WWL REPORT 2024: CHURCHES CLOSED, ATTACKS INCREASED WORLDWIDE

 By Jeff M. Sellers | Wednesday, January 17, 2024

A pastor in Nigeria, which remained the sixth most dangerous country for Christians. | (Open Doors)

According to the Open Doors World Watch List (WWL) 2024, of the 50 countries where becoming a Christian is most difficult, at least 10,000 churches were closed in China, and only four of Algeria's 47 official Protestant congregations were still operating last year.

The WWL report released on Wednesday (17 January) shows that, among other significant findings, seven times more church buildings and other Christian properties were attacked last year than in 2022. This figure is up from 2,110 in the previous period, which ran from October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2023.

The report states that the number of attacks on Christian-run churches, schools, hospitals, and cemeteries will explode by 2023. Mob violence in India, church closures in China, and attacks in Nigeria, Nicaragua, and Ethiopia have all contributed to this.

Church closures and raids still occur, "with pressures in all parts of life on the rise," although violence against believers is still rare in China. This year, the government enacted a law requiring churches to put up signs that read, "Love the Communist Party, love the country, love religion."

Reports show that more than twice as many Christians have had to flee their homes than in the previous year due to wars, religious extremism, political instability, and natural disasters that have hit them in the Middle East and North Africa.

As shown in the previous year's list, North Korea is the most dangerous place for Christians in the world.

The report states: "Being discovered as a follower of Jesus is effectively a death sentence." "In 2023, the country strengthened its borders with China, so it is now more difficult for Christians to escape and more difficult for support to reach them."

Among the countries with worse conditions, Algeria rose four places to number 15.

The report states that state pressure on Protestant Christians has increased to levels not seen for years. "While the last few years have seen many church closures (and those churches are still closed), the tactics seem to be changing." Instead of officially sealing the church building, as in recent years, the government began to threaten church leaders to stop meetings inside the building.

Some churches feared the Algerian government's tough measures, and some Christians received suspended prison sentences. Christians, especially those who convert to Islam, suffer persecution from their families and communities as well as from government officials because Islamic extremist teachers influence the government.

Other countries that made significant changes were Nicaragua from Number 50 to Number 30, largely due to their official hostility towards the church, and Oman from Number 47 to Number 31 for security reasons.

Nigeria is still the most dangerous place to follow Christ, with more than 82% of the 4,998 Christians killed for their faith in 2023. It ranks sixth in the list of Christian deaths in Nigeria.

Ryan Brown, CEO of Open Doors USA, stated that Sub-Saharan Africa is still a center of persecution and Christian growth.

Brown stated, "It is heartbreaking to hear about what our brothers in Christ are going through in Nigeria and other areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Most of us cannot imagine what it is like to live in fear of our own lives because of our faith in Christ, but what a great testimony these faithful believers bear to all of us."

13 Christians lose their lives every day around the world because of their faith, according to WWL reports.

Overall, more than 365 million Christians live in countries with high levels of persecution or discrimination, which is one of seven countries worldwide, according to previous reports. According to the report, this includes one in five in Africa, two in five in Asia, and one in 16 in Latin America.

In the Open Doors scoring system, the fifty countries where Christians are considered the most dangerous are given a persecution score of "very high," as are seven other countries that are outside the top fifty.

Laos dropped dramatically from number 31 in 2023 to number 21 this year.

The report states that this is largely due to increased violence. "After years without any Christians being killed for their faith, four people were killed during the analyzed period." This has had adverse effects on the wider church, such as the pastor's choice not to travel alone for service but in pairs, which in turn increases the pressures faced by believers in all areas of life.

Among the top ten, Somalia remains in second place. Libya rose from fifth last year to third in 2024, replacing Yemen, which finished fifth. Somalia remained in second place, and Eritrea was in fourth. Meanwhile, Sudan rose from 10th place last year to 8th place this year. In this year's ranking, Iran rose from Number 8 to Number 9, and Afghanistan rose from Number 9 to Number 10. India remained at number eleven.

Nigeria tops the ranking in the number of acts of violence against Christians, followed by Pakistan and India. In India, attacks on Christian churches and schools increased to 2,228 from 67 in the previous period, attacks on Christian homes doubled to 180, and deaths ninefold to 160.

Nigeria received 750 attacks, after the number of attacks on churches and other Christian properties in China and India.

Nigeria is still the highest country in the world in the number of Christians killed, with 261, followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo with 160, and India with 160. Uganda, which is not in the top 50, is next with 55 murders, followed by Myanmar with 34, Burkina Faso with 31, Cameroon with 24 murders, the Central African Republic with 23 murders, and Colombia with 16.

According to Open Doors' conservative estimates, nearly 5,000 deaths worldwide decreased by more than 600 from the previous reporting period. However, the 11% drop remains the third-highest since a tally of 7,106 deaths in 2016.

Overall, the number of cases of beatings or threats against Christians increased from 29,411 cases in the previous period to 42,849 cases. Attacks on Christian homes increased by 371 percent, from 4,547 to 21,431, and the number of Christians forced out of their homes or into hiding more than doubled, from 124,310 to 278,716.

Freedom Together—Brown of Open Doors US said, "As Christian persecution escalates to the most significant levels in history, there is an opportunity for us as believers to come together and support our brothers and sisters in Christ as they endure persecution for the sake of the gospel.

News Sources : https://www.christiandaily.com/africa/church-closures-attacks-spike-worldwide-wwl-2024-reports.html