During the colonization of the New World, many conflicts emerged between the newcomers and the Native Americans. Among apparent differences that arose between them, the cultural and, more importantly, religious discrepancies were one of the most prominent ones. Shortly before the conquest of the New World, Europe survived one of the most significant religious revolutions that brought the Protestant faith into the theological stage. Concurring the New World was seen as an opportunity not only to acquire new lands but also to spread the influence of two rival religions of Catholicism and Protestantism. The two Christian denominations used various methods in converting Native Americans into their faith, leading to mixed results. This paper examines the way Protestants and Catholics attempted religious conversion in the New World along with a comparison and analysis of the success of these practices.
Firstly, Protestantism, being a comparatively new religious denomination even for Europeans, was predominantly spread by the Protestant British in the New World. Europeans that traditionally worshipped a single God and read Scripture were repelled by how different the Native Americans’ religion was. It was a religion based on oral tradition and a belief in various spiritual forces that most Christians initially regarded as the worship of Satan (Goldfield et al., 2017, p. 22). Taking those drastic differences into account, Bible studies, praying to a single god, and written Scripture were attributes of faith too foreign for Native Americans to accept easily. According to Mullen (2017), less than 8% of Native Americans converted to Protestant Church (p. 584). This rate is low if to compare it with the Catholic attempts at conversion. However, it is essential to note that, unlike other denominations, the Protestants attempted translating the Bible and religious works into the local language. Therefore, as pointed out by Mullen (2017), “conversions led to a distinctive indigenous form of Christianity that allow that conversion should be immediate and instantaneous” (p. 585). While the success of the conversion to Protestantism was low, the process was relatively quick and more sensitive to local culture.
As for the Catholics’ attempt at conversion, with some consideration, it was significantly more successful. In the light of frequent epidemics, Native Americans wondered why the Christians stayed untouched by the illness while their local people died. That made Native Americans question whether the foreign, overseas faith was worth considering (Goldfield et al., 2017, p. 63). The Catholic priests also fueled this growing interest. As described by Goldfield et al. (2017), the priests exchanged gifts for manual labor and an obligation to listen to sermons, which quickly led Native Americans to religious conversion (p. 63). In terms of the number of people converted, the Catholics were successful. Although the longing for “universal religion” was a motivator for conversion, Native Americans’ Catholicism was not innately original as they interpreted many Christian traditions into their own, changing and adapting them to familiar rituals (Mullen, 2017, p. 584; Goldfield et al., 2017). While Catholicism attracted significantly more people compared to Protestantism, the extent to which the Natives’ religious practices remained formerly Christian is questionable.
In conclusion, both Catholicism and Protestantism provoked suspicion among Native Americans, and attempts at the conversion had mixed results. Overall, it can be stated that the efforts of the Catholic Church at the religious transformation of the local population were more successful. On the other hand, Protestants’ practices in conversion were more authentic and protective of the local’s freedom of belief. Unlike Protestants, Catholics aimed at numbers, but not the quality of the converted population of locals, resulting in mixed Christian and Native American rituals and beliefs.
References
Goldfield, D. R., Abbott, C., Anderson, V., Argersinger, J. A., & Argersinger, P. (2017). The American Journey a history of the United States. Pearson Education.
Mullen, L. A. (2017). The chance of salvation: a history of conversion in America. Harvard University Press.