Christianity, American Indians, and the Doctrine of Discovery

REMEMBERING JAMESTOWN: HARD QUESTIONS ABOUT CHRISTIAN MISSION, Amos Yong, Barbara Brown Zikmund, eds., Pickwick Publications, 2010

Lewis & Clark Law School Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2011-13

17 Pages Posted: 8 Apr 2011

See all articles by Robert J. Miller

Robert J. Miller

Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

Abstract

The European countries that explored and colonized North America utilized the international law Doctrine of Discovery to claim the sovereign, property, and human rights of Indigenous peoples. Discovery was developed primarily in the fifteenth century by Spain, Portugal, England, and the Church and was designed to control the acquisition of non-European lands. The assumed superiority of European religions and civilizations played a major role in justifying Discovery. Starting with the fifteenth century papal bulls and the later English Royal charters, the primary goals of colonization were alleged to be "propagating Christian Religion" and bringing "human civility" to the "pagan," "heathen," "Infidels and Savages" who "yet live[d] in Darkness and miserable ignorance of the true Knowledge and Worship of God." The United States Supreme Court expressly adopted the Doctrine of Discovery in 1823 in Johnson v. M'Intosh and expressly relied on Christian religion and Euro-American civilization to justify its decision. The goals of, and the justifications for, Discovery continued to be part of United States Indian policy and Manifest Destiny until nearly the end of the twentieth century.

Keywords: Doctrine of Discovery, Manifest Destiny, Religion, American Indians, Ethnocentric, Colonization, Papal Bulls, Settler Societies

Suggested Citation

Miller, Robert J., Christianity, American Indians, and the Doctrine of Discovery. REMEMBERING JAMESTOWN: HARD QUESTIONS ABOUT CHRISTIAN MISSION, Amos Yong, Barbara Brown Zikmund, eds., Pickwick Publications, 2010, Lewis & Clark Law School Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2011-13, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1803674

Robert J. Miller (Contact Author)

Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law ( email )

Box 877906
Tempe, AZ 85287-7906
United States
4809654085 (Phone)

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