As Sri Lankan population is composed with multi-ethnic group, the Religion in Sri Lanka is inevitably diverse. Various communities in Sri Lanka recognize four of the world's major religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. 70% of Sri Lankans are Theravada Buddhists, 15% are Hindus, 7.5% are Muslims and 7.5% Christians.The majority people of the country, the Sinhalese are adherent to Buddhism while other ethnic groups like Tamils, Moors, Burghers, and others practice Hinduism, Islam and Christianity, respectively.

• Buddhism


Buddhism is the most wide spread religion of the majority Sinhalese community. 70% of Sri Lankans are Theravada Buddhists in Sri lanka. The origin of Sri lankan Buddhism is explained in historical books and chronicles in which tells how King Devanam Piyatissa (207 BC) was converted by Mahinda Thero; The son of King Asoka of India who was sent to Sri lanka to introduce the Buddhism. Sri Lankan Buddhist place particular emphasis on the sanctity of the relics of the Buddha, which are believed to have been brought to the island from India. The two most important are the “Bo tree” and the “tooth relic of the Buddha”. Buddhist believes worshiping Buddha’s relics or the things Buddha associated is like worshipping Buddha himself alive.



The Sri Maha bodhi tree at Anuradhapura is believed to be a sapling from the Bo tree under which the Buddha himself attained enlightenment at Buddha Gaya in India.
The tooth of the Buddha now enshrined at the Dalada Maligawa in Kandy is the most honored relic of Buddha venerated by Buddhists in Sri Lanka.


The Sinhalese see themselves as guardians of the original Buddhist faith and follow the Theravada or Hinayana tradition of Buddhism.
Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka itself can be divided into three different sects.

-Siyam Nikaya (the Siamese order): In the 18th century, the official line of monastic ordination had been broken since monks at that time no longer knew the Pali tradition. The Kandyan king invited then the Theravada monks from Thailand to ordain Sinhalese novices; it was set up later as a reformed sect that enlivened study and proliferation of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
-Amarapura Nikaya: This sect was initiated by members of rising low-country castes discontent with monopoly over the monastic community by the upper castes in the 19th century. The sect was subsequently slit along the caste lines.
-Ramanna Nikaya: This sect was established in the late nineteenth century as a result of disputes over some points of doctrine and the practice of meditation.

• Hinduism
Hindus make up 16% of Sri Lanka's population. Hinduism was the major religion practiced on the island prior to the introduction of Buddhism in the 3rd century BC and the subsequent adoption of the new religion by the Sinhalese population. Nonetheless, Hinduism survived and endured in Sri Lanka, supported by South Indian and Orissan dynasties that conquered parts of the island through history.
Hinduism was brought to Sri Lanka a by successive Tamil kings and their followers during the later part of Anuradhapura period and early part of Polonnaruwa period. Also Sinhala kings like Vijayabahu the 1st and Parakramabahu the 1st too have brought Indian soldiers for wars and provided facilities for them to continue their faith in religion and built even Shiva Devalas (Shrines) for them. Shiva devala 1 & 2 of Polonnaruwa built in 11th Century AD are some of the examples can be seen in ruin today.
Today three Gods are widely seen as all powerful: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma is regarded as the ultimate source of creation; Shiva also has a creative role alongside his function as destroyer. Vishnu is seen as the preserver or protector of the universe. Out of these three deities Vishnu and Shiva are far more widely represented and have come to be seen as the most powerful and important in the belief of Sri Lankan followers.

Few Gods and Goddess worshiped by Hindus in Sri Lanka

• Lord Vishnu


Vishnu is seen as the God with the human face and worshiped by majority of Hindus and Buddhist as well. Vishnu appears in Buddhist temples too since he is considered to be one of the four “Guardian deities”, believed to be a future Buddha. He is also known as the protector of Buddhism on the island.
The preserver or sustainer. He is usually depicted with four arms holding a conch shell indicating spread of divines sound "Om"; a discus, a reminder of the wheel of time and to lead a good life; a lotus representing an example of glorious existence; and a mace symbolizing the power and the punishing capacity of the Lord if discipline in life ignore. He is much revere due to his utmost mercy and grace to his devotees. Whenever, his devotees are in difficulties, he descends to the earth in various forms of his incarnations to help them. His incarnations numbered ten, among which the Rama and Krishna incarnations are the most popular. He has a consort named Lakshmi, regarded as the Goddess of beauty and wealth. His vehicle is Garuda, a half-bird half-beast creature.

• Lord Shiva


The God of destruction is the second major Hindu Gods and the most important god among the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Shiva is symbolized by the lingam (phallus) which represents abundance. The Lord appears as yoga in meditating posture with a third eye on his forehead indicating wisdom, a serpent coiling around his neck, and a trident in his one hand. He has his vehicle as the bull Nandi. His consort Parvati can take many forms as well. His worshippers envisage him as a comic creator who will save those who pay him totally their respect.

