(By Samuel Smith, The Christian Post.) One-hundred percent of Christians in 21 countries around the world experience persecution for their faith in Christ as over 215 million Christians faced “high levels” of persecution in the last year, a leading human rights watchdog group reports.
Open Doors USA released on Wednesday morning its 2017 World Watch List, which is the 25th annual ranking of the top 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution.
“2016 was the worst year of persecution on record with a shocking 215 million Christians experiencing high levels of persecution for their faith,” Open Doors USA CEO David Curry asserted during a press conference at the National Press Club.
“It is worth repeating that nearly one in every 12 Christians today lives in an area or culture in which Christianity is illegal, forbidden or punished. Yet, today the world is largely silent on the shocking wave of religious intolerance,” he continued. “The 2017 World Watch List and the information it represents presents one of the most complex and pressing challenges to President-elect Donald Trump and his administration.”
According to a fact sheet provided by Open Doors, the organization documented as many as 1,207 Christians who were killed around the globe for faith-related reasons during the 2017 list’s reporting period — Nov. 1, 2015, to Oct. 31, 2016.
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We as Christians have an obligation to support these persecuted Christians unlike what we have had the last eight years.