The Positives to Religious Proselytization and Amalgamation

"The process of religious synthesis has a philosophical significance larger than the merger of ideas and perspectives. As religions merge and cope with one another on the plane of beliefs and rituals, people are encouraged to deal with one another with increased understanding and tolerance. Indeed, while one might well bemoan the loss of 'pure' and 'original' religious ideas in the amalgamation of newer and more broadly based religious perspectives, one will probably not complain about the consequent lessening of conflict and sectarian hatred that might result." (154) --Robert C. Solomon and Kathleen M. Higgins, A Short History of Philosophy

I have often thought about the sadness of the fact that the religious variety in our world has decreased as Christianity and Islam engage in aggressive mission tactics in the non-Western world. This missionary activity is of course nothing new--it dates more than 500 years back to Columbus. What unique insights into the human condition could all of the now extinct small-scale cultures and religions have provided us with? This makes me sad.

But Solomon and Higgins have reminded us that there are some positive aspects to Christianity and Islam's aggressiveness and tendency to swallow, absorb, or amalgamate smaller cultures and religions. More uniformity of religion, as they point out, results in less conflict and hatred. However, Christianity and Western culture in particular are a double-edged sword. Western military technology has resulted in large-scale violence. (But is the march of progress in science and technology inevitable, such that if one society did not make such advances, another one would?) On the other hand, Christianity has brought with it a high respect for human rights and did not exist in many of the religions it overturned. The world is better without the cannibalism and human sacrifice that once prevailed in societies that are now Christian.

A larger point is that Christianity and Islam are hardly the only religions that have sought to proselytize the world. Buddhism has been spreading throughout the world for more than 2,500 years. Greek culture and religion expanded beyond Greece in the centuries before and after Christ. Manichaeism was a popular and growing religion during St. Augustine's time before it completely died out--have you met any Manichaeans lately? Religion and cultures come and go. Our world is constantly changing despite our sadness over losing interesting parts of our past and culture.

And who can blame Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists or anyone else for their proselytizing efforts to change other people? Would we still be humans without our efforts to convince others of a good idea or what we believe to be the truth? To be thoughtful and inquisitive is part of our nature. We want to believe what is true and we want others to believe the truth as well.