Christian Abuse of nonWhite People


My most recent issue of Freethought Today had several essays from nonwhite students. The essays told of their ancestors. The students had been told stories by their parents and grandparents and then looked up historical information about the broader picture of what happened in their families.

The essays told the sad stories of black and native people who were browbeaten into Christianity. Their previous spiritual life was, in some cases, beaten out of them. Native children were taken from their parents and placed in boarding schools. There, Christianity was poured on and previous beliefs shamed. 

History is sort of repeating itself in Africa. Christians are being hunted down and are either killed or renounce Christianity. Apparently, some in Nigeria think Christianity is bad and does not belong in their country. They are trying to get rid of Christianity, thinking they are also helping Christians.

To me, this seems like what white Christians did to native people and slaves. After white Europeans conquered the country, they decided religions of native people and that brought by black people were not good for the country or for the people who held these beliefs. Slaves were brought to Jesus by physical abuse. Native children were hauled off to boarding schools and deprogramed, often physically abused. The tables have turned.

The future of this country looks better when we see young people study history and religion and choose their own path. They often leave behind to religion hammered into their parents by white power. No doubt there are difficult family stories that come from this.  

Pointing this out does not help the unfortunate Christians in Nigeria and other countries. I don't know what they can do except pretend to convert to whomever has clubs and guns, go underground or try to flee. 

Certainly, denominations today in the U.S. can reflect on the wisdom of sending missionaries across the globe to establish the faith in places hostile to it. Looking at websites, it seems to me there is more support in the pews to pay for missionaries in other countries than there is to market the faith in the U.S. I don't understand why it is necessary to do either. 

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