The State of Humanism in Nepal
This article originally appeared in the SSA eMpirical No. 20 - June 2007.
Om Prasad Upreti is the National Secretary for HUMAN, the Humanist Association of Nepal. In this article, he explains some of the religious/humanist struggles occurring in his country and shows what his organization is doing about it.
Om Prasad Upreti is the National Secretary for HUMAN, the Humanist Association of Nepal. In this article, he explains some of the religious/humanist struggles occurring in his country and shows what his organization is doing about it.
After the declaration of Nepal as a secular state, religious proselytizing is an emerging phenomenon. These photographs show the rally organized by the Humanist Association of Nepal (HUMAN), the youth department of HUMAN, the women's department of HUMAN, and the student group at Purbanchan University. The rally organized to fight against this new religious crusade.
If we talk about religious proselytization, Christian missionaries come at the forefront both at the global level and in Nepal. It is reported that there are more than 200 Christian missionaries, including churches, active in Nepal. Various Christian missionaries are spending millions of dollars on what they call "social welfare programs," but these programs are in the real sense the program of religious proselytizing.
Additionally, there are number of Muslim or Islamic schools called "Madrasah," where young people are taught about the Muslim religion and are often indoctrinated with radical Islamic ideology. This severely limits the independent and rational thinking on the part of the individual. And, after the declaration of Nepal as a secular state, Hindu extremists have been trying to dilute the peace and harmony of the society.
With very low literacy and abject poverty, especially in the hills ethnic communities, the people become easy prey to the proselytizing of organized missionary religious organizations, particularly Christianity and Islam. These organizations were involved in the religious proselytizing in the past, but their activities remained within certain limits and boundaries. Now they are openly campaigning for religious conversion with momentary and material attractions.
Preliminary research reports of Humanist Association of Nepal reveals that the religious conversions have led to breaking up of family ties, and worsening the condition of those families' women and children in particular. HUMAN is gathering the facts and information regarding the missionaries' activities, and their effect on the breakdown of the families. We hope to file a case in the Supreme Court on the basis of UN declarations and other national and international instruments.
Additionally, there are number of Muslim or Islamic schools called "Madrasah," where young people are taught about the Muslim religion and are often indoctrinated with radical Islamic ideology. This severely limits the independent and rational thinking on the part of the individual. And, after the declaration of Nepal as a secular state, Hindu extremists have been trying to dilute the peace and harmony of the society.
With very low literacy and abject poverty, especially in the hills ethnic communities, the people become easy prey to the proselytizing of organized missionary religious organizations, particularly Christianity and Islam. These organizations were involved in the religious proselytizing in the past, but their activities remained within certain limits and boundaries. Now they are openly campaigning for religious conversion with momentary and material attractions.
Preliminary research reports of Humanist Association of Nepal reveals that the religious conversions have led to breaking up of family ties, and worsening the condition of those families' women and children in particular. HUMAN is gathering the facts and information regarding the missionaries' activities, and their effect on the breakdown of the families. We hope to file a case in the Supreme Court on the basis of UN declarations and other national and international instruments.
This article originally appeared in the SSA eMpirical No. 20 - June 2007.
Submitted by Lyz on Wed, 06/13/2007 - 20:06
