Global Christian Persecution Peaks as Jihadism Spreads
The year 2021 "saw the worst persecution of Christians in history" — with an average of 16 Christians murdered for their faith every day. That observation comes from the World Watch List-2022 (WWL-2022), recently published by the international
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The year 2021 "saw the worst persecution of Christians in history" — with an average of 16 Christians murdered for their faith every day.
That observation comes from the World Watch List-2022 (WWL-2022), recently published by the international humanitarian organization, Open Doors. The report each year ranks the top 50 countries where Christians are most persecuted for their faith. The WWL uses data from field workers and external experts to quantify and analyze persecution worldwide.
According to the WWL-2022, covering October 1, 2020 – September 30, 2021:
For the same reporting period, 5,898 Christians were murdered "for their faith," a number representing a 24% increase from 2021 (when "only" 4,761 Christians were killed). Additionally, "6,175 believers [were] detained without trial, arrested, sentenced or imprisoned," and 3,829 abducted.Over 360 million Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith—a rise of 20 million from last year. The number represents one in seven Christians worldwide. This year records the highest levels of persecution since the first list was published 29 years ago.
Perhaps even more reflective of the hate for Christianity, 5,110 churches and other Christian buildings (schools, monasteries, etc.), were attacked and profaned.
Crunching these numbers into daily averages, the above statistics mean that every dayaround the world, more than 16 Christians were murdered for their faith; 27 were either illegally arrested and imprisoned by non-Christian authorities or abducted by non-Christian actors; and 14 churches were destroyed or desecrated.
For the first time since these WWL reports were published, Afghanistan, which for years was usually ranked the #2 worst nation (after North Korea) shot up to the #1 spot, meaning"Afghanistan is now the most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian." Additionally:
- Christian men are facing almost certain death if their faith is discovered.
- Women and girls may escape death but may be married to young Taliban fighters who want the "spoils of war." After women and girls are raped, they are trafficked.
- The incoming Taliban regime gained access to recordings and reports that helped to identify Christians. They were often detained, in order to identify networks of Christians, before being killed.
- Taliban fighters are still actively tracking down Christians from existing intelligence, sometimes going door-to-door to find them.
Christian persecution in 9 of the 11 worst nations comes at the hands of Muslims. |