Missionaries of Morality: How American Evangelists are Re-Colonising the Global South

Rebecca Kuiters | United States Fellow

Image sourced from Rod Waddington via Flickr.

Since the early 2000s, networks of Christian nationalist organisations based in the United States (US) have strategically exported “family values” campaigns to the Global South. These efforts–targeting abortion access, LGBTQ+ rights and secular education, alongside other areas–are not isolated moral crusades. Rather, they represent a coordinated form of recolonisation. 

International bodies and human rights watchdogs must begin treating the export of US Christian nationalism as a form of ideological re-colonisation. These campaigns are not neutral cultural exchanges. They are deliberate interventions that distort local priorities, entrench authoritarianism, and erode secular governance. A targeted response from bodies and organisations that seek to protect these vulnerable groups is overdue.

Distracting from Real Needs: Ideology Over Infrastructure

There are over 430,000 foreign Christian missionaries who hold the same singular purpose: to make those who are “unwell”, “well” again. One of the major forces behind this movement is Assemblies of God World Missions, a US evangelical organisation whose mission is to ensure that “every knee shall bow” to their god (or interpretation of god). The organisation’s website boasts a live tracker of the population in Africa and what percentage have been evangelised, with their ultimate goal to have a Christian “church within walking distance of every African”. Bluntly put, in striving for this aim, these organisations seek to homogenise the entire globe and, in doing so, erase every other way of life.

It would be shortsighted to assume these groups actively campaign in regions far from home to simply promote “family values”. Just as “Manifest Destiny” - the American colonial westward expansion - was god’s mandate to colonise the US West Coast and enslave Indigenous people throughout the 19th century, modern evangelists have continued this mission throughout the Global South.

Saviour tourism compounds the issue. Young, inexperienced missionaries are sent abroad to “save” communities they barely understand. These trips often serve as photo opportunities for donors, exploiting local people while offering no sustainable expertise. Meanwhile, funding from these religious organisations that could ameliorate local systemic issues is instead diverted into ideological campaigns. The goal is not simply philanthropic; itis centred around conversion and conformity.

The Grey Zone

American evangelical groups currently enjoy the not-for-profit status, and the foreign and domestic tax benefits that come with it. However, these groups are not there to provide aid, they are there to gain influence and followership. Unlike aid groups such as Doctors Without Borders, that provide assistance for humanitarian reasons alone, these groups have a clear ulterior motive: to spread their specific world view and increase their membership. International bodies, such as the UN and Human Rights Watch, currently fail to assess the extent of ideological harm perpetrated by these groups because they are still considered under the aid umbrella. While they address and acknowledge harm that results in violence against communities ostracised by these religious organisations, such as LGBTQ+ individuals, they do not recognise ideological colonisation as a harm itself. Ultimately, ideological re-colonisation effectively goes unchecked by international bodies.

Importantly, watchdogs and donor governments do not scrutinise religious based NGOs for exporting their ideology and desire to convert. Historically, there have been no guidelines that ensure the separation of receiving aid and converting to the aid providers’ religion. Furthermore, there is currently no accessible register that tracks faith-based aid organisations and their codes of conduct, or whether their aid is dependent on conversion. American evangelical organisations are effectively free to pressure vulnerable recipients of their aid into converting to their religion, consequently giving these organisations significant influence.

Propping Up Authoritarianism

Notably, since 2007 US Christian groups have funnelled over USD$280 million into anti-science and anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns abroad, with a disproportionate focus on African nations. One group, Family Watch International, has been lobbying to ban sexual education across ten African countries and has directly mentored African diplomats to advocate for American evangelical causes. These groups also lobby for international declarations that frame reproductive rights as threats to national sovereignty. For instance, the Geneva Consensus Declaration–championed by Trump-aligned evangelicals–was adopted by 32 countries and explicitly opposes abortion access under the guise of “strengthen[ing] the family”.

By promoting a “family first” agenda that superficially aligns with cultural norms, these organisations lend moral legitimacy to authoritarian regimes. In Uganda, for example, the Anti-Homosexuality Act, which carries the death penalty for being gay, was shaped by US evangelical activists, giving Uganda’s President Museveni a moral shield from repression. Beyond the guise of this legislation putting “family values” first, Museveni has been a critical ally in promoting Trump’s interests, for example taking in US deportees and supporting counterterrorism efforts within Uganda and the greater East Africa region. This is just one example of how US Christian nationalism has paved the way for the US to dominate the Global South politically and economically through spreading the ideals of American Christianity.

Seeking Accountability

It is time international watchdogs, donor governments, and civil society organisations recognised these campaigns for what they are: ideological re-colonisation. American evangelical groups should be formally recognised as organisations seeking to gain from vulnerable populations and therefore stripped of their not-for-profit status. In each region they operate in, human rights watchdogs should hold them to the same scrutiny as any other group seeking to exploit people for influence or economic benefit. To protect educational integrity, reproductive autonomy and LGBTQ+ safety - among other rights - we must build frameworks to expose the ideological re-colonisation of US Christian nationalism.

Rebecca Kuiters is the United States Fellow for Young Australians in International Affairs. Bec is currently completing her Honours in Psychology at the University of Queensland, with a research focus in social psychology and ethics. Raised across several countries, including Qatar and China, Bec spent most of her formative years in Houston, Texas.

This global upbringing sparked a strong interest in American politics and shaped a nuanced perspective on the United States' role in global affairs. Having grown up during a time of deep division and political polarisation, she brings a thoughtful, layered lens to conversations around American domestic and foreign policy.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Young Australians in International Affairs. AI tools were used by this author for grammar checks, but all content is original, and no plagiarism has been used in the preparation of this article.