Where in the world is the worst place to be a Christian?

Where in the world is the worst place to be a Christian?

... Excerpt

 

Persecution of Christians has increased dramatically in parts of the world. Here we list the top 25 most anti-Christian countries

 

Monday 27 July 2015

 

Country	Total population	Christian population	Christian %
North Korea	25.2m	300,000	1.20%
	Like everyone else, Christians in North Korea must worship the nation's leader, and belonging to another religion makes you an enemy of the state. Thousands of Christians are imprisoned, and many have reportedly been tortured and executed. Believers meet secretly, and risk arrest and death by doing so.
Somalia	11.2m	Hundreds	1%
	Islam is the state religion, and converting to another religion is illegal. The Islamist group al-Shabaab has stated that it wants to rid Somalia of all Christians, and people suspected of following the faith are likely to be killed on the spot. Many meet in secret, or don't meet at all, and cannot own Bibles.
Iraq	36m	300,000	1%
	Many Christians fled Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein as persecution escalated. As Islamic State has taken control of large parts of the country, Christians and other minorities have been forced to convert, pay a punitive tax or be killed. An estimated 100,000 people fled their homes in Mosul, a city in a largely Christian region in northern Iraq, as Isis advanced on the region in late 2014. There have been public execution-style killings of Christians by Isis, some of them recorded and broadcast for propaganda purposes, and most churches have been demolished.
Syria	22.4m	1.1m	4.90%
	An estimated 700,000 Christians have fled Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011. Parts of the country have been claimed by Isis. Christians are often abducted and killed.
Afghanistan	32.2m	Thousands	1%
	There are few Christian believers in Afghanistan, where Christianity is seen as a western religion. Those that exist must keep their faith secret or risk being rejected by their families, or even killed. There are no churches except for secret ones. While Afghan Christians are at greatest risk, foreigners are also in danger. In 2014, several Christian aid workers were killed in the country.
Sudan	39.8m	1.9m	4.80%
	Converting from Islam to another religion is punishable by death. Sudan also has blasphemy laws under which many Christians have been imprisoned. There are reports that the government has attacked Christians with targeted bombings, and turned a blind eye to the killings of Christians by others.
Iran	79.7m	450,000	1%
	Islam is the official religion, and any ethnic Persian who converts to Christianity is considered apostate. Armenians and Assyrians living in Iran are allowed to practise Christianity, but are often treated as second-class citizens. Churches are monitored and raided by the government and at least 75 Christians were arrested in Iran last year.
Pakistan	188.8m	5.3m	2.80%
	Christians in Pakistan are often treated as second-class citizens. Christian women and children can be the targets of sexual abuse; blasphemy laws are abused to attack followers; and churches are monitored and sometimes attacked.
Eritrea	6.8m	2.5m	36.80%
	Christians are considered a threat to the ruling People's Front for Democracy and Justice. Many have had their houses attacked or been tortured, beaten and imprisoned. There are reports that some have been held in shipping containers in scorching conditions.
Nigeria	184.7m	89m	48.20%
	Since Boko Haram came to prominence, thousands of Christians have been abducted or killed. Thousands more have also been killed by Hausa-Fulani Muslim herdsmen. In the north of the country, Christians are treated as second-class citizens, and there are reports of children not being allowed to attend school and of Christian villages being denied clean water and access to healthcare.
Maldives	360,000	Tens	1%
	Converting from Islam means forfeiting Maldivian citizenship, and owning a Bible is punishable by death. Churches are banned; Christian migrants and tourists also have to meet in secret and cannot own Bibles.
Saudi Arabia	30m	1.25m	4.20%
	Most Christians in Saudi Arabia are migrants. There are a few Muslim-born Christians, and conversion from Islam is punishable by death. Church buildings are forbidden and so Christians meet in house churches, which are frequently raided. Christians may be arrested, imprisoned, tortured and deported for their faith.
Libya	6.3m	35,000	1%
