[9], Various Protestant denominations have reported marked growth since the 1990s, and by some current estimates Christians make up 2-3% of Cambodia's population. Others regard “Brahmanism” and Buddhism as “two branches of one religious system that they call ‘Cambodian Buddhism,’” and occasionally Buddhist monks attend “Brahmanist” rituals. Even the French colonization of the country in the late 20th century did little to convert Khmers to Christianity.

Only a fraction of the total population has ever lived in a town of more than 10,000 inhabitants. [29], According to a 2010 estimate, Cambodia is home to approximately 16,700 Baháʼís. A walk through any city or town will be full of the sight of pagoda spires. [33], Operation World, Seventh Ed.

The typical Khmer family consisted of a married couple and their unmarried children. Two other members of his team lugged a giant white screen, two loudspeakers and a generator-powered projector into this village with no electricity.

Then, in the evening, many participate in a candle ceremony where they walk around a temple clockwise holding symbolic items. The number of Christians reportedly grew from 200 in the early 1990s to 60,000 in the early 2000s. Traces of Hinduism found its way into the Cambodian culture during the start of the Funan Kingdom.

Their are closer, in many respects, to the Cham of coastal Vietnam than they are to other Muslims. It is a tolerant, non-prescriptive religion that doesn’t necessitate a belief in a supreme being.

Animism is particularly alive among the hill tribes in northeast Cambodia and to a lesser extent among ordinary Cambodians.

I'd love to have the same mosque because we do not have one like this in our village," he said. The 1962 census, which reported 2,000 Protestants in Cambodia, remains the most recent statistic for the group. Most of them were located at the intersections of land or river routes and were relatively accessible to the areas they served.

^^, Some take offense at the notion of Christians preaching to Buddhists. According to Po Dharma, there were 150,000 to 200,000 Muslims in Cambodia as late as 1975.

Angkor Wat, the complex’s most famous monument, is surrounded by one of these man-made moats, though the waterway is as religious as it is agricultural.

The U.S. State Department estimates that only about 2 percent of Cambodians are Christian but that the number is growing and there are now about 2,400 churches in the country.

Glimpse the colors of sunrise over the spires of sacred temples, discover the hidden secrets and grand pagodas of Phnom Penh, or see for yourself how religion affects the daily lives of locals with a countryside exploration! From Tramoung Chrum, 44 miles northwest of capital Phnom Penh, Associated Press reported: “When residents of this poor, Cambodian village need something built, they call on the Lightmans. Among tribes in northeast Cambodia Arak Chantoo, the mountain spirt, is regarded as the chief god.
Despite the French colonization in the 19th century, Christianity made little impact in the country. Hinduism was one of the official religions of the Khmer Empire including Theravada Buddhism. Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge, and the Cambodian Genocide, Cambodias Ancient Shiva Temple Reopens after 50 Years of Renovation, Religion in China: History and Statistics, Singapore, the Most Religiously Diverse Country in the World, Religion in Japan: History and Statistics, Religion in Ireland: History and Statistics, Religion in Italy: History and Statistics, East Timor Religion, a Catholic Community in Southeast Asia, B.S., Political Science, Boise State University.

Cambodian people are also very superstitious and go to great lengths to keep evil spirits and ghosts at bay.

By Benjamin Elisha Sawe on April 25 2017 in Society. Many of the hill tribe minorities are animists.


Imam-San is a small Islamic sect that incorporates Buddhism, Hinduism and animism. His estimates suggest that in 1987 the Christian community in Cambodia had shrunk to only a few thousand members. When the film ended, several people gathered to ask Lok questions. Made up of 14 or 15 different tribes including Jarai, Prou, Lun, Kravet, and Kreung, these groups of people are collectively known as the Khmer Loeu, or the highlanders. The foundation of what would become present-day Cambodia is inseparable from the influx of Hinduism. He pulled two 16mm reels out of a metal carrier box, a big blue umbrella protecting them from monsoon-like rain. In 1962 there were about 100 mosques in the country.

Many Cambodians refer to them as “rice-bowl Christians.”.

[Source: Mary Jordan, Washington Post, November 3, 2007 ^^], “Farther north in the Cambodian hinterlands, Elijah Lok zoomed down dirt paths across the rice paddies to the village of Trapain Ampil with the "Jesus" film strapped to his motorbike. See Separate Articles on Buddhism and Folk Religions in Cambodia, Article 20 of the 1976 Constitution of Democratic Kampuchea guaranteed religious freedom, but it also declared that "all reactionary religions that are detrimental to Democratic Kampuchea and the Kampuchean People are strictly forbidden." A Christian and Missionary Alliance mission was founded in Cambodia in 1923; by 1962 the mission had converted about 2,000 people. Theravada Buddhism is the official and by far the most prevalent religion in Cambodia. Muslim traders along the main trade-route between Western Asia through Āryāvarta were responsible for the introduction of Islam to Cambodia around 2nd to 17th centuries CE [7].

Thearavada Buddhism is the official religion in Cambodia which is practiced by 95 percent of the population-- just like that of Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka.