Sinhalese Buddhist

Refers to the politically salient identity and nationalist ideology combining Sinhalese ethnicity with Buddhism in Sri Lanka, characterized by nationalists who claim unique status for the Sinhalese Buddhist majority. Modern Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism is described as reactive (to colonial marginalization) and ideologically mobilized rather than primordial or natural.

Claims that use this term

• Sinhalese Buddhist identity was antiquarian but its modern nationalist ideology is reinterpreted and manipulated
• Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist ideology frames dissenters as enemies of the state.
• Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism is reactive, not primordial
• Sinhalese Buddhist hostility to minorities was a reactive response to colonial marginalization.
• Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist ideology commands broad popular support in Sri Lanka
• Sinhalese Buddhist mytho-history is marshalled to justify ethnic violence, not peace.