Producing Religion, Gender National Identities in Sri Lankan Elite

This book provides the first comparative analysis of how religious, gender and national identities have been constructed in Christian, Buddhist and Hindu girls'' schools in Sri Lanka in the context of colonial histories and postcolonial struggles. Attended by the children of the socio-political elite, Sri Lanka''s girls'' schools have a significant impact on the country''s political, cultural and religious life as their graduates carry the values they were taught beyond these institutions'' doors into society. Combining archival research with ethnographic fieldwork, Jessica Albrecht examines how narratives of the past - including the Aryan myth, the story of the Sinhala Buddhist role model Sister Sanghamitta and ideas of womanhood from the Saivite reform movement - continue to shape religious and national identities in these schools today. She integrates perspectives from religious, postcolonial and gender studies to show that these institutions play a dual role: while they empower women, they also reinforce patriarchal, nationalist and colonial ideologies. By contrasting Buddhist, Hindu and Christian schools, this book illuminates how ideas about gender, womanhood and the nation have differed across religiously diverse educational institutions from colonial times to today. In this way, it contributes to our understanding of Sri Lanka''s complex religious and educational landscape and draws attention to the often-overlooked role that women play in the making of religious and national identities in South Asia.

About the author

Jessica A. Albrecht

Product details

• Authors: Jessica A Albrecht, Jessica A. Albrecht
• Assisted by: Sîan Hawthorne (Editor), Dawn Llewellyn (Editor), Sonya Sharma (Editor)
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 01.03.2026
• EAN: 9781350577343
• ISBN: 978-1-350-57734-3
• No. of pages: 272
• Series: Bloomsbury Studies in Religion, Gender, and Sexuality
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Religion: general, reference works; Sri Lanka, Asia, comparative religion, RELIGION / Comparative Religion, RELIGION / Sexuality & Gender Studies, Organization & management of education, Gender studies: women, Gender studies: women and girls, Religious aspects of sexuality, gender and relationships, National liberation & independence, post-colonialism, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Religious aspects of sexuality, gender & relationships, Educational systems and structures, HISTORY / Asia / South / General, Decolonisation and postcolonial studies, EDUCATION / Schools / Types / Religious