Monday, September 06, 2004
The thin line of unethical conversions
The Dhamma Times, 23 May 2004
By Damitha Hemachandra
Sri Lanka Correspondent[damitha@dhammatimes.com]
Dhamma Times, Colombo - The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), the all Bikkhu political party in Sri Lankan parliament presented their first bill of national interest to the parliament on May 18. The bill seeks to put an end to unethical conversion from one religion to another. The bill is to be based on the prevention of Unethical Conversion Act introduced by the Tamil Nadu government nearly one year back to prevent the unethical conversion of Hindus mainly to Christianity. Legislature to Prevent Unethical Conversion had being the long demand of many Buddhists in the country with the increasing cases of mass conversion of Buddhists to Christianity using charity by many Christian missionary groups operating in the country including World Vision, Jehovah's Witnesses and Born Again Christians. The incidents takes place mainly among the poorest of poor in rural Sri Lanka, where the government sponsored arms of charity is yet to reach. Many people were granted heavy financial benefits for switching their faith, while some were promised a better living and an education for their children. However the negative aspects of these conversions were inevitable when three young children all from the rural areas of Sri Lanka died at local prayer centres of high fever while the pastor was trying to treat them with cooked up treatment or trying to chase away the devil within the child through suffocation. These reports of deaths were followed by another incident where parents refused to authorize blood transfusion to a small child, who was admitted to the hospital for treatment of dengue fever since blood transfusion was not allowed by the extremist faith of Jehovah's Witnesses. Many leading Buddhist Bikkhus saw the new wave of conversion of Buddhists to these new extremist wings of Christianity as a threat to the Sinhala Buddhist Culture while some saw it to be a threat towards 'pure Theravadin Buddhism' practiced in Sri Lanka and circulated around the world. Following the public up rise and demand of Buddhist Bikkhus including National Bikkhus' Council the president, Chandrika Kumaratunga appointed a presidential committee to look into the unethical conversion of Buddhists to other religions. The committee reported of nearly 180 illegal missionary groups operating in the country, under various pretexts including environment organizations and Children and mother care organizations. The report revealed of an organization, which provides electricity fences to villages affected by elephant-human conflict in exchange of their life long devotion towards Buddhism. In many areas the main target of the missionaries had been youth and children, who are in need of employment and education. However the Buddhist Affairs Minister of the past government, who is also the present speaker of the parliament failed to present the 'Prevention of Unethical Conversion' bill as recommended by the Presidential Committee to investigate into the unethical conversion of Buddhists. Meanwhile many Buddhist Organisations including All Ceylon Buddhist Congress (ACBC) sought legal assistance to prevent the entrance of missionary groups to the country using the precedence given to Buddhism in the Sri Lankan constitution, a successful but a long and a tedious procedure.Yet many questions the applicability of regulations to an issue as sensitive as changing one's belief. One of the most asked questions was the identification mode of 'unethical conversion': What would be the signs and symptoms of unethical conversion and how can one differentiate a conversion through true belief against a forced unethical conversion? According to the Deputy Leader of JHU, Ven. Omalpe Sobhitha Thera, the champion against unethical conversions, a correct conversion of belief could happen only through convincing a person that the new religion or belief could serve him better then his present in improving his human qualities. "A true conversion should be through right understanding of the new belief gained through debate and discussion while what happens in Sri Lanka is the cheap practise of bribery, where money, jobs, education or food is used as a bait to lure Buddhists or Hindus to Christianity," Ven. Thera said. JHU and the National Bikkhus' Council had been warning of long term negative social and political impacts from this wave of unethical conversions since Christianity and the church is identified as negative forces against 'Buddhist Sinhala culture' and 'nationalistic interests'. However it is not just Sinhala-Buddhists interests that had been threatened by Christian missionary. The poor Hindus in North and Muslims in the East too are becoming easy targets of missionary groups. In fact it was the former Hindu Affairs Minister who first voiced concern of unethical conversion in the parliament and demanded speedy legislature to save poor Tamil-Hindus in the North from the clutches of missionary. However the road towards a legislature against unethical conversion would not be an easy one since the Church had already protested such legislation on grounds that it restricts religious freedom while extremist Tamil groups, who are the sworn in opponent of JHU, are tipped to support the bill for their own interest.
