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The Authorization of Religio-political Discourse: Monks and Buddhist Activism in Contemporary Myanmar and Beyond

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2016

Matthew J. Walton  and
Michael Jerryson
Matthew J. Walton*
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
Michael Jerryson*
Affiliation:
Youngstown State University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Matthew J. Walton, St Antony's College, 62 Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6JF, UK. E-mail: matthew.walton@sant.ox.ac.uk; or to: Michael Jerryson, Youngstown State University, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44555. E-mail: mjerryson@gmail.com.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Matthew J. Walton, St Antony's College, 62 Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6JF, UK. E-mail: matthew.walton@sant.ox.ac.uk; or to: Michael Jerryson, Youngstown State University, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44555. E-mail: mjerryson@gmail.com.
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Abstract

Through the example of contemporary Buddhist nationalist groups in Myanmar, this article draws attention to the cultural authorization of religio-political discourse. The symbolic power of a monk's pronouncements is amplified because of the cultural reverence attached to his vocation as a Buddhist monk, even without doctrinal references or ritual practices. A monk's cultural position within Burmese Buddhism particularly strengthens his authority when he frames his preaching and actions as a defense of Buddhism. Without attention to these cultural institutions and the religious authority they confer, the resonance and influence of monks' words cannot be completely understood. Furthermore, without directly responding to the logic of these authorizing discourses, responses intended to counter the violence emerging from Buddhist nationalism and promote tolerance will be ineffective.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 9 , Issue 4 , December 2016 , pp. 794 - 814
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2016 

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Footnotes

The authors would like to acknowledge constructive feedback on this article from the participants at the Interdisciplinary Seminar on the Study of Religion at the University of Oxford in November 2014 and three anonymous reviewers.

References

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