ABSTRACT: Religious conversion is not the rote copying of information from a communicator to a recipient. Rather, it is a complex and multifaceted process located within neophytes and abstracted from and dissipated through their social networks. This paper explores a group of Chinese international students who had converted or were converting to Christianity. Our aim is to show that the conversions observed among the participants revealed a complex set of intertwined processes marked by explicit and tacit discourses where Christian tenets were appropriated, negotiated, adapted, contested, or rejected. The conversions were acts of creation where no two neophytes seemed to espouse exactly the same version of Christianity.

Religious conversion is a complex and multidimensional socio-religious phenomenon because it involves changes in belief, religious identity, and value orientation in an individual’s life, which, in a plural society, is understood not only as a theological issue but is also closely related to psychological, social, cultural, and spiritual aspects. This study aimed to describe the definition and meaning of religious conversion, examine the processes experienced by individuals in undergoing religious conversion, identify the factors that influence it, and analyze Islamic perspectives on this phenomenon. The method used was a literature review by examining various scholarly works, expert opinions, and normative Islamic sources in the form of the Qur’an and hadiths. The findings show that religious conversion generally unfolds through stages of awareness, meaning-seeking, and decision-making, which are influenced by individuals’ psychological conditions, social environment, culture, and spiritual experiences. From an Islamic perspective, religious conversion is viewed as a fundamental matter of aqidah, in which freedom of religion is acknowledged, but faith and steadfastness in Islam are strongly emphasized. Therefore, the phenomenon of religious conversion needs to be understood comprehensively and proportionally so as not to generate social conflict and to ensure that religious and humanitarian values are respected.

As recounted in the Autobiography and always faithful to the internal dynamics of the Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius of Loyola’s life is extremely relevant today. The thesis that I will put forward here consists in showing how the secular world, in which we are situated today, can be the adequate ground for the blossoming of a type of religious conversion that the founder of the Jesuits experienced in the 16th century and to which the Magisterium of the pontificate of Francis pointed to. This type of conversion is characterized by three essential features: (1) the ability to assume the fragility of the human, so human, condition, (2) the ability to become immune to ideologies, revealing oneself to be moderate in the controversies of the present times and (3) the gratitude that allows openness to communion with all creatures, including non-human ones.

Abstract The conversion of Chinese individuals to Islam reveals a range of rejections that are normalized through acceptance statements from both Chinese and Muslim communities. These acceptance statements create the impression of a harmonious interfaith relationship within a strong cultural community. This study aims to reassess the notion of harmony in the religious life of Bangka Island through the examination of various actions that fall into the category of conflict. This research employs a qualitative method utilizing a conflict formation theory analysis model, which positions the reality of conflict as a natural part of social action. The study finds that the emergence of violence accompanying the phenomenon of religious conversion through marriage, adoption, and awareness is perceived by the Chinese converts as a metric for defining conflict. The violence that is mitigated through negotiation among families and the surrounding community to foster harmony does not eliminate stigma or resolve various contradictions. Instead, it perpetuates perceptions of suspicion, discomfort, and distrust among community members, which further strains familial relationships and excludes individuals from various societal traditions. The Chinese converts become subjects of these actions, positioning them in a liminal space that limits their connections to both their Chinese families and the indigenous Muslim community. The existing relationships create an impression of seemingly harmonious interactions that could potentially erupt into new forms of violence.

This article is devoted to the analysis of testimonies of religious conversion in the post-Soviet space using the Conversion Impact Index (CII) method. The purpose of the study is to systematize testimonies and identify their structural patterns through statistical analysis. The main innovation of the work is that for the first time CII was used not only as a means of qualitative interpretation, but also as a basis for quantitative statistical processing. Such an approach expands the methodological possibilities in religious studies and sociology of religion. The research methodology includes coding 41 testimonials in 14 CII categories, calculating characteristic statistical indicators (mean value, standard deviation, median, mode, interquartile range) and visualizing the results (column chart, Box plot, heatmap). This approach made it possible to identify universal and context-specific features in conversion testimonials. The main results showed that rhetorical, emotional, and theological dimensions are consistently found in testimonies, while categories such as special experience, source of invitation, and professional existence are quite variable. This proves that conversion is not only an individual spiritual change, but also a process that depends on the social and cultural context. The value of the study lies in its contribution to the sociology of religion by combining qualitative and quantitative approaches. Practical significance-the results obtained can be used in interdisciplinary research in the fields of sociology, psychology and religious studies. Keywords: Religious Conversion, Conversion Impact Index (CII), Narrative, Statistical Analysis, Visualisation

