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Proselytizing ( /ˈprɒsɨlɨtaɪzɨŋ/) is the act of attempting to convert people to another opinion and, particularly, another religion. The word proselytize is derived ultimately from the Greek language prefix προσ- (toward) and the verb ἔρχομαι (to come) in the form of προσήλυτος (a new comer).^[1] Historically in the Koine Greek Septuagint and New Testament, the word proselyte denoted a gentile who was considering conversion to Judaism. Though the word proselytism originally referred to Early Christianity (and earlier Gentiles), it also refers to other religions' attempts to convert people to their beliefs or even any attempt to convert people to another point of view, religious or not.

Christianity[link]

Statue of St. Patrick of the Celtic Church, who was famous for proselytizing.

Many Christians consider it their obligation to follow what is often termed the Great Commission of Jesus, recorded in the final verses of the Gospel of Matthew: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." The Acts of the Apostles and other sources contain several accounts of early Christians following this directive by engaging in individual conversations and mass sermons to spread the "good news". Evangelical Christians often use the term "witnessing" to mean discussing one's faith with another person with the intent of proselytism.

Most self-described Christian groups have organizations devoted to missionary work which in whole or in part includes proselytism of people of other faiths (including sometimes other variants of Christianity).

Some Christians define "proselytism" more narrowly as the attempt to convert people from one Christian tradition to another; those who use the term in this way generally view the practice as illegitimate and in contrast to evangelism, which is converting non-Christians to Christianity. An Eastern Orthodox writer, Stephen Methodius Hayes has written: "If people talk about the need for evangelism, they meet with the response, 'the Orthodox church does not proselytize' as if evangelizing and proselytism were the same thing." However the boundary varies from group to group. For instance the Moscow Patriarchate has repeatedly strongly condemned what it describes as Catholic proselytism of Orthodox Christians within Russia and has therefore opposed a Catholic construction project in an area of Russia where the Catholic community is small. The Catholic Church claims that it is supporting the existing Catholic community within Russia and is not proselytizing.^[2][3][4] Recently, the Balamand declaration on proselytism was released between the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches.

Groups noted for proselytism include:

• Anglican
• Jehovah's Witnesses
• Jews for Jesus
• Roman Catholic^[5][6]
• Southern Baptist Convention
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Seventh Day Adventists

Indian religions[link]

Buddhist proselytism at the time of king Ashoka (260-218 BC), according to the Edicts of Ashoka.

Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism are largely pluralistic. Hinduism places faith in a Vedic proclamation which states that "Truth is One, though the sages know it by many names"; Hinduism has no conversion/reconversion rituals whatsoever—one is free to choose any religion he/she wants, follow any philosophy or belief one fancies and worship any god in a manner he/she deems fit. Religion for a Hindu is merely a path to a universal destination. This is inherently due to the karmic nature of the religion: you will reap what you sow (irrespective of how you sow it); also, Hinduism's sense of evil/suffering is solely due to ignorance of the Reality, not the work of an adversary, nor is the result of God's anger. It is also not uncommon for Hindus to visit holy men of other religions.

One group that takes in willing converts in Hinduism, but without calumniating^{[citation needed]} other religions, is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness also known as Hare Krishnas^{[original research?]}.

Ethnocentrism of any sort (including the idea of belonging to a 'school of Buddhism' as well as evangelism and religious supremacism) is, according to Buddhist thought, rooted in self-grasping and reified thought - the cause of Samsara itself. The current Dalai Lama has repeatedly argued that any attempt to convert individuals from their beliefs is not only non-Buddhist, but abusive: the identification of evangelism as an expression of compassion is considered to be false.

Mahavira (599-527 BC), the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, developed an early philosophy regarding relativism and subjectivism known as Anekantavada. As a result of this acceptance of alternate religious practices, the phenomenon of proselytisation is largely absent in these religions but not unknown.

Sikhism bans proselytism "through force or inducement" out of the belief that each person has a fundamental right to practice their religion freely.^[7] Although Sikhs freely share their faith with others, offending other religions is against the tenets of Sikhism.^[8] However, Sikhism does accept voluntary converts.

Islam[link]

In Islam, (see dawah and Islamic missionary activity) inviting people to the religion is a meritorious activity. The Qur'an states "Let there be no compulsion in the religion: Surely the Right Path is clearly distinct from the crooked path." (Al-Baqarah, 2:256) which is taken by Muslim scholars that force is not to be used to convert someone to Islam.

