Buddhism in Sinhalese Society 1750–1900: A Study of Religious Revival and Change

The book is organized around the transformation of Buddhism in Sinhalese society between 1750 and 1900. It first provides the historical background, discussing the establishment of Buddhism in Ceylon, the Portuguese and Dutch missionary impact, and Buddhism in the Kandyan Kingdom. Part One studies schisms within the order and the emergence of new monastic fraternities. It covers the period up to 1815, the disestablishment of Buddhism after the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom, low-country and Kandyan monastic tensions, the rise of the Amarapura Fraternity, the sociological significance of new fraternities, authority and dissent within the Siyam Fraternity, and the segmentation of the Amarapura Fraternity. Part Two turns to Protestant Buddhism, beginning with the Buddhist-Christian confrontation between 1800 and 1860, then examining Buddhist protest after 1860, lay participation before and after 1880, and the role of the Buddhist Theosophical Society. The conclusion brings together these developments as part of a broader process of religious revival, institutional reorganization, and social change in nineteenth-century Sinhalese Buddhism.