Joshua Bennett
Christians make up just 2.4% of India's population, with 37% of Indian Christians identifying as Catholic. While Christian converts in India are mostly former Hindus, the number of people leaving Hinduism through conversion is roughly equal to the number of people converting to Hinduism. Most converts come from poor backgrounds and identify with the lower castes. In recent years, there have been reports of forced conversions of Christians and Muslims to Hinduism, with Hindu nationalist groups using allurements or coercion to convert religious minorities against their will. On the other hand, some Hindu groups have alleged that Christian missionaries are forcibly converting Indians to Christianity through inducements or coercion, and have organized ghar wapsi (homecoming) events to re-convert individuals back to Hinduism.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Hindus in India | 79.8% |
| Christians in India | 2.3% to 2.4% |
| Forced conversions of Christians to Hinduism | Emerging trend |
| Catholic center demolition | Near Mangalore in 2022 |
| Forced conversion methods | Allurements, duress, Ghar Wapsi scheme |
| Hindu nationalist groups | Sangh Parivar, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), BJP, Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena, VHP |
| Hindu nationalist ideology | Hindutva, or "Hindu-ness" |
| Christian voting patterns | Favour Indian National Congress (INC) over BJP |
| Christian segregation | Less prone to it than other groups |
| Hindu converts to Christianity | Drawn to evangelical or Pentecostal denominations |
| Notable converts | Satish Kumar, Ramabai Saraswati |
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What You'll Learn
Forced conversions of Christians to Hinduism
India is home to approximately 1.4 billion people, with 79.8% identifying as Hindu, 14.2% as Muslim, 2.3% as Christian, and 1.7% as Sikh. The country's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but in practice, India has significant religious persecution, with Christians and Muslims being the primary targets.
In recent years, there have been numerous reports of forced conversions of Christians to Hinduism in India. Hindu nationalist groups have allegedly used allurements and coercion to convert poor and lower-caste Christians to Hinduism against their will. These forced conversions are often carried out by extremist organizations such as Shiv Sena, the VHP, and the political party BJP. One of the most prominent cases occurred in Chhattisgarh, a state in central India, where approximately one thousand Christians were forced to convert to Hinduism in 2024. Similar incidents have been reported in other states, including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh.
The Sangh Parivar, a Hindu nationalist organization, alleges that Christian missionaries have forcibly converted Indians to Christianity through inducements or coercion, which they claim is detrimental to Hindu culture and traditions. In response, groups associated with the Sangh Parivar have organized "ghar wapsi" or "homecoming" events aimed at reconverting individuals back to Hinduism. These events have been criticized as instances of forced conversion, particularly when accompanied by pressure and inducements.
The "ghar wapsi" program is based on the Hindu nationalist ideology that all people of India are ancestrally Hindu, and therefore, conversion to Hinduism is a "return" to their ancestral roots. Since 2014, thousands of people across India have been converted to Hinduism through this program, with some reports of coercion and threats of violence. In one instance, members of a Christian church in Madhya Pradesh were threatened with dire consequences if they refused to reconvert to Hinduism. In another case, a mob of Hindu nationalists prevented a Christian family from burying their matriarch unless they converted to Hinduism.
The forced conversions have sparked widespread concern and criticism. Christian communities in India have expressed fear and intimidation, with some families stopping attending church services. Critics argue that these forced conversions violate the religious freedom and autonomy guaranteed by India's constitution. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has asked the U.S. government to designate India as a country of particular concern (CPC) due to the ongoing restrictions on religious freedom.
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Hindu nationalist ideology
Hindu nationalism asserts that Indian national identity and culture are inseparable from the Hindu religion, viewing Hindus as an ethnic rather than religious group. It seeks to establish India as a Hindu nation, relegating religious minorities, especially Muslims, to inferior status. This has resulted in anti-Muslim sentiment and violence in India, where Hindus make up 80% of the population and Muslims 14%. Hindu nationalist ideology has also been associated with right-wing extremism and fascism due to its purist racial elements and intolerance of minorities.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist volunteer group often described as paramilitary, is at the heart of the Hindu nationalist movement in India. It was founded in 1925 by K. B. Hedgewar, inspired by Savarkar's Hindutva ideology. The RSS has upwards of five million members and leads the Sangh Parivar, an umbrella group of Hindu nationalist organisations. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling political party in India, is a prominent champion of Hindutva, officially adopting it as its ideology in 1989.
