The growing tensions between Buddhists and Muslims in Myanmar have revealed the complex nature of religious conflicts in Asia. The cohabiting and bordering areas of different religions have witnessed intensifying conflicts in recent years.

In the Philippines' Mindanao, Muslim militant forces have not yet been completely disarmed.

Muslim separatists in southern Thailand are detonating bombs almost every day, while in Indonesia, violent conflicts between Muslims and Christians can be seen from time to time.

In Bangladesh, a wave of violent confrontations in September 2012 left some Buddhist and Hindu temples burnt to ruins.

Behind the incessant ethnic conflicts in certain Asian countries, religious confrontations make a difference.

Their deep but hidden impact over the conflicts will explode due to various internal causes, such as an immature democracy, resurgence of nationalism and unbalanced economic development, as well as external ones, such as the US anti-terror wars and the turmoil in the Middle East.

In Asia, along with the transformation of lifestyles, opening-up of societies and advancement of economic globalization, regions have become gradually secularized, which is believed to exert a positive influence on the harmonious coexistence of different religions.

However, the exclusive nature of religions and the sense of superiority expressed by the followers of a certain religion will exacerbate the contradictions of different religions.

A mainstream religion will usually uphold a discriminative and prejudiced attitude toward a less populous religion.

Asia has always been haunted by an inclination to separatism produced by religions. When ethnic conflicts become intertwined with religious confrontations, different beliefs may lead to nations being divided.

Unfortunately, this trouble can hardly be resolved by economic development.

At the same time, Asia is facing the challenges presented by strong Western religions. Technological advancement has made it much easier for religions to spread than before. Prayers now can be heard in every corner of the world in a second.

So far, Catholicism and Protestantism, which were established on the basis of Western countries, tower over the rest in terms of their ability to expand their influence.

Christians already outnumber Muslims in Asia. According to the 2011 Statistical Yearbook of the Church, the growth rate of Catholicism in Africa and Asia surpasses that of the rest of the world.

What effect does this tornado-like expansion have on followers of other religions and nonbelievers? The current events in West Asia, North Africa and other Muslim-dominated regions in Asia show people the dangers that this can present.

There is nothing wrong with the spread of religions, because this is part of their mission.

But history has proved that the spread of religions, especially their ideologies, can stimulate a strong sense of crisis among the believers of other religions as well as nonbelievers.

In areas where two and more religions intersect, there is a great potential for conflicts to explode.

A model that befits Asia is what really matters when addressing the ethnic and religious issues in the continent.

Revolutions in West Asia and North Africa have demonstrated that the Western political system, which is founded on the basis of a society where Western mainstream religion takes the dominant position, cannot be completely transplanted into non-Western countries.

It is possible that such a "castle in the clouds" system will be distorted and misused. It is likely that religious problems will be further sharpened and complicated.

Asia also needs to address a separate but more difficult problem. The inclusiveness of a system needs to be supported by economic development and the sharing of opportunities.

In order to achieve this, Asian countries need to make sure that their governments can execute policies in an authoritative manner in order to maintain the harmonious coexistence of different religions and ethnic groups.

The author is a senior editor with People's Daily. He is currently stationed in Brazil. dinggang@globaltimes.com.cn