A brief introduction to the Ethno Religious Identities of Sinhala Buddhist and Christians

In this paper it is expected to analyse the ethno religious identities of the majority Sinhala ethnic group in Sri Lanka, who confess two religions, namely Buddhism and Christianity. Today many scholars agree that the beginning of the Sinhala ethnic community can be traced to 5th century BC with their first group of immigrants from North India to Sri Lanka. This was followed by waves of subsequent migration of this ethnic group to this land.   In the 3rd century BC Buddhism was introduced to Sinhala ethnic group and from that time up to date the identity of the Sinhala ethnic group has been intertwined with Buddhism. Yet Buddhism, being a faith with an inclusive attitude and accommodative spirit, did not hesitate to integrate other religious customs and practises such as pre-Buddhist Sinhala and Hindu rituals to enrich Buddhist philosophy.