WESTERN COLONIALISM AND ITS EFFECT ON

THE EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY IN ASIA

PRE-TERM PAPER
SUBMITTED TO PROF. DR. SCOTT SUNQUIST
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY PROGRAM
FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE
TM750: THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH IN ASIAN CONTEXTS

BY
AREND VAN DORP
STUDENT NUMBER: G10206591
SUBMITTED: JUNE 27, 2014

INTRODUCTION
In this paper I will survey and evaluate how the colonizing efforts of successive Western
powers have had an effect on the spread and development of Christianity in Asia. As this is such
a broad subject to cover in a short paper, I will only be able to draw some broad lines and
generalizations. But hopefully these will be helpful as an overview of the positive and negative
outcomes of the larger geopolitical movements during the development of Christianity from a
small band of committed followers in one tiny Roman colony in West Asia to a global movement
that is now present in every country in Asia.

1. CATHOLIC MISSIONS IN ASIA

The start of the sixteenth century marks the beginning of the Western colonial period.
The Portuguese trading ventures led to the opening up of much of Asia, just at a point where it
had seemed that Asia had been closed to Christian influence. This colonial expansion coincided
with a renewed missionary effort by the Rome, marked by the establishment of the missionary
order of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).

INDIA

As these catholic missionaries landed in India, they encountered the centuries-old church
of St. Thomas, Syriac in liturgy, Nestorian in theology. The advance of Christianity in India,
2

initially on the crest of the wave of European expansion into Asia, stalled and eventually fizzled
out. In North India it was never able to establish even a beachhead, as Islam exercised ultimate
control over the people in their realm.

CEYLON

In Southeast Asia Christianity did not arrive until the 16th century, and it did not take root

as easily there as in areas with more primitive folk religions elsewhere. The Portuguese arrived
in Ceylon in 1505. Through military power, they were able to gain a foothold and saw a steady
flow of conversions, although internal strife among the various Sinhalese kingdoms and with the
Hindu North meant that there was continuous unrest. Expansion of Dutch influence in the region
towards 17th century resulted in their takeover of Ceylon in 1656.

VIETNAM

Among the earliest Jesuit missionaries to arrive in Vietnam was Alexander de Rhodes
(1591-1660). In addition to a remarkable openness among the Vietnamese, credit must be given
to De Rhodes for his principles and strategies. He showed respect for the native culture and
stressed the importance of learning the language of the people. Furthermore he advocated
evangelism by and through the Vietnamese themselves. In a comparison with Matteo Riccis
catechism in Japan, Peter Phan writes: Riccis [format] is dialogue, whereas de Rhodess is
continuous exposition. De Rhodess reliance is on divine revelation instead of only on pure

reason.1 De Rhodes went on to train local evangelists, supported by the local Christian
community, not by mission funds. He firmly believed in establishing a national clergy through
self-support. He even allowed lay evangelists to perform baptism, as he considered it too
important to postpone until a priest could be found.2 Although De Rhodes himself was more
successful among the higher classes, his evangelists saw many converts among the common
people. As Portuguese power waned, and French involvement in Indochina grew, Rome realized
that it needed to realign its missionary efforts. Despite regular persecution, the number of
converts in Tonkin continued to grow to 200,000 by the end of the 17th century. Further South, in
Cochin China their number reached 60,000.

THAILAND

As for Thailand, the first Europeans reached Ayutthaya in 1533. The first Portuguese
missionaries arrived in 1567, but met very little success, and were martyred by the invading
Burmese a few years later. Subsequent French Catholic missions sought to establish Siam as a
Catholic missionary base for SE Asia. Under the later King Narai, conditions seemed favorable,
but his death in 1688 reversed the chances of the Christian faith. Still, the relative stability in
Siam provided the opportunity to establish a regional center for the training of indigenous priests
for SE Asia missions, until the Burmese invasion of 1769 forces them to relocate to French
Indochina.

