 Persecution Relief Official Logo | |
| Formation | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Shibu Thomas |
| Type | Non-Profit |
| Website | persecutionrelief |
Persecution Relief is an Indian Nonprofit organization founded in 2016 by Shibu Thomas. It is an inter-denominational organization dedicated to helping the Church in India. [1] [2] The organization monitors violence against Christians in India. [3]
Religious persecution cases reported worldwide by the organization. [4] [5] [6]
Persecution Relief was founded in 2016 with a mission to provide support to the persecuted Indian Church by linking it to the free Church of the world. The initiative was taken by Shibu Thomas, an Indian evangelical preacher and social entrepreneur. [7] [8]
Persecution Relief provides support Prayerfully, Financially, Politically and Judicially to Christian Community and persecuted church. [9]
The organization tracks anti-Christian persecution and harassment in India. [10] [11]
During COVID-19 pandemic, the organization request to Indian Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi to release prisoners who are in different jails in India and imprisoned under the false cases of conversion under the Religious Freedom Act. [12] The organization also brings this matter to the prime minister's attention, a call from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom to release all prisoners. [13]
The persecution of Christians can be historically traced from the first century of the Christian era to the present day. Christian missionaries and converts to Christianity have both been targeted for persecution, sometimes to the point of being martyred for their faith, ever since the emergence of Christianity.
Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs or affiliations or their lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within societies to alienate or repress different subcultures is a recurrent theme in human history. Moreover, because a person's religion often determines their sense of morality, worldview, self-image, attitudes towards others, and overall personal identity to a significant extent, religious differences can be significant cultural, personal, and social factors.
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, imprisonment, internment, fear or pain are all factors that may establish persecution, but not all suffering will necessarily establish persecution. The threshold of severity has been a source of much debate.
Narendra Damodardas Modi is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the longest serving prime minister from outside the Indian National Congress.
Persecution of Christians in the post–Cold War era refers to the persecution of Christians from 1989 to the present. Part of a global problem of religious persecution, persecution of Christians in this era is taking place in Africa, the Americas, Europe, Asia and Middle East.
Freedom of religion in India is a fundamental right guaranteed by Article 25-28 of the Constitution of India. Modern India came into existence in 1947 and the Indian constitution's preamble was amended in 1976 to state that India is a secular state. Supreme Court of India ruled that India was already a secular state from the time it adopted its constitution, what actually was done through this amendment is to state explicitly what was earlier contained implicitly under article 25 to 28. Every citizen of India has a right to practice and promote their religion peacefully. However, there have been numerous incidents of religious intolerance that resulted in riots and violence, notably, the 1984 Anti-Sikh Massacre in Delhi, 1990 Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir and Punjab, 2002 Anti-Muslim Gujarat Riots and the 2008 Anti-Christian riots in Odisha. Some perpetrators of the 1984 Anti-Sikh Massacre in Delhi have not been brought to justice despite widespread condemnation.
Christianity is, according to the 2011 census, the fifth most practiced religion in Nepal, with 375,699 adherents, or 1.4% of the population. Many informed observers have estimated that there are at least 1 million Nepali Christians. According to some Christian groups, there may be as many as 3 million Christians in Nepal, constituting up to 10% of the country's population. A report by Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary identified the Nepali church the fastest growing in the world. The vast majority of Nepali Christians are evangelical Protestants ; there is also a small Catholic population of roughly 10,000.
Christian Freedom International (CFI) is an international human rights organization that "helps those who are persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ." It is based in Front Royal, Virginia.
Religious violence in India includes acts of violence by followers of one religious group against followers and institutions of another religious group, often in the form of rioting. Religious violence in India has generally involved Hindus and Muslims.
Anti-Christian violence in India is religiously motivated violence against Christians in India. Human Rights Watch has classified violence against Christians in India as a tactic used by the right-wing Sangh Parivar organizations to encourage and exploit communal violence in furtherance of their political ends. The acts of violence include arson of churches, conversion of Christians by force, physical violence, sexual assaults, murders, rapes, and the destruction of Christian schools, colleges, and cemeteries.
