Christians, the Most Persecuted Group Globally

Annually, around one in every seven Christians faces persecution worldwide, thousands of churches are attacked, and thousands of Christians are killed for their faith.

Is this shocking? If so, it’s probably because one of the primary areas the establishment media refuses to bring attention to is the plight of Christian persecution globally.

According to the World Watch List by Open Doors, an organization which supports persecuted Christians, roughly 360 million Christians out of the 3.6 billion worldwide are living in countries where persecution is “significant.”

Last year alone, 5,621 Christians were murdered for their faith, more than 6,000 were detained or imprisoned, and an additional 4,000-plus were kidnapped with 2,110 churches being attacked.

The top 10 persecutors of Christians are North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Eritrea, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Sudan with India, China, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Egypt, Mexico, Turkey, and Nicaragua trailing behind.

Christians living in Asia and Africa face a particularly increased chance of significant persecution.

Unsurprisingly, North Korea is the world’s worst offender of Christian persecution. What do believers in this country face? If exposed for possessing a Bible or practicing Christianity you will most likely face torture, be killed alongside your family and/or be sent to a prison camp.

Increasingly, the hotspot for Christians who are being murdered for their faith is in Nigeria. The country boasts more than 210 million people and reports that more than half the population identifies as Christian. So despite the large proportion of the population who pledge their lives to and profess Christ, they are still the subjects of intense and brutal persecution.

Out of the 5,212 believers murdered last year (note: this is just the number that can be tracked), Open Doors reports that 5,014 Christians were murdered in northern Nigeria alone by Islamist militant groups. The plight of these believers was largely ignored by their government and many media outlets globally.

Jumping across the globe, we shift our focus to an unlikely nation and is Canada. Although not a part of the top 50 worst offenders list, anti-Christian sentiment is brewing just north of our borders.

More than 83 churches have been vandalized or burnt down, during the government lockdowns of 2020-2023, Christians in Canada were fined millions of dollars by authorities for keeping their churches open, several pastors were even imprisoned.

Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley requested Canada be investigated for violating religious freedom after pastors from the Canadian province of Alberta were arrested.

Hawley sent a letter to the Commission on International Religious Freedom, asking them to consider putting Canada on its special watch list. “I am troubled that our Canadian neighbors are effectively being forced to gather in secret, undisclosed locations to exercise their basic freedom to worship,” Hawley wrote.

“Frankly, I would expect this sort of religious crackdown in Communist China, not in a prominent western nation like Canada.”

Several reports out of Nicaragua have also been surfacing since the beginning of 2024 of persecution of Christians at the hands of their government.

Since 2018, the population of Nicaraguan evangelicals has been on a steady incline, but so has persecution of the evangelical church.

A report published by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) registered 310 severe violations of freedom of religion or belief between November 2022 and January 2024 in Nicaragua, and according to Nicaragua Nunca Más, the government has closed a total of 256 evangelical organizations, with the majority shutting down in 2022.

The Nicaraguan government has also ordered the closure of 10 Mountain Gateway churches whilst arresting 11 of their pastors, accusing them of money laundering.

Why Write This Article?

Bringing to light the various forms of persecution Christians face helps humanize the discrimination they face at the hands of their governments and the general public.

Discrimination has become a word that is highly abused in 2024, as such, we wanted to highlight the plight of Christians on a global level.

Why? You may ask – because, Christians are the most discriminated against religious group worldwide.

This isn’t a flashy article to write, it doesn’t carry all of the political talking points that inspire the gripping outrage that the majority of articles inspire.

No, this article is meant to humanize the very real abuse of human rights that our brothers and sisters in Christ face on a regular basis that we may not always be cognizant of here in these United States whilst moving our hearts to pray for those who are hurting.

As we are all members of one body (1 Corinthians 12:12-13) we must be ever mindful to keep our brothers and sisters in prayer, for if one portion of the body hurts – we all do.

“Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.” Hebrews 13:3

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