While You Scroll TikTok, 340 Million Christians Face Death for Their Faith

Michael Ringer

26 Oct 2025 — 5 min read

Vatican City — Aid to the Church in Need released its 2025 Religious Freedom in the World Report on October 21, 2025, revealing that 5.4 billion people live in countries with serious violations of religious freedom. The report indicates that 340 million Christians worldwide are currently facing high levels of persecution and discrimination—meaning 1 in 7 Christians globally experience some form of oppression because of their faith.

The 2025 report runs 1,248 pages, the largest in its 25-year history, which Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said "indicates that violations of religious freedom are increasing year on year." The report, covering the period of January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2024, found that "grave and systemic violations, including violence, arrest and repression, affect more than 4.1 billion people in nations such as China, India, Nigeria and North Korea."

Research from the BBC estimates that 9,000 Christians are killed every year. Ninety percent of these killings occurred in Nigeria, where violent attacks against Christian communities have surged amid ongoing civil war and political unrest.

Last year, 4,476 believers worldwide were killed for their faith. Most were from Nigeria, with 3,100. However, other countries in sub-Saharan Africa have seen rising numbers of Christian deaths, including Burkina Faso, where 201 believers lost their lives—more than a fivefold increase on 2023.

According to Open Doors' World Watch List, 7,679 churches and Christian properties were attacked in 2024. North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan had the highest rates of reported persecution against Christians.

Governments in 52 countries employ "systematic strategies to control or silence" Christian life. In China, Iran, Eritrea, and Nicaragua, authorities use mass surveillance technologies, digital censorship, restrictive legislation, and arbitrary detention to suppress Christian communities.

ACN Editor-in-Chief Marta Petrosillo said that authoritarian regimes in parts of Latin America and Asia have attempted to "erase religious identity" by shutting down churches, preventing or banning religious education, and even renaming entire villages. "In North Korea, the regime criminalizes all belief, punishing worship with imprisonment, torture, or even execution."

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Christians represent roughly 95% of the nation's population, yet they are being slaughtered at alarming rates. ISIS-DRC detonated an explosive at a church baptism service in Kasindi, North Kivu Province, killing 16 and injuring at least 62. In March 2023, the group killed more than 83 Christians, including children, in attacks on villages in North Kivu. ADF rebels beheaded 70 Christians on February 15, 2025, in a Protestant church in Kasanga.

In the Sahel region—especially in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali—whole villages have been destroyed by Islamist militias. In Nigeria, attacks by armed groups linked to radicalized Fulani herders have left thousands dead and entire communities uprooted. In Sudan, civil war has wiped centuries-old Christian communities off the map.

In Mozambique, about 62% of the population is composed of Christians, yet Islamic extremists target them for their faith. According to Open Doors, these extremists have "targeted Christian places of worship, abducting religious leaders and killing numerous believers."

Organized crime has emerged as a new agent of persecution. In Mexico and Haiti, armed groups murder or kidnap religious leaders and extort parishes to assert territorial control.

Catholic priests and bishops in China continued to be arrested or detained for not joining the Catholic Patriotic Association, and in many parts of China anyone under the age of 18 is prevented from attending church or a church-sponsored event. With the arrest and exile of bishops and priests, the confiscation of church property and the banning of religious processions and other public celebrations, the situation in Nicaragua also worsened. "During the period under review, hostility toward churches intensified, severely violating the fundamental right to religious freedom."

The erosion of Christian religious freedom also extends to Europe and North America. In 2023, France recorded nearly 1,000 attacks on churches; in Greece, more than 600 acts of vandalism; and similar spikes were observed in Spain, Italy, and the United States, including desecrations of places of worship, physical assaults on clergy, and disruptions of religious services.

For the first time in its history, Aid to the Church in Need launched a global petition calling on governments and international organizations to ensure the effective protection of religious freedom. The petition will be presented to the United Nations, European Union, representatives of democratic governments and the diplomatic community in November 2026.

THE CRUSADER'S OPINION

Nine thousand Christians murdered annually, and Western believers debate coffee bar theology. Seventy beheaded in a single church service. Sixteen killed at a baptism. Eighty-three children massacred in villages. And the comfortable Church scrolls past to argue about worship styles and parking lot complaints.

Three hundred forty million Christians face persecution. That's every American targeted for execution simply for confessing Christ. One in seven Christians globally suffers for their faith while Western congregations obsess over building campaigns and youth group pizza preferences. Nigeria bleeds 3,100 Christians dead per year. France records a thousand church attacks. China arrests priests for refusing state control. And we're concerned about sermon length.

The numbers scream catastrophe. Sub-Saharan Africa drowns in Christian blood. Islamic militants torch villages, behead pastors, kidnap women for slavery. The DRC—95% Christian—sees ISIS bomb baptisms. Burkina Faso's Christian deaths increased fivefold in twelve months. Sudan erased ancient Christian communities. North Korea executes believers. Nicaragua confiscates churches. This isn't Rome's Colosseum. This is October 2025.

Western Christians have become spectators to global Christian genocide. Comfortable pews. Climate-controlled sanctuaries. Latte-sipping Bible studies. Meanwhile, brothers and sisters worldwide die for the faith we take for granted. The persecuted Church doesn't need our pity. They need our voices, our advocacy, and our refusal to let their suffering remain invisible while we debate carpet colors in the fellowship hall.

TAKE ACTION

Pray for the Persecuted Church facing daily threats under authoritarian and jihadist regimes. Pray for protection, provision, and courage to remain faithful.

Contact Your Representatives:

Urge Congress to condition foreign aid on verified religious freedom protections
Demand investigations into massacre reports and government complicity in persecution
Push for sanctions against nations systematically targeting Christians

Support Organizations Helping Persecuted Christians:

International Christian Concern - Advocacy and aid for persecuted Christians worldwide
Aid to the Church in Need - Direct aid to Christians in crisis zones
Voice of the Martyrs - Supporting persecuted Christians globally
Global Christian Relief - Relief for Christians in the worst persecution zones
Open Doors - Serving the persecuted church worldwide

Stay Informed: