Religion in Burma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Myanmar is a multi-religious country. Buddhism in Burma is predominantly of the Theravada sect intermingled with local beliefs. According to the military government, it is practiced by 89%[1][2][3] of the population, especially among the Bamar, Rakhine, Shan, Mon, and Chinese.
Christianity is practiced by 4% of the population,[1] primarily among the Kachin, Chin and Kayin, and Eurasians because of missionary work in their respective areas. About four-fifths of the country’s Christians are Protestants, in particular Baptists of the Myanmar Baptist Convention; Roman Catholics make up the remainder.
Islam, mainly of the Sunni sect, is practiced by 4% of the population according to the government census. However, according to the U.S. State Department’s 2006 international religious freedom report, the country's non-Buddhist populations were underestimated in the census. Muslim leaders estimate that as much as 20% of the population may be Muslim.[4] Muslims are divided amongst Indians, Indo-Burmese, Persians, Arabs, Panthays, Rohingyas, and the Chinese Hui people. See Islam in Burma.
Hinduism is practiced mainly by Burmese Indians.
The Muslim and Christian populations face religious persecution. The military government has revoked the citizenship of the Muslim Rohingya of Northern Rakhine and attacked Christian ethnic minority populations. Such persecution and targeting of civilians is particularly notable in Eastern Burma, where over 3000 villages have been destroyed in the past ten years.[5][6][7]
Although Burma's Jews once numbered in the thousands, there are currently only approximately 20 Jews in Rangoon, where the country's only synagogue is located.
[edit] References
- ^ a b CIA Factbook - Burma
- ^ International Religious Freedom Report 2007 - Burma
- ^ Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs - Background Note: Burma
- ^ Burma—International Religious Freedom Report 2006. U.S. Department of State (2006-09-15). Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
- ^ Thailand Burma Border Consortium (2007). Internal Displacement in Eastern Burma 2006 Survey. Retrieved on 2007-02-04.
- ^ Priestly, Harry. "The Outsiders", The Irrawaddy, 2006-01-17. Retrieved on 2006-07-07.
- ^ Samuel Ngun Ling (2003). The Encounter of Missionary Christianity and Resurgent Buddhism in Post-colonial Myanmar (PDF). Payap University. Retrieved on 2006-07-14.
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