New laws in two Indian states threaten religious liberty

Two Indian state legislatures passed controversial new anti-conversion laws last week, in moves that brought defiant responses from Catholic leaders.

The passage of the bills in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh brought strong criticism from Catholic bishops and came as nearly a dozen legal challenges to similar laws are pending before the Indian Supreme Court.

Maharashtra – a “legal minefield”

A group of more than a dozen bishops from Maharashtra issued a statement in the wake of the Maharashtra law’s passage...