Washington, Jan 16, 2020: India is among top ten countries where most attacks on Christians were reported in 2019, according to an international persecution watchdog organization.
“Violence against Christians has surged globally, with data showing more than 9,000 attacks on churches in 2019,” reports Open Doors, which claims to be the world’s largest outreach to persecuted Christians in the most high-risk places.
On January 15, the Washington-based organization published its 2020 “world watch list top 10” mentioning North Korea as the worst country for persecution of Christians. India comes at the tenth place and Afghanistan tge second. The others are: Somalia 3, Libya 4, Pakistan 5, Erirea 6, Sudan 7, Yemen 8 and Iran 9.
Christians, the organization says, are one of the most persecuted religious groups in the world and are oppressed in at least 60 countries.
“The data found that a startling 14,645 Christians were physically or mentally abused, with the majority of that activity occurring in India, China and sub-Saharan African countries where a myriad of jihadist groups aim to create instability,” the organization noted.
At least 8,500 Christians were raped or sexually abused for reasons related to their faith, a number that should be regarded as the tip of the iceberg, since most sexual harassment happens behind closed doors and is, therefore, more difficult to accurately track, it added.
Open Doors also announced it has expanded its global tracking of violent acts against Christian to include six new categories including abductions, rape/sexual harassment, forced marriages, physical/mental abuse, and attacks on personal property and Christian businesses.
“As we seek to better understand the dangers Christians face worldwide, it is important to track the difference types of violent acts being committed against our brothers and sisters. As always, the results are horrifying, and we hope that bringing light to these atrocities will urge world and local leaders to action,” said David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors USA.
Among the most shocking violence-related data disclosed during Open Doors’ annual World Watch List press conference on January 15 was a report citing that more than 9,000 churches and Christian buildings were attacked in 51 countries in 2019; more than 5,500 of those attacks took place in China. This number represents more than a 1,000 percent increase since 2018.
Notable violence numbers from 2019: 2,983 Christians were killed for their faith; 8,537 Christians were raped or sexually harassed for their faith; 9,488 churches or Christian buildings were attacked; 3,711 Christians were unjustly arrested or imprisoned; 1,052 Christians were abducted for faith-related reasons; and 3,315 Christian homes were attacked, burned or destroyed.
While attacks of buildings and churches rose, Christians killed for faith-related reasons dropped from approximately 4,300 in 2018 to some 2,900 in 2019. The reason for this decrease was primarily found in Nigeria, as militant Fulani herdsmen shifted focus from raiding homesteads and communities to kidnappings and roadblocks. An increase was seen in the number of Christians detained without trial, arrested, sentenced and/or imprisoned—rising from 3,150 to some 3,700 in the same period.
Open Doors says at least eight Christians were killed for their faith daily worldwide, 23 raped or sexually harassed, 25 churches targeted or attacked and 10 Christians unjustly arrested or imprisoned for their faith.
Christians remain one of the most persecuted religious groups in the world. While persecution of Christians takes many forms, it is defined as any hostility experienced as a result of identification with Christ. Christians throughout the world continue to risk imprisonment, loss of home and assets, torture, rape, and even death as a result of their faith.
The organization claims its World Watch List is the only comprehensive, annual survey of the state of religious liberty for Christians around the world.
Its researchers measured from November 1, 2018 to October 31, 2019, the degree of freedom a Christian has to live out his or her faith in five spheres of life—private, family, community, national and church, plus a sixth category measuring the degree of violence. Points were given for each incident of persecution, and the total points provided the ranking for each country.
For more than 60 years, Open Doors USA has worked in the world’s most oppressive and restrictive countries for Christians. It strives to equip and encourage Christians living in dangerous circumstances with the threat of persecution and helps the Western Church to advocate for the persecuted.
Source: religionnews.com