Sociological Analysis 1991, 52:1 37-53
The Spread of Religions
and Macrosocial Relations
Robert L. Montgomery
Seamen's Church Institute of New York and New Jersey
The fact that religions become part of social identities and thus appear to be
"natural," or they become identified as "foreign" and remain marginal for long periods,
creates a sense of fixity in the distribution of religions in the world. Actually, in the
last two thousand years, at least three religions, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam,
have spread widely to a variety of societies and broad cultural areas. These three religions
have been introduced repeatedly to groups and societies and have subsequently been
accepted by large numbers of people as part of their social identities or have been
largely rejected and considered primarily as "foreign" religions. Sometimes versions
of these religions have been accepted by subgroups or societies within larger cultural
areas that distinguished the smaller groups from the surrounding people holding a
different version of the same religion.
The identities of whole societies and subsocieties have been changed as they accepted
a religion introduced to them from the outside with very little conscious alteration
of the religion. At other times, the religion introduced from the outside has been largely
rejected or has been accepted only with significant changes. The spread of Buddhism,
Christianity, and Islam has been described by historians, although often important
details about ethnic groupings, population subgroups, and societal relations have not
been reported. Social scientists, on the other hand, have given little attention to factors
affecting the spread of religions. For whatever reasons, there seems to be a certain
acceptance by social scientists of fixity in the distribution of religions in the world.
However, the spread of religions, including quasi religions or ideologies, has brought
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The spread of religions and quasi religions over the last two millennia has been part of
the process by which groups and societies have been required to define themselves in response
to outside pressures. Acceptance, rejection, or mix~d acceptance of religions introduced from
the outside are highly dependent on intersocietal relations in which receiving societies perceive
themselves to be threatened by the society from which the religion comes or by othersocieties.
Religions have been important resources for societal definitions that help to maintain societies
in opposition to threat or in uncertain conditions. Religions from unthreatening societies have
aided threatened or unstable societies to assert their distinctive identities, but religions from
threatening societies have been resisted in various ways. A historical review of the spread of
three major world religions supports this theoretical perspective.
38
SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
dramatic changes to large areas of the world and among numerous peoples. Furthermore, these changes are continuing. The causes for acceptance or rejection (or
acceptance with change) of religions introduced from the outside of social units need
to be investigated if social as well as religious change is to be understood. Such an
investigation, along with a study of the process by which religions are introduced and
received by societies, would eventually result in the development of a sociology of
missions (see Heise, 1967, regarding the need for a sociology of missions).
The units of analysis in the present study are social units that vary in size from
small face-to-face groups to large cultural areas (e.g., the Greco-Roman world). What
is important is that these units exist as social categories (see Tajfel, 1981:254-59, for
a discussion of social categorization,' social identity, and social comparison). A social,
category (e.g., European, Middle Eastern, Asian) may be more important to those
outside of the category than to members of the category, who are more conscious
of membership in a subcategory (e.g., German, Syrian, Korean). What is important
for this study is that a wide variety of social units will be considered, which may be
categorized in aggregates or subdivided depending upon the conditions under which
they are perceived. Nevertheless, there will always be an "in group" and an "out group"
or "out groups." The "in group" (the receiving group) will be conscious of a common
social identity.
The dependent variable is the acceptance (or rejection) of religions introduced
from the outside in which acceptance means that the introduced religion becomes
part of the social identity of large numbers of people in the social unit. A rejection
of the introduced religion means that it continues to be regarded primarily as "foreign."
As already indicated, the perceptions regarding the source of the religion and the relation
of the source group and other outside groups to the receiving group, particularly of
those in the receiving group, is crucial to acceptance or rejection.
The theory to be examined is that the underlying conditions affecting the acceptance
of religions introduced from the outside are found in the quality of relationships between
receiving groups and other groups, including groups from which new religions are
being introduced. A key factor in these relationships for acceptance of a new religion
is perception by the receiving group of the direction from which threat or domination is coming. If a religion is introduced from a source not perceived as threatening,
while at the same time there exists some threat for which the new religion provides
a resource for resistance, then a favorable condition is established for reception of
the new religion. Thus, if domination or threat is percieved as coming from sources
other than from the source of the new religion, then the new religion may be seen
as a resource in establishing both group and individual identities that are important
contributors to the maintenance of societies. The new religion (or ideology) would
necessarily be seen as providing a stronger source for resisting outside pressures than
any other available religion, especially the traditional religion.
If, on the other hand, a group from which a new religion is being introduced
is percieved as threatening the existence or the distinctive identity of a society, then
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THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE
THE SPREAD OF RELIGIONS AND MACROSOCIAL RELATIONS
39
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a condition encouraging resistance to the new religion is established. Resistance may
take several forms, depending on conditions. There may be a resurgence of traditional
religion. If the traditional culture has been strongly challenged, there may be a variety
of religious movements spawned that mix elements from the old culture with elements
selected from a new culture. An alternative outside religion may be sought. If there
seems to be no alternative to accepting the religion of the intruding or threatening
power, then the new religion may be accepted, but significantly changed so as to express
the distinctive identity of the dominated people. Various forms of resistance may take
place simultaneously among the subgroups of a society.
This theoretical perspective draws on the view that religions have often served
as "oppositional ideologies" within and among societies (Wuthnow, 1987:151-85).
Another underlying support for this perspective is that religions (ideologies) and governments serve as resources for legitimation of each other (Wuthnow, 1987:171). This
mutual dependence means that through their elites societies may favor new religions
that appear to offer greater support against threat, which may be internal as well as
external, than previous religions. On the other hand, new religions may be resisted
by rulers because the latter perceive the new religion as threatening religious support
(legitimation) of the social structure. The critical factors are whether the new religion
comes from the direction of (or is accompanied by) a perceived threat to the society
and the extent to which a receiving society is free to define itself. These conditions
may be seen in ancient times, for example, in the relationship of ancient Rome to
the European tribes, as well as in the modern colonial era.
This theoretical approach is critical of explanations of the spread of religions that
are based solely on internal characteristics of the spreading religion or the receiving
groups or both. It is recognized that there must be certain characteristics of religions
(and quasi religions) which allow and encourage them to spread. In particular, they
must be universalistic in appeal so that members of any group may perceive the religions
as relevant to them. It is assumed that the three religions, Buddhism, Christianity,
and Islam, as well as Marxism, have universalistic characteristics. The characteristics
of these religions have also accounted for their varying degrees of missionary efforts,
a necessary, but not sufficient cause in the spread of religions.
Again, there may be certain internal characteristics of societies that accept outside
religions. In particular, there presumably must be a perception of inadequacy of
indigenous religions by, at least, some sectors or subgroups of a receiving group.
However, it will be seen that socieites with similar internal characteristics, for example,
level of complexity, have varied in acceptance of religions introduced from the outside.
Forman (1983) argues that large-scale acceptance of Christianity is related to the
condition of societies being preliterate and with a nonliterary religion. Although
undoubtedly an important factor, this is not particularly helpful in explaining the great
variety of responses to Christianity of prcliterate groups, for example, Native Americans
and Asian minorities (primarily rejection by the former and acceptance by the latter),
not to speak of the variety of responses of literate societies, for example Korea and
Japan (primarily acceptance by the former and rejection by the latter).
It should also be noted that this investigation is not interested in the process by
which religions are accepted by groups, but rather in the conditions which affect recep-
40
SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
Grayson (1985) makes a careful comparison of what he calls the "emplantation"
of Buddhism and Christianity in Korea; but although there are many useful insights
regarding conditions influencing acceptance, his focus is on the process by which the
religions entered the society. In a sociology of missions (as suggested by Heise, 1967),
characteristics of spreading religions (and ideologies), external and internal conditions
affecting receptivity, and variations in the process by which religions spread and become
"native" to cultures or lose dominance in cultures all should be examined. However,
the purpose of the present exploration is to draw attention to factors that generally
have been neglected as contributing to the acceptance (or rejection) of religions
introduced from the outside. These factors are the kinds of relationships between peoples,
particularly the relationships of dominance and nondominance. Perhaps the reason
the importance of these relationships has been overlooked is the pervasiveness of
Western dominance in recent centuries. The loss of this dominance and the emergence
of numerous centers of power makes it all the more important to clarify the impact
of macrosocial relations on identity formation, including religious identity change.
HIsmRICAL REVIEW
The data to support the theoretical approach set forth above will necessarily be
ex post facto, but at least a partial control will be introduced by attempting to be
as comprehensive as possible. Some typical cases will be selected, but summaries for
periods and areas that incorporate groupings of societies will be used most frequently.
Specialists in particular historical periods and world areas should be able to state
exceptions to the patterns noted or elaborate on the theoretical perspective. The
approach is exploratory and broadly interpretive. I hope that this study will be followed
by studies that exercise greater control of the data. However, the broad, historical
treatment is an important first step in pointing to the crucial influence that macro
relationships may have in the spread of religions.
Buddhism
The spread of Buddhism seems nowhere to be associated with a conquering army
or with any threat from the sending societies to the receiving societies. On the other
hand, Buddhism repeatedly offered a resource to ascending societies, particularly the
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tivity. The process varies with the structural and cultural characteristics of societies.
For example, tribal societies are more likely to act corporately than complex societies
having many subgroups. In addition, whatever the structure, whether initially promoting
a new religion or approving a new religion already accepted by many members of
a society, the action of elites are important for legitimating a religion and thus
"de-foreignizing" it. When approved or promoted by elites, a new religion is likely
to become an accepted ("natural"), and often dominant, part of the social identities
of members of a society. However, the approval or promotion of a religion by elites
may come after a long or short period in which the "foreign religion" was accepted
by ordinary members of the society or particular subgroups of the society (e.g., Christianity in the Roman Empire).
THE SPREAD OF RELIGIONS AND MACROSOCIAL RELATIONS
41
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rulers, in their struggles to establishstrong and stable societies. According to the tradition
reported in the fifth century C.E. Mahavamsa, Asoka's (c. 274-232 B.C.E.) missionaries
from northern India had notable success in Sri Lanka, where Theravada Buddhism
became strongly supportive of Sinhalese identity in their struggle against the Tamils
(Ludowvk, 1962:43-68).
