# Sri Lanka is not explicitly a secular country > **Verdict: Explained** · question answered > Sri Lanka’s Constitution gives Buddhism the foremost place, so it is not explicitly secular, though courts have sometimes said otherwise. Published September 28, 2026, re-researched September 28, 2026 by FactsReef (Politics). Canonical: https://factsreef.com/fact-checks/politics/is-sri-lanka-a-secular-country-e765b7 Asked as: "Is sri lanka a secular country ?" ## The short answer No—Sri Lanka is not explicitly a secular country in its Constitution; Article 9 gives Buddhism “the foremost place.” [1, 2, 3] The same Constitution also protects freedom of religion and equality, which is why some Supreme Court decisions have described Sri Lanka as secular in a broader rights-based sense. [1, 4, 5] ## Key facts - Article 9 of the Constitution says Sri Lanka shall give Buddhism “the foremost place” and that the State must protect and foster the Buddha Sasana while assuring the rights in Articles 10 and 14(1)(e). [1, 2, 3] - Article 10 guarantees “freedom of thought, conscience and religion,” including the freedom to have or adopt a religion or belief of one’s choice. [1] - Article 12 says no citizen shall be discriminated against on grounds including religion, and no person shall face religious disability, liability, restriction, or condition in access to public places of worship. [1] - In a 2014 Supreme Court case, the Court said Sri Lanka’s drafters appear to have deliberately omitted a right to “propagate” religion, “unlike in avowedly secular India.” [5] - In a 2023 Supreme Court determination, the Court said there cannot be any debate on whether Sri Lanka is a secular State, while also insisting that Article 9 be read alongside Articles 10, 12, and 14. [4] ## What the Constitution says The current constitutional text does not expressly call Sri Lanka a secular state. Instead, Article 9 gives Buddhism the foremost place and makes it the State’s duty to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana, while still assuring all religions the rights in Articles 10 and 14(1)(e). That is why the plain-text answer is “not explicitly secular.” [1, 2, 3] At the same time, the Constitution contains real protections for religious freedom and equal treatment. Article 10 protects freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; Article 12 bars discrimination on grounds including religion; and Article 14(1)(e) protects the freedom to manifest religion or belief in worship, observance, practice, and teaching. [1] ## Why people disagree about the label The disagreement comes from two different ways of using the word “secular.” If “secular” means the Constitution gives no religion a privileged place, Sri Lanka does not fit that definition because Article 9 expressly favors Buddhism. If “secular” means the State must still respect all religions and protect equal civil rights, some judges have treated Sri Lanka as secular in that broader sense. [1, 4, 5] The Supreme Court has discussed both ideas. In the 2014 Jehovah’s Witnesses case, the Court contrasted Sri Lanka with “avowedly secular India” and noted that Article 9 gives Buddhism the foremost place. [5] In the 2023 Ayurveda determination, the Court said, “there cannot be any debate” on whether Sri Lanka is a secular State, but it also warned that Article 9 cannot be read in isolation from the Constitution’s equality and religious-freedom guarantees. [4] So the safest reading is that Sri Lanka is constitutionally Buddhist-privileging, not textually secular. It is not a theocracy, either, because the same Constitution strongly protects other religions and equal citizenship. [1, 4, 5] ## Frequently asked questions ### Does Sri Lanka have a state religion? Not in the simplest “state religion” wording, but Article 9 gives Buddhism the foremost place and assigns the State a duty to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana. That makes Buddhism constitutionally privileged even though other religions also get protection. [1, 2, 3] ### Do other religions have protection in Sri Lanka? Yes. Article 10 protects freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, Article 12 prohibits religious discrimination, and Article 14(1)(e) protects the right to manifest religion or belief in worship, observance, practice, and teaching. [1] ### Has the Sri Lankan Supreme Court called the country secular? Yes. Some Supreme Court decisions have used that language, including a 2023 determination and earlier judgments. But those decisions also recognize Article 9’s special treatment of Buddhism, so the constitutional picture is more complicated than a simple yes or no. [4, 5] ### What is the best one-line answer? The best one-line answer is: Sri Lanka is not explicitly secular in its Constitution, because Article 9 gives Buddhism “the foremost place,” even though other religions receive strong constitutional protections. [1, 4, 5] ## Sources 1. [The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka](https://www.parliament.lk/files/pdf/constitution.pdf) — Parliament of Sri Lanka, current consolidated PDF 2. [The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka](https://www.lawnet.gov.lk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/The-Constitution-of-Sri-Lanka.pdf) — Official Legal Information Centre of Sri Lanka / LawNet, PDF 3. [The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka](https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text/186851) — WIPO Lex 4. [IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA](https://supremecourt.lk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ayurveda_determination.pdf) — Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, 2023 5. [IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA](https://supremecourt.lk/wp-content/uploads/judgements/sc_fr_241_2014.pdf) — Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, 2014 --- FactsReef: Ask anything. Read the answer with its footnotes. Every brief is written from live web research and cites its sources. https://factsreef.com