Collections : [Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary]

This series contains completed questionnaires from foreign missionaries, churches, and mission boards compiled by the Missionary Research Library in 1955 to research factors related to selection, training, placement, and withdrawal of missionary personnel. Included are completed questionnaires from 24 foreign churches (pink forms), 15 foreign missions boards (green forms), and 902 missionaries (yellow and blue forms). They are organized in order of their code number, found in the bottom left-hand corner of each record. The majority of the questionnaires were filled out anonymously. A copy of the original letter enclosed with the missionary questionnaire is attached to record #1158, and states that "the code number on your questionnaire has meaning to one member of our staff only, and it is necessary to us in our accounting and analysis of returns." This code meaning is not known. The board questionnaires collect data concerning factors related to withdrawals, including the use of psychological testing and/or training, and its perceived impact on missionary success. The church questionnaires collect data from national church leaders about their responsibilities relative to the boards, the future need for various types of missionaries, the differences in missionary attitudes and policies before and after World War II, factors related to withdrawal, and the relationship of prior training to missionary success. The missionary questionnaires collect personal data on respondents including age, gender, field location, years of service, missionary task, and current occupation. Other information collected includes the factors leading to the decision to enter missionary service, what training was received before and after entering the field, whether provisions, salaries, and living arrangements were sufficient, the effect of the experience on their Christian faith and their belief in missionary work, reasons for leaving, and whether the support they received from their administrative board was adequate. Some of the major concerns expressed by missionaries on their questionnaires were denominational factionalism, the misuse of money, imperialism and the need to separate Western culture from the Christian message, lack of Christian values among missionary communities, bigotry, lack of missionary experience among board members, and the unwillingness of missionaries to learn from and appreciate other cultures and religions. Nevertheless, the majority of respondents indicated that they found missionary work to be spiritually edifying.