North Korea was recognized as having the highest level of Christian persecution in the world, according to a new study.
Open Doors US is an organization that tracks the persecution of Christians around the world. This week, the organization released its annual report of 50 countries where Christians experience the most extreme levels of discrimination because of their faith.
A North Korean flag flies next to a concertina at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 9, 2017.
(REUTERS/Edgar Su)
Lisa Pearce, interim executive director of Open Doors US, said Wednesday that Open Doors’ World Watch List provides a global annual snapshot of where and how Christians are being persecuted.
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The 2023 list was made up of contributions from 4,000 people around the world.
“Very often, the persecution of Christians occurs underground, in hidden or very rural communities,” Pearce said. “Persecution often creeps up. The Open Doors World Watch Unit refers to the ‘smash’ and ‘squeeze’ of persecution.”
He explained that the large number of major incidents make headlines because they affect the most people. The squeeze, on the other hand, is the limitation of the rights of Christians and other minorities to find employment, the exclusion of young Christians from education and the beatings in rural towns.
The number one country where Christians are persecuted the most is North Korea, and according to the watch list, the country has the highest levels of persecution ever seen.
The US Open Doors World Watch List shows the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted for their faith.
(Open House USA)
The high score reflects an increase in arrests of Christians and house churches discovered closing.
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Somalia reportedly came in second and Yemen in third.
Afghanistan was ranked ninth and had been ranked higher in previous years. Open Doors said fewer Afghan Christians were killed for their faith in 2022 as many left the country or were killed as the Taliban regained control.
China also stood out, ranking 16th. The organization said China’s use of digital surveillance technology adds to persecution and intimidation and, as the tools become more sophisticated, the communist government used censorship, misinformation, and surveillance to control religious groups.
Open Doors reported that last year, 5,621 Christians were killed because of their faith, with 90% of those deaths occurring in Nigeria alone.
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Nigeria ranked sixth on the list, with the organization noting that the rise in violence in the country has only resulted in more Christians losing their lives in the last five years.
“I would re-emphasize that the persecution of Christians is now a global phenomenon and requires a global response,” Pearce said. “I urge each of us to do what we can to stand with them, pray for and support them, and use whatever influence we have to defend their right to live their faith.”
Wybo Nicolai, founder of the World Watch List and former Open Doors global field director, said one of the organization’s three main goals is to inform the global “Body of Christ” about the persecution situation.
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“WWL is an excellent tool for this purpose, as it tries to describe levels of persecution as objectively as possible,” Nicolai said. “The Biden administration has removed Nigeria from the list of countries of special concern for religious freedom. Nigeria is the country with the highest number of martyrs in 2022 – more than 4,000 Nigerians lost their lives for their faith in Jesus. It would be logical and a great initiative to reverse this decision.”
