Christianity, Resistance, and the Chin in Burma

Whereas literate lowland groups in Burma have practiced Buddhism for more than a thousand years, virtually all highlanders historically practiced animism, many of them converting to Christianity in the 19 th and 20 th centuries, with lasting consequences. Among them are the ethnic Chin, native to the highlands of western Burma. This article explores the enduring ramifications of their conversion to Christianity after 1948, when they joined the state of modern Burma. The central thesis underlying this essay is that Christianity profoundly fortified the distinct ethnic identity of the Chin when missionaries and Chin Christians invented the Chin scripts and translated the Bible, hymns, and other Christian literatures, which means that though the Chin ostensibly lost elements of their ancient traditions after they adopted Christianity, their new religion has played a vital role in the course of resisting the forces of Burmanization.