Aug. 26, 2006: Buddhist monks at the Gandantegcheling monestry in the Mongolian capital Ulan Baatar. Photo: AFP/Peter Parks

Former Soviet satellite Mongolia has shed the official atheism of its communist past, and religion is making a comeback in the traditionally Buddhist country. And while Buddhism remains a living cultural force, thousands have converted to new faiths.

In a conference of Christian groups last year in Mongolia’s capital, Ulan Baatar, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints claimed 7,000 baptized Mongolian members, Alicia Campi, a former U.S. foreign service officer assigned to the country, told RFA in an interview.

The Catholic Church claimed 250-300 baptized members, and Protestant evangelicals claimed 20,000 conversions.

Religion Puts Down New Roots in Mongolia