COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Christian belief and practice
is dangerously close to being outlawed in Sri Lanka. According to a recent
report from the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka, support
for anti-conversion legislation is gaining ground within the ranks of nationalist
Buddhist groups. Supporters of the legislation said it was necessary to curb
the religious conversion of the poor to Christian groups. Buddhist nationals
described two Christian groups trying to register for incorporation as “fundamentalist
cults” who enticed people to convert by offering them medical care and
food. In another blow to religious freedom, the Religious Liberty Commission
of the World Evangelical Alliance stated that Sri Lanka’s supreme court
recently ruled that Buddhism is the state religion of the nation and that
Christians who wish to participate in evangelism must first be incorporated
according to government regulations. The court also ruled that Christians
do not have constitutional rights to own property. About one percent of Sri
Lanka’s population identifies itself as Christian.