Religious prejudice, threats and violence against Christians have been documented in our world since biblical times. Even so, awareness of Christian persecution in 2022 and 2023 is not necessarily top-of-mind. Why is that? Partly because American citizens and typical churchgoers in the United States enjoy considerable religious freedoms compared to marginalized believers located around the globe. The nation’s religious protections shield U.S. believers from much of the brutality experienced by Christ followers elsewhere.

But the western church has an obligation to grow its awareness of Christian persecution in 2022, to be informed of the troubling trends that developed last year. To pray over the latest issues presenting themselves now. To be a voice for those suffering in silence. To advocate for change in 2023. This is more important than ever, as last year’s data reveals a startling fact: Christian persecution now stands at one of the highest levels in recorded history.

Thanks to modern technology, the Body of Christ can easily become aware of the issues at hand. A wealth of storytelling, information, data and insights exists online about Christian persecution in 2022 and 2023. In fact, several high-quality websites are publicly sharing free information collected over the past year to date. It’s all in an effort to bring much-needed attention to the current suffering of at-risk believers around the world.

Perhaps you—our reader—would like to personally learn more about Christian persecution so you can support your persecuted family. Get started now by browsing our top-5 list of sites examining Christian persecution in 2022 and 2023. You’ll not only grow deeper in your awareness of Christian persecution, but you’ll also be able to educate and inform a family member, friend or fellow church member on this critically important issue.

TOP 5 SITES EXAMINING CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION:

1. Global Christian Relief shares the latest stories of Christian persecution in 2022 and 2023.

A non-profit organization committed to serving and strengthening persecuted believers, Global Christian Relief sustains  vulnerable Christ followers in their time of need so they can be a light in their communities and advance the Great Commission. In collaboration with local partners around the world, GCR supplies persecuted Christians with short and long-term aid including food, clothing, shelter, medical aid, hygiene supplies, micro loans, Bibles and more. GCR aims to create the world’s largest covert network supporting the persecuted church through its digital Prayer App community.

• Grow your awareness of Christian persecution: Visit the GCR Blog for an insightful look at individual stories of Christian persecution in 2022 & 2023. Here, you can read the personal narratives of hard-pressed believers who serve Christ in extraordinarily dangerous countries within the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, Latin America and more. You’ll also discover how to intercede for them in prayer. The GCR team and its field reporters personally travel to many of these difficult places to collect the Christian persecution stories—ensuring their timeliness, accuracy and authenticity.

• Helpful Christian persecution data and insights: GCR’s Christian Persecution Reports offer a deep dive into the topic of religious persecution, by country. First, select a nation of interest from the drop-down list. Then, learn about the history of Christianity in that area of the world, how persecution began, the current state of affairs for at-risk believers and key statistics that will help you understand the plight of suffering Christ followers. These reports are authored by Dr. Ron Boyd-MacMillan, a researcher and expert on the topic of Christian persecution.

2. USCIRF reports its findings on Christian persecution in 2022 and 2023.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent and bipartisan commission that advises Congress, the President and other elected officials in the United States on the state of religious freedom around the world. It tracks both violations and progress with regard to Christian persecution and the suppression of other religions. Additionally, it suggests policy recommendations for legislative consideration. Dr. David Curry, the President & CEO of Global Christian Relief, currently serves as a Commissioner for USCIRF.

• Grow your awareness of Christian persecution: The commission’s two latest annual reports examine the state of Christian persecution in 2022 and 2023. You will also see insights about the persecution of other religious minorities around the globe. Specifically, you can identify which countries are the worst offenders and need your fervent prayers by examining the report’s suggestions for Countries of Particular Concern (CPC’s). For example, the 2022 annual report recommends Nigeria’s designation as a CPC, given that over 5,000 Christians are killed there annually.

• Helpful Christian persecution data and insights: USCIRF’s victims list allows you to search for and quantify the number of persecuted Christians who have been detained, arrested, imprisoned, or forced to renounce their faith. Click a victim icon to learn more about an individual story of religious persecution. You can also sort the list by specific denominations, if desired.

