One clause in the draft bill stipulates that a non-Sri Lankan found guilty of attempted conversion will face up to seven years in jail and then be deported from the country. Sri Lankans found guilty would be sentenced to jail.

"Starting a church would not in itself run afoul of the law," Severino says. "But starting a church and trying to spread the faith would be a whole different matter."

The bill has the support of the government and is expected to pass if it first is approved by the country's Supreme Court, according to Severino. The Becket Fund will challenge the bill before the court, hoping to persuade the justices that Sri Lanka has already signed on to human rights and other international obligations.

"We think there will be mounting international pressure," he predicts, especially from faith-based groups that are providing tsunami relief. The bill would "force religious organizations, for their own safety, to stop giving aid," he says.

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