Thailand

Thailand is a Southeast Asian nation of 63 million people, which shares its borders with the countries of Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. Known as Siam until 1939, Thailand has been a part of transnational religious processes for centuries, including the traditions of Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. With more than 92% of its population Theravada Buddhist, Thailand retains the highest population of Theravada Buddhists in the world and is the third most populated Buddhist country in the world, behind China and Japan. This entry will briefly cover the development of Thailand's modern nation-state, the growth of religious traditions in Thailand, and some changes to Thailand's religious landscape in contemporary times.

Thailand's population reflects its legacy of shared borders and international trade routes with various countries for more than 700 years, with its earliest inhabitants migrating from southern China and the Malay Peninsula and archipelago. Thais from southern China migrated into Thailand as well as adjacent countries and India. By 1229, Thais had traveled as far as eastern Assam and had set up their own kingdom, which remains an important religious and cultural heritage of Assam in contemporary times.

Since the early phases of globalization, the region of Thailand has served as a space for numerous transnational movements that include, among others, a long history of interchange between the people of India and China. South Asian Brahmans, Sikhs, and Muslims traveled through Thailand on their way to China, congregating in the populated northern province of Chiang Mai (Kingdom of Lanna), the central province of Ayutthaya, and the southern province of Pattani (Kingdom of Patani). Throughout the centuries, Chinese ethnic groups, particularly the Hokkien, Hakka, Teo Chiu, and Hainanese, have continued to immigrate to Thailand in large numbers. Chinese ethnic groups made a significant impact on Thailand's religious landscape, chiefly by supporting Mahayana Buddhist and Roman Catholic traditions. Malays were among the first Buddhists to live in what is now Thailand, but most converted to Islam after the 15th century.