Dhamma in Dispute

The Interactions of Religion and Law in Thailand

Bibliographic Data

ID4085993
AuthorsFrank E Reynolds (corresponding author)
Year1994
Volume28
Issue3
Pages433-451
Publication date1994-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLaw & Society Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0023-9216 • E-ISSN: 1540-5893
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/3054063
OpenAlexW2520061580
LanguageEN
Citations received11

This article explores the ways in which law and religion overlap and interact in Thailand. The imaginative-symbolic dimensions of Thai law and religion share many common elements, which have been apparent in the discourse of national politics throughout the 20th century and in the discourse associated with conflict, dissent, and reform in contemporary Thailand. With the emergence of a constitutional monarchy in the 1930s, traditional Buddhist concepts of cosmic law and religion were fused with new concepts of political administration and legal authority. A new "civic religion" emerged, resting on the threefold formula of nation, religion, and kingship. This evolving civic religious tradition has provided a framework for both the imaginative-symbolic and the more practical, action-oriented discourses that characterize modern Thai legal culture

Political science · Sociology · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Law · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub