Christians are now the most persecuted religious group in the world and the religion could be wiped out in Iraq within three years, according to a report by a Catholic charity.
The European-based Aid to the Church in Need described the current level of persecution against Christians as being “worse than at any time in history.” Examining the plight of Christians in 13 countries over the past 12 years, the group found the number of Christians in the Middle East had dropped drastically in the past year.
The report entitled ‘Persecuted and Forgotten?’ claims the number of Christians in Syria had dropped to just 500,000 from about 1.5m five years ago, when the Syrian civil war was only just beginning.
In Iraq, more than half of the country’s Christian population became internal refugees and Syria’s second city of Aleppo, which until 2011 was home to the largest Christian community, saw numbers dropping from 150,000 to barely 35,000 by spring 2017 – a fall of more than 75%.
Researchers estimate as many as 600,000 Christians may have suffered some form of persecution for their faith around the world last year. Persecuted and Forgotten? found that members of China’s 127 million-strong Christian population have suffered increased persecution following new attempts to bring Christianity in line with Communist ideals.
More than 2,000 churches and crosses have been pulled down in China’s coastal Province of Zhejiang – and clergy are still being routinely detained by authorities.
