Proselytism and Church Relations

Ecumenical Review, The, July, 2000 by Veli-Matti Karkkainen

Theological Issues Facing Older and Younger Churches

Proselytism in current ecumenical perspective

There are two -- ironically opposing -- trends in modern mission ethos. On the one hand, there is a widespread resurgence of evangelism, not only in younger churches, whose hallmark has always been active evangelism, but also in older churches, for example in the Roman Catholic Church.(1) On the other hand, the issue of proselytism has emerged as one of the most hotly debated topics of evangelization and mission.(2)

Charges that religious groups or individuals are actively engaged in acts of proselytism at the present time abound. Younger churches and Christian groups, especially those with enthusiastic evangelistic and outreach programmes, are among the groups most frequently charged with proselytizing activities.

Proselytism, understandably, is a concern of older, more established historic churches. Usually proselytizing charges come from the older churches who take to themselves the right to define what proselytism means. Often younger churches, those regarded by others as "proselytizers", have not been invited to participate in discussions on the subject, nor is it readily apparent that they are particularly concerned to address the subject themselves. The evangelizing activities of, for example, many free churches and their numerous outreach organizations have been effective to the point that older churches are concerned that they may lose even a substantial amount of their members as a result of such activities.

Already in 1954, the World Council of Churches (WCC) originated a study on "Proselytism and Religious Freedom". Two years later, an influential document, Christian Witness, Proselytism and Religious Freedom, was drafted and it was recommended to member churches at the 1961 New Delhi assembly. Earlier, the Toronto declaration "The Church, the Churches and the World Council of Churches" (1950) was one of the first ecumenical attempts to define proselytism among the WCC member churches and in relation to the Roman Catholic Church. In the 1960s, the Roman Catholic Church drafted the Vatican II document Dignitatis Humanae that addresses among other topics religious freedom and proselytism. In 1970, the WCC produced another joint document, Common Witness and Proselytism (1970).

Of the older churches, the Roman Catholic Church has been the most active to enter into mutual dialogues with other churches to discuss this delicate topic: with the Orthodox church(3) and younger Christian families, such as Evangelicals(4), Baptists(5) and Pentecostals.(6) At the multilateral level, the Joint Working Group between the Roman Catholic Church and the WCC has recently (in 1996) published a study document entitled The Challenge of Proselytism and the Calling to Common Witness.

According to Common Witness and Proselytism, the concept of proselytism covers all inappropriate attempts at conversion which violate the individual's right to religious freedom and prevent him or her from making a religious decision in freedom.(7) The document encourages the avoidance of actions and attitudes which might be rightly considered as proselytism: every kind of violence, moral constraint, pressure, using of material benefits, other kinds of inducements, and so on.(8) It is noteworthy that rather than speaking extensively about the negative sides of proselytism, the document begins by explaining the positive qualities of witness: witness must proceed from the Spirit of love, it must be concerned for the good of God and human beings, not for that of a single community, and it must leave the addressee with full freedom to make a personal decision.(9) The document titled Common Witness, produced by the Joint Working Group (1982), develops and makes more concrete these basic guidelines. In the Orthodox-Catholic Balamand report, the division of the churches is presented as a "situation which is contrary to the nature of the church".(10) The importance of koinonia is emphasized(11) as well as the principle of religious freedom.(12) The document urges the churches to forgive the past misgivings and move towards unity and common witness.(13)

The purpose of this essay is to take another look at this most delicate issue and enquire whether there are any positive signs on the horizon. The focus will be in relationships between traditional and younger churches, the arena in which the issue of proselytism most often emerges. As a case study, I will look at the Roman Catholic-Pentecostal dialogue, a recent dialogue process that focused on the topics of evangelization, proselytism and common witness. The importance of this dialogue, the one between currently the two largest Christian families,(14) is enhanced by the fact that these two churches are as different as they are. The older one is an ancient church with established structure and worldwide episcopal leadership while the younger one is a loose movement of heterogeneous groups without any global leadership. They stand at the extreme ends of the ecclesial spectrum. Consequently, the relations of these two churches have been poisoned by charges of proselytism, for example, in Latin America where about 8000 Catholic faithful leave their churches every day and join Pentecostal and other charismatic churches.(15)