A Policy Brief
NWANY Wijesekara https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0391-6220
Summary:
Sri Lanka is blessed with four major religious traditions along with many other faiths and beliefs. Religion is important for Sri Lankans in their individual, family social, and community life. Sri Lanka has been a sanctuary for different religions and faith traditions to be together, grow and flourish while enriching one other through shared cultural practices.
Violent religious extremism (VRE) refers to advocating, engaging in, preparing, or otherwise supporting violence to further social, economic, and political objectives motivated or justified by religious or faith-based ideologies (USAID, 2020)
Despite the history of religious tolerance and coexistence, violent religious extremism has been a problem that has ravaged the island nation of Sri Lanka in the recent past. Religious leaders, as spiritual, social, and political opinion leaders play a decisive role, both in the generation of extremist ideologies which could escalate into acts of violence, as well as in promoting peace and harmony that go beyond ethnoreligious diversities. Nevertheless, religious leaders are rarely engaged in an in-depth understanding of the arising of violent religious extremism, as well as effective strategies to address it.
Keywords: Violent religious extremism, Transformative Approach to Violent Religious Extremism, Easter Sunday Attacks