What is the religion in Thailand?

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Thailand is a kingdom located in Southeast Asia. Thais live here, as well as a small percentage of representatives of other nationalities. The population is approximately 70 million people. There are a lot of people who adhere to one faith or another. Consider below all the religions of Thailand with the history of their appearance.

Buddhism

This belief is held by approximately 94% of the total population. And it is Buddhism that is the state. religion of Thailand. It is also interesting that the ruler of the country must be a Buddhist.

Regilia appeared here a very long time ago - already in the 7th century BC. e. Ceylon monks were engaged in preaching. So Buddhism began to spread among the Thais. And in the XIII century officially became the main religion of Thailand. The country has so far retained its core faith, only slightly influenced by other faiths.

Thai Buddhism: types, features, what is its essence?

In general, there are two types of Buddhism in Asia: Hinayana (“southern”) and Mahayana (“northern”). The second type is followed by such countries in the north of Asia as China, China, Japan, Tibet. But the Hinayana branch is in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and, of course, in Thailand. "Southern" branch of Buddhismappeared much earlier than the "northern" one and goes practically unchanged from the Buddha himself, and its adherents adhere to traditional rituals and customs.

The main difference between the Mahayana and Hinayana branches is the attitude towards the Buddha. In the "southern" Buddhism, including Thai, he is treated as an ordinary person who was able to achieve nirvana, and in the "northern" branch he is called a deity. In other words, it can be considered that Buddhist Thais see the world as a whole, where there is no god as such, as Mahayanas or Christians, Muslims and others usually represent him.

Faith is based on virtue, and the main task of any Buddhist is to achieve nirvana. They also believe in the rebirth of souls, and also that the past life and deeds (good or bad) determine what this life will be like in the next incarnation. In Buddhism, there are a lot of rituals that are traditionally performed in Buddhist temples. There are also Thai monks who live in these places either for a certain time or all their lives.

But, in addition to the above, religion suggests that you need to live, though virtuously, but without martyrdom, which is very characteristic of Christianity, for example. People who adhere to Buddhism have a simpler outlook on life. But at the same time, they believe that all bad deeds come from our human base desires, which should be overcome in ourselves if we want to achieve nirvana or live better in the next life than now. Therefore, in many Buddhists one can notice a craving for asceticism.

Islam

The second most popular religion in Thailand is Islam. Muslims here are about 4%, and their main concentration is in the southern part of the country. This is explained by the proximity of Thailand in the south to Malaysia, where Islam reigns.

This religion began to spread in the second half of the 20th century, when the country began to develop economic and trade relations with Arab countries, including neighboring Malaysia. Mostly Muslims in Thailand are representatives of other nationalities and Malays.

Christianity

Christians in Thailand are very few - from 1 to 2% maximum. But Christianity appeared much earlier than Islam. The religion was spread by European missionaries from the 16th-17th centuries. As is the case with Muslims, Christianity is supported mainly by other nationalities and Europeans living in the country.

Christians in Thailand are divided into several categories: Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox. Mostly more Catholics.

The first mention of the appearance of a Catholic (namely, a representative of a monastic order) dates back to 1550. He came from Goa to Siam. Then another missionary wanted to go to the city, but a sudden death prevented his plans. Some time later, people who arrived from Portugal began to spread Catholicism. In 1567, two Dominicans managed to convert as many as 1,500 Thais. But the local pagans opposed this and killed the Dominicans. For a long period, Catholics from other countries were denied entry.

Howevercloser to the XVII century, this confrontation began to subside. The first church was built in 1674. In 1826, missionaries were allowed to enter the country, and since then, since the beginning of the first half of the 19th century, the construction of many Catholic churches, churches, and chapels has begun in Thailand.

But Orthodoxy turned out to be a different story. It began to spread only in the 20th century, and at the moment it is practiced by about a thousand people.

Thais first met Russians in Siam in 1863. At the end of the 19th century, representatives of two nationalities from Russia and Thailand were interested in each other, as representatives of completely different cultures, including in a religious sense. However, although Russian people began to come to Thailand, there were practically no priests among them. That is why Orthodoxy appeared so late, because in the 20th century the first Orthodox church was just built and representatives of the clergy arrived.

Animism

Some people in Thailand believe in spirits, they also have a special relationship with them than in other countries. This is called animism. The essence of faith is that these creatures live everywhere, and they must be honored and “fed”. So-called khanphrabhums (sanprapums) are made for them - these are houses in which food, drinks and incense are placed every day. It is believed that perfumes are fueled by aromas, which is why people should not smell the incense that is in these houses.

There are also a lot of rules associated with these little buildings that must not be broken so as not to anger theseinvisible creatures. It is impossible for a shadow to fall on the house, for example. And almost every Thai family usually asks an astrologer for advice on a good location before installation.

These spirits surround Thais everywhere, there are evil and good. Evil are the souls of dead people who were so "bad" that, instead of being reborn, they became something ephemeral.

Other beliefs

There are also adherents of other beliefs, which are mainly held by national minorities. Such people are less than 1% of the population. These religions include:

• Taoism;
• Confucianism;
• Judaism;
• Hinduism;
• Sikhism.

Attitude towards religion

As already mentioned above, a large percentage of people in Thailand adhere to one or another belief, about 0.4% are clergy. Only 0.3% of the general population consider themselves atheists.

Parents instill a special attitude towards Buddhism in children from an early age. Almost all boys are sent to a monastery for at least two days to be monks.

Also, religion in this country greatly influences the state itself. For example, Thais will never allow a sacred religious (namely Buddhist) holiday to fall on the same date as the state one.

Thais also very often visit Buddhist temples, while staying in which you need to follow a lot of rules. But it’s not scary if a foreigner, due to his ignorance, somewhereviolated. The locals are usually sympathetic. And any religion has such rules of behavior in a sacred place. In Buddhist temples, for example, you cannot speak loudly, touch altars and statues with your hands, and much more.

Famous temples

These buildings are some of the most interesting places in the country, and this is the most vivid expression of Buddhism - the main religion of Thailand. Photos cannot describe the beauty of these structures. Any tourist who has visited the country at least once should look at at least one. There are a lot of temples here, and they are all beautiful, but let's look at the most grandiose of them.

• The White Temple, although it is a religious place, was created by a surrealist sculptor, which can be seen from the appearance of this place. It looks unusual and stands out among its "brothers".
• Tiger Cave Temple (Wat Tham Suea) in Krabi is very large and located on a hill. At the very top there is a Buddha statue, to which about one and a half thousand steps lead.
• Temple of the Emerald Buddha is the property of the royal family and is considered one of the most popular tourist destinations in Bangkok.
• But the Temple of Truth in Pattaya is completely wooden. Wood craftsmen worked on its construction, which can be easily seen: the tree has very beautiful carvings and patterns. It reaches a height of more than 100 meters and has three floors, each of which symbolizes heaven, hell and nirvana.

Instead of a conclusion

So what is the religion in Thailand? State and mosta popular faith is Buddhism, which is followed by almost the entire population. Most Thais are very religious, but first of all they believe that it is important to remain a virtuous person. There are other faiths here, but they are much fewer. It is their attitude to religion that Thais differ from many other peoples.