Report: The 50 countries where you cannot be a Christian in 2017

ICC Note: Christian human rights watchdog organization Open Doors reveals in its latest research the top 50 countries where it is most difficult to practice the Christian faith, and rated levels of persecution as “extreme”, “very high” or “high”. North Korea, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sudan are the top five countries where being a Christian could be life threatening. The study also identified eight main ‘engines’ of persecution that describe why Christians are persecuted in a particular area or setting: Islamic extremism, religious nationalism, ethnic antagonism, denominational protectionism, Communist and post-Communist oppression, secular intolerance, organized corruption and crime, and dictatorial paranoia.

11/08/2017 United Kingdom (Express) – North Korea, Somalia and Afghanistan are the worst countries to openly follow the teachings of the Bible, according to the study by Open Doors.

North Korea has been branded the most dangerous country in the world for Christians since 2002.

The Christian charity found the global level of Christian persecution has risen for the fourth year in a row, with Asian countries showing a particularly rapid rise.

The study found Islamic extremism was responsible for increased hostility in 14 of the top 20 counties on its list.

And the research discovered followers of Jesus living in India were faced with a “very high” level of persecution as “Hindu nationalists batter the churches”.

The charity concludes “millions of Christians around the world now live their lives against varying levels of discrimination, discovery, violence and arrest”.

The study highlighted the top 50 countries where it is most difficult to practice the Christian faith, and rated levels of persecution as “extreme”, “very high” or “high”.

North Korea topped the list because of dictator Kim Jong-un’s brutal crackdown against the nation’s estimated 300,000 Christians.

The tyrant’s family are worshipped like gods and any suggestion there is a higher authority than the supreme leader is “immediately crushed”.

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