The seasons of Lent and Easter provide us with many opportunities to practice our faith in publicly visible ways. Many of us enjoy pious traditions of wearing ash crosses on our foreheads, reenacted Stations of the Cross, outdoor living rosaries, Palm Sunday processions, Good Friday veneration of the cross, and Easter Sunday festivities.
These practices not only enhance our spirituality, but also visibly strengthen our faith community and identity. However, such public displays of Christian faith are only possible because of religious freedom. We are fortunate to enjoy religious freedom in this country, but for many people around the world, such freedom to worship is far out of reach.
Although most people now live under some form of democracy, religious persecution perpetrated by states, societies and extremist groups has greatly risen in the past decade. The situation is currently so worrisome that Pope Francis asserts there have been more martyrs in recent times than in the first centuries of Christianity. The pope dedicated his March prayer intentions for Christians who face death for making the Sign of the Cross, reading the Bible, going to Mass, or otherwise publicly showing their faith.
Open Doors USA, a non-profit organization, reports that there are an estimated 250 million persecuted Christians, most whom live in countries where Christianity is illegal, forbidden or punished, with the three remaining Communist states of North Korea, China and Cuba among the most severe perpetrators. At the top of the list: North Korea – considered to be the most dangerous country in the world for Christians. Many people are routinely killed, along with their families, or sent to prisons or labor camps. An estimated 60,000 North Korean Christians – one in five – suffer in concentration camps. Christians are publicly scorned, warned against, and prohibited from gathering to worship.
Despite continued repression, there are approximately 100 million Christians in China, and if current trends continue, the U.S. State Department projects that China will soon have more Christians than any other country in the world. Many Chinese are evangelized while stationed to work for an increasing amount of Chinese-owned companies in Africa, where they encounter African missionaries. After they return home, Chinese workers often keep their faith alive even under brutal persecution. As the number of Christians in China increases, the Communist government feels more threatened and is responding with greater pressure and brutalities. Many churches have been destroyed and entire congregations arrested, beaten and imprisoned. The mass arrest of the congregation of Covenant Church in Sichuan province last December included 11 children, who were taken along with the adults and subjected to inhumane treatment. Besides violent suppression, the Chinese government has recently started a project of rewriting the Bible to make it fit the Communist ideology and promote allegiance to Communist leaders – all in an effort to subjugate its growing Christian population.
Cuba, which has been suppressing the Church since the Communist revolution in the 1950s, passed a new constitution in February that dropped a clause about the state’s recognition of freedom of conscience and religion. Since the constitution was opposed by most clergy and led to protests among the faithful, the Cuban government responded by withdrawing permits for church events featuring missionaries, firing government-employed drivers for giving rides to church members, and in some cases blocking clergy from voting. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom warns that as tensions are rising, the Cuban government is expected to confiscate church property, interrogate religious leaders and prohibit Sunday worship.
Besides outright suppression by governments, many Christians around the world suffer persecution from society and extremist groups. This is especially true in Africa and the Middle East. The extremist group Boko Haram in Nigeria has become notorious for church burnings, mass murder and kidnappings, and humanitarian organizations warn that traditional Christian communities in Iraq and Syria are about to disappear because of continued violence from extremist Islamist organizations coupled with systemic political, social and economic marginalization.
The effects of anti-Christian social pressures are particularly evident in India, where living conditions for Christians have rapidly deteriorated over the past five years. India now ranks among the top 10 countries with the most severe persecution of Christians. First promoted by the country’s elites, the idea that Hinduism is a primary aspect of Indian patriotism has penetrated into most segments of the society. This has resulted in Indian Christians being maltreated or attacked by ultra-nationalist groups, actions that often go unpunished by the government. Christians in India are members of the lowest caste, are socially marginalized, and rank among the poorest of the poor.
The suffering of our fellow Christians in oppressive countries around the world reminds us that although religious freedom is a basic human right, it should never be taken for granted. This right needs to be appreciated, cultivated and protected. As we gather to participate in various devotions of this beautiful season with great joy and without fear of repercussions, let us remember in our prayers all those who will not be able to publicly express their faith.
Dr. Kamila Valenta is a member of St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte and a part-time professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she teaches courses on ethnic conflict and terrorism.