In most European and North American countries surveyed, individuals with more education are less likely to say that belief in God is necessary to be moral. Islam is well established in most major towns and wherever Arab populations are found. But, especially since the 1970s, traditional settlements have been sliced through by modern roads and facilities such as schools and offices, as well as shopping malls and bars. 37-64; Christopher Melchert, The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law: 9th-10th Centuries (Brill, Leiden, 1997); Norman Calder, Studies in Early Islamic Jurisprudence (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1993); Bernard Weiss, “The Maddhab in Islamic Legal Theory,” in P.J. Most ethnic Khmer are Theravada (Hinayana) Buddhists (i.e., belonging to the older and more traditional of the two great schools of Buddhism, the other school being Mahayana). What was the impact of the Khmer Rouge on Cambodia? Houses in Cambodia were generally built on wooden pilings and had thatched roofs, walls of palm matting, and floors of woven bamboo strips resting on bamboo joists. All of this is further complicated by the fact that virtually all the royal houses of Europe are extensively intermarried, going back generations.

Houses for the more-prosperous, while still on pilings, were built of wood and had tile or metal roofs. Traditional architecture of thatch roofing and clay walls has given way to corrugated metal roofing and brick walls. Princess Diana and Prince Charles endured rumors of infidelity and saw their storybook marriage crumble in a very public way. During the 1960s the government of Prince Norodom Sihanouk was successful in colonizing frontier regions, especially in the northwest, with army veterans or poor farmers from more-crowded parts of the country. Farmers had no access to agricultural machinery, and the work of several people was needed to grow enough rice to feed a family for a year. Community church Cairns should be one where you not only get to follow Jesus Christ’s teachings and principles every day, but also, in the company of people from all walks of life and different cultures and backgrounds.

Many Vietnamese are members of the Roman Catholic Church or of such syncretic Vietnamese religious movements as Cao Dai. Some one-third adhere to traditional beliefs as their primary religious orientation. Some indigenous religious and medical practices, notably respect for patriarchal ancestors, were assimilated within popular Christian beliefs. An examination of proselytism has revealed that the limitations placed on pros- elytism, though explained as protection of personal autonomy, in keeping with an individualistic perception of religious freedom, may be due more to a conception of this right that tries to maintain the identity of the proselytized or even the iden­tity and cohesiveness of the group itself. More recently, thousands have converted to Evangelical Protestantism, particularly urban Khmer. Under the Khmer Rouge, all religious practices were forbidden. Khmer Loeu groups generally follow local religions, while ethnic Vietnamese and Chinese are eclectic, following Mahayana Buddhism and Daoism. The pro-Vietnamese communist regime that ruled Cambodia in the 1980s encouraged Buddhism in a limited way, and Theravada Buddhism was restored as Cambodia’s state religion in 1993. Almost 20 years of neglect have been difficult to reverse, however, and the religion has not regained the popularity and prestige that it had before 1975. Nonetheless, the social and psychological characteristics often ascribed to the Khmer-individualism, conservatism, patience, gentleness, and lack of concern for material wealth-represent Buddhist ideals toward which Cambodians, especially in rural areas, continue to aspire.

Minority populations are not Theravada Buddhists. Today they have declined to about 5 percent and are associated with the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States. Catholic clergy and laypersons receive state remuneration in addition to the stipends paid to them by the Church. Allegiance to the old state churches, notably those of the Congregationalists (London Missionary Society), has declined since the 1950s. There are numerous Anglican and United Reformed (Congregational and Methodist) churches; other Christian denominations represented in the country include Dutch Reformed, Roman Catholic, and Lutheran. The villages and traditional towns of Botswana are still basically laid out around the kgotla (courtyard) and cattle kraal (corral) of traditional rulers and are subdivided into wards, each of which mimics the village or town plan with its own central kgotla and kraal. Official temples were important venues for private prayer and offering, even though their central activities were closed to laypeople.