Thailand: Thailand votes against making Buddhism the national religion

The Constitution Drafting Assembly voted 66 to 19 against the proposal to recognize Buddhism — followed by about 90 percent of Thailand's 64 million people — as the official national religion. The assembly was appointed in January to draft a new charter to replace the previous 1997 constitution that was scrapped in a military coup last year.

"It is not appropriate to register Buddhism as a national religion in the constitution simply because we will lose more than we gain from it," said Jaran Pakdithanakul, a member of the constitution drafting body.

The vote sparked an outcry by hundreds of Buddhists, including monks, who have been staging an around-the-clock rally outside Parliament. They threatened to vote against the constitution when it is submitted to a national referendum, probably in September.

They say that Buddhism has been under threat by an Islamic separatist insurgency in the country's Muslim-dominated southern provinces, and its official recognition is necessary to guarantee it will continue to be the country's main religion. Southern Muslims have long complained of discrimination in the Buddhist-dominated country.

29 June 2007