DOCSLIB.ORG

Evangelical Christianity in Sri Lanka: the Politics of Growth

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Evangelical Christianity in Sri Lanka: the Politics of Growth EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANITY IN SRI LANKA: THE POLITICS OF GROWTH ORLANDO WOODS B.A. (University College London) A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2012 Acknowledgements Many people have contributed to this research. My supervisor, Lily Kong, has provided clear academic leadership throughout the course of the PhD, and has propelled my academic development fast and far. My thesis committee – Robbie Goh and Tracey Skelton – has provided encouragement, especially during the early stages of the research. In addition, the National University of Singapore has provided an institutional covering, financial support and access to resources, without which this research would not have been possible. During fieldwork in Sri Lanka, a number of people – Christian and Buddhist – assisted me with sampling and logistics. Although these individuals shall not be named, I am nonetheless grateful for their support. Many interviewees extended kindness to me, through the provision of food, tea, transportation or supporting documents. All of these people not only made the research process smoother, but more enjoyable as well. Finally, thanks to my partner, Samantha, for tolerating my absences – both physical and mental – over the past three years. i Table of Contents Acknowledgements i Table of Contents ii Abstract v List of Tables vii List of Figures vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Religion in postcolonial Asia 1 1.2 Towards a geographical understanding of religious growth 4 1.3 Research aims and thesis structure 6 CHAPTER 2: THE GROWTH OF EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANITY 11 IN GLOBAL AND LOCAL PERSPECTIVE 2.1 Introduction 11 2.2 Theorising evangelical Christian growth in modernity 12 2.2.1 Structural determinants of religious change 14 2.2.2 Existing approaches to religious economy theorisation 17 2.2.3 Problematising the structural determinants of change 19 2.2.4 Human agency and religious conversion 21 2.2.5 The evangelical organisation as an arbiter of religious change 24 2.3 Variegated patterns of evangelical Christian growth 27 2.4 Evangelical Christian growth within a spatial framework 30 2.4.1 Theorising sacred space 34 2.5 Conceptual framework 37 2.5.1 The structural mosaic as an enabler of religious growth 38 2.5.2 The spatial modalities of the structural mosaic 42 2.5.3 The house church as networked space 44 2.6 Summary 49 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY AND EMPIRICAL CONTEXT 52 3.1 Introduction 52 3.2 Sri Lanka’s contested religious marketplace 53 3.2.1 Christianity, Sinhalatva, and the rise of Buddhist protectionism 54 in Sri Lanka 3.2.2 The Prohibition of Forcible Conversion Bill 57 3.2.3 Oligopoly dynamics and Sri Lanka’s informal religious 60 economy 3.3 Critical ethnography in a cross-cultural context 64 3.4 Cross-cultural research ethics 68 3.4.1 Problematising institutional ethics 70 3.4.2 Positionality, personality, performativity: a triumvirate of 72 researcher reflexivity 3.5 Methods 77 3.5.1 Sampling technique 79 ii 3.5.2 In-depth interviews 82 3.5.3 Observations 88 3.6 Research sites 91 3.6.1 Colombo and the Western Province 93 3.6.2 The Southern Province 97 3.6.3 The Central Province 100 3.6.4 The Northern and Eastern Provinces 106 3.7 Summary 108 CHAPTER 4: REALISING EVANGELICAL AGENCY WITHIN A 110 STRUCTURALLY HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT 4.1 Introduction 110 4.2 Scalar determinations and dissident geopolitics 111 4.3 A relational model of Christian competitiveness 115 4.4 Overcoming boundaries: patterns of secrecy and subterfuge 117 4.4.1 The (in)visibility of evangelical Christian presence 118 4.4.2 Mobilising and deploying the laity 122 4.4.3 Strategies of spatial diffusion 127 4.5 Foreign catalysts 131 4.5.1 Relative need 133 4.5.2 The space of parallel entitlement 137 4.6 Strategic extra- and intra-group networks of influence 140 4.6.1 Extra-group networks 140 4.6.2 Intra-group networks 144 4.7 The structural mosaic in action 147 4.7.1 Using the structural mosaic as a strategy of Christian co- 148 optation 4.7.2 Using the structural mosaic to influence others 156 4.8 Summary 161 CHAPTER 5: LOCATING EVANGELICAL PRAXIS IN SRI LANKA 164 5.1 Introduction 164 5.2 Locational hierophanies 165 5.3 Spaces of evangelism 169 5.4 The urban-rural paradox 169 5.4.1 Urban nodes and the spatial diffusion