​Christian persecution today


​Christian persecution refers to persistently cruel treatment,
​often due to religion or deeply held beliefs
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Jesus told Christians to spread the word of Christianity,
and acknowledged that this may put them in danger.


And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.
Matthew 10:22
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​There are still some circumstances in the 21st century, where Christians are persecuted because of their beliefs. One example is the bombing of Christian  churches around the world. 
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Christian Freedom International and Open Doors are examples of organisations in the UK who help persecuted Christians.

Their work in helping these Christians has involved: 
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• training Christians and church leaders to support them through the trauma they may have suffered
• providing advice and support to Christians who have been victims of disaster 
• speaking on behalf of Christians to help raise awareness of the situation they are in

​'Christians in America and Europe are persecuted. This is not the wild claim of right-wing alarmists but the sober contention of the Bishop of Rome. Standing where St Peter was crucified, preaching on the feast of St Stephen in 2016, Pope Francis described how Christians in the West have come to face a form of “polite persecution” that “takes away from man and woman their freedom, as well as their right to conscientious objection”.
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“Jesus has named the head of this ‘polite’ persecution: the prince of this world,” Francis said. “And when the powerful want to impose behaviours, laws against the dignity of the son of God, they persecute them and go against God the Creator. It is the great apostasy.”

One of the most curious aspects of polite persecution is the refusal of many Christians to acknowledge its reality. If any Christian in the West says that the Church there faces persecution, one of his co-religionists is sure to accuse him of overstating the case. Herein lies the great insidiousness of polite persecution. Rather than being conducted by sword-and-sandals tyrants employing brutal means, it is very often enforced by Christians themselves, in order to flatter and serve their secular betters. Time and again they rush to denounce other Christians as “hateful”, “insensitive” and “bigoted” – in a word, impolite.'

This dynamic was especially pronounced in the case of the Covington Catholic students. When the students were denounced as racist-misogynists because they had joined the March for Life and wore Trump hats, Bishop John Stowe of Lexington wrote an op-ed suggesting the students had chosen to “uncritically ally” with Trump. He apparently did not watch the full video, in which the Covington students can be seen mocking members of the Black Hebrew Israelites for their gay-baiting and racist remarks. The Covington boys are not exactly the alt-right avatars some fevered imaginations assume all Trump supporters must be.

Christians should think twice about engaging in this form of self-policing.

While acknowledging that refinement is preferable to rudeness, and eloquence preferable to crudity, they must stand with their co-religionists who, in sincerely trying to defend the faith, are attacked for incidental violations of political correctness. To do anything less is to become complicit in a form of persecution that is also a kind of class war.

What Christians should urge each other to advance in is the properly Christian virtues of faith, hope and charity.

​These virtues will, when expressed in moments of perfect peace, also radiate respect, compassion and sensitivity.

When the world hates the Church – as, alas, it always has – faith, hope, and love will sometimes seem rude, insolent or cruel. No one who loves peace could celebrate this fact, but neither could any realist deny it.

Western Christians have little reason for self-pity in the face in polite persecution. We have known that the Church will always be persecuted – that this is almost a mark of the Church – and that the real peril is not any penalty a Christian might suffer, but the temptation to join the persecutors in hounding those Catholics who choose to suffer for Christ.
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As Pope Francis reminds us, polite persecution is real.

​But none of its threats remotely approach the torments suffered by our brothers dying as Christians have always died – at Rome, Tyburn and the Libyan seaside.'

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Article:

https://catholicherald.co.uk/the-dangerous-rise-of-the-polite-catholic/
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GEORGE YANCEY
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​​According to a recent survey, about half of all Americans believe that evangelicals face discrimination. Some have even talked about them facing persecution. Others argue that Christians are merely mistaking their loss of privilege for persecution. We are clearly living in a post-Christian society where Christian faith is no longer automatically respected. But does a post-Christian world mean that Christians are subject to discrimination?

Having studied Christianophobia—or the unreasonable hatred and fear of Christians—I can answer that question. First, I’ll look to see if Christianophobia exists to any meaningful degree. Then, I’ll examine the nature of Christianophobia to assess if it does represent unreasonable hatred of Christians. Finally, I’ll explore evidence of anti-Christian discrimination in one place in our society: academia.

Anti-Christian AttitudesAre anti-Christian attitudes widespread, or are we talking about a couple of nutcases? In my book So Many Christians, So Few Lions, I document that about 32 percent of all Americans like conservative Christians significantly less than other social groups. In comparison, about 31 percent of all Americans like Muslims significantly less than other social groups. So it’s fair to say that if we’re concerned about anti-Muslim prejudice, then we should also be concerned about anti-Christian prejudice—at least prejudice against conservative Christians.

