Contesting Buddhist Narratives indigenous Nat worship (Animist) or other religions (including Hinduism and Bahai).3 However, it is important to note that demographic figures in Myanmar are little more than conjecture and are widely disputed. The last official census took place in 1983, and figures of non-Burman and nonBuddhist populations were likely underreported (International Crisis Group 2014b). Additionally, the 1983 census did not include the populations in areas with active conflicts. With support from international donors and technical expertise from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Myanmar began the process of collecting new census data in March 2014 and released the first overall population figures on August 31, 2014. The new figures have been contentious because they do not include the entire Rohingya population or some communities in territories controlled by ethnic armed groups; the new estimate also falls well below the 57 million that the Myanmar government estimated in 2008 (Sanay Lin 2014). While many observers expected data collection to inflame religious tensions, the census was carried out with no violent incidents.4 However, in response to protests from Rakhine Buddhists, the Myanmar government decided at the last minute not to allow “Rohingya” as a write-in identity category, reversing its prior commitment to allow selfreporting and delaying data collection in parts of Rakhine state (The Guardian 2014). Additionally, while data collection did not spark violence, some analysts have predicted that the announcements of results (planned in several stages throughout 2014 and 2015) could exacerbate tensions, especially if the results show a significantly larger Muslim population than previously reported (International Crisis Group 2014a). Interethnic conflict has marked Myanmar’s modern history. For decades, many ethnic groups in Myanmar have been fighting for various degrees of autonomy from a central government that is seen to represent the ethnic Burman group. These ethnic armed movements seek to sustain their own languages and cultures and to retain control over political and economic life in their regions, including the wealth derived from rich mineral depositories and other natural resources. Under the military regimes that ruled Myanmar from 1962 until the recent reforms began, religious freedom for non-Buddhists was severely limited. Christians, Muslims, and others faced restrictions on 5