Santa Ana, CA (January 4, 2024) – For the first time ever, incidents of violent religious persecution are searchable through a new database that records violent attacks on Christians and people of faith around the world. Unveiled by Global Christian Relief, America’s leading watchdog of Christian persecution, the Global Christian Relief Violent Incidents Database (VID) is the first and only events-based global religious freedom dataset.
Accessible to anyone, the database tracks more than a dozen categories of violence including killings, arrests, abductions and forced marriages; and users can search by country, religion and perpetrator. In addition to providing a level of verification like never before, the database will serve as a resource for journalists, advocacy groups, government officials, and anyone concerned with data on violent religious persecution. The database contains global reports of violent attacks beginning in 2022, and is currently tracking more than 6000 incidents.
“This database helps give a voice to the voiceless by recording and sharing details of specific attacks suffered by Christians and other people of faith globally,” said David Curry, CEO of Global Christian Relief. “Our hope is that this remarkable resource will be utilized by anyone advocating and reporting on behalf of the persecuted church.”
Funded by Global Christian Relief, the ongoing research for the GCR Violent Incidents Database is conducted by the International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF), one of the oldest thinktanks specializing in religious freedom.
“We live in a world where the violent persecution of Christians and other religious groups is rampant and increasing,” said Ronald Boyd-MacMillan, Chief of Global Strategy and Research for Global Christian Relief. “This database not only helps us track the violence but helps us better understand what persecuted Christians really need from their brothers and sisters around the world.”
The GCR Violent Incidents Database will be highlighted during the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington D.C., January 30-31. The database will be a key contributor to the GCR Global Religious Freedom Index, an even more sophisticated tool launching this spring that will measure religious freedom around the world by tracking every element of persecution, not only violence.
For interviews with David Curry, please contact Paige Collins at Icon Media Group, at: [email protected].
About Global Christian Relief
Global Christian Relief (GCR) is America’s leading watchdog organization focused on the plight of persecuted Christians worldwide. In addition to equipping the Western church to advocate and pray for the persecuted, GCR works in the most restrictive countries to protect and encourage Christians threatened by faith-based discrimination and violence. Dr. David Curry, president of GCR, currently serves on the United States Commission on Religious Freedom. For more information, visit globalchristianrelief.org
Santa Ana, CA (July 10, 2023) – Russia has been waging a brutal campaign against Christians in Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion, cautions Global Christian Relief, America’s leading watchdog of Christian persecution. Russian soldiers have destroyed, damaged or looted nearly 500 religious buildings and houses of worship in Ukraine, and killed, imprisoned or tortured at least two dozen religious leaders.
“These targeted attacks carried out by Russian forces against Ukranian Christians and religious minorities essentially constitutes a cultural genocide campaign,” said David Curry, CEO of Global Christian Relief. “Churches are soft targets, which means they are typically exposed and have little security against an invading army. They hold significant spiritual and cultural value for communities and destroying them is a deliberate attempt by Russia to demoralize Ukrainians.”
Leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church have helped justify the war by giving it their blessing and condoning the violence through rhetoric cloaked in religious language. These leaders also view the Orthodox Church of Ukraine as illegitimate, giving an additional pretext for permitting the invasion.
Religious freedom has declined in Russia since the late 1990s. Christians and religious minorities often face fines and repercussions for missionary activities that are considered illegal under unclear laws. The U.S. State Department has designated Russia as a Country of Particular Concern for engaging in systematic violations of religious freedom.
Global Christian Relief is calling on the international community to hold Russia’s military and church leaders to account for their war on Christianity.
For interviews with David Curry, please contact Paige Collins at Icon Media Group, at: [email protected].
About Global Christian Relief
Global Christian Relief (GCR) is America’s leading watchdog organization focused on the plight of persecuted Christians worldwide. In addition to equipping the Western church to advocate and pray for the persecuted, GCR works in the most restrictive countries to protect and encourage Christians threatened by faith-based discrimination and violence. Dr. David Curry, president of GCR, currently serves on the United States Commission on Religious Freedom. For more information, visit globalchristianrelief.org
Santa Ana, CA (April 28, 2023) – Misuse of rapidly–advancing artificial intelligence technology could have dangerous consequences for Christians around the world, warns Global Christian Relief, America’s leading watchdog of Christian persecution. As AI becomes a larger part of daily life, some national governments, terrorist groups, and other bad actors are abusing digital technology for nefarious uses, including violent attacks and oppression.
