The impact of Christianity in the Pacific must be understood in terms of the initial contact situation and the kinds of changes which ensued soon after contact. Population decimation in both the high and low islands had a drastic and dire influence on social structures and also on local populations. European introduced diseases moved faster than actual contacts with Europeans, thus in most cases by the time local cultures were encountered by the Europeans, the negative toll of population decline and decimation had already rendered a context of vulnerability.
The extent to which this massive population reduction influenced social and cultural institutions is difficult to determine. Yet, one is reminded of Kroeber’s (1948:403-405) classic discussion on how cultural fatigue brought forth internal changes and cultural breakdown in religious structures in Hawaii even prior to the onslaught of European missionary activity. The causal relationships between population decimation and cultural fatigue are not well understood but one can surmise that the influences might have been critical.
For instance, a parallel case is seen on the Micronesian atoll of Nukuoro. According to Vern Carroll (pers.comm. 1980), once the Nukuoro religious leaders were told by German missionaries that their gods were false and had no power, the local religious leaders dumped their religious paraphernalia into the lagoons and thus virtually ended the traditional belief structure and religious system. Events of this type occurred throughout many Micronesian islands from the 1860s to the 1880s. In some cases, the destruction of the native religious structure was simply effected by defecating on the paraphernalia, thus breaking all forms of cultural taboo.
The breakdown of these local cultures throughout the nineteenth century made them vulnerable to quick and partial conversion to Christianity which in most cases was rampant and had a lasting impact. At the same time, Protestant denominations and the Catholic Church operated in a way which was quite different from the Philippine experience. Whereas Spain and the United States provided a hegemonic canopy for Catholic and Protestant activity in the Philippines, this situation was different in Polynesia and Micronesia. Orders and denominations operated throughout the last 150 years in a relatively open context though the imperial powers could be sought for assistance if needed.
As noted by Hezel (1978), Protestant Churches were established early to be self-financed, self-governed as well as self-propagating. This form of self-support followed the American model of local self-rule in which churches were to be established and soon afterwards they were turned over to the people. Ideally, religious symbols, ceremonies and prayer would fit into local custom and tradition which would sustain the impact of the Church. Local congregations would provide pastors, contribute food staples and labour, and would not be a financial drain on the American Board of Foreign Missions. Native clergy was encouraged though they were never full accepted.
Catholicism was fundamentally founded on saving as many souls as possible. The paganism of local belief was recognized as a debilitating force in the conversion process, thus the Church took an active role in destroying anything which they perceived as deleterious for conversion. Furthermore, a native clergy was created as an ideal aim, but in reality the common feeling was always that local people could never intellectually comprehend the mysteries of the Mass.
Both Catholicism and Protestantism were very critical of local custom, though Catholics were somewhat more tolerant. If Micronesian culture was subversive to evangelicalism, the use of the native language was even more so. Whereas in the Philippines, the various Catholic orders dealt with the mass and ceremonies in the native vernacular, in Micronesia this was not encouraged. Furthermore, communalism in regard to land ownership and private property was opposed by both Catholics and Protestants in a most vociferous way. Just as in the Philippines, a virtuous Christian morality could only be developed and propagated by and through individual worth and responsibility which was only expressed through private property and the commoditization of goods and services.
Christianity did not arrive in a vacuum. The conversion of “heathens and pagans” to a world religion was one issue, the other was the civilizing influence which was actively pursued by the agents of conversion. When the results of civilizing are viewed comparatively between the Philippines and the Pacific, it is apparent that its impact was far greater and deeper among the various cultures in the Pacific. In part due to the encountered situation, Micronesians and Polynesians were more vulnerable to these direct and indirect messages of change and cultural/political domination. The Philippines went through the same process but the consequences were less direct and much more problematic, thus in part explaining how and why local cultures in the Philippines have maintained their own reproduction.
On reading the missionary history of Micronesia and Polynesia, one quickly notes that the number of Protestant denominations were very diverse, especially in Polynesia. This form of diversity did exist among the various Protestant Churches in the Philippines but the range and scope of the diversity is much more limited. Almost all of the major Polynesian islands are characterized by this diversity and probably Tonga is one of the best cases of the multiplicity of these denominations. Korn (1978:398) notes that at least seven denominations of Protestantism existed in a village of 494 individuals of which seventy were Roman Catholics. Individuals have shifting affiliations which appear to fit well with social mobility or more precisely an upward mobility (Korn 1978:417).
What is of interest in the Tongan case is that culturally Tonga has been heavily missionized and most of the cultural and symbolic institutions have rapidly declined or no longer exist. In fact, many anthropologists and historians who have worked in Tonga could conclude that Protestantism (Methodism and now Mormonism) have historically reworked Tongan culture into a missionary framework. However, the idea of rank and hierarchy which is pivotal to Tongan social structure and social interaction is probably even more buttressed and anchored now, especially since it has been reinforced by Protestantism. Korn (1978:419) notes that the “social system is conducive to the proliferation of denominations”. One could also turn this around by arguing that the social system based on rank and hierarchy is pushed to new cultural complexities and involutional peaks as a result of Protestant religious diversity. Consequently, Tongan culture might have collapsed due to Protestantism, but Tongan social structure and its nuances have pushed rank and hierarchy to new pinnacles of diversity and dominance.
Christianity in the Pacific is still the dominant idiom and expression for cultural reproduction both within the homelands of Pacific Islanders as well as in their overseas communities. The creation of Samoan communities in Hawaii and California is premised on the political and religious conjunction between the Church and local Samoan élites. Throughout California, the Samoan community is nearly always established through the initial creation of a church with its own minister. Ministers are invited (some Samoans say imported) from Samoa. The role of the Church is not limited to matters of the spirit, but also the creation of a political force through the establishment of bingo parlours, which are an important source of revenue. By law, bingo parlours, as tax free institutions, can only occur under Church sponsorship except on federal lands such as Native American reservations. Thus, over the past twenty years there has been a proliferation of Samoan Churches and attached bingo parlours throughout California. Although the bingo complex is only one idiom of Samoan cultural reproduction and community unity, it is a critical focus through which Samoan politics and culture are sustained in a new context.