Thailand is the Most Religious Country in the World

[LannaGuy]

A guide to the perfect Thai idiot ( แนะนำคนไทยไร้ปัญญา )

by Dr. Sawai Boonma, a former economist at the World Bank.

http://sawaiboonma.c...fect-thai-idiot

.............We present Thailand as the land of smiles full of gentle Buddhists. We regularly give alms to monks and often make donations to temples, believing that those are selfless acts for the welfare of others. Deep down, however, we do that only because we wish to get something in return – to go to heaven or have a richer next life. It is a trade, pure and simple, nothing kind or selfless about it. Few of us give for the sake of giving. We are basically very selfish.

Every time we go to the temple or attend a Buddhist ceremony, we duly accept and recite the Five Precepts as a guide to our daily lives; but we leave them there, as we always make promises without ever intending to keep them. Actually, we understand little about Buddhism. Even among the ranks of the monks, most do not know the teachings in-depth and lead their lives accordingly — all they know is how to conduct ceremonies from which they earn easy income. This reflects something deeper — we are generally lazy and like to take short-cuts to the “sabai” (do-nothing) state. Lottery tickets, therefore, always sell out at premium prices; prostitution is rampant and young women readily marry foreign pensioners.

We love to talk but rarely listen. Even when we do, we often fail to hear, as we never learn to think critically. We cannot put up with different points of view nor can we work cooperatively. Many of the over 30,000 Buddhist temples were built next to one another because when we disagreed with one, we just built another. That cooperative movement has never been successful here is another indication of our inability to tolerate different points of view.

We readily forgive, so we believe, as our most common utterance is “mai pen rai” (it doesn’t matter) when someone makes a mistake. But that is only a reflection of the culture of indifference and ready rationalization. We can always cite a well-known proverb, a famous poem or a sage’s sharp utterance to justify everything we do.

We complain so much about corruption. But we do little about it. Worse, we keep electing the same corrupt politicians because they have money and influence from which he hope to benefit. Survey after survey shows that the majority of us do not mind corruption as long as we get something out of it. One of the surveys last year showed that almost 85% of us believed that cheating was a normal business practice, making us practically a nation of thieves. When I raised the matter in this column, I received the angriest responses from fellow Thais, using expressions so colorful that they should not be printed nor uttered within earshot of other humans.

This long-running self-deception has created so much moral deficit, to employ Joseph Stiglitz’s terminology, that has put Thailand into a state of moral crisis for some time now. Some of the symptoms of this state are the economic crisis of 1997 and the protests culminating in last week’s events. Of course, we will never admit this, for we are perfect and will continue to be very angry when a foreigner utters something non-complementary about us. But I do hope that the events of last week shock most of us into reexamining ourselves, our values, and start reducing the moral deficit as well as trying to generate some moral surplus: doing more genuinely voluntary work for the common good similar to the street cleaning carried out by Bangkokians last weekend, but on a regular basis.

this

[TheFishman1]

I vote the most Drunk country in the world lol

[klauskunkel]

There is a difference between saying something and doing something

[Commerce]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOF_XVJ9cqc

[issanaus]

A guide to the perfect Thai idiot ( แนะนำคนไทยไร้ปัญญา )

by Dr. Sawai Boonma, a former economist at the World Bank.

http://sawaiboonma.c...fect-thai-idiot

.............We present Thailand as the land of smiles full of gentle Buddhists. We regularly give alms to monks and often make donations to temples, believing that those are selfless acts for the welfare of others. Deep down, however, we do that only because we wish to get something in return to go to heaven or have a richer next life. It is a trade, pure and simple, nothing kind or selfless about it. Few of us give for the sake of giving. We are basically very selfish.

Every time we go to the temple or attend a Buddhist ceremony, we duly accept and recite the Five Precepts as a guide to our daily lives; but we leave them there, as we always make promises without ever intending to keep them. Actually, we understand little about Buddhism. Even among the ranks of the monks, most do not know the teachings in-depth and lead their lives accordingly all they know is how to conduct ceremonies from which they earn easy income. This reflects something deeper we are generally lazy and like to take short-cuts to the sabai (do-nothing) state. Lottery tickets, therefore, always sell out at premium prices; prostitution is rampant and young women readily marry foreign pensioners.

