The rise of Christianity in Cambodia
– Philip Coggan
In 2014, I spent several months interviewing Cambodians about their beliefs.
Largely this meant talking about the mixture of Buddhism and animism
that makes up traditional Cambodian religion. But I was struck by one
thing that seems to be largely overlooked in the literature about
Cambodia – the rapid growth of Christianity.
This is somewhat surprising, as Buddhism is a crucial element of
Cambodian national identity. "To be Cambodian is to be Buddhist," as a
widely-quoted saying has it.
The would-be convert’s first hurdle is to overcome the feeling that Christianity is in some sense a betrayal of Khmer-ness.
The second hurdle is that Christianity has a reputation for teaching
disrespect for parents. This is a little difficult to fathom given the
Biblical injunction to honour one’s mother and father.
But respect for parents is one of the foundations of Khmer society and
it comes as a surprise and a relief to young would-be converts to find
that they are not expected to turn their backs on their families.
That these obstacles are increasingly being overcome is witnessed by
the fact that Cambodia is the ninth-fastest growing Christian community
per capita in the world. What is behind this?
A theme I heard over and over from recent converts was that Christian
congregations – the churches as an institution, not the belief system of
Christianity – offer fellowship and a sense of purpose. This is the
first factor that draws converts, and my impression is that it is the
most important.
Second is that evangelical churches are invariably far wealthier than their non-Christian audience.
"I prayed for a motorbike and my parents bought me one but it was old
and I prayed again and it was stolen and God knew my will and one of the
Christians in the church bought me a new one," said a young Christian
interviewed by The Phnom Penh Post.
It would be a mistake to see this as confirmation that converts are “rice-bowl Christians” in it for what they can get.
This expectation of the Christian God is indistinguishable from the way
Cambodians approach the spirits, who are also regarded as the source of
material blessings — the Christian God is assimilated to the Khmer
universe as the most powerful inhabitant of the spirit world.
A look at the recent history of South Korea offers some suggestive parallels.
The foundations of Christianity were laid there in the first half of
the 20th century, when missionaries established schools offering an
education not otherwise available in an elite-dominated society.
Still, by 1960 only 2% of the Korean population were Christians.
The great explosion came in the 1970s and 80s, the period of South
Korea’s economic miracle, when the villages were emptied into the cities
and modern values (equal opportunity, self-advancement) replaced
traditional ideas of order and hierarchy.
Materialism trumped spirituality. Half of all Koreans now say they have
no religion at all; of the remainder, about 30% have opted for
Christianity, a religion identified, somewhat paradoxically, with both
individual success and social justice.
Cambodia is unlikely to repeat the South Korean economic miracle, but
the economy is growing rapidly and for the first time in their history
ordinary Cambodians can hope for a future radically better than their
past.
And a small but growing minority see Christianity as the key to that
future. It offers schools to the poor and scholarships to the gifted
(Cambodians see education as the key to self-betterment), it teaches a
message of social justice to the victims of an unjust society (the
present kleptocracy is deeply resented by ordinary Cambodians), and it
provides an organised and supportive community in a country in which
civil society barely exists.
Christianity is becoming increasingly Cambodianised. Contrary to the
stereotype, the leaders of today’s Christian communities are more likely
to be Cambodians than foreigners, and more and more conversions are
coming about through direct contact between Buddhist Khmers and lay
Christian Cambodians rather than through traditional evangelism.
(For an excellent overview of how foreign missionaries work in the
kingdom, but one which misses this important shift to Cambodianised and
community-centred proselytisation, see Sebastian Strangio’s
“Proselytising amid the poverty”, published in The Phnom Penh Post.)
Relations between Christians and Buddhists are generally harmonious, but I have some fears for the future.
Converts tend to distance themselves from the non-Christian community,
largely because they feel unable in good conscience to participate in
events such as Cambodian New Year and the Pchum Ben festival; both are
central to Khmer identity, but both involve participation in what
Christians regard as “idolatry”.
This trend will probably strengthen as the number of Christians grows
and their communities will consequently have less and less need to
interact with non-Christians.
Ninety-seven per cent of Cambodians are Buddhists, but Christianity is
growing at almost 6% each year and will overtake Islam as the second
largest religion in less than a decade.
Should present trends continue, it is not inconceivable that the
country’s religious demography will be transformed by the middle of the
century. – New Mandala, January 24, 2016.
* Philip Coggan is an Australian writer based in Cambodia, and author of "Spirit Worlds: Cambodia, the Buddha and the Naga".
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and
does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
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