Sri Lankan PM promises to introduce new anti-conversion bill to protect Buddhists

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SarathW
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Sri Lankan PM promises to introduce new anti-conversion bill to protect Buddhists

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Sri Lankan PM promises to introduce new anti-conversion bill to protect Buddhists.
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has announced that he is ready to introduce an anti-conversion bill to save the country’s Buddhist population.

Rajapaksa, who is a Buddhist, implied that an anti-conversion bill could be introduced after parliamentary elections if the Council of Monks unanimously agreed. The anti-conversion legislation would criminalise all attempts to force or falsely coerce people into converting from one religion to another.

In cases where this is proven in a court of law, this can lead to a seven-year prison sentence and a maximum fine of €2,400.

Christian leaders in Sri Lanka believe that the proposal is part of the government’s re-election campaign, with one pastor saying, “They have already started to collect information regarding churches through local government authorities. I believe they are strategically working out something against the church.”

The UN’s Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed criticised the Sri Lankan government for continuously providing patronage to Buddhist hardliners.

“It is essential for the government to not ignore the simmering tensions and intolerance and the damaging consequences of inciting hatred and violence in a country that has gone through a long period of internal conflict,” Shaheed told the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/sri-la ... buddhists/
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Re: Sri Lankan PM promises to introduce new anti-conversion bill to protect Buddhists

Post by DooDoot »

SarathW wrote: Fri Jun 04, 2021 2:56 am
The anti-conversion legislation would criminalise all attempts to force or falsely coerce people into converting from one religion to another.
The above sounds contrary to Buddhist principles. While the Buddha did not "coerce" people; the Buddha did "convert" people.

I have read on Buddhist chatsites a common Singhalese belief that the material wealth of Western people is a mark of having done good karma in past lives. This same idea is what attracts many Asians, including Singhalese, to Christianity.

For example, in the West, many Asian immigrants, often from wealthy Asian backgrounds, seeking more wealth in the West, become Christians. Christianity offers them good social & livelihood networks.
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Re: Sri Lankan PM promises to introduce new anti-conversion bill to protect Buddhists

Post by dharmacorps »

Its an understandable proposal. It seems to me trying to force someone to convert to another religion is at a minimum in very bad taste, at most bordering on criminal. One of the problems with Evangelical Christianity is it is the hallmark of their religion. Trying to force people to convert is viewed by them as the basis for their faith. Inherent in that is a disrespect towards non-Christians. Sri Lanka has a history of standing up to such efforts.
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Re: Sri Lankan PM promises to introduce new anti-conversion bill to protect Buddhists

Post by Coëmgenu »

dharmacorps wrote: Fri Jun 04, 2021 8:52 pmTrying to force people to convert is viewed by them as the basis for their faith. Inherent in that is a disrespect towards non-Christians. Sri Lanka has a history of standing up to such efforts.
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SarathW
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Re: Sri Lankan PM promises to introduce new anti-conversion bill to protect Buddhists

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DooDoot wrote: Fri Jun 04, 2021 11:40 am
SarathW wrote: Fri Jun 04, 2021 2:56 am
The anti-conversion legislation would criminalise all attempts to force or falsely coerce people into converting from one religion to another.
The above sounds contrary to Buddhist principles. While the Buddha did not "coerce" people; the Buddha did "convert" people.

I have read on Buddhist chatsites a common Singhalese belief that the material wealth of Western people is a mark of having done good karma in past lives. This same idea is what attracts many Asians, including Singhalese, to Christianity.

For example, in the West, many Asian immigrants, often from wealthy Asian backgrounds, seeking more wealth in the West, become Christians. Christianity offers them good social & livelihood networks.
Agree.
Instead of looking at why many Buddhist converts to other religions those monks and politicians are trying to protect Buddhism by legislation.
This is just a move by the greedy politicians and monks who do not want to accept their failiers.
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SarathW
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Re: Sri Lankan PM promises to introduce new anti-conversion bill to protect Buddhists

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dharmacorps wrote: Fri Jun 04, 2021 8:52 pm Its an understandable proposal. It seems to me trying to force someone to convert to another religion is at a minimum in very bad taste, at most bordering on criminal. One of the problems with Evangelical Christianity is it is the hallmark of their religion. Trying to force people to convert is viewed by them as the basis for their faith. Inherent in that is a disrespect towards non-Christians. Sri Lanka has a history of standing up to such efforts.
Agree.
The use of bribery and systematic and organise way conversion in villages.
They use marriages as the biggest weaopen. They mainly propose Christian men marry Buddhis women. Then they covert the woman and the children to their religion. I have never seen the other way around.
Then they offer job opportunities and support the poor families with money in exchange for conversion.
Education is another way they use for conversion by making it compulsory for Buddhist students to participate in prayers.

Another method that they use is the encouragement of monks to disrobed or help monks who want to disrobe. I do not have the first-hand experience in this but I have heard this by listening to monks.
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Re: Sri Lankan PM promises to introduce new anti-conversion bill to protect Buddhists

Post by Coëmgenu »

I have a few resources from the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada that I can post in a few that will illustrate that they intend to attract converts at whatever cost. After all, they believe that they are saving people from hellfire by having them adopt their beliefs and culture.
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SarathW
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Re: Sri Lankan PM promises to introduce new anti-conversion bill to protect Buddhists

Post by SarathW »

Coëmgenu wrote: Fri Jun 04, 2021 11:37 pm I have a few resources from the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada that I can post in a few that will illustrate that they intend to attract converts at whatever cost. After all, they believe that they are saving people from hellfire by having them adopt their beliefs and culture.
Agree.
There is a systemic problem in Sri Lanka.

