Every day, eight Christians worldwide are killed because of their faith. Every week, 182 churches or Christian buildings are attacked. And every month, 309 Christians are imprisoned unjustly.
The above is the 2020 World Watch List (WWL) report, the latest annual accounting from Open Doors of the top 50 countries where Christians are the most persecuted for their faith.
“We cannot let this stand. People are speaking out, and we have an obligation to hear their cry,” said David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors, USA, during the 2020 list’s unveiling in Washington DC on Wednesday.
The listed nations comprise 260 million Christians suffering high to severe levels of persecution, up from 245 million in last year’s list.
Another 50 million could be added from the 23 nations that fall just outside the top 50—such as Mexico, Chad, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo— for a ratio of one in eight Christians worldwide facing persecution.
Open Doors has monitored Christian persecution worldwide since 1992.
Last year, 40 nations scored high enough to register “very high” persecution levels.
This year, it reached 45.
The 2020 version tracks the time period from November 1, 2018, to October 31, 2019, and is compiled from reports by Open Doors workers in more than 60 countries.
North Korea has ranked No. 1 since 2002 when the watch list began.
The list “provides the most comprehensive grassroots data on Christian persecution. But it is much more than that. It is sounding an alarm,” said Curry.
Last year, Christianity Today noted “Asia Rising” as India entered the top 10 for the first time while China rose from No. 43 to No. 27. That trend continues, as 2 in 5 Asian Christians now face high levels of persecution, up from 1 in 3 the previous reporting period.
China’s crackdown on both state-sanctioned and underground churches and its growing surveillance network added 16 million to Open Doors’ tally of Christians facing persecution.
“The Chinese government is committing unparalleled human rights crimes against Christian citizens and seeking to wipe religious sentiment from its country. Yet, as the Chinese Christians who will join me will testify, the persecution Christians face—including extensive surveillance, raids on churches, and imprisonment— have not succeeded in eliminating Christianity,” stated Curry in a press release.
“Instead, the underground Christian community has banded together and is actively working to call the world’s attention to the plight of the Chinese people. We will join them in that call,” he added.
A Chinese pastor Jian Zhu said that the persecution of Christians was the worst he has seen since 1979.
“Christians have a worldwide brotherhood, and the government sees this as a threat,” he said.
The point of the annual WWL rankings—which have chronicled how North Korea now has competition as persecution only gets worse and worse, is to aim for more effective anger while showing persecuted believers that they are not forgotten.
This year the top 10 is relatively unchanged. After North Korea is Afghanistan (No. 2), followed by Somalia (No. 3), Libya (No. 4), Pakistan (No. 5), Eritrea (No. 6), Sudan (No. 7), Yemen (No. 8), Iran (No. 9), and India (No. 10).
Source: Religous News Service
Hallelujah Magazine is committed to publishing reliable, trusted, quality and independent Christian journalism. Our journalism is free from commercial bias and is not influenced by wealthy people, politicians, clerics or shareholders. We value our readers’ feedback, suggestions and opinions. Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments section below. Like this story? Share it with a friend!
