Authored By: Esan Oluwafeyikemi Kenechukwu
Babcock University
Abstract
Every year, tens of thousands of Christians have met with their early deaths because of their faith. Lives have been lost, properties have been burnt to the ground, destroyed or looted, children have become orphans, young girls and women are forced to live with the trauma of sexual violence from militants and entire communities are being wiped out before our very eyes. Yet, there is radio silence from the government and the mainstream media. This global massacre has consistently been ignored throughout the years, leaving countless lives hopeless, helpless and in need of justice. Hence, this article dares to explore the rise in Christian persecution worldwide and why this gross human rights violation has consistently flown under the radar of prominent media outlets, who are meant to draw the attention of the masses to these malicious acts, and governments of various countries, who have been tasked with the responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of its people.
Keywords: Christian persecution, persecution, Christians, human rights, mainstream media, governments, global, worldwide
INTRODUCTION
Christian persecution can be defined as the systematic hostility or ill-treatment encountered by an individual or group because of their Christian faith.1 Every single day, in various parts of the world, Christians are met with hostile and ill treatment. They are robbed, harassed, kidnapped and in the most extreme cases, which happens quite often these days, they are killed in some of the most gruesome ways imaginable. According to recent reports, 1 in every 7 Christians faces persecution worldwide. In those figures steady decline in different regions with 1 in every 5 Christians being persecuted in Africa and 2 in every 5 Christians being persecuted in Asia.2 But despite the rampancy of these events, mainstream media outlets have seemed to ignore this human rights crisis. This is an outright violation of article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.3
Mainstream media outlets refer to the traditional or more established broadcasting and publishing outlets within a country or around the world. This cuts across print media, television news outlets, radio, online news outlets and even cinema.4 These media outlets have earned themselves a prominent reputation through their painstaking investigations, detailed publications and accurate as well as timely journalism. Yet over the years, their focus on reporting the unjustifiable hostility targeted towards Christians around the world, has been nearly non-existent if existent at all. It is the duty of media outlets, all over the world, to investigate and shed light on events happening, especially events of this much human rights violations and carnage, and of this degree of global magnitude. Alas, when it comes to Christian persecution, this obligation is no longer mandatory but becomes an option which many outlets choose to willfully neglect or to simply not investigate and criticize the vendetta behind these systemic attacks towards Christians. Compared to other world religions, Christian persecution is least reported yet it is the most rampant and most widespread, leaving an alarming amount of people in distress, chaos and unease.
This widespread media neglect has been paralleled by the complicity and outright encouragement of Christian persecution by governments of several countries. To put this into better perspective, Christians are reportedly facing persecution in 160 countries.5 This accounts for roughly 365 to 380 million Christians who are facing persecution globally.6 Alas, these abysmal figures have done nothing to stir the governments of these countries to action. In this article, we will explore the adverse human rights violations that Christians are made to face in silence. We will look at the abysmal negligence of suffering Christians by mainstream media, and then we will look at why certain governments have not only chosen to neglect their suffering Christian populations but have also joined in to execute a systematically oppressive laws towards Christians.
BACKGROUND
Christian persecution is as old as the religion itself. Christians have been the deliberate targets of sadistic, malicious, violent and fatal attacks because of their faith from the very beginning. Some of the earliest recordings of Christian persecution dates back to AD 64 in Rome, where Emperor Nero blamed Christians for the massive fire (now known as the Great Fire of Rome) that swept through the city of Rome.7 Because of this, Christians were prey some of the worst kind of torture and treatment imaginable, creating a pattern of Christian maltreatment that persisted of many decades. It was during the reign of Constantine that Christian persecution in Rome ceased and religious tolerance was granted to the Christians.8
Christianity grew during the first centuries, with Christians occupying and dominating most of the known world and beyond. However during the Islamic conquests that followed in the latter centuries, Christians were targeted. They were seen as a threat to bloodthirsty goals of the jihadist, and so they were killed, churches were burnt and people were forced to flee for their lives and others were forced to convert to a foreign religion.9 Christians were treated as second class citizens in their own homes. Muslims took over the holy city of Jerusalem amongst other Christian dominated places such as Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, etc.
Consequently these attacks lead to retaliation from the Christians which history has recorded as the Crusades.
