Christianity In Aotearoa

This book examines encounters between the Christian church and Maori. Christian faith among Maori changed from Maori receiving the missionary endeavours of Pakeha settlers, to the development of indigenous expressions of Christian faith, partnerships between Maori and Pakeha in the mainline churches, and the emergence of Destiny Church. The book looks at the growth, development and adaptation of Christian faith among Maori people and considers how that development has helped shape New Zealand identity and society. It explores questions of theology, historical development, socio-cultural influence and change, and the outcomes of Pakeha interactions with Maori.

For much of the twentieth century, New Zealand historians, like most Western scholars, largely took it for granted that as modernity waxed religion would wane. Secularization--the fading into insignificance of religion--would distinguish the modern era from previous ages. Until the 1980s, only a handful of scholars around the world raised serious empirical and theoretical questions about a Grand Theory that had become central to the self-understanding of the social sciences and of the modern world. Heated debates since then, and the unmistakable resurgence of world religions, have raised fundamental questions about the empirical and theoretical adequacy of secularization theory, and especially about how far it applies outside Europe. This volume revisits New Zealand history when secularization is no longer taken for granted as the Only Big Story that illuminates the country's social and cultural history. Contributors explore how New Zealanders' diverse religious and spiritual traditions have shaped practical, everyday concerns in politics, racial and ethnic relations, science, the environment, family life, gender relations, and other domains.

The early arrival of the missionaries in Aotearoa set the scene for a new moral colony that would be founded on religious precepts and modern Christian beliefs. It did not take long for a combination of circumstances to confound the aspirations of the Church Missionary Society, the Church in Rome and all those who followed. Historian Peter Lineham examines Christianity in New Zealand through the lens of cultural development, and asks: If the various denominations and faiths set out to shape New Zealand, how did the very fluid fact of New Zealand change those faiths?

Bible & Treaty: Missionaries among the Māori is a complex and colourful adventure of faith, bravery, perseverance and betrayal that seeks to recover lost connections in the story of modern New Zealand. It brings a fresh perspective to the missionary story, from the lead-up to Samuel Marsden's first sermon on New Zealand soil, and the intervening struggle for survival and understanding, to the dramatic events that unfolded around the Treaty of Waitangi and the disillusionment that led to the Land Wars in the 1860s. While some missionaries clearly failed to live up to their high calling, the majority committed their lives to Māori and were instrumental in spreading Christianity, brokering peace between warring tribes, and promoting literacy – resulting in a Māori-language edition of the Bible. This highly readable account, from the author of Ratana Revisited: An Unfinished Legacy (2006) and Ratana: The Prophet (2009), shines a new light on the ever-evolving business of New Zealand's early history.

This book, written by a group of New Zealand scholars, theologians, historians and lawyers, examines the question of New Zealand's Western culture and Christianity. The contributors explore recent debates over secularisation, exploring its merits and explanatory power, while also showing its limitations.