In SriLanka HIndu and Chritian Tamil families are related by blood. They intermarry and even arrange marriages amongst each other along caste lines. MOst upper and middle class families have HIndu and Christian branches within thoer family group and it is even common to find siblings within the same family practising Hinduism or Christianity. Thi sis the same amongst the Sinhalses too. Many Sinhala Budhist and Christian families ae inter related and marry amongst themselves along caste lines too. Mahinda Rajappakse's wife is a Christian. Ranil Wickremesinghe is a Buddhist but his fatther brother and paternal uncles are/were devout Chritians.SWrD Bandarnaike was born into an aritocratic Sinhala Christian family he ecame a Buddhist much later. Presiden JR Jayawrdene is a Buddhist but hails from a Christian family. Evem many members of Mrs Bandaranaike's aritocratic noble Kandyan Radala/Naike family are devout Christians. In Sri Lanka the ethnic identity is very strong compard to the religious identity. Despeite Christianity bridging all ethnic divisions. The Sinhala nd Tamil Christian very rarely will identiyfy with each other but genrally will view each other with mutual distrust and suspicion. They stronly identitfy themsleves with thoer Sinhala Buddhist or Tamil Hindu brothers and sisters. It is only the 7% Tamil Muslim population whcih largely migratd from South India a fee hundred years ago that use their religion as their main identity and not their language or origins