Buddhism continued to spread to Southeast Asia with peaceful Indian cultural
influences. Political-military pressurewas more likely to come from China and, of course,
was exerted by the various kingdoms upon each other. Buddhism was accepted by
the Mons in Burma, probably in the fifth century, at a time of their political strength.
Later, the Mons were conquered by the Burmese, whose king accepted Theravada
Buddhism. The Mons continued in the role of teachers, spreading Buddhism to other
groups, such as the Thais and the Khmers. Thus, Buddhism was accepted peacefully
by rulers and people of various ethnic groups from other groups whom they dominated
or who, at least, were not a threat. Nevertheless, many smaller, isolated, and often
dominated ethnic groups remained primarily animistic.
Buddhism spread to Central Asia when it was accepted by the Kushans who had
swept into the Indus Valley in the first century C.E. Buddhism did not spread to
the Parthian Empire, which was threatened by the Buddhist Kushans, but was able
to hold them off. The Sasanid Empire succeeded the Parthian Empire about 225 C.E.
and sought to reassert Persian identity. Zoroastrianism was revived and became an
important expression of the Sasanian period (226 to 651 C.E.).
Buddhism, meanwhile, having been deflected, turned from Central Asia eastward
and spread to China from the Khotan and Kucha kingdoms in Chinese Turkestan.
There were strong kingdoms in China at that time (the Chin and Han dynasties,
221 B.C.E.-220 C.E.), and most of the time the Chinese were able to hold off the
tribes (non-Buddhist at that time) to the north. They established relations with the
Kushans, who were in the rear of their common enemy, the Hsiung Nu people. Confucianism was dominant in the court during the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E.-220 C.E.).
Buddhism was introduced by traders, and in the latter part of the dynasty, many
translations of Buddhist texts took place. In the turbulent period after the fall of the
Han Dynasty, Buddhism, although at times persecuted, received official patronage
from various kingdoms. Buddhism was accepted in the courts of the invading Hsiung
Nu tribes and became a kind of state church for successive non-Chinese dynasties
(Zurcher, 1959:59-60). At the same time, a kind of "gentry Buddhism" spread to the
southern, Chinese dominated kingdoms (Zurcher, 1959:71-75). Although Buddhism
clearly became an important part of the social identity of large numbers of Chinese,
it never became as pervasive in China as in most of the Southeast Asian smallersocieties.
Buddhism spread to Korea in the fourth century while Korea was still divided
into three kingdoms: Koguryo, Paekche, and Shilla, who were more a threat to one
another than any were threatened by China. It was accepted rapidly by the courts
of Koguryo and Paekche and more slowly in Shilla, where finally it flourished in the
unified kingdom in the seventh century. Grayson notes, "In the caseof all three Korean
states, acceptance of Buddhism was in part a political decision related to the general
acceptance of Chinese civilisation" (1985:133). After the fourteenth century, however,
Confucianism began to replace Buddhism as the religion of the state.
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SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
Christianity - The First Two Stages
Before the modern era, Christianity became the dominant religion in two great
areas: the Mediterranian basin, which was occupied by the Roman Empire, and Europe,
which was occupied by various tribal groups. The Mediterranian societies had been
overrun by imperial Rome. Local customs and governments were set aside, resulting
in tremendous disruption of social and cultural patterns and threats to ethnic, moral,
and religious roots (Kee, 1980:75). Christianity did not spread from the center of political,
military, and economic power, but from a dominated society to other dominated
societies, as well as to the center of power. Very early, Christianity assisted in the
assertion of local identities, for example, Syrian and Greek and, later, Latin. The
universalistic doctrine of Christianity may have obscured the fact that it enabled particular groups to preserve their identities. As Latourette notes (1938:1), the Armenian,
jacobite, Coptic, and Nestorian communities may be seen as "the last bulwarks of
ancient nationalities."
The second great stage of expansion, which was to the northern peoples, took
place primarily after Rome and then Constantinople lost the power to dominate the
various tribes. In fact, the tribes invaded the formerly powerful empire, as well as fought
among themselves. Converted tribal groups, such as the Goths, the Franks, and the
Celts, were influential in spreading Christianity to subgroups and other tribes.
Christianity of the Eastern type was spread to peoples in eastern Europe and eventually
to the Russians. In many cases, Christianity was accepted by "little Constantines,"
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Buddhism came to japan from Korea in the sixth century. It was accepted by
the powerful Soya clan and became the religion of state during the Nara period
(710-784 C.E.). As in the case of other societies, Buddhism was a means of bringing
strength and unity in the midst of contending groups. just as Chinese scholars went
to India to study Buddhism, japanese scholars journeyed to China to bring back
knowledge of the new religion. Tibet also joined the ranks of societies in which
Buddhism was accepted. This took place primarily in the eighth century, when Tibet
was an important power in Central Asia.
In this cursory review of the spread of Buddhism, it may be seen that the greatest
acceptance of the new religion came in successive societies during periods of strength
and consolidation. The greatest threat to these societies was not the societies from
which Buddhism came to them, but their immediate neighbors or, from the point
of view of the elites, it was often internal subgroups. Following the Chinese NeoConfucian revival, japan, Vietnam, and especially Korea accepted Confucianism. Again,
the accepting societies were newly developed powers that looked to China! as a cultural
center but were not essentially threatened by Chinese domination at that time.
