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How Successful Were European Missionaries Spread Christianity In China?

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Europeans ' voyages and exploration began in fifteenth century. Beyond exploration and expansion there was Christianity expansion toward west and then east as a way of serving God. Over centuries of their efforts of spreading Christianity, European missionaries were successful in converting people to Christianity in Americas and Philippine, but they failed to convert a massive population in China. This essay explains why European missionaries got success in Americas and Philippine but not in China.
This essay explains the three main reasons why European missionaries were successful in spreading Christianity in Americas and Philippine but failed in China. The factors are using military forces against native people, existing literate religions in China and not in either Americas and …show more content…

Native Americans possessed and practiced a spiritual belief rather than a religion, and Native Americans’ rituals and beliefs were oral and transferred from one generation to another generation without contexts. In general, it can be said that people in both regions worshiped and believed in gods, deities, sun, and moon, or it can be said that they were pagans and Animists. However, China had a strong tradition; their Confucian learning and the gender role practices were supported and encouraged by Ming dynasty. Also, Christianity was not a new source and path for Chinese people, and it gave Chinese little spiritual need while those paths that were common in China provided spiritual needs for the Chinese. Moreover, "Christianity was an all-or-nothing faith," which means missionaries required people to convert and abandon most of their traditions (Strayer, 2012, 773). It was difficult for Chinese to leave their strong traditions, for example putting away concubines and marrying one person which called

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