We love to talk but rarely listen. Even when we do, we often fail to hear, as we never learn to think critically. We cannot put up with different points of view nor can we work cooperatively. Many of the over 30,000 Buddhist temples were built next to one another because when we disagreed with one, we just built another. That cooperative movement has never been successful here is another indication of our inability to tolerate different points of view.

We readily forgive, so we believe, as our most common utterance is mai pen rai (it doesnt matter) when someone makes a mistake. But that is only a reflection of the culture of indifference and ready rationalization. We can always cite a well-known proverb, a famous poem or a sages sharp utterance to justify everything we do.

We complain so much about corruption. But we do little about it. Worse, we keep electing the same corrupt politicians because they have money and influence from which he hope to benefit. Survey after survey shows that the majority of us do not mind corruption as long as we get something out of it. One of the surveys last year showed that almost 85% of us believed that cheating was a normal business practice, making us practically a nation of thieves. When I raised the matter in this column, I received the angriest responses from fellow Thais, using expressions so colorful that they should not be printed nor uttered within earshot of other humans.

This long-running self-deception has created so much moral deficit, to employ Joseph Stiglitzs terminology, that has put Thailand into a state of moral crisis for some time now. Some of the symptoms of this state are the economic crisis of 1997 and the protests culminating in last weeks events. Of course, we will never admit this, for we are perfect and will continue to be very angry when a foreigner utters something non-complementary about us. But I do hope that the events of last week shock most of us into reexamining ourselves, our values, and start reducing the moral deficit as well as trying to generate some moral surplus: doing more genuinely voluntary work for the common good similar to the street cleaning carried out by Bangkokians last weekend, but on a regular basis.

this

[/quote

applies to just about every religion/philosophy and every country.

At least the author is not in denial unlike most of the world - excepting TVF members who are all ethical and honest in all their dealings ....

[simple1]

I don't know what is funnier - the claim that Thailand is the most religious country or saying that they were voted most religious.

Another quality report from The Guardian. The competition with Private Eye is getting fierce! ;-)

It’s a WIN/Gallop poll reported by the Guardian; the media press release is at:

http://www.wingia.com/web/files/news/290/file/290.pdf

65 countries were surveyed, including some with Muslim majorities.

Edited April 14, 2015 by simple1

[SOTIRIOS]

....including the thieves, prostitites .......................and politicians facing sentencing.........

[sfokevin]

One see a lot of buddhism here but very little dharma...

[Graemej100]

I would doubt if Thailand is more 'religious' tha The Vatican, which is a country in its own right.

Anyone dispute that?

[winstonc]

"When it comes to education and religion, people with no education are most religious"

Now there's a thing.

It's why the powers that be want to keep the populace uneducated.

i think the population are quite happy to stay uneducated it absolves them from any responsibility i think..you know what i mean you say something to them and that glazed look comes across the eyes like a rabbit in the headlights..the lights are on but theres no-one indoors

[JOC]

The only God in Thailand:

[JOC]

Thailand is the Most Religious Country in the World

Only one comment:

[winstonc]

my understanding is that Buddhism isn't a religion. its a set of beliefs. Buddha himself proclaims hes no god

you are 100% correct in your assumption sir..

[wabothai]

really depends on how you interpret religion.

IS slashes throats in the name of "religion".

This one by the Guardian is pure hogwash.

[issanaus]

I would doubt if Thailand is more 'religious' tha The Vatican, which is a country in its own right.

Anyone dispute that?

I admire you sense of humour, 55++

[gandalf12]

Every country is the same. What people mean when they say they are religious is that they were born into a particular faith, not that they believe or act is a way required by "their" faith

[Bluespunk]

No it isn't.. the Philippines is the most religious country in the world - if devout Christians count

Saudi Arabia....I think they kill you if you are not religious

No they kill you if your not muslem.

No they don't.

Why not take your hate elsewhere.

I'm sure the KKK, NF or some other form of "Bigots are Us" are holding a meeting somewhere.

Why go along, I think you'll fit in quite nicely.

[kannot]

How sad is that, when science starts to finally unravel many mysteries previously WRONGLY explained by "religion" its a MAJOR step back to prehistoric living!!

[micmichd]

You can hardly call Western materialism and the superstition of a virgin's pregnancy a religion either.