Religious violence in Odisha consists of civil unrest and riots in the remote forest region surrounding the Kandhamal district in the western parts of the Indian state of Odisha.
Mathew D. "Mat" Staver is an American lawyer and former pastor of Seventh-day Adventist and Protestant churches who became a Southern Baptist. He is a former dean of Liberty University's law school. In 1989, he founded the nonprofit organization Liberty Counsel, where he serves as chairman. ProPublica called him "a leading Christian legal theorist."
International Christian Concern (ICC) is an ecumenical, non-governmental, non-partisan Christian organization, located in Washington, DC, whose concern is the human rights of Christians and religious minorities. Its mission is to help religious minorities from all forms of persecution through assistance, advocacy, and awareness.
The United Christian Forum for Human Rights (UCFHR) is an inter-denominational Christian organization in India that fights for the human rights of members of the Christian minority, mainly through protest.
Sanjay Vinayak Joshi is an Indian politician belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was a long-time member of the Gujarat BJP and was a member of the BJP national executive until he was forced to resign after public pressure from Narendra Modi. During his 2001-2005 tenure as National General Secretary (Organization), he led the organization that enabled BJP to win the Assembly elections in nine states.
The 2008 Kandhamal violence refers to widespread violence against Christians purportedly incited by Hindutva organisations in the Kandhamal district of Orissa, India, in August 2008 after the murder of the Hindu monk Lakshmanananda Saraswati. According to government reports the violence resulted in at least 39 Christians killed and 3906 Christian houses completely destroyed. Reports state, more than 395 churches were razed or burnt down, over 5,600 – 6,500 houses plundered or burnt down, over 600 villages ransacked and more than 60,000 – 75,000 people left homeless. Other reports put the death toll at nearly 100 and suggested more than 40 women were sexually assaulted. Unofficial reports placed the number of those killed to more than 500. Many Christian families were burnt alive. Thousands of Christians were forced to convert to Hinduism under threat of violence. Many Hindu families were also assaulted in some places because they supported the Indian National Congress (INC) party. This violence was led by the Bajrang Dal, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the VHP.
Johnnie Moore is an American evangelical leader and businessman who founded the Kairos Company, a public relations firm. Moore is a commissioner for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom and president of Congress of Christian Leaders.
The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church is an observance within the Christian calendar in which congregations pray for Christians who are persecuted for their faith. It falls on the first Sunday of November, within the liturgical period of Allhallowtide, which is dedicated to remembering the martyrs and saints of Christianity. The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church is observed by many Christian denominations, with over 100,000 congregations honoring the holiday worldwide. Congregations focus on "praying for individuals, families, churches, or countries where Christians are facing hard situations." Additionally, many congregations donate funds from their collection of tithes and offerings on the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church to NGOs that support human rights of persecuted Christians, such as Voice of the Martyrs, International Christian Concern, and Open Doors.
The 2021 anti-Christian violence in Karnataka refers to the series violence against Christians by right wing Hindutva groups in the Indian state of Karnataka in 2021. The attacks increased after September 2021 when leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) declared of an "anti-conversion bill" in the state to check religious conversions. The violence again intensified over the Christmas period when right-wing mobs disrupted Christmas celebrations. The Human rights organisation, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) documented 39 violent incidents against Christians in Karnataka from January to November 2021, all carried out by Hindutva organizations such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Hindu Jagrana Vedike, Bajrang Dal, and Banjara Nigama. The violence included physical assaults, sexual assaults against women, church vandalism, filming the attacks and later later circulating the videos to celebrate.
Anti-conversion laws, or anti-conversion legislations, are a set of judicial rules that restrict or prohibit conversion of faith (proselytism) from one religion to another. It is a federal law in countries such as Algeria, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Nepal. They are meant to prevent forced conversion of individuals to different religions, and offences are punishable by imprisonment and fine. In India, there is no federal law but nine states have sanctioned their own laws, such as Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Sri Lanka has prepared its legislation, but has not yet enacted it. Pakistan had introduced the Prohibition of Forced Conversion Bill 2021 that was rejected by its Ministry of Religious Affairs in 2021.