1
2

Moffett, A History of Christianity in Asia II, p.45

Moffett, A History of Christianity in Asia II, p.46
4

JAPAN

Reaching Japan in 1549, Francis Xavier only spent two years there, but laid the
foundations for missionary work in Japan and elsewhere, with his 3 principles, adaptation,
fidelity & discipline. Adaptation to accommodate their strategy to different social structures in a
culturally pluralistic society, fidelity to Catholic orthodoxy, providing a missionary theology to
deal with difficult questions, and organizational discipline in obedience to the pope.
Next to Xavier, the other key person to remember is Alessandro Valignano, head of Jesuit
missions to all of Asia. He set out the basic principles of Jesuit missions to Japan. In clothing and
appearance the missionaries and Japanese lay brothers were to conform to the poverty of the
Order. The foreigners were to learn Japanese and the Japanese Latin. Cultural adaptation was not
to be confused with theological syncretism. Training of Japanese lay helpers and priests was
another goal. One issue that was not quite resolved was the relationship of the Jesuits to the
Portuguese traders. Their patronage would counterbalance the power of the local warlords, but
risked making the mission seem dependent on colonial powers. For all the Jesuit initiatives,
including the introduction of a printing press, it remains an inexplicable omission that they never
printed even on whole book of the Bible in Japanese!

CHINA

The year 1583 marks the beginning of the third wave of Christian missions to China. The
Jesuits established three important principles: 1. Reduce of even banish missionary dependence
on Western colonial powers; 2. No participation in the Inquisition; 3. Cultural accommodation /
adaptation.

These principles led to practical applications such as:

Make learning the Chinese language a priority

Make no secret of your faith, but do not emphasize the missionary purpose
Try to win the attention of the Chinese by demonstrating a knowledge of things in which
they show interest, e.g. Western science and learning.
Cultivate good relations with the authorities while not neglecting the lower classes of
society
Using Chinese architecture to build churches
Training native converts for the priesthood on a basis of equality with Europeans.
Adopting the dress of Confucian scholars, rather than of the (often despised as
uneducated) Buddhist priests.3
With the arrival of the Dominican and Franciscan missionary orders, a controversy

erupted on the issue of Christian participation in Confucian rites (the Rites Controversy). The
newcomers condemned this accommodation to Chinese customs as compromise with
heathenism. The other issue was with the name for God. The Jesuits, following Matteo Ricci,
were using Tianzhu, Lord of Heaven, and Shangdi, Lord (or Emperor) on High. Two
contradictory papal edicts further complicated the matter, which remained unresolved. In 1704,
pope Clement XI decreed that Tianzhu was allowed, but Shangdi and Tian were not. In addition,
worship at Confucian rites was prohibited, although mere attendance at these ceremonies was
allowed. Ancestor tablets, too, were allowed if they only bore the names of the deceased, but did
not imply the presence of their spirits. The controversy had disastrous results for the unity of the
church and the standing of the Christian community in China. They began to lose the respect and
acceptance of the Confucian scholars, who until then had been fairly tolerant. Ironically, even
though in China there were no competing colonial powers to complicate the missionary task, the
fact was that in the background the conflict was fuelled by the rivalry between Portuguese and
Spanish interests through the various missionary orders. The conflict was finally decided by an

Moffett, A History of Christianity in Asia II, p.108

6

uncompromising papal edict in 1742, but the debate still rages on to this day in missionary
circles, between contextualization and syncretism. After the death of emperor Kangxi, the
Christians favor at the court waned, and persecution once again increased, probably not only
because of the rites controversy, but also as a result of increased Western (British and Russian)
trade imperialism.

