Religious Freedom or Belief

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About Religious Freedom

Every year since 1999, the State Department has designated Burma a “Country of Particular Concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for discrimination against Christian and Muslim minorities. American Baptist missionaries brought Christianity to the Chin Hills in 1899, and today over 85% of Chins practice the faith.

Since the 2021 military coup, the pace and scale of Tatmadaw atrocities against Christians has seen a dramatic rise. Increasingly, the military relies on jets for deliberate attack on villages, towns, and civilian infrastructure in areas they do not control.

Christian leaders are also targeted by the military with increasing frequency. One prominent case is Dr. Hkalam Samson, the former General Secretary and President of the Kachin Baptist Convention. On December 5, 2022, the military detained Dr. Samson at the Myitkyina Airport on his way to Thailand for medical treatment. Over the next few months of detention, Dr. Samson was denied access to food and medicine provided by his wife. On April 7, 2023, the military sentenced Dr. Samson to six years in prison on false charges of terrorism, unlawful association, and inciting opposition to the regime.

The destruction of Christian churches has become more widespread, particularly in mass arson campaigns or airstrikes on villages. In October 2021, the State Department condemned the Tatmadaw’s destruction of over 100 residences and churches in Thantlang town, Chin State. Despite international condemnation, the Tatmadaw went on to destroy 21 of Thantlang’s 22 churches as well as nearly 1,300 residences, displacing the town’s entire population of approximately 10,000.

In Sagaing Region, the military has attacked several historic Catholic villages. In November 2022, the military burned hundreds of homes, a church, and a school in the village of Mon Hla, hometown of Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon and Archbishop Marco Tin Way of Mandalay. On January 15, 2023, the Tatmadaw burned down the 129-year-old Assumption Church in the village of Chan Thar.

CAM issues the following recommendations to the U.S. government regarding religious freedom:

  1. The Biden administration should determine the Burmese military’s atrocities against Christians as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
  2. The U.S. Congress should adopt a resolution condemning the Tatmadaw’s atrocities against Christians across Burma and demanding they immediately cease the violence.

Relevant Documents-

  1. CAM Report, Two Years After the 2021 Military Coup: The Worsening Situation of Christians Across Burma, January 2023 (available here)
  2. CAM Article, Time is Running Out for India’s Balancing Act on the Myanmar Border, published by the U.S. Institute of Peace, June 2023 (available here)
  3. Updated List of Churches Burned (available here)

List of Churches Destroyed in Thantlang:

  1. Thantlang Baptist Church 12. Presbyterian Church of Myanmar
  2. Johnson Memorial Baptist Church 13. Church on the Rock
  3. Thantlang Centenary Baptist Church 14. Seventh Day Adventist
  4. Believer Church of Myanmar 15. Evangelical Free Methodist Church of
  5. Assembly of God Myanmar
  6. United Pentecostal Church 16. Church of Jesus Christ*
  7. Mara Evangelical Church 17. Church of Jesus Christ (local)*
  8. Roman Catholic Church 18. The Church*
  9. Evangelical Holiness Church 19. Sabbath*
  10. Gospel Baptist Church 20. Mara Baptist Church*
  11. Methodist Church 21. Shalom Baptist Church

*Churches using a rented building

CAM source confidential for security reasons

Action Items

  • Letter to Secretary Marco Rubio
    • Urging to determine that Burmese military’s atrocities against civilians and
      ethnic and religious minority targeting Christians constitute Crimes Against
    • Humanity and War Crimes
    • Support of the Congress
    • TakeAction
    • Download the letter
  • Congressional Briefings
    • Organized three Congressional Briefings urging the Congress to –
      highlight the atrocities – hold a congressional hearing
    • Download the briefings (coming soon)
      • September 2023
      • January 2024
      • February 3, 2025
  • International Religious Freedom Summit
    • Since its inception, BRI had been a partner of the Summit and presented
      the situations in Burma
  • International Religious Freedom Roundtable
    • Brief the meetings on Burma
    • Member of the IRF Advocacy Team
  • Brief the Congress and the Administration
  • Issue statements via letter and social media

Previous Activities

Accountability: CAM calls on the U.S. government to make the following determinations about atrocities against Christians in Burma:

  1. The Biden administration should determine the Burmese military’s atrocities against Christians as war crimes and crimes against humanity.\
  2. The U.S. Congress should adopt a resolution condemning the Tatmadaw’s atrocities against Christians across Burma and demanding they immediately cease the violence.

Humanitarian Assistance: Humanitarian assistance to Northwest Burma and for refugees and host communities in Mizoram State, India has been woefully underfunded. The Asia Foundation estimates that 90% of humanitarian assistance for IDPs in Chin State comes from the Chin community and diaspora. Likewise, civil society and local churches have provided the vast majority of aid to refugees in Mizoram State. CAM advocates:

  1. Access for international organizations and relevant UN agencies in Mizoram, especially UNHCR, UNICEF, and the World Food Programme.
  2. Cross-border assistance for IDPs in Northwest Burma over the Indo-Burma border.
  3. Addressing the root cause of displacement by pressuring the Burmese military to cease its violence against the Christian religious minority and others in Burma.

NGO Coordination: CAM was part of the successful effort by Burma advocacy NGOs to pass the BURMA Act of 2022, which authorizes non-lethal aid to the anti-junta resistance. CAM also joined the effort to ensure the FY 2023 Appropriations Act included $136 million in funding for Burma. CAM is now focusing on implementation of the BURMA Act and advocacy related to:

  1. FY 2024 Appropriations Bill
  2. FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act
  3. H.Res.86 / S.Res.20, which condemns the Burmese military for gross violations of human rights and the 2021 military coup.