Politicians and the government in Sri Lanka found the problem but came up with the wrong solution.

See the amount of miss understanding in Buddhism even in this forum.
98% of Sri Lankan Buddhists do not have any basic knowledge of Buddhism. Then they become easy prey for other wrong views.
I blame the monks and the politicians for the drawback.
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Re: Sri Lankan PM promises to introduce new anti-conversion bill to protect Buddhists

Post by Coëmgenu »

It doesn't help when the evangelical aggressors are willing to deceptively adopt atheist tactics, indeed near any tactics, to attack Buddhism, for instance framing their own religious Christian beliefs as rational and scientific compared to "superstitious" and "religious" Buddhism.

I was once at an Alliance Church because my boyfriend is friends with a congregant there. The sermon was from a missionary back from a long stay in Thailand, who lived there full time. He described Buddhist monks he would encounter as "enemy combatants" and that you only really had a chance of "saving" the youngest of the monks, who had not been "brainwashed" yet. Of course, in reality, they were taking advantage of the naivety of youth to do their own brainwashing. It brings in big Western $$$ if you can parade in an ex-monk from a Buddhist country to your megachurch as a speaker to talk about how he was saved from godless heathenism. Link upcoming.
What is the Uncreated?
Sublime & free, what is that obscured Eternity?
It is the Undying, the Bright, the Isle.
It is an Ocean, a Secret: Reality.
Both life and oblivion, it is Nirvāṇa.
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Re: Sri Lankan PM promises to introduce new anti-conversion bill to protect Buddhists

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Coëmgenu wrote: Sat Jun 05, 2021 12:12 am
for instance framing their own religious Christian beliefs as rational and scientific compared to "superstitious" and "religious" Buddhism.
I imagine they try to use the Big Bang a lot. I suppose it would be beneficial if said Buddhists understood that it’s good to say that Buddhism is not scientific but rather eternally true, unlike the theories of science which are never actually known but are merely probable. If these evangelicals are really trying to push the “our religion is scientific” narrative then to me they are digging a massive hole for themselves, since they are saying it’s merely what might be true but yet could be falsified later. Somehow I don’t think they really want to be saying that. It’s even worse for them if they base it upon cosmology, since theories in that field are constantly changing.
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Re: Sri Lankan PM promises to introduce new anti-conversion bill to protect Buddhists

Post by SarathW »

Ceisiwr wrote: Sat Jun 05, 2021 7:30 am
Coëmgenu wrote: Sat Jun 05, 2021 12:12 am
for instance framing their own religious Christian beliefs as rational and scientific compared to "superstitious" and "religious" Buddhism.
I imagine they try to use the Big Bang a lot. I suppose it would be beneficial if said Buddhists understood that it’s good to say that Buddhism is not scientific but rather eternally true, unlike the theories of science which are never actually known but are merely probable. If these evangelicals are really trying to push the “our religion is scientific” narrative then to me they are digging a massive hole for themselves, since they are saying it’s merely what might be true but yet could be falsified later. Somehow I don’t think they really want to be saying that. It’s even worse for them if they base it upon cosmology, since theories in that field are constantly changing.
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Re: Sri Lankan PM promises to introduce new anti-conversion bill to protect Buddhists

Post by confusedlayman »

I think sri lanka should recognize only buddhism instead of secularism. Whata the use of having wrong view religion? Their followers only create voilence due to wrong views
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SarathW
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Re: Sri Lankan PM promises to introduce new anti-conversion bill to protect Buddhists

Post by SarathW »

confusedlayman wrote: Sat Jun 05, 2021 10:08 am I think sri lanka should recognize only buddhism instead of secularism. Whata the use of having wrong view religion? Their followers only create voilence due to wrong views
Unfortunately, that is not how Buddha did his teaching.
Free thinking and inquiry are always encourage even though this did not help much with the present state of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
We hope that the truth will prevail.
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Re: Sri Lankan PM promises to introduce new anti-conversion bill to protect Buddhists

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confusedlayman wrote: Sat Jun 05, 2021 10:08 am I think sri lanka should recognize only buddhism instead of secularism. Whata the use of having wrong view religion? Their followers only create voilence due to wrong views
The Buddha would want us to be respectful to followers of other religions or none. Part of that respect is allowing them to practice or not as they see fit. From a non-Buddhist point of view suppressing other religions and having blasphemy laws can lead to dark places. It took us centuries to overcome all that in the West, and things are better for it.
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
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Re: Sri Lankan PM promises to introduce new anti-conversion bill to protect Buddhists

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Others can follow whatever want but govt ahould take decision based on right view... hitler thought he is aryan race and killed many due to wrong views ... king asoka had right view so he stoped killing and support buddhism even though others are practicing.. whenever many religions are there then there will always be clash .. thats why uk westerneurope and usa go smoothly but south asian coubties have more religion based problem
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