Campus Location
Abilene Campus (Residential)
Date of Award
12-2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Christopher Flanders
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Suzanne Macaluso
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Jason Borges
Abstract
Patronage-clientelism is a current and important topic of discussion among the anthropological and missiological community. The effects of unintended patronage by Western missionaries in the context of Thai culture, however, are underexplored in academic research. In this study, I analyzed the effects of unintentional patronage among Western missionaries in a Thai cross-cultural ministry context. To do this I utilized a multiple case study method in which I compared four cases and analyzed for examples of how unintentional patronage is generated. I discovered that unintentional patronage was likely a result of insufficient missionary education regarding patronage-clientelism, as well as a lack of educational resources available to missionaries in the field. My study demonstrated that unintentional patronage is a very real concern for Western missionaries working in Thailand. Based on my research, I conclude that missionary training must incorporate patronage-clientelism education into standard practice, and all effort be made to make patronage-clientelism focused resources accessible for missionaries working in the field.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Jones, Samuel Burton, "The Invisible Language: Unintentional Patronage and Missions Practice in Contemporary Thailand" (2021). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 411.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/411