This study aims to describe and examine how colonialism is disguised in religious imperialism, meaning religion is used as a tool to carry out imperialism, in the historical setting of the early Islamic Kingdom of Demak, and colonization by the Portuguese in the archipelago. The study was conducted in two stages, namely to reveal how the theme is displayed in each part of the story, and the next stage is to reveal the key mechanisms in the practice of religious imperialism in the past. For the first objective, the approach used is the construction of story grammar offered by Mandler and Johnson, and for the second objective the researcher uses intertextual analysis from Gee. The results of the study illustrate that religious imperialism can be found in every part of the story: the setting, development and ending of the story. For the second objective, it was found that the key mechanisms of religious imperialism are religious conversion as a political tool, missionary or preacher activities and cultural domination, religious justification for colonial rule, and institutional control over religious practices.

The paper explores the historical context of social change that occurred through religious conversion among the Bodo-Kacharis of Assam during India’s pre-independence period. The Bodo-Kacharis were once one of the most powerful tribes of Assam, who preserved their unique cultures, traditions and customs along with the traditional Bathou religion for ages. Before independence, they faced new ideas and values from many institutionalized religions, such as Neo-Vaishnavism, Christianity and Brahma dharma as well as other minor sects, which made inroads into their society. The advent of these religions among them is so significant that it made immense contributions to the socio-cultural, economic and political changes in their society. The Bodo-Kacharis, popularly known as Boros or Bodos are the primitive tribes of India’s Northeast, particularly of Assam. To many scholars, they are very simple-minded people and fond of natural life. Accordingly, they worshipped nature God for ages. However, during the pre-independence period, a section of them adopted many new norms and values from other institutionalised religions, such as Neo-Vaishnavism of Srimanta Sankardeva, Christianity, Brahma dharma, a Hindu denomination, and other sects, instead of the Bathou religion. Besides this, after independence, many sects of the Hindu religion, like Satsang Vihar, Krishna guru and Joy guru also came into contact with Bodo-Kacharis, which brought about some changes in the socio-economic, cultural and religious doings. The entire process of change usually continued in the form of assimilation and acculturation among the Bodo-Kacharis, probably from the mid-17th century onwards, when they firstly faced a new religion, Neo-Vaishnavism as per the evidence found in some historical texts.

This article explores the role of cognitive dissonance in the process of religious conversion. Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person's beliefs, values, or actions do not match and cause discomfort (Festinger, 1957). This discomfort can lead to a change in beliefs or actions. The study examines many sources, including books, articles and research, to understand how cognitive dissonance affects religion. Key areas discussed include conflicts between religious teachings and life experiences, leadership failures, and the conflict between religion and science. The article also describes how some people strengthen their faith, while others abandon religion to reduce this discomfort. The results suggest that cognitive dissonance is important in understanding why people leave religion and how they adapt to new beliefs. Future research could learn more about the relationship between dissonance and personal, social and cultural factors.

This study examines the strategies employed by Muslim minority families in Tana Toraja to foster harmony and gender-balanced relationships within multireligious household settings. Using a qualitative phenomenological design, the research draws on extended interviews and close observations of five families formed through religious conversion. The analysis shows that everyday family life is shaped less by rigid patriarchal expectations than by negotiated understandings of roles and responsibilities, allowing men and women to construct a shared moral framework that remains sensitive to their differing religious commitments. Women, in particular, often act as stabilizing figures who sustain kinship networks through social participation, educational involvement, and economic activities, while simultaneously upholding clear boundaries in matters of worship and creed. Interpreted through Maqāsid al-Sharīʿah and contemporary approaches to Islamic pedagogy (Tarbiyah), these patterns reveal an egalitarian ethos that reinforces the protection of faith and lineage by fostering an atmosphere that is both tolerant of pluralism and grounded in religious integrity. The study contributes to current debates in Islamic family law and the sociology of religion by demonstrating how negotiated gender equality becomes a practical strategy for preserving familial cohesion in multireligious contexts.

