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Missionaries

Edward Stourton presents an audio journey in the footsteps of the missionaries

Missionaries - those shock troops of the Christian world - have always operated on the front line between cultures and societies. They've often been the way we found out about the rest of the world, and the rest of the world found out about us.

The missionary legacy, born of men and women driven by faith, power, or fame, divides between cultural enrichment and colonial exploitation.

Missionaries represent the best and the worst in the history of Europe's contact with the rest of the world. Many of them have been saints and heroes - men and women of great heroism and deep conviction, ready to undergo extraordinary privations and often to risk death.

Many have been deeply flawed, corrupted by pride and prejudice, driven by the lust for fame and fortune as much as faith. Their legacy is an equally divided mixture of cultural enrichment and colonial exploitation.

Ghana

The fight against slavery was a great goal for 19th century missionaries to Africa, like David Livingstone. Many people assume that the fact that Africa today is overwhelmingly Christian is down to the success of those missionaries. The real story is now only beginning to emerge; the slave trade still plays a key role, but not in the way you'd imagine.

Guatemala

Latin America has a bloody history of religion and conquest since the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. The continent is still a destination for missionaries, but today they are more likely to be Protestants on a flying visit from the United States. Missionary tourism is a growing phenomenon in Latin America but the issues of violence and conquest are not far below the surface.

Japan

When Christian missionaries arrived in Japan more than 450 years ago they were more successful there than in any other country in history. Despite the culture shock, which included having to eat with "two small pieces of wood" and encountering a strange new drink called "char", they won hundreds of thousands of converts. The reaction of the ruling Japanese Shogun was a ferocious crackdown against this new religion which eventually resulted in the country being completely closed to the world for more than 200 years. That legacy remains today and Japan is one of the toughest destinations for missionaries.

America

There is an idea that America is, in some special way, 'under God', and that it has a kind of providential role in history. Religion runs very deep in American political life. Under President George W Bush, it became so prominent that it seemed reasonable to ask 'is George Bush a missionary?' or at least, 'does George Bush see his presidency in missionary terms?'. After all, this was the President who talked about an "axis of evil", who believed liberty is God's gift to the world and who was unabashed about the idea that American values, not just the national interest, drove his policies.

Is mission still appropriate?

Christians and Muslims discuss the different traditions of mission, conversion and the expansion of religions worldwide. Does one religion have the monopoly on truth?

Find out more

• Saint Paul, one of the earliest missionaries