This new book, Missionary Impositions, which we have not yet read, approaches missionary efforts from an unusual angle. It will obviously be relevant for any scholar interested in issues of fieldwork. In this collection of essays, anthropologists of religion examine the special challenges they face when studying populations that proselytize. Conducting fieldwork among these groups […]
Document: “Christian Witness in a Multireligious World – Recommendations for Conduct”
Aware of the tensions between people and communities of different religious convictions and the varied interpretations of Christian witness, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), the World Council of Churches (WCC) and, at the invitation of the WCC, the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), met during a period of 5 years to reflect and produce […]
Afghans stone German base over proselytising allegations
Kunduz (Afghanistan), June 10 (DPA) — At least four people were injured in northern Afghanistan Thursday when protesters threw stones at a German military camp over claims that two aid organisations had preached Christianity in the country. The Afghan government last week suspended a US-based Church World Service and Norwegian Church Aid after an Afghan […]
Vatican and World Council of Churches study warns of conversion ‘obsession’
17 May 2006 — “Freedom of religion is a fundamental, inviolable and non-negotiable right of every human being in every country in the world,” states the report of the 12-16 May meeting in Lariano/Velletri, near Rome, that launched the cooperative study. “Freedom of religion connotes the freedom, without any obstruction, to practise one’s own faith, […]
India: state to tighten control on conversions – Report blames missionaries for violence in Madhya Pradesh
New Delhi, July 26 (Compass) — The government of the north-central state of Madhya Pradesh has declared that it will amend its anti-conversion law to check the conversion of tribal people to Christianity. The decision was made after Narendra Prasad, a retired director-general of police, submitted a report on May 21 claiming missionaries were forcibly […]