Editing Religious conversion (section)

==International law==
The [[United Nations]] [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] defines religious conversion as a [[human rights|human right]]: "Everyone has the right to [[freedom of thought]], conscience and [[freedom of religion|religion]]; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief" (Article 18). Despite this UN-declared human right, some groups forbid or restrict religious conversion (see below).

Based on the declaration the [[United Nations Commission on Human Rights]] (UNCHR) drafted the [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]], a legally binding treaty. It states that "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice" (Article 18.1). "No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice" (Article 18.2).

The [[United Nations Commission on Human Rights|UNCHR]] issued a General Comment on this Article in 1993: "The Committee observes that the freedom to 'have or to adopt' a religion or belief necessarily entails the freedom to choose a religion or belief, ''including the right to replace one's current religion or belief with another'' or to adopt atheistic views ... Article 18.2 bars coercion that would impair the right to have or adopt a religion or belief, including the use of threat of physical force or penal sanctions to compel believers or non-believers to adhere to their religious beliefs and congregations, to recant their religion or belief ''or to convert''." (CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4, General Comment No. 22.; emphasis added)

Some countries distinguish voluntary, motivated conversion from organized proselytism, attempting to restrict the latter. The boundary between them is not easily defined: what one person considers legitimate evangelizing, or witness-bearing, another may consider intrusive and improper. Illustrating the problems that can arise from such subjective viewpoints is this extract from an article by C. Davis, published in [[Cleveland State University]]'s ''Journal of Law and Health'': "According to the [[Union of American Hebrew Congregations]], [[Jews for Jesus]] and [[Hebrew Christians]] constitute two of the most dangerous cults, and its members are appropriate candidates for [[deprogramming]]. Anti-cult evangelicals ... protest that 'aggressiveness and proselytizing ... are basic to authentic Christianity,' and that Jews for Jesus and [[Campus Crusade for Christ]] are not to be labeled as cults. Furthermore, certain [[Hassidic]] groups who physically attacked a meeting of the Hebrew Christian 'cult' have themselves been labeled a 'cult' and equated with the followers of [[Reverend Moon]], by none other than the President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/cult_art.htm|title=Joining a Cult: Religious Choice or Psychological Aberration?|website=www.religioustolerance.org}}</ref>

Since the collapse of the former [[Soviet Union]] the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] has enjoyed a revival. However, it takes exception to what it considers illegitimate proselytizing by the [[Roman Catholic Church]], the [[Salvation Army]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], and other religious movements in what it refers to as its ''canonical territory''.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}}

Greece has a long history of conflict, mostly with Jehovah's Witnesses, but also with some [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostals]], over its laws on proselytism. This situation stems from a law passed in the 1930s by the dictator [[Ioannis Metaxas]]. A Jehovah's Witness, [[Minos Kokkinakis]], won the equivalent of $14,400 in damages from the Greek state after being arrested for trying to preach his faith from door to door. In another case, ''Larissis v. Greece'', a member of the Pentecostal church also won a case in the [[European Court of Human Rights]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Justice and reforms after airmen were given criminal convictions for their religious activities |url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/impact-convention-human-rights/-/justice-and-reforms-after-airmen-were-given-criminal-convictions-for-their-religious-activities |website=Impact of the European Convention on Human Rights |access-date=9 November 2022}}</ref>