RELIGION IN MONGOLIA

Most Mongols have traditionally followed the Yellow Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism. They consider the Dalai Lama as their spiritual leader. Spiritual and folk beliefs still abound in Mongolia. The Mongols have traditionally practiced shamanism and animism. Lamanism (Tibetan Buddhism) was introduced in the 16th century. In the Soviet era there was limited religious activity as Communism is officially atheist although freedom of religion was guaranteed in 1960 Constitution.

Originally shamanists, the Mongols were converted Tibetan Buddhism in the second half of the 16th century when Altan Khan 1507-83) accepted the spiritual authority of the Dalai Lama. The majority of Mongol literature is Buddhist, and the whole Buddhist Canon was translated from Tibetan to Mongol. Remnants of shamanism still exist in the form of sacrificial offerings to ancestors, and reverence for the Sun, Moon, and nature. Traditionally, Mongols sought the counsel and help of lamas (Tibetan Buddhist priest or monk) for blessings for marriage, childbirth and death.

There has been a lot of Christian missionary activity in Mongolia and some Mongolians have converted to Christianity. About three percent of the population is Muslim. They live primarily on the southwest part of the country, as are many of their kin across the border in China. In the past. Muslims were estimated to have made up four to six percent of the population.

Before the Communist era, there were many Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in Mongolia and a large percentage of the male population were monks. Religion was suppressed by the communists and almost all the monasteries were closed down. In the 1921 Revolution in Outer Mongolia Buddhism was attacked as a superstition. The state also restricted the performance of festivals associated with shamanism and Tibetan Buddhism. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, religion has made a come back and the monasteries have been rebuilt.

In the most recent census (2010), Mongolians identified their religious affiliations as: 53 percent Buddhist, 38.6 percent Atheist, 3 percent Muslim, 2.9 percent Shamanist, and 2 percent Christian. [Source: CIA World Factbook =]

The constitution recognizes “freedom of conscience and religion” as a fundamental freedom of citizens and prohibits state institutions from engaging in religious activities and religious institutions from pursuing political activities. The religion law requires religious institutions to register with authorities and broadly describes registration procedures, leaving most specifics of implementation to the discretion of local authorities. Registration practices varied across the country. Some religious groups complained of difficulties obtaining and renewing registration, with the absence of clear rules leaving the process subject to the personal biases of individual officials. [Source: International Religious Freedom Report for 2014, Mongolia, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, International Religious Freedom -U.S. Department of State]

Religious Demography in Mongolia

Buddhism remains closely linked with the country’s cultural traditions, with 53 percent of citizens self-identifying as Buddhist, according to the 2010 national census. In the census, 38.6 percent of citizens self-identified as atheists. Local scholars, however, assert that more than 90 percent of the population subscribes in some degree to Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism is the traditional and dominant religion. [Source: International Religious Freedom Report for 2014, Mongolia, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, International Religious Freedom - U.S. Department of State ]

According to the census, 3 percent of citizens nationwide self-identify as Muslim, and Muslims constitute 80 percent of the population of the primarily ethnic Kazakh western province of Bayan-Olgiy. The Mongolian Muslim Association states there are approximately 130,000 Kazakh Muslims (mostly in Bayan-Olgiy) and 20,000 Khoton Muslims residing primarily in the province of Uvs, which in total would constitute approximately 5 percent of the country’s population.

Some citizens practice the spiritual healing traditions of shamanism, often in tandem with another religion. The 2010 census estimated that 2.9 percent of the population practiced shamanism. According to a 2011 government survey of 2,500 people, 6 percent of those surveyed self-identified as shamanists, while 8.6 percent responded they practiced shamanism alongside Buddhism. Some scholars suggest the practice of shamanism has increased significantly in recent years, particularly in Ulaanbaatar, although many Mongolians have long practiced elements of traditional shamanist practice in combination with other religions.

The Jewish population is very small, and there have been were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

Religious Traditions in Mongolia

According to e Human Relations Area Files: In Mongolia, there are written and oral traditions with the oral being the more predominate. This resulted in shamanistic practice being more performance-centered rather than liturgy-centered. A shaman, combined different roles that ranged from doctor, teacher, adviser, administrative person, and entertainer. [Source: William Jankowiak, Ian Skoggard, and John Beierle,e Human Relations Area Files (eHRAF) World Cultures, Yale University]

Mongols believed that important places, especially certain hills, were occupied by powerful spirits and deities. To honor the spirits rock cairns (ovoo) were constructed at locations people considered to have great efficacy. An Ovoo cairn is made of earth and stones, with brushwood and flags placed at the top. Around the foot lie stones engraved and painted with Tibetan prayers, coins, bottles, and bones. The Ovoo ritual festivals were held on specific dates following the lunar calendar. They were important community events that involved the participation of men and women, both together and separately. The ritual of Ovoo is related to a sacramental tie between people and their land. At the same time, the Ovoo games were considered actions that brought about a good future (Humphrey. Except among the Daur Mongols who live in northeastern area, the Buddhist cosmology continues to influence people's understanding of the significance of the Ovoo festival.

In the sixteenth century Tibetan Buddhism incorporated into its cosmology many shamanistic symbols and rites. Under the Manchus, Tibetan Buddhism flourished and numerous monastic centers were developed. Tibetan Buddhism impacted most of Mongolian culture with its diffusion of numerous Buddhist beliefs (e.g., selfishness, harming other creatures, defying Buddhist teachings damages an individual's own destiny) and practices into the wider culture. A core axiom of Tibetan Buddhism is the idea of reincarnation which regards the physical body as a vessel for the soul. Each death and rebirth impacts an individual's fate. Sin leads to reincarnation in one of the lower levels, as an animal or a starving ghost. This is a moral cosmology linked to social behavior and order.

