Thanks to missionaries ... 96 percent of people in Papua New Guinea consider themselves Christian.
That's a bizarre bit of editorializing to put into what should be a balanced work of journalism.
I imagine the writer was trying to imply that most of the population in Papua New Guinea won't participate in events like these because of a belief system they've acquired. However, when a writer words things like that, it makes me question their inherent bias.
I'm objecting to the implication that we should be thankful that the people of Papua New Guinea have been "converted" to a different system of beliefs.
The "conversion" of various indigenous peoples to essentially a western system of beliefs is what I find disagreeable. Proselytization events such as these have resulted in a significant loss to the preservation of various cultures (and languages) around the world and I feel have contributed to a loss of identity especially among indigenous or aboriginal communities.
Forgive me if I seem overly sensitive to this, but some of my ancestors got to experience this "wondrous conversion" firsthand and it leaves me with a bitter taste in my mouth.
A bit of a nitpick, but Christianity and Judaism Islam are middle eastern belief systems. They also heavily disrupted western thought for nearly two millennia. But they are not endemic of the west, but an imposition, albeit, now voluntary, but with also a terrible and violent history against the native western traditions.
I'm well aware that some might consider them "middle-eastern", which is why I said "essentially" a western system of beliefs given that the representation of them today is more reflective of current "western" culture than how they originated.
It's not clear to me what the writer was thinking. It might be just a causal attribution as others here are suggesting, or it might have a connotation of approval.
Anyway, I think you're making an important point that shouldn't be lost. There is a great arrogance in thinking we know how other people should live.
The "thanks" threw me for a second too, but like placeybordeaux, I believe it's being used in a merely causal sense. E.g. "Thanks to all the rain we’ve been having this summer the grass and dirt outside are often muddy."
Keeping people in a zoo is more disagreeable to me. This liberal idea of keeping tribal cultural of any kind around is incredibly disturbing.
What does conversion of people to a western system of beliefs have to do with keeping people in a zoo? No one said anything about keeping people there; what I take issue with is the coerced or forced conversion of people.
We should not be using the communities poorest children for instance as repositories of language.
I don't think anyone implied that, I have no idea how you've extrapolated that idea from the statements made.
As a rich, educated person I would never want my child to learn a dead language. Even Latin with it's ivory status. Their future will be hard enough.
I fail to see what your socioeconomic status has to do with this conversation. Regardless, "dead" languages are not at issue here. Even if they were, understanding languages that are no longer in common use is important in understanding the past of humanity. I only object to the active discouragement of learning.
Learning for the sake of gaining knowledge itself seems like a reasonably admirable trait.
The photo caption doesn't have the full context of that statement. Read the paragraph below.
As such, more than 96 percent of Papua New Guineans identify as Christian. Yet theirs is a fluid, syncretic Christianity, not unlike the Christianity of the Middle Ages, one that has been grafted onto a long-established cosmology rife with demons, witches and relics imbued with power.
EDIT: Reading your follow up comments, I agree the "Thanks" bit means "Due to" not actual thankfulness in this context.
That's a bizarre bit of editorializing to put into what should be a balanced work of journalism.
I imagine the writer was trying to imply that most of the population in Papua New Guinea won't participate in events like these because of a belief system they've acquired. However, when a writer words things like that, it makes me question their inherent bias.