PREVALENCE OF CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION IN MODERN TIMES
Over the years, there has been a steady increase in Christian intolerance in various countries. The worst reports often come from countries where there is a large number of Muslims or a Muslim majority. In other cases, Christian persecution is often more prevalent in third world countries or in countries facing political instability and which are under an autocratic government. For example, in the year 2000, 12 states in the northern part of Nigeria enacted sharia law. These laws heightened already brewing religious tensions. These regions became unsafe for Christian populations. Since then, over 62,000 Christians have been massacred in Nigeria by Islamic terrorists and Fulani militants.10 Because of this, over 16.2 million Christians have been displaced and forced to live in IDP camps because of this mounting violence.11In June 2022, over 50 parishioners were killed during the holy mass at St. Francis Xavier Church in Owo. The attack was alleged to have been carried out by Fulani militias.12 In 2025, during holy week, at least 115 Christians have been killed by Islamic gunmen in multiple attacks in Plateau State.13
These strings of attacks were met with flimsy promises of protection and retaliation from both the state and federal governments and an even more dreadful silence from local and global media outlets. The most recent, and arguably the most disheartening of all, took place on 13th of June 2025. In the dead of the night, Militants massacred up to 200 Christians in Nigeria’s Benue State. They targeted displaced families, and set fire to their buildings as they https://www.barnabasaid.org/gb/news/gunmen-kill-40-christians-in-plateau-state-nigeria/ accessed July 10, 2025 lay asleep inside and hacked down any who tried to flee.14 An eye witness stated, “Some [bodies were] burned beyond recognition – infants, children, mothers and fathers just wiped out.” Another eyewitness to the attack said: “There is no question about who carried out the attack. They were definitely Fulanis. They were shouting ‘Alahu Akhbar’”.15
To put this into proper perspective, if over 200 Palestinians or Isrealis were said to have been butchered and burned alive, there would be a global outcry for justice followed by swift governmental response. Yet no prominent media outlet, in Nigeria and around the world, has taken it upon themselves to investigate these killings and call it what it is, a religious genocide. They would just shrug it off to political instability or, which is the most ludicrous of all excuses, climate change and the existing rivalry between farmers and herdsmen in the area. No excuse could ever justify the amount of destruction and violence faced by Christians daily in Nigeria.
Another prominent instance is the case of North Korea. North Korea prides itself as a communist authoritarian nation, with ridiculous as well as strict laws which it carries out without leniency. The country in its entirety is a large human rights violation. Alas, when it comes to Christian persecution, it prides itself as number one.16 Hence, if it’s discovered that you are a Christian in North Korea, you will be sentenced to hard labor in prison camps that, one source states, rivals notorious Nazi death camps. A Christian who managed to flee from North Korea said, “to be a Christian in North Korea is to be constantly on the verge of extinction. If the government finds out our beliefs, it is death or jail. Heaven is always tomorrow for us.”17
In Iran, under an autocratic Islamic theocracy, persons who convert from Islam to Christianity face severe religious freedom violations and in worse cases they are killed as apostates are not allowed to live under Islam. This pattern is consistent in Muslim dominated countries. The Iranian government views these converts as a threat, believing they are influenced by Western countries to undermine Islam and the regime. Both leaders and ordinary members of groups are often arrested, prosecuted and given long prison sentences for ‘crimes against national security’. An eye witness said, “They were tearing us apart, one by one. Every time we heard the doorbell, we feared it was the police. We still can’t forget the day when the police raided our house church, took some of us away, and forced the rest to sign a paper confessing we would never meet or engage in Christian activities again”.18 Roughly 10,000 of Iran’s persecuted Christians leave each year due to mistreatment and other challenges. Some Armenian and Assyrian churches are permitted, but they may not conduct services in Farsi: the official and dominant language of Iran. This requirement is intended to effectively squeeze—and shrink—the church attendance and participation.19
RADIO SILENCE FROM THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
As stated since the beginning, Christian persecution receives dramatically less mainstream media coverage compared to other forms of religious persecution, despite the fact that Christians are the most persecuted religious group globally. Christian persecution only makes up 2% of the overall media coverage in renowned media outlets, even though this occurrence plagues the lives of 365-380 million people worldwide.20 This is terrible in comparison to how much traction, investigation and reporting other human rights violations receive on a daily basis. The crisis remains overshadowed by other conflicts and human rights issues, leading to a “news blackout” effect. This, because there is poor coverage of these violations, the perpetrators of these acts feel enabled to continue their reign of terror across different regions. This lack of sheer awareness prevents international pressure from being laid on offending governments and reduces humanitarian aid directed toward persecuted Christians.
NEGLIGENCE, COMPLICITY AND ENABLEMENT FROM VARIOUS GOVERNMENTS OF THE DAY
Christian persecution cuts has been reported to cut across over 155 countries around the world. Yet less than a fraction of that number has made an effective and efficient effort to address these violent acts towards Christians. Governments like Nigeria have been criticized for being complicity, negligent and lackadaisical towards the alarming indiscriminate loss of lives and properties due to Christian persecution around the country. Security forces often arrive too late or fail to intervene effectively in the instance of attacks, and there are reports of government bias favoring Muslim herders over Christian farmers. This negligence has enabled ongoing massacres and displacement, with over 52,000 Christians killed in Nigeria over the past decade, allowing the perpetrators to roam free with impunity.21
In China, these Christian persecution are government enabled. The Chinese Communist Party enforces strict control over religious practice, including raids on unregistered churches, arrests of pastors, and destruction of Christian symbols. The “Sinicization” of religion require churches to conform to state ideology unless they would face severe sanctions.22In India, persecution towards the Christian minority has increased under the Hindu nationalist party with attacks on Christians, churches and Christian schools. The government has tolerated as well as enacted anti-conversion laws that oppress the Christian population.23 And the list just goes on and on.