By Damitha Hemachandra
Sri Lanka Correspondent[damitha@dhammatimes.com]
Dhamma Times, Colombo - The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), the all Bikkhu political party in Sri Lankan parliament presented their first bill of national interest to the parliament on May 18. The bill seeks to put an end to unethical conversion from one religion to another. The bill is to be based on the prevention of Unethical Conversion Act introduced by the Tamil Nadu government nearly one year back to prevent the unethical conversion of Hindus mainly to Christianity. Legislature to Prevent Unethical Conversion had being the long demand of many Buddhists in the country with the increasing cases of mass conversion of Buddhists to Christianity using charity by many Christian missionary groups operating in the country including World Vision, Jehovah's Witnesses and Born Again Christians. The incidents takes place mainly among the poorest of poor in rural Sri Lanka, where the government sponsored arms of charity is yet to reach. Many people were granted heavy financial benefits for switching their faith, while some were promised a better living and an education for their children. However the negative aspects of these conversions were inevitable when three young children all from the rural areas of Sri Lanka died at local prayer centres of high fever while the pastor was trying to treat them with cooked up treatment or trying to chase away the devil within the child through suffocation. These reports of deaths were followed by another incident where parents refused to authorize blood transfusion to a small child, who was admitted to the hospital for treatment of dengue fever since blood transfusion was not allowed by the extremist faith of Jehovah's Witnesses. Many leading Buddhist Bikkhus saw the new wave of conversion of Buddhists to these new extremist wings of Christianity as a threat to the Sinhala Buddhist Culture while some saw it to be a threat towards 'pure Theravadin Buddhism' practiced in Sri Lanka and circulated around the world. Following the public up rise and demand of Buddhist Bikkhus including National Bikkhus' Council the president, Chandrika Kumaratunga appointed a presidential committee to look into the unethical conversion of Buddhists to other religions. The committee reported of nearly 180 illegal missionary groups operating in the country, under various pretexts including environment organizations and Children and mother care organizations. The report revealed of an organization, which provides electricity fences to villages affected by elephant-human conflict in exchange of their life long devotion towards Buddhism. In many areas the main target of the missionaries had been youth and children, who are in need of employment and education. However the Buddhist Affairs Minister of the past government, who is also the present speaker of the parliament failed to present the 'Prevention of Unethical Conversion' bill as recommended by the Presidential Committee to investigate into the unethical conversion of Buddhists. Meanwhile many Buddhist Organisations including All Ceylon Buddhist Congress (ACBC) sought legal assistance to prevent the entrance of missionary groups to the country using the precedence given to Buddhism in the Sri Lankan constitution, a successful but a long and a tedious procedure.Yet many questions the applicability of regulations to an issue as sensitive as changing one's belief. One of the most asked questions was the identification mode of 'unethical conversion': What would be the signs and symptoms of unethical conversion and how can one differentiate a conversion through true belief against a forced unethical conversion? According to the Deputy Leader of JHU, Ven. Omalpe Sobhitha Thera, the champion against unethical conversions, a correct conversion of belief could happen only through convincing a person that the new religion or belief could serve him better then his present in improving his human qualities. "A true conversion should be through right understanding of the new belief gained through debate and discussion while what happens in Sri Lanka is the cheap practise of bribery, where money, jobs, education or food is used as a bait to lure Buddhists or Hindus to Christianity," Ven. Thera said. JHU and the National Bikkhus' Council had been warning of long term negative social and political impacts from this wave of unethical conversions since Christianity and the church is identified as negative forces against 'Buddhist Sinhala culture' and 'nationalistic interests'. However it is not just Sinhala-Buddhists interests that had been threatened by Christian missionary. The poor Hindus in North and Muslims in the East too are becoming easy targets of missionary groups. In fact it was the former Hindu Affairs Minister who first voiced concern of unethical conversion in the parliament and demanded speedy legislature to save poor Tamil-Hindus in the North from the clutches of missionary. However the road towards a legislature against unethical conversion would not be an easy one since the Church had already protested such legislation on grounds that it restricts religious freedom while extremist Tamil groups, who are the sworn in opponent of JHU, are tipped to support the bill for their own interest.
