The Thai Way of Meekness is a short work on how early Christian missionaries in Thailand failed to successfully convert the people to Christianity because of their unawareness of Thai cultural norms.
It is not written in academic language and discusses how the impact of cultural differences were so important and why they should not have been ignored.
It follows research by a Thai academic on her doctoral thesis but puts the concepts she raises in a modern setting and in a less technical way.
The Thai Way of Meekness very much complements Thailand Take Two and A Thailand Diary, also written by Matt Owens Rees, as it delves more deeply into the cultural reasons for the missionaries failures.
It therefore represents an up to date and balanced expose of aspects of Thai culture such as the oriental concept of face, the strong hierarchical and class structure in the country, and the strong influences from family and the political elite.
It has relevance not only for those seeking an explanation about Christianity in Thailand and its lack of early success but more importantly uses these failures to show the difficulties of living and working in cultures so unlike those in the West.
Many of the points are explained through real life examples and describe why Thais are so different from Westerners. Observations that the early missionaries failed to spot, and which sometimes confound the expat or visitor even today.
I hope you enjoy.
.
It is not written in academic language and discusses how the impact of cultural differences were so important and why they should not have been ignored.
It follows research by a Thai academic on her doctoral thesis but puts the concepts she raises in a modern setting and in a less technical way.
The Thai Way of Meekness very much complements Thailand Take Two and A Thailand Diary, also written by Matt Owens Rees, as it delves more deeply into the cultural reasons for the missionaries failures.
It therefore represents an up to date and balanced expose of aspects of Thai culture such as the oriental concept of face, the strong hierarchical and class structure in the country, and the strong influences from family and the political elite.
It has relevance not only for those seeking an explanation about Christianity in Thailand and its lack of early success but more importantly uses these failures to show the difficulties of living and working in cultures so unlike those in the West.
Many of the points are explained through real life examples and describe why Thais are so different from Westerners. Observations that the early missionaries failed to spot, and which sometimes confound the expat or visitor even today.
I hope you enjoy.
.
