Nepal’s Christians are concerned\u00a0that the\u00a0Himalayan nation’s new constitution will\u00a0make evangelism illegal.<\/p>\n
As\u00a0currently proposed, the new constitution\u00a0would make it a criminal offense for anyone to play any part in another person changing their religion \u2013 with a maximum penalty of five years in jail and a hefty fine,\u00a0according to the\u00a0Christian advocacy groups\u00a0Release International\u00a0and Compass Direct.<\/p>\n
Nepal’s Christian leaders\u00a0are also alarmed that\u00a0they have not been consulted over the proposed constitutional changes \u2013\u00a0particularly since\u00a0Prime Minister Jhalnath Khanal has already presented the draft documents to the Cabinet. The proposed constitution\u00a0will now go to parliamentary committee for revision and approval, before being passed to the Constituent Assembly \u2013 Nepal’s interim Parliament \u2013 to be passed into law.<\/p>\n
Nepal is predominantly Hindu. President Ram Baran Yadav has final approval \u2013 and the power of veto.<\/p>\n
Christians say they are particularly concerned over Clause 160 of the draft Act of Offense Against Religions which would make it\u00a0illegal to \u201c’convert a person or abet him to change his religion\u201d whether this be with or without \u201cinducements.\u201d<\/p>\n
Christians fear that this could jeopardise a number of activities that they see as central to fulfilling the Great Commission to spread the Gospel worldwide.<\/p>\n
There are other concerns that the new constitution would make disaster relief work illegal. Also banned could be any\u00a0challenge of social injustices such as caste oppression and women’s inequality.<\/p>\n
Opposing the Hindu caste system —\u00a0now technically illegal in India, but still rampant —\u00a0would be illegal\u00a0since the constitution prohibits activities that offend\u00a0\u201creligious feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Christian leaders are seeking further information and legal advice in an effort to ensure that they are allowed input in to the process from now on.<\/p>\n
Some Nepalese Christians\u00a0fear that the new\u00a0restrictions are being patterned after\u00a0\u201canti-conversion\u201d legislation in some states\u00a0of neighboring India. Those laws have\u00a0been misused against Christians — where it has become illegal to give away Bibles or provide free medical services. Such actions are ruled as “bribery” paying Hindus to become Christians.<\/p>\n
Nepal became a secular state when the Hindu monarchy was abolished and the country was declared a republic in 2008. Under its transitional constitution, \u201cproselytising\u201d is already banned but Nepali citizens are currently \u201dfree to express their faith,\u201d including through charity work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nepal’s Christians are concerned\u00a0that the\u00a0Himalayan nation’s new constitution will\u00a0make evangelism illegal. As\u00a0currently proposed, the new constitution\u00a0would make it a criminal offense for anyone to play any part in another person changing their religion \u2013 with a maximum penalty of five years in jail and a hefty fine,\u00a0according to the\u00a0Christian advocacy groups\u00a0Release International\u00a0and Compass Direct. Nepal’s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,4],"tags":[14,117,91,112],"class_list":["post-873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asia","category-persecution","tag-christian","tag-islam","tag-nepal","tag-persecution"],"yoast_head":"\n