Religion, Ethnicity and National Identity in Burma (Myanmar)

Abstract

The relationship between religion and politics is central to many contemporary debates on the influence of religion in society. How political bodies identify with religion can affect the policies they promote, their values, goals, and self-perception, as well as reinforce divisions within disparate religious communities and intensify political conflict. Ethnic and national identity can also function in this way, creating and reinforcing a sense of community, providing stability and inspiring action, but at the same time, negotiating differences between ethnic communities within a bounded nation is a major contributor to conflict worldwide. In Burma, for decades tensions between Burma’s ethnic minority communities and the Burman majority government have been a dominant feature of Burma’s political and social landscape. In this thesis, I argue that religion has often played an important role in these tensions reinforcing difference and creating a social hierarchy within the state. In the study, I survey several periods of Burmese political history, examining how Burmese governments and central political elite have drawn Buddhism into their political policies and practices, how they have managed ethnic relations, and the interplay between religion, politics, and ethnicity. I also argue that nation-building is a principal source of tension between the central state and ethnic minority communities, and that to understand ethnic relations in Burma we need to understand the processes of nation-building and constructing national identity.