Christians Face Global Persecution but Issue Remains Sidelined, Researcher Argues

The persecution of Christians around the world is real, severe, and consistently underplayed in global debates.

This is according to Terence Corrigan, who was writing in the Daily Friend, the online newspaper of the Institute of Race Relations, a Johannesburg think tank.

Drawing on research by a Dutch charity Open Doors, Corrigan highlights its World Watch List, which tracks restrictions and violence faced by Christians globally. The latest findings show hundreds of millions of Christians living under significant pressure, with the worst conditions found in authoritarian states, conflict zones, and regions influenced by militant Islamist movements. Nigeria is identified as a focal point, accounting for the majority of Christians killed worldwide for faith-related reasons in recent years, amid insurgency, ethno-religious violence, and weak state protection.

The article outlines three main drivers of persecution. Secularist repression, most evident in communist systems, seeks to suppress religion altogether. Exclusivist ideologies aim to remove those who do not fit dominant religious or national identities, most prominently through politicised Islam, but also via other religious nationalisms. A third driver, organised crime, targets churches and religious leaders who resist criminal control.

Corrigan addresses criticism of Open Doors, including claims of bias and methodological flaws, but notes that research from secular bodies such as the Pew Research Center broadly supports the conclusion that Christians face unusually widespread hostility across many countries.

Corrigan concludes by saying that Western governments, churches, and institutions have become reluctant to address Christian persecution openly, often out of secular discomfort or fear of fuelling prejudice. Corrigan argues that this silence has allowed the issue to be marginalised, despite its scale and human cost.

United States President Donald Trump has been one of the few global leaders who has flagged the challenges that Christians, particularly in parts of Africa, face. The Common Sense has previously written about air strikes ordered by Trump against Islamist terrorists in Nigeria, and how these strikes were positive for Christians and for relations between Africa and the United States.