“Christians and religious minorities are typically among the most vulnerable communities in many countries around the world, and the exploitation of new AI technologies could make things even worse for them,” said David Curry, CEO of Global Christian Relief. “There is tremendous upside with AI, but also tremendous risk, especially at the speed AI is evolving. We need to slow down and think through how AI is being implemented. Otherwise, the consequences for persecuted Christians and others could be disastrous.”
In China, the CCP leads the way in utilizing AI as part of its high-tech surveillance state. More than 500 million street cameras use facial recognition technology to pick people out of crowds and pair recorded data with the country’s social credit score system. Chinese companies have exported this software to more than 60 countries.
GCR is calling on governments to pass legislation to regulate how AI is developed and used, and in a recent article, highlighted five examples of the misuse of AI technology that could fuel persecution for Christians and other religious minorities: surveillance and facial recognition; censorship and content filtering; deepfakes; predictive policing; and autonomous weapons.
For interviews with David Curry, please contact Paige Collins at Icon Media Group, at: [email protected]
About Global Christian Relief
Global Christian Relief (GCR) is America’s leading watchdog organization focused on the plight of persecuted Christians worldwide. In addition to equipping the Western church to advocate and pray for the persecuted, GCR works in the most restrictive countries to protect and encourage Christians threatened by faith-based discrimination and violence. Dr. David Curry, president of GCR, currently serves on the United States Commission on Religious Freedom. For more information, visit globalchristianrelief.org
Santa Ana, CA (April 14, 2023) – According to Global Christian Relief, America’s leading watchdog of Christian persecution, the rate of persecution for Christians in many Latin American countries is rising sharply. More and more frequently in areas across Central and South America, governments are condemning church activities, imprisoning and expelling priests and church officials, and passing laws that force churches to comply. Guerrilla-controlled cartels and gangs often threaten or kill those who object to the drug trade and view the church as a threat to their growing power.
“We tend to think of Christian persecution as something that happens ‘over there,’ thousands of miles away. But these acts of religious oppression are happening to fellow believers right on America’s doorstep,” said David Curry, CEO of Global Christian Relief. “We need to stand with our brothers and sisters in Jesus who are suffering in these areas of the world through prayer and support and let them know they are not alone. The church is primed to be an anchor for these communities, a refuge from the violence and corruption, a place for healing.”
In Nicaragua, at least 190 attacks were made against the church between 2018 and 2022, according to Catholic News Agency. More recently, the President Ortega-led government expelled 222 people considered political prisoners. One Catholic official among them, Monsignor Rolando Alvarez, refused to leave and has been sentenced to 26 years in prison. Those who did leave were given asylum in the United States. Nicaragua is on the U.S. State Department’s Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) list for “particularly sever violations of religious freedom.”
Christians in Mexico and Colombia experience a variety of difficulties, including threats and intimidation by gangs, human trafficking and political instability. In rural areas, Christians often come into conflict with family and community members who believe in ancestral and traditional religions.
“The situation for followers of Jesus is deteriorating very rapidly, especially in the countryside,” said Curry. “For example, Christian farmers in Colombia who refuse to grow the coca leaf face some of the most intense persecution in the world—death by drug cartel.”
In Cuba, Christians face a communist regime that espouses anti-religious ideology, suppresses freedom of thought and has historically tried to limit the influence of the church. Requests to register new churches are often refused and those leading unlicensed house churches can be fined and have their property confiscated.
“Violence continues to explode across Latin America, with almost no area getting any better. Religious liberty is in many places non-existent or under great pressure,” said Curry. “Our heart as Global Christian Relief is to stand with persecuted Christians were they facing the greatest challenges for their faith. We plan to support fellow believers for the long haul by investing in ministry and training so they can be a light for the gospel in their communities.”
For interviews with David Curry, please contact Paige Collins at Icon Media Group, at: [email protected].
About Global Christian Relief
Global Christian Relief (GCR) is America’s leading watchdog organization focused on the plight of persecuted Christians worldwide. In addition to equipping the Western church to advocate and pray for the persecuted, GCR works in the most restrictive countries to protect and encourage Christians threatened by faith-based discrimination and violence. Dr. David Curry, president of GCR, currently serves on the United States Commission on Religious Freedom. For more information, visit globalchristianrelief.org