It seems that Sri Lanka has been invaded by a multitude of reactionary Christian fundamentalist churches from the USA — Baptists, Assemblies of God, and a lot of others.

They are all lavishly cashed up, and they pursue the same tactics.

The most popular method is to go to poor villages or poor urban areas, and display an interest in how the people are coping with poverty.

Then they encourage everyone to "join them in prayer".

The next day, when those same poor people get up, they find on their doorstep milk, fruit, packets of food, children's clothes etc. Like the poor cobbler and the elves, it seems like a dream come true.

A day or two later, the Christians return, asking innocently how things are going, has anything interesting happened?

Then they make their big play: the goodies left overnight were in fact left by the Christian God in answer to their prayers a day or so earlier.

Having demonstrated that their religion actually works, they set about signing up recruits.

Of course, it's a simple coupling of bribery to credulity, but with lots of money at their disposal the fundamentalist Western Churches are able to produce tangible benefits for people who have nothing.

Small wonder that with such blatant huckstering tactics, the Christian fundamentalists are making converts in a big way. And not just among Hindus and Muslims.

The fundamental churches are making inroads into the followers of mainstream Christian faiths especially among the Catholics.

The areas these Christian fundamentalists choose in which to dispense their largesse in order to win converts are the traditional strongholds of the left.

But while the left is urging the people to stand up for their rights, the US Christian fundamentalists are handing out cash and goods, in plentiful amounts.

It's immediate, it's tangible, it's "real", and it's now.

Buying converts in this way must be extremely expensive, but for the very right-wing US fundamentalist churches, saving the poor of Sri Lanka from the evils of Islam or Communism (or both) would undoubtedly be regarded as money well spent.

There is probably a US government department — several, in fact — dedicated to fostering and supporting just such activity.

It is after all merely a variant of the good old US political tactic of "pork barrelling".