It’s also worth noting who tends to have this type of animosity. My research indicates that those with anti-Christian attitudes are more likely to be white, male, wealthy, highly educated, politically progressive, and irreligious. Those first four markers indicate individuals who have quite a bit of per-capita social power.

Mild Disgust or Irrational Hatred?On to the second question, about the nature of those who don’t like Christians. Do they merely feel mild disgust, or is it irrational hatred that can lead to discrimination? I sent a questionnaire with open-ended questions to a group of progressive activists who tended to be white, male, wealthy, educated, and irreligious. They were the type of people one would expect to exhibit Christianophobia. And they did. Here are just a few of the answers I received on my survey:
Kill them all, let their god sort them out.
A torturous death would be too good for them.

I’d be a bit giddy, certainly grateful, if everyone who saw himself or herself in that category were snatched permanently from our societal peripheries, whether by holocaust or rapture or plague.
I am only too well aware of their horrific attitudes and beliefs—and those are enough to make me see them as subhuman.

Clearly we are seeing the type of hatred that is unreasonable and can lead to discrimination. It is the type of dehumanization one expects to precede unfair treatment. But does it? Is it possible that values of tolerance and fairness among secular progressives inhibit their willingness to mistreat Christians?
Discrimination in America TodayTo examine that question I looked at academia, an area where one expects to find the type of highly educated progressive secularists likely to have anti-Christian animosity. I asked academics if they would be less willing to hire someone who is either a fundamentalist or an evangelical. I found that more than half would be less willing to hire a fundamentalist, and almost two in five would be less willing to hire an evangelical. The academics answering my survey explicitly stated they would discriminate against a job candidate who is a conservative Protestant. (You can read about this research in my book Compromising Scholarship.)

There is other research indicating that conservative Christians face discrimination in academia. Stanley Rothman and Robert Lichter find that academics with socially conservative perspectives wind up with lower-status academic positions even when controlling for their productivity. Albert Gunn and George Zenner show evidence of religious discrimination against Christian medical students.

Some will argue that Christians still have advantages in America, such as political power. I don’t dispute that there are benefits to being a Christian in the United States. However, such advantages don’t negate the fact that among powerful individuals who tend to be politically progressive and irreligious, unfair treatment of Christians is possible, and perhaps even likely.
For example, my recent book looks at the media. My co-author and I find evidence that media are less sympathetic to stories where Christians face hate speech or violence than identical stores where other groups are victimized. Social institutions such as academia, media, entertainment, and the arts are likely to be places where anti-Christian prejudice and discrimination take place. Those institutions greatly shape our cultural values, and thus those with anti-Christian attitudes are in a position to create and sustain anti-Christian perspectives.

There is evidence that anti-Christian hate can lead to discrimination. Is it persecution? This is a complex question I recently struggled with. By a clinical definition of persecution, yes, Christians are persecuted in the United States. But I still discourage Christians in the United States from saying they are persecuted, since what we face today isn’t what most people envision when they think of persecution.

However, as Christians we should be aware that anti-Christian discrimination is real. Further, those likely to engage in such discrimination have an ability to shape larger societal values. Thus, anti-Christian discrimination isn’t going away any time soon.

How should we deal with this reality?
How to Live in a Post-Christian WorldWe must work together to protect each other from discrimination. We no longer live in a society generally supportive of Christians. We’re going to have to support each other. An important way to do that is to develop our Christian communities. For example, support of Christian-owned businesses may be vital to help minimize the economic costs of anti-Christian discrimination. Working together to socialize our children is vital for allowing us to pass down our faith in a post-Christian culture. We can’t count on support from the larger society.

But we can’t neglect working to influence the larger society. While those with anti-Christian perspectives have more power in cultural creation, we can still make our presence known. Our Christian colleges, media, and arts are going to be important, but we must also encourage talented Christians to work in mainstream academia, secular media, and the larger art community. We won’t immediately alter the anti-Christian attitudes in these institutions, but we can lessen some of the negative effects these institutions can have. Research on intergroup contact shows that it’s harder to hold onto negative stereotypes when we know members of the out-group.
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Of course, Christians must also engage in politics. But we should consider how to use politics to defend ourselves rather than to assert power. When Christians look like they want power for its own sake, we only feed into the negative images some have of us. Don’t get me wrong: some who hate us won’t change their mind no matter what we do. But many individuals neither love nor hate us. They can be persuaded to reject measures that engage in religious discrimination if we’re seen as fighting for our freedoms and not to “take over” the country. A smart brand of politics, rather than a scorched-earth culture-war attack, is needed in a post-Christian world.