	Migrant workers are allowed to maintain churches, but converts from Islam risk being killed if their new religion becomes known. Evangelism is illegal, as is taking Bibles in Arabic into the country, and there are reports of violence against Christians being carried out with impunity.
Yemen	25.7m	Thousands	1%
	Yemeni Christians must keep their faith a secret. Tribal leaders in the country often punish people who wish to leave Islam, and al-Qaida, which is active in the country, has been known to kidnap and kill Yemeni Christians.
Uzbekistan	29.8m	210,000	7.00%
	All religious activity in Uzbekistan must be officially registered and run through the state. No new permits for churches have been granted since 1999 and several have been revoked. Christians report having their phones and houses bugged, and unregistered churches are often raided. Steep fines are imposed for running an unregistered church or possessing Bibles or other Christian materials. Converts from Islam face the harshest punishments for their faith: imprisonment, beatings and sometimes banishment.
Vietnam	93.5m	10m	10.70%
	Vietnam is a communist state, and Christians are seen as a threat and monitored by the government. After a decree was issued in January 2013 requiring religious groups to be officially registered there was a sharp increase in the number of church buildings being destroyed and Christians attacked.
Central African Republic	4.8m	3.1m	64.60%
	Fighting has raged in the Central African Republic since 2012. Members of the militant group Séléka, made up of CAR rebels and Muslims from neighbouring countries, have raped, tortured and killed Christians throughout the country. There are reports of them taking pastors out of refugee camps to kill them, and destroying entire villages. “Anti-balaka” defence groups – made up of people claiming to be Christians, though condemned by Christian leaders – have formed in response. While they were originally meant to defend communities, they have been involved in revenge attacks on Muslims in the country.
Qatar	2.4m	90,000	4.00%
	Islam is the official religion of Qatar and only Muslims are permitted to worship publicly. Those who convert from Islam risk banishment, violence and death. Ninety per cent of all Qatari residents are migrant workers, many of them working in poor conditions, and those who are known to be Christian are often in a more vulnerable position.
Kenya	47m	34m	72.30%
	After terrorist attacks on religious buildings and other targets, many churches have hired armed guards and installed metal detectors. In April 2015, Islamist gunmen took over Garissa University College and killed 147 students, most of them Christian.
Turkmenistan	5.39m	947,000	17.60%
	Turkmenistan's ruling party sees Christians as dangerous and requires all churches to be registered and strictly monitored. Unregistered churches are infiltrated by informers, and their members may be threatened, arrested and fined.
India	1.29b	59m	4.60%
	Levels of persecution vary around India. In some states there are anti-conversion laws, and attacks on Christians – including beatings and sometimes murder – occur frequently. This is particularly true of those Christians who have converted from Hinduism in regions where the BJP rules. Church buildings and Christians' homes have been destroyed.
Ethiopia	99.5m	57m	57.30%
	There were 60 violent incidents recorded against Christians in Ethiopia in 2014. Many happened in Muslim-dominated areas of the country, where Christians report harassment for their faith.
Egypt	85m	10m	11.80%
	Converts from Islam have faced persecution in Egypt for many years, but until recently the indigenous Coptic Christians have largely been left alone. After the overthrow of the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, however, there was a sharp increase in attacks, with 65 churches, convents, Christian bookshops and schools attacked. There are fears these attacks will increase as radical Islamist groups gain power in the region.
Djibouti	902,000	14,500	1.60%
	Radical Islam is increasing in Djibouti, and with it there has been an increase in violence towards Christians. Those who convert to Christianity from Islam are in particular danger.
Burma	54.3m	4.6m	8.50%
	In 2014, at least 20 Christians were killed in clashes with the army. There has been a rise in nationalist religious movements in the past few years, with Buddhist nationalist groups putting pressure on the government to adopt laws that would make life harder for Christians, such as limiting conversions and restricting interfaith marriages.

Source: Open Doors