THE PHILIPPINES

In 1565, the first missionary arrived, Andres de Urdaneta, and conversions usually
followed the chief of an area. Faced with widespread ill treatment by the Spanish colonial
powers, the new bishop of Manila convened a synod (1582) in which oppression and slavery
were condemned. Despite overall success in converting the Filipinos, the second generation of
Christians displayed all the problems associated with this group: superficial instruction, little
formal education, no indigenous Bible translation, and a lack of local priests. In addition tensions
flared between the missionary orders and the church hierarchy, and between the church and the
colonial Spanish government, as well as within the different orders themselves. Other problems
included apostasy by some of the disgruntled local chiefs, and armed rebellions against both the
colonial powers and the church itself.
A more serious threat to the future and indigenization of the church was the failure to
train local priests. This was in sharp contrast with the Portuguese who early on established
seminaries to train native clergy. Finally, at the end of the 16th century, at least some effort was
put into offering general education through the church, which eventually paved the way for the
training of native clergy. Despite great efforts at education and literacy, however, it would take

almost 300 years (in 1873) before the first Filipino translation of (parts of) the Bible was
completed. Still, the Philippines marks the only country in Asia to witness a Christianization
comparable to that found in Europe.

2. PROTESTANT MISSIONS IN ASIA

THE DUTCH IN INDIA, FORMOSA AND CEYLON
Unlike the Catholic Spanish, Portuguese and French, the traders of the Dutch East India
Company were not subject to the state. The missionary purpose of their endeavor was not a
driving motivational factor. Profit was first and foremost on their minds, as between 1605 and
1663 they drove the Portuguese out of the Moluccas, Java, Ceylon, Formosa, Malacca, Nagasaki
and finally even the Indian Malabar coast. To the Dutch East India Company (VOC), profit was
the bottom line. Since most of the population of the East Indies had by that time become Muslim,
the VOC thwarted any serious effort to convert them, preferring military and economic profit by
alliance with native sultans. In other situations, the Company offered pagan rulers special trade
favors, if they turned Christian. Not surprisingly, this led to conversions with mixed motives, and
resulted in huge numbers of converts, by some accounts as high as 200,000 by the year 1800.
Dutch chaplains were few and far between. Most spoke only Dutch and served mainly their own
countrymen. Still, some of them learned to speak the Malay trade language and managed to
translate the Bible into Malay (1773).
In Formosa (Taiwan) the Dutch missionary effort was very different and much more
successful. With more freedom to operate outside the confines of the Company, they lived in the
8

villages, learned the local languages and translated the Scriptures. Their first ordained
missionary, Georgius Candidius, strongly felt that long-term commitment (minimum of 10 years)
was necessary, and even advised single men to find a local Taiwanese wife to render them more
sensitive to the customs and needs of the people whom they hoped to win to the faith.4 If not for
the loss of Formosa to a Chinese pirate-buccaneer, the island might have become the first bastion
of Protestant Christianity in Asia. Instead, Formosa ended up being annexed by China, and
persecution destroyed the fledgling church, until a new missionary effort 200 years later, this
time by the English.
Several years after the expulsion from Formosa, the Dutch East India Company drove the
Portuguese out of Ceylon. Although evangelism was not a priority for them, they did outlaw
Roman Catholicism on the island (as in the rest of their territories), and some missionaries had
great success, especially in the North around Jaffna, using the native language and a Tamil
catechism. He said, The best and surest way to spread the religion is not to make the people
learn Dutch a long and tedious process likely to be very expensive. It is much more convenient
for one man to learn the language of the whole people.5 By the time the Dutch were driven from
Ceylon by the British in 1796 there were several hundred thousand Protestants and about as
many Catholics, although many were just nominally Christian.
Christian missions too often bore the blemish of their association with colonialism,
whether intentionally or by default. As Joseph Patiasina wrote: In the left hand the invaders

4
5

Moffett, A History of Christianity in Asia II, p.219f

Moffett, A History of Christianity in Asia II, 223f
9

brought the sword and in the right hand, the cross, but when they encountered gold of spices,
they dropped the cross and put the gold in their pocket.6

THE BRITISH IN INDIA

Like its Dutch counterpart in the East Indies, the British East India Company was not
interested in spreading the gospel among the native population. Only with the English victory of
the French in 1757, and the reorganization of the East India Company into British colonial
administration, did the door to expanded missionary effort in India open more widely. The
Anglican SPCK and later the CMS were to send large numbers of missionaries to the
subcontinent. But the most influential of them was not an Anglican, but an independent Baptist
named William Carey.

