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The Kings of Buddhism explores the consequences of state regulation
and protection of a country’s majority religion. Sterken argues
that religious liberty or the lack thereof results from rational
interest-based calculations of both religious and state actors.
Using insights dating back to Adam Smith, John Locke, and Thomas
Jefferson, Sterken argues that centuries of state support for
Theravada Buddhism has corrupted the Myanmar religious marketplace.
At the expense of religions and the society, Myanmar’s kings and
military rulers have protected and regulated religion to enhance
their own political survival. The consequences state and religion
entanglement include 1) a state supported religious monopoly, 2)
corruption, regulation, and repression of Theravada Buddhists, 3)
repression and violence against religious minorities, 4) perpetual
conflict and violence, 5) a corrupt religious economy, and 6) a
corruption of truth. The consequences of state control are stark
and should serve as a warning to all who would seek to entangle
religion and the state.
The Kings of Buddhism explores the consequences of state regulation
and protection of a country’s majority religion. Sterken argues
that religious liberty or the lack thereof results from rational
interest-based calculations of both religious and state actors.
Using insights dating back to Adam Smith, John Locke, and Thomas
Jefferson, Sterken argues that centuries of state support for
Theravada Buddhism has corrupted the Myanmar religious marketplace.
At the expense of religions and the society, Myanmar’s kings and
military rulers have protected and regulated religion to enhance
their own political survival. The consequences state and religion
entanglement include 1) a state supported religious monopoly, 2)
corruption, regulation, and repression of Theravada Buddhists, 3)
repression and violence against religious minorities, 4) perpetual
conflict and violence, 5) a corrupt religious economy, and 6) a
corruption of truth. The consequences of state control are stark
and should serve as a warning to all who would seek to entangle
religion and the state.
Lt. Governor Bill Ratliff is an engineer, a widely respected
senator, and according to Caroline Kennedy he is "an inspiration to
all who serve in government, and to all Americans." Senator
Ratliff, nicknamed "Obi Wan Kenobi" by his colleagues, was a
revered and much loved leader in Texas for more than a decade. He
singularly wrote the Texas Robin-Hood school finance law, a major
Ethics reform law, a Texas tort reform law, and held a great
disdain for narrow partisanship and politics. This is the
inspirational story of a great man doing good work in a time when
many are cynical about political leadership and government. His
courageous stand on principle brought him to a showdown with
powerful forces in the Bush White House and earned him the public
vitriol of right-wing billionaires.
Lt. Governor Bill Ratliff is an engineer, a widely respected
senator, and according to Caroline Kennedy he is "an inspiration to
all who serve in government, and to all Americans." Senator
Ratliff, nicknamed "Obi Wan Kenobi" by his colleagues, was a
revered and much loved leader in Texas for more than a decade. He
singularly wrote the Texas Robin-Hood school finance law, a major
Ethics reform law, a Texas tort reform law, and held a great
disdain for narrow partisanship and politics. This is the
inspirational story of a great man doing good work in a time when
many are cynical about political leadership and government. His
courageous stand on principle brought him to a showdown with
powerful forces in the Bush White House and earned him the public
vitriol of right-wing billionaires.
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