In America, many believe religious persecution may be in our near future. The sad truth is Christian persecution is a reality in much of our world. The following are statistics provided by Open Doors USA on the current state of Christian persecution. These statistics are from the top 50 countries on the World Watch List. In the last year:

  • Over 360 million Christians are living in places where they experience high levels of persecution and discrimination.
  • 5,898 Christians were killed for their faith.
  • 5,110 churches and other Christian buildings were attacked.
  • 4,765 believers were detained without trial, arrested, sentenced, or imprisoned.
  • Open Doors USA also reported that North Korea has been ranked as the number 1 most dangerous country for Christians for 20 consecutive years.

These statistics show that on average every day 13 Christians are unjustly arrested or imprisoned. Every day 16 Christians are killed for their faith. Every day 14 churches and other Christian buildings are attacked.

Technology advances will increase the persecution of Christians. China has developed the technology to track and brutally oppress people. They track Christians just to make life harder for them. China has a citizenship score that affects a family’s ability to get their kids into schools. Christians do not get a very high score. China has exported that technology to 63 countries including countries on the World Watch list like Myanmar, Laos, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Religious minorities in India know about this technology and fear the contact-tracing apps will be used to track their movements. In India, the law allows the government to track people as part of the national security and crime investigation laws.

Open Doors USA reported that Iran taps phones to listen to phone calls, read emails, and record voices and sounds near phones. When Christians meet, they turn their phones off and put them in another room for fear the government is listening to their meetings.

Currently, Africa is the most dangerous place for Christians killed for their Christian faith. Open Doors reported that 91% of Christian killings are in Africa, and that number will go up in the years ahead. In the last year, there was a 30% increase in the level of violence towards Christians from Muslim groups.

Satan will not stop persecuting Christians, and the way the world is going now, persecution of Christians will increase. As Americans, we need to thank the Lord for the freedoms we have now and pray for those experiencing persecution now. Remember, 16 Christians will be killed for their faith somewhere in the world today.

 

Sources

10 Facts about Persecution from the 2021 World Watch List (frc.org)

Christian Persecution | Statistics & Solutions | Open Doors – Open Doors USA

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