Christians gathered in Colombo on January 26 to demonstrate against new attacks on churches and mosques and demanded that the Sri Lankan government guarantee religious freedom for all religious minority communities in the country. This is according to ucanews.
"We invoke the freedoms contained in the Constitution. Freedom of thought, conscience, religion and affiliation should be possible for all religious communities," said Anglican Bishop Dhiloraj R. Canagasabey of the Church of Ceylon, in an address to more than 2000 people gathered at the Christ the Living Savior Cathedral in the capital on October 27.
"We expect due process to be protected but are concerned about hate speech and incitement to hatred against religious minorities," he said.
"Christian communities struggle to educate their children according to their faith. Many children are forced to learn about the majority religion (Buddhism), a clear violation of our religious rights."
Christians make up 6.1 percent of Sri Lanka's population, Muslims 9.7 percent, Hindus 12.6 percent and Buddhists 70.2 percent. Last year, it was reported that radical Buddhist groups attacked churches, mosques, Hindu temples, and even Buddhists who had criticized the growing religious intolerance in the country.
Crowds led by radical Buddhist monks also attacked the Assemblies of God Church and Calvary Free Church during Sunday services on January 12 in the coastal city of Hikkaduwa.
"A crowd of over 200 men and women, including 20 Buddhist monks, entered the church during our morning service and damaged the building and destroyed equipment," says Pastor Perumal of Calvary Free Church.
"Bibles and hymnals were burned. The group threw stones at the church and damaged the building. The police were unable to control the crowd and asked us to leave the church immediately," he said, adding that the damage amounted to approximately $6,400.
Akmeemana Dayaratna Thero, a Buddhist monk who leads the extremist Buddhist group Sinhala Ravaya, said members of evangelical movements have damaged religious harmony in Sri Lanka by converting Buddhists to Christianity.
"They have set up prayer centers in predominantly Buddhist areas and encouraged Buddhists to join them," said Thero. "The government should not let any foreign missions into the country."
He added that the government should introduce new laws and regulations to prevent Buddhists from converting to other religions.
In 2005, an anti-conversion law was first proposed in parliament. Christian leaders and evangelical pastors have fought against it. The law is still awaiting approval in parliament.
M.K.A.D.S. Gunawardena, Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs, said the government condemns attacks on religious institutions in Sri Lanka. "We will arrest the perpetrators guilty of attacking religious places and punish them according to the law," he said.
What can you do?
The Danish European Mission runs a Bible distribution project where thousands of Bibles in Sinhala and Tamil are distributed to Christians who are so poor that they do not have the means to buy a Bible. By reading the Word, persecuted Christians can be spiritually strengthened, encouraged and their church services and Bible studies enriched. Furthermore, new Christians will be spiritually fed and equipped to make disciples of Jesus.
In addition, poor Christians receive self-help, which means a lasting improvement in their situation. They do not receive handouts that keep them dependent on support from Christians in the rich part of the world, but start-up help to enable them to support themselves in the future.
Give Bibles and self-help to Christians in need in Sri Lanka now. Thank you for your gift.
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Source: Ucanews
