Italian religious research group CENSUR (The Center for Studies on New Religions) has named Christians the most persecuted religious group in the world after calculating that one person of a Christian faith was murdered every six minutes in 2016.

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The group claims that almost 90,000 died worldwide, about 70 percent of them in Africa. Many died at the hands of terror group Boko Haram in Nigeria. The full report is expected next month.

In an Italian-language interview with Vatican Radio, CENSUR director Massimo Introvigne notes that this is down from 2015, in which they found that 105,000 Christians were killed for their faith.

RELATED: Check out the most religious schools in the U.S.



18 PHOTOS Top 25 religious colleges See Gallery Top 25 religious colleges #25. Baylor University Smart Rating: 93.34

Religious affiliation: Baptist

Average SAT score: 1815

Average ACT score: 27 (Photo courtesy: Getty) #20. Santa Clara University Smart Rating: 93.52

Religious affiliation: Roman Catholic

Average SAT score: 1950

Average ACT score: 29 (Photo courtesy: Getty) #19. Trinity University Smart Rating: 93.548

Religious affiliation: Presbyterian Church

Average SAT score: 1897

Average ACT score: 29 (Harvey Meston/Archive Photos/Getty Images) (Harvey Meston/Archive Photos/Getty Images) #18. Villanova University Smart Rating: 93.55

Religious affiliation: Roman Catholic

Average SAT score: 1960

Average ACT score: 29 (Photo courtesy: Getty) #17. Centre College Smart Rating: 93.58

Religious affiliation: Presbyterian Church

Average SAT score: 1830

Average ACT score: 28 (Jonathan Palmer/Lexington Herald-Leader/MCT via Getty Images) #16. College of the Holy Cross Smart Rating: 93.63

Religious affiliation: Roman Catholic

Average SAT score: Not available

Average ACT score: Not available (Photo courtesy: Getty) #15. Fordham University Smart Rating: 96.91

Religious affiliation: Roman Catholic

Average SAT score: 1880

Average ACT score: 28 (Photo courtesy: Getty) #14. Southern Methodist University Smart Rating: 96.94

Religious affiliation: United Methodist

Average SAT score: 1957

Average ACT score: 29 (Photo courtesy: Getty) #13. University of Tulsa Smart Rating: 96.95

Religious affiliation: Presbyterian Church

Average SAT score: 1905

Average ACT score: 29 (Photo courtesy: Getty) #12. Brigham Young University-Provo Smart Rating: 96.96

Religious affiliation: Latter Day Saints

Average SAT score: 1890

Average ACT score: 29 (Photo courtesy: Getty) #10. St. Olaf College Smart Rating: 97.27

Religious affiliation: Evangelical Lutheran Church

Average SAT score: 1890

Average ACT score: 29 (Photo courtesy: Getty) #9. Pepperdine University Smart Rating: 97.36

Religious affiliation: Churches of Christ

Average SAT score: 1835

Average ACT score: 27 (Photo courtesy: Getty) #7. Lafayette College Smart Rating: 97.72

Religious affiliation: Presbyterian Church

Average SAT score: 1935

Average ACT score: 29 (Photo courtesy: Getty) #5. Boston College Smart Rating: 97.79

Religious affiliation: Roman Catholic

Average SAT score: 2050

Average ACT score: 31 (Photo courtesy: Getty) #4. Georgetown University Smart Rating: 97.98

Religious affiliation: Roman Catholic

Average SAT score: 2130

Average ACT score: 31 (Photo courtesy: Getty) #3. Davidson College Smart Rating: 98.09

Religious affiliation: Presbyterian Church

Average SAT score: 2000

Average ACT score: 30 (Photo by Davis Turner/Bloomberg via Getty Images) #2. University of Notre Dame Smart Rating: 98.48

Religious affiliation: Roman Catholic

Average SAT score: 2145

Average ACT score: 33 (Photo courtesy: Getty) #1. Duke University Smart Rating: 98.68

Religious affiliation: United Methodist

Average SAT score: 2195

Average ACT score: 32 (Photo courtesy: Getty) Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE

Though these numbers are high, it is important to contextualize these findings with the fact that Christianity, with over 2.1 billion devotees, is the most prolific religion in the world. About 37 percent are in North, South or Central America; a full 24 percent of Christians live in sub-Saharan Africa. It's so diverse and thoroughly spread throughout the world that no one continent or global region can claim to be the "center" of Christianity. That's according to a Pew Research study from 2011. Islam, the second-most prolific religion, counted just 1.6 billion in 2010, according to a separate Pew study.

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