Source: World Watch Monitor, April 14, 2016
The visit of the young UK Royals, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, to Bhutan is shining a spotlight on a small Himalayan nation perhaps best known for its own King assessing his country’s performance by factors which contribute to “Gross National Happiness.”
But despite this apparent endeavor from the Buddhist nation to ensure its citizens’ felicity, Bhutan’s minorities—including around 20,000 Christians (2.8 percent of the population)—complain that happiness does not filter down to all parts of society.
Bhutan’s state religion is Buddhism and other religions are barely tolerated, so life as a Christian is difficult. Church buildings are illegal and non-Buddhists are not privy to the same benefits, such as free education. Proselytism and incitement to convert are illegal. Bhutanese who convert to Christianity can lose their citizenship.
Converts to Christianity endure threats and pressures from village heads and clerics to return to Buddhism. They can pray and worship privately in their homes, but they struggle to meet in congregations and to obtain official permission to do so. Some Christians have reported losing their jobs after their employers found out they were Christian.
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