Factors Contributing to Thai Buddhists’ Adoption of Adventist Beliefs — Part 1
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Abstract
The Seventh-day Adventist Church has experienced little growth since its inception in the Kingdom of Thailand over 100 years ago, signifying a need to know more about the process through which Thai Buddhists adopt Adventist practices and beliefs. In an effort to answer this challenge, this qualitative study aims to help fill this knowledge gap by identifying factors contributing to choices of Thai Buddhists to adopt Seventh-day Adventist beliefs. Former Buddhists were interviewed and several factors were identified. Results from this study revealed that converts adopted Seventh-day Adventist beliefs and practices due to three main factors: 1) Positive Life Changes, 2) Relationships with Christians, and 3) Spiritual Encounters. Further, the healthy lifestyle of many Seventh-day Adventist played a key role in this process. In light of these factors, tailored and suitable outreach efforts are needed. Highlighting the tangible over the theoretical in SDA evangelism could also be an instrumental shift within Buddhist contexts. It is suggested that further research be conducted on a wider scale to confirm and further solidify the findings of this study.
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