Anti-Christian church attacks stem from nationalist ideology, not missionary activity

Evidence

Anti-Christian sentiment in Sri Lanka is nothing new: the recent wave of anti-Christian violence is not influenced solely by proselytizing missionaries. New proselytizing Christian groups have been operating places of worship since the late 1970s, and Assembly of God and Jehovah’s Witnesses pastors and missionaries were conspicuous in their activities before that. Beginning in 1978, Mormon missionaries too began proselytizing and even providing free English classes through one of Colombo’s Rotary clubs as a way to attract converts. The post-tsunami missionary activities also do not explain the recent anti-Christian hostility, given that churches began to be attacked at the turn of the century—nearly four years before the tsunami hit. Thus the church attacks amidst renewed hostility toward all Christians are better explained as part of the overarching nationalist ideology. — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 268

Anti-Christian sentiment in Sri Lanka is nothing new: the recent wave of anti-Christian violence is not influenced solely by proselytizing missionaries. New proselytizing Christian groups have been operating places of worship since the late 1970s, and Assembly of God and Jehovah’s Witnesses pastors and missionaries were conspicuous in their activities before that. Beginning in 1978, Mormon missionaries too began proselytizing and even providing free English classes through one of Colombo’s Rotary clubs as a way to attract converts. The post-tsunami missionary activities also do not explain the recent anti-Christian hostility, given that churches began to be attacked at the turn of the century—nearly four years before the tsunami hit. Thus the church attacks amidst renewed hostility toward all Christians are better explained as part of the overarching nationalist ideology. — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 268

Categorization

• XREF: Core to reader’s manufactured-enemy question: attacks triggered not by threat spikes but by ideology, so the ‘threat’ is constructed. Mirrors arguments that moral-panic triggers postdate rather than precede group mobilization. — connects to: Sinhalese nationalist violence against Christians is opportunistic rather than primordial — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 245; Anti-conversion violence targets even non-proselytizing Catholic churches — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 254; European terror prior to 2004 came mainly from nationalist rather than religious movements — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 388 (+3 more)
• SEED: Possible essay angle: when violence against an out-group does not track the actual behavior of that group (tsunami relief, low proselytizing), it reveals the enemy as constructed rather than reactive — methodological test for manufactured enmity.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 268

Broader Connections

• Nationalism’s borrowings from religion do not make religion its source #corroborates (0.82) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 946
• European terror prior to 2004 came mainly from nationalist rather than religious movements #corroborates (0.78) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 388