On Christmas Eve, the flock of believers were cowering in fear, because a couple of churches were burnt and there was the looming threat of more skirmishes with the belligerent among their Hindu brethren spiralling into serious communal clashes. According to official figures for the year 2020, the biggest gainer in terms of new converts was Hinduism. Copyright - newindianexpress.com 2023. [41], Since 1800 CE, religious conversion from and to Hinduism has been a controversial subject within Hinduism. However, without a formal conversion, many highly observant Jews will reject a convert's Jewish status.[27]. 77% of the new converts to Islam were Hindus and 63% women. Mr Murthy says he long ago dropped his caste name - Kondru - but this has not stop people sensing for signals to his origins. The message has been conveyed in the party leaderships own style, Bedi said at the weekend. 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. All Indian religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainsim and Sikhism, are collective called "Sanatan Dharma" and "Dhamma", and all others are called mleccha. We will be happy to have you on board as a blogger, if you have the knack for writing. Allan Kardec's codification of Spiritism occurred between the years 1857 and 1868. Apostate is a term used by members of a religion or denomination to refer to someone who has left that religion or denomination. . The following is a list of converts to Hinduism from other religions or a non-religious background. Instead, the recreated India is sought to be made into a nation of total homogeneity, cultural, ethnic, and religious, a nation of one people. The mass conversions which are being planned are part of a strategy to bring in congregationalism through the back door. "India investigates reports of mass 'reconversion' of Christians". 29 January 2015. In addition, it is strongly recommended you visit your local temple/ashram/spiritual organization . This is list of converts from Indian-origin religions. 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. Archived Link: Bhavasar and Kiem, Spirituality and Health, in Hindu Spirituality, Editor: Ewert Cousins (1989). But, the solution a national legislation to ban and criminalise conversions assertively advocated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which commands an absolute majority in parliament, and despite repeated disavowals, remains rooted in essentially a chauvinistic, right-wing Hindu ideology, is far more disconcerting, and if implemented, would deal a grievous blow to the constitutional ideal of secularism. Islam attracted 144 converts overall, compared to 119 converts to Christianity. I think Hinduism's influence is weaker than one god religions. They do not represent the views or opinions of newindianexpress.com or its staff, nor do they represent the views or opinions of The New Indian Express Group, or any entity of, or affiliated with, The New Indian Express Group. In other words, the true purpose of a religion is to ensure that each person reaches his true potential, goes beyond the temptations toward one honest truth - upliftment of himself. These are returns not conversions. 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. [37], Jainism accepts anyone who wants to embrace the religion. Senior VHP functionaries contacted by the Guardian on Thursday said they were unable to comment. 22 December 2014. The mass conversion was part of a . One might well question in face of such provisions, do the laws even need to use the modifiers forcible or fraudulent? It includes various traditions and customs to be followed by its followers. 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. Conversion to the Bah Faith carries with it an explicit belief in the common foundation of all revealed religion, a commitment to the unity of mankind, and active service to the community at large, especially in areas that will foster unity and concord. 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. "My father practiced Hinduism. Christanity has 2.5-3% base in 82% Hindu dominated India. Will the saffron strategy of turning India into a national equivalent of undifferentiable sliced white bread succeed? Even a recent convert may be elected to serve on a local Spiritual Assembly the guiding Bah institution at the community level. For other uses, see, This article is about voluntary acceptance of a religion. The worst part is Casteism. Abstain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks. "There is no caste system here." This is list of converts from Indian-origin religions. UP's Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance, 2020, promulgated last week penalises mass conversions - defined by the ordinance as conversions of two or more persons. [citation needed]. 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. 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 sometimes intense violence has led to a migration to the cities, where caste is easier to submerge. Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to some form of Christianity. Converts to Islam are due to marriage/love issues. All the comments will be moderated by the newindianexpress.com editorial. The views expressed in comments published on newindianexpress.com are those of the comment writers alone. 05 Oct. 2016. With the demonstrated Indian genius of turning all schemes involving money into scams, Coalgate and Spectrumgate might soon yield headlines to Conversiongate. This is for countering the claims of BJP. Conversion is illegal if there is any element of compulsion or bribery. [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. "No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice" (Article 18.2). There is no daily call to prayer, no Sunday morning sermons. Published: 02nd April 2021 04:33 AM| Merchants and traders of India, particularly from Indian peninsula, carried their religious ideas, which led to religious conversions to Hinduism in Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia . Evangelization sharing the Gospel message or "Good News" in deed and word, is an expectation of Christians.[8]. It states that "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Despite mass gatherings like the Kumbh Mela, Hindus have traditionally never practiced congregational worship. Early Christianity attracted followers by offering community material support and enhanced status for disadvantaged groups such as women and slaves. He ordered mass conversion of the Muslims to Christianity. 