The Catholic bishops of Maharashtra, India, are protesting the recently passed Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, 2026, warning that the law fails to protect religious freedom and instead restricts individuals’ ability to freely choose and profess their faith.
The legislation, passed March 16 by the Maharashtra Assembly, reportedly seeks to regulate religious conversions by prohibiting those deemed coerced, fraudulent, or induced. It includes provisions such as requiring a 60-day advance notice for conversions and authorizing prison sentences for those who fail to comply, measures the bishops warned place undue restrictions on freedom of religion.
According to a March 19 press release from the Archdiocese of Bombay, the bishops stated their “deep disappointment" in the bill, which they say unjustly restricts religious freedom by broadly defining “unlawful conversion” to include actions they argue could encompass legitimate expressions of faith.
The bishops said that the bill interferes with the Catholic Church’s Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, a process designed to ensure that individuals freely and knowingly choose to enter the faith. According to the bishops, even such voluntary conversions could be subject to legal repercussions. They emphasized that the Church has long opposed forced conversions but cautioned that the legislation “criminalises legitimate religious activity” and places an “unreasonable burden” on individuals and religious institutions.
“Far from safeguarding religious freedom,” the bishops stated in the press release, “this law, in its present form, effectively undermines the very right it claims to protect, i.e., the freedom to choose and profess one’s religion.”
The bishops further raised concerns about the provision’s impact on individuals’ privacy and personal decisions, warning it could subject them to increased oversight.
“This provision,” the bishops explained, “intrudes deeply into the personal domain of conscience and belief, opening the door to scrutiny, suspicion, and harassment. This section, like most sections in the Bill, are manifestly arbitrary and this section is violative of an individual’s right to privacy.”
The bishops also said that religious freedom does not derive from the state but must be recognized and upheld as an essential right.
“Religious freedom is not a concession granted by the State,” the bishops explained in the release. “It is a fundamental right that the State is bound to respect, protect, and uphold.”
As Zeale News previously reported, multiple Indian states have implemented similar legislation where strict penalties, including life in prison for alleged forced conversions, have raised concerns about religious freedom.