The government is accused of actively promoting Theravada Buddhism (practised by 90% of the population) over other religions, particularly among members of ethnic minorities.
Christian and Islamic groups continued to have trouble obtaining permission to repair existing places of worship or build new ones.
Although there were no new reports of forced conversions of non-Buddhists, the government applied pressure on students and poor youth to convert to Buddhism.
Hinduism is practised chiefly by Burmese of Indian origin, who are concentrated in major cities and in the south central region.
Islam is practised widely in Rakhine State, where it is the dominant religion of the Rohingya minority, and in Rangoon, Ayeyarwady, Magway, and Mandalay Divisions.
Practices drawn from those indigenous beliefs persist widely in popular Buddhist rituals, especially in rural areas.
Based on the 1990 Sangha Organization Law, the Government banned any organisation of Buddhist monks other than the nine state-recognized monastic orders.
There are reports that the ITBMU, while in principle open to the public, accepted only candidates who were approved by government authorities or recommended by a senior, progovernment Buddhist abbot.
During the reporting period, the Government harassed a group of Buddhist worshippers who visited the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon every Tuesday, the day of the week that Aung San Suu Kyi was born, to pray at the Tuesday pillar for her release and the release of all political prisoners in the country.
During the reporting period, authorities in the Rangoon area closed several house churches because they did not have proper authorisation to hold religious meetings.
In most regions of the country, Christian and Islamic groups that sought to build small places of worship on side streets or other inconspicuous locations were able to do so only with informal approval from local authorities; however, informal approval from local authorities created a tenuous legal situation.
The Myanmar Institute of Theology (MIT) in Insein Township, Rangoon is the premier seminary for Baptists throughout the country.
It remained extremely difficult for Muslims to get permission to repair existing mosques, although internal renovations were allowed in some cases.
There were no reports that authorities intercepted or confiscated Qur'ans at border entry points, but religious leaders complained that postal workers steal them to sell on the black market.
Christian groups have brought in foreign clergy and religious workers for visits as tourists, but they have been careful to ensure that the Government did not perceive their activities as proselytising.
The Government sometimes expedited its burdensome passport issuance procedures for Muslims making the Hajj or Buddhists going on pilgrimage to Bodhgaya, India, although it limited the number of pilgrims.
In Rangoon, Muslims can usually obtain birth certificates for newborns, but local authorities refused to allow them to place the names of the babies on their household registers.
Rohingyas did not have access to state-run schools beyond primary education and were unable to obtain employment in any civil service positions.
Many of the approximately 25,000 Rohingya Muslims remaining in refugee camps in Bangladesh refused to return because they feared human rights abuses, including religious persecution.
[4] Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), was in prison or house arrest from 2003 to 2010.
There followed many arrests of clergy, including Abbot Wila Tha and his assistant Than Kakesa from the Buddhist monastery of U Shwe Maw village, Taungup Township, and Yeh Zaw, a member of the Phawkkan Evangelical Church who written a letter to the regime leader urging him to end the persecution of his church.
There continued to be credible reports from diverse regions of the country that government officials compelled persons, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike, especially in rural areas, to contribute money, food, or materials to state-sponsored projects to build, renovate, or maintain Buddhist religious shrines or monuments.
The Government denied that it used coercion and called these contributions "voluntary donations" consistent with Buddhist ideas of making merit.
In April 2006 authorities in Lashio reportedly tried to coerce merchants to contribute large sums to construct a Buddhist shrine.
Although the girls received free school fees, food, and accommodation, they complained they felt pressured to become Buddhist.
In Kanpetlet, Chin State, NaTaLa operated a school exclusively for Buddhist students and guaranteed them government jobs after graduation.
During this time there were reports of violent clashes between Muslims and Buddhists in Magway Division, Shwe Settaw, Chauk, Salin and Kyauk Pyu.
Although the DKBA reportedly includes some Christians and there are some Buddhists in the KNU, the armed conflict between the two Karen groups has had strong religious overtones.
[6] In 2019, the USCIRF reported, "the Burmese government continued to commit widespread and egregious religious freedom violations, particularly against Rohingya Muslims."
However, some anti-Muslim hate speech and discrimination has been amplified by social media, state institutions and mainstream news websites.