Nonprofit persecution watchdog group Open Doors US released its annual World Watch List recently, which ranks the top 50 countries where Christian persecution and discrimination are at a record high.
Christian persecution has reached an unprecedented scale worldwide, and the findings of Open Doors US show that the 388 million Christians facing high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith — more than one in seven — marks an increase of more than 8 million compared to last year.
Brown said there are multiple dynamics at play beneath the surface of such trends, but noted there is “expansion of the levels of really extreme violence that are taking place.” He added that much of it is concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, which is home to 14 countries on the watch list.
The large region of more than 720 million people, nearly half of whom are Christian and where one in eight Christians live in the world, remains a critical area of concern.
Brown said Nigeria is “at the center of a lot of the things going on,” and the list notes the African country is the primary hotspot for deadly violence, accounting for the majority of faith-related killings globally. Of the 4,849 Christians killed worldwide for their faith during the reporting period, 3,490 were Nigerian, which marks an increase from 3,100 last year, according to the report.
Somalia landed as the second-most dangerous country for Christians for the fourth consecutive year.
Brown contrasted what he described as “smash persecution” that results in overt violence, like in Nigeria, with the “squeeze persecution” that he says is increasingly manifesting and making life “extremely difficult for Christians around the globe.”
Such squeeze persecution is especially prevalent in China, he said, where the Chinese Communist Party increasingly spies on Christians and asserts state control over religion.
It’s not as visible as the violence or churches being lit on fire, but churches are being closed. Christians are being told that they can’t engage in worship or engage in community with one another.
Governments such as the oppressive communist regime in North Korea — which rates the top most dangerous country for Christians overall — are also getting more creative, according to the report, which noted artificial intelligence is being used to identify “suspicious behavior patterns” that might indicate someone is a Christian believer.
Persecuted Christians are asking their fellow Christians around the world to pray for them.