Where Are Christians The Most Persecuted?
Christians around the world are experiencing acts of persecution against them, most recently the church bombings during Palm Sunday services in Egypt that killed 45. But how widespread is persecution and where is it happening?
The World Watch List created by non-profit group Open Doors USA sheds light on this question. While generally the faithful are persecuted in Middle East nations, the list shows that Christians face extreme persecution elsewhere, in places like North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Although persecution in the Middle East has been in the spotlight recently, Open Doors USA says North Korea is the worst place to be a Christian. It has topped other nations in terms of Christian persecution for 13 years now, with Christians there often being sent to labor camps, or put to death when their faith is discovered.
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Other countries following North Korea at the top ten list of countries where Christian persecution is at its worst are the following (ranked according to level of persecution):
- Somalia
- Afghanistan
- Pakistan
- Sudan
- Syria
- Iraq
- Iran
- Yemen
- Eritrea
These aren't the only countries where Christian persecution exists. Open Doors USA says that there are over 65 countries where Christians are persecuted.
The Center for the Study of Global Christianity, a research center that looks into demographic trends in Christianity worldwide, estimates that about 900,000 Christians were martyred between the years 2005 and 2015, Fox News reported. This means there is an estimated 90,000 Christians who die for their faith every year.
"There are many places on earth where being a Christian is the most dangerous thing you can be," Robert Nicholson of the Philos Project, an American nonprofit that seeks to promote positive Christian engagement in the Middle East, told Fox News.
"Those who think of Christianity as a religion of the powerful need to see that in many places it's a religion of the powerless. And the powerless deserve to be protected," Nicholson added.
Open Doors USA says persecution happens when Christians are pressured, either violently or non-violently, to submit to or comply with the desires of those who pressure them. While the pressure varies, the persecution is often driven by "Tribal impulses" (for example, Islamic extremism; religious militancy; tribal antagonism; and ecclesiastical arrogance), "Secular impulses" (communist oppression, aggressive secularism), and "Exploitative impulse" (organized corruption, and totalitarian paranoia).
In certain countries with relatively large Christian populations, Christians can still face persecution. In Colombia, for example, Christian leaders are sometimes attacked by rebels because they are seen as a threat to their groups.
