Conflict and Change in the 20th Century

Respect for Buddhism and its status in Cambodian society can still be seen in the rhetoric (even if only in the rhetoric) of Norodom Sihanouk, the last pre-communist ruler of the Kingdom of Cambodia from 1953 to 1970. Though the western educated ruler might have privately disparaged Buddhism, in public he continued to assert its importance.¹  As Sihanouk consolidated power, he strengthened Buddhist institutions and grew the number of monks.²  However, these changes came at the same time as the as economic decline ate away at the power and respect traditionally accorded to the sangha.³  From the 1960's on, Sihanouk had to deal with the rising power of the Khmer Rouge or Cambodian communist party. In 1970, Sihanouk was overthrown by Lon Nol, a right wing general who affirmed the primacy of Buddhism and denounced Sihanouk's regime as “Buddhist in name only".⁴

Lon held power for five years before being deposed by the Khmer Rouge in 1975. Shortly after Pol Pot took control of Phnom Penh, he publicized a plan to remove monks from their special place in society. By the end of that year, most Cambodian monks had been defrocked. While this might only have meant trying to assimilate them into the working class, the end result was extensive and violent persecution.⁵  It is difficult to account for the number of monks killed by the Khmer Rouge, but gruesome and disturbing accounts abound. The communists justified their actions by saying that monks were imperialist, unable to contribute to society and/or spies for other nations.⁶

In addition to removing Buddhism from its formally respected space in the Cambodian State, the Khmer Rouge was responsible for the deaths of millions of Cambodians. The regime also forced the entire population of Phnom Penh to leave the city and enacted similar measures in towns across the country. About half of the population of Cambodia was forced to relocate. The Khmer Rouge was removed from power by Vietnamese forces in early 1979, but the communists harassed the newly installed government until the 1990's.⁷  The legacy of the Khmer Rouge is still felt today, the current dictatorial ruler of Cambodia is in fact a former member of the regime.⁸  Trust in the Cambodian government is not high at the Watt Community, a Cambodian-American police officer stated that while he feels respected in the US, no one trusted the police in Cambodia.

The violence in Cambodia at this time led, quite understandably, to a large wave of emigration. After spending time in refugee camps, often in Thailand, many eventually came to the United States. Between 1980 and 1990 the Cambodian population in the US grew tenfold.⁹  Here they joined a population of Theravada Buddhist immigrants whose numbers had been growing since the 1960's. The Immigration Act of 1965 had removed racial quotas on immigration and allowed greater numbers of immigrants from Asian countries to enter the US. This new wave of immigrants, many from Sri Lanka and Thailand began to build the first Theravada temples in the US.¹⁰  These temples were usually specific to the country that the community who founded them emigrated from and often were home to monks from that nation. As more Cambodians began to arrive in the US in the early 1980's, Cambodians temples began to establish themselves in areas with high immigrant populations. While they settled in California, Washington and on the East Coast in places like Massachusetts, large numbers settled in Minnesota beginning in early 1980’s, Watt Munisotaram was part of the this wave of new temples.