Majority-Buddhist Myanmar is made up of eight major and eight minor ethnic groups, each of which hoped for autonomy after Burmese independence 70 years ago, and some of the world’s longest-running civil wars continue here. Operation World, a Christian missionary organisation, calls Myanmar “a deeply fractured nation on a political and especially ethnic level”. The conflict zones along the country’s borders are where most of Myanmar’s Christians live, including the Kachin and Karen ethnic minorities, which have faced years of government oppression. Meanwhile, the rise in the number of Muslims has provoked the Patriotic Association of Myanmar, locally known as Ma Ba Tha and led by influential Buddhist monks. Ma Ba Tha is not merely anti-Muslim, it is Buddhist nationalist, so Christians are not beyond its focus. Myanmar was thrown into a crisis following a coup on 1 February 2021 which has left ethnic religious minorities even more vulnerable.
Myanmar Baptists face eight years in prison for helping journalist to photograph bombed church
Two Kachin Baptist pastors who helped a journalist to photograph a Catholic church bombed by Myanmar’s army face up to eight years in prison, reports the US-based Baptist Standard. Langjaw Gam Seng, 35, and Dumdaw Nawng Lat, 67, went missing on 24 December 2016 during a period of intense armed […]
Myanmar Christians arrested for praying, as fears that northern conflict will ‘intensify’
Five Christians from Myanmar’s northernmost Kachin state have been arrested for holding prayers to mark six years since a return to conflict between the Tatmadaw (the combined forces of Myanmar’s army, navy and air force) and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), reports The Irrawaddy. The 17-year ceasefire collapsed in June […]
Myanmar pastors charged with ‘aiding rebels’
Two Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) pastors have been charged with aiding rebels in Myanmar’s eastern Shan State, reports Crux. Dom Dawng Nawng Lat, 65, and La Jaw Gam Hseng, 35, are accused of being “informers and spreading false news on behalf of the armed insurgents”, according to Myanmar’s state news […]
Two missing pastors; Myanmar army link suspected
International human rights organisations have expressed concern for two pastors missing since 24 December in Myanmar. Ethnic Kachin live in Shan as well as Kachin State, and the two Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) men had taken reporters to a Catholic church damaged by airstrikes in clashes between the government army and […]
2017 Myanmar refugee suicide study
A new study has found a high incidence of suicide among women in camps housing long-term refugees fleeing Myanmar’s ethnic conflict, reports the BBC News Magazine. In a study of refugees in Thailand’s Mae La camp, where 90% are ethnically Karen – a group that mainly identifies as Christian – […]
USCIRF says Myanmar must ‘control’ its military
A new, critical report on religious freedoms in Myanmar by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom says the major challenge facing Aung San Suu Kyi’s government is “bringing the military under civilian control”. The report says the Burmese Army, which, due to constitutional provisions, is beyond civilian control, has […]
Myanmar Christians join latest peace talks
Myanmar’s Christians have joined other ethnic groups at this week’s five-day peace conference in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, aimed at ending decades of conflict. The conference was attended by the UN Secretary-General, but some critics say it’s happened without enough preparation and consultation. The 17 ethnic groups, including representatives […]
Myanmar’s Christian population grows to 6.2 per cent
Tower of a Catholic church next to a Buddhist statue, Myanmar Nov. 2015World Watch Monitor Myanmar’s Christian population has increased dramatically, according to the latest figures in a supplement to the 2014 Population and Housing Census, conducted by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). Christians now make up 6.2 per cent […]
Monk stokes religious tension in Myanmar
An influential Myanmar monk looks set to continue his controversial plan of building Buddhist temples on or close to the grounds of churches, says . On 6 June, Myaing Kyee Ngu and his supporters arrived near St Mark’s church in Hlaingbwe – one of the largest townships in Karen State, […]
Freedom of religion among Myanmar’s ‘biggest challenges’
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Myanmar’s first Catholic Cardinal, at the UK Parliament in London, 25 May, 2016. World Watch Monitor Myanmar’s first ever Catholic Cardinal has said protecting freedom of religion or belief for all is among the “biggest challenges” facing his country as it adapts to life after […]