“Christian rice” refers to people who convert to Christianity for survival rather than genuine faith. Historical missionaries offered food to those who converted, leading to forced conversions. Modern missionaries reject these tactics, but some still become “rice Christians” for economic, political, or aid-related reasons. The term is pejorative, and critics argue it undermines traditional cultures. Charities and governments investigate forced conversions, with many Christian aid organizations condemning the practice.
The term “Christian rice” is used to refer to people who convert to Christianity out of a need for survival, rather than a genuine desire to embrace the Christian faith. The term refers to 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 have chosen to convert, or at least to appear to convert.
Modern missionaries generally frown on tactics that essentially move people to conversion, because they are more interested in spreading the word of Christ and wooing people into the Christian fold by the power of faith. Forced conversion is frowned upon because Rice Christians rarely truly embrace Christian faith and values, and forcing people to do their own will is not considered a Christian virtue by many people in the missionary community.
However, there are circumstances in which modern rice Christians exist. Often the choice is socioeconomic, with someone becoming a Christian rice because being a Christian has economic benefits. In other cases, some Christian aid organizations only offer supplies to fellow Christians, which causes people to convert to access food, medical care, and supplies they might not otherwise get. Conversion can also be political in nature, with a laughed Christian choosing to appear Christian for political gain.
As a general rule, people do not call themselves rice Christians, due to the pejorative connotations associated with the term. “Rice Christian” is most commonly used by critics of missionary tactics involving coercion, with these critics pointing out that such tactics undermine traditional cultures and beliefs. For missionaries who sincerely believe that salvation can only be found through Christianity, a mock conversion would fall short of the ultimate goal of saving the convert’s soul, so missionaries generally won’t describe someone as a rice Christian.
In some cases, charities and governments have investigated forced conversions. In the wake of the Indian Ocean tsunami, for example, several aid organizations were accused of forcing victims to convert to Christianity before they could build houses or provide supplies to the displaced they claimed to help. Many Christian aid organizations have loudly condemned this practice, both because it gave their organizations a bad reputation by association and because they deemed it un-Christian to refuse to assist people in need.
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