2 Million Christians Live in Saudi Arabia and There Is Not One Church: Open Doors Names the Kingdom the 13th Worst Place on Earth to Follow Jesus

Death Penalty for Conversion, Police Raids on Domestic Worship, and Bibles Confiscated as Saudi Crown Prince's Reform Theatre Hides a Sharia State

Over two million Christians live in Saudi Arabia, almost all of them migrant workers from poorer nations. There is not a single church in the entire kingdom. Conversion from Islam officially carries the death penalty, although Open Doors notes the punishment has not been executed in recent years. Police raids on private worship continue. Bibles and crosses are confiscated.

The Kingdom now ranks as the 13th worst country on earth for Christian persecution, according to the Open Doors World Watch List.

How Saudi Arabia Hides Its Persecution of Christians Behind Reform Theatre

Since 2016 reforms, the religious police can only "observe and report" rather than directly enforce Islamic morality, a modest improvement. Foreign Christians of higher social status may worship at foreign consulates or in private homes. Poorer immigrant Christians, mostly from the Philippines, Africa, and South Asia, face police raids on their domestic Bible studies and impromptu services.

Citizenship remains tied to Islam. A Saudi citizen who openly identifies as a Christian effectively forfeits their citizenship rights. International Christian Concern and Open Doors document the ongoing pattern. The crown prince's Vision 2030 reforms have polished the image. The underlying sharia framework remains intact.

The Crusader's Opinion

Two million Christians live in Saudi Arabia. Two million. With zero churches. The Crown Prince has marketed his Vision 2030 reforms to Western capitals, but Christianity remains effectively illegal at the citizen level and survives only as a hidden migrant practice. Every Western leader who shakes hands with Riyadh must raise the question: when will there be a single Saudi church? Until then, the kingdom is what Open Doors says it is: one of the worst places on earth to follow Jesus. Pray for the underground Saudi Christians. Pray for the migrants who risk arrest to break bread.

Take Action

• Donate: Open Doors and International Christian Concern
• Pray: For the two million underground Christians in Saudi Arabia
• Contact: Your senator urging US pressure on Saudi religious freedom
• Read: The 2026 Open Doors World Watch List
• Share: The "two million Christians, zero churches" statistic