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. Morris, Harold C., and Lin M. Morris. In order to equate Hinduism to a culture, we need to define the culture. People convert to a different religion for various reasons, including active conversion by free choice due to a change in beliefs,[3] secondary conversion, deathbed conversion, conversion for convenience, marital conversion, and forced conversion. Up to 100 Christians welcomed back to Hinduism in West Bengal, raising concerns about possible coercion, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, A damaged mural of Jesus Christ on the outside of a home in India. Sunday saw more than 100 persons belonging to the SC/ST communities embracing Buddhism at Guduvanchery, a Chennai suburb, under the auspices of Mass Movement for Transformation, claiming to be a. The Shakers and some Indian eunuch brotherhoods do not allow procreation, so that every member is a convert. "My mother died of her injuries. A conversion in accordance with the process of a denomination is not a guarantee of recognition by another denomination. Both are true in their own contexts. This suits their propaganda well and helps in the mass mobilisation against Muslims and Christians. Follow us for updates, Human trafficking too high in India, says US, Economy slows to 4.4 per centin Q3, govts full-year target intact, Gujarats public debt rises to Rs 3.4L cr, each resident owes Rs 48,500, In a first, Uttarakhandto set up mother milk bank. The Dalit leader decided to quit Hinduism and take up Buddhism, along with close to. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice" (Article 18.1). {{#totalcount}} For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service, {{{add_comment_link}}} March 21, 2015 by Ambaa Choate. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Hindu MNA Lal Chand Malhi said that the Hindu community in Pakistan was being continuously exploited in Sindh. He will not be alone. They may number thousands, or only hundreds, or possibly even less. More than 550 Hindu temples in the Portuguese territories were razed to the ground. Saint Paul in Athens fits here, as do some of the Indic religions (such as Buddhism insofar as it ranks as a religion and Jainism). Based on the declaration the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) drafted the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a legally binding treaty. Changing religion makes us visible," says Chanrabhan Prasad, a dalit writer. 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. Explore conversions to hinduism profile at Times of India for photos, videos and latest news of conversions to hinduism. Another step towards remoulding Hinduism into semetic form is the promotion of a congregational faith. {{{long}}} Read More Like tens of thousands of other untouchables - or dalits - across India today, Mr Cherlaguda will be ritually converted to Buddhism to escape his low-caste status. The widespread Dalit mass conversions to Buddhism have enraged many Hindu organizations from Delhi in the north to Yadgir in the south. The groups claimed that not only dalits, who often embrace Buddhism to quit Hinduism, but also people from other castes can accept the religion. Mass conversions of areas and communities to Buddhism occur up to the present day, for example, . Some Christian sects require full conversion for new members regardless of any history in other Christian sects, or from certain other sects. Tellingly, the punishment is doubled if those who convert are women, or members of the lower castes and tribal communities. "Power and purpose: Correlates to conversion." "Converts" redirects here. Place Nagpur, Maharashtra, the city where the Headquarter of Rastriya Swayamsewak Sangh is situated. But its record in adjudicating the evidently unsecular anti-conversion statutes is dubious. . [61][62] The Church of Scientology requires that all converts sign a legal waiver which covers their relationship with the Church of Scientology before engaging in Scientology services. Bangladesh was secular, but nobody was trying to push mass conversions to Hinduism or Brahmo Samaj. 66 Comments. This vast majority are from the middle and upper middle class. 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. Latter Day Saints hold that one may be baptized after death through the vicarious act of a living individual, and holders of the Melchezidek Priesthood practice baptism for the dead as a missionary ritual. AAP Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam's video, in which he is seen at an event where mass conversion of Hindus took place, has gone viral. your username. Messianism may prepare groups for the coming of a Messiah or of a saviour. conducted by Indian Hindu nationalist organisations Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and their allies. In another case, Larissis v. Greece, a member of the Pentecostal church also won a case in the European Court of Human Rights.[68]. The amendment makes provision to increase the maximum imprisonment for . Brahmanism?? Views expressed above are the author's own. Christianity grew after becoming the state religion in Armenia, in the Roman Empire, and in Ethiopia. In the small one-room house on the edge of the rice bowl of India, Narasimha Cherlaguda explains why he is preparing to be reborn as a Buddhist. "CatholicHerald.co.uk Cardinal protests against forced conversions to Hinduism". [13] The theology thus rejects infant baptism. [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. Without defining what all would, and could, possibly count as inducement or fraud, these laws impose stringent criminal sanctions on violators. 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. Mass muslim conversion to hinduism from islam. [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]. From Delhi in the north to Yadgir in south, mass Dalit conversion to Buddhism has riled up many Hindu groups. 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"). A List of Converts to Hinduism: 1. Obamas words on Tuesday on the rights of religious minorities in the predominantly Hindu country came after three days of carefully choreographed demonstrations of warm relations between the US president and Modi. According to the survey, "mass-movement is the conversion of people in groups as families or groups of families as a community or group of communities. [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. Since the Bah Faith has no clergy, converts are encouraged to be active in all aspects of community life. [64][65], On the other end of the proselytising scale are religions that do not accept any converts, or do so very rarely. [7] Christian baptism has some parallels with Jewish immersion by mikvah. [16], Baptism is seen as symbolic both of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection[17] and is also symbolic of the baptized individual putting off of the natural or sinful man and becoming spiritually reborn as a disciple of Jesus. newindianexpress.com reserves the right to take any or all comments down at any time. In Tibetan Buddhism, for example, the current Dalai Lama discourages active attempts to win converts. 11/6/01 The historic rally on November 4 in New Delhi featuring a mass conversion of Hindus to Buddhism has taken place, but not in the way that had been planned. Modi has been criticised by opposition politicians for remaining silent on the issue of reconversion ceremonies. The exact requirements vary between different churches and denominations. In a shocking update, an alleged 'mass conversion' took place in Rajasthan's Jaipur as around 400 families have been allegedly converted. Mass conversion in India started in the South. Now media also started putting venom into public mind? When I tell them my caste they stop asking questions. Christianity lost 242 believers to the other two religions and attracted only 119 persons. Status. [ 27 ] used by members of a denomination is not a guarantee of recognition another! 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