Is Christian persecution real today?
If you listen to much western media, you might get the impression that Christians do more persecuting than they receive. Progressive spin commonly casts evangelical believers among the oppressors rather than the oppressed.
But is it true?
An honest assessment reveals that Christians remain the single most persecuted group of people in the world.
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Currently, 14% of Christ followers across the globe — or one out of every seven — suffer high levels of persecution. In Africa that number is as high as 20%, or one out of every five Christians. Across Asia, the numbers are even worse, with 29% of believers (two out of every five) suffering for their faith.
Tragic numbers
According to the Open Doors watchlist, 2024 witnessed nearly 4500 Christians martyred, nearly 8000 churches or properties attacked, nearly 5000 detained or imprisoned, more than 209,000 forced from their homes, and persecuted believers in excess of 380 million. Tragically, Islamic rebels in the Congo beheaded 70 Christians in a church last week in an effort to turn the largely Christian region into an Islamic caliphate.
Despite claims to the contrary, Christianity faces more persecution right now than at any other point in history.
The first 1,900 years of church history recorded 25 million Christian martyrs who suffered for following Jesus. From 1900–2000, a total of 45 million died for their faith. How are we to understand reports like these, particularly in our American context?
Thankfully, Jesus offered a three-fold definition of persecution to guide our thinking. He says, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me (Matt. 5:11).” These descriptions are important because a prevalent lie in the United States is that since people are not dying here, Christian persecution does not exist. According to Jesus, such thinking is misguided.
Notice the three carefully chosen words and phrases which define the suffering of saints. Insults refer to openly mocking or shaming people of faith. The same word later appeared to describe Jesus’ suffering on the cross (Matt. 27:38–44). Persecution bears the idea of running after or pursuing with an intent to abuse violently or to prosecute thoroughly. Falsely speaking evil refers to slanderous accusations void of any truth. Neither time nor space will permit me to list the plethora of examples demonstrating these abuses today, but they should be obvious to us all.
Reasons for persecution
At this point, you might be wondering why anyone would treat other human beings in such horrific ways. Two primary reasons for persecution emerge when we carefully examine the words of Jesus. First, Christians will sometimes suffer for the sake of righteousness (Matt. 5:10). The description refers to godly character and conduct. One unspoken modern reality is that genuine righteousness is often an irritant to unbelievers. The godly conduct laid out in the Sermon on the Mount, for example, is often received as an indictment of wickedness.
To help us grasp the principle, the Apostle Peter listed numerous vices that, when resisted, cause offense to those in darkness. He warns that those outside the family of God will pursue a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries (1 Peter 4:3). Then he explains, “In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you (1 Peter 4:4).”
Have you ever wondered why any talk of sexual purity is mocked incessantly today? Or why resistance to the gay lifestyle is labeled as hate mongering? Is it curious to you that getting drunk, wild parties and perverted language are commonly celebrated as the good life? And that calling out sin is chided as old-fashioned, or even harmful to society? Do you find it strange that the mere presence of Christians, or the articulation of historical Christian beliefs, is so frequently mocked, derided and even identified as a threat? This is what Jesus categorized as the sake of righteousness.
Second, Jesus revealed that some will persecute believers simply because of His name. After revealing the previous listed forms of persecution, He admits that all are because of Me (Matt. 5:11). People then, as now, were fine with Jesus being a good, moral teacher, a miracle worker and even a prophet who spoke truth. The moment He claimed to be God, however, His enemies sought to kill Him and any who chose to follow Him (Matt. 10:21-22).
Similar claims today can lead to just as much trouble. Agreeing that Jesus is a way is fine, as long as you don’t insist that He is THE WAY. Purporting that Jesus told the truth is not offensive, unless you assert that He is THE TRUTH. Crediting Jesus as the founder of Christianity won’t cause consternation, until you maintain that He is THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN. Having a Jesus who is one among other gods will be acceptable to the masses, but those bold enough to declare Him as THE ONLY TRUE GOD will face certain backlash.
Silver lining?
Christian persecution is not only real, but also much more prominent that we might initially think.
So, what is the silver lining?
Joyfully, Jesus assures us that the Kingdom of heaven belongs to those have suffered for their faith (Matt. 5:10). Your reward will be great because the faithful have always endured the scorn of this world (Matt. 5:12).
