When the Goats Chase the Lions
Episode #541: “There is no such thing as ‘traditional Buddhism.’”
For Marte Nilsen, this idea defines her career-long exploration of how faith and power intertwine in Myanmar. A senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), she studies how religion evolves with politics, art, and everyday life. “I’m a scientist, and I’m a researcher,” she says. “So I’m always looking at religion as part of society, not as an individual endeavor.”
Nilsen explains that religion in Myanmar has long been a political tool. During the late socialist era, the military built pagodas to project…
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