Archdiocese of Bombay: Anti-conversion law could target Christian ministry
The archdiocese said the law could become 'an instrument of harassment, social boycott and vigilante action' against religious minorities.
The Archdiocese of Bombay has voiced “deep concern” over a new anti-conversion law that it says could penalize the work of the Church in the state of Maharashtra, and reflects an ongoing effort to intimidate religious minorities — including Christians — across much of India.
The archdiocese said in a statement last week that while the Catholic Church “has always unequivocally condemned conversion through force, fraud, coercion or inducement,” similar laws in other Indian states have been “used more often to intimidate religious minorities than to address genuine instances of wrongdoing.”
“Experience in other States raises serious concerns that such legislation can place a disproportionate burden on Christian communities, inter-faith couples and others exercising the constitutionally protected freedom to profess, practise and propagate their faith,” the archdiocese said.
The archdiocese released its statement following reports that Indian President Droupadi Murmu had approved the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, 2026, paving the way for it to go into effect.
The second most populous state in India, Maharashtra will become the 13th state to adopt an anti-conversion law, with the stated aim of preventing coerced conversions.
But the laws’ critics have consistently argued that they are also used to discourage voluntary conversions from Hinduism, India’s main religion, to minority faiths, including Christianity.
Christians make up less than 1% of the population in Maharashtra.
The Archdiocese of Bombay objected in particular to the legislation’s “vague and overbroad terminology,” as well as a provision allowing the blood relative of a new convert to lodge a “first information report” with the police. A first information report is a crucial initial step in a criminal investigation in India.
This provision, the archdiocese said, “raises concerns about an adult’s right to make an independent decision of conscience. It also creates the possibility of misuse by families opposed to an inter-faith marriage or to a person’s decision to change one’s religion.”
Additionally, the archdiocese warned, the law enables police officers “to take cognisance on their own initiative, ahead of any complaint from an affected person, [which] creates scope for undue scrutiny or surveillance of prayer meetings, schools, hospitals and social-service centres run by minority institutions.”
In March, when the bill passed the legislature, bishops in Maharashtra warned that it could lead to the risk of imprisonment for OCIA leaders.
While the OCIA program, which prepares adults to join the Catholic Church, is specifically crafted to avoid forced conversions and ensure that adults make a free and informed decision to become Catholic, the wording of the legislation could allow for the prosecution of OCIA leaders, they said.
“If family members, who may naturally oppose such a decision, raise objections, the clergy and others involved in the process risk being accused of coercion or of ‘brainwashing’ as mentioned in 2(p) of the bill,” the bishops said at the time.
“In such circumstances, they face the threat of severe and disproportionate penalties, including imprisonment of up to seven years and heavy fines, despite the absence of any wrongdoing. This effectively criminalizes legitimate religious activity and places an unreasonable burden on both the individual and the religious institution.”
In its statement last week, the Archdiocese of Bombay noted that the local Christian community has experienced a recent increase in intimidation directed at its educational and social work.
“There is a genuine concern that ordinary acts of charity and pastoral service could be misconstrued as inducement, placing religious congregations and Christian institutions in the position of having to defend their work before the police and courts, rather than being able to focus on serving the communities they were established to uplift,” the archdiocese said.
It added that in other states, similar laws have been used to harass minority religions and couples in inter-faith marriages.
“More broadly, religious minorities face the risk of a law intended to prevent coercion could instead be weaponised as an instrument of harassment, social boycott and vigilante action. In such circumstances, an accused person may be presumed guilty in the court of public opinion long before any judicial finding has been made,” the statement said.
It asked the state government to consider the law’s effect on religious minorities and to ensure that “adequate safeguards, clear definitions and procedural protections are put in place to prevent its misuse against minority communities.”