Hundreds of American Christian leaders have come together in a compelling call to action. In a letter, they urge the U.S. State Department to designate India as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC).
“As Indian Christians struggle to follow their faith in the face of Hindu supremacist policies, persecution of religious minorities is being buried by U.S. adoration of the current Indian regime,” says Federation of Indian-American Christian Organizations in North America (FIACONA) Executive Director Rev. Neal Christie. “This letter highlights the rapidly escalating state-sanctioned violations of human rights targeting religious minorities, including Christians, Muslims, Dalits, and indigenous tribal peoples.”
Over 300 signatories, including 18 bishops, three archbishops, and 166 clergy from various denominational and non-denominational backgrounds, as well as leaders from over 40 Christian organizations, have endorsed the letter. This is the first letter issued by U.S. Christian leaders addressing religious persecution in India.
Notable signatories include the immediate past president of the National Council of Churches; the president, immediate past president, and ecumenical officer of the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church (UMC); the chancellor emeritus of the Orthodox Church in America; the presidents of Wesley Theological Seminary and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary; the president of International Christian Concern; national ecumenical leaders from both the Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA); the executive director of the Paulist Fathers Ecumenical and Multi-Faith Relations; and the Catholic bishop of the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Diocese of Chicago.
Since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took power in 2014, violence against Indian Christians has surged. The ecumenical Delhi-based United Christian Forum reported 720 attacks against Christians in 2023, a significant increase from 127 in 2014 when Modi first took office. FIACONA documented 1,570 attacks in 2023, up from 1,198 in 2022. In 2023, International Christian Concern ranked India as the 3rd worst “persecutor of the year.”
“This letter is a clarion call to the American Church to stay alert to abuses caused by religious nationalism in what was a pluralistic and secular India,” says Rev. Peter Cook, a FIACONA board member who also serves as Executive Director of the New York State Council of Churches. “We hope it will inspire the U.S. government to stop ignoring how Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP systematically implements a religious nationalist agenda in both India and America.”
In 2023, Human Rights Watch reported that “Violence between Hindu BJP supporters and Muslim and Christian communities has become common in recent years in India, especially in BJP-ruled states.” Amnesty International states that government officials, politicians, and supporters of the BJP have “advocated hatred and violence against religious minorities with impunity, particularly Muslims, marking a rise in hate crimes.” Genocide Watch also cautions that Indian religious minorities, especially Muslims, face an impending genocide.
“For years, the pressure of violent persecution has been building against Christians and other religious minorities in India,” says Pieter Friedrich, a FIACONA board member and journalist who specializes in analysis of South Asian affairs. “The U.S. Church is tragically silent as India becomes not only our nation’s greatest ally in Asia but also the most dangerous democracy in the world for Christians. It is encouraging to see the narrative shift as, finally, hundreds of Christian leaders from diverse backgrounds raise a voice for the persecuted Church in India.”
Attacks on religious minorities are often carried out by Hindu nationalist groups associated with the paramilitary Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). These groups link militant Hindu ideology with Indian citizenship and usually act with the approval or tolerance of the BJP.
“The diversity of this coalition is remarkable,” states Rev. Christie. “This is not about doctrine or differences among us, but about our shared commitment to human rights, especially the freedom of conscience and belief. From Catholic to Charismatic, Methodist to Anglican, Presbyterian to Orthodox, we are united in our opposition to a narrow, ethno-nationalist vision which promotes policies and legislation that criminalizes people based on who they are, how they worship, or their social status. This is about targeting vulnerable people with arbitrary arrests, church burnings and demolition of religious schools, physical assaults and land grabs, even outlawing of worship. It is an effort to erase and eradicate religious minorities in the name of a form of Hindu majoritarianism.”
Several denominations also recently took up this concern.
In April 2024, the 10-million-member UMC passed a resolution condemning “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom” in India. In May, the Anglican Free Communion International (AFCI) also passed a resolution condemning violence against religious minorities in India, especially against Christians in Manipur. They were followed in June by the New York Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCCNY).
All three organizations urged the U.S. State Department to designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and called on their members to press the U.S. Congress for action.
Beyond CPC designation, the letter requests the U.S. State Department to hold the Indian government accountable for promoting equal human rights for all religious communities. It also suggests considering targeted sanctions on Indian government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom and human rights. Additionally, it calls for support for independent religious organizations and human rights groups in India and the U.S. that are targeted for advocating religious freedom and human rights.