Christianity and Cultural Shifts: An Exploration of the Lai Experience

Abstract

This paper offers a critical examination of the comprehensive portrayal of Christianity, highlighting its dual function: both constructive and destructive, in relation to the preservation and alteration of Lai culture; it contends that the half-hearted attention of the pioneer Christian Missionaries have served as the primary catalysts for the assimilation of Lai culture. The changes and alterations that have been brought about in the various cultural aspects like norms, values, and social ties have been thoroughly covered in this chapter. After analysing both the constructive and destructive changes brought about by Christianity in the Lai culture, the study thus concludes that the ‘Hegemonic Christianity’ had led to the assimilation of the Lai culture.