U.S. Missionary Abroad Faces Western Europe's Anti-American Bias
by Chad Groening
June 2, 2005
(AgapePress) - A Southern Baptist missionary stationed in Western Europe says there is definite anti-American sentiment in that part of the world, which makes his job of spreading the gospel even more difficult.Chad, who prefers to be identified only by his first name, is a Christian missionary stationed in Madrid, Spain. However, he works with the children of missionaries from all over Western Europe and, in the course of his work, encounters a plethora of opinions and attitudes about America.
"My Spanish friends tell me that all Americans are very arrogant," Chad says. "No matter what their religious background, no matter if they're pro-government, anti-government -- they're all just arrogant."
Western Europeans' ideas about Americans also include a misperception of universal wealth, Chad notes. "They believe every single one of us is rich. You're rich because you're American," he says. "And third is that we're loud."
Not all the Europeans he encounters have entrenched negative impressions of Americans, Chad admits. But still, he says, "Every once in a while I'll run into someone who would say, 'Oh, you're an American; I don't even want to talk to you, don't even want to look at you.' Most of your true Christians there don't have that antagonism, but your everyday person, yes."
The young missionary tries to combat the negative stereotypes by forging relationships with many of the Europeans he meets -- particularly those who believe the U.S. is full of arrogant, wealthy loudmouths. "Once you get to know them and talk to them," he says, having real conversations and interactions help to "kind of chip away at those three things."
When it comes down to it, Chad says he does not really feel the Western Europeans' antagonism toward the U.S. the way he thought he would. "Yes, there's a very anti-American sentiment," he concedes, yet he believes "most Europeans would say they love Americans, but do not like America."
"That may be a backlash for our political policies, if you will," Chad speculates, "or that may be just because the U.S. is 'the superpower,' or whatever." But regardless of the reason for the hostile sentiments, the Southern Baptist missionary hopes he can help in some small way to assuage them while he serves in Western Europe as an ambassador for Christ and -- unofficially -- for America.
Chad Groening, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
