AHC: Another Christian majority nation in Asia.
- Thread starter Duke Andrew of Dank
- Start date
If anything, I think the conversion of the Yuan to Christianity would only hurt Christianity in China. The Mongol Yuan were seen as foreign occupiers by most of the Han population, so if they converted Christianity would very likely have associations with foreign rule, and would probably be targeted by this association like how the Catholic Church was persecuted during the Reign of Terror due to its associations with the Ancien Regime.
Than maybe Taipong Heavely Kingdom even if it is debateable as well and even more.
Independence for some of the Eastern protestant-majority islands in Indonesia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Indonesia#/media/File:Religious_map_of_Indonesia.jpg
Or an Independent Nagaland which would hilariously be majority Baptist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagaland#Religion
Or an Independent Nagaland which would hilariously be majority Baptist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagaland#Religion
Converting the Sunda Kingdom in Western Java by the Portuguese in the early 16th century would be a good start.
Personally, I think converting most of Japan would be a strenuous task. It is possible, but this might be borderline ASB, unfortunately. Northern Kyushu, Chugoku, Hokkaido and Tohoku would be more perceptible given the right conditions, like a longer Sengoku Jidai that ends with an Oda Shogunate, no San Felipe incident and Hasekura Tsunenaga's expedition being more successful.
Another possibility of a majority Christian country in East Asia would be the Ryukyus under either Spanish or Portuguese control, if either country manages to have a strong position in Asia, especially after the Ming collapse, and the island of Formosa as a Japanese Catholic haven if the Shogunate decides to persecute them.
Personally, I think converting most of Japan would be a strenuous task. It is possible, but this might be borderline ASB, unfortunately. Northern Kyushu, Chugoku, Hokkaido and Tohoku would be more perceptible given the right conditions, like a longer Sengoku Jidai that ends with an Oda Shogunate, no San Felipe incident and Hasekura Tsunenaga's expedition being more successful.
Another possibility of a majority Christian country in East Asia would be the Ryukyus under either Spanish or Portuguese control, if either country manages to have a strong position in Asia, especially after the Ming collapse, and the island of Formosa as a Japanese Catholic haven if the Shogunate decides to persecute them.
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Majapahit surviving the 15th-century collapse can be Catholic and allied with Portugal in the same vein as Japan.
Middle East: Lebanon, Assyria, Socotra
South Asia: Goa (were it independent), Nagaland/)Manipur
Central Asia: Mongolia (Naimans, and Keriates were already Christian)
East Asia: North Korea (Were it not communist), Macao, Taiwan
SE Asia: Moluccas, East Timur, Philippines
South Asia: Goa (were it independent), Nagaland/)Manipur
Central Asia: Mongolia (Naimans, and Keriates were already Christian)
East Asia: North Korea (Were it not communist), Macao, Taiwan
SE Asia: Moluccas, East Timur, Philippines
Prince Canh’s line ascends to the Vietnamese throne, either Nguyễn Phúc My Đường directly succeeds Gia Long, or the Le van Khôi revolt succeeds in putting him to the throne. As a catholic he would allow further missionary influence.
It may still be hard to convert w majority of Vietnam to Christianity, but maybe if it then splits in two or more, the south could be Christian majority
Cambodia could also have a larger Christian population, hard to imagine a majority tho
It may still be hard to convert w majority of Vietnam to Christianity, but maybe if it then splits in two or more, the south could be Christian majority
Cambodia could also have a larger Christian population, hard to imagine a majority tho
Wouldn't a non-Communist North Korea just be one-half of a united Korea?
Baldrick
Banned
What about: Communism never comes to power in China, and the Chiangs (who were Methodists) make Christianity the state religion and try to integrate it as much as possible into Chinese culture by funding churches, Christian education in public schools, cracking down on Buddhism and feng shui, etc.
After a few generations (so by TTL 2000), China is majority-Christian
After a few generations (so by TTL 2000), China is majority-Christian
Russian Empire puppet dynasty in Manchuria or Mongolia converts to Eastern Orthodoxy. Or, a stronger early presence in the Far East allows Russian to control Hokkaido and establish an Orthodox Ainu puppet state there.
A Caucasian Commonwealth including Georgia and Armenia, like the CIS.
Canaan Osborne
Banned
Much of East Asia is Buddhist which is an axial age religion and thus has trouble being pushed back.
I mean, it was pushed back pretty hard in India, and Christianity (another axial religion) was pushed back pretty significantly by Islam in North Africa and the Middle East.
For Buddhism and conversion, it's really important to distinguish between Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism.
Theravada Buddhism sees itself as following the original teachings of the Buddha, with a focus on personal enlightenment, maintenance of traditions, etc.
Mahayana Buddhism has a more open canon, and sees itself as the "greater vehicle." It believes in multiple Buddhas, and that the better goal is for all beings to become Buddhas and use their enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. In particular, it accepts the belief of bodhisattvas, which are beings that are enlightened enough that they could achieve personal nirvana but choose to delay that so that they can guide and benefit other beings.
The thing is that Theravada Buddhism only really spread to regions which already accepted a similar conceptual universe (Hinduism, Buddhism) already. Theravada started in Sri Lanka and spread to SE Asia (modern Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos) by converting them from the Mahayana Buddhism (and syncretic Hinduism) which was already there.
Mahayana Buddhism, however, is capable of spreading to much wider regions, and did so- Central Asia, East Asia, SE Asia, and a few other regions. However, Mahayana Buddhism also tends to be much more susceptible to conversion to other religions. Modern Indonesia, Afghanistan, Central Asia, the Maldives and a few other regions were once Mahayana Buddhists but have converted to other religions (mostly Islam or Hinduism (in India) or sometimes Theravada Buddhism). This process has even happened recently, in that South Korea now has more Christians than Mahayana Buddhists (though irreligion is more numerous than both of those together).
Theravada Buddhism, however, has been much more resistant to conversion elsewhere. As far as I recall, every country which was once majority Theravada Buddhist still is. (I may have missed one somewhere, but not many).
So in talking whether Buddhist countries in Asia may become Christian, it may be possible for Mahayana Buddhist countries in some circumstances, but is highly unlikely for Theravada Buddhist countries.