of evangelicals 170 5.4.2 The supply of Christianity 173 5.4.3 The demand for Christianity 176 5.5 The public-private paradox 178 5.5.1 The public place of religion in Sri Lanka 180 5.5.2 The house as church 184 5.5.3 Evangelism in the public domain 190 5.5.4 Evangelism in the private domain 195 5.6 Spaces of youth evangelism 201 5.6.1 Proximate spaces of evangelism: the youth club 203 5.6.2 Detached spaces of evangelism: the youth camp 207 5.6.3 Non-Christian spaces of evangelism: the university campus 209 5.7 Obfuscating evangelical space using the structural mosaic 212 iii 5.7.1 The Buddhist temple as a space of subordination 213 5.7.2 The house church as a space of subversion 217 5.8 Summary 221 CHAPTER 6: THE POLITICS OF EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN 223 GROWTH 6.1 Introduction 223 6.2 Place-bound politics of growth 224 6.2.1 Spatial buffering as a strategy of resistance 226 6.2.2 The politics of permission 233 6.3 Converting houses into churches 236 6.3.1 The politics of place(lessness) and church fission 237 6.3.2 The volatility of sacred networks 243 6.3.3 House churches and religious dualism 245 6.4 Converting people 250 6.4.1 The market mentality 252 6.4.2 Negotiating public and private spaces of evangelism 254 6.4.3 Unethical conversion and the structural mosaic 260 6.5 Debating “unethical” conversion 267 6.6 Summary 272 CHAPTER 7: BUDDHIST HEGEMONY IN A GLOBAL SCHEMA 274 7.1 Introduction 274 7.2 The destabilisation of primordial power structures 276 7.3 Constructing the Christian “threat” 278 7.3.1 Christianity as a symptom of the (neo-) colonial “West” 279 7.3.2 Connecting Christianity and the NGO conspiracy 282 7.3.3 Buddhist insecurity in global perspective 285 7.4 Buddhist protectionism and hegemony 289 7.4.1 The discursive formations of self-Orientalism 289 7.4.2 Cultural intransigence and religious (im)mobility 294 7.4.3 The violent outcomes of Buddhist hegemony 300 7.5 Summary 306 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSIONS 308 8.1 Chapter summaries 308 8.2 Key contributions and relevance for future research 314 8.2.1 A spatial understanding of evangelical Christian growth 316 8.2.2 Network-based sacred space 317 8.2.3 Towards a more extrospective geography of religion 319 8.3 Autocritique and final comments 320 BIBLIOGRAPHY 323 APPENDIX 1: The Prohibition of Forcible Conversion Bill 345 APPENDIX 2: Interview Schedule 350 iv Abstract This thesis develops a new understanding of evangelical Christian growth in the contemporary world. Existing explanations of growth are well rehearsed within the social sciences, and draw clear distinctions between the characteristics of evangelical organisations, and the structural contexts in which they operate. Notwithstanding, a number of theoretical and empirical assumptions render such explanations applicable in some countries, but not others. Drawing on qualitative data collected in Buddhist- majority Sri Lanka throughout 2010-11, I argue that closer examination of the recursive relationship between organisation (agency) and context (structure) will lead to recognition of the fact that growth is a spatially defined process, with evangelical organisations being tied to localities in complex and multifarious ways. Four empirical chapters develop this argument further. The first examines how, in structurally hostile environments, evangelical groups grow in ways that are more relational than otherwise recognised, and become adept at spreading their evangelical influence through the appropriation and use of non-religious spaces. The second focuses on the spatial variability of evangelical praxis, showing how it varies between urban and rural, and public and private spaces and, more specifically, how strategic engagement in and through space is a defining feature of youth evangelism. The third critically draws upon the findings of the first two chapters by exploring the politics of evangelical Christian growth – specifically the politics of the house church, and the allegations of “unethical” activity that foreground the politics of converting both people, and space. The fourth empirical chapter explores how Buddhist hegemony develops as a response to evangelical Christian growth, and how Buddhist insecurity in the face of Christian globalism can translate into extreme forms of religious v protectionism and violence. To conclude, I show how the findings not only contribute to the continued evolution of the geographies of religion, but also highlight the value of a more extrospective sub-discipline that engages with, challenges and develops more wide-ranging debates that exist outside our putative disciplinary boundaries. vi List of Tables Table 1 Sri Lanka’s mainline and evangelical Christian denominations by 62 representative body Table 2 Interview sample by location (province/district) and organisation 87 type List of Figures Figure 1 Map showing the territorial delineations of the 10/40 Window 29 Figure 2 Map showing field sites at the district level in Sri Lanka 93 Figure 3 Inside the People’s Church, Colombo 95 Figure 4 The external façade of the Calvary Church, Colombo 96 Figure 5 A sign of Buddhist religiosity in Galle? 