CHRISTIANS ARE BEING PERSECUTED. WHY IS THE WORLD SO QUIET?
Nigeria is where I want to start, because what is happening there right now is horrific and somehow still barely penetrates the global conversation. Christians are being murdered, kidnapped, driven from their homes and attacked in their churches, while entire communities live knowing the next village, the next church or the next family could be theirs.
According to the 2026 World Watch List, 3,490 Nigerian Christians were killed for faith related reasons during its latest reporting period. Across sub Saharan Africa, 4,491 of the 4,849 Christians recorded as killed for their faith were killed there, 93 percent of the global total.
In June 2025, attackers descended on Yelwata in Benue State, where displaced families were sheltering at a Catholic mission. At least 100 men, women and children were killed, while other sources placed the number even higher. People were shot, homes were burned and families who had already fled violence found it waiting for them again.
The violence continues. Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province remain active, while Christian villages, churches and clergy continue to be targeted.
Then there is North Korea, where Christians worship underground, hide Bibles and risk imprisonment, forced labor, torture or execution if discovered. Open Doors has ranked North Korea number one on its World Watch List for the twenty fourth time.
In Eritrea, Christians are imprisoned for worshipping outside government approved churches. In 2025, authorities detained 44 Christians, including 27 teenagers, during a private worship service, while others have spent years behind bars.
In Iran, Christian converts continue to be arrested and imprisoned for their faith. In February 2026, Christian convert and journalist Mary Mohammadi was detained and later transferred to an undisclosed location.
In Pakistan, Christians live under blasphemy laws that can carry the death penalty, while accusations can lead to imprisonment, mob violence and threats against entire communities.
In China, pastors and church leaders have been detained, house churches targeted and Christians pressured to submit to state controlled religious institutions.
Now look at the numbers worldwide.
Open Doors estimates that more than 388 million Christians face high levels of persecution and discrimination because of their faith, roughly one in seven Christians on Earth. During its latest reporting period, 4,849 Christians were killed for their faith, and more than 224,000 were forced from their homes, driven into hiding or forced to flee their countries.
Pew Research Center found that Christians experienced government or social harassment in 165 of the 198 countries and territories studied in 2023, more countries than any other religious group measured.
We talk endlessly about human rights, tolerance and protecting minorities, yet Christians are being killed in Nigeria, imprisoned in Eritrea, forced underground in North Korea, arrested in Iran, threatened under blasphemy laws in Pakistan and detained in China.
And somehow, that barely makes the conversation.