Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2021

Publication Source

Yale Journal of Music and Religion

Abstract

Christians in the Southeast Asian country of Burma, also known as Myanmar, make up approximately five percent of the national population. The Christian community of Burma includes both Catholics and Protestants, and the Protestants are divided into many denominations. Baptist Christians are predominant among this group, and they provided most of the ethnographic information upon which this article is based. In the article I argue that twenty-first century Baptists in Burma fulfill both aspects of a “twofold legacy” bequeathed to them by Adoniram Judson, the first Baptist missionary to Burma, and that their fulfillment of this legacy is manifest in their musical practices. I further argue that it has been, and continues to be, to Burmese Baptists’ advantage to emphasize both aspects of this religious legacy, because at various times both aspects have highlighted their affiliation with more powerful groups inside Burma.

ISBN/ISSN

2377-231X

Document Version

Postprint

Comments

The document available for download is the author's accepted manuscript, provided in compliance with the journal's open-access policy. The published version will be available in 2021. Browse the journal.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Publisher

Yale Institute of Sacred Music

Volume

7

Issue

1

Peer Reviewed

yes

Download

Included in

Music Commons

Share

COinS