Social pressures, echoes of corruption hamper an age-old religion
To tourists, Thailand is the most religious of countries, with 92 percent of Thais officially deemed to follow the state religion. The king must be a Buddhist, with Buddhist rituals enwrapped within royal ceremonies amid some of the most spectacular religious architecture in the world, which as much as anything gives the country its national character.
It is a religion that seemingly permeates the very fiber of the country. Wrongdoers repair to the monkhood to atone. Buddhist artefacts adorn government buildings. Young males are expected to spend three months as novice monks. Thais can be seen every morning, giving alms to monks along the roadside to the tinkling of bells around all parts of the country.
Falling out of favor
But visits to most of the nation’s 40,000 temples, or wats, that dot the countryside…
