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Just like the church spires of New England," Ann Judson thought as she gazed over a Burmese landscape dotted with bell-shaped, golden pagodas. And just as the churches of her native Massachusetts announced Christianity's dominion, so the pagodas and temples that seemed to be everywhere underscored Buddhism's centrality in Burmese life.

No pagoda, however, spoke of Buddhism's importance quite like the monumental, gold-plated Shwedagon Pagoda that towered over Rangoon. In an 1817 letter home Ann tried to convey a visitor's experience: "After having ascended a flight of steps, a large gate opens, when a wild, fairy scene is abruptly presented to view. It resembles more the descriptions we sometimes have in novels, of enchanted castles, or ancient abbeys in ruins, than anything we ever meet in real life. … Here and there are large open buildings, containing huge images of Gaudama; some in a sitting, some in a sleeping position, surrounded by images of priests and attendants, in the act of worship, or listening to his instructions. Before the image of Gaudama, are erected small altars, on which offerings of fruit, flowers, &c. are laid. Large images of elephants, lions, angels, and demons, together with a number of indescribable objects, all assist in filling the picturesque scene."

Located on a rise of land near the city's center, the Shwedagon offered a commanding view of what Ann described as "one of the most beautiful landscapes in nature." From the hilltop, "the polished spires of the pagodas, glistening among the trees at a distance, appear like the steeples of meeting-houses in our American seaports. The verdant appearance of the country, the hills and valleys, ponds and rivers, the banks of which are covered with cattle, and fields of rice; each, in their turn, attract the eye, and cause the beholder to exclaim, 'Was this delightful country made to be the residence of idolaters? Are those glittering spires, which, in consequence of association of ideas, recall to mind so many animating sensations, but the monument of idolatry?'"

When the Judsons landed in Rangoon in 1813, a particularly conservative, orthodox strain of Buddhism had been the country's official religion since King Anawrahta founded the first Burman Empire in the 11th century. Called Theravada or Hinayana, meaning "the lesser vehicle" to distinguish it from Mahayana or "the greater vehicle" Buddhism dominant in much of East Asia, the religious practices coexisted with widespread animism or belief in spirits. An assumption that to be Burman is to be Buddhist contributed to the missionaries' difficulties in making converts, and continues to make Burma one of the world's most Buddhist countries today.

Even as she marveled at such sacred sites as the Shwedagon, Ann had come to Burma out of zeal to convert those she considered backward and "heathen." In 1815, she wrote of exasperation in trying to communicate: "Sometimes when I have been conversing with some of the women, they have replied, 'Your religion is good for you, ours for us. You will be rewarded for your good deeds in your way—we in our way.'" But, Ann continued, "We confidently believe that God in his own time will make his truth effectual unto salvation. We are endeavouring to convince the Burmans by our conduct, that our religion is different from theirs."

Despite her assumptions of Western superiority, Ann would find herself "surprised at the multitude of people, with which the streets and bazaars are filled. Their countenances are intelligent; and they appear to be capable, under the influence of the Gospel, of becoming a valuable and respectable people."

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