From July 27-30, 2021, IGE conducted a Religion and Rule of Law training for Kachin church leaders and seminary professors. The online training was held in partnership with the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) and Brigham Young University Law School’s International Center for Law and Religion Studies. There were 38 participants from six different regions of Myanmar who attended the training despite the pandemic and ongoing conflict and unrest from the coup. The training was organized at KBC’s invitation to equip their church leaders on how to address the political turmoil in Myanmar, particularly as an ethnic and religious minority. The Kachin, who are mostly Christian, number about 1 million out of a total population of 54 million that is predominantly Buddhist. For decades they have endured attacks and other forms of persecution from the Burmese military.

International experts shared case studies from Japan, the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia, focusing on how those countries’ policies towards religious and ethnic minorities and lessons learned. One participant shared, “The lectures and presentations were very helpful to a country like Myanmar where we still have room to build understanding among different faith groups.”

This was the third (2019, 2020) Religion and Rule of Law training that IGE has partnered with KBC to convene. KBC’s Director of Leadership Training, Rev. Dr. Awng Nan, shared, “What we have learned this year was very practical and helpful to us because we have been under the coup since February and there has been no rule of law since then, but we had a chance to learn about the importance of the rule of law and the role of religion at the training…As Myanmar is also working towards achieving a federal democratic system and resisting the coup in any way possible, the case studies of countries who went through similar situations were insightful to us.“

Testimonial Video #1

Testimonial Video: Rev. Dr. Maru Brang Seng, Myitkyina's Vice Principal, Kachin Theological College and Seminary (KTCS)

Translation: “I was very glad to be a part of the Religion and Rule of Law training organized by the Kachin Baptist Convention’s Leadership Training Department. For four days from July 27-30, various professors presented outstanding case studies from different countries. In my opinion, the lectures and presentations were very helpful to a country like Myanmar where we still have room to build understanding among different faith groups. All the faculty shared their research and their experience during the training, and I found that the knowledge shared was very important and useful for the leaders that participated in the training. When there are matters related to state and religion, the rule of law is vital. We need to have a very good system governed by the law. If we have a good system, the tensions between different religious groups can be mostly resolved. That would lead to a more peaceful nation. I learned from the training that where there is no strong rule of law that governs and ensures religious freedom, it is much more challenging to build peaceful relationships among different faith groups. If we can hold trainings like this more frequently in the future, the ministers, church leaders, and seminary lecturers and those who are working on the ground will benefit so much in leading the congregation with the attitude, thoughts, perspectives, and strategy we learned from the Religion and Rule of Law trainings. This is the comment I have for the Religion and Rule of Law training I have attended recently. Thank you very much.”

Testimonial Video #2

Testimonial Video: Rev. Dr. Awng Nan, Director, Leadership Training Department, Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), Myitkyina, Kachin State, Myanmar

Translation: “First of all, I would like to thank God that we had the opportunity to hold the Religion and Rule of Law training for the third overall time this year. We would like to thank all the leaders from the Institute for Global Engagement and Seng Mai Aung for leading and organizing the training. What we have learned this year was very practical and helpful to us because we have been under the coup since February and there has been no rule of law since then, but we had a chance to learn about the importance of the rule of law and the role of religion at the training. Especially when we were learning about case studies from Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan, we were encouraged by how they have overcome the struggles and challenges throughout their history. As Myanmar is also working towards achieving a federal democratic system and resisting the coup in any way possible, the case studies of countries who went through similar situations were insightful to us. When we learned about Japan’s situation, the professor shared the fact that though there was no religious discrimination, there were many cases of ethnic discrimination in Japan. The Japan case study was helpful for us to learn how to deal with both the religious and ethnic discrimination we are facing today and ever more so under the coup. From the lecture about Taiwan, we also learned that their nation was built by people of different faith backgrounds. We also learned that Taiwan had struggled so much under many different colonial rules over the centuries and built their nation with the lessons learned from the challenging past they have overcome. In this case of Korea, we learned that even the law says there can be no state religion, but state and religion are not fully separated. In the case of Singapore and Malaysia, we learned that though there seems to be religious freedom, there can be limitations in their political freedom. All the faculty said they are not experts in Myanmar to come up with solutions to what we are facing, but instead they encouraged us to take charge in coming up with strategic solutions for our country by learning the case studies of different countries they presented to us based on our own understanding of our country’s situation and context. Thank you very much for opening our eyes to such useful and practical perspectives shared with us. I would like to conclude my comments here with much gratitude.”

Testimonial Video #3

Testimonial Video: Rev. Dashi Nawng Lat, Lecturer, Htingnai Theological College

Translation: “I would like to thank God for having the opportunity to participate in the Religion and Rule of Law training that was convened by the Kachin Baptist Convention’s Leadership Training Department and intended for theological lecturers from July 27-30, 2021. I have learned so much from the training. My main takeaways from the training were the points when James Chen presented about the history of resisting against the rule of Kuomintang in Taiwan. I was encouraged to learn about the experience and outstanding leadership of the protestants, who were only 2% of the population of the country, in resisting the Kuomintang’s rule and how such participation and leadership of those religious minorities helped promote religious freedom in Taiwan. Also, when Professor Kim presented about Korea’s situation, I learned that the majority population in Korea today is protestant, and that the country came to realize that it is very difficult to follow the separation of church and state rule. Similarly, most Kachins are members of the Kachin Baptist Convention, and such lessons from Korea made us aware to be more careful about similar situations that could happen to us. Professor Scharffs, who presented about the struggle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also shared about how religious minorities were oppressed in the past, and how their struggles and challenges over the years formed who they are today. He divided the presentation into seven parts and the main takeaway from that lecture was that the same group that are oppressors can also be the ones that are ending and healing the oppression. I see that the same rule could apply in our homes, families, churches, and communities. When the majority become the oppressors, I learned they also have to find a way how to be the healers and stand with the oppressed. Thank you so much to IGE’s Program Officer, Seng Mai Aung, and our interpreter, Shadan Mung Dan Zau for making this program a success. Thank you KBC for also sponsoring our data usage expenses for us to be able to join the training as well. I am very glad and appreciate everything you have done for us. Thank you.”

Screenshots from the Virtual 2021 Religion and Rule of Law Training for Kachin Church Leaders