Sri Lanka is officially aBuddhist country, whileSri Lankans practice a variety ofreligions. As of the 2012 census, 70.2% ofSri Lankans were Buddhists, 12.6% wereHindus, 9.7% wereMuslims (mainlySunni), 7.4% wereChristians (mostlyCatholics).[1][2]Buddhism is declared as theState religion of Sri Lanka and has been given special privileges in the Sri Lankan constitution such as the government is bound for protection and fostering of Buddhist Dharma throughout the nation.[3][4] However, the constitution also provides for freedom of religion and right to equality among all its citizens. In 2008 Sri Lanka was thethird most religious country in the world according to aGallup poll, with 99% of Sri Lankans saying religion is an important part of their daily life.[5]
The census 2001 covered 18 districts only. The district percentages shown are from 2001 census except where the numbers are italic, which are from 1981 census. Population movements have occurred after 1981, and accurate statistics did not exist for districts which were not covered in 2001 census until the 2011 census.[7]
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| Province | Buddhism | Hinduism | Islam | Christianity | Others | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | |
| Central Province | 1,672,625 | 65.05% | 540,339 | 21.01% | 263,874 | 10.26% | 94,402 | 3.67% | 317 | 0.01% | 2,571,557 | 100% |
| Eastern Province | 354,772 | 22.87% | 539,570 | 34.78% | 575,936 | 37.12% | 80,801 | 5.21% | 302 | 0.02% | 1,551,381 | 100% |
| North Central Province | 1,139,595 | 90% | 10,117 | 0.79% | 101,958 | 8.03% | 14,875 | 1.17% | 188 | 0.01% | 1,266,663 | 100% |
| Northern Province | 30,387 | 2.87% | 789,362 | 74.56% | 34,040 | 3.22% | 204,005 | 19.27% | 968 | 0.09% | 1,058,762 | 100% |
| North Western Province | 1,761,337 | 73.98% | 43,532 | 1.83% | 268,709 | 11.28% | 305,951 | 12.85% | 1,332 | 0.06% | 2,380,861 | 100% |
| Sabaragamuwa Province | 1,653,381 | 85.73% | 156,312 | 8.1% | 85,610 | 4.44% | 33,219 | 1.72% | 133 | 0.006% | 1,928,655 | 100% |
| Southern Province | 2,345,314 | 94.68% | 33,227 | 1.34% | 80,085 | 3.23% | 18,201 | 0.73% | 458 | 0.02% | 2,477,285 | 100% |
| Uva Province | 1,018,561 | 80.43% | 169,605 | 13.39% | 57,001 | 4.5% | 21,095 | 1.66% | 201 | 0.02% | 1,266,463 | 100% |
| Western Province | 4,088,797 | 70.67% | 274,336 | 4.71% | 709,992 | 10.81% | 752,993 | 12.93% | 4,592 | 0.08% | 5,830,710 | 100% |
Theravada Buddhism is theofficial religion of Sri Lanka, with about 70.2% of the country's population as followers.Arahath Mahinda, son of Indian Buddhist emperorAshoka, led the mission to Sri Lanka in 246 BCE when he converted the Sri Lankan king,Devanampiya Tissa, to Buddhism.Arahath Sanghamitra, daughter of King Ashoka, brought a sapling of theBodhi tree inBuddha Gaya to Sri Lanka. She also established the Order of Nuns in Sri Lanka. The Sapling of the Bodhi tree, known asJaya Sri Maha Bodhi was planted in the Mahameghavana Park inAnuradhapura by the King Devanampiya Tissa.
