Since 2011, Myanmar’s monks and nuns have responded to the political transition in ways that have fostered and supported the reform and peace efforts, as well as driven conflict and bolstered exclusionary attitudes that feed violence. Their mobilization in response to political, social, and economic dynamics in the country has a great deal of
historical precedent. As in other Asian Buddhist contexts, in ancient Burmese kingdoms there was a relationship of patronage between the ruling monarchy and sangha (the monastic community). British colonial rulers, however, sought to separate the political and religious realms, refusing to appoint a head of the sangha, a duty that had typically been the responsibility of the king. Due to this absence of central authority, many Buddhists claimed to see a moral decline in the monastic community. This perceived weakening of Buddhism, in concert with Christian missionizing, fueled a Burmese nationalist and Buddhist revival movement in the early twentieth century, spearheaded by
several prominent Buddhist monks.10