Sri Lanka is a
secular state with respect to Buddhism as its foremost religion. Buddhism has been the main religion of Sri Lanka
since the pre historic era with early Buddhism thought to be the main influence
of their culture (BBC, 2013). On the 4th of February 1948 the
Dominion of Ceylon was given independence within the Commonwealth which lasted
24 years until 1978 when they become known as the republic of Sri Lanka. Over the
66 years that Sri Lanka has been an independent state. All of the past and
present Presidents and Prime Ministers follow Theravada Buddhism, even though
the rest of the country was becoming a more multicultural nation. With the major
religions present in Sri Lanka being Buddhism (69%), Hinduism (15%),
Christianity (8%) and Islam (7%) (Berkley Centre, 2013) this shows that just
over 30% of the citizens are not Buddhist. However, they have to live with Sinhala, the native tongue of Buddhism, as
the national language since 1956. The shift from English to Sinhala caused problems for
non – Buddhists who sought jobs in government and teaching as it became
almost impossible and they were required to learn a new language before being hired.
The Sri Lankan Constitution does not cite any state religion though in 1972, Article 9 Chapter 2 was changed to state “The Republic of Sri Lanka shall give to Buddhism the foremost place, and accordingly, it shall be the duty of the State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana” (Berkley Centre, 2013). In 2004, the government tried to make the secular state of Sri Lanka into a religious state when The Jathika Hela Urumaya, a political party, proposed a constitutional amendment that would highlight Buddhism as its official state religion. This proposal was later rejected by the supreme court of Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan Constitution does not cite any state religion though in 1972, Article 9 Chapter 2 was changed to state “The Republic of Sri Lanka shall give to Buddhism the foremost place, and accordingly, it shall be the duty of the State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana” (Berkley Centre, 2013). In 2004, the government tried to make the secular state of Sri Lanka into a religious state when The Jathika Hela Urumaya, a political party, proposed a constitutional amendment that would highlight Buddhism as its official state religion. This proposal was later rejected by the supreme court of Sri Lanka.
Banner Image sourced:
'Sri Lankan
Flag Graphics ‘2011, online picture, Blog Spot, viewed 18/08/14,
<http://graafix.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/wallpapers-flag-of-srilanka.html>.