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Buddhism and Christianity in Competition? Religious and Ethnic Identity in Karen Communities of Northern Thailand

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2003

Roland Platz
Roland Platz
Affiliation:
The Department of Cultural Science at St Gallen University in St Gallen, Switzerland; rolandplatz@gmx.de
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Abstract

The influence of Christianity in Karen communities of Northern Thailand is increasing. Thai Buddhism is still marginal but growing, reducing the power of traditional beliefs, particularly ancestor worship. Despite conflicts between Christians and non-Christians, differing attitudes among the various Christian denominations towards Karen tradition and intra-ethnic dissociation based on religion, a distinctive Karen ethnic identity persists irrespective of religion, though the association between religious and ethnic identity varies.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Southeast Asian Studies , Volume 34 , Issue 3 , October 2003 , pp. 473 - 490
Copyright
2003 The National University of Singapore

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