CONCLUSION
Christian persecution is fast growing human rights crisis that has been openly supported, ignored and enabled by various governments to the peril of the Christian populations within those countries. Alas, this issue is further exacerbated by the lack of mainstream media coverage despite the alarming figures and statistics that keep on pouring in from independent Christian media outlets. It is a pity that this pattern has persisted for so long with little to nothing being done about it. This is a human rights dilemma that needs international traction in order to put an end to these vile and discriminatory acts. There should be more effort put into investigating Christian persecution by global media outlets, in order to draw more attention to what is happening. The governments of these countries should be global criticized and held responsible and should be met with global sanctions. International aid should be given to Christians in these volatile countries to sustain them and enable the to resist discrimination.
Reference(S):
1‘Religious Persecution –’ (Joint Public Issues Team, January 26, 2018) https://jpit.uk/issues/religious-persecution accessed July 10, 2025
2‘World Watch List 2025’ (Opendoors.org) https://www.opendoors.org/en-US/persecution/countries/ accessed July 10, 2025
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5 “How Does Open Doors Produce the World Watch List?” (Opendoorsus.org) https://www.opendoorsus.org/en-US/persecution/methodology/ accessed July 10, 2025 2
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7 Brian O, “Why Did the Romans Persecute Christians?” (Global Christian Relief, December 23, 2024) https://globalchristianrelief.org/christian-persecution/stories/why-did-the-romans-persecute-christians/ accessed July 10, 2025
8 Stonestreet J and Sunshine G, “Setting the Facts Straight about Constantine” (Breakpoint, May 22, 2023) https://www.breakpoint.org/setting-the-facts-straight-about-constantine/ accessed July 10, 2025
9 Pipes D, “‘godless Saracens Threatening Destruction’: Premodern Christian Responses to Islam and Muslims” (Middle East Forum, January 1, 2021) https://www.meforum.org/middle-east-quarterly/premodern-christian-responses-to-islam accessed July 10, 2025 3
10 Genocide Watch, “62,000 Nigerian Christians Murdered since 2000” (genocidewatch, February 29, 2024) https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/nigeria-s-silent-slaughter-62-000-christians-murdered-since-2000 accessed July 10, 2025
11 “The Shocking Cost of Displacement in Nigeria: Pastor Barnabas’ Story” (Opendoorsus.org) https://www.opendoorsus.org/en-US/stories/pastor-barnabas-displacement-arise-africa/ accessed July 10, 2025
12 Genocide Watch, “62,000 Nigerian Christians Murdered since 2000” (genocidewatch, February 29, 2024) https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/nigeria-s-silent-slaughter-62-000-christians-murdered-since-2000 accessed July 10, 2025
13 “Gunmen Kill 40 Christians in Plateau State, Nigeria” (Barnabas Aid)
14 “Aid to the Church in Need” (Aid to the Church in Need)
https://acnuk.org/news/nigeria-up-to-200-dead-in-worst-killing-spree/?srsltid=AfmBOoo4E85rv7knkgEg7gcDL QRqsjCRGNdop1-1GiLYbb0SE6GtZRD5 accessed July 10, 2025
15 Ibid
16 “North Korea” (Opendoors.org) https://www.opendoors.org/en-US/persecution/countries/north-korea/ accessed July 11, 2025
17 Relief GC, “Christian Persecution Report: North Korea” (Global Christian Relief, September 21, 2016) https://globalchristianrelief.org/christian-persecution/countries/north-korea/ accessed July 10, 2025
18 “Iran” (Opendoors.org) https://www.opendoors.org/en-US/persecution/countries/iran/ accessed July 10, 2025
19 Brian O, “What’s next for Iran’s Persecuted Christians” (Global Christian Relief, May 20, 2024) https://globalchristianrelief.org/christian-persecution/stories/whats-next-for-irans-persecuted-christians/ accessed July 10, 2025
20 Anna Rees, ‘Mainstream media doesn’t cover Christianity well. What can the Church do about it?’ Premier Christianity (London, 8 July 2025) https://www.premierchristianity.com/news-analysis/mainstream-media-doesnt-cover-christianity-well-what-can the-church-do-about-it/19708.article accessed July 10, 2025.
21 Relief GC, “7 Shocking Statistics on Christian Persecution” (Global Christian Relief, May 28, 2025) https://globalchristianrelief.org/christian-persecution/stories/ways-you-can-help-persecuted-christians-3/ accessed July 11, 2025
22 The Worldwide Persecution of Christians: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, Second Session, 11 February 2014 (Serial No. 113-175) https://congress.gov/113/chrg/CHRG-113hhrg86650/CHRG-113hhrg86650.htm accessed July 10, 2025.
23 “The Myth and Danger of Anti-Conversion Laws in India” (Open Doors UK & Ireland, June 19, 2022) https://www.opendoorsuk.org/news/latest-news/anti-conversion-laws-india/ accessed July 10, 2025
