Persecution report

India, the African Sahel, and Nicaragua—a predominantly Catholic and Protestant nation in Latin America—are among the latest hot spots for Christian persecution worldwide, according to the latest edition of the Global Persecution Index.

The annual report, published Jan. 3 by the Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit International Christian Concern, analyzed drivers of persecution in 20 countries. ICC says some 300 million Christians worldwide currently face persecution for their faith from governments, terrorist groups, and society.

Among the report’s lowlights: Persecution in India has increased amid rising Hindu nationalism. Politicians have stripped religious minorities of rights by instituting anti-conversion laws, promoting the country as a Hindu state, and promoting legislation to limit religious expression. These shifts have emboldened radicalized mobs to attack both Christians and Muslims.

In Africa, Islamic terrorist groups have increased violent attacks and killings targeting Christians across the continent. The threat is especially bad throughout the Sahel region that lies between the Muslim-majority north and the Christian-majority south. Extremist groups like Boko Haram have attacked Christians throughout northern Nigeria, southeast Niger, Cameroon, and Chad. In Mali, terrorist groups ramped up operations after UN peacekeepers began withdrawing in 2023.

And in Nicaragua, Christian freedom has deteriorated dramatically under an increasingly hostile government. President Daniel Ortega’s administration has arrested numerous Roman Catholic priests on spurious charges, and in August the Nicaraguan Ministry of the Interior canceled the legal status of more than 1,500 churches and nonprofits, including Catholic, evangelical, and Pentecostal groups. Nicaraguan officials also revoked tax exemptions from churches, requiring them to pay income taxes on congregants’ tithes and offerings. The human rights group Colectivo Nicaragua Nunca Más says more than 200 religious individuals have been exiled in recent years.

While persecution has risen in various places, the report emphasized that the gospel is still spreading. Iran hosts one of the fastest-growing Christian populations in the world, and churches in Indonesia are growing despite ­heightened restrictions there.

Mark Mulville/The Buffalo News via AP

Protecting the right to hire

A federal appeals court on Jan. 2 sided with a group of pro-life organizations ­challenging a New York law they say violates their First Amendment rights.

The law prohibits faith-based employers from making hiring decisions based on their beliefs about abortion and sexual morality. Plaintiffs in the case—the pregnancy center CompassCare, First Bible Baptist Church, and the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates—argue the law could force them to hire pro-abortion employees.

A U.S. District Court judge had dismissed the pro-lifers’ claims, but a three-judge panel with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the lawsuit could continue. The plaintiffs will need to prove that the law forces them to employ individuals who act against their very mission, wrote Circuit Judge Sarah Merriam. —L.C.