[Mr Somtam]

I am completely done with Thai "buddhism", it is not buddhism at all. It is animist superstition mixed with commerce... Went to a wat a couple of days ago: had to give money to have the monk tell your fortune (real monks can not handle or own money). The kutis had sattelite dishes (real monks don't watch tv), they were driving a motorbike(real monks can not drive vehicles), they sold drums with buffalo skins on it (monks can not sell stuff for profit and most certainly can not kill animals). I told my wife It was bullshit, she kind of agreed but still better be safe than sorry so just hand over the bahts and listen to the old mans "advice". Not religion, just paying for magic...

Interesting post, interesting perspective and I'm sure very commonplace throughout LoS.

I don't mean Mr.S being done with Buddhism but rather the practices he described.

You are right. I am a meditator. I read books by Ajarn Brahm/Chah/Amaro etc. etc. Thai forest tradition is great, but is only 0,0001 % of all temples and monks. They don't sell amulets and tell fortune so not popular with the locals... Buddhism has moved to the West I think, it's still fresh and pure there for the most.

[Commerce]

No it isn't.. the Philippines is the most religious country in the world - if devout Christians count

Saudi Arabia....I think they kill you if you are not religious

No they kill you if your not muslem.

No they don't.

Why not take your hate elsewhere.

I'm sure the KKK, NF or some other form of "Bigots are Us" are holding a meeting somewhere.

Why go along, I think you'll fit in quite nicely.

I would bother. He cnat eevn splel.

[MW72]

When deciding to spend a bit more time in Thailand I decided it best to read up about Buddhism. Being an atheist I quite liked the fact that Buddhism didn't require the belief in a god and seemed to be more of a philosophy to help you lead a better life. I haven't seen much in Thailand that I would recognize from what I read. I reckon old Buddha himself would not be best pleased if he could see how things turned out.

I don't speak much Thai so I cannot claim to have held in depth discussions with Thais as to their beliefs, however I see plenty of Christians acting in a way that isn't very Christian and I don't need to have an in depth discussion with them to know they are full of $#!t religiously speaking. Nice people just too much superstition and not enough education. As someone pointed out earlier, the more educated a society the less religious generally speaking.

Chok Dee as they say.

[ebean001]

I think this article is accurate. I think Thais are very 'religious' in a very good way. Yes, they may do some wrong things occasionally but our whole way of life on this earth now almost requires those types of actions to counter balance all the 'non-religious' acts that they are exposed to.

I have not been exposed to a larger group of people who practice their religion better. Their beliefs are very good...especially about anger, happiness, help others, etc.

Finally, I know that the poorer countries and less educated people seem to be near the top of most religious people. I think we all know that and are not surprised that poorer people are more 'religious' then richer people.

However, I have a feeling western countries may have a populous that runs counter to that rule of thumb. On any given Sunday in USA the more intelligent people, in general, are in church while the less intelligent are not…but I do not know the facts.

[Kerryd]

Here is the link to the original press report about the survey (http://www.wingia.com/en/news/losing_our_religion_two_thirds_of_people_still_claim_to_be_religious/290/) and it does appear they surveyed Africa and the Middle East ("The research discovered that the most religious regions are Africa and MENA (Middle East and North Africa)") though it doesn't give a breakdown of their results. It notes as well that approx 1,000 people were surveyed in each of 65 countries either in face-to-face, telephone or online interviews.

It doesn't mention which 65 countries were chosen, or why. Note also that the charts and maps in the Telegraph article were either added by the Telegraph writer or sourced from other means. I've been going through the whole Win/Gallup site and the only thing I can find is the press release (linked above) and a link to the Telegraph article. Win/Gallup's "End Of Year" survey has exactly one question on it regarding religion (How important to you is; Your Religion. - http://www.wingia.com/web/files/richeditor/filemanager/Thailand_Tables_V3_a.pdf - page 9). I can't find any of the actual data pertaining to this particular survey.

This poll is rather suspect for a number of reasons. The reasons for why only 65 countries were surveyed or how those 65 countries were chosen are not mentioned. The data itself seems suspect as well. For example "In Israel, 65% of those asked said that they are either not religious or convinced atheists compared to just 30% who say that they are religious. " Seriously ? According to the World Factbook, 75.1% of Israelis are Jewish and 17.4% are Muslim. "Others" (including Atheists) make up just 3.9% of the total population (by their 2012 estimates and I highly doubt it changed a whole lot in 2 years).