99 Figure 6 Kandy – “the Vatican of Buddhism” – at dusk 102 Figure 7 An estate line in Nuwara Eliya 104 Figure 8 Inside the estate
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Rearticulations of Enmity and Belonging in Postwar Sri Lanka
    BUDDHIST NATIONALISM AND CHRISTIAN EVANGELISM: REARTICULATIONS OF ENMITY AND BELONGING IN POSTWAR SRI LANKA by Neena Mahadev A dissertation submitted to Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Baltimore, Maryland October, 2013 © 2013 Neena Mahadev All Rights Reserved Abstract: Based on two years of fieldwork in Sri Lanka, this dissertation systematically examines the mutual skepticism that Buddhist nationalists and Christian evangelists express towards one another in the context of disputes over religious conversion. Focusing on the period from the mid-1990s until present, this ethnography elucidates the shifting politics of nationalist perception in Sri Lanka, and illustrates how Sinhala Buddhist populists have increasingly come to view conversion to Christianity as generating anti-national and anti-Buddhist subjects within the Sri Lankan citizenry. The author shows how the shift in the politics of identitarian perception has been contingent upon several critical events over the last decade: First, the death of a Buddhist monk, which Sinhala Buddhist populists have widely attributed to a broader Christian conspiracy to destroy Buddhism. Second, following the 2004 tsunami, massive influxes of humanitarian aid—most of which was secular, but some of which was connected to opportunistic efforts to evangelize—unsettled the lines between the interested religious charity and the disinterested secular giving. Third, the closure of 25 years of a brutal war between the Sri Lankan government forces and the ethnic minority insurgent group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), has opened up a slew of humanitarian criticism from the international community, which Sinhala Buddhist populist activists surmise to be a product of Western, Christian, neo-colonial influences.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nexus Between Religions and Federalism in Asia
    0010.1177/0032321717731660Political StudiesHe et al. research-article2017 Article 1 Political Studies 1 –18 2 The Covenant Connection © The Author(s) 2017 3 Reprints and permissions: Reexamined: The Nexus sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav 4 https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321717731660DOI: 10.1177/0032321717731660 5 between Religions and journals.sagepub.com/home/psx 6 7 Federalism in Asia 8 9 10 11 1 2 Baogang He , Laura Anne Allison 12 and Michael Breen2 13 14 15 16 Abstract 17 The covenant connection thesis forms an important basis from which to understand the religious 18 source of federalism. Yet with its Judeo-Christian roots, to what extent does it apply to Asian 19 countries that have different religious traditions? In this article, we explore whether the covenant 20 connection thesis is relevant to Asian federalism in the context of Muslim-, Hindu-, and Buddhist- 21 majority countries. We find that while the presence or absence of a covenantal tradition within a 22 religion can partially explain acceptance of, or resistance to, federalism, there are other religious features that also play a role. These include the extent to which traditional religious organizations 23 are internally centralized, the extent to which religion and state governance are intertwined or 24 separate from each other, and the extent to which a religion that constitutes the core national 25 identity is threatened by other religions that are or may be empowered by federal arrangements. 26 27 28 Keywords 29 comparative federalism, covenant connection, religious traditions, federalism in Asia, religious perspective on federalism 30 31 Accepted: 23 August 2017 32 33 34 35 Introduction 36 In Asia, the correlations between religions and federalism are puzzling and reveal some 37 striking patterns.
