Religious Diversity in the ASEAN Region
Syllabus of the Subject - Religious Diversity in the ASEAN: Strength or Threat?
- Religious Diversity in the ASEAN Region
- Main religions of the ASEAN Countries: Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism
The Subject (e-learning) “Religious diversity in the ASEAN” is part of the following Higher Education Programs (EENI- School of Business & HA University):
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Sample of the Subject: Religions of the ASEAN Countries
Description of the Subject (Higher Education, e-learning): Religions of the ASEAN Countries
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar) are not a homogeneous block:
Political.
In the ASEAN Region (Southeast Asia), cohabits democratic regimes with authoritarian or military dictatorships (Myanmar).
Ethnical.
In the ASEAN Countries, there are local born citizens of ethnic Chinese, Arabic, or Hindu.
Socio-economic Development.
From the economic point of view, there are huge differences between the ASEAN-6 economies and the four CLMV countries (Cambodia, Laos, Burma, and Vietnam).
Religious.
- Islam is the largest religion in the ASEAN Region (official religion of Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia)
- Buddhists bloc of the ASEAN Countries consists of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, and Vietnam.
- The Philippines is mainly Christian.
About 42% of the ASEAN population is Muslim (mostly Sunni), then follow by Buddhism (18%) and Christianity (17%).
Linguistic.
Although the official language of the ASEAN is English practically every country or even region, speaks a different language.
| Country Brunei Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Burma The Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam TOTAL |
Population (*) 374 14.131 215.960 6.200 28.671 47.960 93.260 5.090 69.120 87.850 568.616 |
Islam 300 1.918 209.166 0 18.090 1.918 5.129 727 3.801 175 241.224 |
% 75 4 87 0 63 4 5 14 5 0.20 42 |
Buddhism 34 38.415 1.679 4.092 5.026 38.415 80 1.725 64.19 14.407 103.873 |
% 8 80 1 80 18 80 0 33 93 16 18,2 |
* thousands of people.
If we compare the ASEAN with, for example, the European Union (EU); it is easy to see that the European Union could be considered almost as a monolithic block from the religious point of view.
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