International (MNN) — A new report says persecution against Christians has increased in 18 countries since 2020. The report comes from the Catholic charity aid to the Church in Need.

Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says much of this persecution is happening in Africa. “You can trace the spread of radical Islam from North to South. We see more and more Africans raised up in that kind of Islamist militancy that wants to create a caliphate, have Islamic Sharia law, and be in control. We see more attacks against Christians, more churches burned, and more pastors killed.”

Nettleton says many people have become Christians from Muslim backgrounds in these countries. They are prime targets for persecution.

Religious nationalism

In other places, religious nationalism is causing persecution against Christians.

Nettleton gives an example from India. “The Prime Minister of the country happens to have come out of that ideology. They believe every Indian is a Hindu or should be a Hindu. If you’re not a Hindu, you should either convert or go find somewhere else to live.”

“Some of these Hindu nationalists will literally talk about the soil of India being Hindu soil.”

That’s why various states across India have passed so many anti-conversion laws. Nettleton says one group of Hindu nationalists broke into a church, beat up a pastor, and then called the police on the pastor they had attacked. He was arrested and taken to a police station. He was accused of trying to convert people away from Hinduism.

It’s a similar story in China, Nettleton says. “Xi Jinping has tried to unify the country under his rule and communist rule. They see Christians as a foreign religion, a source of foreign influence.”

How to pray

Ask God to strengthen Christians in these 18 countries. Pray the love of Jesus would change hearts.

 

Header photo courtesy of The Voice of the Martyrs USA on Facebook.