By Fr. Mervyn Fernando

Sri Lanka to all appearances is a very religious or religious-minded country. The following could be cited as “proof”:

(1) The ubiquitous presence of Buddhist temples, Hindus kovils, Christian churches and Moslem mosques all over the country, and they are frequented by the respective adherents in large numbers on Poya days, Sundays, Fridays and festival days, unlike in the West where Church-going and religious practice have dropped dramatically.

(2) Unlike other countries (in the West) hardly anybody in Sri Lanka would say “I have no religion”, except for a handful of rationalists. There is in general a very positive feeling and respect for religion and religious personages (monks, priests, sadhus etc.)

(3) The high visibility of the external signs and symbols of religion such a statues of the Buddha, of Jesus Christ, of the Virgin Mary, a variety of Saints and deities, in addition to wayside shrines open to offerings of the travelling public. (Not applicable to Islam)

(4) Public profession of religion by the State, particularly of Buddhism which enjoys a favoured status, at all public events. The President, Minsters and other public officials consider it important to invoke the blessings of the triple gem, broadcast over the media, at the commencement of term of office and other significant occasions.

(5) The traditions of the religions themselves to engage in processions and peraheras on public roads, with loud, visible expressions of devotion – singing, chanting, dancing, drumming etc. – on occasions of religious significance respectively – celebration of Church feasts (Catholic), the Kandy perahera, the Vel festival etc. (Again not applicable to Islam.)

(6) Sri Lanka has the highest number of religious public holidays in the world, counting the 12 (or 13) poya holidays.

(7) The prohibition of public entertainment (cinema, theatre) and sale of liquor on poyadays

(8) The explicit conviction of the Buddhist Sangha and the Buddhist faithful that the Buddha himself entrusted the preservation of the purity of the Dhamma (Theravada) to Sri Lanka.

(9) The emphasis on the importance of religious education in dahampasalas and in regular school education, with religion as a compulsory subject, both by the Govt. and religious authorities.

(10) The State has deemed it necessary to see to the welfare and well-being of religions at no less than the ministerial level.

It would appear therefore that Sri Lanka would be a deeply religious society with the majority of people abiding by the precepts of the respective religions; and all of them are in close agreement with regard to the major principles of moral and religious behavior. Going by the above-mentioned indicators, we could expect religiosity to be the hallmark of attitudes, values and behavior patterns of the Sri Lankan people, making allowances for the normal weaknesses of human nature

But social reality contradicts such an expectation. It is only too obvious that irreligious and immoral behavior of all kinds pervades the country across the board. For example:

(1) The daily papers are full of reports of murders, rapes, child abuses, robberies, abductions and crimes of all kinds. Violence seems to be the order of the day.

(2) The accusation that elections are not free and fair in significant degree is the constant lament of Organisations monitoring them

(3) Most financial dealings in Govt. and in public service are tainted with bribery and corruption; the public can get hardy anything done in a Govt. Dept. without greasing a number of palms.

(4) It is common knowledge that nepotism and favouritism are rampant in the areas of politics and governance.

(5) The heavy politizisation of the public service including the Police has left victims of injustice helpless, and shrunk the space for the exercise of human rights

(6) The blatant violation of election laws and connected malpractices at both national and local electionswith the connivance of the Police has become the norm

(7) Though the country is supposed to be a practicing, and even exemplary democracy, there is palpable control of the media directly and indirectly. Victimization of political opponents, openly or covertly is a common feature

(8) Despite the preaching s of all the religions, specially Buddhism that thanha (greed) is the principal obstacle to spirItual progress, and the commitment of the State to socialism, the socio-economic order of the country is driven byunabashed and blatant consumerism. Luxuries take precedence over necessities, making the rich richer and the poor poorer

All this and other phenomena point to an inversely proportional relationship to the expected religiousness of Sri Lanka society. So we have the strange paradox of a “religiously Irreligious” country. Its religiosity is only apparent, not real. What is particularly inexplicable is that a nation which is avowedly and self-consciously religious-minded could manifest a level of irreligiousness which seems to be lower than that of some countries (in the West) which have all but excluded religion from the public domain.

What response can the religions and the religious leaders give to this sad paradox? They are supposed to be the be the teachers, and guardians of the moral order. It is difficult to ignore the unpalatable conclusion that they have failed to deliver the goods, to make Sri Lanka a truly religious country, in spirit and in truth. If they had done so over the centuries, to‘inject” moral, religious and spiritual values into the social fabricof the country in significant degree, the evolution of the political and public order over time would have been far more conducive to generating a regime of social justice, inter-racial harmony, a democratic polity and total human development —- all of which have become problematic one way or another, in Sri Lanka today.

The current socio-political crisis in the country should be a wake-up call to the religions and religious leaderstp an examination of conscience which could lead to initiatives of energetic engagement for the upliftment of the moral/spiritual quality of the country. Better late than never.