Test 2

Please select your preferred language.

請選擇你慣用的語言。

请选择你惯用的语言。

English
中文简体
台灣繁體
香港繁體

登入

記住我

初到 Fridae?

Fridae Mobile

Advertisement
Highlights

More About Us

新聞&特寫

« 較新的 | 較舊的 »
1 Apr 2015

Thai junta to outlaw gay people from becoming Buddhist monks

 

Bill states that monks who are “sexually deviant” can be imprisoned for up to one month if they cause “harm and disgrace” to Buddhism.

The military junta ruling Buddhist-majority Thailand has approved a bill to ban gay people from becoming monks and to penalize them with jail terms. 

Article 40 under Section 8 of the bill on penalties stipulates that monks who perform, knowingly or unwittingly, an ordination ceremony for persons with “deviant sexual behaviour” can be punished with a prison term of no more than one month.

Article 41 states that monks who are “sexually deviant” can be imprisoned for up to one month if they cause “harm and disgrace” to Buddhism.

The bill is part of a proposed law to jail people who propagate an incorrect version of Theravada Buddhism, the most prominent Buddhist sect followed by majority Thais.

It will allow the Sangha Supreme Council (the governing body of Thai Buddhist clergy) and the government to punish anyone deemed to threaten a narrowly defined version of Buddhism promoted by the authorities, prachatai.com reported.

The bill propagated since 2006 was until now rejected under previous military and civilian governments. It had been recommended that the bill merely be included in monastic rules and not applied to the general public.

In August 2014, the ruling junta, which sees Buddhism as a part of the Thai identity, approved the bill and is now being prepared for submission to the National Legislative Assembly, reportsprachatai.com.

 “It seems as if people who took part in writing this bill hold prejudiced views against people with alternative sexes and genders,” Venerable Shine Waradhammo, an undergraduate student monk at the International College of Maha Chulalongkorn Rajavidyalaya, a Buddhist university in Bangkok, told prachatai.com.

 “In order to thrive, religion must always be adaptable to societies to allow people to understand its practices and teachings, including, making itself open for debate and discussion,” he said. 

In Thailand, where homosexuality is generally accepted, Buddhist monks remain silent about sexual orientation. Buddhist monastic rules only stipulate that monks must be celibate.

Buddhism is not the state religion even though more than 95 percent of Thailand’s 67 million people are Buddhists and Thailand has a strong Southeast Asian tradition that ties the legitimacy of the state to its protection and support for Buddhism. Buddhist institutions and clergy are guaranteed special benefits by the government.

Thailand

讀者回應

1. 2015-04-02 18:47  
That's going to upset a lot of monks !
2. 2015-04-02 21:51  
Thank God for separation of church and state.
3. 2015-04-04 19:11  
Oh wow..so buddism is now christianized? Or islamised, perhaps??
4. 2015-04-05 08:19  
If they are celibate why on earth would it make a difference?
5. 2015-04-06 14:08  
How many Thai junta is gay?? Poor them...
Broom your own door step, before the neighbours....
6. 2015-04-12 18:50  
That is the reason why I'll never believe in religion.They, every single one of them, from the abrahamics to the polytheists, will soothe you with honeyed words about all that equality & love for humankind bullshit, yet their ACTIONS always speaks otherwise.
7. 2015-04-29 17:57  




Hello my dear,
i am happy to contact you after
viewing your profile and it interest
me to contact you for a genuine relationship,
please contact me here(nicolemakuza1992@hotmail.com)
so that i will share my feelings with
you for further communication.
Thanks, your friend Nicole.
(nicolemakuza1992@hotmail.com)

請先登入再使用此功能。

請選擇新聞及專欄版本

精選個人檔案

Now ALL members can view unlimited profiles!

Languages

View this page in a different language:

讚好

合作夥伴

 ILGA Asia - Fridae partner for LGBT rights in Asia IGLHRC - Fridae Partner for LGBT rights in Asia

Advertisement