Bhutan’s government has proposed a new “anti-conversion” bill that is being used by vigilantes in other nations as a means to falsely accuse and imprison Christians.

The bill cites Bhutan’s Penal Code under section 463 which says, “A defendant shall be guilty of the offense of proselytization if the defendant uses coercion or other forms of inducement to cause the conversion of a person from one religion or faith to another,” Compass Direct News said.

The bill, which is expected to be passed in Parliament’s next session, has incited fear among Christian clergymen. One pastor said Bhutan always had a “virtual” anti-conversion law, but this new bill would set it on paper and it may be used to control the growth of Christianity, CDN said.

Under the bill misdemeanors will be punishable by one to three years in prison. A pastor who requested anonymity said the bill will permit the arrest of Christians even at frivolous complaints of local residents, CDN said.

Bhutan has a population of 683,407 people with 75 percent Buddhist and 22 percent Hindu. There are some 6,000 Christians, but no church building nor registered Christian body. The Bible has been translated into both Dzongkha (Bhutan’s national language) and Nepali (the ethnicity of most Bhutan Christians), CDN said.

Before Bhutan became a democracy in 2008 it was ruled by absolute monarchy which had prevailed for hundreds of years. Although the constitution allows freedom of religion, Christianity is not officially recognized, and it is not mentioned in Bhutan’s official website which mentions Mahayana Buddhism, Hinduism, Bon, animism and shamanism, CDN says.

Lyonpo Minjur Dorji, Home and Culture minister, said Bhutan had no argument with Christianity. “But Bhutan is a small country, with a little more than 600,000 people, and a majority of them are Buddhist. We have Hindus, also, mainly in southern parts. So why do we need more religions?” CDN said.

The country, which has largely lived in extreme isolation amid the Himalayas and between India and Tibet, has embedded Buddhism in its political and social life. Buddhism has largely kept the populace united and daily life orbits around its monastery, CDN said.

The country views culture, rather than its military, as a means to protect its sovereignty, and Dorji is equally charged with preservation of culture and internal security. Bhutan is also concerned that Tibet has become a part of China and Sikkim is now a part of India, CDN said.

Sikkim had been an independent Buddhist kingdom until Hindus from Nepal migrated gradually until they came to outnumber the Buddhists. Under a 1975 referendum 75 percent of Sikkim who were largely Nepalese voted to become a state of India, CDN said.

Bhutan authorities responded by harshly cracking down on ethnic Nepalese through ethnic cleansing in the 1980s which led to some 100,000 Nepalese, many Christians among them, to lose their homes, CDN said.

To further strengthen their cultural integrity they implement laws that require the people to speak their national language and wear their national dress. The architecture must also be uniform. Violators are fined and imprisoned, CDN said.

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A rise in the number of Christian believers is perceived in China along with that of other faiths as an immense spiritual vacuum parallels China’s economic boom.

A 2006 survey on China’s religious beliefs revealed a boom in Christian, Catholic and other faiths. Out of 4,500 respondents, 31.4 percent or the equivalent of 300 million Chinese described themselves as religious, NPR said.

The boom is perceived to parallel China’s economic boom. Professor Liu Zhongyu of East China Normal University, Shanghai, who authored the survey said, “Since the political atmosphere has relaxed, [the Chinese people] turn to religion for comfort.”  China considers itself officially atheist, NPR said.

In 2006 China tweaked its stand on religion with former head of religious affairs, Ye Xiaowen telling local media that religion could be a good force for society, NPR said.

This comes after a long history of religious-fueled rebellions among Chinese peasants. In the 1949 communist revolution five religions were officially recognized namely Catholicism, Protestantism, Daoism, Buddhism and Islam. They function under government supervision with regular monitoring.

Sister Janet Carroll, a Catholic nun in China for decades said, “If you gather people together, have authorities in place, financial means and some sort of organizational control over groups of people, the Chinese government wants to not only know about it, but also have a say about how it all functions,” NPR said.

Although the Chinese government still regards religion suspiciously, there is a freer environment for faith. One evangelical Christian who calls herself Nicole proselytizes with friends through many villages although it is illegal, NPR said.

Rev. Michel Marcil who heads the U.S. Catholic China Bureau said conversations he has had with Chinese religious affairs officials have given him reason to believe policy changes may occur which may be more adaptable and relevant to China’s experience with capitalism, NPR said.

Charismatic movements and other traditional religious revivals have taken on a life of their own with two thirds of the survey respondents saying they were Taoists, Buddhists, or worshippers of folk gods, NPR said.

The government has shown some support by changing public holidays to accommodate Chinese practices including sweeping ancestral graves (Qingming Festival) and giving more support to Buddhism. Scholars believe the efforts are geared to counter the Christian explosion, NPR says.

Another trend noted is that more young people are practicing religion with 62 percent of respondents at age 39 and under. In Wenzhou city, called “China’s Jerusalem” many worshippers in underground charismatic prayer meeting are young and wealthy, NPR said.

Amid sympathetic reviews from state-run media they hope to one day be legitimized. The emergence of wealthy Christian believers has contributed to the swift growth of Christianity, NPR said.

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During this week’s regularly scheduled evening edition of “Fox News Sunday,” notable Fox senior political analyst Brit Hume weighed in on the controversial scandals surrounding pro golfer Tiger Woods by suggesting the allegedly Buddhist sportsman “turn to Christianity.”

Hume noted that “Tiger Woods will recover as a golfer. Whether he can recover as a person is a very open question.”

Woods, 34, continues to endure negative media coverage after confirmed rumors of his multiple affairs.

The legendary golfer recently announced his plans to take a hiatus from the sport and admitted that he was unfaithful to his wife, according to the Associated Press.

Hume believes Woods’ recovery depends heavily on his faith. “He is said to be a Buddhist,” commented Hume.

“[But] I don’t think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. My message to Tiger would be ‘Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.’”

Woods, who recently lost several of his multi-million dollar sponsors and endorsements, admitted to Reuters in 2008 that he does “practice meditation.”

He also added, “In the Buddhist religion, you have to work for it yourself, internally, in order to achieve anything in [this] life and set up the next life. It’s all about what you do.”

In a Monday night guest appearance on Fox News’ “The O’Reily Factor,” Hume admitted he has received several letters regarding his comments about Woods, many of which have condemned him for his remarks and even accused him of belittling the Buddhist faith.

Hume denied accusations of proselytizing and told host Bill O’Reily, “Tiger Woods is somebody I’ve always rooted for as a golfer and as a man. I’ve greatly admired him over the years and I’ve always said to people that it was the content of his character that made him […] so admirable. Now we know that the content of his character was not what we thought it was.”

He added that, “Jesus Christ offers something that Tiger Woods badly needs.”

Hume, previously divorced and now married to Fox News Vice President Kim Schiller Hume, lost a son to suicide in February 1998.

Ten years later, during his 2008 departure from the Fox News segment “Special Report,” he commented on the affect his son’s death had on his faith.

“I want to pursue my faith more ardently than I have done,” said Hume.

“I’m not claiming it’s impossible to do when you work in this business. I was kind of a nominal Christian for the longest time. When my son died, I came to Christ in a way that was very meaningful to me. If a person is a Christian and tries to face up to the implications of what you say you believe, it’s a pretty big thing. If you do it part time, you’re not really living it.”

During his talk with O’Reily, Hume concluded by noting that a conversion to Christianity by Woods would be so noticeable that it would “shine through in his being” and would be “a magnificent thing to witness.”

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