Religious Laws in Mongolia

According to the U.S. Department of State: “The constitution states that “freedom of conscience and religion” are among the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens. Exercising this and other rights may not infringe on national security or the rights of others or violate public order. The constitution clarifies that: “(1) the State shall respect religions and religions shall honor the State; (2) State institutions shall not engage in religious activities and religious institutions shall not pursue political activities; (3) the relationship between the State and religious institutions shall be regulated by law.” The religion law states “the State shall respect the dominance of the Buddhist religion in Mongolia, in order to uphold the solidarity and cultural and civilization heritage of the people of Mongolia. This will not hinder a citizen to practice another religion.”[Source: International Religious Freedom Report for 2014, Mongolia, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, International Religious Freedom - U.S. Department of State ]

Religious groups must register with local and provincial authorities, as well as with the General Authority of State Registration (General Authority), to function legally. National law provides little detail on registration procedures for religious institutions and does not stipulate the duration of a registration’s validity, allowing local authorities to set rules to govern the registration process and to determine the duration of registrations. Religious groups must renew their registrations (in most cases annually) with multiple government institutions across local, provincial, and national levels.

“A religious group must provide the following documentation to the General Authority when applying to register: a letter requesting registration, a letter from the citizens’ representative assembly or other local authority granting approval to conduct religious services, a brief description of the group, the group’s charter, documentation on the group’s founding, a list of leaders, financial information, a declaration of assets (including any real estate owned), a lease or rental agreement (if applicable), brief biographic information of individuals wishing to conduct religious services, and the expected number of worshippers. The renewal process requires a religious institution obtain a reference letter from the local administration. The religious institution then submits this reference letter, along with other documents, to the Ulaanbaatar Citizens’ Representative Assembly (Ulaanbaatar Assembly) or the relevant provincial assembly. The Ulaanbaatar or provincial assembly issues a resolution granting the religious institution permission to continue operations, and the religious institution then sends a copy of the approval resolution to the General Authority. The General Authority then enters the new validity dates on the back of the religious institution’s original registration document.

“By law, all foreign organizations must hire a certain ratio of nationals to every foreign employee hired. All industries not specified in the annual quota list (including most religious groups, which have no separate quota list category) fall under the quota in which 95 percent of employees must be nationals. Any unlisted group with fewer than 20 national employees is allowed one foreign worker.

“The law regulating civil and military service specifies that all male citizens between 18 and 25 years of age are subject to one year of compulsory military service, and there is no exception on religious grounds or for conscientious objectors. There is a provision for alternative service, however, including service with the Border Forces, the National Emergency Management Agency, or a humanitarian organization, or paying the cost of one year’s training and upkeep for a soldier.

“The government allocated MNT 1.35 billion ($716,000) for the restoration of several Buddhist sites that were important religious, historical, and cultural centers. The government did not otherwise subsidize Buddhism or any other religious groups. Although there are nonmilitary ways to fulfill compulsory military service, in practice, the only specifically religious exemption granted was for high-level Buddhist monks (lamas), who must provide documentation proving their status.

Muslims in Mongolia

The Muslim community reported no problems securing government permits for construction of a new Islamic cultural center and mosque in Ulaanbaatar, but construction was suspended several years ago due to reduced funding from sponsoring Arab countries.

Ethnic Kazakhs, the majority of whom are Muslim, were represented in government by two members of parliament and two recently nominated ministerial state secretaries (the third highest position in their relative ministries).

Christians in Mongolia

There is a small but growing population of Christians. According to the 2010 national census, 2 percent of the population is Christian. At the time of a 2011 governmental national study, 4.7 percent of the 2,500 individuals surveyed were Christian. The majority of Christians are Protestant. Other Christians include members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and very small communities of Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians. Catholics make up 0.1 percent of the population. [Source: International Religious Freedom Report for 2014, Mongolia, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, International Religious Freedom - U.S. Department of State ]

Christian leaders reported the public viewed Christians in an increasingly positive light as their charitable works became more widely recognized. Some local authorities even sought out the services of Christian groups. Some Buddhist leaders said the growing influence of Christianity in the country was of concern. In certain cases there was local harassment of Christians. The Mongolian Evangelical Alliance reported the leaders of one Christian church shut down the church and left a county in Bayankhongor Province under pressure from the local community. According to the Mongolian Evangelical Alliance, the county is home to an influential Buddhist monastery and populated by descendants of a prominent Buddhist leader. The local community reportedly made verbal threats to the Christian church leaders that “if they did not leave, they would be in trouble.”

Christian Missionaries in Mongolia

Since the collapse of Communism, Mongolia has been besieged by Christian missionaries from various denominations. Alexander Berzin of Columbia University told Newsweek, "They are exerting tremendous pressure on the population, particularly young people, to convert to Christianity. This is extremely disruptive to the process of trying to re-establish Mongolia's traditional culture.”

Berzin said: "Self worth comes from being rooted in one's own culture. So if you take away the former Soviet culture, and in addition take away Mongolia's traditional culture and values, which the missionaries are trying to undermine, people are left with nothing."

Berzin added: "They come and say Mongolia's poverty and backwardness are due to Buddhism...Many Mongolian's believe it because they don't have much information about the outside world. Also, the missionaries come in the guise of English teachers. They print free Christian literature in colloquial Mongolian and in English, which attracts language students. They give money, computers to universities, scholarships to children of influential officials. They buy their way in. The Buddhists can't compete.

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Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, U.S. government, Compton’s Encyclopedia, The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, AFP, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, The Economist, Foreign Policy, Wikipedia, BBC, CNN, and various books, websites and other publications.

Last updated October 2022