The annual “Open Doors World Watch List” survey of Christian religious liberty finds that 2012 was a very hostile year of persecution for more than 100 million Christians worldwide.
According to the worldwide report from the non-denominational Christian support group, about 100 million Christians are persecuted around the world, with conditions deteriorating for them most rapidly in Syria and Ethiopia. North Korea topped the survey as the “most nightmarish state” to practice Christianity.
The 2013 report also highlighted the most significant persecution trend of this past year as the rise of Islamism in each country that felt the effects of the Arab Spring.
“There are over 65 countries where Christians are persecuted,” said the report released on Tuesday by Open Doors.
Open Doors began in the 1950s by smuggling Bibles into communist states and now work in more than 60 countries, Reuters reports.
All but one of the 50 countries on the list – Colombia, which ranked 46th – were in Africa, Asia or the Middle East. North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan were listed as the three toughest countries for Christians last year. They also topped the 50-country ranking in 2011.
Syria jumped from 36th to 11th place on the list as its Christian minority, first suspected by rebels of close ties to the Assad government, has increasingly become a target for radical Islamist fighters, the report said. Mali came from no listing for 2011 to 7th place because the sharia rule the Islamist Ansar Dine group imposed on the north of the country not only brought harsh punishments for the Muslim majority, but also drove the tiny Christian minority.
The report stated that not all the trends they studied were negative. In the Far East, with the exception of North Korea, the communist states have all “marginally improved” their treatment of Christians. Laos, Vietnam and China have all moved down the list.
The group’s website states that it measures the degree of freedom of a Christian to live out their faith in five areas of life – private, family, community, congregation and national life, and a sixth element that measures the degree of violence.
Out of the 2.16 billion Christians worldwide, 100,000,000 is less than 5%. While I feel for those Christians who are persecuted and hope that their oppression will end, just remember that, at least by this index, 95% of Christians are living persecution-free whenever you start feeling like Christianty in general is oppressed.
I was listening to a missionary today he said something interesting about persecution around the world. In Turkey, he met Christians who didn't recieve physical harm. However, when theh people there heard they were Christians they stop shopping at his store. In India, it's not just the belief in Jesus. It's the worldview. Messing with the caste system by teaching people are all equal. Which in terms effects the economy because some will rebel against the system.
No one should be persecuted for their religious beliefs.
That said, Christianity is the largest and most dominant religion on the planet, and has been for a very long time. Fact is, Christians are overall less discriminated against than non-Christians, so this persecution complex stuff is lame.
I was listening to a missionary today he said something interesting about persecution around the world. In Turkey, he met Christians who didn't recieve physical harm. However, when theh people there heard they were Christians they stop shopping at his store. In India, it's not just the belief in Jesus. It's the worldview. Messing with the caste system by teaching people are all equal. Which in terms effects the economy because some will rebel against the system.
Christians in India still abide by the caste system, though, just like Christians here are still racist, harbor class prejudices, and so on. If you go to many churches in India, you'll find that high caste people are sitting in the front rows and low caste people are sitting at the back. But overall, the caste problem, like other "exotic" features of non-Western societies, is often exaggerated by Western missionaries to make themselves look better by comparison. Believe these people and you'd think African tribesmen are all primitive, unintelligent, and worship rocks, etc.
Christians in India still abide by the caste system, though, just like Christians here are still racist, harbor class prejudices, and so on. If you go to many churches in India, you'll find that high caste people are sitting in the front rows and low caste people are sitting at the back. But overall, the caste problem, like other "exotic" features of non-Western societies, is often exaggerated by Western missionaries to make themselves look better by comparison. Believe these people and you'd think African tribesmen are all primitive, unintelligent, and worship rocks, etc.
No doubt there are Indian Christians who agree with the system or are silent (which is basically the same thing in terms of consequences). But there is a balance in that as well. There are some who are going going against the system. Indian churches commit to "zero tolerance" for the "sin" of casteism
11Daps
100 million Chrisitians persecuted worldwide, North Korea the worst
