A declaration from the newly formed coalition Savera: United Against Supremacy expressed the group’s ‘acute concern’ of Hindu nationalism, which they say now ‘finds itself in a deepening alliance with various facets of the American far-right.’
(RNS) — When the Rev. Peter Cook led a dozen fellow church leaders on a trip to India in 2018, most of them were turned away at the airport.
“The goal of the trip was really to be a presence, listen, to learn, to share ideas, to meet with people of all faiths, not just Christians, and, you know, touch the country,” Cook told RNS. “It didn’t have a particular institutional or theological agenda. But apparently that got construed by the Indian government to mean something very different. The reason we were denied entry and sent home is because we are Christian.”
Cook, executive director of the 7,000-member New York State Council of Churches, had been acutely aware of the plight of Christians in India thanks to the council’s longstanding relationships with church communities in the Hindu-majority country. Many Christians traveling to teach or preach in the country, or who speak out against the government, have been “harassed, intimidated and even incarcerated,” he said.
“There are churches that are getting burned down. There are churches whose pastors are getting beaten. There are Christians who are being put in jail or accused of engaging in conversion activity. It’s so frustrating because people in the United States just don’t understand this. They almost don’t believe you,” said Cook.
This story was originally published in religionnews.com. Read the full story here.