India (International Christian Concern) – Six Christian families have received an ultimatum from the Latehar District Police of Jharkhand state to either renounce their Christian faith or prepare to leave the village. The police have given the Christians a single month to respond to this demand. The police issued the ultimatum after the six Christian […]
(International Christian Concern) – The first six months of 2020 proved to be another challenging time for Christians in Pakistan. Despite lofty claims made by the PTI-led government, the country’s Christian community continued to suffer discrimination, intolerance, and instances of outright persecution. International Christian Concern (ICC) documented at least 80 incidents of persecution against Pakistan’s […]
(Article18) — The family of an Iranian-Armenian house church leader who remains in detention more than three weeks after his arrest has been told they must deposit 3 billion tomans (around $150,000) for his bail. This is twice the previous highest amount demanded to secure the release of a Christian prisoner of conscience. Joseph Shahbazian, […]
WASHINGTON — The president of a persecution watch group based in Washington, D.C. recently recalled the answer he received when visiting China years ago and speaking with a number of pastors who had been previously imprisoned: “Persecution is a gift.” Jeff King of International Christian Concern explained that it is ease and wealth that degrade […]
ANDHRA PRADESH (International Christian Concern) – On July 5, an unidentified man, believed to be a Hindu nationalist, filed a false police report against a pastor in Andhra Pradesh alleging forcible conversion activities. The accusation was made against Pastor Chinna Rao, head pastor of Christ Church, where 50 to 60 people worship regularly in a […]
Russia (Mission Network News) — In 2017, Russia made the decision to downgrade domestic violence from a criminal offense to a misdemeanor for first-time offenders. This ruling sparked a backlash in Russia, and many women are still vocally trying to find justice in the country today. But Eric Mock of Slavic Gospel Association says the […]
JOS, Nigeria (Morning Star News) – Muslim Fulani herdsmen on Monday killed 11 Christians in an attack in Kaduna state, Nigeria, the latest of more than 50 members of Baptist, ECWA and other churches slain since June 12, sources said. More than 50 armed herdsmen invaded Gora Gan village, in the north-central state’s Zangon Kataf County, on […]
(The Christian Institute) — The Scottish government is currently considering introducing new hate crime laws, with Holyrood’s Justice Committee asking for views on the proposed Hate Crime and Public Order bill. The closing date for submissions is this Friday. The existing law covers race, but Scottish ministers want to extend it to cover all the […]
(Voice of the Martyrs) — An independent church pastor in India’s Karnataka state has been told to vacate his rented home, which was being used for worship gatherings. The pastor has to leave the house because radical Hindu nationalists have put pressure on the pastor’s landlord. “They threatened that they would break my hands and […]
WASHINGTON — A global survey conducted by the Washington-based Pew Research Center finds that 51% of participants believe that one can be good without God. The research also suggests that those in wealthier and more “educated” nations are more apt to think people are fine without the Divine. “What is the connection between belief in […]
