Human agency in mission work: missionary styles and their political consequences.
Sociology of Religion › Vol. 66 Nbr. 4, December 2005
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Human agency in mission work: missionary styles and their political consequences.
Religious diffusion is a complex process, depending on the interplay of structural and personal determinants of mission work (as well as the context of reception in the host country) to be effective. One has to go beyond the structural determinants of mission work to understand how human agency contributes to religious diffusion. Religious organizations provide the structural component for diffusion: organizational resources, doctrinal boundaries, internal power structures, sanctioned recruiting strategies, and long-term goals. But it is the personal approach of missionaries that sets the fine print for the process of religious expansion.
Previous analyses have shed light on the multiple influences behind religious diffusion. Given that sociological work puts a premium on the social forces shaping human action, however, it is easier to find literature related to the structural determinants of mission work (Cavalcanti 2002; Frase 1981; Stanley 1990) than to missionary agency. Internal determinants, such as doctrine or ecclesiastical structure (Alves 1970; Christensen and Hutchinson 1983; Harris 1986) and external determinants such as the historical context of host countries, the degree of openness of their religious markets, or their level of integration into the world economy (Hernandez Lozano, Lopez Sierra, Angel and Gutierrez 2001; Laux and Deckker 2000; Yaremko 1996) all contribute to the effectiveness of religious diffusion. What is missing from the picture is more data on the way human agency (Dietz and Burns 1992; Hernandez and Iyengar 2001) affects these religious practices. This paper examines the work of two missionaries in mid-twentieth century Brazil to show that there is more to the social construction of a transplanted faith than simply its structural aspects. In this case study, the interaction of structural determinants with the personal schema and practices of individual missionaries create styles of religious diffusion with unique political consequences. Mission work provides a good setting for the study of human agency, because missionaries are not bureaucratic, faceless officers, powerless to resist the conditions under which they operate. There is a great deal of latitude in the work, in the way they personalize the faith for local converts. They bring their brand of religion into a country through the prism of personal interpretive schemas and practices that adapt the faith to its newly found conditions. This process of personal "translation" shows the unique role of agency in religious diffusion. Mission work also is also a good setting for the analysis of h...See the full content of this document
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