The world trends point to an escalation of attacks targeting
foreign Christian worker, according to a World Evangelical Alliance report.
Elizabeth Kendal, a researcher for WEA, said Muslim majority nations and
regions, such as the Middle East, Northern Nigeria, Indonesia and Pakistan, are
particular trouble spots.
However, it is also the case in nations where other religions are striving to
regain their historic dominance and influence, and where religious nationalism
is being used as a political tool, Kendal. This is so with Hinduism in India
and Buddhism across much of South East Asia. Christian work in these regions
will become increasingly dangerous.
Even Europe isn’t immune to the rise of Christian persecution in the coming
months, she said. Bulgaria, Belarus, Moldova and other countries have approved
or are considering laws that favor Orthodox nationalism and ban or restrict
religious activity of Christians from other denominations.
What is the West doing about the rise in persecution?
What is most surprising is that religious freedom is being denigrated in the
West by people who enjoy it, expect it as their right, and take it for
granted, said Kendal, who provided examples from journalists in the U.S. and
abroad who added an anti-Christian slant to their reporting of persecution
against Christians.
There is little doubt that the issue of religious liberty will play an
increasingly significant role in domestic and international politics in 2003
and beyond, said Kendal. It will be interesting to see how the Western world,
with its rich Christian heritage and ethic, manages to defend religious liberty
now that it is so ‘enlightened’ and driven by secularism.