Building Religious Harmony in Sri Lanka: July 2023

Due to a series of incidents that erupted in the country following the conclusion of the civil war in 2009, threatening the much awaited peaceful co-existence in the society, the South Asia Policy and Research Institute (SAPRI), embarked on a process in 2012, towards building religious harmony. Thus, SAPRI became one of the first institutes in the country to commence such an initiative with the participation of leaders of all main religions and the civil society.

As a first step towards this endeavor, a Forum for Inter-Faith and Dialogue (FIFAD) was initiated to conduct an in-depth study into issues of religious intolerance and propose measures to eliminate or mitigate related incidents. The study group comprised senior members of the clergy of all the main religions of Sri Lanka, academics, professionals and the civil society who were invited by SAPRI to conduct a study to ascertain the challenges to religious harmony in the country and suggest measures to address them. Thus began an intense dialogue from June 2013 onwards.

The FIFAD study group conducted discussions for several months and had interaction with experts from overseas who had participated in similar efforts. A colloquium on “Challenges to Pluralism in South Asia” was held in Colombo on 7th January 2014, where eminent scholars from the South Asia region and beyond, gave an impetus to the FIFAD process.

Following the study, incorporating the essence of the discussions held and the remedial issues proposed by the group, a publication on “Recommendations for Building Religious Harmony” was launched by SAPRI on January 28th 2014, at the Sri Lanka Foundation, Colombo, with the patronage of leading religious leaders and non-clergy from all walks of life in Sri Lanka.

An outstanding feature on this occasion was Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Catholic and Christian religious leaders sharing one platform and conveying the message of unity.

This process prepared the ground for SAPRI’s grassroots program in the subsequent years. To commence the program, SAPRI designed a project on building religious harmony and planned for its implementation through awareness creating at grassroots level and advocacy.