• Goddess Sarasvathi


Sarasvathi seen as white coloured and riding on a swan, she usually carries a book, and is often shown playing a Veena.She represents as the Goddess of Education and Learning and is worshiped in schools and colleges with gift of fruit, flowers and incense.

• Goddess Lakshmi


She is the Goddess of Prosperity and wife of Lord Vishnu, mother of Kama. The other names of Lakshmi are Haripriya - the beloved of Hari ; Padma - the Lotus ; Padmalaya - she who dwells on a lotus; Jaladhija - the Ocean born; Lokamata - the mother of the world.
She is believed to have sprung from the froth of the milk ocean when it was churned by the Devas and Asuras, in full beauty with a lotus in her hand. In the descents of Vishnu, she was his associate. When Vishnu was born as a dwarf, she appeared from a lotus as Padma (Kamala), when he was born as Rama (Parasu) she was Dharini; when he was Raghava (Ramachandra) she was Sita; when he was Krishna, she was Rukmini..

• Lord Krishna


Krishna is the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu and was born in the Dvarpara Yuga as the "dark one". Krishna is the embodiment of love and divine joy, that destroys all pain and sin. Krishna is the protector of sacred utterances and cows. Krishna is a trickster and lover, an instigator of all forms of knowledge and born to establish the religion of love

• Goddess Kali


Known as the "black one", Kali is the most fearsome of the Hindu deities. She is believed to be an incarnation of Parvati, Shiva's consort who provides Shakti, female energy. She is often depicted dancing on Shiva's corpse and garlanded with human skulls.

• Lord Ganesh


The elephant-headed god, a son of Shiva and Parvati is much adored among Hindus. He is worshipped as the god of knowledge and the remover of obstacles. In his fours hands, he carries rope, an axe, and a sweet dessert ball; his fourth hand extends to bless people.

• Lord Skanda (Kataragama)


The second son of Shiva and Parvati, Skanda is also known as Subramaniam, Guha, Shadannana, Murugan, Kartikeya or Sanmukha. He is worshipped as the war God, equivalent to Mars or Ares in western mythology. Skanda bestows the spiritual powers, particularly, power of knowledge. Ironically, he is also regarded as a protective deity by Buddhist Sinhalese; they incorporated him with the battle in ancient times against South India's Tamils.


• Islam


By the 15th century, Arab traders had controlled much of the trade on the Indian Ocean, including that of Sri Lanka's. Many of these traders settled down in Sri Lanka, encouraging the spread of Islam. However, when the Portuguese arrived at Sri Lanka during the 16th century, many of their Muslim descendants were persecuted, thus forcing them to migrate to the Central Highlands and to the east coast.
In modern times, Muslims in Sri Lanka are handled by the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Department, which was established in the 1980s to prevent the continual isolation of the Muslim community from the rest of Sri Lanka. Today, about 8% of Sri Lankans adhere to Islam; mostly from the Arab-descendant Moor and Malay ethnic communities on the island.


• Christianity


According to Christian traditions, Thomas the Apostle first arrived in Sri Lanka (as well as India) during the 1st century. After his arrival, small Christian settlements were recorded to have been established on Sri Lanka's coastline. However, the population of Christians in Sri Lanka didn't dramatically increase until the arrival of Portuguese missionaries during the 15th century. In the 17th century, the Dutch took over Sri Lanka and Dutch missionaries were able to convert 21% of Sri Lanka's population into official Christians by 1722.
The relative number of Christians in Sri Lanka has declined steadily since the end of colonial rule. In 1900 a reported 378,859 people, or 10.6 percent of the population, were officially Christians. Although in 1980, the number of Christians had increased to 1,283,600, the percentage of Christians in the total population had declined to approximately 8 percent. This decline occurred primarily because the non-Christian population expanded at a faster rate. Emigration abroad, conversions of some Christians to Buddhism and fewer conversions to Christianity among Buddhists, Hindus, or Muslims also were reasons for the decline. In the 1980s, Christians still were concentrated heavily in the low country in the southwest. They comprised 30 percent of the population in Colombo.
Some 88 percent of the Christians were Roman Catholics who traced their religious heritage directly to the Portuguese. The Roman Catholic Church has a well-established organization that encompasses the entire island. In 1985 there were 9 dioceses comprising 313 parishes, 682 priests, and 15 bishops (including two archbishops and a cardinal). The remainder of Christians were almost evenly split between the Anglican Church of Ceylon (with two dioceses) and other Protestant faiths. The Dutch Reformed Church, now the Presbytery of Ceylon, consisted mostly of Burghers, and its numbers were shrinking because of emigration. Other Christian communities--Congregationalists, Methodists, and Baptists--were small in number. Since the 1970s, there has been a movement of all Protestant Churches to join together in a united Church of Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese community, however, has strenuously opposed this movement.