Religion: The Origin of Literature in Thai Society

Abstract

The academic article “Religion: The Origin of Literature in Thai Society” aims to study and explain the role of Buddhism as a cultural foundation shaping the content, inspiration, form, and creative process of Thai literature throughout different historical periods. It explores the interrelationship between religion, literature, and Thai society in terms of education, spirituality, and linguistic aesthetics. Using documentary analysis and conceptual synthesis of Buddhist thought with Thai literary studies, the findings reveal that Buddhism has profoundly influenced Thai literature from the past to the present. Religion serves not only as a source of content and inspiration but also as a cultural mechanism for moral cultivation through the art of language and communication.

Furthermore, the article presents a new insight that religion, as a cultural force, can continuously adapt and remain relevant in contemporary literature despite global and technological changes. Buddhist ideas have been reinterpreted through digital literature, spiritual fiction, and modern poetry reflecting the human condition in the modern era. The results achieved the study’s objectives by demonstrating that religion is not merely an object of worship but a foundation of intellect and aesthetic sensibility in Thai literary creation. It continues to hold potential as a creative and spiritual power that shapes the moral consciousness and cultural development of Thai society in the future.