I don’t know if I have mentioned it in any previous posts, but I am a Metis. Metis are people of mixed Indian and non-Indian descent. We form a distinct national / cultural group in Canada, with our own history, or own identity and culture, and our own political movements.
I am off to the sub-Arctic (the North-West Territories) today, where I work as a lawyer / Chief Negotiator for Indian communities (in Canada we say “First Nations” rather than Indian) which are negotiating a treaty with the federal government of Canada. I will be there for 2 weeks. I have never met a Native JW in the north.
When I was a JW, I found it curious that there were very, very few other Indian or Metis JWs. In fact, no religious cults (or political cults either, for that matter) have made any serious inroads with First Nations in Canada. With the exception of a few communities where the Pentacostals have taken hold, virtually all Native people in Canada practice a tepid mix of nominal Catholicism (and a few assorted Protestant denominations here and there) and traditional pre-Christian beliefs. There is a very low tolerance for evangelism or religious fanaticism amongst Native people in Canada. Indeed, during my brief flirtation with JWs in the early 90s I was often warned by zealous elders and pioneers that I was too tolerant of the beliefs of my Native relatives and friends. The fact is, the JWs never succeeded in convincing me that there is any one single religious truth.
On the other hand, some cultures seem to be especially fertile grounds for cults. White Americans, and to a slightly lesser extent, white Europeans, seem especially prone to joining cults, despite (or perhaps because of) their relative affluence and higher education than other cultures. Yes, I know that JWs and other cults experience spurts of growth now and then in parts of the Third World, but they generally seem to be strongest, and most long-lived, in the U.S. and Europe.
I have some thoughts on the roots of this phenomenon, which I will share when I get back from my trip and have a little more time, but I am interested in reading the thoughts of others on this subject. Bye for now.
- Chris