Missions, colonialism and global Catholicism
The spread of Catholicism across the world includes missionary courage, local agency, translation, and cultural creativity, alongside entanglement with colonial power and serious wrongdoing. Christians receiving the faith were not merely passive recipients. Study local histories, indigenous witnesses, and questions of inculturation together. Evangelization serves a free response to the Gospel and must not be equated with political domination.
Follow the sources
An original library introduction, with sources for further study. This is a starting point rather than a complete treatment or a finished formation lesson.