3. The U.S. Department of State has published its latest reports covering Christian persecution in 2022.

Each year, the State Department prepares an annual religious freedom report. The aim of this report is to provide Congress with a look at religious freedoms and restrictions around the world, and how federal and local governments suppress the beliefs of not only Christians, but other minority faiths as well. The report also reviews U.S. policies that support and encourage religious freedom for all. It is an important element of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. The 2022 International Religious Freedom Report is now available online.

• Grow your awareness of Christian persecution: Readers can review the individual religious freedom reports for various countries all around the world, which contain important statistics plus documented incidents of religious persecution. Simply select a country of your choice from the right margin under “select a location.” Each of the latest reports covers a full annual year, beginning January 1 and ending December 31, 2022. As such, you’ll get the latest annual summary of Christian persecution in 2022—ensuring you’re up to date on the latest available information. We encourage you to pray and ask God if there is a specific country that you can be studying and interceding for on a regular basis.

• Helpful Christian persecution data and insights: The demographic section of each nation’s religious freedom report details a country’s estimated population size. Thereafter, it also breaks down the estimated percentages of people who identify with the majority and minority religions. Examine this information closely to get a complete picture of how persecuted Christians may be greatly outnumbered in their communities—a contributing factor to the discrimination they experience.

4. The Pew Research Center offers details research insights on Christian persecution in 2022 and 2023.

The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan organization that seeks to educate the public on a variety of critical issues which shape our world. It studies a variety of important societal topics, including religion and religious persecution. Through a combination of polling, research, analysis and data science, it creates insightful reports examining the state of Christianity and global Christian persecution, along with additional info regarding other major world religions. The Pew Research Center is a division of The Pew Charitable Trusts, which leverages data to make a positive difference.

• Grow your awareness of Christian persecution: The Pew Center’s 2022 Global Religious Futures Project tracks restrictions on Christianity and other religions in nearly 200 countries. It also features information from surveys conducted across nearly 100 countries about religious identities, beliefs and practices. An important finding? Government restrictions on religion—including Christianity—have been rising globally. In fact, 57 countries currently have very high levels of restrictions on religion, up from 40 in 2007. The Pew Center also reports that Christian persecution occurs in more than 143 countries around the world.

• Helpful Christian persecution data and insights: A new 2023 report from the Pew Center identifies how Muslims in South and Southeast Asia are more likely than other religions to say that conversion to another faith is unacceptable. The same report details how non-Christian religions are increasingly being viewed as a part of one’s national identity in the area. These factors may help the Body of Christ understand why persecuted Christians endure strong pressure to renounce their faith in various parts of the world—and why the Great Commission plays such an important role in such regions.

5. Wikipedia cites the latest sources for Christian persecution in 2022 and 2023.

Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia with millions of articles and contributing editors, exists to be a free repository for knowledge and information, including but not limited to religious topics. It offers a robust entry on the topic of Christian persecution and strives to be both verifiable and neutral in opinion.

• Grow your awareness of Christian persecution: Wikipedia’s article on Christian persecution spans from New Testament times to the present day, offering a glimpse at how the believers’ afflictions have changed—and grown—over key periods of history. The article is part of a larger series on the topic of discrimination. It also contains detailed sections dedicated to Christian persecution in over 20 countries around the world.

• Helpful Christian persecution data and insights: Upon scanning the article, readers will observe that it contains a number of demographic statistics about Christianity and religion around the globe. At the time this blog post was authored, Wikipedia’s article about Christian persecution also contained a sizable 527 sources of Christian persecution information at the bottom of the entry. This list can be browsed to identify any new information about Christian persecution in 2022 and 2023 that was recently added to the article.

Next Steps

Now that we have familiarized you with the top 5 sites examining Christian persecution in 2022 and 2023, we encourage you to dive in by visiting one or more of these online destinations. Additionally, consider bookmarking these websites in your internet browser for future access. We recommend challenging yourself to read some of this Christian persecution content regularly over the course of the next 30 days, to start. As you do, you’ll begin to form a solid understanding and awareness of the various factors impacting persecuted Christians right now—and what you can do to help.

We sincerely appreciate you visiting our blog in an effort to increase your awareness of Christian persecution. Please scroll below to access some of the most recent stories from your persecuted brothers and sisters. And don’t forget to tell a friend!