Special Providence_ American Foreign Policy and How It Changed World - Walter Russell Mead

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extraordinarygrowth,witha largenumberofconversionsregisteredin
theofficial,state-toleratedchurches,andperhapsevenmoreexplosive
growthamongtheunregisteredProtestanrandCatholiccongregations. 18
Giventhegeneraldisillusionmentwithcommunistideology,thesocial
upheavalsassociatedwithindustrialization,andthedeclineoftraditional
Chinesebeliefssince1949,andgiventhereligiousfervorinsignificanr
elementsoftheoverseasChinesecommunity,thiscenturymaywellwit-
nessanothersustainedroundofChristianmissionaryactivityinChina,
thistimespearheadedbyChineseleadersandChinesechurchesandpaid
forwithoverseasChinesemoney.
InLatinAmericaold,cherisheddreamsofthemissionariesmayalso
becomingtrue,andintheprocessreshapingsocialandpoliticalreali-
ties.GuatemalaandothercountriesmayhaveProtestantmajorities.In
Brazil,ChileandelsewhereEvangelicalandPentecostalcommunities
haveexperiencedremarkablegrowth.Anecdotalevidencesuggeststhata
majorProtestantreligious revival is alsotakingplaceinCuba. This
growthistransformingsocietyinsomeareasofLatinAmerica,andnot
merelyinruralareaspopulatedby indigenousminoritiesas was once
largelythecase,butinmajorurbancentersaswell.Theastounding
spreadofProtestantChristianityamongHispanicsintheUnitedStates
willprovideanincreasinglywealthyandinfluentialbaseofsupportfor
missionaryeffortsinthefuture.Itappearslikelythatthiscenturywill
seeLatinAmericabecomearelig~ouslymixedregion,andthefivecen-
turiesofidentificationofLatinAmericansocietywithCatholicismwill
cometoanend-withenormousimplicationsforthepolitical,social,
andeconomicfutureoftheWesternHemisphere.
AmericanCatholicmissionarieshavealsohada significantimpact
abroad. Oncea missionfield forforeign Catholicpriests, theUnited
StateshasbecomeoneofthemostimportantsourcesofCatholicism's
internationalstrength.BothCatholicandProtestantmissionariesfrom
theUnitedStateshaveplayeda majorroleinthedramaticexpansionof
ChristianityinAfrica,anexpansionthathascontinuedandevenacceler-
atedaftertheendofcolonialrule.AsinthePhilippines,Korea,andTai-
wan, local Christians and their churchesplayed important roles in
democracy movements throughoutAfrica. Anglicanarchbishop Des-
mondTutuisonlythebestknownofa galaxyofAfricanChristianswho
continuetostruggleforAfricanversionsofWesterndemocraticinstitu-
tions.ItislikelythatwithoutChristianmissionaries,Islamwouldulti-
mately have replaced polytheism throughout Africa; the spread of