Religious sites

The decision by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to streamline the construction of places of religious worship is a timely move particulary given the recent controversies involving religious places over noise pollution etc.

According a news story in our inside pages yesterday President Rajapaksa has instructed the Religious Affairs Ministry to draft legislation whereby its permission would have to be sought in the future prior to construction of any places of religious worship.

Accordingly the Religious Affairs Ministry Secretary will grant approval for the construction of temples, kovils etc with the recommendation of the Religious Affairs Minister.

The stated object of the proposed legislation of course is to ensure the due respect by the public towards places of worship by creating the proper ambience as befitting such place of religious worship in a particular locality.

By this it is implied that such places of religious worship would be sited in an appropriate locality and environment which is ideally conducive to religious observances and practices. This has been the criteria even in the past too before extraneous influences visited these localities to sully the serene and religious environment.

We are of course referring to the many liquor shops, wine stores and casinos that have sprung up close to places of religious worship. This has not only violated the sanctity of these religious sites but also made a mockery of religious teachings and acted as a bad influence particulary on the younger generation.

President Rajapaksa who has a close rapport with religious leaders of all faiths no doubt has realised the need to create the right ambience to allow adherents of different faiths to practise their religions without hindrance.

In this regard it has also to ensured that the sanctity of such religious sites would not be sullied by the subsequent incursion of evil influences into the vicinity. Also steps should be taken to ensure any new place of religious worship to be sited in non-residential areas as a means of avoiding the present controversies over noise pollution.

The problems in this regard of today stems from inappropriate siting of religious places of worship. Some of these ‘shrines’ have been sited in the middle of heavily populated areas and sometimes are seen cheek by jowl with residences in populated localities. This no doubt is liable to pose a disturbance even to adherents of these very religious groups.

There is also another point to ponder by the authorities. Today with the mushrooming of fundamentalist Christian sects even residences have been converted into ‘churches’. This is not only an affront to the religion but is also source of nuisance to neighbours.

This aspect too should receive the attention of powers that be for it is the proliferation of such worship centres particularly in neighbourhoods populated by other religious that have led to clashes as evident by recent events.

There is a need to take a census of all such religious centres in the country and probe if they comply with Local Government laws and regulations. What is required is to maintain a proper ambience that befits a place of religious worship.

Some of these fundamentalist sects carry on with their night vigils causing a disturbance in the neighbourhood which are equally disturbing and distracting as loudspeakers to the old the infirm and children preparing for exams.

At the same time the Government should also not be seen to discriminating in the allocation of sites for places of worship lest this lead to religious friction.

While a proper evaluation should be done on the feasibility of such projects every effort should be made towards fostering religious tolerance and concord leading to national unity .On the subject of religious sites there are still a large number of churches temples kovils and mosques destroyed in the tsunami that are yet to be reconstructed.

Leaving such religious symbols to languish in this way is not appropriate. It therefore behoves the authorities to speed up rebuilding of all such places of religious worship for the spiritual sustenance of the faithful.