Reclaiming the M-word: The Legacy of Missions in Nonwestern Societies
Robert Woodberry Wednesday, 1 March 2006
There is currently a great deal of controversy about missions. Some of this reaction is related to recent trends, like the sometimes violent response to missions in the Middle East, India, and elsewhere. Much of the controversy, however, is simply a resurgence of a popular perception about missions—namely, that historically the missions movement was the handmaiden of colonialism and an existential enemy of indigenous cultures. The problem with these imperial connotations of missions, however, is that they are usually based on novels, movies, anecdotes, and subjective impressions. What's missing is a comprehensive and balanced examination of the actual historical and statistical evidence.
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