The watchdog organization Open Doors USA says levels of Christian persecution are at a record high around the world. The group announced the 2021 World Watch List this week. The report ranks the top 50 countries where it is the most dangerous to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
Every day, 12 churches or Christian buildings are attacked.
And every day, 12 Christians are unjustly arrested or imprisoned, and another 5 are abducted.
So reports the 2021 World Watch List (WWL), the latest annual accounting from Open Doors of the top 50 countries where Christians are the most persecuted for following Jesus.
“You might think the [list] is all about oppression. … But the [list] is really all about resilience,” stated David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors USA, introducing the report released today.
“The numbers of God’s people who are suffering should mean the Church is dying that Christians are keeping quiet, losing their faith, and turning away from one another,” he stated. “But that’s not what’s happening. Instead, in living color, we see the words of God recorded in the prophet Isaiah: ‘I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert’” (Isa. 43:19, ESV).
It also has exposed religious persecution in a number of countries, according to Open Doors.
In India, the Christian watchdog organization said 80% of Christians who received pandemic aid from its partner organizations reported they’d been turned away from other food distribution points because of their faith. Others reported they’d been passed over for employment.
Some had walked miles and hidden their religious affiliation in order just to get food, it said.
“We’ve definitely seen that both extremists and governments are taking advantage of or using this opportunity to justify an increase in persecution,” Open Doors USA President and CEO David Curry told Religion News Service.
Press release content from PR Newswire. The AP news staff was not involved in its creation.
Open Doors’ 2021 World Watch List to Reveal How COVID and Technology Accelerate Spread of Anti-Religious Bigotry; Digital Press Conference Jan. 13
January 11, 2021 GMT
SANTA ANA, Calif., Jan. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ This week, persecution watchdog Open Doors USA will announce the 2021 World Watch List, its anticipated annual ranking of the top 50 countries where it is most dangerous to be a Christian – and provide a surprising update on significant shifts in the landscape of Christian persecution worldwide. Open Doors USA President and CEO David Curry will address media and viewers at an online press conference at 10 a.m. ET, Wednesday, January 13th.
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