Prayers as India goes to polls

India’s Christian minority are praying and fasting en masse for the outcome of elections in the country, with serious worries as to what a third five-year term for Narendra Modi’s BJP would mean for them.

“Christians are concerned about the forthcoming elections,” says Priya Sharma (name changed for security reasons) who partners with Open Doors in India, supporting victims of persecution and providing trauma counselling. “In the past ten years, while the Modi government has been at the helm, we have seen an uninterrupted decline in democratic and religious freedom, along with the simultaneous spread of Hindutva (radical Hindu nationalism) ideology.”

Voting in the election began on April 19, with 968 million people eligible to take part. Results are expected on June 4.

Campaigners for persecuted Christians say that Narendra Modi’s election in 2014 has seen a rise in Hindutva ideology spreading across the country largely unchecked, leading to attacks against people from minority religions and mob violence in several states.

There are also fears from Christians that their freedoms would be further eroded in law. “Another Narendra Modi win would encourage the introduction of anti-conversion law in more States and Christians fear that it will be introduced at the national level,” says Priya.

India’s Freedom of Religion Acts or “antiforced-conversion” laws are state-level statutes that have been enacted to regulate religious conversions. They are currently operational in 11 of India’s 28 states, with pressure from nationalists to roll the laws out nationwide.

As the name suggests, the laws are ostensibly drafted to prevent attempts to convert people to another religion (from Hinduism) through “misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by fraudulent means.”

However, according to Rinzen Baleng of Open Doors, “The lack of proper definition of these terms makes the law ripe for abuses. “These laws are being used to target minorities by vigilantes and fringe groups who now have a free pass to act with impunity.” (Open Doors)

‘Grave concern’ over Iran/Israel violence

World Council of Churches general secretary the Rev Prof Dr Jerry Pillay, on behalf of the global fellowship, expressed grave concern regarding the recent escalation of violence in the Middle East following the first direct confrontation between Iran and Israel.

“We firmly believe that violence and warfare offer no sustainable solutions and only serve to further harm vulnerable communities and destabilize the region,” he said. “We reaffirm our conviction that safety and security are not singular achievements but collective realities that depend on the access of all people to justice, peace, and human dignity equally.”

Pillay described five calls to action: for governments and politicians in the region to prevent any further escalation of violence, for the US and other states with influence to act as ‘agents of goodwill’, for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza; the freeing of detainees and hostages on all sides, and for the UN to convene and facilitate peaceful negotiations.

He concluded: “As followers of Christ, who calls us to be peacemakers, we are compelled to speak against the spiralling cycle of violence and to work tirelessly for a world where peace is rooted in justice.” (WCC)

WCC rejects Russian ‘holy war’ claim

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary the Rev Prof Dr Jerry Pillay, on behalf of WCC member churches, said that the WCC cannot reconcile the Decree of the XXV World Russian People’s Council describing the conflict in Ukraine as a ‘Holy War‘.

On March 27, under the chairmanship of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, the Decree of the XXV World Russian People’s Council “The Present and Future of the Russian World” was approved. The decree, which is addressed to the legislative and executive authorities of Russia, has raised grave concerns among WCC member churches.

The World Russian People’s Council is the largest Russian public forum, and according to its Statutes, the head of the council is the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, under whose presidency the annual council meetings are held.

“Among other concerns arising from the recent decree,” said Pillay, “the World Council of Churches cannot reconcile the statement that ‘the special military operation [in Ukraine] is a Holy War’ with what we have heard directly from Patriarch Kirill himself, nor with relevant WCC governing body policy pronouncements, nor indeed with the biblical calling for Christians to be peacemakers in the midst of conflict.”

In a meeting with the WCC general secretary in Moscow in May 2023, Patriarch Kirill said that any references he had made to ‘Holy War’ in the current context were related to the metaphysical realm, not to the physical armed conflict in Ukraine.

“The decree contradicts this position,” Pillay noted. (WCC)