From Fundamentalism to Evangelicalism: Missionary Photography, Religious Transformation, and Indigenous Conversion in Mid-20th Century Ecuador

This paper examines the transformation of U.S. Protestant missions in Latin America through an analysis of missionary photography and literary work related to two Christian Missions in Many Lands (CMML) missionaries in Ecuador: Jim (1927-1956) and Elisabeth Elliott (1926-2015). Initially gaining prominence through their involvement in "Operation Auca"—one of the most documented missionary events in history—the Elliotts exemplify the evolution from fundamentalism to evangelicalism in U.S. missionary work through the 20th century. I argue that Jim represents the last generation of missionary fundamentalists, primarily focused on Biblical exposition, while Elisabeth embodies the emergence of a new evangelicalism that, while remaining conservative and aligned with White supremacist and capitalist values, adopted a less sectarian and more development-oriented approach. This conversation contributes to elucidating the rising of "Indigenous evangelicalism," the most conservative branch of the Indigenous movement, in Latin America. 

My analysis centers on the photograph "Jim with a few of his schoolboys in Shandia," first published in Elisabeth's book Shadow of the Almighty (1958) and subsequently used in various missionary propaganda materials, including HCJB's film-strip "Mid-Century Martyrs." The image shows Jim and seven pre-teen indigenous students posing at a CMML missionary station serving Kichwa-speaking communities in the Amazon. Jim appears smiling, wearing professional attire—rolled-up short-sleeved white shirt, blue pants, black belt, and wide tie—while the young men mirror his unusual appearance for a 1950s Indigenous rainforest community, though with darker clothes, no tie, and more serious expressions.

This photograph offers insights into the fundamentalist missions of the mid-20th century, particularly through four key elements: the "jungle" setting, suggesting the missionary conquest of "heathen" spaces; the professional attires, representing Western notions of civilization; the schoolboy situation, exemplifying educational colonialism; and the absence of women, reflecting patriarchal missionary structures. These elements illuminate broader transformations in conservative American Christianity's approach to indigenous mission work.

The historical context of this analysis revolves around "Operation Auca," a 1955 mission aimed at reaching the Waorani (then known as "Aucas" or "savages"), an isolated indigenous group in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The mission, involving Jim Elliott and four other U.S. missionaries from different organizations, ended tragically with their killing by Waorani warriors in January 1956. This event generated unprecedented media attention, including Cornell Capa's extensive photojournalistic coverage in Life magazine and Elisabeth Elliott's subsequent literary works, marking a new era in missionary documentation and representation of indigenous peoples.

This research draws on diverse sources, including missionary photography, personal correspondence, media coverage, and recent critical analyses. The extensive documentation of Operation Auca, ranging from contemporaneous reports to recent works like Nemonte Nequimono's We Will be Jaguars (2024), provides crucial insights into the evolution of U.S. missionary approaches. These sources reveal how missionary work shifted from strict fundamentalist Biblical exposition to a more complex engagement with indigenous communities, though still maintaining conservative theological and social positions.

My presentation will demonstrate how this transformation reflected broader changes in post-World War II American Christianity. The emergence of the United States as a global power facilitated by conservative missionary work through non-denominational missionary organizations. This expansion coincided with significant shifts in missionary approaches to indigenous peoples, from purely evangelistic efforts to more comprehensive social and economic development engagement.

This analysis contributes several ways to current scholarly discussions about religion, colonialism, and indigenous peoples. First, it provides new insights into the evolution of conservative Protestant missions in Latin America, moving beyond simplistic categorizations of "evangelical missionaries." Second, it demonstrates how missionary photography and literature reflected and shaped representations of indigenous peoples and missionary work. Finally, it illuminates the complex relationships between religious transformation, cultural change, and economic development in indigenous communities.

The presentation concludes by examining the long-term impacts of these missionary approaches on indigenous communities, particularly the Waorani. The transformation from fundamentalism to evangelicalism facilitated both religious conversion and significant social changes, including territorial displacement and the eventual development of oil exploitation in indigenous territories. This legacy raises essential questions about the relationship between religious mission work and broader processes of colonization and development in indigenous Latin America.