Chico Xavier wrote over 490 additional books, which expand on the spiritualist doctrine. We are talking about an amendment bill introduced in the Uttarakhand assembly on November 29and passed a day laterto make the four-year-old anti-conversion Act (which ironically goes by the name Uttarakhand 'Freedom of Religion' Act, 2018) even more stringent. The six Astika and two Nastika schools of Hindu philosophy, in its history, did not develop a missionary or proselytization methodology, and they co-existed with each other. [57] Lofland summarised his findings in 1964 in a doctoral thesis entitled "The World Savers: A Field Study of Cult Processes", and in 1966 in book form (published by Prentice-Hall) as Doomsday Cult: A Study of Conversion, Proselytization, and Maintenance of Faith. In that case, the judges could remedy the errors of 1977 by seeking inspiration from the European Court of Human Rights 1993 ruling in the, Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights, programme announced by the Dharam Jagran Samiti, anti-conversion laws in force in various states, Uproar in India over forced conversions. [24] A formal conversion is also sometimes undertaken by individuals whose Jewish ancestry is questioned, even if they were raised Jewish, but may not actually be considered Jews according to traditional Jewish law. Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.. [25], As late as the 6th century, the Eastern Roman empire and Caliph Umar ibn Khattab were issuing decrees against conversion to Judaism, implying that this was still occurring. "The [local] priest tells me if I was a good dalit in this life, then in my next life I can be born into a better part of society. ", "Zoroastrianism needs to adapt its archaic laws or die | Ariane Sherine", "Joining a Cult: Religious Choice or Psychological Aberration? Search titles only; Posted by Member: Separate names with a comma. LESS [41], Since 1800 CE, religious conversion from and to Hinduism has been a controversial subject within Hinduism. Look at the net impact not the gross. What is God? 29 January 2015. Of the total 506 people who registered their change of religion with the government, 241 were those who converted from Christianity or Islam to Hinduism. 72% of the new converts to Hinduism were Dalit Christians, mostly Christian Cheramars, Christian Sambavas and Christian Pulayas. Indians look up to the judiciary to uphold the secular values of the republic, and the Supreme Court has, time and again, thwarted onslaughts on peoples core fundamental right of religious freedom. To be like Islam and Christianity, which are seen to be muscular religions that enjoin proselytisation to swell their ranks, Hinduism, as viewed by the saffron brigade, needs to gird up its loins to project a more virile and vigorously assertive persona. Photograph: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images. This page was last edited on 13 January 2023, at 09:42. As explained in the first of the 1,019 questions and answers in The Spirits Book: 1. Today almost double that figure will embrace a new religion and repeat the 22 oaths Ambedkar mouthed. Of the total 506 people who registered their change of religion with the government, 241 were those who converted from Christianity or Islam to Hinduism. The varieties of religious experience: a study in human nature, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Religious_conversion&oldid=1134883508, Articles needing additional references from March 2022, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2022, Articles needing more detailed references, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2018, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from July 2021, All articles that may contain original research, Articles that may contain original research from July 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2011, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Cooper, Richard S. "The Assessment and Collection of Kharaj Tax in Medieval Egypt". Merchants and traders of India, particularly from Indian peninsula, carried their religious ideas, which led to religious conversions to Hinduism in Indonesia, Champa, Cambodia and Burma. [31][32][33] In its diffuse and open structure, numerous schools and sects of Hinduism have developed and spun off in India with help from its ascetic scholars, since the Vedic age. Now, my family and I want to become Hindu again, Baskey said. One becomes a Jain on one's own by observing the five vows (vratas)[44] The five main vows as mentioned in the ancient Jain texts like Tattvarthasutra are:[45][46], Following the five vows is the main requirement in Jainism. By India Today Web Desk: The daughter of Sukarno, Indonesia's founding father and first president, on Tuesday converted from Islam to Hinduism, an unorthodox move in the world's most populous Muslim country. Not so for the small community of Christians in Agra, a town in the northern Indian province of Uttar Pradesh. (CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4, General Comment No. However, people who converted to Buddhism said they faced caste. Brahmanism?? Advertise With Us | These are returns not conversions. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service, {{{add_comment_link}}} Some religious traditions, rather than stressing emotion in the conversion process, emphasise the importance of philosophical thought as a pathway to adopting a new religion. Christianity grew after becoming the state religion in Armenia, in the Roman Empire, and in Ethiopia. Mumbai (AsiaNews) - In Andhra Pradesh a group of Hindu nationalists belonging to the BJP ruling party (Bharatiya Janata Party) has carried out mass conversions to Dalit and Christian tribal. This is list of converts from Indian-origin religions. Explore conversions to hinduism profile at Times of India for photos, videos and latest news of conversions to hinduism. The Making of a Moonie: Choice or Brainwashing? Now we are on Telegram too. Copyright - newindianexpress.com 2023. Some 3000 Muslims were massacred. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights defines religious conversion as a human right: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief" (Article 18). "Dalits should concentrate on illiteracy and poverty rather than looking for new religions. "My mother died of her injuries. Stark, Rodney and Roger Finke. control of land. He will not be alone. Psychology: A Journal of Human Behavior, Vol 15(4), NovDec 1978, 1522. Force can at least apparently coerce people into adopting different ideas. It is exclusively associated with the predatory behavior of Abrahamic religions (Islam and . Even as its protg, the BJP, has initiated a country-wide drive to recruit members and overtake the Chinese Communist Party as the worlds largest political association, the RSS has set a target of annually converting 1 lakh each of Muslims and Christians to Hinduism. This situation stems from a law passed in the 1930s by the dictator Ioannis Metaxas. The person administering the baptism must recite the prayer exactly, and immerse every part, limb, hair and clothing of the person being baptized. The landless labourer points to a picture of Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god, on his wall and says it will soon be gone and replaced by an image of the Buddha. Place Nagpur, Maharashtra, the city where the Headquarter of Rastriya Swayamsewak Sangh is situated. 17 Thiyya community members including 11 females converted to Islam. Bahs recognize the divine origins of all revealed religion, and believe that these religions occurred sequentially as part of a divine plan (see Progressive revelation), with each new revelation superseding and fulfilling that of its predecessors. 241 of the 506 people who reported their change of religion with the government were Christians or Muslims who converted to Hinduism. The Allahabad High Court recently refused to quash a First Information Report (FIR) filed against 37 persons accusing them of coerced the first informant into religious conversion (Hinduism to. The mass ceremony was the latest in what is a growing number of such conversions to Pakistan's majority Muslim faith in recent years although precise data is scarce. Terms of Use | Of India kept sleeping or had their mock permission. Mass Conversions to Hinduism: The Ghar Wapsi Movement With the BJP taking over control following the 2014 general elections, it has been commonly accepted that the Hindutva ideology now not only wields socio-religious control but also access to political power as well. Historical records bear ample testimony to the rigorous implementation of St Caprions axiom extra ecclessium nulla salus (outside the Church, no salvation), even by the proverbial fire and sword, especially by explorer-cum-conquistadors like Vasco da Gama, the tales of whose brutalities in enforcing a harvest of faith in the erstwhile Portuguese-controlled state of Goa are legion. {{{read_comment_link}}} Evangelization sharing the Gospel message or "Good News" in deed and word, is an expectation of Christians.[8]. On the other hand, persecution can drive religious faith and practice underground and strengthen the resolve of oppressed adherents as in the cases of the Waldenses or the Bah Faith. Kafiristan, now called Nuristan, is in NE Afghanistan. Retrieved 11 July 2021. [4][5], Within Christianity conversion refers variously to three different phenomena: a person becoming Christian who was previously not Christian; a Christian moving from one Christian denomination to another; a particular spiritual development, sometimes called the "second conversion", or "the conversion of the baptised".[6]. This is a service to our country and we will continue with the ghar wapsi [homecomings], Jugal Kishore, a VHP official involved in the event, was quoted as saying in the Indian Express newspaper. Another step towards remoulding Hinduism into semetic form is the promotion of a congregational faith. Converting to Islam requires one to declare the shahdah, the Muslim profession of faith ("there is no god but Allah; Muhammad is the messenger of Allah"). Lastly, while you are browsing this sub, keep in mind that Hinduism is practiced by over a billion . You can become a Hindu even if you are born a non-Hindu and you are of a non-Asian origin. The mass conversion was part of a . People who embraced Hinduism constituted 47 per cent of religious conversions in Kerala during the one-year period under reference. [19], Following baptism, Latter Day Saints receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands of a Melchizedek Priesthood holder.