Religion in Cambodia

Ninety-five percent of Cambodia’s population is Buddhist. More specifically, most Cambodians observe Theravada Buddhism. The rest of the population is made up of other religious groups such as Christianity and Islam.

Buddhism is the state religion of Cambodia. However, before Buddhism, one of the most-followed religions in this area was Hinduism. For example, the famous temple Angkor Wat was first Hindu, and later Buddhist. It was originally built in the 12th century by King Suryavarman II and dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. However, by the end of the 13th century, it transitioned to a Buddhist site and remains a pilgrimage site for Theravada Buddhists today. Its five towers represent Mount Meru, the home of the gods in both Hindu and Buddhist religions. There are monasteries dedicated to Buddhism spread throughout the country. These monasteries contain stupas around them, which are small statue-like structures where families can pay for their loved ones’ ashes to be placed for the monks of the monastery to watch over. Typically, the more money a family has, the larger and more extravagant the stupa will be.

In Cambodia, men are expected to become a monk for some time, even if this period of time is only a few weeks. Becoming a monk shows the people of Cambodia that a man can be trusted and possesses wisdom from his training as a monk. Children can become monks as early as five years old. It is also not unusual for families to send a son to become a monk after a family member has passed to ensure a safer passage to the afterlife.

In the monasteries, the monks live in dormitories with the other practicing monks. On average, a monk will pray for up to seven hours per day. The monks are expected to follow two hundred and twenty-seven rules created by the Buddha. In the time of the Buddha, every time a mistake was made, a new rule would be created. As an example, three of these rules are: no stealing, no romantic relations with women, and they cannot accept money. These monasteries are generally very strict, and there can be serious (sometimes violent) consequences if these rules are broken.

Another aspect of Buddhism in Cambodia is the belief that nothing is permanent, so one should not become attached to materialistic things. For example, a person should not care too much about how their hair looks, because eventually it will become old and frail. Buddhism also calls on individuals to understand that all of life is suffering, and that they should not have desires. Finally, within Buddhism, people are expected to be very selfless. Part of the Buddhist religion is to help others and to not expect anything in return. The number of Buddhist followers in Cambodia today appears to be increasing.

The final two minority religions are Islam and Christianity. Islam makes up about two percent of Cambodia’s population. The Islamic population of Cambodia generally live in rural areas and have mosques dispersed throughout the country. The third most popular religion is Christianity. About two percent of people in Cambodia practice Christianity. Below Christianity, some people also still follow traditional folk religions, such as Chinese belief systems like Confucianism and Daoism, and some small groups of people still practice Hinduism.

Cambodians mostly follow Theravada Buddhism, dedicating what is sometimes the majority of their lives to their religion, while a very small minority of people are Muslim or Christian. Cambodia’s rich Buddhist and Hindu traditions, as well as its other minority religions, are what makes this country so beautiful.