3. THE GREAT MISSIONARY CENTURY

The 19th century could properly be called the pinnacle of protestant missions. Its pioneer
was William Carey (1761-1834), a part-time shoemaker, part-time teacher, and weekend Baptist
preacher in the conservative Baptist churches. His booklet, titled An Enquiry into the Obligation
of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion for the Heathens, in which the Religious State of
the Different Nations of the World, the Success of Former Undertakings, and the Practicability
of Further Undertakings Are Considered, together with a sermon preached at the annual Baptist
ministers association meeting of 1792, led to the establishment of a mission organization and the
sending out of Carey himself in 1793.
6

Moffett, A History of Christianity in Asia II, p.228

10

INDIA

One thing that distinguished Protestant missions from Catholic efforts was their
determination to translate the Bible into the language of the common people. In his lifetime
Carey, with the help of native assistants, translated the Bible into 5 languages, and the NT in 18,
and parts of the NT in several more, for a total of 34. Other achievements include the fight
against widow burning, abortion and infanticide. By 1860 the number of Protestants had risen to
nearly 140,000, the majority Anglicans, while the Catholics still numbered more than 700,000.

CHINA

Robert Morrison, sent by the LMS, arrived in China via America in 1807. Unable to
openly preach or evangelize, he translated the Bible and published a Chinese grammar and a
Chinese-English dictionary, with the help of William Milne. Medical work was established first
by American Dr. Peter Parker in Guangzhou, and later in Ningbo, across the bay from Shanghai.
Karl Friedrich Augustus Gtzlaff (1803-1851), sent out by the Netherlands Missionary Society,
pointed out various ways to enter China in spite of the obstacles: through the international ports,
through Chinese Christian literature, and through Chinese evangelists & colporteurs. Gtzlaff
may be forgiven for putting too much trust in them, which some abused. More serious was his
association with the British authorities, in their opium trade and war with the Chinese. The
Opium Wars (1839-1844, 1856-1860) finally resulted in increased access, not only for Western
trade, but also missionary work.

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BURMA

Adoniram Judson was one of the first North American Protestant missionaries. From the
start, the church expanded much more among the countrys minorities, Karen, Kachin, Chin,
Lisu, and Wa. Even after 10 years there were only 10 Burmese converts. Judson wrote a
Burmese grammar, and produced a Burmese translation of the Bible, still in use today. Judsons
approach could be summarized as follows, conviction of the truth and rationality of the
Christian faith, a firm belief in the authority of the Bible, and a determination to make
Christianity relevant to the Burmese mind without violating the integrity of Christian truth.7
By 1823, ten years after his arrival in the country, he finished the first draft of the NT
translation. Then, the First Anglo-Burmese war broke out (1824-1826). Following the war,
church growth took off, although mainly among the animist tribes, not among the Buddhist
Burmese. Besides the missionaries, a Karen evangelist played a major role. Another factor
leading to the conversion of many Karen, was the Tradition of the Elders, a belief in an
unchangeable, eternal, all-powerful God, creator of heaven and earth, of man, and of woman
formed from a rib taken from the man [also, about] humanitys temptation by a devil, and its
fall, and that some day a messiah would come to its rescue. They lived in expectation of a
prophecy that white foreigners would bring them a sacred parchment roll.8 Judsons Burmese
Bible translation was finally printed in 1835, 24 years after he began.
As the missionaries returned to Yangon after the 2nd Anglo-Burmese war, they made 3
key decisions: The primacy of evangelism, the need for native pastors, and the importance of a
new translation of the Bible with the intention of placing at least one copy of the Burmese Bible

7
8

Moffett, A History of Christianity in Asia II, p.325

Moffett, A History of Christianity in Asia II, p.327f
12

in every town and village where Burmese was spoken. A goal was set: a Burmese ordained
pastor for every church and Burmese evangelists to reach out to non-Christians lest the mission
be reduced to Christians preaching to Christians without ever touching "the thousands who had
not yet decided for Christ." 9

THAILAND

Thailand, the Land of the Free, posed less opposition to missionary effort than almost
any other country, but also less fruit than almost anywhere else. The first (1828) protestant
missionary, Karl Gtzlaff, stayed only 3 years, but was able in that short time to translate the
Gospels, and do a rough translation of the whole Bible. More long lasting was the work of Dr.
Dan Beach Bradley, using his medical and scientific skill for 38 years (1835-1873).
Seeing few results, both the ABCFM and the American Baptist Mission redirected their
workers to work elsewhere among the Chinese. Only the (American) Presbyterian Board of
Foreign Missions stayed long enough to see more significant results. Under King Mongkuts
reign (1851-1868) they were given freedom to evangelize, and began to see some limited fruit
among the Siamese. More successful was the work among the Chinese in Bangkok. For some
reason, it took the missionaries almost 100 years to produce the first full Thai Bible translation!

MALAYSIA

Malaysia owes to the Dutch the first non-European translation of any portion of the Bible
(the Gospel of Matthew in Malay). But neither Portuguese, nor Dutch or British were able to
9

Moffett, A History of Christianity in Asia II, p.574

13

penetrate the wall of Islam in Malaysia, despite their best efforts, and an emphasis on education.
Most of the growth took place among the Chinese both in Malaysia and Singapore.

VIETNAM

Vietnams continued policy of persecution only resulted in further growth of the
(Catholic) church. The arrival of a French warship in 1843 brought a respite for the Christians,
but another French assault resulted in a five-year war, during which thousands of Christians paid
a heavy price, until the peace treaty of 1874 finally guaranteed freedom of religion.

INDONESIA

It took the Dutch more than 300 years (1596-1906) to fully pacify the thousands of
islands of the Indonesian archipelago. Missionary outreach was thwarted, not only by Dutch
political and trade policies, but also by the strong influence of Islam, particularly in Java. The
outer islands (Sumatra, Celebes/Sulawesi, Moluccas, Flores & Timor) saw much more progress
(26,000 Christians on Java, 434,000 elsewhere in 1906). With the dissolution of the Dutch East
Company in 1798, the East Indies became a Dutch crown colony, and with this came more
government control also of missionary work, partly also due to the forced unification of the
many independent churches under the new Protestant Church in the Dutch East Indies.

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CHINA

The reopening of China in the second half of the 19th century was due to two

developments: 1) the internal corrosion and disintegration of the empire, and 2) the destabilizing
effect of the two Opium Wars.
The Protestants profited even more than the Catholics from the new opportunities. A
major new mission appeared in 1865, the China Inland Mission founded by Hudson Taylor.
Within a few decades the CIM would have more than 1000 missionaries in China, many of them
single women, a new and daring strategy. The new mission was both highly unconventional
(without denominational support, working in pioneer areas) and highly collaborative.
Catholic progress was much slower, perhaps due to its hierarchical nature, as well as it
dependence on foreign authority, whether Portuguese padroado or to the Vatican. It was
therefore much harder to shake off the perception of foreign influence, than among the
Protestants.
Their number growing, Protestants also began to gain influence in the political and social
real, among the established missions more so than among the independents. As Griffith John
commented at the 1877 Missionary Conference:
As missionaries we believe we are in China in obedience to the command of our Lord;
and the purpose of our mission is to disciple, or make Christians of this great nation We are
here not to develop the resources of this country, nor for the advancement of commerce, nor for
the promotion of mere civilization; but to do battle with the powers of darkness, to save men
from sin, and conquer China for Christ. (473)
The phenomenal growth of the church in China could not but result in antagonism and
resistance by those who resented the foreign religion. But the Boxer rebellion of 1899-1901
15

was more a reaction to Western domination and humiliation of the Chinese empire, than strictly
retaliation against this new religion. Most of the victims of the massacre were the Chinese
Christians, even more than the missionaries, of whom more than 1000 were killed in brutal ways.
Few could have predicted that China, rather than destroying the church, would a century later
count nearly 100 million Christians, after decades more of relentless persecution.

