Of late, the issue of religious conversion has taken centre-stage, with emotions running high. The Christians argue that had their efforts at harvesting souls through conversions been strong and widespread, they wouldn’t constitute merely 2.3 percent of the population.
Muslims claim they do not indulge in organised conversion efforts and the growth in their proportion of the Indian population, from under 10 percent in 1951 to nearly 14 percent, can be attributed to poverty and a higher birth-rate.
Hindus, reduced in proportion from over 84 percent in 1951 to 80 percent, state that their non-proselytising culture works to their disadvantage, so they have every right to ghar-wapsi (literally meaning home-coming, but in this context, returning to the fold) programmes.
Perhaps it’s time to dump the emotions and take a rational look at the issue.
In all honesty, while there may be material gains from religious conversions, spiritually, it is almost always negative. Why? Because spiritual growth happens with internal focus, when you attempt to seek truth within yourself; not when you try to prove ‘other religions’ as false. But this is a complex topic, one that has been explored by the spiritually adept for millennia. It’s not something that can be explained in a brief article.
So let’s move away from the spiritual aspect of conversions and turn to material benefits. Undoubtedly, from this perspective, there can be both positive and negative results.
Social Evils of All Religions Harm Their Own
Besides the obvious efforts of faith-based groups in education and health, what can be the other material positives? What do you think will happen if we subject any group to competition, where they lose their own flock to others? Obviously, reforms! Efforts will be directed towards making themselves more attractive to their own followers, perhaps even to others.
Let’s elucidate this through the biggest present-day social problems in three religious groups: the caste system among Hindus, the child sex-abuse scandal among Christians, and extreme violence among Muslims. The victims of these social problems are primarily their own members.
Those being oppressed by the perils of the caste system in Hinduism – a terrible corruption of ancient Vedic thought – are also Hindu. The tens of thousands of Western children (maybe hundreds of thousands, as some reports suggest) raped by Catholic priests, are Christian.
Studies have proved beyond doubt that a vast majority suffering and dying from violence committed by radical Islamists and jihadists in the Arab world are Muslim.
Genetic research suggests that the rigid, birth-based caste system emerged less than 2,000 years ago, and it appeared very difficult to get rid of. But in the last 70-odd years, Hindus have made dramatic improvements in this sphere, though I admit that there is a long way to go. What is the reason for this?
There could be many, but it cannot be denied that one of the key factors driving current reforms is the fear of losing marginalised Hindus to other faiths. So competition has forced positive change.
The Roman Catholic Church simply denied the sex-abuse epidemic for many decades. But as the church started losing followers in record numbers in Europe and the US (primarily to atheists and the unaffiliated, but also to other faiths), they were forced to confront this problem.
No less a person than Pope Francis admitted that there were many paedophiles among the Christian clergy. The first step towards solving a problem is accepting that there is one.
I’m sure the church will work towards resolving this burning issue.
In most parts of the Arab world, religious conversion out of Islam is legally banned and punishable by death. So it is not possible for other faiths to offer competition. But if the Arabs open their hearts and minds to Islamic interpretations from liberal Muslims of India and Indonesia, and indeed to competition from other faiths, I’m sure they would significantly bring their problem of horrific violence under control.
Does Religious Conversion Have Any Benefits?
Materially then, it appears as if religious conversions could offer some benefits. But these efforts are often accompanied by their own brand of problems. Conversions can also lead to resentment, unrest, social chaos and at times, even violence. In the Middle Ages, for instance, Europeans, Arabs, Mongols killed millions in the name of their faiths. How do we control this?
Like in any industry (and let’s be honest, religious conversion is an industry now), there should be rules. First, funding for religious conversions should be scrutinised as per legal parameters and all the organisations that operate in India must file accounts in the country.
Second, there should be parity ie, either every religious group should be legally allowed to proselytise without any opposition from the State/media/elite voices, or none should be allowed.
Third, some troubling sources of funds and activities should be proscribed in India. For example, no peace-loving person would want Saudi Arabians to spread their version of Islam; most intelligence reports suggest that the Saudis fund and encourage religious violence, most of which is directed against those believed by the puritanical Saudis as ‘impure Muslims’.
I think Indian Muslims, who are among the most pluralistic Muslims found anywhere, should be encouraged to spread their syncretic interpretations throughout the world. Groups like the American Evangelists should also be proscribed in India. Their version of Christianity is hate-filled and racist, quite unlike the peaceful version of Indian Christianity that we’re familiar with.
Visit www.joshuaproject.net to see the pernicious beliefs of these American Evangelists eg, the 10/40 Window countries (between 10oN and 40oN; India is included) are called the ‘Strongholds of Satan’. I can’t imagine Indian Christians agreeing with this description of India. Lastly, obviously, any violence or calls to violence have to be strictly banned.
Once we place these controls, we should encourage all faiths to solicit conversions openly. We may benefit from it, at least materially.
Having said that, in my heart, I still feel that it’s spiritually advisable to celebrate our own faith and also seek to reform, from within, any corruptions that have crept in; rather than wasting our time and our lives engaging in attempts to prove other religions wrong. For this will only lead us away from spiritual growth.
(This article is an excerpt from Amish’s new book Immortal India. It has been republished with permission and was first published in The Times of India, 2015.)
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