Source: International Christian Concern, August 13, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Hindu religious leader issued a definitive, public call to make a central Indian state [of Odisha] \u201cchurch-free.\u201d This marks a chilling escalation in the fusion of state authority and radical ideological movements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The presence of Odisha\u2019s chief minister and the declaration made against Christians alongside RSS functionaries provides a veneer of state-sanctioned legitimacy to a movement that openly targets religious minorities. This collective presence signals that the \u201cchurch-free\u201d mandate is no longer a peripheral demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is seen as not merely a rhetorical flourish but as a calculated effort to dismantle the operational freedom of Christian institutions by framing their existence as an existential threat to the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the function, several appeals and strategies were announced for the Hindu community of Odisha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the \u201cOne Rupee and One Hour\u201d Appeal, a mechanism was laid for total social mobilization designed to turn every citizen into a micro-stakeholder in the anti-conversion movement, funding and dedicating time to \u201cSanatan activities.\u201d Sanatan is a term used to refer to Hinduism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christian leaders living in Kandhamal district have taken note of this development and have planned to launch protest movements across the province to voice their anger against this religious radicalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read the full story<\/a> as well as another from ICC, Concern Grows as Hindu Leaders Call for Nepal to Be Declared a Hindu Nation<\/a> (again).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In July, International Christian Concern released the 2026 Global Persecution Index<\/a>, a 124-page report which includes analysis of current trends and profiles of India, Nepal, and 20 other countries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Source: International Christian Concern, August 13, 2026 A Hindu religious leader issued a definitive, public call to make a central Indian state [of Odisha] \u201cchurch-free.\u201d This marks a chilling escalation in the fusion of state authority and radical ideological movements. The presence of Odisha\u2019s chief minister and the declaration made against Christians alongside RSS functionaries … Continue reading India: The Call to Make Odisha a \u201cChurch-Free\u201d State<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-briefs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14738"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14739,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14738\/revisions\/14739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}