Freedom of religion in Sri Lanka with special reference to international human rights standards

Abstract

Sri Lanka is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society. Article 9 of the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka, provided a foremost place in Buddhism and it has given the duty to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana in the country. However, freedom of religion guaranteed as a Fundamental right in Chapter III of the constitution. International Human Rights law plays a vital role in developing standards for the freedom of religion that recognized in various international and regional conventions or Declarations. The aim of this research paper is to examine the international human rights standards towards the freedom of religion and its applicability of the constitutional level in Sri Lanka and further it examine the link between Human Rights and secularism. As a doctrinal in nature, the topic is exclusionary doctrinal and therefore no specific methodology except collection material from primary sources (any statutes, case law, any official reports of Law Commissions, any government documents, assembly debts, etc.….) As well as secondary sources visa – various books, articles, researches, papers, magazines, newspapers and a lie are scanned and utilized and relevant place for this topic. For this objective, this assay is based on a Sri Lankan constitution and secularism. It’s intended to find out answers, how the state e is responsible for social order and cooperative coexistence among social groups, critical discussion of the possibility of explicitly introducing a provision on ‘secularism’ into a proposed new Sri Lankan Constitution or amendments of the Sri Lankan Constitution and its limitations.