Franklin Graham Says 215 Million Christians are Persecuted in U.S. and Worldwide
Evangelist Franklin Graham highlighted the hardships faced by 215 million believers worldwide ahead of next week's summit on persecuted Christians. While acts of violence against followers of Christ widely occur in Muslim-dominated countries, persecution is also rampant in supposedly democratic societies, he said.
In an article written in USA Today, Graham cited data from Open Doors and Pew Research Center indicating that 75 percent of the world's population live in places with severe religious restrictions. He cited as an example Muslim refugees who fled their war-torn countries only to face more atrocities from fellow asylum seekers in Europe after they converted to Christianity.
The bleak scenario is what prompted the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to hold the first ever World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians on May 10 to 13 in Washington D.C. The conference aims to create partnerships between victims, advocates, leaders and influencers to bring about change.
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Graham also highlighted the bullying of American Christians who don't support the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community. In a radio interview, he said believers in the U.S. are persecuted not with guns or swords but in a different way. "They're being forced out of businesses because they do not support the gay-lesbian agenda," he said.
Graham cited the cases of a bakery in Oregon that declined an order for a lesbian wedding cake and a pharmacy in Washington State that refused to sell the after-morning pill on the belief it was an abortifacient. Both businesses closed shop after losing their cases in the courts.
"It's over and over and over again across the country where Christians are being singled out, their businesses, because they won't support the agenda of another group of people," Graham said. "We need to protect them. We need to protect the Christians in this country and abroad."