    [Show full text]
  • 12 Manogaran.Pdf
    Ethnic Conflict and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka National Capilal District Boundarl3S * Province Boundaries Q 10 20 30 010;1)304050 Sri Lanka • Ethnic Conflict and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka CHELVADURAIMANOGARAN MW~1 UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII PRESS • HONOLULU - © 1987 University ofHawaii Press All Rights Reserved Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication-Data Manogaran, Chelvadurai, 1935- Ethnic conflict and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Sri Lanka-Politics and government. 2. Sri Lanka -Ethnic relations. 3. Tamils-Sri Lanka-Politics and government. I. Title. DS489.8.M36 1987 954.9'303 87-16247 ISBN 0-8248-1116-X • The prosperity ofa nation does not descend from the sky. Nor does it emerge from its own accord from the earth. It depends upon the conduct ofthe people that constitute the nation. We must recognize that the country does not mean just the lifeless soil around us. The country consists ofa conglomeration ofpeople and it is what they make ofit. To rectify the world and put it on proper path, we have to first rec­ tify ourselves and our conduct.... At the present time, when we see all over the country confusion, fear and anxiety, each one in every home must con­ ., tribute his share ofcool, calm love to suppress the anger and fury. No governmental authority can sup­ press it as effectively and as quickly as you can by love and brotherliness. SATHYA SAl BABA - • Contents List ofTables IX List ofFigures Xl Preface X111 Introduction 1 CHAPTER I Sinhalese-Tamil
    [Show full text]
  • Buddhism and the Legitimation of Power: Democracy, Public Religion and Minorities in Sri Lanka
    ISAS Working Paper No. 99 – Date: 26 November 2009 469A Bukit Timah Road #07-01, Tower Block, Singapore 259770 Tel: 6516 6179 / 6516 4239 Fax: 6776 7505 / 6314 5447 Email: [email protected] Website: www.isas.nus.edu.sg Buddhism and the Legitimation of Power: Democracy, Public Religion and Minorities in Sri Lanka Darini Rajasingham Senanayake1 Executive Summary Buddhism has been associated with the philosophy and practice of compassion, tolerance, pacifism and ahimsa, or the avoidance of violence. The paradox of political and nationalist violence in modern Buddhist polities is particularly acute in Sri Lanka which has historically been viewed in the Theravada Buddhist world and canon as a Dhamma Dveepa (Island of the Doctrine), where the purer doctrine was to be preserved and flourish, since in India and Nepal, the birthplace of Buddhism and the Buddha Siddharta Gautama, the religion has had fewer adherents than Hinduism or Islam, and lacked state patronage. Since the Constitution of 1972, Buddhism has had a special place in Sri Lanka and, in recent times, the state, through its overseas diplomatic missions, has consciously projected itself as a Buddhist land and national heritage site, paradoxically, while engaged in one of the South Asian region’s most violent armed conflicts. How do we explain political violence enacted under the sign of a historical religion whose doctrinal substance is ahimsa? This paper suggests that while Buddhist religiosity in Sri Lanka has historically been linked to state power and patronage, the substance and form of public Buddhism has been reconfigured both through the long moment of the colonial encounter with Christianity, as well as, the institution of democracy which has legitimated Sinhala Buddhist majoritarianism and the concomitant marginalisation of ethno-religious “others” in the post-colonial nation state in Sri Lanka.