JAPAN

American gunboat diplomacy brought an end to the severe anti-Christian edicts in
Japan in 1872, and saw tens of thousands hidden Catholics re-emerge from seclusion. Far
greater success and growth arose among the Protestant workers, possibly due to an emphasis on
education, the interest in Western technological progress, and greater indigenization of these
Protestant efforts. Toward the end of the 19th Century, however, another backlash occurred,
again from the side of the Shinto and Buddhist priests and supporters.

KOREA

Although the gospel was first brought to Korea by a Korean, Suh San-Yun, foreign
missionaries were soon to arrive in the hermit kingdom of Korea. A royal hospital, opened by
Dr. Horace Allen, was one of the first endeavors by Christians there. Not much later, the first
Protestant clergymen arrived. First medical work and later education were the two principal
avenues of ministry in this country, which was slowly opening up. A visit by Dr. John Nevius
from China brought his principles to the attention of the Korea missionaries: self-government,
self-support & self-propagation. This proved to be most timely, as Korea lost its independence to
16

Japan between 1895 and 1945. The defeat turned out to be a watershed for Koreas amazing
church-growth.

4. CONCLUSION

Western colonialism has definitely been a mixed blessing, if indeed it should be called a
blessing at all! While in many cases colonialism opened the door for entry of both Catholic and
Protestant missionaries, if often ended up closing the door to the gospel, as in most countries the
Christian message came to be seen, not as a liberating force, but as an instrument of colonial
oppression.
In those few instances where the church was able to establish itself (e.g. Philippines,
Korea) it must be acknowledged that this was probably accomplished in spite of its connection
with the colonial masters, rather than as a result of its association with the political rulers.

We have seen that there were other factors driving the success (or failure) of the
missionary enterprise. To name a few that have come up once of more in our historical overview:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Incarnational ministry, demonstrated by respect for the native people and their culture
Learning the national (or local) language
Scripture translation and production of Christian literature
Training of, and proclamation by, local evangelists
Empowerment of local ministry, without interference from outside authority
Directing ministry to both the influential people in society as well as the poor.
Ministry to the poor should address their real needs, e.g. medical, educational,
reconciliation, relief, etc.
7. When providing education, care should be taken to not neglect the spiritual aspect of
life. Society can only be transformed by transformed people.
8. Long-term commitment of the mission is crucial, as such transformation takes
decades, or even generations.
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9. Openness to divine bridges or redemptive analogies (the term used by Don

Richardson), such as the Tradition of the Elders among the Karen in Burma and
other peoples.
10. The realization that the gospel is welcomed much more readily in societies without
highly developed religious systems (Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto).
While some of these principles cannot be controlled (e.g. 9 & 10), most of these require a
thoughtful and deliberate commitment from the missionary and their senders. They remain
equally valid in the 21st century, even if the colonial era has ended long ago. Perhaps we should
listen again to the words of Griffith John at the 1877 Missionary Conference. They are
applicable, not only in China, but anywhere in Asia, and indeed the whole world.
As missionaries we believe we are in China in obedience to the command of our Lord;
and the purpose of our mission is to disciple, or make Christians of this great nation
We are here not to develop the resources of this country, nor for the advancement of
commerce, nor for the promotion of mere civilization; but to do battle with the powers of
darkness, to save men from sin, and conquer China for Christ.10

10

Moffett, A History of Christianity in Asia II, p.473

18