Forced conversion

A forced conversion is the religious conversion or acceptance of a philosophy against the will of the subject, often with the threatened consequence of earthly penalties or harm. These consequences range from job loss and social isolation to incarceration, torture or death. It is a form of religious cleansing.

Religion and power

In general, anthropologists have shown that the relationship between religion and politics is complex, especially when viewed over the expanse of human history. While religion and the state have generally different aims, both are concerned with power and order; both use reason and emotion to motivate behavior. And throughout history, leaders of religious and political institutions have cooperated, opposed one another, and attempted to co-opt each other, for purposes both noble and base, and have implemented programs with a wide range of driving values, from compassion aimed at alleviating current suffering to brutal change aimed at achieving longer term goals, for the benefit of narrow groups ranging from small cliques to all of humanity. The relationship is far from simple. But there is no doubt that religion has been used coercively, and has used coercion.