Christian aid in Kenya has also been both a tool of hope and a point of tension in intra-faith relations, as some of the society welcomed it with open arms, others in doubt, while others received it conditionally on terms negotiated. The central objective of the study was to examine the effects of reception styles of Christian Aid on Christian-Muslim relations in Isiolo County with the following specific research objectives: to examine the effect of grateful acceptance of Christian Aid on Christian-Muslim relations in Isiolo County, to examine the effect of suspicion of Christian Aid on Christian-Muslim relations in Isiolo County, and to examine the effect of conditional acceptance of Christian Aid on Christian-Muslim relations in Isiolo County. Two theories (Social Identity Theory and Theory of Intergroup Contact), which are most relevant to the dynamics of Christian aid among Muslim communities, guided this study. A qualitative descriptive case study in Osmer's Practical Theology Model was used in the research. Descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation, and binary logistic regression were used for the data, and qualitative data were coded thematically to bring contextual depth and triangulation. Study sampling design qualifications that were sampled in an attempt to attain an equal and representative study respondents' sample of the target population that consisted of 2,230 members of Isiolo County's local Muslim population. The target population was stratified into six Christian humanitarian organizations that run activities in Isiolo County and offer aid. Stratification was conducted to make sure the sample reflected members of the Muslim community and, by default, are beneficiaries of aid from Christian organizations in Isiolo County. Questionnaires were the principal tools in data collection, which was quantitative. Three common reception patterns of aid were found. The first was acceptance with gratitude, and respondents and leaders both came out openly and mentioned the benefits of Christian relief, particularly during times of crisis such as drought and famine. Gratitude also had a strong association with improved Christian–Muslim relations because it prompted cooperation, trust, and the community's participation in development projects. Suspicion and fearfulness were the usual problems, according to memories of relief associated with missionaries, fear of religious conversion, and shared rumors. Such stereotypes once discouraged the community from joining aid programs, and they preferred receiving the assistance anonymously, thereby eroding interfaith trust. Conditional acceptance was a reaction that mirrored the realist response in the sense that the community demanded firmly, negotiated with relief agencies, and oversaw the relief distribution with the purpose of providing cultural and religious legitimacy. The study recommends greater transparency in aid provision, open forums for interfaith dialogue, compliance with community terms, and institution-building for participatory monitoring.

Personal names in Akan and Yorùbá societies of West Africa serve as profound markers of cultural identity, destiny, and spiritual belief. However, modernisation, globalisation, and the spread of Abrahamic religions have increasingly influenced naming practices, leading to a preference for foreign names over indigenous ones. This study aims to examine the cultural, linguistic, and philosophical significance of naming traditions among the Akan and Yorùbá peoples, with a particular focus on how names reflect gender, birth circumstances, social status, and metaphysical beliefs. This research employs a qualitative methodology, drawing on data from educational registers, oral interviews, questionnaires, and scholarly literature. The analysis reveals a growing trend toward English, Christian, and Islamic names, often driven by urbanisation, media exposure, and religious conversion. This shift has resulted in the anglicisation and mispronunciation of indigenous names, contributing to social stigma and identity concealment, especially in educational and urban contexts. The findings underscore the urgent need for linguistic advocacy, cultural education, and community-based strategies to preserve and revitalise indigenous naming systems. By framing names as cultural artefacts, the study highlights their role in sustaining African heritage and contributes to broader discourses on identity, postcolonial resistance, and cultural continuity.

