During the UMC General Conference in Charlotte, NC, I spoke repeatedly about persecution of Christians in India

PIETER FRIEDRICH MAY 9

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I spent the last week in Charlotte, North Carolina, to attend the General Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC) and appeal to them to take up the cause of persecuted Christians (and other religious minorities) in India.

I was not alone. I was invited by Rev. Neal Christie, a long-time pastor in the UMC, to join and speak on multiple occasions at the conference.

The New Federation of Asian-American United Methodists (NFAAUM) introduced a petition to the General Conference which denounced Hindu nationalism (Hindutva) in India, stood in solidarity with persecuted Indian Christians, and called on the US State Department to designate India as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) “for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).” The petition was adopted with almost unanimous consent by the entire UMC.

As I told the Indian American Muslim Council in their press release about the resolution, “The UMC’s resolution is absolutely historic and the need of the hour as the Church in America must step forward with open concern and conversation about the skyrocketing persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in India. As the second-largest Protestant denomination in the US, the voice of the UMC on this issue is a God-send. They have set an example, and I hope other Church polities in America will follow their lead.”

Along the way, I was interviewed by the United Methods News Service about the issue and also joined Rev. Christie, on camera, for an interview about why the resolution is so important.

Over the week at the UMC General Conference, I also spoke three times.

First, I spoke to a lunch hosted by NFAAUM. Talking about “What Can The United Methodist Church Do For Indian Christians,” I laid out the Hindutva problem in India and explained why the UMC resolution is so historic.

Second, Rev. Christie and I jointly spoke about “Hindutva's Authoritarian Rise & India/Philippines Parallels” at a lunch hosted by the Love Your Neighbor Coalition (LYNC) of the UMC.

We discussed parallels between the Hindutva movement in India and the violence in the Philippines, especially the weaponization of anti-terror laws, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial executions to target dissidents against the regime.

Third, and finally, I spoke at a lunch hosted by LYNC about “The 101 On Why Hindutva Persecutes Religious Minorities,” explaining why the Hindu nationalist movement is persecuting Christians (and other religious minorities), what Hindutva wants to achieve, and how the UMC has taken an historic position in standing with persecuted Christians in India.