An American in Mongolia: Part V

Religion

The distance between heaven and earth is no greater than one thought. –Mongol Proverb

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That said, with democracy in and socialism out people are relatively free to pursue whatever their hearts desire insofar as what has been made available to them in equal parts by cultural revivalists and globalization. So many now identify themselves as Buddhists, but with the loss of cultural history under socialism, the content of that statement is empty. The sentiment is sincere, but the knowledge of what being a Buddhist actually means is lacking. Outside forces are entering Mongolia to educate the masses in their own (often Euro-centric) style as to what (one of) Mongolia’s own chosen “national” religions means, how to practice it, and what its substance is.6 Likewise, many people call themselves shamans, and many believe in shamanism, but the perception of many Mongolians is that shamanists are easily duped into believing that the cheap con-artist who calls himself a shaman will be able to help the believer transcend the immaterial boundaries to communicate with the otherworld, and the con-artists are multiplying at a speed far more rapid than the genuine shamans. The con-artists find shamanism an easy to mimic and infiltrate as well as a lucrative profession to engage in for the purposes of performing shamanic ritual for foreign seekers (tourists) and also to prey upon those who are marginalized by society and uneducated and generally less wary of the possibility of being exploited.7

Christianity is quickly proliferating because it is novel (though the Vatican and Mongolia have had a relationship since the Middle Ages) and it is intent upon converting believers for life, and it is linked in the minds of many Mongolians to the success of the West. Of course, Christianity has other benefits associated with it. For example, the Catholic Church came to Mongolia by request of the first political administration after the Iron Curtain was lifted to help the country in the areas of education, social work, and morals/ethics. The goal of the Catholic church is not to convert in Mongolia, but rather to rehabilitate a country of people who are “drowning in their own freedom”8 Father Patrick of the Catholic church compound in Ulaanbaatar outlined the many ways in which the church can help Mongolians without forcing them to convert to Catholicism. Indeed, when I spoke with him he seemed interested in providing services for rather than converting parishioners. The compound contains four kindergartens, two middle schools (both secular), and informal poor education, English school, Street Kids Center (120 children call it home), Soup Kitchen, House for the Elderly, two medical clinics, a 200 hectare farm, AA, Women Against Violence, and meetings with other religious groups for peace, in addition to church services and spiritual education. But Catholicism is not the fastest growing sect of Christianity in Mongolia, born again Christianity is. Because its Evangelist ethos generally makes greater efforts to convert the masses, and there is something appealing to Mongolians in its performative spiritualism akin to shamanism. In Born Again Christianity Mongolians are convinced to make a commitment, and “shopping around”, a common practice amongst Mongols since the time of Chinggis Khan and in contemporary Mongolia, is strongly discouraged. Mormon missionaries seem to feel the same way.