According to a new report, Christians are the most persecuted religion in the world as they face mounting pressure over their beliefs, with government restrictions, nationalist parties, and harassment aimed at minority faiths continuing on a global upswing.

The Pew Research Centre Report, which analysed religious freedom in 198 countries and territories, revealed religious antagonism saw its biggest surge in over a decade in 2016, with Christians and Muslims - followers of the world's two biggest religions - ranking as the top victims of political restrictions and social hostility.

Christians reported incidents of harassment in more places around the world than any other tradition - 144 countries in 2016 compared to 128 countries in 2015 and 108 in 2014.

Incidents included discrimination, verbal assault, physical attacks, arrests and the destruction of religious sites.

Islam, the world’s second largest religion behind Christianity, saw Muslims suffer harassment in 142 countries in 2016 - up from 125 in 2015 and 100 in 2014.

The latest Pew Research Centre Report comes just weeks after the US State Department reviewed an annual assessment of religious freedom around the world.

Sam Brownback, ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, said last month: “The state of religious freedom is dire.

“We have work to do. We must move religious freedom forward - we must defend it in every corner of the globe.”

The report’s overall findings match up with Mr Brownback’s theory that religious repression is pervasive and rising.

China banned online purchases of Bibles earlier this year
The researchers said: “When combining measures of government restrictions and social hostilities, more than four-in-ten countries (42 percent) had high or very high levels of overall religious restrictions in 2016.”

Pew lists China as the worst country for government obstructions - the rigidly atheist Communist regime banned online purchases of Bibles just before Easter earlier this year following efforts to remove Christian symbols from homes.

Overall, the Asia-Pacific region places more limits on Christianity than any other part of the world and according to the report, it contains about a third of countries where Christians were harassed by governments.

Researchers found that in 2016, nationalist parties and politicians in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Philippines targeted Christians the most.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/978361/christianity-persecution-religious-freedom-christian-muslim-persecuted-china

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

They didn't even mention Nigeria in the report with the number of Christians being killed in this country every time especially in the north, Nigeria is one of the worst countries in persecution of Christians

Mikora:
They didn't even mention Nigeria in the report with the number of Christians being killed in this country every time especially in the north, Nigeria is one of the worst countries in persecution of Christians

The thing tire me my guy.
Despite all the murders of Nigerian Christians by the Fulani terrorist herdsmen at the behest of the Aso Rock Jihadist Buhari, the report failed to include Nigeria in the list.