Thus, a review of the spread of Buddhism and also Confucianism does not
contradict and at least partially supports the theoretical perspective that, "other factors
being equal," religions are most likely to spread to societies from a source that is not
perceived as a threat, especially if at the time there are specific or generalized threats,
such as encountered by ascendant powers, for which a new religion provides a new
source of strength.
THE SPREAD OF RELIGIONS AND MACROSOCIAL RELAnONS
43
Islam
The spread of Islam in its early centuries, unlike that of Buddhism and of most
of Christianity in the first two stages, but like that of later Christianity, was associated
with conquering military forces. However, this association needs to be considered carefully because it has been exaggerated as an explanation for the spread of Islam.
For many of the peoples conquered by the expanding Arab armies, the new power
set them free from oppressive rule and persecution. Furthermore, there was considerable
toleration by the Arabs of both Judaism and Christianity. Some of the Arabs who
joined their brethren in attacking the two previously dominant powers (the Byzantine
and Persian empires) were Christian tribes. As Carmichael (1967:61-78) points out,
the spread of Arab power, with which Islam was associated, was initially very much
an ethnic assertion or a folk migration:
Thus a potent stimulus of the Arab military expansion was the fanatical orthodoxy of
the Byzantine Empire, expressed by the persecution of the Aramaic-speaking population
of Syria. It helps to explain one of the most striking things about the advance of the Muslim
armies, which were all relatively miniature: their success against the superior force of the
vastly more civilizedByzantines. The decisive part of this explanation may lie in the deeply
rooted hatred of local Christians for the savagely intolerant and obtuse policy of the
Byzantine state. They were utterly disaffected and uniformly welcomed the advance of the
Muslim tribesmen - all the easier to do since at first the new religion of Islam did not
seem to be so very new, after all, especially not to Monophysite Christians.
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who perceived the new faith as a means of strengthening their kingdoms.
Rome had failed, in its pre-Christian days, to follow in the steps of Alexander
and conquer Persia and beyond. The Christian rulers of Constantinople (the new
Rome) continued the struggle with the societies to the east. Non-orthodox groups,
such as the Monophysites and Nestorians (associated with ethnic groups), were often
tolerated in non-Christian kingdoms to the east because of their persecuted status
in the Byzantine Empire. Christianity did spread to Central Asia, where it was accepted
by some tribes, and to India and China, but the intermittent contacts with the stronger
bases in the West were not maintained and were eventually cut off. The stalemate
between the Byzantine and Persian Empires was broken by the rise of the Arabs, who
overran societies to the west and east and established a barrier to the eastward spread
of Christianity.
To the south of the Mediterranian a great natural barrier existed in the Sahara
Desert and the lush jungle. This prevented the kind of easy communication and
alternating domination that took place between the Mediterranian world and Europe.
However, Christianity did spread to Ethiopia from the north. The rest of Africa was
to be affected in the third stage of the spread of Christianity that took place after 1500.
Thus, the spread of Christianity in its first two major phases is consistent with
the view that religions spread effectively between societies "from below" (when the
sending society is not a threat to the receiving society) and the new religion offers
a means of ethnic assertion. It is also seen that an intersocietal threat (Rome/Byzantine
toward the East) may block religious extension across the boundaries of societies.
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SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
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The Berbers of North Africa had been ruled for generations by colonists and most
recently by the Byzantines. Resistance to the Arabs was at times fierce, but in the
end, the Arabian conquest offered the local populations the opportunity to free
themselves from, and even dominate, those who had formerly dominated them. Furthermore, the Berbers quickly became a part of the Islamic conquest of Spain and the
incursion into Europe north of Spain. On the other hand, the majority of the peoples
of Spain, although they became a part of the brilliant Islamic civilization, never did
accept the new faith, and eventually Islam was driven out.
The influence, but not the conquest, from Islam extended across the Sahara to
societies on the edge of the rain forest and also down the east coast of Africa. Some
societies southeast of the Sahara accepted Islam, but others migrated south to escape
Islamic influence (Wiedner, 1962:32-44). The settlements of the east coast of Africa
were bases for active trade and for a limited amount of land cultivation. However,
Islam did not spread significantly to the interior Bantu, Cushitic, and Nilotic peoples.
There was a continuing trade in slaves over the centuries, but it was not until the
nineteenth century that extensive raiding for slaves was carried out from the coast.
In Persia, Islam encountered an Empire with ancient traditions and peoples
ethnically distinct from the Arabs. Persiawas conquered piecemeal, following the defeat
of the Sasanid forces. Persiais an exampleof a societythat accepted a religion associated
with a conquering army. However, Persian identity was not crushed by the Arab
conquest. In fact, Persians were accepted into the center of Islamiclife. The overthrow
of the largely secular and Arab Umayyads and their replacement by the international
society of the Abbasid empire was very much the result of Persian influencefrom within
Islam. At a later time, Persian separate identity was asserted through Shi'ism. As in
the case of other societies (e.g., the Berbers), the domination of Islamic forces was
an inclusive, as opposed to an exclusive, domination.
Living to the northeast of Persia and beyond the Syr Darya (laxartes) River were
various Turkish groups who were never conquered by the Arabs or their Persian allies.
