Religion in Myanmar

The 2014 census recorded 89.8% Buddhist, 6.3% Christian, 2.3% Muslim, 0.5% Hindu, 0.8% Animist, 0.2% other religions and 0.1% with no religion. The census did not enumerate about 1.09 million people in Rakhine, primarily Muslim, so the national figures are incomplete. A more recent USCIRF estimate places the population at about 88% Theravada Buddhist, 6% Christian and about 3% Muslim, with smaller Hindu, Jewish, Chinese-traditional and Animist communities. Religious identity often overlaps with ethnicity and political status: Christians are especially present among Chin, Kachin, Kayin and Kayah communities; Muslims include Rohingya, Kamane and South Asian-origin communities; Hindu communities are visible in places such as Mandalay; and nat or ancestral practices often occur together with Buddhism. Buddhist religious life includes dana, meaning giving or almsgiving, sila or ethical conduct, puja, meditation, Dhamma teaching, merit transfer and temporary or permanent ordination. The Sangha is the Buddhist monastic community. Monasteries, nunneries, pagodas, meditation centres and lay networks provide worship, education and social support. The Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, commonly called Ma Ha Na, is the principal national Buddhist monastic authority and has 47 members. Christian communities include Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian and Pentecostal churches. Their practices include Sunday worship, prayer, Bible or Sunday School teaching, baptism, Eucharist, weddings and funerals. Muslim communities use mosques or masjids, imams, madrassas and community associations; common practices include daily and Friday prayer, Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, halal observance, nikah marriage and Hajj pilgrimage. Hindu communities worship in temples, follow priests and observe temple festivals and, where relevant, Diwali. Religious institutions include Buddhist monasteries and Dhamma schools, churches, mosques, madrassas, Hindu temples and smaller Jewish, Bahai and indigenous institutions. Formal systems are established, but minority institutions are more fragmented. Access can depend on the township, local permissions, security conditions, identity documents, citizenship and the rules of the particular institution. Buddhist-majority public schools may begin with Buddhist prayer, while the general public curriculum does not provide religious education as a separate subject. Monastic schools offer an established alternative or supplementary pathway; a 2023 report identified 1,484 such schools serving about 285,000 pupils, roughly 4% of the school-age population. Registered monastic schools use the state primary or middle-school curriculum alongside Buddhist culture and ways of life. The Ministry supports monastic education, while State Pariyatti Sasana Universities in Yangon and Mandalay, the International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University and Pali, Tipitaka and Dhammacariya examinations provide higher Buddhist study. Christian theological schools, Bible schools, Sunday Schools and community-run Muslim or Hindu religious instruction follow institution-specific rules. Religious teaching by non-Buddhist groups is restricted to approved religious buildings, and reports indicate restrictions on teaching in private homes. The 2026 public calendar includes Maha Thingyan from 11 to 19 April, the Full Moon Day of Kason on 30 May, the Full Moon Day of Waso and the start of Buddhist Lent on 29 July, the Full Moon Day of Thadingyut and the end of Buddhist Lent from 25 to 27 October, the Full Moon of Tazaungmone from 23 to 24 November and Christmas on 25 December. Eid, Diwali, Vesak-related observances and denomination-specific holy days may be highly relevant to communities without being nationwide public holidays. Lunar dates and official calendars should be checked for the relevant year. Worship usually involves donations, alms, offerings, travel, clothing, food or gifts rather than a general admission fee. The Constitution, including Articles 34 and 361 to 364, recognizes freedom of conscience and religious practice subject to constitutional limits and gives Buddhism a special position. Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Animism are constitutionally recognized. Misuse of religion for political purposes is prohibited. Penal Code sections 295 and 295A create criminal exposure for damaging or defiling a place of worship or deliberately and maliciously insulting religious feelings; the cited provisions provide penalties of up to two years. Official religious organization status, land title, construction and religious activities generally involve registration or permissions, and construction or repair approvals can be delayed, particularly for Muslim, Christian and Hindu groups. The Religious Conversion Law 48/2015 provides a procedure involving an applicant aged at least 18, an application to a township Religious Board, an interview, verification and a waiting period of up to 180 days, although many townships reportedly lack functioning boards. The Buddhist Women Special Marriage Law 50/2015 includes public notice for 14 days and an objection process when a Buddhist woman marries a non-Buddhist man. Christian marriages commonly use a church certificate, but recognition and registration practice can vary. Muslim and Hindu marriages often depend on personal law, community practice and local legal advice. Birth or naming ceremonies, Buddhist novice ordination, Christian baptism, Muslim aqiqah and funeral rites, Hindu puja, marriages and burial or cremation are normally arranged through the relevant monastery, church, mosque, temple or religious leader. Costs are usually donation- or community-based, and timing depends on the faith calendar, local customs and security. Interfaith marriage and religious conversion can have additional legal and practical consequences. Dialogue bodies include the Ministry's interfaith work, Religions for Peace-Myanmar, the Myanmar Council of Churches, the Myanmar Interfaith Dialogue Group and related forums. Their work is established but fragmented and politically exposed. Safety conditions are severe and uneven. OHCHR documented attacks affecting Buddhist monasteries, Christian churches, Hindu temples, nunneries, mosques and religious personnel. In reviewed evidence for 2024, at least 144 Buddhist sites were damaged or destroyed; Christian sites were heavily affected in Chin, Kayin and Kayah. The same evidence verified the deaths of 32 monks, nuns, pastors and imams and the arrest of 147 religious persons, with 124 still detained in the cited period. USCIRF reported at least 135 religious persons detained in 2025 and continuing damage or neglect affecting religious sites after the 2025 earthquake. A building's reported status, opening or permit should therefore be checked locally rather than assumed from older information.