Patna, Sep 15 (IANS) — Terming it a “return home,” the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) re-converted 55 Dalits to Hinduism after a religious ritual in a Bihar village. Eight families of these socially marginalized sections who had earlier embraced Christianity underwent purification rites in Chandarpur village of Samastipur district Tuesday in a ‘yagna’ organised by […]
Geneva: LWF President Urges Lutherans to Overcome ‘Genetic Resistance’ to Sharing Their Faith
Geneva, 2 September 2004 (LWI) – In a press conference following his Address to the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Council, LWF President, Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson said that, while evangelical Christians were happy to talk about the experience of God in their life, Lutherans seemed to be “genetically resistant” to the public expression of […]
Bolivia: villagers observe truce following church demolition
Oruro, Bolivia, April 23 (Compass) — Quechua-speaking villagers in Bolivia are living under an uneasy truce two months after an irate mob destroyed the sole evangelical church in their remote Andean community. On March 9, town officials in Chucarasi signed an accord with members of the local Church of God that obliges the evangelicals to […]
Swami Dayananda Saraswati: “Religious freedom does not extend to having a planned program of conversion”
In June 2003, News Today published excerpts a long interview with Swami Dayananda Saraswati, whose views critical of missionary activities are well-known. In the interview, conducted by Editor T.R. Jawahar, Swami Dayananda Sarawsati reaffirmed his understanding of conversion as a form of violence: “What is violence? When you physically hurt me it is violence. When […]
India: Court seeks detail of Orissa conversions
Bhubaneswar, Apr 4 (IANS) – The Orissa High Court has sought details from the state government about an incident of forcible religious conversion that occurred nearly two months ago, a court official said Sunday. Eight people, including seven women, of Killipal village in coastal Jagatsinghpur district who had embraced Christianity seven years ago were reportedly […]