History of Christianity Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Protestant Missions (1800s–1945) === While the sixteenth century is generally seen as the "great age of Catholic expansion", the nineteenth century was that for Protestantism.{{sfn|Gonzalez|2010b|p=302}} Missionaries had a significant role in shaping multiple nations, cultures and societies.{{sfn|Robert|2009|p=1}} A missionary's first job was to get to know the indigenous people and work with them to translate the Bible into their local language. Approximately 90% were completed, and the process also generated a written [[grammar]], a [[lexicon]] of native traditions, and a [[dictionary]] of the local language. This was used to teach in missionary schools resulting in the spread of literacy.{{sfn|Táíwò|2010|pp=68–70}}{{sfn|Sanneh|2007|p=xx}}{{sfn|Isichei|1995|p=9}} [[Lamin Sanneh]] writes that native cultures responded with "movements of [[indigenization]] and cultural liberation" that developed national literatures, mass printing, and voluntary organizations which have been instrumental in generating a democratic legacy.{{sfn|Táíwò|2010|pp=68–70}}{{sfn|Sanneh|2007|pp=xx; 265}} On the one hand, the political legacies of colonialism include political instability, violence and ethnic exclusion, which is also linked to civil strife and civil war.{{sfn|de Juan|Pierskalla|2017|pp=161–162}} On the other hand, the legacy of Protestant missions is one of beneficial long-term effects on [[human capital]], political participation, and [[democratization]].{{sfn|de Juan|Pierskalla|2017|p=161}} In America, missionaries played a crucial role in the acculturation of the American Indians.{{sfn|McLoughlin|1984|p=abstract}}{{sfn|Eder|Reyhner|2017|p=3}}{{sfn|Sanneh|2007|pp=134–137}} The history of [[American Indian boarding schools|boarding schools]] for the indigenous populations in Canada and the US shows a continuum of experiences ranging from happiness and refuge to suffering, forced assimilation, and abuse. The majority of native children did not attend boarding school at all. Of those that did, many did so in response to requests sent by native families to the Federal government, while many others were forcibly taken from their homes.{{sfn|Eder|Reyhner|2017|pp=6; 190}} Over time, missionaries came to respect the virtues of native culture, and spoke against national policies.{{sfn|McLoughlin|1984|p=abstract}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page