This study examines the Tangerang Religious Court's ruling in case number 1189/Pdt.G/2023/PA.Tnk, focusing on child custody disputes arising from apostasy within marital dissolution. The research investigates how Islamic civil law operates within Indonesia's judicial framework, particularly when religious conversion becomes a determining factor in custody arrangements. Employing a normative juridical approach alongside descriptive analytical methods, the investigation draws primary data from court rulings, trial documentation, and judicial reasoning articulated by the panel of judges. Secondary sources encompass statutory regulations, Islamic jurisprudence literature, scholarly journals, and pertinent reference materials. The theoretical foundation rests on Classical Islamic Law principles articulated by Imam Syafi'i, which address the legal implications of apostasy on marital bonds and parental rights, complemented by legal interpretation frameworks developed by Dr. Yahya Harahap, SH., MH., regarding procedural justice in religious courts. The research reveals tensions between protecting children's religious upbringing and applying established custody principles that typically favor maternal care for young children. Findings demonstrate how judges navigate between statutory law, Islamic jurisprudence, and the best interests of the child when apostasy disrupts conventional custody determinations.

Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta presents religion and religious conversion as a tool of state power, rather than as a religious process. This play’s representation of false conversions lays bare the central paradox that plagued Reformation conversion narratives: how do you know someone has truly been converted? Marlowe’s play radically transforms acts of conversion into nonperformative speech. By staging coerced, dissembling, and honest conversions in a single play, with little ritualized action to distinguish one conversion from another, Marlowe challenges the religious work of conversion, exposing it as an early modern political tool that could be manipulated by both the state and individuals.

This article explores the stakes of discerning criminal conversion on the early modern stage, particularly when city comedies and domestic tragedies mediate contemporaneous London events. These plots offered an intersection between contemporaneous pamphlets that framed criminality as a distinct social identity and early English dramatic practices representing spiritual conversion. The Roaring Girl defended Moll Cutpurse’s criminal adjacency by framing her urban mediation as a hagiography akin to the Digby Play of Mary Magdalene. In contrast, domestic tragedies used hybrid personification to offer ambiguity about the spiritual or forensic state of mediators or go-betweens in criminal conspiracies. These paradigms offer diverging responses to antitheatrical warnings about the associative risks of playgoing.

ABSTRACT Why do people adopt new and different religious beliefs and practices, especially when it is often costly? Economic approaches to religion highlight the role of material conditions on people’s religious affiliation. However, studies often rely on data inconsistent with the level of analysis of their hypothesized mechanisms, or infer material motivations to join a new religion from observed material outcomes. We present an econometric study of religious conversion by focusing on the increase in non-Catholic Christianity in Chiapas, Mexico. This state has the most converts, as well as the poorest and least formally educated population in the country, suggesting education and material conditions influence conversion. We test this hypothesis by analyzing longitudinal municipality level data from the Mexican Population Census (1950–2020). To account for potential endogeneity between education or material conditions across waves, we implement a structural equation model for the analysis of longitudinal panel data. We fail to find a significant effect of material conditions (either positive or negative) on changes in religious affiliation in Chiapas. However, we find effect heterogeneity of education on religious change driven by its interaction with distance to urban centers. These findings are consistent with previous cross-national studies on religious conversion.

This study examines the contribution of a contextualized Christian ecological ethics to local responses to climate change challenges in Madagascar. The research focuses on the rural commune of Mahereza, a community deeply rooted in Christian faith and reliant on subsistence agriculture. The methodology combines biblical exegesis, field surveys, and the integration of Malagasy national environmental policies. Findings highlight a strong spiritual sense of responsibility toward creation, yet reveal a gap between this conviction and the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. This discrepancy is primarily driven by economic, technical, and structural constraints, which limit the implementation of Christian ecological principles. The proposed ethical framework unfolds in three stages: repentance, transformation of perspective, and concrete commitment inspired by the Servant Christ. It fosters an alliance between faith, local knowledge, and agroecological innovations to reconcile agricultural productivity with the safeguarding of creation. Churches, in collaboration with the state, NGOs, and academic institutions, can play a strategic role in this transition. Ultimately, this approach promotes dialogue between faith, science, and policy, framing ecology as both a space for spiritual conversion and collective transformation.

