Abstract:
บทคัดย่อภาษาอังกฤษ
The objectives of this research were to: 1) study roles of Buddhist monks in community development perceived by people in Samphran district, Nakhon Pathom province; 2) compare the roles of Buddhist monks in community development perceived by people in Samphran district, Nakhon Pathom province, regarding their personal status; and 3) find suggestions for roles of Buddhist monks in community development. The samples were 384 people residing in Samphran district, Nakhon Pathom province. The research tool was a questionnaire. The statistics used for data analysis were percentage, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, t-test, and one-way analysis of variance. Additionally, the data obtained from the open-ended questions was analyzed by means of content analysis.
The results were as follows:
1. The role of Buddhist monks in community development, perceived by people in Samphran district, Nakhon Pathom province, was at a moderate level.
2. The people in Samphran district, Nakhon Pathom province, of different educational level, income and career differently perceived the roles of the Buddhist monks in community development at the statistically significant levels of .05. However, people of different sex and age, perceived no different roles of Buddhist monks in community development.
3. Suggestions for the roles of Buddhist monks in community development were training to give knowledge about Buddhism and morality to people; Buddhist monks should have practiced their activities strictly; and Buddhist monks should have been role models for good practice.