Country:

NEPAL

About Christian persecution in Nepal

The Constitution (2015) states under Article 26 that the secular government allows Freedom of Relief or Belief. However, it is not permitted to convert from Hinduism to any other religion. This means that evangelism is not legally permitted. Tensions arise towards those who convert from Buddhism or Hinduism to Christianity. Even those of no religion cannot officially convert to Christianity.

Across the country local government interprets this in a variety of ways. Sometimes a blind eye is turned, in other places there is a heavy crack down on any Christian work. There are also rules restricting work amongst children. Christians are persecuted on three levels: first, by Hindu extremists who class Christianity as a foreign and negative influence; second, by families or communities who harass and harm Christian family members or neighbors because they are different; three, by the state who often target persecuted Christians out of fear that they are not fully Nepali in any way.

But the main reason persecution has risen is because the size of the church has expanded so rapidly. Said a pastor in Kathmandu, “We are facing a takeover of our culture by India’s Hindu extremists, who characterise Christians as corrupt and subversive, but we know it is really out of jealousy because of the good we do.”