Final answer:
The establishment of Western colonial empires affected American foreign missions by providing missionaries access to new areas, allowing them to spread Christianity and the perceived benefits of Western civilization. Missionaries supported the colonial infrastructure and worked to convert and educate Indigenous populations, but also disrupted local cultures and traditions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The establishment of Western colonial empires affected American foreign missions by giving missionaries access to areas that had been closed to Christianity before. As part of the wider 'civilizing mission,' missionaries followed colonial expansion into Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, often being the ones to introduce Western education, medicine, and religious practices. This imperialist endeavor was seen as spreading not just religious beliefs but also the perceived benefits of Western civilization, including its institutional frameworks and cultural practices. Missionaries from the United States, influenced by the ideas of figures like Reverend Josiah Strong, conflated the principles of Christianity with the virtues of American society, endeavoring to export both abroad.
Furthermore, missionaries often played a key role in supporting the colonial infrastructure, providing services that doubled as a means of cultural assimilation. They established churches and schools, which served as vehicles for converting Indigenous populations to Christianity and for instructing them in the language and customs of the conquerors. This was an era where social Darwinist ideas upheld the notion that European and, by extension, American ways of life were superior and should be imposed on others.
While missionary activities had varied impacts, including advancing education and medical care in some regions, they also frequently disrupted local social structures and practices, such as through their opposition to polygamy and ancestor veneration in places like China.