Religious conversion is not against the law because the Constitution guarantees everyone the freedom to practice any religion they want. To learn more, keep reading about religious conversion is legal in India.
In India, Articles 25 to 28 of the Indian Constitution provide the basic right to freedom of religion, so it can be said that religious conversion is legal in India. The preamble of the Indian constitution was changed in 1976 to say that India is a secular state, marking the creation of modern India. The Supreme Court of India concluded that India was already a secular state when its constitution was formed. This amendment truly accomplished to state what had previously been stated implicitly in Articles 25 to 28. Every Indian citizen has the freedom to practice peacefully and spread their religion.
Why Do People Change Their Religion?
People change their religious conversion for various reasons, such as active conversion by free will owing to a change in beliefs, secondary conversion, conversion on one’s deathbed, convenience-related conversion, conversion over marriage, and forced conversion.
According to Article 15 of the Indian Constitution, one of India’s essential rights is the right to practice one’s religion freely. India is a secular nation, and each Indian citizen is free to practice and spread their faith peacefully. This indicates that changing one’s religion (due to personal conviction, marriage, or divorce) is acceptable in India so long as the decision is made voluntarily and without the use of pressure or force.
- Conversions that are made voluntarily or as a result of a change in beliefs
- Forceful conversions are those that occur as a result of compulsion, improper influence, or temptation
- Conversions brought on by marriage, or marital conversions
- Conversion for ease of use
What Is the Legal Process in India for Changing Religion?
No law governs switching from one religion to another. In many cases, the Supreme Court has ruled that conversions are not subject to special legal requirements, formalities, religious rituals, or ceremonies. It was decided that conversion does not require a formal ceremony of purification or expiration in Perumal Nadar by Legal Representative v. Ponnuswami Nadar.
Anyone who does so in good faith is free to change their religion. An oral or written declaration alone does not constitute conversion. Credible proof of the desire to convert is required, followed by clear overt actions that carry out that desire. It would suffice to determine that true conversion occurs if a sincere purpose is followed by actions that reveal that intention.
For the converted religion to be listed in all legal documents, the change of religion must first be announced in the government gazette. The Supreme Court used the same method for reconversion in the case of Kailash Sonkar v Smt. Maya Devi. If a cleric wishes to change his religion, he may do so with the district magistrate’s approval. Due to the lack of statutory provisions, the Registration Officer must determine whether the conversion was legitimate.
Any person who wants to change their religion can do so by complying with the personal law of that religion. The rites that must be carried out at conversion in a specific way are provided by numerous personal laws.
Document Required to Justify Religious Conversion Is Legal in India
- Pan card, a driver’s license, a passport, an Aadhar card, or a voter ID serve as identity proofs
- while an electricity bill or a ration card serves as address proofs
- Passport size photo
- Application Form – A properly filled-out application form that includes the previous and new religions, the applicant’s old name, current address, contact information, and the motivation behind the change in religion.
15 to 20 days would be needed to draught the application for a change in religion. The publication will be released between 45 and 60 business days after receiving the application. Additionally, the applicant must routinely stop by the Gazette publication’s office to inquire about the status. You can complete the full process online from the convenience of your home. You can get a copy of the gazette from the website. The Controller of Publications only publishes the Official Gazette of India. They are free to reject your application if it is unclear, lacking, deceptive, or unlawful. This will result in unwelcome delays. Therefore you should exercise caution before submitting your application to alter your religion. You must do due diligence to ensure that the submitted documents are legitimate and in the correct sequence.
Do Laws Against Conversion Violate Fundamental Rights?
Only Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, and Himachal Pradesh have anti-conversion laws in effect out of the seven states that have so far adopted such legislation. A recent anti-conversion bill has also been introduced in Jharkhand that aims to outlaw forced conversions and stipulates that those who commit forced conversions must serve a 4-year sentence in prison and pay a fine of ₹1 lakh.
Anti-conversion laws essentially came into existence to prevent conversions to religion that were the result of deception, coercion, inducement, or allurement. But the issue is that concepts like fraud, coercion, and incentive have imprecise definitions. But Christians had a completely different perspective on this. Christians claimed that the main purpose of these rules is to forbid conversions outright. According to research, violence against Christians increased in 2016 in states with anti-conversion laws. This paper argued that these anti-conversion laws are completely ineffective because, in reality, they only serve to prevent conversions rather than outlaw forced conversions. Secular forces claim that these laws are unconstitutional and infringe on human rights, although the judiciary has already upheld their constitutionality in a large number of the cases cited above.
Conclusion
Freedom of religion is listed as one of our essential rights in the Indian constitution, and religious conversion is legal in India. You can legally change your religion by submitting a notarized affidavit, running a newspaper AD, and publishing notice of the switch in the National Gazette. This indicates that changing one’s religion (due to personal conviction, marriage, or divorce) is acceptable in India so long as the decision is made voluntarily and without pressure or force.
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