Christianity is “the world’s most oppressed faith community,” and anti-Christian persecution in the worst regions has reached “a new peak” claims a new report by Aid to the Church in Need.
“In terms of the numbers of people involved, the gravity of the crimes committed and their impact,” notes the report, “it is clear that the persecution of Christians is today worse than at any time in history. Not only are Christians more persecuted than any other faith group, but ever-increasing numbers are experiencing the very worst forms of persecution.”
The report, “Persecuted and Forgotten?”, compiles analysis from a number of sources, including Open Door’s World Watch List and the Pew Forum’s Social Hostilities Index. In 12 of the 13 countries reviewed, the situation for Christians was worse in overall terms in the period 2015–17 than within the preceding two years. The only exception was Saudi Arabia, where “the situation was already so bad it could scarcely get any worse.”
The report claims that the United Nations and Western governments failed to offer Christians in countries such as Iraq and Syria the emergency help they needed as genocide got underway. “If Christian organizations and other institutions had not filled the gap,” says the report, “the Christian presence could already have disappeared in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East.”
ISIS and other Islamist militant groups have committed genocide against Christians in Iraq and Syria. The militants are being defeated in many areas, though, which is making it possible for some Christian communities to return to their homes. “The defeat of [ISIS] and other Islamists in major strongholds of the Middle East offers the last hope of recovery for Christian groups threatened with extinction,” says the report. “Many would not survive another similar violent attack.”
Christians have also suffered increased violence and oppression as a result of a rise in religious nationalism. In India, persecution has risen sharply since the 2014 rise to power of the right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
The worst persecution, though, continues to occur in North Korea. As the report points out, the “unspeakable atrocities” against Christians include enforced starvation, enforced abortion, and reports of believers being hung on crosses over a fire and others being crushed under a steamroller.
Download the report here: https://www.churchinneed.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/persecution-1-1.pdf