    [Show full text]
  • The Temples of the Interfaces a Study of the Relation Between Buddhism and Hinduism at the Munnesvaram Temples, Sri Lanka
    The Temples of the Interfaces A Study of the Relation between Buddhism and Hinduism at the Munnesvaram Temples, Sri Lanka. by Rohan Neil Bastin A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Ph.D. University College, The University of London. June 1991 ProQuest Number: 10609845 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10609845 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ABSTRACT The two important temples at Munnesvaram, on the west coast of Sri Lanka, are Hindu and are run by Tamil priests. Their patronage is largely Sinhalese Buddhist. They are the context for an examination of the relations between Hinduism and Buddhism in modern Sri Lanka in a period of violent ethnic tension between Tamils and Sinhalese. The thesis falls in two parts. The first deals with the history of the temples in the colonial and post-colonial eras, the history of religious difference, and with a social analysis of the two groups of priests and of the worshippers. This establishes grounds for a consideration of current anthropological debates on hierarchy and on historicity.
    [Show full text]
  • Rights Rhetoric As an Instrument of Religious Oppression in Sri Lanka Tracy Hresko
    Boston College International and Comparative Law Review Volume 29 | Issue 1 Article 5 12-1-2006 Rights Rhetoric as an Instrument of Religious Oppression in Sri Lanka Tracy Hresko Follow this and additional works at: http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/iclr Part of the Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, Human Rights Law Commons, and the Religion Law Commons Recommended Citation Tracy Hresko, Rights Rhetoric as an Instrument of Religious Oppression in Sri Lanka, 29 B.C. Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 123 (2006), http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/iclr/vol29/iss1/5 This Notes is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Boston College International and Comparative Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. For more information, please contact [email protected]. RIGHTS RHETORIC AS AN INSTRUMENT OF RELIGIOUS OPPRESSION IN SRI LANKA Tracy Hresko* Abstract: Two laws proposed by the Sri Lankan government present a threat to Christians and other religious minorities in the country. Though purportedly designed to prevent “unethical or fraudulent conversions,” the laws are overly broad and ill-deªned, giving Sri Lankan ofªcials the latitude to use them to suppress minority religious activities. Indeed, despite being couched in the rhetoric of religious liberty and human rights, the laws are likely to be used by the Buddhist majority as instru ments of oppression over unpopular religious groups. Introduction “Militant
    [Show full text]
  • Religious Symbolism and Politics in Sri Lanka
    5HOLJLRXV6\PEROLVPDQG3ROLWLFVLQ6UL/DQND0XVOLP¶V*ULHYDQFHV M.A.M.Fowsar Lecturer (Prob.) in Political Science, Department of Social Sciences, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, [email protected] forces have radically changed the harmony of this plural Introduction society (Imtiyaz 2010). Sri Lanka, a small island in the Indian Ocean is situated Seventy per cent of the Sinhalese are associated with at the foot of the South Asian subcontinent and it is a (the Theravada school of) Buddhism (70.2). Hinduism home for plural society. The civil war in Sri Lanka, (12.6), the second largest religion in Sri Lanka, is which came to an end with the military defeat of the predominantly the faith of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. The separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Muslims (9.7) in Sri Lanka are largely divided into May 2009 amid large civilian casualties, has been three major groups: the Sri Lankan Moors, the Indian opened new window for ethnic cohesion in Sri Lanka. Muslims, and the Malays. The Christians who comprise All major ethnic groups, the Sinhalese, the Tamils and 6.1 per cent of the population constitute the fourth main the Muslims have been victims of the ethnic violence. religious group in Sri Lanka (Department of Census and The ethnocratic based religious politics is visualized in Statistics 2008). terms of the ways in which the dynamic of the politics has been embedded into religious extremism in post- The Sinhala-Buddhist Religio - Political Parties and war situation. Groups After a brief historical note on politicisation of Buddhist monks have enjoyed a prominent position Buddhism in Sri Lanka, the paper aims to analysis the with the society for long time.
