WANTED: AN ASIAN PERSPECTIVE ON THE FREEDOM OF RELIGION
And stop organised drives towards conversion, reconversion
By Eduardo Faleiro
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Pope Benedict XVI is reported to have raised the question of
religious freedom at a recent meeting with our Ambassador to
the Vatican. At this meeting the Pope praised India's
traditions of freedom and inter-religious harmony. Freedom of
religion is the right to maintain one's religion or to change
it without being subjected to any pressure or inducement.
Freedom of religion is protected by the Constitution of India
and is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. Whilst freedom of religion is a basic human right,
proselytism receives universal condemnation. Proselytism is
defined as the use of unscrupulous methods of persuasion such
as material inducements, psychological pressure or spiritual
threats to compel a person to change his or her religion.
Proselytism is opposed on several grounds; it attacks
other religious beliefs and practices and proclaims that
its own religion is the only way to salvation. It is
often supported by financial resources and marketing
techniques that make local religious activities seem
second rate and inferior.
The Catholic Church condemns proselytizing activities. The
Second Vatican Council, whilst defending freedom of religion,
denounced proselytism in very strong terms: "In spreading
religious faith and in introducing religious practices,
everyone ought at all times to refrain from any manner of
action which might seem to carry a hint of coercion or a kind
of persuasion that would be dishonorable or unworthy,
especially when dealing with poor or uneducated people. Such
a manner of action would have to be considered as abuse of
one’s own right and a violation of the right of others."
The late Pope John Paul II often referred to the Evangelical
sects in Christianity and called them "rapacious wolves
devouring Catholics and causing divisions and discord in our
communities." John Paul II stressed the danger of
underestimating "a certain strategy employing notable
economic resources to crack Catholic unity."
The concerns of the Pope regarding proselytism are also
voiced by the Protestant churches. A document "The Challenge
of Proselytism and the Calling to Common Witness" was
formulated in September 1995 by the Joint Working Group of
the World Council of Churches which represents the major
Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church.
This document refers to "serious concern about tension and
conflicts created by proselytism in nearly all parts of the
world". It mentions "instances in the developing world in
which proselytism takes advantage of people’s misfortunes
e.g. in situations of poverty in villages, to induce change
in their religious affiliation."
It calls for awareness of the "reality of diversity rooted in
theological traditions and in various geographical,
historical and cultural contexts" and denounces "the use of
coercive or manipulative methods in evangelism".
The statement rejects "all violations of religious freedom
and all forms of religious intolerance as well as every
attempt to impose belief and practices on others or to coerce
others in the name of religion". It states "proselytism can
violate or manipulate the right of the individual and can
exacerbate tense and delicate relations between communities
and thus destabilize society."
Among the nature and characteristics of proselytism the
document mentions "extending explicit or implicit offers of
education, healthcare or material inducements or using
financial resources with the intent of making converts" and
"manipulative activities and practices that exploit people's
needs, weaknesses or lack of education specially in
situations of distress and fail to respect their freedom and
human dignity".
The statement concludes "whilst our focus in this document in
on the relationship between Christians it is important to
seek the mutual application of these principles also in inter
faith relations. Both Christians and communities of other
faiths complain about unworthy and unacceptable methods of
seeking converts from their respective communities. Increased
cooperation and dialogue among people of different faiths
could result in witness offered to one another that would
respect human freedom and dignity and will be free from the
negative activities described above."
The issue of conversions has became a major
socio-religious and political issue in India. In some
tribal areas, Christian and Hindu missionaries confront
each other on this subject.
Organized attempts at mass conversion or reconversion backed
by financial or political power can have an explosive
backlash to the point of undermining public order. Mainline
Christian theologians see both the Sangh Parivar's hindutva
ideology and Christian campaigns for evangelization of India
as bearing a fundamentalist attitude and an aggressive
methodology to achieve their respective goals.
Most Indian Christian theologians disapprove of organized
conversions, favour interreligious dialogue and express the
need to study other religions such as Islam, Hinduism,
Buddhism and even tribal faiths so that Christianity learns
from their many valuable insights.
Organized drives for conversion and reconversion should
stop. They violate the Constitution of India. Yet
specific legislation such as the anti-conversion laws
passed by some States in India can only promote
religious intolerance and animosity, may be misused by
executive authorities and is not justified from the very
limited positive results obtained. Government should
rather, in a discreet manner, promote an agreement among
the religious heads of all major faiths in the country
to stop proselytism. Given the positive mindset of
Indian theologians this is very much possible.
The Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC)
articulates its theological vision thus, "Asia is the womb of
the great World religions. All great scriptural religions
were born on Asian soil. The Church has to be in constant
dialogue with the religions of Asia and to embark or this
with great seriousness.... There may be more truth about God
and life than it is made known to us through the Jesus of
history and the Church. As such Christians who take Christ’s
injunction seriously must search for this Truth in the
various religions of the World" (FABC Resource Manual for
Catholics in Asia, pp189,288)
On the question of proselytism the FABC says "a phenomenon
which continues to awaken the most resentment among the
peoples of Asia is that of proselytism and conversion. In the
minds of Asians, the Church’s primary objective seems to be
to convert as many people as she can so as to increase her
little flock. Church expansion is also seen as a Western
extension. The increase in the number of Church movements
engaged in aggressive and militant evangelization (understood
in the very narrow sense of the word) is certainly a cause
for concern for our brothers and sisters of other faiths.
Perhaps, it might be good to be reminded of the Golden Rule
which nearly all religions speak of: do not do others what
you do not want done to yourself." (Resource Manual p 286).
Whilst congratulating Cardinal Ivan Dias on his
prestigious assignment as Prefect of the Congregation
for the Evangelization of Peoples, I am confident that
he will affirm the Asian perception of Freedom of
Religion at the highest level of the Catholic Church.
--
The writer is a former Union Minister and presently is
Commissioner for NRI Affairs in Goa.
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