Christianization 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! == Decolonization == Just as Christianization had a role in colonialism, it has also played a central role in [[decolonization]] moving former colonies toward independence.{{sfn|Fontaine|2016|p=6}} Shifting beliefs about Christianity's role in empire began in France in the 1930s and 40s.{{sfn|Fontaine|2016|p=6β7}} Christians were rethinking the relationship between religion and politics. From the 1960s onward, this new understanding of theology combined with Christian activism, was instrumental in motivating indigenous people, such as the Algerians, to work toward and fight for independence from foreign governments. This in turn, influenced global trends.{{sfn|Fontaine|2016|pp=7β8}} In some colonial societies, Christian missionaries played a transformative role in the development of decolonization and post-colonial Christianity, where in others, the nature of the Christian missionary presence shaped the pattern of decolonization as one of violence and opposition.{{sfn|Kalu|2000|pp=2-5, 25-27}}{{sfn|Fontaine|2016|p=8}} In the post-colonial world, it has become necessary for Christianization to break free of its colonial moorings, says Sanneh.{{sfn|Sanneh|2007|p=285}} Mark Boyle writes that: <blockquote>Christianity's historical alignment with the Western project and [the overlapping] histories of colonialism and imperialism raises questions about its capacity to serve as a progressive force in global affairs today. Placing Christianity under postcolonial scrutiny, ... Christianity offers a variety of complex, contradictory, and competing approaches to peace building that variously defend the hegemonic ambitions of the West on the one hand, and support critical practices that usurp and decenter the sovereign supremacy assumed by the West on the other.{{sfn|Boyle|2010|p=abstract}}</blockquote> 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