From then on, the royal families had helped to encourage the spread of Buddhism, aiding Buddhist missionaries and building monasteries. Around 200 BCE, Buddhism became the official religion of Sri Lanka. TheSacred Tooth Relic was brought to Sri Lanka in 4th century by Prince Danta and Princess Hemamala. Sri Lanka has the longest continuous history of Buddhism of any Buddhist nation. During the periods of decline, the Sri Lankan monastic lineage was revived through contacts withMyanmar andThailand. Later on, however, Hindu invasions and European colonial influences contributed to the decline of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
But toward the end of the European colonial period and during the post-colonial period, Buddhism has regained prominence in Sri Lanka. As of the 1881 census, 61.57% of Sri Lankans followed Buddhism. That number has steadily increased to 70.2% as of 2012.[8]
In the mid 18th century the higher ordination of Buddhist monks known as Upasampada, which was defunct at the time, was revived with the help of Siamese Buddhist monks on the initiatives taken byWeliwita Sri Saranankara Thero during the reign of kingKirti Sri Rajasinha of Kandy. By the mid-19th century, Buddhist leaders such asMigettuwatte Gunananda Thera,Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera, ColonelHenry Steel Olcott andAnagarika Dharmapala started a successful national Buddhist movement for the revival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
| Year | Population | % |
|---|---|---|
| 1881 census[8] | 1,698,100 | 61.57% |
| 1891 census[8] | 1,877,000 | 62.40% |
| 1901 census[8] | 2,141,400 | 60.06% |
| 1911 census[8] | 2,474,200 | 60.25% |
| 1921 census[8] | 2,769,800 | 61.57% |
| 1931 census[8] | 3,266,600 | 61.55% |
| 1946 estimation[8] | 4,294,900 | 64.51% |
| 1953 census[8] | 5,209,400 | 64.33% |
| 1963 census[8] | 7,003,300 | 66.18% |
| 1971 census[8] | 8,536,868 | 67.27% |
| 1981 census[9] | 10,288,325 | 69.30% |
| 2012 census[1][9] | 14,272,056 | 70.20% |
Hindus make up 12.6% of Sri Lanka's population.[2] Hinduism was practiced by Native Kings before their conversion to Buddhism. The origins of the religion are linked to early Tamil immigration into the island since the Chola conquests in the 10th century or even earlier with the Saivite devotional movement that swept South India.
Hinduism in Sri Lanka is largely identified with the Tamil population and is concentrated in the Northern, Eastern and Central Provinces. The population declined since the 1981 census on account of Sri Lankan Tamil emigration overseas and the repatriation of 'Indian' Tamils.
A significant Hindu religious figure in Sri Lankan modern history isSatguru Siva Yogaswami ofJaffna. One of the mystics of the 20th century,Yogaswami was the officialsatguru and counseling sage of Lanka's several million Tamil Hindu population. TheRamakrishna Mission is somewhat active in theAmparai andBatticaloa districts while theShaiva Siddhanta school of philosophy ofShaivism sect of Hinduism is prevalent in the North of Sri Lanka. Yogaswami belonged to theShaiva Siddhanta and he was 161st head of theNandinatha Sampradaya. The next person in the line of succession after Yogaswami wasSivaya Subramuniyaswami.[10]
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By the 7th century,Arab traders had controlled much of the trade on theIndian Ocean, including that of Sri Lanka's. Many of these traders settled down in Sri Lanka, encouraging the spread ofIslam. However, when the Portuguese arrived at Sri Lanka during the 16th century, many of the Arabs' Muslim descendants were persecuted, thus forcing them to migrate to the Central Highlands and to the east coast.
In modern times, Muslims in Sri Lanka have the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Department, which was established in the 1980s to prevent the continual isolation of the Muslim community from the rest of Sri Lanka. Today, about 9.7% of Sri Lankans adhere to Islam;[2] mostly from theMoor andMalay ethnic communities on the island.
According to aChristian tradition, Christianity was introduced byThomas the Apostle in Sri Lanka (as well asIndia) during the 1st century. The first evidence of Christianity in Sri Lanka is the account in the 6th-centuryChristian Topography, which says a community ofPersianNestorians lived on the island. TheAnuradhapura cross, discovered in 1912, is probably a relic of this community. However, the population of Christians in Sri Lanka didn't dramatically increase until the arrival ofPortuguese missionaries during the 15th century. In the 17th century, theDutch took over Sri Lanka and Dutch missionaries were able to convert 21% of Sri Lanka's population to Christianity by 1622.
In 1796 the Dutch were displaced by the British and in 1802 Ceylon became a Crown colony.Anglican and otherProtestant missionaries arrived at Sri Lanka during the early 19th century, when the British took control of Sri Lanka from the Dutch. Under British rule missionary work was undertaken by English societies: Baptist, Wesleyan Methodist, the CMS and SPG.[11] TheSalvation Army andJehovah's Witnesses are also present in Sri Lanka.
The percentage of Christians has slowly declined from the height of 13%. In 1891, they were 12.6% and numbered were 302,000. In 2012 they 7.4%. By the 1980s, the population of Christians was mostly concentrated in the northwest of Sri Lanka and in the capital where they are 10% of the population. Of these Christians, over 80% areCatholics while the rest are predominantly Anglicans, Methodists and other Protestants.
Adherents of theBaháʼí Faith have been present in Sri Lanka since 1949. The first Baháʼí resident in Colombo was a physician from India, M.E. Lukmani. Its population grew in the 1950s and by 1962, its first administrative body for the national level (the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of Sri Lanka) was elected.[12]
