Religion and identity

This research seeks to analyse an Asian immigrant ethnic group called Sinhala from Sri Lanka who belong to two world religions, Buddhism and Christianity, and who live in and around London. Here the method used is primarily sociological. Throughout this study the realities of both home and host countries that have affected them are taken into consideration in analysing the shifting identities of this ethnic community.

In the first introductory chapter the scope of study is described, with the methodology of research. The second chapter explains the theoretical framework created in relation to five general principles presented by R. Stephen Warner in his research on various ethno-religious immigrant communities in the United States of America. This is presented in the context of other similar research. The third chapter gives a descriptive picture of the lives of immigrants attending five Sri Lankan Buddhist temples and three Sri Lankan Christian Associations in London where Sinhala people from Sri Lanka are involved.

Critical analysis begins in the fourth chapter with the effects of religious beliefs and attitudes during the immigration of this ethnic group. A scrutiny of the settlement of this ethnic group is the subject of the fifth chapter, highlighting the various modes that these immigrants have adopted. In the sixth chapter social differences, the position of women and the second generation and older and newer cohorts are examined in relation to their religions. The seventh chapter is devoted to a study of the effects of religious institutions as described in chapter three. Chapter eight analyses the religious beliefs and philosophies of this ethnic group.

The conclusion summarises the outcome of this study and shows how religion and ethnicity have become important features in the various identities of this immigrant community, pointing to other related areas of study for future research.