Abstract:
The opposition of Pibulsongkram government to the dissemination of Christianity conducted by French missionaries was mainly caused by the disputes between France and Thailand during the Indochinese War in 1940. This had a strong effect on Thai nationalists and they considered that Christianity was the enemy’s religion. The situation was aggravated when the government tried to arouse nationalism among people by making them feel that western people, especially the French were their common enemy. Together with implanting nationalist notions that Buddhism was the state religion and Thai people should be Buddhists only, the government then held policies which discriminated Thai Buddhists and Thais with other faiths or Christian Thais so that they would convert from their old faith to Buddhism. Moreover, the government was concerned that priests and Christian Thais were spies working for France. Being wary with French priests and Christian Thais, certain Thais gathered to oppose Christianity and voiced their discontent through various ways. For example, they issued leaflets with urging notes or persuaded people to attack Christian teachings. In addition, the government confiscated the Siam Missionary’s properties by means of the 1942 act concerning hostile countries and their properties. This owed to the belief that the Missionary belonged to France since the missionaries who came to practice their faith in Thailand and the head of the Siam Missionary were all French. The situation above affected the dissemination of Christianity and Thai Christians. For instance, in 1940, seven Christian Thais who lived in Song Korn Village, Nakhon Phanom Province, were killed by the police as they refused to convert to Buddhism as demanded by the government. Also, in 1941 the Thai priest named Nicholas Bunkoed Kritbamrung was arrested by the police and the court ruled out that he was a rebel. Christian Thais were considered pro-French as people in general believed that Christianity was the religion of France as French missionaries disseminated this religion. Thus, nationalist policies and the emphasis on Buddhism drove Pibulsongkram government to move seriously against the dissemination of Christianity in Thailand and also caused conflicts among Christian Thais also occurred.