    [Show full text]
  • Comparison Between Postures of Meditation Theravada Buddhism and Taoism
    Journal of Advanced Research in Social Sciences and Humanities Volume 3, Issue 5 (166-171) DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.26500/JARSSH-03-2018-0501 Comparison between postures of meditation Theravada Buddhism and Taoism M. D. D. I. GUNATHILAKE ∗ Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka Abstract Aim: This study’s main purpose is to comparatively explore sitting and walking meditation postures in Taoism and Theravada Buddhism concerning modern society’s implication as a treatment for the beings to get rid of the disorders and make their physiological and physical well-being. Method: Historiography is the main methodological approach to analyze the main argument of this research. Therefore, the main source of methods such as historical records, documents and various scholarly arguments have been critically used for the content analysis in this research. Findings: It has proven that both sitting and working meditation have been positively correlated with the physical and mental health of the people who are living with stressful, competitive, complicated and market-oriented modern society. It has proved that a huge trend has erupted that higher-ranking professionals and richest people have been engaging in both sitting and working meditation for their physical and mental well-being. It is not a local trend but also a global one. Non-Buddhism or Taoism countries like European people also innovatively have been engaging in meditation practices due to their physical and mental relaxations. Implications/Novel Contribution: This research has various significances to the modern world because non-epidemic diseases have been rising due to mental stress.
    [Show full text]
  • Buddha in the Crown This Page Intentionally Left Blank Buddha in the Crown Avalokitesvara in the Buddhist Traditions of Sri Lanka
    Buddha in the Crown This page intentionally left blank Buddha in the Crown Avalokitesvara in the Buddhist Traditions of Sri Lanka JOHN CLIFFORD HOLT New York Oxford OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 1991 Oxford University Press Oxford New York Toronto Delhi Bombay Calcutta Madras Karachi Petaling Jaya Singapore Hong Kong Tokyo Nairobi Dar es Salaam Cape Town Melbourne Auckland and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Copyright © 1991 by John Clifford Holt Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 200 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Holt, John, 1948- Buddha in the crown : Avalokitesvara in the Buddhist traditions of Sri Lanka / by John Clifford Holt. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN 0-19-506418-6 1. Avalokitesvara (Buddhist deity)—Sri Lanka. I. Title. BQ4710.A84S724 1991 294.3 '4211 '095493 dc20 90-6835 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper In Memory of Winifred Wick Holt This page intentionally left blank PREFACE Buddha in the Crown has been written primarily for students of religion. The argument I have set forth about the nature of religious change in Sri Lanka is one that need not be regarded as culture-specific, but one that can be tested in a number of other religio-historical contexts.
    [Show full text]
  • The Anti-Conversion Bill: Political Buddhism, ‘Unethical Conversions’ and Religious Freedom in Sri Lanka
    7KH$QWL&RQYHUVLRQ%LOO 3ROLWLFDO%XGGKLVP 8QHWKLFDO&RQYHUVLRQV DQG5HOLJLRXV )UHHGRPLQ6UL/DQND 0LFKDHO+HUW]EHUJ Dissertation for the degree of philosophiae doctor (PhD) at the University of Bergen Dissertation date: 3 © Copyright Michael Hertzberg The material in this publication is protected by copyright law. Year: 2016 Title: The Anti-Conversion Bill: Political Buddhism, ‘Unethical Conversions’ and Religious Freedom in Sri Lanka Author: Michael Hertzberg Print: AiT Bjerch AS / University of Bergen 4 Acknowledgements Colleagues and friends have been involved in reading, commenting and discussing various chapters and pieces of this thesis. First and foremost a sincere thanks to my supervisors Kari Telle and Knut Jacobsen for continual support, engaging discussions and constructive criticism. Compassionate thanks to all my informants and helpers in Sri Lanka. Without your time and enthusiasm for the project, this thesis would not have been possible. Although none are named, none are forgotten. We will see each other again. The vivid conversations at Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) and in the research cluster “The Politics of Violence and Security” have been an everyday pleasure. Thanks to Gunnar Sørbø, Are Knudsen, Arne Strand, Astri Suhrke, Kjetil Selvik, Mari Norbakk, Karin Ask, Torunn Wimpelmann, Iselin Strønen, Nefissa Naguib, Anne Bang and Liv Tønnessen. Others at CMI also deserve to be mentioned: Chris Jacob, Reidunn Ljones, Åse Johanne Roti Dahl, Steinar Hegre, Guri Stegali and Merete Leby. At the institute for archaeology, history, religion and cultural studies (AHKR) at University of Bergen (UiB) several employees and fellow PhD-candidates have contributed along the way: Michael Stausberg, Knut Aukland, Marie von der Lippe, Sissel Undheim, Knut Melvær, Håkon Tandberg, Stefan Olsson, Håkan Rydving, Jane Skjoldli, Arne Mykkeltveit and Magnus Halsnes.
