Buddhism has been the dominant religion in Cambodia, in one form or another, since the reign of Jayavarman VII (c. 1181-1200). Before its adoption as the state religion however, Hinduism flourished for over a thousand years. Roman Catholicism was introduced by French missionaries beginning in the eighteenth century. Sunni Islam is practiced among the Chams, while among the Sino-Khmer population Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism and Chinese folk religions remain popular