Nepal: Church Leaders Targeted by Press
By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Nepalese Christian leaders have found themselves falsely accused of corruption by the mass media as Hindu nationalist groups seek to suppress any religious freedoms for Christians.
According to Barnabas Aid, after receiving kidnapping threats, some Christian leaders have opted to send their children abroad.
“Verbal abuse against the Christian community online and in social media has been increasing,” a church leader wrote in August. “Some of the believers have been falsely accused of being cow killers,” a taboo in Hinduism.
Accusations against Nepalese Christians increased after Hindus demanded that Nepal return to a Hindi state.
Church leaders have appealed to Nepal’s coalition government to recognize Christianity as a legitimate religion within a secular state.
Currently, the proposed state constitution can punish anyone who attempts to “change or convert someone from one religion to another.” If passed, the constitution as it now stands could curtail the religious freedoms of all of Nepal’s Christians.