Religions - Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan society is considered to be multi-religious and multi-ethnic. The primary religion of Sinhalese is Buddhism. Other mostly followed religions of this country are Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.
It is believed that Buddhism spread to Sri Lanka as Devanampiya Tissa was converted to a Buddhist by Arahath Mahindra. Siyam Nikaya, Ramanna Nikaya and Amarapura Nikaya are the three main divisions of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Among the total population of Sri Lanka, 70% are Buddhist.
Hinduism in Sri Lanka is mainly followed by Tamils. After the defeat of the Sinhalese king in the hands of Cholas during 5th and 6th Century, many immigrants came to Sri Lanka from South India. With the immigration of Hindu Tamils from India, Hinduism also established itself as an important religion. Hindu gods like Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha and goddess Kali are worshipped by Hindus in Sri Lanka.
In Sri Lanka Christianity became popular during 16th Century when Portuguese travelers came to this country. With their arrival, Roman Catholicism was spread and many Tamils and Sinhalese took up this new religion. With arrival of Dutch rulers in Sri Lanka, Protestantism was introduced in this country. The rate of conversion among local people increased manifold during the British colonial rule in Sri Lanka.
Islam is another noted religion in Sri Lanka. Nearly 7% of the total population of Sri Lanka is Muslim. With the arrival of the Muslim traders from Middle East to Sri Lanka, religion of Islam spread in this country. By 10th Century A.D, Islam established itself as a dominant religion in Sri Lanka.

08:53 AM Friday December 21nd, 2012

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