Since Cambodia has suffered through one of the most ruinous times in its long history. The takeover of the nation by the communist Khmer Rouge in 1975, its violent aftermath, and the constant warfare between communist and noncommunist factions has resulted in widespread and major changes in the Cambodian social fabric. The nation was plunged into a dark age from which it was slowly emerging in the late 1980s.

Under the Khmer Rouge, the entire social structure of the nation suffered revolutionary and large changes. An around 1 million to 2 million Cambodians died during the first 3.5 years of communist rule. orthodox family life was violently disrupted and virtually abolished between 1975 and 1979. Nuclear families--the most valuable units of Cambodian society--were broken up and were replaced with communal groupings. About 96 % of the population was forced into communal economic programs. Urban inhabitants were driven into the nationside in mass marches that caused great suffering and many deaths. Rural society was reorganized into interfamilial units known as krom. Urban Cambodians, ethnic minorities, and educated people suffered particularly harsh treatment. The ethnic Chinese, because they were engaged considerablely in small businesses and were mainly urban inhabitants, were targets for communist persecution, as were the Cham, a prominent ethnic minority group.

The Vietnamese intrusion in December 1978 ameliorated the situation somewhat. As a result of the intrusion, the Khmer Rouge government of Democratic Kampuchea was overwhelmed, and the People's Republic of Kampuchea under Heng Samrin was installed in 1979. The PRK allowed considerably more freedom than had its predecessor. In the late 1980s, Marxist-Leninist socialism as it existed in Vietnam was the goal of the PRK government in Phnom Penh. The regime was not pushing hard to convert the nation, but was planning a gradual conversion instead. Religions were allowed to function. The government allowed Buddhist monks to return to their temples, although narrow limits were placed on those who could become monks and on aspects of ritual.