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Christianity in Thailand


Christianity was first introduced to Thailand by European missionaries. It represents 1.2% of the national population, which is predominantly Buddhist. Christians are numerically and organizationally concentrated more heavily in the North, where they make up an estimated 16% of some lowland districts (e.g., Chomtong, Chiang Mai) and up to very high percents in tribal districts (e.g., Mae Sariang, Mae Hong Son).

Christianity in Thailand began with the work of missionaries or foreign religious workers. In the 1550s the Portuguese mercenaries and their chaplain arrived in Ayutthaya. By 1660, the Vicariate Apostolic of Siam was established under the leadership particularly of Portuguese and French fathers. Protestants appeared in the new capital of Bangkok in 1828 through the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions representative, Karl Gützlaff followed by Rev. Jesse Casswell and Dr. Dan Beach Bradley. These two both switched affiliations to the American Missionary Association (AMA) in 1848 over their support for the Finney revival emphasis on "perfectionism" that the Congregationalist parent organization found unorthodox, effectively ending the work of the ABCFM in Siam.

American Baptists arrived in Thailand in 1833 and American Presbyterians in 1840. Daniel McGilvary and William Clifton Dodd were important names in the formation of the Church in Lanna Kingdom of Northern Thailand. Burmese Karen evangelists and Dr. John Sung of China were part of the early evangelistic efforts to Thailand up until World War II. Other waves of European and American Protestant missions to Thailand included the Christian and Missionary Alliance in the 1930s and then again after World War II. Korean and other Asian missionaries came in increasing numbers from the 1970s through the 1990s, such Dr. Kosuke Koyama of Japan.


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