore, not being able to provide any contribution to a highly developed society of the empire. However, the numerous accounts of personal experience of various people show that the primitive locals are able to teach the colonialists a lot about the world4. Therefore, it is extremely ignorant to think that the local people are not able to contribute anything to the spiritual treasury of the world and dismiss their religious traditions as undeveloped ones. 5. The role of missionary schools While the very process of colonialism often relies on the military bases that are build across the new territory, religious expansion is thought to be facilitated by missionaries as well the schools that they establish5. So, just like a military base is seen as symbol of power that can not be overridden by the locals, the above mentioned school often proclaim the dominance of the newly brought religion over the already established one. This shows such a simple facility is able to have a tremendous effect on the social environment in general as it undermines the fundamental element of it, namely the religious tradition that was spread before the conquest. 6. “Colonial anxiety” One of the most interesting phenomena that happen on the lands which are being conquered by an empire is the so called “colonial anxiety”. This term refers to a situation when the new masters of the land tried to change as many aspects of the local life as possible6. It is quite understandable that the religious aspect is the one that is rather significant and can be changed easily. Indeed, a simple substitution of the symbols of the old faith with a new one is dedicated to explain the people that life will never be the same and they should adapt to every aspect of it, including faith. 7. Colonialism versus globalization in terms of religion In spite of the fact that the process of globalization and the practice of colonialism are profoundly different, one will be able to see a rather striking feature when it comes to the analysis of them n terms of religion. Thus, it is quite understandable that it is not local beliefs of the aboriginals that are being widely spread across the globe, but the religion of the Western countries which is Christianity7. So, the outcome of globalization is rather similar to the one which was brought up by the colonialism: the local beliefs are being substituted by a spiritual teaching that is brought by a more powerful actor in the social environment. That is why, one can not omit the fact that when one society expands it influence on a different one, not necessarily in militaristic terms, the religious side of the social environment will sure experience some damage which allows ones to assume that some elements of colonialism might be traced even at the present day. 8. Analysis and comments Having examined all the points which were brought up in the previous paragraphs, one might come to the understanding that there are many authors which see colonization as an extremely negative process that brings a considerable number of negative effects. Indeed, above mentioned ideas see colonization as a phenomenon that as devastating to the social environment of the local people. In spite of the fact that it truly may be so, but one should also include several positive outcomes that colonization brings, including in terms of religion. Thus, while the values of the local customs lies in the fact that they are interviewed with various practices, there are also numerous examples when the general quality of life was increased after a nation was conquered. A good example is the case of the Roman Empire. It is quite understandable that this state oppressed many nations in Europe, but several centuries later this part of the world is able to enjoy a somewhat unified platform of languages and religion, primarily thanks to the former Roman conquest. Another point that should be mentioned is that the thinking that is often promoted by colonialism is somewhat one dimensional. Indeed, the empire often applies one size fits all approach towards the nations that are being conquered and is genuinely surprised when the latter were not able to develop a similar level of organization of the social environment. In other words, instead of labeling another culture a primitive one, it is more advantageous to think of it as a different one, especially when it comes to the analysis of its religious tradition. What is more important is that there are might be situations when religion that is practiced by the locals might appear to be too simple or even primitive, but it is able to satisfy the primary needs of these people. In other words, if it is substituted by a more developed spiritual teaching, the locals might simply not feel it on a deep level and be willing to return to their native religion. There is nothing wrong with it: from the functionalist point of view that was developed by sociology, religion just like any other social institute should have a particular function inside the social environment. Finally, keeping in mind the ideas which were expressed by the author the views of whom were engaged above, one can not help noticing that there is a strong need for harmonization between different religions, especially when they interact within the framework of colonialism. It is beyond any doubt that the latter is no a beneficial process that should be supported by the modern countries; however, it surely teaches the latter a valuable lesson when it comes to interacting with the foreign religions since the contemporary society should not oppress any religions, but rather celebrate the diversity of them which should be seen as the next step of the development of the world. As one can clearly see, the three notions of colonialism, empire and religion might be related to each other through the very process of their interaction. Indeed, when an empire wants to enlarge its territories, it heavily relies on its military presence. Nevertheless, simultaneously with this process, there is another one that is going one, namely the promotion of the state religion which is thought to override the local one. As a result, the phenomenon when colonialism erases the spiritual borders as well is inevitable. The primary actors that are engaged in it are missionaries as well as the schools that they build to spread the newly brought religion. In many cases this is amplified by the so called colonial anxiety which urges the masters of the new land change as many different aspects of the local society as possible. Works Cited Adogame, Afeosemime U. Religion on the Move!: New Dynamics of Religious Expansion in a Globalizing World. Leiden: Brill, 2013. Daughton, J. P. An Empire Divided Religion, Republicanism, and the Making of French Colonialism, 1880-1914. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Irwin, Robert. For Lust of Knowing: The Orientalists and Their Enemies. London: Penguin, 2007. Jaffary, Nora E. Gender, Race and Religion in the Colonization of the Americas. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007. Manjapra, Kris. Marxism and Colonial Cosmopolitanism. Delhi: Routledge India, 2010. Siemon-Netto, Uwe. Triumph of the Absurd: A Reporters Love for the Abandoned People of Vietnam. 2nd ed. New York, NY: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013. Read More