This year, at least 17 Christians from Nepal were arrested under the 2018 anti-conversion and blasphemy law that criminalizes the act of sharing one's faith, the American Center for Law and Justice reports say.
Nepal declared itself a secular nation when it adopted a new constitution in 2015, and it was hoped that the nation will see a new era of religious freedom.
But when Nepal's government passed a nationwide anti-conversion and blasphemy law in late 2018, both local and foreign Christians in the nation came under the risk of religious persecution.
John Pudaite from Bibles For The World told Mission Network News that "There have been a number of high profile arrests... under the anti-conversion law... and each one of those is now being pushed through the courts to test what's going on."
"Very quietly, some of our missionaries on the ground have been monitoring these situations, even visiting some of these people in the jails," Pudaite added.
"14 months later, we're in there and kind of assessing the situation; what it might hold for the future for our ministry as well as other ministries in Nepal, and, most importantly, for the indigenous Church in Nepal," Pudaite explained.
Nepali believers are not backing off from their calling. They remain committed to their faith and continue to evangelize and hold small group Bible studies by being more cautious.