Judaism[link]

Unlike in the Hellenistic era, in the modern era most branches of Judaism do not actively proselytize to non-Jews, instead non-Jews are encouraged to follow Noahide Law which is said to assure a place in the World to Come. Some groups, however, will encourage nonobservant Jews to be observant, such as Aish HaTorah or Chabad. Reform Judaism has been known to welcome the non-Jewish spouses of already existing mixed marriages to convert to Judaism.^[9] Orthodox Judaism usually discourages conversion, but persistent and sincere requests for conversion are conducted.^[10]

Strictly-inherited membership[link]

Some religions do not accept converts at all (membership is inherited), such as the Druze and some Zoroastrians.

Views on proselytism[link]

Propriety of proselytism[link]

Views on the propriety of different types of proselytism differ radically. Some feel that freedom of speech should have no limits and that virtually anyone, anywhere should have the right to talk about anything they see fit. Others see all sorts of proselytism as a nuisance and an intrusion and would like to see them restricted (either completely or to a limited arena). Thus, Prof. Natan Lerner of Tel Aviv University observes that the issue is one of a clash of rights—the perceived right of a person to express his or her views versus the perceived right of a person not to be exposed to views that he or she does not wish to hear.

Some don't mind preaching but are concerned if the speech is accompanied by physical benefits (e.g., a soup kitchen that provides food, but only under the condition that the recipients listen to an evangelical discourse) or new converts are given physical benefits not available to those who don't convert. Others are concerned if the preaching is aimed at children without the knowledge and consent of the parents.

Exclusivity of membership[link]

Many religions, including Abrahamic religions such as Christianity and Islam, doctrinally claim a sole ideological propriety over their members which forbids them from maintaining a simultaneous adherence to other religions. However, while Judaism discourages active proselytism in other religious communities and maintains an exclusivist doctrine on adherence, Christianity and Islam both doctrinally advocate for active proselytism while discouraging converts from maintaining multiple adherences or, worse, apostasy; this stance by Christianity and Islam regarding proselytism is further reinforced by a doctrinal belief in post-mortal, eternal punishment for non-believers, thus justifying proselytism as a means of humanitarian outreach for "salvation" and condemning non-adherence or multi-adherence as sinful behavior.

This view, however, is countered by the alternate doctrine of universalism, which emphasizes universal reconciliation of all non-believers by default. Such a stance would functionally invalidate the concept of proselytism as a humanitarian gesture or duty for adherents, but it also technically maintains the ultimate "incompletion" of other religious traditions in their understanding of divinity.

Legal standpoint[link]

From a legal standpoint (international, as well the European Union, or nationally India, Canada and United States), there do appear to be certain criteria in distinguishing licit from illicit proselytism. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 18 states,

1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.
2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.
3. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
4. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.

The first amendments to the constitutions of United States and India, the European Union Charter of Human Rights and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms provide that all people have:

• the right to have religious beliefs (or to not have religious beliefs) (Freedom of Religion);
• the right to form organizations for the purpose of worship, as well as for promoting their cause (Freedom of Association); and
• the right to speak to others about their convictions, with the purpose of influencing the others. (Freedom of Speech).

By the same token, these very rights exercise a limiting influence on the freedoms of others. For instance, the right to have one's religious (or non-religious) beliefs presumably includes the right not to be coerced by the government into changing these beliefs by threats, discrimination, or similar inducements.^{[citation needed]}

Limits[link]

Proselytism is considered inappropriate and not protected in certain environments open to the public or are owned privately: government buildings, public education (grade schools and college campuses), the workplace and private properties like ones' home or front yard.

Limits on proselytism is a combination of what is considered legal (and this varies from country to country) and what is considered moral (and this varies from person to person).

Some countries such as Greece^[11] prohibit all proselytism, some such as Morocco prohibit it except for Islam and in Canada or certain parts of the USA, sociocultural norms suggest proselytism is improper.^{[citation needed]} Some restrict it in various ways such as prohibiting attempts to convert children or prohibit offering physical benefits to new converts.

Religious groups also draw lines between what they are willing to do or not do to convert people. For instance the Catholic Church in Ad Gentes states that "The Church strictly forbids forcing anyone to embrace the Faith, or alluring or enticing people by worrisome wiles." The World Council of Churches in The Challenge of Proselytism and the Calling to Common Witness states the following: (Note: this document uses proselytism in the negative sense only.)

19. Proselytism as described in this document stands in opposition to all ecumenical effort. It includes certain activities which often aim at having people change their church affiliation and which we believe must be avoided, such as the following:

• making unjust or uncharitable references to other churches’ beliefs and practices and even ridiculing them;
• comparing two Christian communities by emphasizing the achievements and ideals of one, and the weaknesses and practical problems of the other;
• employing any kind of physical violence, moral compulsion and psychological pressure e.g. the use of certain advertising techniques in mass media that might bring undue pressure on readers/viewers;
• using political, social and economic power as a means of winning new members for one’s own church;
• extending explicit or implicit offers of education, health care or material inducements or using financial resources with the intent of making converts;
• manipulative attitudes and practices that exploit people’s needs, weaknesses or lack of education especially in situations of distress, and fail to respect their freedom and human dignity.

History of proselytism[link]

The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (August 2010)

Since the collapse of the former Soviet Union the Russian Orthodox Church has enjoyed a revival. However, it takes exception to what it considers illegitimate proselytising by the Catholic Church (even though the Catholic Church had been set up in Russia before the Soviet Block severely limited the contacts of Catholics with the outside world), the Salvation Army, Jehovah's Witnesses and other religious movements in what it refers to as its canonical territory. [3]

Greece has a long history of conflict, mostly with Jehovah's Witnesses but also with some Pentecostals over its laws on proselytism. This situation stems from a law passed in the 1930s by the dictator Ioannis Metaxas. A Jehovah's Witness, Minos Kokkinakis, won 3,189,500 drachmas (US $10,600) in damages from the Greek state after being arrested repeatedly for preaching his faith from door to door. In another case, Larissis vs. Greece, a member of the Pentecostal church also won a case in the European Court of Human Rights.

See also[link]

• Deprogramming
• Evangelism
• Fate of the unlearned
• Lists of proselytes
• Missionary
• Religious conversion

References[link]

• C. Davis (1996). "Joining a Cult: Religious Choice or Psychological Aberration?". Cleveland-Marshall Journal of Law and Health 11. http://www.religioustolerance.org/cult_art.htm. 
• "Russian Canonical Territory". http://www.catholic-church.org/church-unity/r_c_t_e.htm. 
• "Human Rights Without Frontiers Int.". European Court Final Judgments on Religious Freedom Issues 1964-2001. http://www.hrwf.net/html/0804courtfinal.htm. 
• YouTube Gets Religion
• Rabbi Asher Meza's Jewish outreach organization http://www.BeJewish.org

External links[link]

Look up proselytism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• For a discussion of some of the legal aspects of defining illicit proselytism, see the article Proselytism, Change of Religion, and International Human Rights, by Natan Lerner, PhD

Jean Bethke Elshtain (born 1941) is an American political philosopher.

Biography[link]

She is the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Professor of Social and Political Ethics at the University of Chicago Divinity School, and is a contributing editor for The New Republic. She is, in addition, newly the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Chair in the Foundations of American Freedom at Georgetown University. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and she has served on the Boards of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, and the National Humanities Center. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and has received nine honorary degrees. In 2002, Elshtain received the Frank J. Goodnow award, the highest award for distinguished service to the profession given by the American Political Science Association.^[1]

The focus of Elshtain's work is an exploration of the relationship between politics and ethics. Much of her work is concerned with the parallel development of male and female gender roles as they pertain to public and private social participation. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks she has been one of the more visible academic supporters of U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq.

She has published over five hundred essays and authored and/or edited over twenty books, including Democracy on Trial, Just War Against Terror: The Burden of American Power in a Violent World, Jane Addams and the Dream of American Democracy, Augustine and the Limits of Politics, and " Sovereignty: God, State, Self.

In 2006, she was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Council of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and also delivered the prestigious Gifford Lectures at the University of Edinburgh, joining such previous Gifford Lecturers as William James, Hannah Arendt, Karl Barth, and Reinhold Niebuhr. In 2008, Elshtain received a second presidential appointment to the President's Council on Bioethics.

Over the course of the last thirty-five years, Elshtain has contributed to national debates on the family, the roles of men and women, the state of American Democracy, and International relations.

Selected works[link]

Books[link]

• Sovereignty: God, State, Self (2008)
• Just War against Terror: The Burden of American Power in a Violent World (2003)
• Jane Addams and the Dream of American Democracy (2002)
• Who Are We? Critical Reflections and Hopeful Possibilities. Politics and Ethical Discourse (2000)
• New Wine in Old Bottles: International Politics and Ethical Discourse (1998)
• Real Politics: Political Theory and Everyday Life (1997)
• Augustine and the Limits of Politics (1996)
• Democracy on Trial (1993)
• Just War Theory (1991)
• Power Trips and Other Journeys (1990)
• Women and War (1987)
• Meditations on Modern Political Thought (1986)
• Public Man, Private Woman: Women in Social and Political Thought (1981)

Articles[link]

• "The Self: Reborn, Undone, Transformed". TELOS 44 (Summer 1980). New York: Telos Press

References[link]

External links[link]

• Dr. Elshtain's faculty website
• Voices on Antisemitism Interview with Jean Bethke Elshtain from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum