Missionaries in development

Abstract: The main study of missionaries has commonly been practiced within the field of mission study. The impact of missionaries has however not just been within the field of theology since there is a tradition to be a part of a foreign aid as well. This study will trough a qualitative approach look closer on this, by interviewing missionaries, and by analysing policy’s of the international Christian community. At the theoretical level they form somewhat of a discourse of their own, while in practice the missionaries work side by side with other agents of development. When missionaries no longer are just a theological matter, they also need to be studied from other perspectives. That is the purpose of this essay, to view Swedish missionaries and Christian foreign aid, from the perspective of development studies. Not to grade the work of Swedish missionaries, but to identify them within the development field, as they are a common agent of development abroad.