ANG THONG — With good intentions to help Buddhist novices learn English, a temple in Ang Thong Province invited foreigners to teach. However, it ended up inviting an Evangelist to spread Christianity in the temple instead.
On September 23, Phra Maha Tonod Kantapho, the district ecclesiastical chief of Pho Thong District, Ang Thong Province, addressed the case of a post criticizing a temple in Pho Thong District for bringing in foreign instructors to teach English to novices in the general education section of the Phrapariyattidham School. It turned out to be propagating teachings of another religion.
Phra Maha Tonod said this is a lesson for the temple and will serve as an example for other temples to be more careful.
A Facebook page called “Big Grian” shared a video showing a foreign man speaking English and a female interpreter translating into Thai, instructing students to perform gestures similar to mental therapy exercises and praising Jesus. The poster questioned whether this was appropriate and how the Office of Buddhism, Ministry of Education, and police would respond.
“The incident arose from well-meaning monks who didn’t fully understand the situation. It was like an English camp to help novices and students improve their language skills, but they didn’t expect this to happen. We consider this a lesson for the first time. The district has sent a letter to the ecclesiastical authorities and the Ang Thong Provincial Office of Buddhism, apologized for the oversight, and considers this a lesson for other educational institutions in case someone comes to request teaching. The temple has promised to rectify the situation,” said Phra Maha Tonod.
Phra Palad Sarawut Thanawaro, assistant abbot of Wat Tha Klong, revealed that initially, the temple was contacted by foreigners offering to teach languages. The temple agreed, thinking it would be beneficial for novices and students to learn from native speakers.
However, they didn’t expect these foreigners to secretly introduce teachings from another religion, having novices and students practice along. Some novices and students who couldn’t fully understand the language just followed along. In the future, the temple will have to consider and inquire more thoroughly before allowing such events to happen again. They have reported the incident to senior monks and relevant agencies.
A novice named Kai recounted that the group came to teach in the classroom with foreigners and interpreters. They called novices to ask questions and had them recite praises while following the foreigners’ instructions. Many novices and students who didn’t understand the language just followed along. Afterwards, books related to teachings of a particular religion were distributed to novices and students.
They were told that if anyone wanted autographs, they could bring the books to the foreign teachers to sign. After the temple became aware of the situation, they requested that the teaching be stopped.
The religious instructor in question writes in Burmese and English. He has a page promoting his religious outreach activities at various schools in Thailand. He identifies himself as an Evangelist, Revivalist, Musician, and Digital creator.
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