360 million Christians persecuted worldwide last year!

Open Doors International, a non-denominational organisation that assists persecuted Christians around the globe, has issued an annual report in which it claims a record 360 million people worldwide were discriminated against or abused last year for being followers of Christ.

Jan 21, 2022

(Unsplash/Mohammad Rahmani)


By Malo Tresca
Open Doors International, a non-denominational organisation that assists persecuted Christians around the globe, has issued an annual report in which it claims a record 360 million people worldwide were discriminated against or abused last year for being followers of Christ.

World Watch List 2022, which the NGO published on January 19, notes that 20 million more Christians were persecuted for the faith compared to the previous year. The new figures chart the period between Oct 1, 2020, and Sept 30, 2021. Open Doors has been monitoring Christian persecution since 1992 and has been publishing its World Watch List annually since 2012, listing the 50 countries where it was most dangerous to profess one’s Christian faith in the course of the year.

Based on data collected on the ground, the annual Watch List distinguishes between two main expressions of persecution – “squeeze” (pressures such as restricting believers’ private, family, social, civil or ecclesial life...) and “smash” (plain violence such as beatings, assassinations, destruction of churches...).

This record level comes in a context of global health crisis, with the arrival in power of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the actions of jihadist groups in sub-Saharan Africa, emphasises Patrick Victor, director of Open Doors France.

The NGO says 5,898 Christians lost their lives last year because of their faith. That includes 4,650 in Nigeria and 620 in Pakistan. “This translates into 16 Christians being killed every day around the world,” Victor pointed out. Another notable figure is that 5,110 churches were targeted in 2021, including 3,000 in China. That brings to 20,000 the number of Christian buildings closed in the Communist-ruled Asian nation over the past eight years.

Watch List 2022 says 470 churches and Christian facilities were closed last year in Nigeria, and 200 in Bangladesh. Additionally, it reports that 6,175 Christians are currently detained because of their religious beliefs, including 1,315 in India, 1,100 in China, and 1,050 in Pakistan.

But at the general level, and taking into account all the various types of persecution, the worst place in the world to be a Christian in 2021 was in Afghanistan. The wartorn country seized the No. 1 ranking from North Korea, which had been at the top of the list for nearly 20 years.

“The Taliban got their hands on lists of converts to Christianity,” explained Guillaume Guennec, advocacy officer at Open Doors France. “They went door-to-door to find them, and immediately killed Christian men, while the women or girls were raped or sold,” he said.

Myanmar also moved up the list from 18th place in World Watch 2021 to 12th place in this latest edition. The main reason was anti-Christian violence by the military junta in wake of the February 2021 coup d’état.

Open Doors also highlights that Christians in Nigeria continue to face daily oppression, particularly in the north of the country, which is suffering from the threat of terrorism. “Bandits and kidnappers are increasingly targeting Christians and church leaders for ransom,” said Protestant pastor and whistleblower Fred Williams, who serves in a parish in Plateau state.

India was rated the 10th worst country for Christians. In 2021, Hindu leaders publicly called for the killing of Christians and Muslims, for the establishment of a Hindu theocracy, a project supported by elected officials in power. Sixteen attacks targeting churches or religious congregations were recorded during Christmas.

But in spite of this bleak picture Open Doors also highlighted “three good news stories” of 2021. First was Pope Francis’ visit last March to Iraq, which helped “raise world awareness” about the situation of Christians in the East. Second was the acquittal of Pakistani Christians Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar — co-prisoners for a time with Asia Bibi. And, finally, there was the release last Oct 9 of Franciscan Sr Gloria Cecilia Narvaez, whom jihadists had held captive for four years in Mali. --LCI (https:// international.la-croix.com/)

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