Missionary Diplomacy and Benevolence in American Foreign Policy: A Historical Perspective

Abstract

The Christian religion performs many social functions and has a significant influence in America despite the constitutional separation of church and state. Since the mid-nineteenth century, American missionaries have advanced the objectives of American foreign policy by preparing the people and governments in foreign territories for formal diplomatic intercourse with the American government. Apart from their original missionary activities, the Christian organisations sent their personnel to Africa, Asia, Central America and the South Pacific where they indirectly promoted American interests through the provision of philanthropic, humanitarian, and social services. They spread American values, culture, and institutions to these areas. The paper explores the extent to which such missionary endeavours helped to promote the objectives of American foreign policy. Lagos Historical Review , vol. 5 (2005), 131-145