Number of Persecuted Christians Has Never Been So High

The number of persecuted Christians in the world has risen to 380 million in 2024, the highest ever recorded, according to L’Avvenire, the daily newspaper of the Italian episcopate.

One in seven Christians is a victim of discrimination, abuse, threats, or violence because of their faith, and the rate is even higher in Africa, where one in five is at risk of some form of persecution.

In one year, three hundred and eighty million Christians were victims of persecution, fifteen million more than in the previous year. Last year’s figure was the highest among the thirty years of recorded figures.

Cristian Nani, head of the Italian organization Open Doors, which has been supporting persecuted Christians since 1995, stressed that 4,476 Christians have lost their lives, 3,775 have been kidnapped or taken hostage, and more than 6,600 Christian churches, hospitals, and schools have been attacked or closed. More than 28,000 Christian-owned homes, businesses, or enterprises were looted or destroyed.

According to the survey,

the situation of Christians is worst in North Korea, where they are still forced to live their faith in secret, and the number of Christians in labor camps is estimated to be between 50,000 and 70,000.

Somalia, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Eritrea, and Nigeria continue the list, the last of which has the highest number of Christians killed in a year, 3,100. The situation is no better in Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and Nicaragua. However, the situation for Christians has improved somewhat in Saudi Arabia, where Christmas decorations are now tolerated in major cities. Meanwhile, life has become much more difficult for Christians in the Middle East, where war has killed or displaced many, and in Syria, where the looting of Christian churches has continued.

Matteo Matzuzzi, editor-in-chief of the daily Il Foglio, recalled in a radio interview recently that Pope Francis said that even in the first centuries of persecution of Christians, the situation was not as bad as it is now.

Christian persecution is indeed a major issue nowadays, and the Hungarian government is paying attention to it as well. Tristan Azbej, the Secretary of State responsible for programs to help persecuted Christians, recently said in an interview that

in the cradle of Christianity, in the places where Jesus Christ lived, the number of Christians is dramatically decreasing, unable to build their future, and the more prosperous countries with Christian roots show complete neutrality and indifference towards them.

According to him, it is an obvious fact that the disappearance of Christians from the cradle of Christianity could mean the end of Christian civilization.

To help those in need, the government created the Hungary Helps Program in 2017. Since then, Hungary Helps has financed many programs abroad, such as the renovation of Catholic churches and providing humanitarian aid. Most recently, the agency has opened its headquarters in Chad and Jordan.

Via L’Avvenire, Featured photo via Facebook/Azbej Tristan