Persecution of Christians: A 21st Century Crisis

Christians throughout the world celebrated Easter yesterday. For many, that observance had to be done in silence and secrecy.

There are no spectacles in the Roman Coliseum featuring martyrs torn apart by lions, but the observance of the faith founded two millennia ago is facing more persecution in the 21^st Century than in the age of the Caesars. Pope Francis, who heads the globe’s largest single Christian group, has stated that conditions are more dangerous now than they were in the earliest days of the religion.

Information disclosed in the latest World Watch List details the deadly plague of anti-Christian, and anti-religion in general, that infects Earth.

In places as distant as China, Iran, North Korea and parts of Africa, Christians risk their freedom, property and even their lives when they profess adherence to the teachings of Jesus.

Linda Bordoni reviewed the data released in the “World Watch List” for Vatican News. She found that 13 Christians are killed every day worldwide because of their faith. Christianity Today notes that every day, 12 churches or Christian buildings are attacked. And every day, 12 Christians are unjustly arrested or imprisoned, and another 5 are abducted.

The former Trump Administration noted that Christians were the most persecuted religion on the planet, where 83% of the world’s population lives in nations where an individual may be subjected to harassment simply because of the faith they subscribe to.

An Easter Sunday attack in 2019 in Sri Lanka resulted in 290 lives lost and up to 500 injuries.

Throughout China, churches and outward signs of religious institutions have been forcefully closed or eliminated. In Nigeria, according to Gatestone’s Raymond Ibrahim, Christianity is on the brink of extinction. “The ascendancy of Sharia ideology in Nigeria rings the death toll for the Nigerian Church… These nonstop Islamic attacks are causing the Christian population of the West African nation to plummet — to the point of extinction by 2043.”

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Just being a Christian is illegal in North Korea. Christians in Iran are frequently imprisoned, tortured, or otherwise threatened.

In many nations, adopting Christianity is seen as an act of undermining the government. Conversion to the faith places believers in particular jeopardy.

Followers of Christ are not alone in their plight. Repressive governments see the practice of any religion as a threat to their total rule. A Pew Forum study released in November reported that religious persecution exists in the majority of the world’s nations, indeed, in 90% of them. China, perhaps the largest offender, runs concentration camps for the exclusive purpose of eliminating the Uighur culture and religion. It appears that the planetary cry of “Never Again!” is an empty promise.

That Pew study found that “The Middle East-North Africa region had the largest share of countries where Christians were harassed in 2018. Of the 20 countries in the region, 19 had some form of harassment targeting Christians (either by governments or social groups). Social harassment occurred in 15 countries, the highest share (75%) since the beginning of the study, while government harassment of Christians [has been] reported in 19 countries in the region…”

COVID-19 made the problem even worse, according to a UCA News review. “In many countries, Christians are denied food and pandemic-related health care assistance and support systems…Some of them even lacked the money to buy face masks and hand sanitizers.” China has reportedly doubled-down on its persecution in the wake of the epidemic.

The dire conditions faced by Christians hasn’t made headline news, despite the extraordinary numbers.

Illustration: Pixabay

Quick Analysis

Ukraine’s Frozen Conflict

As we approach winter in the northern hemisphere, the war in Ukraine is beginning to resemble a “frozen conflict” from many perspectives. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently told the media he hopes the war will end faster once President-elect Trump takes over in January. Opinions in Moscow, however, differ from that of the Ukrainian leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin argues that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) needs to exclude Ukraine from joining in “exchange” for peace. If it does not, he says, then no end to the war is in sight. So far there is no Christmas solution. Several NATO countries, according to Vladimir Socor of the Jamestown Foundation, are tentatively considering “coalitions-of-the-willing” to provide security for Ukraine outside of the formal NATO framework. There is, however, no collective mechanism today under which such an arrangement is viable. According to the NATO Charter, while Ukraine is a NATO partner country, it may not join as a full member since it has not fulfilled the requirements for membership. That has not stopped NATO and allies from continuing “to provide Ukraine with unprecedented levels of support, helping to uphold its fundamental right to self-defence,” according to the organization. Socor says that keeping Ukraine out of NATO will not advance peace with Russia. Waiting for a peace settlement, he suggests, would only serve to encourage Moscow to continue the war indefinitely. Although the Biden Administration officially withdrew its support for Ukrainian membership in 2021, NATO maintains an “open door” policy toward membership-seeking countries. The current White House position led the way for European states to oppose Ukraine’s membership saying that a decision should be delayed until “conditions are met.” Biden pushed for changing “open door” to a “bridge” metaphor. It is not intended as an across-the-board NATO policy and has been implemented in the past on a case-by-case basis, says Socor. “The alliance’s open-door policy was not fully insulated from Russia’s non-statutory blocking power, and NATO-aspirant countries’ path toward membership was not always irreversible.” Russia has successfully blocked states like Georgia from joining, first in 2008 and again after the war in Ukraine began in 2014. Russia recognizes the value add of Ukraine to NATO is enormous and that Kyiv has a better case than some other nations. Putin’s invasion was, in part, intended to foreclose that option. By 2021, Moscow was pushing hard to maximize its war objectives, which included further annexations of Ukrainian territory. A main goal for Putin was, and is, to ensure there is no Ukraine left to join NATO. As President-elect Trump prepares to assume office in January, he is faced with the historical challenges presented by the war. Post-conflict security guarantees were the center of several proposals made during the 2023 military stalemate. The incoming Trump Administration has yet to outline how it intends to handle the Russia-Ukraine war. Analysts in Washington believe that the new Administration will expect its European allies to guarantee the majority of Ukraine’s security needs. As we approach 2025, several European nations have acknowledged that they do not view Ukraine as eligible for NATO membership as it would draw the organization into the middle of the conflict. Others want to wait until the war is over or pending a “peace” settlement before considering Ukrainian membership. Socor reports that some “influential voices” are suggesting that “Kyiv should join NATO after “freezing” the war along a stable armistice line, de facto accepting Ukraine’s partition, with NATO security guarantees applying de jure to the government-controlled territory only.” This would mean starting accession talks soon with the actual talks to commence only after a ceasefire is in place. Trump arrives in Washington at a time when Putin’s hybrid strategies of war in Ukraine have eviscerated commonly-held differences between war and peace. “Absent a political consensus in NATO over Ukrainian membership, certain European allies, including France’s President Emmanuel Macron, are holding informal consultations about post-conflict security guarantees to Kyiv by NATO members outside of NATO’s framework,” according to the Jamestown Foundation. The Biden Administration downplayed the discussions on possible forms of military assistance and defense industry cooperation by sending only an Assistant Secretary of State. For a European peace to hold the Trump Administration would need to formally extend the United States’ nuclear deterrence to Ukraine. Options under discussion in Europe include a “coalition of the resolute” to deploy forces to Ukraine as part of a possible armistice package, deterring further Russian attacks, says Secor. European officials are also debating, without any agreement, whether its military forces could perform non-combat logistical roles to free Ukrainian forces to fight. None of the possible courses of action has moved forward as all eyes are waiting on the incoming Trump Administration for clues about its intended level of support for a NATO framework and other non-NATO proposals. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept.