Christianity

Christianity was first properly introduced into Burma in the early 18^th Century, although protestant missionaries had unsuccesfully been operating prior to the turn of the century, with the annexation of Araken and Tennesserim in the first Anglo-Burmese war. The annexation led to a number of mainly Baptist missionaries making contact with the predominantly animist Karens who were able to cross into the newly acquired territories.

Karen oral legends told a story of the parents of the Karen race living in the garden of Y’wa, the creator (see God traditions), and the temptation of the parents to eat forbidden fruit by some mythical beast, this and many other legends shared a very close similarity to Christian teachings and this meant that the Karens were easily able to identify with the teachings of the Christian missionaries.

Adoniram Judson is said to have gained the first Karen convert to Christianity in Ko Tha Byu in 1828[1], two years after the first Anglo-Burmese war ended, he then proceeded in spreading the word of the gospels throughout the Karen people. The beliefs of the Karen relating to the one God was easily transplanted to the Karens and many crossed into Arakan and Moulmein to hear the words of the Christian God.

The Burman rulers however considered Christianity to be another tool of the British oppressors and therefore thought of Christian Karens as agents of the Empire and thus persecuted them to an unbearable degree. Christian Karens found themselves imprisoned and in the most extreme cases even crucified[2].

A large number of Baptist schools, including a Karen college, were set up providing the Christian converts with a high level of education and opportunities to travel to America to study. Missionaries like Dr Wade introduced a written Karen script, based on the Burmese alphabet, whilst another, Reverend Mason, printed the first Karen newspaper as early as 1841[3].

Today as little as one sixth of the Karens are Christian and yet due to the educational opportunities and support given by missionaries the Christian Karens still hold larger social positions then many of the Buddhist or Animist majority.

[1] San C Po, Burma and the Karens, p2. That said however, in his book -'Fifty Years of Struggle' by Ba Saw Khin, KNL. The author states that Ko Tha Byu was actually converted a previously Buddhist Burman, Maung Shwe Bay, who had been converted by Judson.

[2] In one reported case a man named Klaw Meh was nailed to a cross with his abdomen ripped open and his intestines hanging out picked on by crows until he died later, ibid p2

[3] The Morning Star, printed in Tavoy continued running until 1962 when it was closed down in 1962 by Ne Win – Smith, Burma, p44