New imperialist narratives retained older Christian justifications within their form

Evidence

New ideas require new language at times; more often they take hold more easily if clad in familiar forms. New content infuses old form, and the earlier content does not quite disappear but leaves traces that are recognizable in the new. When imperialism became the new content of orientalism the old Christian content continued to structure its form. Imperialist rhetoric continued to be accompanied by Christian rhetoric, and the talk of waking up the dormant East through Western intervention was often accompanied by the proselytizing discourse of missionary societies eager to bring true religion to the ignorant oriental Muslims and Jews. — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 98

Categorization

• XREF: The layering of new content over older Christian structures resonates with the palimpsest idea of cultural persistence. — connects to: Christian nationalist history follows a golden-age-fall-redeem narrative structure. — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 526