Like any stats, the numbers can be manipulated to achieve almost any result you want. Pollsters have been doing that for ever. Need a certain result to a question ? Target the survey to certain areas and age groups most likely to give you the answers you are looking for. Getting too many "incorrect" responses ? Adjust the questions and targeted demographics, or simply drop the data that doesn't suit your needs.

The actual survey seems designed to make it look like religion is on the upswing which is odd as pretty much every story over the past decade or so has been about how the reverse is true. It was interesting to note that it seems that the better educated, better earning demographics tend to be less religious than the poorly educated, low income classes.

And people wonder why groups like the Taliban and ISIS don't like schools (or why Christianity has such an issue with things like Science and Biology and History and Anthropology and Paleontology and pretty much every other "ology"). Educated people with good jobs don't make good zealots or suicide bombers !

"Religion is the opiate of the masses" (Karl Marx, May 1818 - March 1883 - "Die Religion ... ist das Opium des Volkes")

“Religion. It's given people hope in a world torn apart by religion.” (Jon Stewart, November 1962 - present)

[Godders]

Twaddle, particularly the bit about religion becoming more popular over the next 35 years. How on earth can anyone predict that with any degree of certainty? With science gradually pushing back the frontiers of our ignorance and likely to discover the origins of the universe in the foreseeable future, I would have thought God is on his way out and will disappear with a big bang when we learn the scientific truth about how we really got here.

The sooner we wake up to the fact that we are, whether we like it or not, the masters of our own earthly destiny, the better for mankind. Just getting rid of religious hatred and the conflicts it has created over centuries, will be compensation enough for having to stand on our own feet. We might even start trying to build a heaven on this planet, rather than praying for one in the hereafter.

The late and great contrarian Christopher Hitchens opined that religion poisons everything and if one looks at the degree of corruption, crime and lack of compassion for anyone outside the immediate family in the world's most religious country where I, an anti-theist, have spent the last two decades you can't help feeling he was right.

[SuwadeeS]

The biggest joke of Songkran.

Fact is:

The many monks are failed lives, men who lost their jobs, don't have relatives, or other social contact.

They don't have so many options.

But if you think about it.....

Go to a temple. You will not be lonely anymore. You will get fed. You lose all your worries. And you get a high prestige.

You can buy all the highend gadget, like the newest Smartphone or a pc with 32 GB RAM, you need to study the doctrines of Buddha.

They even pray to you.

Doesn't matter if you have been an umemployed unmoralic guy without manner.

That what they call religion.

For me it is nothing.

[angelman]

I am so happy to see the amost universal agreement concerning Budhism in Thailand. It did not take all of my eight years here to discover that of all the BS and Lies, that this is the biggest one. And the saddest. I am Christian but very studied in much. Basic (real original) Budhism, which is essentially the correct understanding of the MIDDLE WAY, is as close to being Christian in Behavior that you can get. These people do not have a clue. Exceptions of course. Most Thai are exstreenist in practice. Sometimes I wonder what the point is talking about any of these things. Impossible to change them. And if you tell the new farang on the block, to help him, he will not listen. MAYBE there is reason for our being here. I call it PURGATORY. I used to call it HELL, but HELL is forever, I cannot face that possibility. No, you cannot leave either untill the jailhouse door is opened. That is why we stupidly lose most all our money within the first three years. Jaildoor slams shut. Help me Budha, Help me. He laughs. Idiot he says!!!

[BuaBS]

"When it comes to education and religion, people with no education are most religious"

Now there's a thing.

Are you saying that the pope is thick ? or in on the scheme

You can't take what the pope says seriously , after all he believes in a god...

[Morakot]

Just

You can materialistic animism hardly call a religion.

Worshipping Mammon is a well established religion.

[carabou]

India? Bali?Not mentioned but the most religious people I have seen.

I am sure there are others too more observant of their beliefs than Thailand.

Thai 'Buddhism' is a very debased version of his teachings I think.

Having said that, I see Thais as living closer to the concept of 'good' and happiness than any other country I have lived in. Which is a few now. One of the reasons I am here.

Christians and Muslims too in the main are the same as far as I can see. Good ideas gone bad.Universally, money is the god we are all most faithful to.