This study investigated the factors relevant to religious conversion among Thai university students, specifically those factors relating to Theravada Buddhism and the high value placed on interpersonal relationships in Thai society. Furthermore, the study examined the Lofland and Stark model of religious conversion to see its appropriateness and applicability for explaining the phenomena of Buddhist conversion to the Christian faith in Thailand. The in-depth interviews were conducted with a group of ethnic Thai university students including Christians and non-Christians. The interview data confirm the hypotheses made on the basis of the precedent literature, namely, Buddhism and the high value placed on interpersonal relationships hinder the Thai people from becoming Christians. Furthermore, the respondents also revealed a set of hindering factors which do not pertain to Theravada Buddhism and the value placed on interpersonal relationships. Beneath the surface manifestation of various hindering factors lie the elements of social pressures and plausibility structure, which affect the responses of the respondents to the Christian faith. The respondents who are Christians provided a set of countering factors. These countering factors counteract the obstructing elements and enabled them to become Christians.
Based upon the findings on hindering and countering factors experienced by the respondents to the task of evangelism in Thailand, the writer recommends the cross-cultural evangelism in which both the content and methodology are appropriately contextualized for the culture. Specific training for Thai Christians to engage in cross-cultural evangelism is also recommended.