Church groups turn up heat over Anti-Conversion Bill

Claiming that no convincing evidence of widespread forced conversion in Goa has been placed before the public, they have stated the Anti-Conversion Bill is “a grave threat to constitutional freedom and communal harmony.”

“Goa has long been distinguished by its culture of peaceful coexistence among people of different faiths. This proposed legislation risks irreparably damaging that precious inheritance by replacing mutual trust with suspicion, and social harmony with surveillance and fear,” stated CSJP Secretary Fr Savio Fernandes and CAG President Cyril A. Fernandes in a joint statement. “We call upon the Goa government to immediately withdraw the Bill. At the very least, it must publish the full draft, invite consultation with religious communities, constitutional scholars, civil-society organisations and representatives of interfaith families, and ensure a transparent legislative review.” The CSJP and CAG stated that the Church in Goa unequivocally opposes any conversion brought about through force, fraud, threats or coercion. “Such acts are already punishable under existing criminal laws. The Catholic Church is consistently on record that it does not indulge in forced conversions,” they stated. “The State must not use the prevention of coercion as a pretext for supervising personal belief, restricting interfaith relationships, or criminalising legitimate prayer, religious teaching, pastoral care and charitable service.” They stated that reports indicate that the Bill prohibits conversion through vaguely defined categories such as “force, coercion, undue influence, allurement, fraudulent means or marriage”, and prescribes exceptionally severe penalties, including imprisonment up to life, fines of at least Rs 50,000, and compensation up to Rs 5 lakh. “The term “allurement” is especially dangerous when it is vague enough to turn education, medical assistance, relief work, prayer for healing or ordinary neighbourly compassion into grounds for criminal accusation. Once conversion is treated as inherently suspicious, almost any act of Christian witness or service may be misrepresented as inducement,” they stated.

Maintaining that the Constitution of India protects the freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion, the CSJP and CAG said the Supreme Court has affirmed that an adult’s choice of faith and marriage belongs to the protected realm of personal liberty and dignity.

“Any law that intrudes into this sphere must meet the highest standards of clarity, necessity and proportionality. This Bill, as reported, fails that test,” they stated.

“Equally alarming is the possibility that complaints may be encouraged from informants or third parties. Such provisions will set brother against brother, neighbour against neighbour and community against community.” “They create incentives for relatives, political activists and vigilante groups to monitor private relationships, disrupt prayer meetings and lodge accusations against persons whose religious choices they dislike. A law presented as protecting harmony may therefore become an instrument for destroying it.” Stating that Goa must not import divisive legislation merely because similar laws have been enacted in BJP-governed states, the CSJP and CAG said “constitutional governance cannot be reduced to political band-wagoning”. “We jointly fear that the law will encourage further politically inspired violence and misuse of its provisions, and that it will help entrench what can only be described as a communal mafia – a loose but effective network of self-appointed enforcers, from the subjugation of religious minorities under cover of law as well as misuse of law, as observed in other parts of the country where such Acts have been enacted.” “Goa does not need a bureaucracy to oversee conscience. It needs renewed confidence in constitutional liberty, the maturity of its citizens and its historic tradition of peaceful coexistence.”