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Religious persecution in India
India has a population of 1.4 billion, with 79.8% identifying as Hindu, 14.2% as Muslim, 2.3% as Christian, and 1.7% as Sikh. The country also has smaller communities of Buddhists, Jains, Baha'is, Jews, and Zoroastrians (Parsis). Article 25 of India's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, stating: ""Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion." However, in practice, there is significant religious persecution in India, with Christians and Muslims being the primary targets.
Historical Context
Historically, India has experienced religious persecution, particularly during the 16th and 17th centuries when the Portuguese carried out the Christianization of Goa. The Portuguese rulers implemented state policies encouraging and rewarding conversions among Hindu subjects. By the end of the 16th century, the majority of the natives of Goa had converted to Christianity, allowing the Portuguese to destroy Hindu temples and prohibit public performances of Hindu practices.
Forced Conversions
In recent years, a disturbing trend of forced or coerced conversions of Christians and Muslims to Hinduism has emerged in India. Hindu nationalist groups have used allurements or duress to convert religious minorities to Hinduism against their will. This is often done through the Ghar Wapsi ("returning home" or "homecoming") scheme by Hindu extremist organizations. In January 2024, approximately one thousand Christians in Chhattisgarh were forced to convert to Hinduism. Additionally, hundreds of Christians have faced the looting and destruction of their homes for refusing to convert.
Violence and Discrimination
Indian Christians have faced a wave of violence and discrimination since the late 1990s, with a significant increase in anti-Christian propaganda and attacks. Hindu nationalist groups, such as the Sangh Parivar and its member organizations like the BJP, RSS, and Bajrang Dal, have been associated with promoting violence against religious minorities. The United States Department of State criticized India for "increasing societal violence against Christians" in its 1999 human rights report. The report listed over 90 incidents of anti-Christian violence, including damage to religious property and violence against Christian pilgrims. The persecution of Christians has intensified in recent years, with a sharp increase in attacks on churches and clerics. In 2022, a Catholic center near Mangalore was demolished by Hindu nationalists.
Anti-Conversion Laws
Additionally, 12 Indian states have passed anti-conversion laws, which threaten the religious freedom of individual believers. These laws create an environment where Christians who share their faith can be accused of a crime, intimidated, harassed, and even met with violence. The northern state of Uttar Pradesh tightened its anti-conversion law, adding life imprisonment as a possible sentence.
Delisting Campaign
Hindu extremists have also introduced the Delisting campaign against tribal Christian converts, aiming to strip them of their rights and privileges. This has resulted in constant attacks, the burning of houses, and the displacement of families.
Political Influence
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been described as promoting a Hindu nationalist ideology. The BJP's rise to power in the late 1990s coincided with increased anti-Christian violence. Voting patterns show that Christians in India tend to favor opposition parties, with only one-tenth of Christian voters supporting the BJP in 2019.
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Christian population in India
India has a population of 1.4 billion, with 79.8% identifying as Hindu, 14.2% as Muslim, 2.3% as Christian, and 1.7% as Sikh. There are also smaller communities of Buddhists, Jains, Baha’is, Jews, and Zoroastrians (Parsis). The country's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, affirming "Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion". However, in practice, there is significant religious persecution in the country, with Christians and Muslims being the primary targets.
Christianity is India's third-most followed religion, with about 28 million adherents, constituting 2.3% to 2.4% of the population as of the 2011 census. The majority of Indian Christians are Protestants, followed by Catholics and Oriental Orthodox. South India is home to about half of the Christians in the country, and Christians make up a large share of the population in Northeast India, where the vast majority of Christians belong to tribal communities. Christianity is the predominant religion in the northeastern states of Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Manipur. There are substantial Christian populations in the regions of Arunachal, Assam, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Goa, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Christian population of Bombay (Mumbai) is above the national average of 2.3%, at 3.45% according to the 2011 census.
