Myanmar | gods-trio-partners

Myanmar - The Golden Land

Myanmar is located along the tropic of Cancer, in South East Asia. It is bordered by the Andaman Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and in between Bangladesh, India, China and Thailand. It is a land of exotic foods, culture and history. It is also a land that until a few years ago was closed off from the rest of the world. But God has a special place in His heart for the nation of Myanmar and for the beautiful people that live there.

Government

Myanmar has since the early centuries been ruled by many smaller kingdoms and empires with stronger states conquering land until the Burmans became the majority and solidified their dominance in this region. Most parts of Myanmar were conquered as part of the Bristish Empire from 1824 until 1948 when it became an Independent nation. From then until now, a Military Regime has been in power with Democracy only recently elected into Government in the past two years. During Military rule, Myanmar was closed off from the rest of the world and existed almost in seclusion and has remained unchanged in most parts for almost half a century.

Population

Currently there are over 60 Million people that live in Myanmar. Modern Myanmar is a product of thousands of years of unification of many empires over the many ethnic tribes and groups.

Out of these ethnic groups, the Burmans make up 68% of the population,the Shans 3%, Mons 2%, Indians 2%, and others 5%. There are over 135 ethnic groups each with their own languages and customs.

Religion

Out of the 60 Million people in Myanmar, 89% of them are practising Buddhists, the others are 4% Christian (Baptists 3%, Roman Catholics 1%), Muslims 4%, Hindu 1%, Animists 1%, and other 1%.

The new constitution provides for the freedom of religion; however, it also grants broad exceptions that allow the regime to restrict these rights at will. In years past, religion freedom has not been expressed with missionary activities prohibited.

Christians are also said to face persecution. Christians have not moved to the higher echelons of power. A small number of foreign organizations have been permitted to enter the country to conduct humanitarian works, such as World Vision following Cyclone Nargis. A long standing ban on the free entry of missionaries and religious materials persists since independence in 1948, which is seen as hostile to Christianity. The burning of Christian churches is reported in South Eastern Myanmar, where the Karens live.

Christianity is practiced by 4% of the population,primarily among the Kachin, Chin and Kayin, and Eurasians because of missionary work in their respective areas. About four-fifths of the country’s Christians are Protestants, in particular Baptists of the Myanmar Baptist Convention; Roman Catholics make up the remainder.