The Dynasty of Thai Buddhism and the Transformation of Religion in the 21st Century

Abstract

Thailand is a country with a history of hypernationalistic indoctrination and unhealthy political conditions. The entanglement of Buddhism and the Thai state means that Thai Buddhism has embraced the royalist-nationalistic narrative, perceiving itself to be in constant danger, needing state intervention. The success of the reform a century ago is now an obstruction to adapting Thai Buddhism to the new wave of modernization. The paper begins by tracing the origin of Buddhist nationalism back to its formative years. The last part focuses on how Buddhism impacts religious freedom through changes in the constitutional as well as actual policies on religion.