Who is a Rice Christian?
The term “rice Christian” is used to refer to people who convert to Christianity out of a need for survival, rather than from a genuine desire to embrace the Christian faith. The term references historical missionary policies in Asia, in which some missionaries offered rice and other food items to people who agreed to convert to Christianity. Faced with the choice of starving or converting, some people chose to convert, or to at least appear to convert. Modern missionaries generally frown upon tactics which essentially pressure people into conversion, because they are more interested in spreading the word of Christ and wooing people to the Christian fold with the power of faith. Coerced conversion is frowned upon because rice Christians rarely truly embrace Christian faith and values, and forcing people to do your will is not considered a Christian virtue by many people in the missionary community. However, there are circumstances in which modern-day rice Christians do exist. Often, th
The term “rice Christian†is used to refer to people who convert to Christianity out of a need for survival, rather than from a genuine desire to embrace the Christian faith. The term references historical missionary policies in Asia, in which some missionaries offered rice and other food items to people who agreed to convert to Christianity. Faced with the choice of starving or converting, some people chose to convert, or to at least appear to convert. Modern missionaries generally frown upon tactics which essentially pressure people into conversion, because they are more interested in spreading the word of Christ and wooing people to the Christian fold with the power of faith. Coerced conversion is frowned upon because rice Christians rarely truly embrace Christian faith and values, and forcing people to do your will is not considered a Christian virtue by many people in the missionary community. However, there are circumstances in which modern-day rice Christians do exist. Often,
