In Depth:  persecuted church

Luke Randall

Prison sentences given to Christians in Iran in 2024 were six times harsher than in the previous year, and over four times as many were sentenced last year than in 2023, a new report has revealed.

The shocking new statistics were revealed in ‘The Tip of the Iceberg’, a report co-released by Article 18, Open Doors, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and Middle East Concern.

Luke Randall

A Christian pro-democracy campaigner, who said his motivation for joining activism was that ‘we should be salt and light’, has been sentenced to almost five more years in prison, having already served three since 2021.

He is one of 45 pro-democracy demonstrators falling victim to a government crackdown on anti-establishment demonstrations.

Luke Randall

More than 7,000 Christians were killed in Nigeria in 2023, representing 90% of the overall worldwide total killed because of their faith, making it the deadliest country in the world for Christians.

The African country has been a dangerous place for Christians for years, mainly because of Islamic terror groups such as Boko Haram, (who infamously kidnapped hundreds of schoolgirls in 2014 and regularly post online videos of their members beheading Christians) as well as Fulani Herdsmen and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). A particularly brutal attack saw 200 Christians slaughtered and 500 more injured by Islamic fundamentalists between 23 and 25 December 2023.

Rebecca Chapman

One in seven Christians globally face high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith, an increase of 15 million since last year, MPs were told at the parliamentary launch of the Open Doors World Watch List 2025 on 15 January.

The launch event was co-hosted by Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Winchester (pictured right), and the Rt Hon. Sir Stephen Timms MP, and included moving first-hand accounts of persecution given by Christians from Nigeria and Bangladesh.

Luke Randall

Christians are being persecuted by authorities in Algeria, with 58 churches having been closed down by the government since 2018, leaving only one open.

In a video at the UK parliament with ADF International, Pastor Youseff shed light on this growing persecution. The pastor, who has previously been sentenced to prison twice since 2008, revealed that there have been almost 60 prison sentences handed to Christians in the country, mostly ranging from two months to five years.

Luke Randall

Discrimination against Christians is on the rise in Europe, according to the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe’s (OIDAC Europe) annual report.

The non-governmental organisation recently released its annual ‘Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe Report,’ which revealed that there were more than 2,400 anti-Christian hate crimes committed in 35 European countries in 2023, as reported by police forces and civil society, which included acts of violence, threat and harassment.

Luke Randall

Twenty thousand Christians marched through Manipur, India, holding empty coffins aloft to demand that the bodies of Christians who were allegedly killed by police forces in a gunfight were released.

Ten Kuki-Zo youths were allegedly killed in the incident by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Jiribam district, and their bodies are still in a morgue awaiting post-mortem results at the time of writing.

Emily Pollok

Adding to their long list of severe restrictions since coming into power in 2021, the Taliban are now banning women in Afghanistan from training as nurses and midwives.

This ban is the latest in a series of edicts by the Taliban that prevent women from entering the public sphere. Women have already been banned from working in government or private jobs, leaving their homes without a male escort, or reading, singing, or speaking in public, to name a few.

Emily Pollok

Iranian Christians who seek a new life in the Caucasus nation of Georgia after fleeing persecution in their homeland face rejection there too, a report says.

A joint report published this month by Article 18, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Open Doors, and Middle East Concern says that Iranian Christians are being refused asylum in the country because they are not Orthodox.

Luke Randall

A nine-year-old Christian girl from Bangladesh says she has only survived extreme persecution for her faith because of Jesus’ love. She has been completely excluded at school and in wider society, is constantly bullied and has even watched her house burn down.

Rumana, whose family live in a village in northwest Bangladesh, which has an almost exclusively Muslim population. When her family became Christians, they were ostracised from the community, with even non-Muslims hesitant to associate with them due to fear of being similarly mistreated.

Luke Randall

The Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) has called for the Nigerian government to strengthen religious rights, following their discovery that Christians have been the most violently persecuted group in Nigeria during the last four years.

A study by ORFA revealed that 16,700 Christians have been violently killed out of an overall civilian total of 55,900, mainly by Islamist extremists. This makes them the most discriminated-against people group in the country. Other groups to feature high on the list were security forces and terror group members.

Iain Taylor

The Rwandan authorities have begun shutting churches en masse, a process that is being driven by ‘dictatorial paranoia,’ according to persecuted church agency Open Doors. It has revealed that over 6,000 churches, mainly smaller independents, have been forced to close since August, following new legislation, with roughly 15,000 closures in total since 2018.

The laws were purportedly enacted for health and safety reasons, as well as to prevent church corruption. Now churches must soundproof their buildings and install specific canvas ceilings (themselves serious fire hazards). All churches must have lightning conductors and there must be a parking space for each member. Furthermore, every pastor must have a theological degree from an accredited institution and any church wishing to register with the authorities must prove it has at least 1,000 members.

