Westernization is a pervasive modern phenomenon. Its impact is more pervasive and pernicious than many people are aware and/or willing to admit. The spread of the dominant Western culture has caused a gradual demise of many peripheral cultures. The incursion of Western agents into Naga soil, beginning with British military conquest and American missionary intrusion, has resulted in a significant influence and westernization of Nagas and their culture and worldview. Consequently, it is almost a cliché to assert that since colonial contact the long-evolved Naga traditional values are being replaced by Western values. Today, the literal colonization of Nagas by the imperial West has ended, but the process of westernization is continuing, thanks to the ongoing influence being exerted by modern media, technology and other trends of globalization. My objective in this paper is not to highlight the ‘form’ or ‘material’ aspect of the culture, such as clothing (although mimicry in this area is almost faultless among a large section of Nagas), rather, my goal is to discuss the current state of mindset and fundamental cultural structures of the Nagas that have resulted from the adjustments in the lives and minds of the people because of the imposition of westernization. In fact, it is more than merely a process of adjustment consequent upon conquest, it is an extensive overhauling of cultural institutions, values and practices. I will underscore the westernization of some basic social structures and the mindset of the people.

Does socio-political circumstance have an impact on religion, religious conversion or religious beliefs? Assuming it does, how does such circumstance shape the theology and beliefs of a people who exist amid a turbulent socio-political situation? In this paper I will analyze the impact of socio-political turbulence on Nagas and assert that among the Nagas there is a correlation between the height of political violence and the rapid conversion to Christianity. The long history of colonial violence and suppression coupled with the undermining of Naga cultural values and practices by the process of proselytization created an atmosphere conducive for conversion to Christianity and shaped the Nagas' theological choices.

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