Roughly one in seven Christians around the world faces persecution or discrimination for their faith in Jesus Christ, according to the most recent World Watch List report from Open Doors.
The nondenominational mission tracked several types of persecution around the world, in countries ranging from Islamic kingdoms to communist regimes, noting that more than 380 million believers experience persecution from government agents, fellow citizens, or family members.
Open Doors distinguishes between “smash” persecution, which involves visible and violent tactics like bombing, sexual assault, and forced evictions, and “squeeze” persecution, which involves legal discrimination, societal pressure, and an inability to openly evangelize.
The organization tracked almost 4,000 instances of sexual assault, sexual harassment, or forced marriages to unbelievers, as well as nearly 5,000 instances of arrests for faith-related reasons. There were meanwhile nearly 55,000 examples of beatings and threats, and almost 210,000 believers who were forced to leave their homes or enter into hiding because of the crackdowns.
For the twenty-third year, North Korea ranked first on the World Watch List, since anyone found to be a Christian is either “immediately executed or deported to a horrendous labor camp that few survive.” The country unveiled new regulations to censor outside influences last year.
The other nine countries on the World Watch List with the most persecution against Christians were Islamic nations like Yemen, Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. Nigeria has more believers killed for their faith “than anywhere else in the world” in the northern part of the country, which is largely Islamic.
India was the first country outside of the top ten, especially because of the growing influence of Hindu nationalists who believe all Indians should be Hindu. There are twelve Indian states with anti-conversion laws “abused to target Christians and stop them from sharing their faith.”
Open Doors observed that millions of Christians around the world “live in a culture of hostility and intolerance as they try to exercise their faith against a background of discrimination.”
