Mongols seek Bibles for cigarette papers

[Guest guest]

Christian groups seek converts in a country where almost half the

young men were Buddhist monks before the communists took over in 1921

and stamped out all religion. A Catholic church opened in Ulan Bator

three years ago, serving a congregation of 94, and there are in total

20,000 religious believers in 18 registered religions, according to a

Mongolian magazine editor who said that "as in any transition period

young people have no beliefs and are confused". He had heard stories,

he added happily, of missionaries going out into the steppes laden

with bibles for nomads "who queue up for the bibles often because

they want the pages to roll their cigarettes".