Religious conversion

Religious conversion is the adoption of new religious beliefs that differ from the convert's previous beliefs; in some cultures (e.g. Judaism) conversion also signifies joining an ethnic group as well as adopting that group's religious beliefs. Conversion requires internalization of the new belief system. Proselytizing is the act of trying to convert another individual from the convertee's religion to the converter's religion.

Conversion to religions of Indic origin

Religions of Indic origin such as Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism do not believe in conversion as a form of religious expansion, even though they welcome anybody to join their faiths. The reason for this is the strongly held belief in these religions that "all religions are true and are only different paths to the same truth". The followers also believe that the religion you follow is to be chosen based on an individual's temperament, birth etc. Also, what would be very strange and foreign to non-Indic origin faiths is that people can claim to be follower of multiple religions. For example in Japan which was influenced by the Indic faith of Buddhism, it is easy to find people who follow both Buddhism and Shinto. It is also common to find people in India claming to be both Hindu and Buddhist or Hindu and Sikh etc. This inclusivism is in direct contrast to the belief that the ordained path in the book is the only true paths, found in exclusivistic belief systems. This inclusivism also makes any conversion unnecessary. It should be noted that the above does not apply for some sects of Indic faiths, like Soka Gakkai and Hare Krishna/ISKCON.

Related Topics:
Hinduism - Sikhism - Buddhism - Shinto - Sect - Soka Gakkai - Hare Krishna/ISKCON

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