Persecution of Christians worldwide: North Korea leads frightening statistics

Persecution of Christians worldwide: North Korea leads frightening statistics

Wien, Österreich - The persecution of Christians worldwide has achieved an unprecedented extent. According to the current world tracking index of "Open Doors", which evaluates the 50 countries with the strongest persecution, North Korea leads the list for the 23rd time. Monika Chap-Rabenau from Open Doors-Austria explained in a current podcast that Christians are exposed to rigorous persecution there. The official recognition of some churches is only propaganda, while real believers have to expect death or internment in labor camps. The Bible is prohibited by law, and even Clandestine meetings with other Christians are extremely risky. Nevertheless, the believers secretly meet in forests to pray together and read from the Bible, often by hiding the Holy Scriptures in the ground, according to CHAP-Rabenau, as reported on kathpress.at.

The Situation is not only precarious in North Korea. In China, too, Christians are affected by discrimination, for example under 18-year-olds are not allowed to enter churches. Those who reveal their faith often have to expect significant disadvantages in their professional life. In Colombia, priests who stand up against the powers of the drug cartels also receive threats and are at risk to life. The globalized picture shows a worrying increase in persecution and discrimination, as Mario Mosimann also emphasizes from the "action for persecuted Christians" in another podcast. According to the latest reports, over 365 million Christians in 78 countries live under intensive persecution, which illustrates the urgency of the topic.

religious discrimination globally in the increase

The devastating consequences of religious persecution are not only shown in physical violence, but also in everyday restrictions. Believers often face the challenge of not getting access to educational and job opportunities or experiencing social stigmatization. The most extreme forms include murder and displacement that are commonplace in regions such as India and Pakistan. The threats that many Christians experience are not only a danger for their person, but also for the faith community worldwide. These alarming developments raise questions to ensure religious freedom and demand not only the affected communities, but also international organizations to become active here.

The reports on Christian persecution not only illustrate the terrible circumstances that believers are exposed, but also offer space for concern about the general situation of human rights in many countries. Globally increasing discrimination requires both the general public awareness and concrete measures to offer support to those affected. The latest findings can be found on Erf-Medien.ch and illustrate how crucial it is to focus on these topics.