Religion in Thailand

Thai people are deeply religious. 94 percent of the population are Buddhists. Buddhism appeared in Thailand during 3rd century BC. Buddhism as dominant religion in Thailand is considered as the backbone of Thai society and family. The reason for this is that Thai temples serve not only as temples but like school, hospital, community center, village hostelry etc. In fact this social implementation results in surprisingly low illiteracy rate before universal education.

For the western world Buddhism as religion in Thailand can be described in the following way: existence is suffering and suffering is caused by desire. Eliminating the desire leads to the state of non-suffering and non-existence called “nibbana” or nirvana. In this way one can find peace in mind and inner freedom. Buddhism religion in Thailand teaches that life does not begin with birth and does not end with death - life is a link in a chain of lifes and each is dependent on the previous life. That’s why all Thais believe in reincarnation.

Although Buddhism is main and strongly supported religion, Thailand is known for being tolerant to other beliefs and religions.