Turks, similarly to the European tribes, after a period of struggle against the Iranians
to the south, eventually overcame them as well as the centers of Islamic culture in
the Middle East (Grousset, 1970:141-70). The Turks accepted Islam and established
a new Islamic Empire based in Istanbul (never conquered by the Arabs). The Empire
extended its rule over the peoples in the Danube Valley and for some centuries
threatened the rest of Europe, but the peoples of the Balkans maintained their distinctive
identities through Christianity, as did the peoples of the Iberian peninsula.
Islam continued to spread eastward through Central Asia along the route of the
Silk Road. The nomadic peoples were the first converted and were followed by the
oasis towns (Chan, 1977:94-95). However, Islam was not accepted by many Mongol
groups, traditional enemies of the Turks. Mongols remained mixed religiously (Shammanists, Manichaean, Christian, or Buddhist), but eventually became primarily
Buddhist. The easternmost Turkish people, the Ouighour or Uigur people, accepted
Islam and were the means of spreading the faith to the Tungans or Hui of China,
thus creating an Islamic minority in China (Chan, 1977:99).
Islamic conquests of India began under a Turkish kingdom based in Ghazni Gust
south of Kabul) about 985 (Edwardes, 1961:101), and a second wave of conquests
THE SPREAD OF RELIGIONS AND MACROSOCIAL RELATIONS
45
I
Christianity - The Third State of Expansion
When European powers began worldwide exploration, trade, and conquest about
1500, Christianity entered its third period of expansion. Four major areas were involved:
the Americas, East Asia, Oceania, and sub-Saharan Africa.
The Americas. Christianity was brought to the Americas by conquerors and
immigrants from Europe. The two sets of societies to which Christianity was introduced
in the Americas were the Native American societies and the African people brought
as slaves.
The intruders entered a complex field of intergroup relationships characterized
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extended to Bengal about 1200. The Islamic invaders extended their domination to
southern India, although a Hindu Empire in the far south (Vijayanagar) maintained
its independence until 1565. In the sixteenth century, when the Portuguese were
establishing their bases, the Mughal Empire replaced Turkish rule and was generally
quite tolerant of non-Islamic religions, making greater use of Hindus than the previous
Muslim rulers. In addition to leaving a large Muslim minority in India and a Muslim
majority in the area that became Pakistan, the Bengal region gradually increased in
the proportion of Muslims in the population. Many were descendants of Muslim
migrants, but a significant number were descendants of lower cast Hindus who converted to Islam.
The faith of Islam was carried to Southeast Asia by Arab, Persian, and Indian
Moslem traders beginning as early as the seventh or eighth centuries. The earliest
converts were the merchants in trading centers along the coasts who were in tension
with the inland aristocracy, largely followers of traditional religions. Islam found
acceptance by the Champa (located in what is now south Vietnam), who were in
the last stages of a strugglewith the Dai Viet in the fifteenth century (Tarling, 1966:31).
Following the fifteenth century ascendency of the Portuguese, Islambecame a major
means of asserting local ethnic identity against intruding Western colonial powers.
Tarling (1966:43) claims that "the Portuguese incursion strengthened Muslim determination in general, and the policy of the Portuguese in the Archipelago, especially
the missionary activity of their declining years, helped to spread Islam." In the period
of Dutch domination that followed, Islam continued to be "connected with the
maintenance of independence and with the active and adventuring, even piratical,
elements of Indonesian life" (Tarling, 1966:65).
The spread of Islam provides a clear challenge to the aspect of the theoretical
perspective that views religions as spreading most effectively "from below," i.e., from
a non-threatening source. However, careful examination shows that Islam did provide
a resource against earlier and current domination and in certain caseswas not accepted
when introduced "from above" (Spain and the Balkans). Furthermore, the Turks
accepted Islam only when they became a conquering force over Islamic societies. The
clearest challenge to the theory, therefore, is the case of Persia, which accepted Islam
from a conquering force that probably could not be described as liberators. However,
for whatever reason, Persia, though conquered militarily was able to maintain its distinct
identity within Islam.
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SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
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by domination/subordination and hostility/friendship. Conquest by the Europeans
was often aided by groups seeking independence from or revenge against other groups.
For example, Cortez was aided by a large group of Taxtala warriors in conquering
the Aztecs, as well as in defeating other Spaniards. Many Native American groups
in North America tolerated or even aided settlers without recognizing the threat
represented by their relatively small numbers.
The approach used in Latin America was to incorporate whole societies into the
institutional church, by force if necessary. Some native groups were able to escape
into or remain in remote areas and cling to their distinctive cultures, including their
animistic religions. Where escapewas not possible, Native Americans often maintained
traditional religious practices within the church. People of European descent remained
the minority in most areas, so Native Americans or mixed populations became the
majority. In contract, in North America a large mixed population did not develop,
and Native Americans eventually became a small minority of the total population.
In North America missionary societies were interested in translating the Bible into
Native American languages, converting and educating individuals, and establishing
churches and schools. However, the approach of the majority of the population was
to segregate and exterminate the Native American groups, whether by design or by
overwhelming population pressure. The major religious response to the invasion of
the whites was a series of religious movements from east to west that sought to revive
tribal societies in opposition to the intruding whites.