[19]. All Indian religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainsim and Sikhism, are collective called "Sanatan Dharma" and "Dhamma", and all others are called mleccha. Interested in blogging for timesofindia.com? Views expressed above are the author's own. [13] The theology thus rejects infant baptism. [20] In the Islamic religion, it is believed that everyone is Muslim at birth. Senior VHP functionaries contacted by the Guardian on Thursday said they were unable to comment. Exceptions to encouraging conversion may occur in some Buddhist movements. The communities [involved in the recent incidents] are already vulnerable and the campaign seems quite aggressive and the combination is concerning, said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of Human Rights Watch. [63], Research in the United States and in the Netherlands has shown a positive correlation between areas lacking mainstream churches and the percentage of people who are members of a new religious movement. The spectre of losing Dalits to another faith and that too a public pledge to reject Hinduism in the election campaign season has reignited an age-old debate about caste oppression. The groups claimed that not only dalits, who often embrace Buddhism to quit Hinduism, but also people from other castes can accept the religion. The Muslim castes which have been particularly vulnerable to Hindu missionary efforts have been those There are plans for a Buddhist temple and money set aside to hire a Buddhist priest - probably the first in the area for 1,500 years - to conduct prayers as well as marriage and death rites. [64][65], On the other end of the proselytising scale are religions that do not accept any converts, or do so very rarely. One might well question in face of such provisions, do the laws even need to use the modifiers forcible or fraudulent? The mass conversion of dalits takes place on the anniversary of one of India's most controversial religious events. Hinduism has no traditional ecclesiastical order, no centralized religious authorities, no universally accepted governing body, no binding holy book nor any mandatory prayer attendance requirements. "Evangelization." 100 percent correct. It states that "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Other religions organize mass conversions, usually of Dalits, away from Hinduism and its legacy of caste discrimination. {{{long}}} Read More Modi has denied any wrongdoing and a supreme court inquiry has found insufficient evidence to support the charges. Illustrating the problems that can arise from such subjective viewpoints is this extract from an article by Dr. C. Davis, published in Cleveland State University's Journal of Law and Health: "According to the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Jews for Jesus and Hebrew Christians constitute two of the most dangerous cults, and its members are appropriate candidates for deprogramming. Mass Conversions to Hinduism among Indian Muslims Yoginder Sikand Manjari Katju In cases of mass conversion of Muslims to Hinduism, the central thrust has been on their de-Islamisation rather than on their accepting the Hindu religion. Of the 33 persons who crossed over to Islam from Christianity, 9 were Syrian Catholics, who included two women. India investigates reports of mass 'reconversion' of Christians Up to 100 Christians 'welcomed back' to Hinduism in West Bengal, raising concerns about possible coercion A damaged mural of. Proselytism is the act of attempting to convert by persuasion another individual from a different religion or belief system. No society is immune from the darkest impulses of men. Web. All other aspects such as visiting temples are secondary. In cases of mass conversion of Muslims to Hinduism, the central thrust has been on their de-Islamisation rather than on their accepting the Hindu religion. (2010, September 15). ), Yayasan Obor Indonesia. This vast majority are from the middle and upper middle class. Merchants and traders of India, particularly from Indian peninsula, carried their religious ideas, which led to religious conversions to Hinduism in Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia . However, he has warned members of parliament and ministers not to make statements that might distract from his development agenda, after one member of his government called Indian Muslims bastard children last year. ", Learn how and when to remove this template message, International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Doomsday Cult: A Study of Conversion, Proselytization, and Maintenance of Faith, United Nations Commission on Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Forced conversion of minority girls in Pakistan, Safavid conversion of Iran from Sunnism to Shiism, https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a4.htm, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Monergism, https://archive.today/20220314005237/https://www.whatdomormonsbelieve.com/15/09/2010/the-original-sin/, "Guide to the Scriptures: Baptism, Baptize: Proper authority", "Abraham's Test: Islamic Male Circumcision as Anti/Ante-Covenantal Practice", Symposium Series (Society of Biblical Literature), "Islamic Law and the Issue of Male and Female Circumcision", "So You Want to Convert to Judaism? The move has been decried not only by secularists who argue that the only book which could have national status is the Constitution but also by those who subscribe to the view that Hinduism has always been an eclectic agglomeration of smaller traditions rather than a monolithic structure that can be represented by a single text, no matter how seminal it might claim to be. |A+AA-. But these benefits aside, there was another more substantive reason why many Indians, especially the Dalits (Untouchables) and tribals embraced Christianity, and even Islam. Besides being overtly anti-Christian, the proposed anti-conversion law would negate the constitutions secular values. Converts to Islam are due to marriage/love issues. When I tell them my caste they stop asking questions. 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