Our hope for persecuted Christians is in the Lord, the creator of the heavens and the earth. Ultimately we know that our God is merciful and just.
At the same time, there is no doubt that the persecution of people of faith is spreading. Combating it must be a priority for all the world’s governments.
For previous ChristianPersecution.com coverage of the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and elsewhere, and the imminent disappearance of Christianity from some of its ancient strongholds, see here.
“Pew: Persecution of Christians worldwide up in 2018,” by Michael F. Haverluck, OneNewsNow, November 19, 2020:
A just-released study reveals that Christians are persecuted in more countries around the world than any other religious group, with religious restrictions imposed by governments hitting a record high in 2018.
The Pew Research Center reports that the 145 nations persecuting Christians in 2018 (approximately 3 of 4 nations on the planet) was an all-time high, with 139 nations harassing those practicing Islam, followed by 88 countries persecuting Jewish believers….
Over the past decade, things have only gotten worse for followers of Christ around the world.
“[From the first to last years of this study (2007–2018), there has been a] substantial rise in government restrictions on religion, [such as] laws, policies and actions by officials that impinge on religious beliefs and practices,” the Pew report explains.
A 62% increase was found in Government Restrictions Index scores over the 12 years since Pew started recording in 2007, when it was 1.8, to the last compiled numbers in 2018, when an average of 2.9 was determined – with 10 being highest in a scale based on 20 indicators of persecution.
The highest level of persecution in the world, according to the Pew study, is dealt out and endured in Asia along the Pacific and across the Middle East, as well as in North Africa, which is reflected in Pew’s top-10 most restrictive nations list (below) that rates countries on a 10-point scale to determine where it is the most difficult to live out one’s faith.
China (9.3)
Iran (8.5)
Malaysia (8.2)
Maldives (8.2)
Tajikistan (7.9)
Turkmenistan (7.9)
Indonesia (7.7)
Vietnam (7.5)
Uzbekistan (7.5)
Burma (Myanmar) (7.3)…
