Religious Conversion – Religion Scholars Thinking Together

<p>Notes on Contributors vii</p>
<p>Introduction 1<br />Shanta Premawardhana</p>
<p>Part I: Preliminary Considerations 7</p>
<p>1 Thinking Together: A Story and a Method 9<br />M. Thomas Thangaraj</p>
<p>2 Defining Religious Conversion 21<br />M. Thomas Thangaraj</p>
<p>3 Models of Religious Belonging 32<br />Rita M. Gross</p>
<p>4 Conversion Sought and Feared 45<br />Hans Ucko</p>
<p>Part II: Views from Five Religious Traditions 61</p>
<p>5 Buddhists on Religious Conversion: A Critical Issue 63<br />Mahinda Deegalle</p>
<p>6 A Christian Perspective on Conversion 83<br />Jay T. Rock</p>
<p>7 Conversion from a Hindu Perspective: Controversies, Challenges, and Opportunities 98<br />Anantanand Rambachan</p>
<p>8 Islamic Perspectives on Conversion: Aid Evangelism and Apostasy Law 119<br />A. Rashied Omar and Rabia Terri Harris</p>
<p>9 Jewish Perspectives on Conversion 142<br />Amy Eilberg</p>
<p>Part III: Conversion and Human Rights 159</p>
<p>10 Conversion and Religious Freedom 161<br />S. Wesley Ariarajah</p>
<p>11 The Right to Religious Freedom and Proselytism: A Legal Perspective 177<br />Ravin Ramdass</p>
<p>Part IV: Looking to the Future 197</p>
<p>Epilogue: To Learn and to Encourage: Insights from the Thinking Together Group 199<br />Shanta Premawardhana</p>
<p>A Study Guide 205<br />Deborah Weissman</p>
<p>Index 212</p>