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Thai Protestant Christianity Thai Protestant Christianity: A Study of Cultural and Theological i Interactions between Western Missionaries (the American Presbyterian Mission and the Overseas lv)issionary Fellowship) and Indigenous Thai Churches (the Church of Christ in Thailand and the Associated Churches of Thailand-Central). ! I I I Patricia McLean PhD - The University of Edinburgh ± 2002 Dedication To my father Charles Richard Hillier. Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis constitutes my own research and writing, and has not been submitted in any previous application for a degree. All quotations have been i distinguished and the source of information acknowledged. i ! i Patricia McLean i February 2002 Abstract \ This thesis is a study of Thai Protestant Christianity, with a focus on cultural and theological interactions among western missionaries of the American Presbyterian Mission (APM) and the Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF), and the indigenous i Thai churches that the missionaries created: the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT) i and the Associated Churches of Thailand - Central (ACTC). I I The thesis offers a comprehensive historical analysis of the growth of Protestant Christianity in Thailand since the arrival of the first American Presbyterian i missionaries in 1840. Recognising that the pre-Second World War history of APM, and the early history of CCT, founded in 1932, already exist, the research concentrates on the post-1945 history of Protestantism inl Thailand. This includes the work of OMF that established itself in Thailand in 1952 jfollowing the closure of the i work of its predecessor organisation, the China Inland Mission, in China. The i primary focus on the more recent history of Protestant Christianity in Thailand means that equal attention is given to the emergence of indigenous Thai Christianity, both in CCT, and in ACTC that was constituted in 1985. j Within this historical perspective, the thesis concentrates on the different ways in which missionaries and indigenous Christians have related Christianity to Thai Buddhist culture within the matrix of Thai Buddhism. The thesis compares and contrasts approaches adopted toward Thai Buddhist culture and Thai Buddhism by the missionaries, analysing differences of perspective between APM and OMF missionaries. It goes on to compare these with the evolving patterns of engagement with Thai Buddhism and Thai Buddhist culture among Thai Christians of CCT and ACTC. The thesis demonstrates that there is a distinct difference of approach between APM and OMF missionaries, but that these differences are being resolved in the emerging consensus among Thai Christians of the twoj traditions as they re­ interpret their Christian faith in the Thai context. i in The research uses both historical and qualitative research methods. The former are employed for the institutional history of the missions and the churches that they founded. The latter are used for a contextual analysis of the beliefs and practices of foreign missionaries and Thai Christians. The main qualitative research method used i has been interviews, but focus groups have also been usbd insofar as they were practically possible and culturally appropriate. | I i The thesis comprises nine chapters and is divided into triree parts. Part One (Chapters 1 and 2) provides a historical and theological background to the study, introducing i Thai Buddhism and the origins of Protestant Christianity in Thailand. Part Two i (Chapters 3 to 6) analyses the post-1945 history of APM and OMF in Thailand, with specific reference to their approaches to evangelism, mission-church relations, and attitudes to Thai Buddhist culture. Part Three (Chapters 7 and 8) examines the engagement of CCT and ACTC Thai Christians with Thai Buddhist culture and j concludes with a comparison and contrast between missionary and indigenous i approaches. The final chapter (Chapter 9) summarises the research findings and i discusses the present state of Thai Christianity's contextualisation in Thai Buddhist culture. ! Acknowledgements i I wish to express my gratitude to all those without whom this work would never have been completed. My very special thanks go to Professor David Kerr for his dedication in directing this thesis, and to Herbert Swans'pn for the role he played as second supervisor, in particular for his guidance while in Thailand. I am grateful for the financial support received from The Whitfield Institute, Oxford, and The Student Award Agency for Scotland. A special word of thanks is due to all the library and archive staff, who were endlessly helpful and kind, and yet still managed to combine these qualities with such marvellous efficiency, my thanks to all those at the Payap University Archives, OMF Thailand National Office and OMF International Headquarters in Singapore. I am most grateful for all the] American Presbyterians, OMF missionaries and Thai Christians, from both CCT ^ind ACTC, who shared most generously of their memories and willingly discussed complex issues related to the contextualisation of the Gospel in Thailand with me. I have been richly blessed through these