Author Affiliation: Acadia University, Nova Scotia, Canada.
摘要
The twin forces of religion and nationalism are well-known partners in world history. More often than not, the religion in question is adjusted to meet the political claims of adherents in a given situation. Buddhism is no less exposed to this than any other faith, despite its reputation as a religion of peacefulness and personal equilibrium. The case of Buddhism in Sri Lanka is an urgent example of this, as indicated by recent controversy surrounding the conversion of Buddhists to other faiths. Traditionally, Christian evangelical activity has not been as problematic in Sri Lanka, but in the wake of the 26 December 2004 tsunami, which brought unrestricted Western and Korean-based Christian evangelical aid and mission outreach, the subject has suddenly become extremely vexed, the focus of parliamentary debate and proposed government policy. In June 2005, Sri Lanka's Ministry of Buddhist Affairs brought forward the so-called "Freedom of Religion Act," which dictates exacting terms that severely restrict conversion to Christianity. In view of the return to civil war conditions between the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in mid-2006, this anti-conversion bill and one other proposed by the monastic political party, the Jathika Helu Urumaya, have the potential to cause social and political distress if Parliamentary legislation is eventually introduced to curb the outreach of non-Buddhist faiths.
