Why Iranians Are Rejecting Islam And Embracing Christianity
(ANALYSIS) Churches burned to the ground. Pastors executed in public squares. Families forced to renounce their faith or face the sword. Across the world, Christianity is under attack.
In Nicaragua, priests are arrested for speaking against the regime. Crosses are torn down, while Catholic-run charities are shut overnight. In China, underground churches are raided. Bibles are confiscated. Worshippers disappear into the prison system, never to be seen again. In India, Hindu nationalist mobs storm Christian villages, torching homes, beating pastors, forcing mass conversions at gunpoint.
Then there’s Nigeria — the deadliest place in the world to be a Christian. In the past 20 years, at least 50,000 have been slaughtered. Not in a war. Not by an invading army. But by Islamist extremists and Fulani herdsmen, acting with near-total impunity.
Despite the persecution, despite the bloodshed, despite the silence of world leaders — Christianity is not dying. In fact, in some of the most hostile places on earth, it's thriving.
One of those places may surprise many: Iran.
The Land of Poets and Kings’ transformation into an Islamic theocracy was not inevitable. Before 1979, Iran was a rapidly modernizing nation under the rule of the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. While his regime had its share of repression, particularly against political dissidents, it also championed Westernization, economic growth and women's rights. The streets of Tehran bore little resemblance to what they do today — women were not compelled to cover themselves, cultural life flourished with cinemas, nightclubs and a vibrant art scene.
The Iranian Revolution, however, brought the sharpest of shifts. Led by Ayatollah Khomeini, the uprising against the shah was fueled by a mix of economic dissatisfaction, opposition to his authoritarian rule and a rising wave of religious fundamentalism. What followed was not just a change in leadership but a complete reordering of society. Sharia law became the foundation of the state, and the Islamic Republic swiftly moved to suppress secularism, silence dissent and impose rigid moral codes.
Of course, Iran’s rigid brand of Islam is not reflective of the broader Muslim world. Rather, it emerged from a revolution that exploited both political discontent and religious zealotry, transforming one of the Middle East’s most modern societies into one of its most repressive
Essentially, in the blink of an eye, Iran transformed from a playground into a prison.
Apostasy — leaving Islam — became a crime punishable by death. Churches were outlawed, converts were hunted, and Farsi Bibles became contraband. Any challenge to the regime’s authority was swiftly and brutally crushed.
Yet today, despite every effort, Christianity is exploding.
Rather incredibly, Iran now has one of the fastest-growing Christian populations in the world. Not in grand cathedrals. Not in public squares. But underground, spreading quietly and carefully.
Most Christian churches are outlawed. There are official church buildings for the traditional Armenian and Assyrian Christian minorities, and their clergy are allowed to wear robes. For the most part, however, it’s just ordinary Iranians — students, workers even former mullahs — who have seen the darkness of the Islamic Republic and want something else.
Many have turned to Christianity after having visions and dreams of Christ. It happens so often that the regime has publicly warned against it, spooked by a phenomenon it cannot fully control. Others convert because they have tasted the cruelty of their rulers. They have lived under forty years of Islamic law. They have seen its corruption, its hypocrisy, its bloodshed.
They are fed up. They want freedom.
And the more the government cracks down, the more the underground church grows.
This occurs amid increasing unrest throughout the country. The youth —many disillusioned, desperate and defiant — are rejecting not just the Islamic Republic, but Islam itself. Decades of oppression have created a backlash. The 2022 protests following the murder of Mahsa Amini were not just about hijabs; they were about an entire generation suffocating under a regime that has stolen their future.
For years, young Iranians have watched their country decay under the weight of inept leadership and rigid religious rule. Opportunities are scarce, dissent is met with violence and even the smallest acts of personal freedom — listening to Western music, holding hands in public, questioning religious authority — are policed with excessive force.
The ambitions of their parents' generation, who once hoped for a prosperous, modern Iran, have been reduced to survival under an unforgiving theocracy. Many young people see no future for themselves in the country they call home. Some turn to escape — risking their lives to flee the country. Others resist in the streets. But a growing number are turning to a faith that cannot be controlled by clerics or crushed by secret police.
Although the Ayatollahs have responded with bullets, prison cells, and executions, sheer force can only do so much against an idea whose time has come.
The regime is losing its grip. The Islamic Republic has long ruled through force and fear. Yet, as disillusionment spreads, hope — ironically enough — takes root. In this context, Christianity is not just a religion. It is an act of defiance.
John Mac Ghlionn is a researcher and essayist. He covers psychology and social relations. His writing has appeared in places such as UnHerd, The US Sun and The Spectator World.