Nepal, China, and Christianity: Conversion or Coercion
Gomchen Karma Yogi, a Nepalese friend of mine, reminded me of a kind of quid pro quo that might help the President understand what quid pro quo means and why it is often seen as a type of subterfuge. This is no less pernicious than anything he'd use to pressure foreign powers.
In Nepal, Christian organizations and missionaries will rebuild villages, provide education, do solildly good work on infrastructure BUT it comes with a caveat. Typically, there is some amount of evangelizing, if not outright conversion-by-obligation. The numbers vary but in one article, the number of converts might be as high as three million or almost ten percent of the predominantly Hindu population.
At issue is that Nepal is a poor country, stuck between a rock and a hard place: a corrupt government and the encroaching influence of Xi Jinping's China. Nepalese are frustrated by the lack of support from the government in almost all areas of polity and if rebuilding from the 2015 earthquake didn't come from the government, then why not accept help from foreigners?
This is built-in PR for Christian fundamentalists. It's also no wonder that the government is worried. But instead of working to improve the conditions of Nepal, the money goes into private bank accounts and is rarely committed to the purposes for which it is earmarked. I'd probably convert, too, if I'd waited years for my village to be rebuilt and I'd been living under a lean-to for two and half years.
The assistance is problematic for several reasons, though. Chrisitianity and colonialism go hand in hand. From the Christian's viewpoint, all they're doing is spreading their gospel and doing good deeds that - on one level of motivation - will get them into heaven, and on the other, that they may actually be doing with no hope of reward, including converting the people they're helping. This is using relious teachings to grow their population at the cost of a typically indigenous culture.
If your motivation to help people out is so that you can collect good karma cookies, fine. But if part of that is to woo people away from their beliefs and customs, I'd ask you to rethink your position. You may retort: "but their traditions haven't helped them and brought them to this sorry state of affairs!" and there's an element of truth to that. However, from their perspective, that your work is not the result of prayers to Shiva? This is where religion muddies the water over and over again and I sometimes feel we'd be better off without the whole of it. What kind of religion is it that brings aid to others and then coerces the other into adopting it out of guilt or fear? It's not love, for sure.
Conversion from one's familial, traditional, cultural roots to something new can be traumatic and I don't mean for the convert. It often results in wiping out the earlier tradition, the earlier culture. Rather like what the Chinese are doing to the Tibetans and the Uyghurs; the colonist says "the Tibtans are backward, they need our help, let's liberate them" while the PRC goverment decrees the Islam is an "illegal superstition", therefore the Uyghur people need to be "re-educated". There isn't so much difference; the Christian missionary's goal may be more abstract but it's no less damning and disastrous. If one thinks that, well, at least they improved the living conditions of those poor people, fine. But don't make it transactional.
If you want to do "good works", then just do them because they're the right thing to do. Don't do them for a reward to make yourself and your congregation feel better and don't do it because your book tells you to (sure, St. Paul admonished disciples to preach the gospel, spread the word, etc., but that was almost two millenia ago - social conditions have changed and the world is larger than imperial Rome). Your book isn't the only text in the world; nor is it up to you to decide who should follow what belief. At the end of the day, it's only belief.
More to the point, though, is that the government's reaction to banning conversions is going to lead to other headaches. For instance, there are genuine Christians in Nepal, I'm sure, who don't prosyletize and more than likely, do good work; but what if they fall prey to imprisonment and expulsion? In other words, religious freedom becomes quickly curtailed. This could be extended to any other groupe that runs afoul of the authorities and sets up another schism across Nepalese society.
The reaction from the government is similar to others where a backlash against a group's action is seen as a threat to the greater society and results in repression against those who may not be engaged in the activity being addressed.
We don't live in a world where there are one-size-fits-all answers to specific cultural milieux. Missionary activity in some areas had a beneficial effect in terms of opening up conversations about liberal democracy, what it means to live in a multicultural community (and yes, Nepal is multicultural - it's not monolithic), and how to accept and adapt to others. I have India in mind, but then, India has had small pockets of Christians almost since Christianity's inception.
To be sure, there are global push-backs, many of them violent, against Christians. We've seen on-going persecution of Christians in China, sometimes violent clashes in India (particularly in Odisha), Bhutan, and across Southeast Asia. But this raises the question of why does this seem so surprising in light of the way Christianity is proffered, if not foisted upon others?
For the record, I'm not a Christian. I've found Christianity, in its teachings, to be fine; but the various strains that have developed and that inform politics and attempt to convert the world as pernicious as any ideology of power. Many Christians see God's will in material aquisition of wealth, property, and yes, political power.
I realize that Christianity is not simply one thing. There are many denominations, many different families and sects. It's the missionaries driven by some millenarian zeal to convert that I find problematic. If your team is being persecuted, it might be because you're in a place you shouldn't be and doing something you shouldn't be doing the way you're doing it.
Of course, this couldn't be happening at a better time, with China leaning more heavily on Nepal. For now, pressure from China to deport Tibetans and Nepal is ramping up teaching Mandarin in schools at a much higher degree.
From the linked article from Nepal24Hours:
Heavy influence of China in holding the Nepal’s market in terms of trade, transportation, Nepal’s market occupancy etc is commonly observed in the present scenario. Chinese goods are seen on every household. Nepali consumer has often appreciated the products for being economical. However, Nepalese seem to be dissatisfied with the employment market being taken over by the Chinese.Taking an evident example of Thamel, a well known tourist hub in Kathmandu; this used to be a major source of revenue for the local businesses. Sadly in the present, it has been taken over by the Chinese businesses.
It is a step backwards for Nepalese businesses known for their unique historical value from both social and economic point of view. Besides the visual effect of China’s influence, other events such as intolerance of the government on its criticisms and systematic arrest of the citizens against its action and failures, further proves how the communist led government has been adopting a restrictive policies is gradually taking over the Nepalese territory. With the raise of the presence of China in Nepal in every possible sector, this is sure to be injurious to Nepalese economy ahead shortly.
I don't think the conversion issue is as great a danger to Nepal as the encroachment of the People's Republic of China; however, both underscore the fragility and disadvantages that poor countries led by corrupt governments face. I hope to be back to Nepal next year. It will be, to say the least, interesting. I'd be interested in hearing from my Nepali friends what their thoughts are.
Further reading:
Chinese influence in Nepal:
Deportation of Tibetans
Christianity and Colonialism:
There are worse places to start: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_and_colonialism
Conversion ban in Nepal:
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/despite-conversion-ban-christianity-spreads-in-nepal
corruption Perception Index:
https://www.transparency.org/cpi2018
Pope Francis on Colonization as blasphemy
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2017/11/21/pope-francis-ideological-colonization-blasphemy-god/
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