Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
because many Lao Buddhist monasteries were built on top of ancient Khmer sites, the
shiv-
alinga
and other bits of Khmer statuary are often found on Buddhist altars, particularly in the
south.
Christianity
arrived in Laos in 1642 in the form of an Italian Jesuit missionary but, ac-
cording to his journal, he was far from successful. Not until the French colonial period did
Christian missionaries scramble to make converts throughout Laos. A significant number of
Laos's ethnic Vietnamese population is Catholic and the largest concentration of Catholics is
found in southern Laos, particularly Savannakhet, which boasts the country's most elaborate
Catholic church. Lao Christians also fared badly after the revolution. Because the commun-
ists saw Christianity as “Western”, and therefore potentially subversive missionaries were ex-
pelled and churches closed.
