PM Narendra Modi’s government knows all this, and possibly much more
Indian Christians gather for Christmas Eve Mass at the Our Lady of Light Church in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on Dec. 24, 2022. (Photo: AFP)
By John Dayal
Religion is big business. Money gives religion clout and political purchase. But money is also the biggest chink in its holy armor. Religion, denomination, sect, and cult are no bar. Not even geography.
In the United States where they keep better records and where even the president is not a holy cow for the media, it is computed that the Christian church and its institutions are collectively a larger economy than Facebook, Google, and Apple combined.
The 2016 study, quoted many times in succeeding years, by Georgetown University’s Brian Grimm and Newseum’s Melissa Grimm said the annual revenues of faith-based enterprises — not just churches but hospitals, schools, charities, and even gospel musicians and halal food makers — send more than $378 billion a year into the US economy.
The largest chunk comes from church hospitals, followed by faith-based schools, colleges, and universities, where 2 million students pay more than $46.7 billion in tuition annually, plus the Christian book, music, radio, and TV industries. It must be added that the American church charities extend aid across the world; Africa and India are two major recipients.
In India, a large chunk of the social sector assistance for children used to come from the US. The Indian government’s myopic restrictions on foreign contributions have hit the children and empowerment sector very hard.
India keeps no such records of religious wealth, nor does it encourage any official or private research into the finances of religious establishments. Temples, mosques, gurudwaras, and churches are exempt from paying income tax, though some other incomes including commerce will come under general services tax.
"Some thieves fall out and accuse each other of corruption, defalcation, and outright thievery"
The “Hundis,” an informal money transfer system, at Hindu temples and Sikh gurudwaras are almost entirely confidential, and their dealings even more so. The more popular temples make news once in a way when some film star or billionaire gifts a crown for the gods richly encrusted with diamonds and rumored — always rumored — to be a few tens of millions of Indian rupees.
Some indication of this came into the public arena when Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a one-midnight announcement demonetized currency notes of 500 and 2,000 rupees (US$6.1 and $24.3). The cash collected at religious places was hastily converted to the new currency. Banks were complicit. So were politicians, and government officers.
The Muslim zakat, or tithe and charity, is also confidential, and like the properties entrusted to the Wakf Boards, makes news only when some thieves fall out and accuse each other of corruption, defalcation, and outright thievery.
Christian organizations are the most vulnerable, not only because much of the money from Western donors come into their accounts through the notorious FCRA — Foreign Contribution Regulation Act — or as income from educational and medical establishments, but also because corruption is so easily detected.
Elements in the church can be corrupt, and sometimes are, but it has not yet achieved the sort of structure where people can be in mortal dread of being killed. Cult killings in Punjab, for instance, don’t happen in Christian groups, other than the infrequent suicides by women religious, and sometimes, young clergy.
The major sources of corruption in churches, in general, have been traced by government agencies as money collected through the illegal sale of church properties, land grab of defunct churches in north, central, and even south India, or properties donated by people as for instance in the old Madras region of Tamil Nadu, or in the hills of north India.
And finally, the cash collections in schools and colleges where other than the school fees and disbursals by way of salaries and maintenance, there are illicit transactions at the times of admissions and recruitment of staff. Bribe is the ugly word for it.
The scale of transactions in some institutions can be gauged by the fact that a former bishop of the Church of North India — he was in fact also the moderator — was caught by the police red-handed with a pile of banknotes. He was defrocked and sacked and is now in jail. Jailed, but currently out on bail, are senior pastors and bishops of many churches across the country.
"Church authorities are almost always the loser when someone — an outsider or even a parishioner — grabs a section of its property"
Protestant churches, possibly because of the excessive control of the man at the top, have found themselves trapped by the Central Bureau of Investigations. Perhaps greed overwhelms common sense. Or perhaps their political connections are not strong enough to provide early warning or a reduction in charges. Private minority institutions are more careful in managing their money, and their connections.
In the Catholic Church, big money transactions were traced in a north Indian diocese where a priest was found with a stack of banknotes. The police came in. The status of the case is not known. Anyway, it was overtaken by a major scandal with allegations of sexual violence.
Much more is known about the alienation of land in various dioceses across the county. Even the Archdiocese of Goa and Angamaly in southern Kerala, both headed by cardinals, find themselves in a seemingly unending controversy of selling land owned by the Church. There are cases in all three Rites and in dioceses in each of the regional conferences. Many are with the police, or in court. The church authorities are almost always the loser when someone — an outsider or even a parishioner — grabs a section of its property and refuses to leave.
PM Modi’s government knows all this, and possibly much more including properties given by the colonial British government on lease whose term is long over, and the ownership is now contested.
All these give enough material to the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigations to keep church authorities on a tight leash. And while Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, and some smaller towns have witnessed protests and demonstrations seeking protection against persecution and violence by state and non-state actors, several heads of Catholic and Protestant churches have been seen cozying up to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
This is seen as a patent betrayal of the unity of the people of faith, whose life and limb is under threat. But, to the shock of those in charge of churches and their institutions, it is not enough for them to buy their way out of the clutches of the government.
The authorities can close the trapdoor anytime they find convenient.
*The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.
Help us keep UCA News independent
The Church in Asia needs objective and independent journalism to speak the truth about the Church and the state.
With a network of professionally qualified journalists and editors across Asia, UCA News is just about meeting that need. But professionalism does not come cheap. We depend on you, our readers, to help maintain our independence and seek that truth.
A small donation of US$2 a month would make a big difference in our quest to achieve our goal.
Share your comments
SPECIAL EBOOKS