This paper attempts to examine the life of the famous writer and public figure of South India, Adiyar, later known as Abdulla Adiyar, who underwent religious conversion on June 6, 1987. Adiyar was a celebrated poet, author, playwright and journalist who was born as son of a communist father in a Tamil speaking community. Out of fascination for a new faith while being an atheist, he went through a drastic transformation in lifestyle, perception and vision of life. He authored several books on Islam, the most well-known being Chirayshaalayil Irunth Pallivaasal Vare (From Prison to the Mosque) and Naan Kadhalikum Islam translated as “The Islam I Love”. With a deeper exploration of his personal narrative, “From Prison to the Mosque” (translated into Malayalam by Abdul Jabbar Munniyoor as “Thadavarayilninnu Palliyilek”), this paper delves deep into the challenges encountered by the author, whose life journey eventually created widespread impact upon others too. Quests are central to most conversion narratives and identity crisis is often associated with them. Analyzing the motivational factors that affected his religious conversion, the psychological dimensions of faith change, and the influences of the author within the socio-cultural context that he lived in, this study discusses the personal experiences and challenges faced by Adiyar during his conversion.

ABSTRACT This article explores the gendered dimensions of Chala identity in Soviet and post-Soviet Tajikistan, focusing on a Persianate Jewish community historically shaped by forced religious conversion and enduring social marginalization. 1 In the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the term Chala denoted Jews who had converted to Islam, often under coercion, yet remained socially distinct and spatially positioned between Muslim and Jewish quarters. Russian imperial sources categorized them as ‘Jewish-Muslims’ (evrei-musulmane), highlighting their hybrid status. While Soviet indigenization policies opened some paths for Chala men to seek social mobility and professional success, women’s options remained limited. Through personal narratives, memory practices and embodied knowledge, such as culinary traditions, this article reveals how Chala women involuntarily maintained the Chala heritage under conditions of silence. This study argues that identity is transmitted not only through formal genealogies but also through informal channels such as rumour, reputation and the intergenerational memory, processes that disproportionately shape women’s experiences.

The small indigenous and religious minority group, Kalasha, residing in the hilly and mountainous area of Kalash, Chitral, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The community is known for its distinct culture, beliefs, and traditions. Due to rapid conversion towards the religion of Islam, the Kalasha community is on the verge of decline. This study aims to explore the reasons behind religious change and conversion of the Kalasha minority. The unwritten structure of the Kalasha language is one of the core reasons for decline, which makes it harder for the Kalasha to preserve their knowledge, culture, traditions, and religion. Henceforth, other factors include oral transformation of the Kalasha religion through stories and practices, and without any written scripture to guide the community and protect the religion formally in written form. The Kalasha faith lacks a holy text/divine book, leaving it vulnerable to decline in comparison to the religion of Islam, which has the divine book Quran, to guide followers and provide solid support for its survival. The researcher uses a qualitative ethnographic research design, which focuses on people's lived experiences and stories. A total of 31 respondents were selected through purposive and convenience sampling techniques to reach the saturation point. For data collection interview guide is used as a tool allowing respondents to share their thoughts openly. The responses are analyzed through the use of the thematic analysis technique by identifying common themes and subthemes in the data. The study highlights the challenges of preserving Kalasha culture and religion, including the absenteeism and unavailability of the Kalasha language in written form, how oral transmission of faith weakened Kalasha religious traditions and rituals, and the absence of holy scripture are reasons for the decline of Kalasha religion and key drivers of conversion towards the religion of Islam. This study also highlights the importance of protecting and documenting the Kalasha faith and language. Additionally, the research aims to add to the understanding of religious change and cultural survival in minority communities.

Abstract This article discusses the role of male circumcision in upholding Turkish religio-national unity by examining two logics of domination: the contractual logic and the sovereign logic. While the former provides male subjects with the opportunity of visibility, inclusion, and recognition on the condition of renouncing ethnic, racial, and political affiliations, the latter exposes them to arbitrary, unconditional, and unrestrained violence as punishment for their real or perceived disloyalty. Religious converts’ voluntary and forced circumcisions exemplify these structures, respectively. I argue that the two logics of domination intersect to purify the nation of so-called malicious forces and maintain its unity by regulating the gender, religious, and national boundaries of inclusion, exclusion, and belonging.