TeaThat church is against any form of encouraged conversion. Even in the case of inter-religious marriages registered under the Special Marriage Act, the non-Christian partner is advised to practice his religion. There is no compulsion to convert to Christianity as religious tolerance is a part of the Indian ethos. However, if there are cases of conversion as an incentive, is criminal law the solution?
Addressing the All Karnataka United Christian Forum for Human Rights (AKUCFHR) on 19 November, Bangalore’s Archbishop Peter Machado said it is a sin to force anyone to convert. Any conversion must be from the heart as the Church seeks to increase the quality of its believers and not the quantity.
In a letter to the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Dr Machado says, “Thousands of schools, colleges and hospitals across the state are run and managed by the Christian community. When lakhs of students are graduating from these institutions year after year and thousands of patients get the best medical help from our hospitals and care centers irrespective of caste, creed or colour, let the government prove that even one of them Have you ever been affected, forced or forced to change your religion? ,
It is noteworthy that LK Advani, Vasundhara Raje, Pratap Simha, S Jaishankar, Smriti Irani, JP Nadda and Piyush Goyal are senior BJP leaders who received education from Christian institutions.
On religious conversions, the Pew Research Center (PRC) makes some observations: “There is an overall pattern of stability on the part of religious groups with little net benefit from movement in or out of most religious groups. Any conversion is matched by conversion to a group. Nationally, the vast majority of former Hindus who are now Christians belong to a Scheduled Caste (48%), a Scheduled Tribe (14%) or an Other Backward Class (26%) Nearly half (47%) of those who convert to Christianity say that there is a lot of discrimination against Scheduled Castes in India, while 20% of the total population believes this level of discrimination against Scheduled Castes. Nevertheless, Relatively few converts say they have personally faced discrimination because of their race in the past 12 months (12%).
main cause
If incentives are a matter of conversion, the solution lies in addressing the core issues: ending discrimination, providing high quality and free education to the poor and underprivileged, improving access and quality of free health facilities and medicines, improving nutrition and to provide adequate employment opportunities. This will automatically address the issue of violent extremism prevailing in some parts of the country. Violence by mind, word or deed cannot be solved by more violence. Although the proposed anti-conversion bill is seen as repressive and Christians are being physically attacked by marginalized elements, the Christian community is determined to serve society through love and will continue to pray for political leadership.
Are there other conditions that we Indians need to consider? The study conducted by the PRC with a sample of 22,975 Hindus, 3,336 Muslims, 1,782 Sikhs, 1011 Christians, 719 Buddhists and 109 Jains states the following: “Religious groups generally regard themselves as separate from one another; Preventing inter-religious marriages is a high priority; Not enough minorities will accept followers of other religions as neighbours.” The study also found that caste is a divisive factor among religions.
The late Justice Leela Seth pointed out in her TEDx talk that early implementation of anti-dowry laws only made public display of dowry disappear, but dowry abolition required a change in attitude and mindset. A holistic approach will be required to address the issues of incentive conversion.
In a world rife with anger, hatred, selfishness, greed, isolation, and indifference, Christians seek to transform people into love, compassion, kindness, openness, empathy, and selflessness, which are visible through actions. While these are human values, Christians value them as the basis of their lives. Constitution being the guide book of all Indians, Dr. Machado expressed complete faith in constitutional values and judiciary.
(With inputs from Fr. Faustin L. Lobo, Secretary, AKUCFHR)
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