Global persecution of Christians has worsened

The persecution of Christians worldwide has “significantly worsened” within the last 12 months, a human rights charity has warned. 

In a report published this week, Aid to the Church in Need said that Christians live under increased threat of violence, discrimination and other human rights abuses. 

The report analysed data across 18 countries of particular concern between summer 2022 and summer 2024. Key findings include a shift within the epicentre of militant Islamist violence from the Middle East to Africa, with Christians being “terrorised” by “extreme violence” for his or her faith in places like Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Mozambique. 

Authoritarian regimes like China, Eritrea, India and Iran have turn into more repressive, leading to the increased targeting of Christians as enemies of the state or their area people. 

Christian children, especially girls, live at increased risk of abduction, sexual violence, forced marriage and compelled conversion. 

In some places, Christians are being caught up within the weaponisation of laws to criminalise acts deemed disrespectful to the state religion. 

Christians are being imprisoned in quite a lot of countries for his or her faith, including Eritrea, where around 400 have been imprisoned without trial. In Iran, Christians detained for his or her faith rose from 59 in 2021 to 166 in 2023. Estimates for the variety of Christians imprisoned in China range from the low hundreds to around 10,000. 

In India, there was a rise in recorded attacks and other instances of persecution against Christians, rising from 599 in 2022 to 720 the next 12 months. 

In Myanmar, the military has been accused of destroying over 200 places of worship, including 85 churches. 

In some countries, years of persecution and sometimes conflict have led to an exodus of Christians. In Syria, it’s estimated that only 1 / 4 of 1,000,000 Christians remain, in comparison with over 1.5 million in 2011 before the outbreak of the civil war. 

In Iraq, the Christian population has dwindled from around 1,000,000 20 years ago to fewer than 200,000 today. 

The report, which was launched in Parliament this week, reads, “Mass migration of Christian communities, triggered by militant Islamist attacks, has destabilised and disenfranchised them, raising questions on the long-term survival of the Church in key regions.”

It also states: “Authoritarian regimes, including those in China, Eritrea, India and Iran, ramped up repressive measures against Christians, either within the name of spiritual nationalism or state secularism/communism.

“The restrictions included tougher sentencing for alleged insults against state ideology, confiscation of places of worship, increased arrests of clergy and laity in addition to longer periods of detention.”