Africa’s Christians Face Continued Persecution As Sub-Saharan Nations Remain Jihadi Hotbeds
Religious nationalism, mass displacement, authoritarianism, surveillance technology and other trends combine to persecute 300 million Christians globally, International Christian Concern said in its 2025 Global Persecution Index released on Jan. 2.
Targeting 20 countries, the latest annual report identifies 20 persecution zones, spotlights underlying factors that make each region increasingly unstable, and details the growing persecution Christians are suffering at the hands of government, terrorist organizations and society.
Christian persecution intensified in 2024 in Nicaragua, India, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and regions throughout Africa’s Sahel region, ICC said in its report, citing increased government hostility in Nicaragua, Hindu nationalism and anti-conversion laws in India and terrorism and displacement in Africa.
In related research, Pew Research’s 2022 Report on Government Restrictions on Religion showed that restrictions in 198 countries and territories peaked in 2022, the most recent numbers available.
In 2022, Pew found that 30 percent of countries (59 countries) reported high or very high levels of government restrictions on religion, up slightly from 28 percent of countries (55 countries) in 2021. The median score remained at three on a 10-point scale, having risen gradually from 1.8 in 2007, Pew said.
Pew’s report, released in late December, also found a correlation between government restrictions on religion and persecution by social groups and individuals during the previous five years, with researchers saying, “government restrictions and social hostilities tend to go hand in hand,” despite “a sizable number of exceptions.”
Syria, Iraq, Pakistan and Egypt received the worst critiques by Pew — scoring highest in religious persecution perpetrated by the government as well as by society against religious minorities, graded on the 10-point Government Restrictions Index (GRI) and the 10-point Social Hostilities Index (SHI).
India, Israel, Nigeria and Libya ranked very high (above seven) on the SHI and high (above 4.4) on the GRI, with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, France, Yemen, Thailand, Jordan, Tunisia, Jordan, Nepal and Moldova ranking high (above 3.5) on the SHI; while Indonesia, Algeria, Russia, Malaysia and Turkey ranked high on the SHI and very high (above 6.5) on the GRI.
Pew’s GRI tracks laws, policies and actions that regulate or limit religious beliefs and practices, including those that single out religious groups or ban particular beliefs or practices, those that benefit some religious groups but not others, and bureaucratic rules that require religious groups to register to receive benefits.
On the SHI, Pew notes actions by private individuals or groups that target particular religious groups, including religion-related harassment, mob violence, terrorism, militant activity, and hostilities based on religious conversions, religious symbols or clothing.
Studying 20 countries in Africa, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Southeast Asia, ICC highlighted persecution trends while showcasing the enduring church amid persecution, and calling on the global church to intervene on behalf of the persecuted.
“We show where life is challenging for the millions of Christians who face myriad forms of persecution — murder, imprisonment, torture, rape, attacks, discrimination, isolation, ostracization and more,” ICC said of its report. “We examine corners of our world where believers can’t publicly identify as Christian or openly recite a Bible verse without severe punishment. We offer updates where extremist leaders and hateful groups actively target Christians and force the church underground.”
In Nicaragua, the national government has weaponized the Ministry of Interior to crack down on hundreds of churches, aid groups and other faith-based organizations, ICC said, citing U.S. State Department data that Nicaragua revoked the operating licenses of at least 315 faith-based nonprofit organizations in 2023, including 233 associated with evangelical groups, 38 linked to the Catholic church and 41 from other faith-based groups.
In India, extremism, blasphemy and anti-conversion laws, political agendas that restrict religious minorities, and baseless arrests and imprisonments are effectively used to discriminate against Christians and other religious minorities. Hindu nationalists Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or RSS, are making progress in pushing for India to become an entirely Hindu nation, with the influence reaching to the prime minister, ICC cited as an example of a growing trend in the nation where Christians comprised 2.3 percent of the population in the 2011 census. Muslims, the largest religious minority, are also persecuted.
In Nigeria, the deadliest country for Christians, ICC cited terrorist groups Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Fulani Militants and local extremists as those causing the most harm. Nigeria’s blasphemy and anti-conversion laws, the use of Sharia law in Nigeria’s 12 northern states — although secular courts often overturn rulings – and identity-based politics along ethnic, political and economic lines tend to work against Christians, ICC said.
In the Sahel, civil war pitting the Sudanese Armed Forces against the Rapid Support Forces has sustained discrimination and persecution that began decades ago against the minority Christian population, ICC said. Additionally, despite ISWAP’s shared ideology with Boko Haram, the two are in a high-stakes territorial war in the Sahel. Churches, religious leaders and communities are often attacked and massacred, often for resources that are limited.
ICC cited the displacement of more than eight million people from Sudan since the war began in April 2023, as well as the displacement of 3.3 million in 2024 across Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, based on United Nations numbers.
This article has been republished with permission from Baptist Press.
Diana Chandler is Baptist Press’ senior writer.