Colonial Apostles: A Discourse on Syncretism and the Early American Protestant Missions in the Philippines

Abstract

The popular discourse pertaining to the colonial experience of the Philippines under the United States is commonly placed within the context of imperialism and its economic motives as a main catalyst for colonial aspirations. The colonial experience, however, is complex and can be explained beyond this conventional view. Colonialism serves as a channel for the accelerated mutation of colonized societies, such that, the colonizers in as much as the colonized are active participants in the dynamics of the colonial encounter. As civilizations interact in a world system, syncretism takes place, which is the blending of elements from different cultural traditions, and the result is that a foreign tradition becomes meaningful in a land far from its origin. Thus, it is possible to re-image the colonizer and the colonized people as beneficiaries of a shared experience. This deviation from the traditional paradigms used to explain the era, has permitted an alternative perspective of looking at colonialism. The paper focuses on the early events that transpired with the initiation and propagation of Protestantism, as a belief system, through various religious missionary groups during the early stages of American colonial rule; how the Protestants in the United States viewed the colonial acquisition of the archipelago; and why were they welcomed by those who first came in contact with them. The intention is to understand the reasons why Protestantism came to the Philippines and give a picture of the role and influence of the early religious programs on the overall schema of the American colonial experience at its onset. By doing so, it is possible to describe the Filipino response to Protestantism as a result of cross-cultural exchanges that has led to cultural enrichment.