Iain Taylor

China has subjected hundreds of North Koreans to atrocities in the last year by forcibly returning them home. The North Korean government believes that religion, especially Christianity, is the greatest threat to its power, experts said at a recent US hearing.

Christian Daily International reports that torture, sexual violence, enslavement and murder await those repatriated from China to detention centres in North Korea.

Luke Randall

Christians are facing significant persecution for their faith in Pakistan, with recent incidents reported by the British Asian Christian Association (BACA) including arrests, robbery, rape, forced abortion and murder.

In one incident, 30-year-old Marshal Masih, from Lahore, was shot 16 times in front of his wife and three children, and died of excessive bleeding due to a delayed response from emergency services.

Iain Taylor

A new report by US thinktank the Pew Research Centre says 47% of the estimated 280 million migrants around the world are Christians, while 29% are Muslim and 13% do not identify with a specific religion. That total has grown by 83% in the last 30 years.

Christians comprise about 30% of the global population but represent almost half of the migrants in the world. Other faith groups such as Muslims and Jews are also highly represented among the migrant communities.

Luke Randall

Christians in central Mali have been told to support Islamic terrorists in their fight against the country’s military power or leave.

Pastors in the Mopti region were told by extremists that they could either provide men to join their fight against the army, give them money to hire mercenaries, or convert to Islam and close their churches, or they would be forced to leave the area.

Luke Randall

A woman from Afghanistan was given a Bible by her boss, and this led to her, her husband and her entire family converting from Islam to Christianity.

Khada, whose name has been changed for security reasons, remains in Afghanistan, where life has become even more difficult since the Taliban’s takeover of power in 2021, and she is a member of a secret church.

Luke Randall

A Christian woman from North Korea has successfully escaped from her country five years after her first attempted defection, having spent time in prison and re-education camps.

So Young, whose name has been changed for security reasons, was returned to North Korea, after escaping the first time, by the Chinese authorities. China does not view North Korean defectors as refugees who require protection, but as illegal immigrants to be returned.

Iain Taylor

A number of children are among the 218 Christians arrested by the Eritrean Government in the last year as it steps up its campaign against Christianity across the country. This latest crackdown means that around 400 Christians are currently imprisoned – indefinitely, without trial or charge – because of their faith.

UK-based Release International (RI) partner Dr Berhane Asmelash, a former prisoner of faith, says: ‘Most were taken from their houses, some at 3am. In the last round of arrests not only have children been arrested with their parents, but in some cases entire families are now in prison.

Iain Taylor

There were 5,000 Christian martyrs in 2023, a new report reveals.

The persecuted church agency Open Doors has published its annual World Watch List (WWL). This ranks the 50 countries where it is most difficult to profess and practice the Christian faith. Evangelicals Now was given an advance copy of WWL 2024, together with an exclusive interview with Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors UK & Ireland.

Iain Taylor

Dabrina Bet-Tamraz, a Christian Iranian- Assyrian rights activist, was born in Iran in 1985. In this interview with en’s Iain Taylor she reflects on recent events there and tells her story. She is no longer in Iran.

en: Can you describe your experiences with the Iranian Morality Police?

Iain Taylor

Persecution scores have almost doubled over the last 30 years, the latest 'World Watch List' from Open Doors reveals.

2023 marks the 30th year that the gruesome chart has been compiled. To mark the occasion, Evangelicals Now obtained exclusive interviews with Jim Shannon MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Freedom of Religion or Belief (APPG FoRB), and Timothy Cho, Open Doors UK spokesperson for North Korea.

Iain Taylor

Christian persecuted church agencies, Release International and Open Doors, are casting serious doubts on the accuracy of the latest All Party Parliamentary Group for Freedom of Religion and Belief’s study of global restrictions on religion.

The 12th annual (2019) Pew Report maintains that, globally, social hostilities related to religion declined and the number of countries with terrorist activity related to religion also reduced for a fifth consecutive year, although government restrictions remained at the highest levels.

The 50 countries where Christians are most oppressed all have ‘very high’ levels of persecution of believers for the first time, Open Doors says in a new report.

The organisation says that never before in its annual ‘World Watch List’ have all of the 50 top nations been categorised with such a level of severity. Twelve countries are categorised as having ‘extreme’ levels of persecution, up from 11 the year before. And there are another 24 countries scoring ‘very high’ or ‘high’ levels of persecution that don’t even make it into the top 50.

A report issued in March on the top 50 countries in which it is most difficult to live as a Christian examined the various ways in which men and women experience different persecution.

Quoted by 84% of respondents, the two most-reported persecutions used against Christian women and girls globally are sexual violence and forced marriage.

The Leuven Consultation, staged in Belgium in early June, heard that 215 million Christians are experiencing high, very high or extreme persecution in more than 50 countries, with women suffering disproportionately.

The conference of academics and activists from 23 nations heard a catalogue of disturbing crimes against women, and a call was made for the church to listen in a radical new way to Christian women who have been driven to silence by persecution and shame.