Christians Harassed for Their Faith in More Countries Than Any Other Religious Group

The number of countries has increased by 45 since 2012

Christian World, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A new report shows that Christians face harassment for their faith in more countries than any other religious group during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pew Research, in an update of previous data that was released last week, reports that the number of countries where Christians face social or government abuse has increased from 110 in 2012 to 155 in 2020.

Muslims and Jews came in as the second and third groups facing harassment in the most countries.

Followers of Islam faced harassment in 145 countries, which is a slight decrease from 147, while Jews, which make up just 0.2% of the world’s population, experience harassment in 94 countries, an increase from 89 the previous year.

The religiously unaffiliated also saw a notable increase in harassment from 2012.

Pew defines harassment as encompassing everything ranging from verbal abuse to physical assault and slayings, whether by the government or by individuals or other social groups, as well as cases when individuals feel “singled out” or prevented from expressing their beliefs (or lack thereof).

The study also notes that Christians were often blamed for the pandemic, such as an arson attack on an Armenian Orthodox church in which the perpetrator told police that he blamed Christians for bringing the coronavirus to Turkey.

In Egypt, the often targeted Coptic Christians were blamed for spreading the virus while in India, where persecution of non-Hindus has been growing as Hindu nationalists seek laws restricting interfaith marriages and “forced” conversions, two Christians were beaten and killed in police custody for violating local COVID-19 restrictions.