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| Tuesday, 24 June 2003 |
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Proselytism by Yasapala Karunasinghe A reader by his letter to the Editor published in the Daily News (CDN) of 03.04.2003 under the title 'Right to believe' had made an attempt to ridicule the genuine efforts made by those concerned, against the so-called unethical conversions! He refers to the Fundamental Right enshrined in Chapter III of the Constitution (Article 10 concerning 'Freedom of thought, conscience and religion) and underscores the words 'belief of his choice' therein. No one will grudge any person following a religion or belief of his choice on his own free-will. But unfortunately what is happening is the forced conversion of mainly Buddhists who are poor to Christianity against which there is emerging a strong public opinion. It is perhaps to this sentiment that Money is referring as 'lately a few movements under the guise of protecting their religions have merged in many parts of the country, to suppress the free thinking and the right to believe in a faith of own choice'. The subtle campaign carried out by various groups involved in proselytism has assumed such alarming proportions that His Grace the Most Reverend Dr. Oswald Gomis, the Archbishop of Colombo expressed his concern over the activities of certain fundamentalist Christian groups converting Buddhists to Christianity, even indulging in publishing advertisements calling for funds. This was in a press report appearing in the DN of 24.10.2002 where His Grace advised the Minister of Christian Affairs to keep a tab on such fundamentalist groups since the blame has been cast on the Catholic Church. Buddhists are not alone in this vicious campaign of proselytism as demonstrated by the protestors against the proposal by the Minister of Hindu Cultural Affairs to introduce a law banning induced religious conversions. A picture published in the DN of 01.02.2003 shows a section of over 1000 devotees of a Church staging a massive protest. Proselytism has raised its ugly head in other countries too. The situation in India is seen in the news report appearing in the DN of 01.01.2003 titled: "Missionaries in eastern India accused of forced religious conversions" which states that Christian missionaries are accused of 'luring' around 1500 low caste Hindus (Dalits) to Christianity with offers of free schooling for their children, jobs in multi-national firms and payment of Rs. 500 each. It is this type of proselytism that is taking place in Sri Lanka against which public opinion is building up. in a report published in the DN of 17.02.2003, the Governor of Sabaragamuwa Province had made the following observations. "Proselytism has become the rule rather than the exception taking various forms, slowly but certainly in the Ratnapura district. A surreptitious attempt, under the pretext of helping the needy, on traditional Buddhist families had been uncovered in the rural areas according to prevailing reports". The recently released Report of the Presidential Commission on Buddha Sasana too highlights the unethical conversions that are taking place and recommends legislation banning unethical conversion of Buddhists to other religions. (Report of Mallika Wanigasundara - DN: 21.10.2002) The subject of proselytism or unethical conversion came up for discussion and consideration at the International Buddhist Conference held in Colombo in January, 2003. The following information is excerpted from the report filed by Mallika Wanigasundara appearing in the DN of 17 & 18.02.2003: Bhutan stressed on "the aggressive efforts using unethical and illegal methods despite legislation prohibiting conversion of Buddhists and Hindus to other faiths". In Cambodia, it is reported that hundreds of evangelical organisations have infiltrated that country in the form of "Rice bowl Christianity." It seeks the co-operation of Buddhist nations to introduce legislation to curtail conversions. In regard to Myanmar the charge is that "the missionaries take undue advantage of the gentle, tolerant and non-aggressive tribal Buddhists to convert them". Speaking for Sri Lanka, the delegates "advocated legislation and its enforcement to arrest the unethical conversions". The country paper also listed 10 countries and 15 methods adopted by missionaries such as 'church planting' and child evangelism, attributing the causes for Buddhists to fall a prey to the machinations of designing groups. The Minister of Buddha Sasana participating in the Conference observed: "The Conference had a clear message as regards exploitation of disadvantaged Buddhist communities through unethical conversions. Experiences of the individual countries indicate multipronged solutions including strong legislative measures. By the weight of opinion expressed I am convinced that the problem is of such magnitude that collective action by all Buddhist nations through the intervention of appropriate international agencies is vital. As far as I am concerned I will pursue every possible action to solve the problem in our country". My Article on Proselytism (an abridged version and the complete one appeared in the DN of 05.12.2002 and 22.01.2003 respectively) deals with the matter and a suggestion was made therein for the establishment of a Charitable Trust to help the poor Buddhists who are likely to fall a prey to the inducements offered by the so-called missionaries. The proposal has been forwarded to the Minister for Buddha Sasana for State patronage. In the light of the wide spectrum of opinions expressed above. Money's allegation that there is an attempt by the "movements" to suppress free thinking does not hold water. As proferred by Money at last para of his letter: "Let us honour our Constitution by refraining from forcing anyone to accept a new faith against their will...". I fully endorse the views expressed by Indrani Devendra in her response to Money, which appeared in DN of 11.04.2003. (The writer in an Attorney-at-Law) |
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