Christianity in India dates back to the earliest followers of Jesus in the first century CE. St. Thomas, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, is credited with introducing Christianity to India when he arrived on the Malabar Coast in 52 CE. The Portuguese carried out the Christianisation of Goa in the 16th and 17th centuries, implementing state policies that encouraged and rewarded conversions among Hindu subjects. By the end of the 16th century, the majority of the natives of Goa had converted to Christianity. Protestantism was introduced by Protestant missionaries in the 18th century.
Indian Christians disproportionately identify with lower castes (74%), including 57% with Scheduled Castes (SC) or Scheduled Tribes (ST). Conversion is a contentious issue in India, and several states have enacted laws against proselytism. While Christianity is a proselytizing religion, many other religions in India are non-proselystizing, and religious conversion is rare in the country. Only 0.4% of adults in India are Hindu converts to Christianity, and Christians make up just 0.4% of converts from the religion they were raised in.
There is a disturbing trend of forced or coerced conversions of Christians to Hinduism in India. In 2024, approximately one thousand Christians in Chhattisgarh were forced to convert to Hinduism. Hindu nationalist groups have also reportedly used allurements to convert poor Muslims and Christians to Hinduism against their will. Hundreds of Christians have faced the looting and destruction of their homes for refusing to convert to Hinduism, and social media platforms have been used to spread misinformation, promote hate speech, and incite violence against religious minority groups.
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Conversion through Ghar Wapsi
India is officially a secular nation, with Article 25 of its constitution guaranteeing freedom of religion and affirming "Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion." However, in practice, there is significant religious persecution in the country, with Christians and Muslims being the primary targets.
Hindu nationalist organizations such as Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and Shiv Sena have been implicated in forced or coerced conversions of Christians and Muslims to Hinduism through the Ghar Wapsi ("returning home" or "homecoming") programme. This scheme is based on the Hindu nationalist ideology that all people of India are ancestrally Hindu, and therefore, conversion to Hinduism is a return to their ancestral roots.
Ghar Wapsi events have been held in various states across India, including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Jharkhand, and Punjab. For instance, in 2014, it was claimed that 100-250 Muslims converted to Hinduism during the Agra religious conversions, and in 2015, 18 Dalit Christians reconverted to Hinduism in Tamil Nadu. More recently, in 2023, 1100 people were converted to Hinduism from Christianity in Chhattisgarh, and in 2024, approximately one thousand Christians were forced to convert to Hinduism in the same state.
These conversions are often achieved through allurements or duress, with some individuals being forced to participate in Hindu rituals during significant life events, such as the death of a family member. There have also been instances of violence and scuffles reported in areas where there is tension between tribals and tribal Christians.
While the Indian government has not explicitly promoted Ghar Wapsi, members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been accused of supporting and participating in these conversion events. Additionally, some BJP leaders have called for stronger anti-conversion laws to curb what they perceive as rampant religious conversion in the country.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, there have been reports of Hindus converting to Catholicism in India. Most Hindu converts are drawn to evangelical or Pentecostal denominations.
There can be various reasons behind Hindus converting to Catholicism in India. One source mentions Satish Kumar, a former rowdy teenager from a poor Hindu family, who committed his life to Jesus Christ after hearing a street preacher. Another source mentions Ramabai Saraswati, India's most famous female convert from Brahmanical Hinduism, whose radio program received many letters from Hindus wanting to know more about Jesus.
While there are millions of Christians in India, they make up just 2.3% to 2.4% of the country's massive population of 1.4 billion. There are no specific figures on how many Hindus have converted to Catholicism, but one source mentions a Hindu convert who built the world's second-largest church and is drawing thousands of Hindus to Christ in Hyderabad.
Yes, there has been opposition to Hindus converting to Catholicism in India. Hindu nationalist groups have reportedly used allurements to convert poor Christians and Muslims to Hinduism against their will. There have also been reports of forced conversions of Christians to Hinduism, with Hindu supremacists denouncing Christian conversions as fraudulent. Additionally, Hindu nationalist groups and political parties have been associated with violence and discrimination against religious minorities, including Christians.