encounters. A very special thanks go to Pallida Sriprasart who diligently transcribed the interview transcripts and to all those who carefully assisted me in translation. My thanks to Rowland Bell who carefully proof read the thesis prior to submission. I am forever grateful to my friends and family who have offered their unstinting support and encouragement. I treasure the memories of working closely with my father, Charles Richard Hillier, who actek as my research assistant in i Thailand. My mother, Rachel Hillier, gave us the freedonli to travel and work away from home and continued to support me after my father's i sudden death. My husband, Darren McLean, has stood by me every step of the way. Table of Contents DEDICATION. DECLARATION. .II ABSTRACT J Ill ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS j. V LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS INTRODUCTION. 1. RESEARCH QUESTIONS 2. RESEARCH THEMES i 4 I 3. CHRISTIANITY IN THAILAND ! 5 A. The American Presbyterian Mission in Thailand 5 B. The China Inland Mission and the Overseas Missionary Fellowship in Thailand J 11 I C. Recent Contributions by Thai Scholars 14 D. Two Seminal Works on Thai Christianity 16 A. Hughes: "Christianity and Culture: A Case Study in Northern Thailand. " .17 1. A Summary of Hughes' Research Questions, Methods and Conclusions. 17 2. A Critique of Hughes' Thesis 20 B. Fordham: "Protestant Christianity and the Transformation of Northern Thai i Culture: Ritual Practice, Belief and Kinship. " j 22 1. A Summary of Fordham's Research Questions, j Methods and Conclusions J 22 2. A Critique of Fordham's Thesis j 24 4. THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS j. 25 A. Culture and Religion ! 25 1. Terminology J 30 5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A. Historiography 38 1. Historical Sources J 39 B. Interviews 39 1. Individual Interviews with Missionaries ,40 2. Individual Interviews with Thai Christians. .40 C Focus Groups 42 1. Focus Groups with OMF Missionaries 1 43 D. Qualitative Data Analysis 43 E. Research Ethics 44 F. The Researcher 45 6. THESIS STRUCTURE ! 45 7. ANTICIPATED CONTRIBUTIONS TO ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP 47 PART ONE: HISTORICAL AND THEOLOGICAL BEGINNINGS 49 CHAPTER ONE: THAI BUDDHISM. .50 1. INTRODUCTION .50 2. THE HISTORY OF BUDDHISM IN THAILAND . .50 3. CHARACTERISTICS OF THAI BUDDHISM .53 4. RECENT INNOVATIONS IN THAI BUDDHISM. .58 5. CONCLUSION \ 63 I CHAPTER TWO: THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN MISSION IN SIAM AND THE CHINA INLAND MISSION IN CHINA BEFORE THE SECOND WORLD WAR ] 64 1. INTRODUCTION ] 64 2. THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN MISSION IN THAILAND: 1840-1946 64 A. The Siam Mission i 64 I B. The Laos Mission ! 66 i C. The Establishment of the Church of Christ in Siam 69 3. THE CHINA INLAND MISSION: 1865-1953 J 70 A. The Founding of the China Inland Mission j 70 B. Characteristics of the China Inland Mission \ 71 C. The China Inland Mission and the Establishment of an Independent National Church i 74 4. THE THEOLOGICAL ORIENTATION OF THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN MISSION AND THE OVERSEAS MISSIONARY FELLOWSHIP 75 A. The Emergence of the Ecumenical and Evangelical Movements 75 B. Ecumenical Mission Theology j 76 1. The Relationship between Churches/Missions in the North and Churches/Missions in the South .76 2. The Christian Response to Other Faiths j. 77 3. The Christian Response to Other Cultures 80 C. Evangelical Mission Theology 80 1. The Relationship between Churches/Missions in the North and Churches/Missions in the South J 80 2. The Christian Response to Other Faiths 81 3. The Christian Response to Other Cultures 82 D. The Missions' Relationship with the Ecumenical and Evangelical Movements 82 1. APM's Commitment to the Ecumenical Movement 82 2. CIM's/OMF's withdrawal from the Ecumenica Movement and Affiliation with the Evangelical Movement 82 5. CONCLUSION 83 PART TWO: THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN MISSION AND OVERSEAS MISSIONARY FELLOWSHIP IN THAILAND: 1946-1998 86 j CHAPTER THREE: THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN MISSION AND THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN THAILAND: 1946-1998 87 1. INTRODUCTION 87 2. PART ONE 1 87 A. A Concise History of the American Presbyterian fission and the Church of Christ in Thailand: 1946-1998 ( 87 1. Mission Interrupted: The Second World War.....j 87 2. APM Policy: The Relationship between Mission and Church 89 3. APM Policy: The Relationship between existing Missions and Churches 89 4. APM and CCT Priorities: 1946-1998 1 90 a) Immediate Assistance .90 b) Towards Integration... .91 c) Post Integration .94 d) Further Integration | 97 e) Budget Cuts and the Loss of Personnel j, 97 f) The Realisation of an Independent Thai Church 98 3. PART Two 100 A. The Relationship between the American Presbyterian Mission and the Church of Christ in Thailand 100 B. The American Presbyterians' and the Church of Christ in Thailand's Approach to Evangelism 106 4. CONCLUSION \ HI CHAPTER FOUR: THE OVERSEAS MISSIONARY FELLOWSHIP AND THE ASSOCIATED CHURCHES IN THAILAND - CENTRAL: 1951-1998 113 1.
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