2014: greatest number of freedom violations against Christians worldwide in recent history —even in Christian-majority countries. Overall in 2014, pressure on Christians increased in 29 countries, decreased in 11, and remained stable in 7. Three countries—Mexico, Turkey, and Azerbaijan—were added to the watch list this year.Open Doors researchers measure persecution by “the degree of freedom a Christian has to live out his or her faith in five spheres of life (private, family, community, national, and church life),” as well as by tallying acts of violence. Researchers calculate that 4,344 Christians were killed for faith-related reasons in 2014, which is more than double the 2,123 killed in 2013, and more than triple the 1,201 killed the year before that, reports World Watch Monitor (WWM). By far the largest number of deaths occurred in Nigeria, where 2,484 Christians were killed; the next deadliest country for Christians was the Central African Republic (CAR), with 1,088 deaths. The remaining three deadliest countries were Syria (271 deaths), Kenya (119 deaths), and North Korea (100 deaths). In addition, 1,062 churches were attacked for faith-related reasons in 2014. The majority of attacks took place in five countries: China (258 churches), Vietnam (116 churches), Nigeria (108 churches), Syria (107 churches), and the Central African Republic (100 churches). But it wasn’t increased violence that primarily drove persecution to record levels in 2014, but rather increased “cultural marginalization,” according to Open Doors. In other words, the more subtle squeeze dimensions of persecution which make daily life ... harder and harder for Christians. A substantial study by the Pew Research Center found that nearly 75 percent of the world’s population now lives in countries with high levels of social hostility involving religion. “Even Christian-majority states are experiencing unprecedented levels of exclusion, discrimination, and violence,” said David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors USA. “The 2015 World Watch List reveals that a staggering number of Christians are becoming victims of intolerance and violence because of their faith. They are being forced to be more secretive about their faith.” One of those Christian-majority countries is Kenya, which made the biggest leap on the list—from No. 43 on last year’s list to No. 19—even though about 83 percent of Kenyans are Christians. A rash of religious violence over the summer spiked tensions and left 100 dead. And in Nigeria, where approximately half the population is Christian, murders and kidnappings by the militant group Boko Haram (most notably of 165 Christian schoolgirls) helped the West African nation reach the top 10 for the first time, rising from No. 14 last year to No. 10 this year. African countries saw the largest increase in persecution in 2014. Along with Kenya in the 2015 report, Mali and the Central African Republic saw the highest increases in persecution in the 2013 and 2014 reports, respectively. This year, Djibouti, Tanzania, Somalia, and Comoros all rose more than seven spots on the list. “Many other countries in this region are boiling below the top 50 also, and may feature in the future,” noted Open Doors. The primary culprit in Africa and worldwide: “Islamic extremism,” which was the main persecution engine in 40 of the 50 countries on the 2015 watch list. The No. 2 driver of persecution was dictatorial paranoia, or where leaders seek to control religious expression, noted Open Doors. It is the main persecution engine in 10 countries, including North Korea, and shows up as a secondary persecution engine in 16 more countries. And while organized corruption is the main driver of persecution in only Colombia and Mexico, it is No. 3 (after Islamic extremism and dictatorial paranoia) when its status as a secondary engine is taken into account, noted Open Doors. Christians increasingly have to pay a heavy economic price to remain faithful to Christ.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 14:04:59 +0000
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