Author : Melyn McKay
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781601277701
Total Pages : 40 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (777 download)
Book Synopsis The Religious Landscape in Myanmar's Rakhine State by : Melyn McKay
Download or read book The Religious Landscape in Myanmar's Rakhine State written by Melyn McKay and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rakhine’s recent conflicts and humanitarian crises can be understood as an intersection of numerous grievances—many of which are not explicitly religious. Interethnic tensions, economic inequalities, and political drivers all contribute to violent conflict. To date, few influential religious leaders and religious social service networks have been engaged by aid, policymaking, and peacebuilding actors—whether national or international. This lack of engagement has sustained pervasive mistrust of the international community at all levels of Rakhine society. Key opportunities to build trust with the religious sector include engaging religious actors in consultations, needs assessments, and aid distributions and providing dispute resolution training to religious leaders across all communities. International nongovernmental organizations need to be sensitive to the concerns that religious actors and networks have about engaging with them on social issues. When engaging with religious actors in programming, it is essential to bear in mind that though religious figures and networks may be able to influence community perspectives and attitudes, they rarely have the power to enforce broad behavior change. Furthermore, ordination is not essential to religious influence in Rakhine (and in Myanmar more broadly). The elderly and members of local religious committees and networks, including women’s and youth groups, are regularly cited as sources of religious influence despite their being lay persons.