    [Show full text]
  • The Causes of Religious Wars: Holy Nations, Sacred Spaces, and Religious Revolutions
    The Causes of Religious Wars: Holy Nations, Sacred Spaces, and Religious Revolutions By Heather Selma Gregg Master’s of Theological Studies (1998) Harvard Divinity School B.A., Cultural Anthropology (1993) University of California at Santa Cruz Submitted to the Department of Political Science In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology February 2004 Copyright 2003 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All Rights Reserved 1 2 The Causes of Religious Wars: Holy Nations, Sacred Spaces, and Religious Revolutions by Heather Selma Gregg Submitted to the Department of Political Science on October 27, 2003 in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science Abstract In the wake of September 11th, policy analysts, journalists, and academics have tried to make sense of the rise of militant Islam, particularly its role as a motivating and legitimating force for violence against the US. The unwritten assumption is that there is something about Islam that makes it bloodier and more violence-prone than other religions. This dissertation seeks to investigate this assertion by considering incidents of Islamically motivated terrorism, violence, and war, and comparing them to examples of Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu bellicosity. In doing so, it aims to evaluate if religious violence is primarily the product of beliefs, doctrine and scripture, or if religious violence is the result of other factors
    [Show full text]
  • Sustainable Sri Lanka 2030 Vision and Strategic Path
    Sustainable Sri Lanka 2030 Vision and Strategic Path PRESIDENTIAL EXPERT COMMITTEE (PEC) Sustainable Sri Lanka 2030 Vision and Strategic Path Presidential Expert Committee (PEC) Report on Sustainable Sri Lanka 2030 Vision and Strategic Path January 2019 Chief Editor: Mohan Munasinghe Bureau: Saman Kelegama | Dushni Weerakoon | Hemanthi Ranasinghe W. L. Sumathipala | Siri Hettige | Savithri Goonesekere Lead Authors: Praveen Abhayaratne | S R K Aruppola | Abdul Azeez Gamini Batuwitage | Neloufer de Mel | Anura Ekanayake Shavi Fernando | Udan Fernando | P.A. Gooneratne Savithri Goonesekere | Siri Hettige | Saman Kelegama Amal Kumarage | Jagath Munasinghe | Mohan Munasinghe Hemanthi Ranasinghe | Kamal Ranatunge | Rohan Samarajiva W. L. Sumathipala | Asanga Tillekeratane | Mano Tittawela Dushni Weerakoon | Madhura Wehella Compilation: Presidential Secretariat i Sustainable Sri Lanka 2030 Vision and Strategic Path TABLE OF CONTENTS Messages iv Chairman’s Foreword and Acknowledgements viii E. Executive Summary 1 2. EC. Introduction and Clusters 9. ES. Sectors 20. ET. Cross-cutting Themes 32. EV. 2030 Vision - Summary I. Introduction and Overview 37 38. I1. Background 39. I2. Scope and Structure 41. I3. Sustainable Development Vision and Balanced Inclusive Green Growth Path 45. I4. Structural breakdown and integration process 47. I5. Sri Lanka - Brief Overview C. Clusters: Economy, Environment, Society 50 51. C1. Current Status 55. C2. Economy: Critical Issues, Impacts and Solutions 73. C3. Environment: Critical Issues, Impacts and Solutions 82 C4. Society: Critical Issues, Impacts and Solutions 89. C5. Sustainability Perspective – 2020 and Beyond S. Sectors 95 96. S1. Agriculture and Food 102. S2. Education 112. S3. Energy 133. S4. Health 138. S5. Marine Resources 150. S6. Transport 162. S7. Urban Development and Physical Planning 177.
    [Show full text]