Lawmakers in Nepal recently rejected an effort to declare the Himalayan nation a Hindu state, adopting draft language to a new constitution Sept. 14 maintaining its status as a secular state.
The news brought relief for minority groups, including Christians, who feared reverting to a Hindu state, a designation that existed in Nepal’s constitution for nearly 45 years, could result in persecution.
However, the constitution that was overwhelmingly approved by parliament with a vote of 507 to 25 implies that conversion from one faith to another will become illegal.
Criminalizing language
The draft language carried over from a 2007 interim constitution prohibits proselytizing. Critics say the language criminalizes any “act to convert another person from one religion to another.”
Some of the constitution’s text appears to run contrary to another constitutional clause that states: “every person shall have the right to profess, practice and protest his or her own religion according to the conviction and the freedom to separate oneself from any religion.”
A leading Baptist in the country said, “We seek your prayer at this moment for our country.” He told Baptist World Alliance that Hindu extremists demanded that Nepal return to its former status as the “Hindu Rashtra,” or Hindu Nation.
Another Baptist leader said, “Extremist Hindu demonstrators are threatening the churches. They have stoned the Itahari Baptist church at night. Many churches have been threatened by them.”
Nepal was the only officially Hindu state in the world until 2007, following success of a democracy movement in 2006. Recently Hindu nationalists called for restoring the designation of “Hindu Rashtra” that existed under monarchy, along with other laws banning cow slaughter and religious conversions.
Recently the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, a think tank led by former Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Director Randel Everett, organized a coalition of more than 350 individuals from a dozen countries urging government officials in Nepal to remove any ban on religious conversion from the new constitution.
About 40 people died during protests by mainly minority ethnic groups who fear discrimination as a result of the constitutional changes.
(BNG, BWA)
Share with others: