Churches in India’s western state of Maharashtra are asking worshippers to sign statements confirming that they attend services voluntarily, as Christian leaders voice concern that a newly enforced “anti-conversion” law could be used against religious minorities.
About 4,000 churches across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region have introduced the consent forms, according to The Straits Times. Pastor Sam Mathai of Vasai in neighboring Palghar district said the documents are kept at church offices and can be presented to police or government officials if authorities request them, Rediff reported.
Some Protestant and evangelical churches began using the declarations before Maharashtra’s 2026 Freedom of Religion Act took effect Friday, according to UCA News.
Devdan Tribhuvan, president of the Maharashtra Christian Development Association, said each person attending a service is asked to state that they are doing so by their own choice and without pressure. He said the forms are intended to protect churches from allegations that conversions were obtained through force or deception.
The law became effective after receiving presidential assent and being published in the state gazette on July 30.
The statute prohibits religious conversions carried out through marriage, undue influence, allurement, fraud or coercion, with repeat offenders facing prison terms of up to 10 years. It also requires anyone planning to change religion to notify a district magistrate 60 days in advance, while failure to follow the procedure can result in imprisonment of up to seven years.
Christian leaders have warned that the law could be used to portray ordinary worship gatherings and prayer meetings as illegal conversion efforts.
Dolphy D’Souza, spokesperson for the Bombay Catholic Sabha, said, “Fraudulent or coercive religious conversions are already punishable under Indian criminal codes,” and argued that such laws can be used politically by Hindu majoritarian groups against religious minorities.
John Dayal, spokesperson for the All India Catholic Union, said the laws are designed less to prevent coercive conversion than to consolidate the Hindu majority as a permanent political voting bloc, describing Maharashtra’s statute as one of the country’s strictest.
Twelve of India’s 28 states already had similar laws in place before Maharashtra became the 13th. Most of those states are governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, while church organizations have challenged the constitutionality of such statutes before India’s Supreme Court.
In Uttar Pradesh, where an anti-conversion law was enacted in 2020, legal aid organizations say about 200 cases involving Christians remain pending, while more than 800 people, including pastors and worshippers, have been arrested or detained.
