Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea (PNG) occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, which it shares with the Indonesian Papua. When PNG gained independence in 1975, its constitution proclaimed Christianity as the national religion, a move that connected the emerging nation to the global community of Christians and acknowledged an important shift in local worldviews. While the constitution served to highlight the historical importance of mission contact, at the beginning of the 21st century, religion in PNG is far from homogeneous. In some parts of the country, Christianity resembles overseas forms; in others, it is more aptly described as an indigenous religion, and conversion has not always involved a complete rejection of pre-Christian socioreligious practices. Coupled with the diversity of PNG cultures, this has meant that religion is often a significantly localized tradition.

With more than 800 languages and nearly as many cultural and religious traditions, PNG before independence was generally described in terms of the so-called primal religions of oral cultures, although Christian missions had been active in some areas since the late 19th century. Early anthropological studies gave primacy to religion as an organizing feature of life, highlighting complex [Page 980]connections with economic and sociopolitical spheres. It was generally seen to be grounded in practical concerns. Rituals connected to ancestor cults and spirit cults ensured well-being and fertility, and the widespread use of “magic” and “sorcery” (misinterpreted terms introduced during the colonial period), which were part of the religious traditions, continues to influence the lives of many PNG people. Mission commentaries have emphasized the importance of celebration and the maintenance of abundance in pre-Christian religion. Yet all these generalizations belie the richness of local religious expression.

The variety of Christian practice in PNG has resulted as much from particular mission histories as it has from its cultural diversity. By 1890, French, British, and German missions were working in coastal and island areas. The highland regions were contacted much later, by which time American-based fundamentalist and Pentecostal/charismatic churches were spreading across the country. At first, particular missions worked in discrete, carefully selected areas, but more recently, there has been competition for church membership, even among relatively small populations.

Different Christian denominations have brought an array of influences. Even within the individual missions there were different interpretations and styles of teaching. This has meant that for some societies, the changes brought by Christianity have been dramatic, while for others, Christianity is now perceived as part of their tradition. For example, in some coastal areas, the London Missionary Society employed Polynesians as mission teachers, believing that similarities in language and culture would make the work of conversion easier. As well as a new religion, these teachers brought new forms of material culture, both Western and Polynesian, and their influence contributed to the formation of the first Independent Church in PNG, the Papua Ekalesia, in 1962, which later merged with the Methodist Church to become what is now the United Church of PNG. In other PNG societies, the tensions between Christianity and traditional religious practices are far more apparent.

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