The slaves brought from Africa to the Americas had little option but to create
a new culture with new religious expressions. In Latin America and the Islands, some
overt African religious beliefs and practices were maintained. In the Protestant
dominated society of North America, Christianity spread among the slaves and their
descendants, but distinctive forms of worship and independent organizations were
developed. In recent years, Islam has found increasing acceptance among Americans
of African descent.
Oceania. The societies of the Pacificwere less numerous and more scattered than
those of the Americas at the beginning of Western intrusion. Furthermore, the intrusion
was less overwhelming and less sustained than in the Americas. Christianity was not
introduced in a sustained effort until the end of the eighteenth century, after almost
three hundred years of irregular contacts by explorers and traders. Initially, missionaries
were often at the mercy of local rulers and also were often defensive of islanders in
opposition to their own governments and tradesmen.
As in North America, Oceania has seen the development of numerous nativistic
movements fighting, copying, or adapting Christianity in some way (Oliver, 1961:178).
The most famous of these reactions has been the "Cargo Cults" based on prophecies
of an end to the white man's rule. Sometimes one branch of Christianity became
identified with resistance to outside domination from another branch, as in Tahiti
and New Caledonia (Forman, 1988:14). In general, Christianity was so successful in
Oceania that by 1939, out of two million Islanders, 750,000 had become Christian,
two-fifths Roman Catholic and the remainder Protestant (Oliver, 1961:174).
Asia. Christianity spread to the old societies of Asia on a small scale during its
first millennium, leavingtraces of its presence in China and a church in India. However,
THE SPREAD OF RELIGIONS AND MACROSOCIAL RELATIONS
47
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communication between Asia and the centers of Christianity in the West was quite
rare until the expansion of European nations, beginning about 1500.
The Portuguese, who led the Western expansion, brought people in and around
their bases in India into Christianity. Political pressure was applied, although the Paravas,
a low-cast group north of Goa, saw Christianity offering a means of protection from
the Moslems (Latourette, 1939:253). In Japan there was wide acceptance of Roman
Catholic Christianity in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, but the faith
was shortly to be strongly suppressed and trade severely limited. In China, Roman
Catholic missionaries made considerable headway in the vast Empire, although there
were formal edicts against Christianity and periodic persecutions by both Ming and
Ching dynasties. Christianity was carried to the Philippines by the Spanish in a pattern
that was very similar to the one used in Latin America.
The nineteenth and twentieth centuries up to World War II were marked by
increased Western domination of Asian societies and, at the same time, increased
missionary activity. Regarding India, Latourette (1944:212) writes: "The Christians,
both Roman Catholic and Protestant, were overwhelmingly from the depressed classes
and the tribes of primitive and near-primitive culture which had never been fully
assimilated to Hindu civilization." Furthermore, regarding China, Latourette (1944:254)
notes that "in the nineteenth century the Chinese Empire was more nearly impervious
to Christianity than was India. There were no depressed classes to welcome that faith
as a way of escape from their hereditary bondage." Nevertheless, in the middle of
the nineteenth century, China saw a repetition of one of the periodic movements
that have arisen in Chinese history to overthrow the current dynasty, but this time
the rebellion (Tai Ping) incorporated numerous Christian ideas.
When Asia is considered as a whole, with the exception of the Philippines and
Korea (to be noted below), the major positive responses to Christianity have been
among minority ethnic groups. There are such groups in India, Burma, Thailand,
Malaysia, Indonesia, and Taiwan that are to a great extent Christian. Furthermore,
their Christianity is in a form that is relatively unmixed. That is, the forms of worship
and organization are very similar to what was introduced to them from the outside.
There are in some countries, however, important indigenous expressions of Christianity, such as the Philippine Independent Church, a break-off from the Roman
Catholic Church, and among Chinese, the Church Assemblies and the True Jesus
Church, which follow Protestant patterns.
Korea requires special notice because it has a long history of an organized state
with a traditional religion. After some centuries of strong opposition to Christianity,
the church began to grow in the twentieth century, and growth has accelereated in
recent decades. Korea for centuries was under pressure from China and Japan. In
particular, Korea became a colony of Japan at the first of the century after which
Japan sought to impose its language and state religion on Korea. Grayson (1985:139-40)
notes, "Protestantism has never had to answer to the accusation of being a tool of
imperialism, for in many waysit came to be a symbol of national resistance. For example,
patriotism and Protestantism became linked in the Conspiracy Trials of 1912, the
Independence Movement of 1919, and Protestant resistance to worship at Shinto
shrines." Furthermore, the missionaries were not from the colonial power. Currently,
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SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
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the proportion of Christians in the population is estimated to be between 20 and 25
percent, with church growth outpacing population growth by four times (Moffett,
1987:6). The form of the church in Korea is generally not of the "mixed type," and
messianic movements have been limited (with the exception of the Moon movement).
Current developments in China are also important to note. After freeing itself
from Western domination, in which an ideology (Marxism) introduced from the West
was employed, China appears to be entering a period of unprecedented responsiveness
to Christianity. It is estimated conservatively that there are twice as many Protestants
in China as there were before 1949. The total number of Christians, including Roman
Catholics, is reported by the China Christian Council to be 7 million, but other
estimates are that there are between 25 and 50 million Christians (Brown, 1987:1).
