Christianity spread faster in small, politically structured societies

Area of Science:

• Anthropology
• Religious Studies
• Sociology

Background:

• Christianity's global expansion from a small sect is historically debated.
• Theories suggest top-down political influence or bottom-up social empowerment drove spread.
• Austronesian Christianization offers a diverse case study for conversion dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate factors influencing Christian conversion times in Austronesian cultures.
• To test the roles of political hierarchy, social inequality, and population size.
• To differentiate between top-down and bottom-up spread theories.

Main Methods:

• Phylogenetic generalized least squares analysis of 70 Austronesian cultures.
• Accounting for cultural isolation and missionary arrival dates.
• Statistical modeling of social and demographic predictors of conversion duration.

Main Results:

• Conversion to Christianity averaged less than 30 years.
• Societies with political leadership and smaller populations converted more rapidly.
• Social inequality did not significantly correlate with conversion time.

Conclusions:

• Political structure and population size are key predictors of rapid Christianization.
• Christianity's Pacific success is linked to cultural transmission dynamics, not solely egalitarian appeal.
• Findings challenge the notion that conversion was primarily driven by empowering social underclasses.