Systemic threat to the religious freedoms of Christian Chins in Burma/Myanmar

Abstract

The biggest threat to religious freedom is religious extremism, which is sponsored by the State. In Burma/Myanmar, despite the reform and political liberalization that has taken place since 2010, there is a growing threat to religious minorities, including the Christians, Muslims, and other non-Buddhists who together constitute a sizeable chunk of the population and in some cases form a dominant group in certain parts of the country. The threat to religious freedom of the Christian Chin in Burma/Myanmar dates as far back as the 1960s when the military took over power from a civilian democratic government. Along with methods to "Burmanize" the Chin, as well as other ethnic and religious minorities, the successive Burmese governments have used different strategies to systematically convert them into Buddhist through coercion or any other possible means. Although there is now some form of local political autonomy after the reform, there remains serious threats to religious freedom due to a highly centralized political decision-making, which maintains past policy and practices that threaten fundamental freedoms including religious freedoms for the minorities. For instance, as late as January 2015, the Chin State Government forcibly ordered the removal of a 54-foot-high Christian cross, prompting thousands of local Christians to stage a peaceful protest. In this context, it seems that the democratic transition in Burma/Myanmar does not reach the remote areas like Chin State. This research tried to identify the threat that impacts their life and the struggle of Christian Chin's response and resistance against the threat to religious freedom through a qualitative approach that involved key informant interviews. Despite the state sponsored suppression and repression against ethnic and religious minorities, the Christian Chin people continue to struggle for the preservation and conservation of their belief or religion, culture, language, literature, and art. This has an immense significance for the Chin people in their struggle against the threat to religious freedom. The thesis recommends for Chin that the solution lies in a secular state with a genuine federal union, so that the Chin can fulfill their aspirations for self-determination which guarantees religious freedom