Abstract
The role of the Western missionary movement in the subjugation and subsequent liberation of African and Asian people is the subject of considerable debate. Depending upon to whom one listens, the Western missionary movement has either been the midwife ushering African and Asian peoples into modernity, or the handmaid of colonial powers in the economic, military and cultural subjugation of the nations of Africa, Asia and Latin America. There is sufficient evidence to build a strong case for either proposition.