None of Thailand’s written constitutions defines a national religion. Superficially this is as if Thailand is a completely “secular state,” especially in comparison with Indonesia, Pakistan, or Burma. But in reality Thailand has not passed through a process of decisively separating state and religion as in Europe.
Nevertheless, it is necessary to define first that the Thai “religious state” was different from the western one, and hence the process of making it secular ought to be different from the western process also.
Westerners think that power over humanity belongs to god. Hence government or the use of power in the world cannot be legitimate unless it is approved by god. But the Thai think that power is something natural. If there is no government wielding power, then a new government will appear to wield it. And power can be held without asking for the approval of anybody. 18 But a power holder can prove his legitimacy by nurturing Buddhism. One purpose of holding power hence is to promote and nurture Buddhism. It can be counted as one of the important purposes of government. The state thus arises for Buddhism. The ruler has the duty of defending Buddhism from being troubled by bad dogma. At the same time, he deploys royal power to create conditions for all the people to accumulate the king’s barami so he may progress through the cycle of rebirth to attain nirvana. This purpose can be seen clearly from the reigns of King Taksin and King Rama I onwards. 19
The reform of government and religion in the Fifth Reign did not affect this important principle. The revolution of 1932 did not negate this principle either, although nothing was specified clearly in the constitution. Hence in the Thai cultural constitution, Buddhism has a status more special than other religions.