India: Church Converted to Hindu Temple
By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent
NEW DELHI (Worthy News)– Late last month, a church in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh was turned into a temple after members of the congregation were forcefully converted to Hinduism, according to Barnabas Aid.
The former church in Asroi village — about 100 miles south-east of New Delhi — had served as a place of worship for Dalit Christians who occupy the lowest level of India’s caste.
During a Hindu purification ritual of the church, its cross was torn down and replaced by an image of Shiva. The Hindu nationalists responsible for this released a YouTube video and a press release announcing that 72 Christians had become Hindus.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party assumed control of India in May there has been a rise in Hindu nationalism at the expense of non-Hindu minorities. Since Modi’s BJP has been in power, there have been more than 600 attacks on Muslims and Christians.