What is cultural rape?

[isabellalecour]

What is cultural rape?

I'd like to know what do you think when you hear the term "cultural rape"? I'm not talking about rape culture, which seams to come up alot when I google the term. Perhaps a few examples would help out if you are having a hard time finding and settling on a definition of the term.

Even the Urban Dictionary doesn't have a definition for it. It happens to be a phrase that Eclectic Pagans encounter often, mostly from other Pagans. As an eclectic Pagan, I'm tired of defending against this particular phrase. So I want to know what others think when they here it.

Isabella

[Rev. Kelly]

I am afraid that I don't understand what you mean....help, please.

[sendy47]

I am not sure what you are looking for here either...I dont know if it is tossed out there so some one off the top there head says what comes to mind...or if your looking for educated knowledge of the phrase...

I hear the word rape it really does not matter the rape of what..it says to my thinking something was taken against will....

hope that helps....

[RevKathyV]

I would see it as forcing a way of life or thinking and behaving on someone..why that would be used towards any pagan group I do not know...I can think of some other groups this could apply to.....

[evangelicalhumanist]

You might consider looking into what missionaries have accomplished with various cultures throughout the world. I'll provide a couple of examples, you can do the research if you want more information.

1. In 1797, the London Missionary Society sent missionaries to Tahiti. Fourteen years later they had not made one convert, even though the happy Tahitians provided them with servants galore, built their houses and fed them. Finally the Christians devised an ingenious plan, which ‘converted’ the entire island in one day. According to a letter written home by brethren J. M. Orsmond, one of their own members, they reduced the local chief, Pomare, to an alcoholic and backed him in a war against other island chiefs, supplying him with firearms, to be used against the other islanders clubs. The understanding was that with his victory all would be forced to convert. Then, a reign of terror followed where non-believers were killed. It was declared illegal by the Christians for anyone to decorate themselves with flowers, to sing (other than hymns), to surf or dance. Within 25 years the native culture of Tahiti and the entire Pacific was extinguished.

2. The hatred and division between the Hutus and Tutsis of Rwanda was propagated by missionaries as favourable for their objectives of conversion to Christianity. Many Christians were indicted and convicted. How well did that work for the Rwandans, do you think?

3. Rwanda (genocide with church assistance)

4. Columbus & the Caribbean

5. Christian missionaries in North America (Virginia, Midwest, California Missions, Canadian missions to the Hurons -- look up "black robes")

6. The Canadian aboriginal people's experience with residential schools, in which children were forcibly removed from their families and culture, forbidden to speak their own languages or celebrate their own traditions, and brought up to be faux-white Christians.

6. Spanish Christian missionaries in Mexico City and the destruction of Aztec civilization.

7. The effects of missionary work in the Philippines, Burma & Thailand, Vietnam, China (especially Nanking), India (see Goa).

You will find, if you look into missionary work as I've suggested above, no end of cultural rape.

[isabellalecour]

I lost my post trying to multi-quote everybody. So...I'm kinda replying to everyone at once.

Actually I'm looking for a bit of both; right off the top of the head and any educated answer anyone may have.

It's been used as a slur from Recon Pagans bashing Eclectic Pagans over key fundamentally world views. It's being used to accuse Eclectics of "raping cultures" because Eclectics often have many different elements of various religions and cultures in their personal spiritual practice. The way it's been used has led to question what the phrase really means. Too often it's been paired with the accusation of intellectual dishonest and disrespecting elements of the culture.


Missionary's, cultural genocide, the outlawing of religious and cultural practice and children reeducation camps are the sort of things that come to my mind when I hear the phrase. I just don't see how being Eclectic within my own spiritual practice is equal to those actions at all.

[Chippingaway]

"cultural Rape"

the term 'rape' always refers to forceable complience. In your explanation what i see is that perhaps in the use of culteral rape to describe eclectice pagans it maybe (?) is being used as referance to eclectic pagands being the victim?

However, as you imply your beliefs are by choice, the whole term seems inapplicable, or non accurate.

To be fair.....the thought of cultural rape may go back to the early years of christian involvement in Europe. If you have studied anything of the history of the time in question, those who were known as witches or 'green' women, were heavily persecuted as they both remembered the ancient wisdoms, histories, and healing powers of herbs. They were seen as being a threat to the church's authority by virtue of thier own authority regarding planting, harvesting childbirth, stories of times when the church was not in evidence and thier healing arts...the last of which was in direct contrast to the churche's teaching that the only healing came from god.
If there are some elements of chritianity in eclectic pagans it could be that is why the term cultural rape is used. Am only offering a possability as to why, not a difinitive answer. i have heard from some cyber friends who are deeply involved in paganism, that all of it was destroyed in the persecution as these people who were not literate, left no written records.

As for elements of christianity being involved, it really becomes a question of research, as the church adopted some pagan observances when it was seen to thier advantage, in effect making them christian. So research has to deal with what was originaly, what has been borrowed, what is a mixture ,and what is not.

[isabellalecour]

Originally Posted by Chippingaway

"cultural Rape"

the term 'rape' always refers to forceable complience. In your explanation what i see is that perhaps in the use of culteral rape to describe eclectice pagans it maybe (?) is being used as referance to eclectic pagands being the victim?

It's being used as if Eclectic Pagans were the aggressors, not victim.

However, as you imply your beliefs are by choice, the whole term seems inapplicable, or non accurate.

That is where I'm leaning. However I do like to double check my gut reactions.

To be fair.....the thought of cultural rape may go back to the early years of christian involvement in Europe.
::SNIP::
As for elements of christianity being involved, it really becomes a question of research, as the church adopted some pagan observances when it was seen to thier advantage, in effect making them christian. So research has to deal with what was originaly, what has been borrowed, what is a mixture ,and what is not.

It's not really a matter of, if elements of Christianity is included in Eclectic Pagan practice and belifes. Christianty has helped provide a current and historical background on what real life cultural rape is, instead.

Is there a philosophical way to view and evaluate the phrase "cultural rape" in the framework of a religious debate? I'm thinking that I may need to get a little bit more abstract with this.

[Rev. Kelly]

OK, I now see what you mean.

In your case it is not cultural rape because you are believing what is right for you, and you are not forcing others to believe what you do. It would be cultural rape if you were attempting to make someone else believe what you do. But since your goal is to be left in peace to practice what you believe, you are not committing cultural rape. At least that is how I see it.

[Astreja]

Well, if "cultural rape" is an epithet referring to syncretism, I don't see any system of belief that's immune from it. Just about every belief system on the planet has borrowed something from an earlier system. Why single out eclectic practitioners?

In my opinion, if no one is being harmed by the practice, borrowing isn't a problem. Either something speaks to you, or it doesn't, and in spirituality we're best served by the things that ring true to us.

(Said by someone with a background in Buddhism and Ásatrú who started out with Athena as her patron deity... And currently has a Lakshmi shrine on her desk and a statue of Bastet on the shelf behind her. )