Robomatic did have a lot to say, but I think he/she is conflating evangelism and colonization.

4) If you extend the evangelizing idea to include the cultural expansion of the European nations around the world, the following subjects have been evangelized:

• Language
• Economic Systems
• Technologies
• Mathematics
• Science
• Art

5) Some evangelizing goes two ways: Adoption of customs, expressions, ideas, and especially cuisine gathered from abroad.

Those areas of indigenous cultures were colonized as agriculture and industry moved into conquered lands. Land was distributed in a variety of ways to many types of people, depending on who did the giving (Spanish land grants, Mexican colonies, British colonies, French . . . ). Language is one of those slippery areas where evangelism did have a large influence, but was not the only influence. [snip]

I also agree with remarks much futher up the page, that individuals with agendas are as much responsible for the damage done by Old World religions (what many secular philosophers call Industrial religions). Religion has always been a source of power. Some religions are better at letting it remain the confines of the individual. Though I haven't read greatly on the subject, a case in point where Old World religion tried to let the power remain with the individuals were with the Gnostics in southern France. The pope saw this as a direct threat to his power base; if people understood spirituality to not require the expensive and powerful conduit of the church, there would be trouble. Jessie Weston's From Ritual to Romance goes into lucid detail on this subject.

Robomatic was also correct, I think, on the exchange of cultural material. Colonizers do absorb the culture of the conquered. That exchange of language, foods, and customs does eventually alter the colonizer. And if they stick around, as they did in North America (in contrast to the African nations where many of the colonizers pulled out upon independence) and Asia (Vietnam is a conspicuous example), it makes for a rich blend. And it means we examine our consciences in this way as part of the continual adjustment as we learn more about each other. We adjust our laws and practices accordingly. It's a messy process sometimes, and will continue to be.

Good thread.