PEOPLE

Buddhist 60% 3.38 million (Theravada Buddhism predominant)
Animism 37% 2.08 million
Islamic 1% 56,000
Christian 1.5% 85,000

The principal religion of Laos is Theravada Buddhism, though it is often little more than a respectable veneer over deep-seated animism. Buddhism heavily influences Laotian life and culture. There are temples in many Lao villages, but most non-Lao villages have no Buddhist presence. Buddhism is regaining its old influence and is being heavily promoted by the Lao and Thai governments and Thai royal family.

The birth of the church was slow and difficult. The ethnic Lao had no interest in the gospel, which was brought by a Presbyterian missionary in 1885. The Khmu, slaves of the Lao, responded and the Khmu church now numbers around 20,000 [5.3% of all Khmu people]. In 1901 Swiss missionaries worked among Lao outcasts called Phi-Pop, men who are believed to communicate with evil spirits. They also responded and the church in southern Laos now numbers around 15,000. However, since the early Christians were non-Lao and social outcasts, the church gained a stigma that has proved a barrier to those wanting to become Christians.

The communists sought to eradicate all religion. Persecution of Christians was exceptionally harsh between 1975 and 1978. Suspected because of their association with Western missionaries, at least 90% of the trained church leaders fled the country, and all Bible schools were closed. Persecution and restrictions continued throughout the 1980s, with many believers imprisoned and fellowships quashed.

As conditions in Laos improved, Christians were among the refugees who returned to Thailand. Sadly, the lure of material goods and aid programs has become another threat to the strength of the church. Some church leaders jostle for prestige and the biggest aid budget.

There remain restrictions on public evangelism, building of churches and links with foreign organizations. The years from 1997 were the most oppressive for Christians since the beginning of Communist government. Christians were imprisoned and forced to sign statements rejecting their faith.

The Bible was translated into Lao in 1927, but this is now archaic. A new translation was completed in the mid-1990s but is still not available. Some ethnic groups have portions of the Bible in their languages. Christian radio: FEBC broadcasts 16 hours weekly in Lao, Hmong, Khmu and Lahu.

The early history of Laos is sketchy. The "Kingdom of a Million Elephants" was founded in the mid-14th century when the Khmer king of Angkor married his daughter to a Lao prince, Fa Ngum. After him, the kingdom had a long period of peace; expanded to control parts of North Thailand; was beaten back by the Burmese; ruled by the Vietnamese; and eventually split into three states in 1713. Thailand conquered Vientiane in 1778, and the other two states were forced into line. When Vientiane tried to reassert its independence in 1827, Thai forces completely destroyed it.

During the second half of the 19th century the French began to make their presence felt and by 1904 they controlled the whole country. During World War II the Japanese occupied Indochina. After a brief stab at independence, the French reoccupied the region in 1946.

In 1949 Laos became an independent state within the French Union, but dissidents allied themselves with the pro-Communist Vietminh forces fighting the French in Vietnam. They invaded Laos in 1953 and quickly gained control of large areas. The Geneva armistice ended this war in 1954. A coalition government was formed, and Laos joined the United Nations in 1955. The USSR and US supported different factions in the inherently unstable government.

In the mid-1960s Laos was drawn into the Vietnam War. North Vietnamese troops used jungle trails in eastern and southern Laos as routes to supply their forces fighting in South Vietnam, and US warplanes carried out increasingly heavy bombing attacks on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The Geneva accord forbade foreign military personnel being in Laos however a "secret war" took place from 1964-73. Hundreds of US servicemen volunteered to serve in Laos with an estimated 400 dying in combat and 400+ missing in action. There were no rules of engagement. The troops and native cohorts flew 1.5 times the total number of sorties in Vietnam. Totaling 580,944 sorties by 1973, the secret airforce dropped an average of 1 planeload of bombs every 8 minutes, 24 hours a day for 8 years. 1.9million metric tons of ordinance (10 tons per sq km) had been dropped along with Agent Orange defoliant.

Following communist victories in Cambodia and Vietnam in 1975, the Laotian monarchy was abolished and the Lao People's Democratic Republic was proclaimed. The Lao People's Revolutionary (Communist) Party is still the only legal political party in Laos. Most opposition leaders fled the country in the 1970s. Vietnamese troops remained in Laos to bolster the regime until 1990.

Laos is one of the world's poorest countries. It has no state social services. The country has struggled economically and discontent is widespread.