India (MNN) — On February 13, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with U.S. President Donald Trump. As the countries move to strengthen political and economic ties, Christians pray India’s religious freedom issues will be addressed too.
According to a February article from The Christian Post, 12 of India’s 28 states have anti-conversion laws in place. This is an ongoing battle in 2025. While one Indian state was able to move toward scrapping its anti-conversion law (Karnataka, 2023), another state has moved to strengthen it (Rajasthan, 2025).
(Photo courtesy of Parij Borgohain/Pixabay)
“This (an anti-conversion law) has been, of course, the way that the pro-Hindu forces have been able to stay within the Constitution of India, which guarantees freedom of religion. [They will] say it’s fine if you are whatever religion you are, but you can’t convert from one to another,” John Pudaite with Bibles For the World explains.
Minority Christians especially feel the brunt, Pudaite says. The language of anti-conversion laws is open to broad interpretation. Under them, worship services or even stating what you believe about eternal reward (or another point of doctrine) can be restricted. The challenges will only continue as more and more people in India come to accept Christ.
Hinduism, on the other hand, has political support. Millions in India are currently celebrating a multi-week Hindu festival called Kumbh Mela. “It has been attended by all the politicians and celebrities and everything,” Pudaite says. “It is really quite an event.”
Contrast that with sobering statistics about 2024, where “somewhere nearing 800 incidences of violence, attacks on churches, arrests on false conversion charges, tax on pastors and their families and on congregations [were done] — now averaging more than two events per day in the country,” says Pudaite.
Ask God to work justice in the legal system in India. Please pray that India’s religious freedom concerns will not be sidelined for political advantages. Pray believers will endure these persecutions, and pray that people who don’t know Christ yet will have their eyes opened to see Him.
Header image: President Donald Trump hosts a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, Thursday, February 13, 2025, in the Oval Office.(Official Photo by Molly Riley – Photo courtesy of The White House – Public Domain)
