Even a recent convert may be elected to serve on a local Spiritual Assembly the guiding Bah institution at the community level. Whatdomormonsbelieve. 17 persons including 12 females were from the Nair community. All Indian religions usually practice mutual religious syncretism among each other. These are returns not conversions. This theory was publicized by the popular news media but disputed by other scholars, including some sociologists of religion. Eastern Orthodoxy expanded when it gained official sanction in Kievan Rus'. Though ostensibly secular in objective, the anti-conversion laws in force in various states of India Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh (all areas with a significantly high population of tribals, Dalits, the depressed castes, and reeling from poverty, illiteracy and abysmal healthcare) in effect gives the government a vast swathe of control over peoples choices in matters of faith and religion. [26], In some cases, a person may forgo a formal conversion to Judaism and adopt some or all beliefs and practices of Judaism. "Conversion" is a very charged word for Hindus. Moinuddin Chisti facilitated the coming of the Islamic Jihad to India by mediating the union of Jai Chand and Mohammed Ghori. [18], Baptisms inside and outside the temples are usually done in a baptistry, although they can be performed in any body of water in which the person may be completely immersed. 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. One does not need to ask any authorities for admission. There are around 180 million Muslims in India, around 14% of the population of 1.3 billion. Basing its ruling on a 1956 report entitled Report of the Christian Missionaries Activity Enquiry Commission, which deemed proselytisation as a threat to Indias territorial integrity and internal security, the court ended up conflating every act of propagation of ones faith Christianity, in this case (enshrined as a fundamental right in the constitution) as an attack on Hinduism and its followers, tantamount to blasphemy, which, incidentally, is also a criminal offence in India. BJP is in power today only because other parties played religious politics by oppressing the majority Hindus and providing every right. Culture can be defined as a way of life. Match case Limit results 1 per page. Mate. the biggest gainer has been Islam. In fact they stop talking to me. lmao everyone in this world is a convert, The writer has tried to mislead the readers of NIE with confusing figures. The Parsis, a Zoroastrianism group based in India, classically does not accept converts, but this issue became controversial in the 20th century due to a rapid decline in membership. Reports surface in newspapers of untouchables being barred from temples. In fact we think that there are very few differences between Buddhism and Hinduism," says Lalit Kumar, who works for a Hindu nationalist welfare association in Andhra Pradesh. Lofland noted that most of their efforts were ineffective and that most of the people who joined did so because of personal relationships often family relationships with existing members. "Islam is egalitarian, and we get the self-respect," said Khalik. First, there has been increasing campaign against Muslims as a result of which these. All the comments will be moderated by the newindianexpress.com editorial. Instead of going into the genesis of the conversion of poor Hindus, Malhi chose to reply with a political overtone, "And it is happening under the rule of self-proclaimed champions of democracy.". In December another group conducted a similar ceremony for more than 200 Muslims in the northern city of Agra. But these benefits aside, there was another more substantive reason why many Indians, especially the Dalits (Untouchables) and tribals embraced Christianity, and even Islam. The exact requirements vary between different churches and denominations. "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. while converting to islam, which fikra (out of 72) do they convert to? Religious Freedom and Mass Conversion in India illuminates the ways in which these tactics immobilize potential converts, reinforce damaging assumptions about women, lower castes, and religious minorities, and continue to restrict religious freedom in India today. Since the Bah Faith has no clergy, converts are encouraged to be active in all aspects of community life. Newer Than: Search this thread only; Search this forum only. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliating with another. Other religions organize mass conversions, usually of Dalits, away from Hinduism and its legacy of caste discrimination. In connection to this, many users in India posted a claim that the 'princess of Indonesia' converted to Hinduism following which 50,000 Indonesians did the same. Both these religions liberate them, or at least hold out the promise of unshackling them from the pernicious burden of the caste-system which is so deeply entrenched in Hinduism. Converts from undetermined former religion, Religious Conversion: Contemporary Practices and Controversies, page 3, Christopher Lamb, M. Darroll Bryant, Kan Sastri, A History of South India, p382-383. 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. In a shocking update, an alleged 'mass conversion' took place in Rajasthan's Jaipur as around 400 families have been allegedly converted. It attracted the highest number of persons from Ezhava, Thiyya and Nair communities. Some of these . The person administering the baptism must recite the prayer exactly, and immerse every part, limb, hair and clothing of the person being baptized. 241 of the 506 people who reported their change of religion with the government were Christians or Muslims who converted to Hinduism. At the end of the 12th century, Jayavarman VII set the stage for conversion of the Khmer people to Theravada Buddhism. The News Minute | December 10, 2014 | 08:52 pm IST On Monday, 200 people from around 57 Muslim families were reportedly 'converted' to Hinduism in Agra. Also, 32 people left Islam to join Hinduism. There is no specific ritual for becoming a Jain. "India investigates reports of mass 'reconversion' of Christians". 72% of the new converts to Hinduism were Dalit Christians, mostly Christian Cheramars, Christian Sambavas and Christian Pulayas. University of California Press, 2000. p.114. There has to be a reason why so many people especially Hindus vote for the BJP. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, A Buddhist monk shaves the head of a man converting him to Buddhism. But often on trains people ask about my background, what my father did, where I am from. [1] In some cases, religious conversion "marks a transformation of religious identity and is symbolized by special rituals".