Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Christianity
Christianity in Sri Lanka potentially goes back to the Apostle Thomas in the 1st century
AD, and it's certain that in the early centuries AD small numbers of Christians established
settlements along the coast.
With the Portuguese in the 16th century, Christianity, specifically Roman Catholicism,
arrived in force, and many fishing families converted. Today, Catholicism remains strong
among western coastal communities. The Dutch brought Protestantism and the Dutch Re-
formed Church, mainly present in Colombo, while evidence of the British Christian de-
nominations include stone churches that dot the Hill Country landscape.