Africa South of the Sahara. Because of its vastness and the difficulties of travel,
including a coastline of few good harbors, little was known by Europeans of the interior
of Africa even several centuries after the first contacts along the coast. As in the
Americas and Oceania, the Europeans entered a complex web of relationships of
domination and subordination between numerous relatively small societies. Furthermore, Western domination was not apparent, in spite of the slave trade along the
West Coast, among the many interior tribes. In the nineteenth century the movement against the slave trade began to have effect. It was only in the latter half of
the nineteenth century that most of Africa was divided into colonies, and this condition continued until the period of decolonization of the last decades.
The story of the acceptanceof Christianity in Africa is complex,given the numerous
societies. One major area of acceptance of Christiantity was in Central Africa. In this
regard, it is significantthat the Arabs, who had remained near the East Coast of Africa
for 1000 years, in a period of 18 years, beginning in 1840, carried out extensive raids
in Central Africa for slaves to work the coastal plantations. This, along with the slave
trade from the north, contributed to the receptivity to Westerners in Central Africa
in the latter half of the nineteenth century (Wiedner, 1962: 111-14).
In spite of acceptance of Christianity in large and small scale in various places,
it is estimated that by 1900 only 9.2 percent of Africa's population of 107.9 million
was Christian (Thomas, 1987: 165). At the beginning of the period of decolonization
in 1950, it is estimated that the number of Christians had increased to approximately
44 million (Barrett, 1987:55). This, in itself, represents a rapid increase, but in the
next twenty years (during decolonization), the number of Christians "exploded" to
143 million or 40.6 percent of the population of 351.8 million (Thomas, 1987:165).
Barrett, from whom these figures come, predictsthat Christians will continue to increase,
although not so rapidly in proportion to the population as before (48.4 percent of
the population by 2000 [Barrett, 1982:782)). What is important to note is that the
greatest growth of Christianity has taken place in the period following the decline
of colonial power.
It is also important to note in regard to the form of Christianity in sub-Saharan
Africa that Christianity has been marked everywhere by the development of numerous
"messianic" and indigenous Christian movements. In South Africa alone in 1932 there
were over 300 sects with close to a million adherents (Latourette, 1945:227). Barrett
estimated that in 1978 there were some 6,000 sects in Africa. Thus, African Christianity
THE SPREAD OF RELIGIONS AND MACROSOCIAL RELATIONS
49
has tended to distinguish itselffrom the Christianity introduced by the colonial powers.
Although many of the churches may be uninvolved in politics, Comaroff (1985), along
with a number of social historians, sees African independent churches as forms of
indirect protest ("subversive bricolages") to dominant systems (see Isaacman, 1987).
DISCUSSION
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Whether or not a sociology of missions will ever be developed, there are abundant
data on how religions have spread that have been neglected by social scientists and
that can contribute to theories of religious and social change. Significant changes have
taken place over the last two millennia and continue to take place in numerous societies
as religions are introduced from the outside and find acceptance or rejection. Aspects
of the social identities of individuals and of societal identities may be more fluid than
previously thought when outside pressure is absent or changes can be made that enhance
given statuses, such as ethnic or national identities. The resistance to Western expansion
and domination by the major societies of Asia and by Islam in recent centuries may
have obscured this possibility.
My theoretical perspective emphasizes that macrosocial relations are crucial in
the spread of religions, and the historical review provides considerable support for
this view. If this view gains acceptance, there will be a reduction of emphasis on internal
social and cultural characteristics as the only or even the major determinants of whether
religions (or other ideologies) introduced from the outside are accepted or even how,
once accepted, they are expressed. What societies are being resisted by a given society
may have a significantly more important influence on how religions are expressed in
the resisting society than its supposed previous or traditional culture. The religions
that have spread often seem to have offered a resource to leaders or to people as a
whole in resisting threats to continued existence, or the religions themselves have been
a threat and have therefore been resisted.
A key part of the theory presented at first is the importance of the perception
by members of a receiving group, particularly its influential members, of the threat
(or non-threat) offered by the group from which a new religion is being introduced.
Alongside this perception must be placed the perception of the threat offered by other
groups or subgroups within a society. A favorable condition for reception of a religion
introduced from the outside is when, on the one hand, the source from which a religion
is introduced is not perceived as a threat (introduction is "from below"), and on the
other hand, a threat exists against which a new religion offers a means of resistance
by helping to maintain the identity of the resisting group.
In an area of large scale resistance to Christianity (i.e., Asia) the historical review
found that the "favorable condition" stated in the theory has existed in the cases of
a number of Asian minority groups. That is, these groups were under pressure primarily
from the majority non-Christian societies, not from the society or set of societies from
which Christianity was being introduced. Furthermore, this condition seems to be
the case for Korea, which is the Asian nation with probably the highest receptivity
to Christianity. Korea is the only Asian nation that became a colony of a non-Western
nation. Furthermore, in this "Asian pattern" of receptivity (primarily by minority ethnic
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SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
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groups and Korea), the major forms of Christianity tend to be relatively "unmixed"
with traditional cultural forms. That is, it generally was not felt necessary consciously
to develop a distinctive form of Christianity as a means of resistance, since there was
no apparently dominant "Christian" society.