[2]. Alphonso Albuquerque conquered Diu. The issue of mass conversions has paralyzed India's parliament, with opposition lawmakers demanding Modi make a statement on earlier reports of poor Muslims being coerced into Hinduism. The laws of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh make it incumbent upon neighbours or villagers to inform the administration and the police of any activities of pastors, nuns and clergymen which could give rise to a suspicion of proselytising motives. This situation stems from a law passed in the 1930s by the dictator Ioannis Metaxas. [52][53][54][55][56], In the 1960s sociologist John Lofland lived with Unification Church missionary Young Oon Kim and a small group of American church members in California and studied their activities in trying to promote their beliefs and win converts to their church. 17 Thiyya community members including 11 females converted to Islam. Careers, Home | Nation | World | Cities | Business | Columns | Entertainment | Sport | Magazine | The Sunday Standard. Starting from the premise that the freedom of religion and religious chose of those who are converted (note; the laws never say those who convert) need to be protected from incursions of proselytisers the various anti-conversion legislations, ironically termed as freedom of religion laws make it mandatory for the convertees to inform the head of the district administration. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to provide services in line with the preferences you reveal while browsing the Website to show personalize content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audience is coming from in order to improve your browsing experience on our Website. Persons newly adhering to Buddhism traditionally "Taking Three Refuge" (express faith in the Three Jewels Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha) before a monk, nun, or similar representative, with often the sangha, the community of practitioners, also in ritual attendance. [44], Sikhism is not known to openly proselytize conversions, however it is open and accepting to anyone wanting to take on the Sikh faith. From Delhi in the north to Yadgir in south, mass Dalit conversion to Buddhism has riled up many Hindu groups. Some Christian sects require full conversion for new members regardless of any history in other Christian sects, or from certain other sects. [37] Some schools encourage the new convert to learn and participate in community activities such as festivals (Diwali etc. "Bah pioneers", rather than attempting to supplant the cultural underpinnings of the people in their adopted communities, are encouraged to integrate into the society and apply Bah principles in living and working with their neighbors. Different factors and circumstances may operate and interact to persuade individuals of groups to convert and adopt a new set of religious doctrines and habits. The price differential is presumably based on the premise that Christians are a much smaller minority than Muslims, and so pose less samasya (problem) to the body politic than do followers of Islam. In fact, there are millions of men and women living in the world who were non-Hindus by birth but later accepted Hinduism as their way of life. Islam gained 144 new believers and lost 40 during the period. [citation needed], Greece has a long history of conflict, mostly with Jehovah's Witnesses, but also with some Pentecostals, over its laws on proselytism. India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along the lines of religious faith, he added. Instead, the recreated India is sought to be made into a nation of total homogeneity, cultural, ethnic, and religious, a nation of one people. There is no daily call to prayer, no Sunday morning sermons. Messianism may prepare groups for the coming of a Messiah or of a saviour. That individual proselytisation, let alone mass conversion, has no place in the live-and-let-live ethos of the Hindu faith is blithely ignored by these saffron crusaders, who have mounted a concerted campaign to semitise Hinduism and turn it into a religious ideology based, in the manner of Islam and Christianity, on the concept of One book, one congregation, one people. The boundary between them is not easily defined: what one person considers legitimate evangelizing, or witness-bearing, another may consider intrusive and improper. "My father practiced Hinduism. 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. [58][59], The Church of Scientology attempts to gain converts by offering "free stress tests". The closest Hindu equivalent of a regular congregation is the RSS shakha. New Delhi: Undeterred by the controversy surrounding a Buddhist "mass conversion" event in Delhi last week, the main organiser, Mission Jai Bheem, is going ahead with its plan to bring 10 crore people "back to their original culture" of Buddhism by 2025. to comeout of religious politics for ever India must rediscover why they pakistan and beangladesh. [13] The theology thus rejects infant baptism. Religious police in (for example) Iran and Saudi Arabia answer for the correct religious expression of those in their purview. For example, the New Testament chronicles the personal activities of the Apostles and their followers in inspired preaching, miracle-working and the subsequent gathering of followers. 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. It would be downright specious, even dishonest, to claim that missionaries and proselytisers activities in India had nothing but a salubrious effect. It is exclusively associated with the predatory behavior of Abrahamic religions (Islam and . Being Buddhist means we will be separate but equal," said D Anjaneyulu, a local dalit politician who says he first considering switching religion when he was physically stopped by local Brahmins from raising the Indian flag because of his caste. 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. "The whole world knows that most of the ancestors of India's Christians and Muslims are Hindus," Surendra Jain, the VHP's Joint General-Secretary, said [] More portentous was the grand ghar wapsi (homecoming, or mass-reconversion) programme announced by the Dharam Jagran Samiti (loosely translated into Hindi-Religious Awakening Front) in the neighbouring town of Aligarh, where Christmas was to be celebrated by bringing 4,000 Christians and 1,000 Muslims back into the folds of Hinduism. 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