Christian persecution skyrockets in 2019 according to new Open Doors report
by Jordan Hilger, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Christian persecution watchdog group Open Doors USA released its 2020 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, reporting a staggering increase of persecution around the world.
Of the 300 million Christians who suffer persecution abroad, 265 million suffered in the top 50 countries, an increase of 15 million people from the previous year.
“The church is alive. The church is active. The church is growing. And that’s why the church is persecuted,” the report reads. “The persecution of Christians is getting more severe than ever, affecting increasing numbers of believers around the world.”
Perhaps the biggest indicator of a substantial increase in worldwide persecution of Christians was the number of church closures, which leapt to 9,488–a 500 percent increase from the 1,847 church closures that were recorded the previous year.
45 countries were listed as harboring “extreme” persecution conditions, up from 40 the previous year.
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