Other examples of this "favorable condition" may be seen in earlier times when
Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity were receivedfrom sources that were not threatening
to the receiving group, and at the same time the new religion enabled the receiving
group to be strengthened in opposition to or distinction from other outside social
and cultural pressures. This appears to be the case, for example, in the reception of
Buddhism in Sri Lanka, the reception of Christianity in societies within the Roman
Empire, and the reception of Islam in societies under domination from the Byzantine
Empire and, later, the European powers.
In some cases, the "outside threat" or "pressure" may be from a generalized condition
of instability or challenging subgroups encountered by leaders in a newly ascendant
society. The old traditional and local religion does not offer the resources to strengthen
the rulers in their new position of power. In these cases, societal elites perceive the
new religion, which comes from a nonthreatening but advanced culture, as offering
greater resources for making their society strong. In particular, rulers may see the new
and prestigious religion as enhancing their power over against the local leaders who
follow "the old religion." This pattern is seen in many of the cases in the spread of
Buddhism, for example, in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, China, Korea, and Japan.
Also, this pattern appears repeatedly in the spread of Christianity in Europe. In both
sets of cases, the ultimate sources of the religions (India and the Roman Empire) were
advanced cultures that were not threats to the ascendant societies, and the religion
introduced from the outside offered the strength and unity of a wellestablished religion
for the new kingdom.
According to the theory presented, when the new religions were introduced from
positions of power to groups who perceived their identities as being under threat by
the group from which the new religion was emanating, then an unfavorable condition
for reception of the religion was established. In the case of Buddhism, this condition
appears to have existed for Persia (in conflict with the Kushans) so that the spread
of Buddhism was "deflected" to the north and east. It also is true that many small
ethnic groups in Asia clung to traditional animistic religions rather than accept the
religion of the dominant societies. These groups were later often receptive to Christianity. Islam was successfully resisted in the Iberian Peninsula and in the Balkans,
although these areas were under Islamic rule for centuries. Similarly, Hindu societies
under Islamic rule successfully resisted Islamic religion.
Christianity initially made progress in spreading to the east of the Mediterranian
basin, but traditional conflicts were continued by the Christian Byzantine Empire
with Persia and other groups to the east and south. The rise of Islam, which delivered
some of these groups from Byzantine domination, strengthened and broadened the
resistance, and further conflicts with the Christian West have maintained the resistance
down to the present. Christianity in the early modern era found some acceptance
in Asia, but as Western domination became more pronounced in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, resistance in the large traditional societies was hardened. The ex-
THE SPREAD OF RELIGIONS AND MACROSOCIAL RELATIONS
51
CONCLUSION
The theoretical perspective with its various parts is generally supported from a
review of historical data. At least there is evidence that macro relations may be crucial
in the receptivity by categories of people to religions introduced from the outside.
Religion is often a crucial aspect of the identity of societies and of individuals, and
provides support against outside threats to continued existence. Thus, religions have
been an important resource to governments or rulers, as rulers have been to religions.
The acceptance of religions introduced from the outside has often assisted in defining
the identity of societies or subgroups within societies in contrast to surrounding societies.
At other times, these religions have threatened the identities of groups and therefore
been strongly resisted. Resistance was successful because indigenous religions were large
and well organized, or groups were able to escape to isolated areas. When strong
resistance or escape was very difficult or impossible, "mixed religions" have been
developed whereby the outside religion was accepted, but significantly changed from
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ceptions in Asia (receptivity as opposed to resistance) of minority groups and Korea
have been noted, as well as the decline of resistance in some areas since the decline
of colonialism. Christianity has also been successfully resisted by at least some of the
smaller and less complex groups of the Americas, Oceania, and Africa, although the
patterns of resistance have been quite varied.
As already noted, the theoretical perspective has the most difficulty in taking into
account the fact that Islam and Christianity have spread to large areas in association
with conquering forces, that is, in spite of an "unfavorable" condition. In some cases,
already noted, Islam and Christianity may have offered deliverance or protection from
other societies, but in other cases this is not apparent. In particular, Islam spread to
Persia and Christianity spread to Latin America and the Philippines in association
with conquering forces. It may be argued that there are other cases, often smaller
groups in Oceania or Africa or the social category of Africans brought to the Americas,
in which there was little alternative to submitting to the dominating society, including
its religion. The theory accounts for the acceptance of religion from a conquering or
dominant group by noting that conquered groups have often maintained their distinctive
identities within the new religion. This has meant accepting the new religion .but
changing it significantly. Thus, some alternative form of resistance other than outright
rejection of the new religion may be seen. What has appeared in many areas (especially
the Americas, Oceania, and Africa) are numerous religious movements that mix
Christianity with traditional elements. In the case of African Americans, distinctive
Biblical themes, forms of worship, and religious organizations were developed to express
distinctive identities.
In addition to the three religions discussed above, the quasi religion of Marxism
has spread to a number of societies. Like the three religions, its ideology is universalistic. Clearly, Marxism was accepted by groups in dominated societies who subsequently gained power and led movements against outside domination. China, Vietnam
and Cuba are examples. In the case of China, a deemphasis on Marxism took place
with a shift of the perceived threat from the West to the Soviet Union.
52
SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
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the form in which it was introduced so as to preserve the distinctive identity of a society.
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