Sri Lanka Orders Christians to Stop Worship as Anti-Conversion Laws are Prepared

The Head Quarters Inspector of Horana Police, Kalutara district in Sri Lanka, has issued a verbal order on 7 August for Christians to stop worshipping at a church. For two consecutive Sundays, a mob has threatened churchgoers, which reveals the increasing pressure against the Christian minority in Sri Lanka.

The government is considering implementing anti-conversion legislation to prevent the gospel from spreading. Christians have been ordered to stop meeting for worship and prayer at the Foursquare Gospel Church in Horana, following the campaign of intimidation and harassment to throw out Christians from the region which is mainly Buddhist.

The pastor and landlord of the Foursquare Church were asked to put a stop to Christian services in July. Afterwards, the pastor was ordered by police to produce written evidence of his legal right to hold worship meetings, which he did. Freedom of worship is a constitutional right in Sri Lanka.

But a petition against the church was raised by villagers by the end of July and worshippers were threatened by gangs on their way to the services and chased away.

Finally on 7 August, a Buddhist monk led a mob of 50 and confronted Christians at the church, demanding them to end the services. The 12 worshippers who were present at that time were told to get out and stay out.

The pastor called the police, who accepted their constitutional right to worship. But the church was closed down to prevent more uprisings.

The government’s agenda for anti-conversion legislation, which has been delayed due to the aftermath of the tsunami, will be put on again. The bill has been proposed by the Minister of Buddhist Affairs in Sri Lanka.

The growing pressure against Christians is a reaction against the growth of evangelical Christianity over the past decade. Nationalists regard this as an extension of colonialism. Simultaneously, extreme nationalist Buddhists’ influence has been growing in Parliament. Christians have been accused of conducting humanitarian aid while additionally offering bribes to lure Buddhists to convert to Christianity.

The Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka has expressed concerns over church workers facing imprisonment and spending most of their time defending themselves in court if the anti-conversion law is bypassed.

“We call on the government of Sri Lanka to throw this Bill out,” says Eddie Lyle of Release International, which supports the persecuted church worldwide. “Sri Lankan Christians have a right to worship and religious freedoms are guaranteed under the constitution.

“So we urge the government to uphold the constitution and to respect the right of its own citizens to determine their own faith and to worship without threat or intimidation.”