The development of Christian freedom in the world is characterized by a process of decline that appears to be getting worse. This is reflected in reports and statistics, such as those constantly collected by the Open Doors organization. The company just released the World Tracking List (WML) 2024with data for the period between January and October 2023.
Generally speaking, they speak of “increasing persecution” and increasing “hostility” and “discrimination,” which “makes it more difficult for Christians to freely practice their faith and express their opinions.” “We are increasingly seeing that the Christian faith is being discriminated against in more and more countries and with greater severity,” he says. Ted BlakePresident of Open Doors in Spain, in a video interview with Protestante Digital.
Blake, who has led the organization for the past thirteen years, regrets having to announce each year that “the persecution of Christians has increased in both scope and depth.”
Although they always make it clear that the figures they publish are “always the absolute minimum of what could happen worldwide”, in this new edition of the LMP they point out that there are up to 78 countries with high, very high or extreme levels of persecution. Another data point worth highlighting is this In the first ten months of 2023, 4,998 Christians were murdered worldwidemost of them in Nigeria alone (4,565).
But physical violence is the tragic tip of a huge iceberg. According to Open Doors, a total of 365 million Christians suffer some form of hostility, meaning one in seven people claim to profess the Christian faith.
In addition, in the new edition of the LMP, the company speaks of a “disproportionate increase” in attacks on church buildings. In total more than 14,000. “After Covid, many churches have not reopened or are permanently closed,” Blake says. “We are talking about two main realities: the mandatory closure, as is happening in China or Algeria, and the attacks on buildings, as would be the case in India or Nigeria,” he notes.
The LMP 2024 map recolors the entire North Africa and Middle East region in orange and red colors. With Libya at number three on the list, Yemen at number five, Syria at number 12 or Saudi Arabia at number 13, the region is viewed by Open Doors with great concern.
The ten most dangerous countries in the world for Christianity according to LMP 2024. / Open Doors.
They link the increase in persecution to political instability That's what we've seen in the last decade. “The Arab Spring was ultimately a winter,” Blake says. “This has, as in the case of Libya, led to instability in regional governments, which has allowed radicals to take control and establish a much more extreme vision of Islam than before,” he points out.
In Syria, for example, they point to the earthquake of February 2023 and how it worsened the situation of the Christian population, already punished by the civil war and whose “life expectancy was much lower”. “Many Christians have to leave because they cannot find a way to stabilize themselves in their places of origin,” he adds.
If there is one region where alarm bells are ringing regarding the situation of Christians, it is sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, after Laos, Burkina Faso, Mali, Ethiopia and Sudan are the countries where levels of persecution have increased the most.
The wave of coups that have rocked the region in recent years has exacerbated the situation by giving more scope to jihadism, Open Doors has acknowledged. However, other influencing factors must also be taken into account. “Topics like economics, race, and many other things and interests are mixed,” Blake points out. “But there is a clear element, which is a concentration of attacks against the Christian population. They are the ones suffering exponentially the most,” he says.
In Nigeria alone, at least 4,565 Christians were murdered in the first ten months of 2023. / Open Doors.
They also point this out Increase in influences outside the continent, particularly from China and paramilitary groups like Wagner, who, as Open Doors says, “act against Christian principles and the Christian population with impunity.” Ultimately, Blake believes, “they want people to leave their cities and never return so they can drive Christianity out of this region.”
Although the Asian continent appears to have lost the significance of other years in this new edition of the world tracking list, Open Doors emphasizes that this is not due to an improvement in the situation, but rather to a more rapid devaluation of the state of freedom. Christian elsewhere on the planet.
However, Asia remains a dominant profile on the map of the 50 countries most hostile to Christians. For example, North Korea continues to undisputedly top the list. “Violence against Christians has increased because the country is increasingly searching for people who profess Christianity,” said Ted Blake, president of Open Doors in Spain. “Since North Korea does not generate this data, we rely on another source, so we make estimates and limit them to the minimum of what could be in reality,” he clarifies.
North Korea continues to top the world persecution list in another edition. / Open doors.
Also Countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and India appear to have “extreme” levels of persecution, which will hold general elections this year marked by the opposition's victory in the state of Karnataka. Laws such as “anti-conversion” laws or the “use of the media against the Christian population” have pushed the situation to its limits. “The authorities look the other way when they don’t directly participate in the attacks against Christians,” Blake said.
In this sense, they at Open Doors speak of “oppression” against Christians in Asia rather than “violent persecution.” “We are seeing an increase in other forms of persecution that have more to do with oppression than violence. Part of this strategy is to control people’s lives through video surveillance,” he says.
Up to 78 countries around the world are experiencing high, very high or extreme levels of persecution, and at least 14,000 church buildings have been attacked in the first ten months of 2023. / Open doors.
Open Doors has once again ranked four Latin American countries among the 50 most dangerous countries in the world for Christianity. Is about Cuba (22), Nicaragua (30), Colombia (34) and Mexico (37). The hostility arises largely because “Christians are raising their voices against the intolerance and injustice carried out by paramilitaries or rebel groups that exercise control, particularly in rural areas,” says Blake. In any case, “they find themselves in a situation where it is difficult for them to live their lives freely.”
Nicaragua deserves particular mention as one of the countries in which the situation, particularly for Catholics, has deteriorated the most in recent years. “In general, the Protestant part of Christianity is most affected by persecution, but in the case of Nicaragua it is the Catholic Church,” says Blake.
As usual, Open Doors includes a number of recommendations in its report, most of which are specifically aimed at “Western countries”. That is, on the entire part of the map that appears white.
“You have to apply pressure and rise to the occasion to make it better,” Blake says previously the reality that there are countries “that recognize the right to religious freedom but then do not apply it.”
They are particularly concerned about the misinformation regarding Christians published in many countries, which they explain has aggravated the situation in recent years. “Governments must address the defamation of Christians, which ultimately leads to violent actions against them,” Blake notes.
Published in: DIGITAL PROTESTANT – International – “There are more and more places where Christians have fewer rights or are more discriminated against because of their religious identity”