Religious Pluralism Is Under Threat in India
- Knox Thames
- May 13
- 1 min read
I am grateful to The Wall Street Journal for publishing my Letter to the Editor, in which I responded to a recent opinion piece that conflated religious coercion with individual freedom.
Everyone has the right to peacefully hold any belief or non-belief, free from discrimination, violence, or coercion. I agree with the author that “people have a right to stay in their religion,” and I will defend their choice. However, urging that these individuals “not be bothered by those who wish to convert them” overlooks a far more serious threat of governments using their power to punish or suppress individual religious decisions.
Here is my Letter to the Editor:
Mr. Kumar writes that nonproselytizing religions are criticized for “their efforts to safeguard followers from predatory proselytization.” But problems arise when governments punish people for their freely made decisions to change their faith. Examples include apostasy laws in some Muslim-majority countries and India’s anticonversion laws. Some Indian states penalize people for leaving Hinduism for faiths such as Christianity or Islam. Such coercion should bother Mr. Kumar. Don’t converts have the right to be left alone by the government?
Knox Thames Washington Mr. Thames is executive director of Everett Center for Global Religious Freedom.
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