The Missionary Syndrome: Crusader and Pacific Northwest Religious Expansionism

The search for medieval parallels and for medieval roots in New World history has become a fascinating genre. My own university has produced one of the major figures in this field, Lynn White, Jr., and has recently honored another, Luis Weckmann. With the Columbus centennial rushing toward us, we ma...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comparative studies in society and history 1988-04, Vol.30 (2), p.271-285
Main Author: Burns, Robert I.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
19th-20th century
Catholicism and the Frontiers of Conflict
Christian missionaries
Christianity
COLONIZATION AND COLONIALISM
Comparative study
General subjects
History
History and sciences of religions
Indian culture
Islam
MISSIONS AND MISSIONARIES
Modern period
Muslims
Native Americans
POLITICAL HISTORY
Protestantism
Religion
RELIGION (IN GENERAL)
Society of Jesus
SPAIN
UNITED STATES PRIOR TO 1945
War
White people
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Summary:The search for medieval parallels and for medieval roots in New World history has become a fascinating genre. My own university has produced one of the major figures in this field, Lynn White, Jr., and has recently honored another, Luis Weckmann. With the Columbus centennial rushing toward us, we may expect more exercises in their spirit. Such an approach is not farfetched or whimsical. We are the heirs of medieval technology and mentalities. In both, as White has reminded us, the United States may be “closer to the Middle Ages than is Europe.“ And the great historian Shelomo Goitein, after spending most of his working life in pre-Nazi Germany and then in Israel, upon moving to the United States was startled to recognize the medieval flavor of our social structures and mentalities; as a lifelong student of the Middle Ages, he found that “one feels quite at home“ here.
ISSN:0010-4175
1475-2999
1471-633X
DOI:10.1017/S001041750001519X