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WORLD ANTHROPOLOGICAL UNION

CONGRESS 2024​

Paper

Protestantism as a new tradition: cases of the Protestant missionary strategies among indigenous peoples of Russia and Ethiopia

presenters

    OKSANA KUROPATKINA

    Nationality: Россия

    Residence: RUSSIA

    Russian State University for the Humanities

    Presence:Face to Face/ On Site

Protestantism often positions itself as a global religion. Reproaching Catholics and Orthodox Christians for their ethnic-limited perspective Protestants say that “Here there is no Gentile or Jew... but Christ is all, and is in all” (Col. 3:11, NIV) and that an important part of the church's mission is to be international. However, interacting with representatives of indigenous peoples who have very strong ethnic traditions and a sharp rejection of the international Protestants make their strategy more flexible. It becomes mandatory not only to translate the Bible and services into national languages but also to use national clothing and elements of national culture in the worships. Pentecostal churches among the Koryaks (Russia) position themselves as a center of national revival: in these communities there are people who are fully integrated into the culture and tradition of their nation and at the same time they are non-drinkers and socialized people. The Lutheran mission among the Hamar people (Ethiopia) also claims to have this status: Lutherans try to preserve all the traditional features of the Hamars, with the exception of Pagan ones, and offer secondary education for children, thus eliminating the alternative between loyalty to their nation and the opportunity to integrate into the modern society. In general, one of the Protestant strategies is to position itself as a community that is ready to be a stimulus for modernization and change, but at the same time - strictly traditional. In fact, Protestants create a new tradition and a new identity by this way.

Keywords:

Protestantism, Russia, Ethiopia, Koryaks, Hamar