Participation of Disabled Youths in Religious Activities: Indigenous Social Work Practices in Rural Sri Lanka

Abstract

The author examines the relationship between the participation of disabled youths in religious activities and indigenous social work practices in Sri Lanka. Participant observation and household surveys were conducted in an area where the religious majority is Buddhist, followed by Muslim and Hindu. Religious activities arranged by social work practitioners provide opportunities for disabled youths to participate in the local community. This research found that social work practices promoted collective activities and increased cohesiveness, but the issue of marginalizing religious minorities in the area also emerged. Implications for non-Western social work practices are discussed.

Keywords:

• multi-religious society
• social inclusion
• social work
• disability issues

Acknowledgments

The author would like to express sincere gratitude to Dr. Masato Kawamori of the Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, and Dr. Chandani Liyanage of Department of Sociology, University of Colombo, for their constructive comments on an earlier draft of this article. The author is very grateful to staff members of the Department of Social Services in Sri Lanka for setting up the placement and conducting research collaboratively.

Additional information

Funding

This work was partly supported by the Rotary Global Grant scholarship (GG1633896).