George Yancey is a sociologist and professor of sociology at Baylor University. He’s the author of Beyond Racial Gridlock: Embracing Mutual Responsibility (IVP, 2006), Hostile Environment: Understanding and Responding to Anti-Christian Bias (IVP, 2015), and Beyond Racial Division: A Unifying Alternative to Colorblindness and Antiracism (IVP, 2022), and coauthor of One Faith No Longer: The Transformation of Christianity in Red and Blue America (NYU Press, 2021).

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/anti-christian-discrimination-america/
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​By Asoka N.I. Ekanayaka –




​Prof. Asoka N.I. Ekanayaka

The monstrous Easter Sunday massacre of Christian worshippers in Sri Lanka which killed nearly 300 needs to be seen in the broader context of the worldwide persecution of Christians in our day and age. It then becomes apparent that other incidents like the massacre inside two mosques in New Zealand last March bear no comparison in scale to the brutal persecution of Christians  that is currently taking place and escalating across many countries throughout the world. Depending on the location such harassment is said to emanate from a wide variety of sources including extremist Hinduism, Buddhist nationalism, Communist authoritarianism, militant secularism, as well as non-state  actors like paramilitaries and drug cartels in parts of Latin America. However by far the most ruthless persecution is  attributed to the pernicious influence of radical Islam, where Christians are being forced to flee Arab countries on a scale where according to the 3rd International Christian Forum which convened in Moscow in 2017, during the past 10 years the Middle East’s Christian population has shrunk by 80%  prompting warnings that Christianity could entirely vanish from the Middle East  the land of its birth by 2025.

It is fitting that the world should focus on this issue at this time  when we remember that 2019 marks  the 20th anniversary of the gruesome murder of Graham Stains and his two little sons aged 6 and 10  who were burnt alive in their vehicle by marauding Hindu fanatics in 1999 in Orissa. Stains was a Christian Missionary who with his wife had been engaged in a labour of love working amongst lepers and other destitutes in India for 34 years. The anniversary of their martyrdom if nothing else should serve to concentrate the mind on the plain facts pertaining to the raging  phenomenon now identified as “Christophobia”. The facts speak for themselves although they hardly receive the media publicity they deserve in a secular atheistic anti Christian post modern world  that is preoccupied with “Islamaphobia” ‘xenophobia’, ‘anti Semitism’ and “homophobia” but indifferent to the global epidemic of rampant “Christophobia”.

According to Open Doors a reputable organisation that has been monitoring Christian persecution worldwide for 60 years, every month on average 345 Christians are killed, 105 churches or Christian buildings are attacked, and 219 Christians are detained without trial and imprisoned.  At that rate not surprisingly it has been  estimated that 245 million Christians ( 1 in 9 worldwide ) may suffer high levels of persecution in various countries. Indeed research has shown that in the 50 worst affected countries in 2017/2018 alone, 4136 Christians were killed, 2625  were detained without trial arrested and imprisoned,  while 1266  churches or Christian buildings were attacked. A previous report mentions 1020 cases of rape and sexual harrassment and 1252 abductions during a one year review period. In various countries there is the double persecution of Christian women  who suffer such abuses as rape, sexual harassment, abduction and forced marriage because they are women as well as Christian. This is a  particularly  awful aspect of Christian persecution that is impossible to quantify accurately given the complex cultural overtones, ingrained violence, and well disguised nature of such religious double persecution specifically targeting women. 
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 Ironically around the same time that a deranged shooter  mowed down Muslim worshippers in  New Zealand last March sending the world’s media into an apoplexy of hysterical reporting, the extremist Muslim sect known as Boko Haram along with Muslim Fulani herdsmen are reported to have massacred  more than 140 people in mainly Christian localities in Nigeria since February including more than 100 since the beginning of March, adding to  more than 1000 killings of Christians in Central Nigeria in 2018. Observers have called the deliberate targeting of Christians in that country for extermination as pure genocide with possibly 6000 victims mostly women children and the aged being killed and maimed in 2018. No doubt such monstrous atrocities perpetrated on poor Christians in that part of the world would have probably occupied no more than a footnote in the news coverage of prestigious global mainstream media giants, compared to the saturation coverage of the incident in New Zealand. Such inconsistencies tell their own story.

However research has identified 50 countries  with high levels of Christian persecution  including 11 countries where there was “extreme persecution” namely North Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Sudan, Eritrea, Yemen, Iran, India and Syria. Even in Egypt which is  16th in the list the greatly respected Coptic Archbishop Angaelos of London has been writing about dreadful attacks where amidst notices  in villages warning Christians to “leave or die”, Coptic priests are murdered, and their churches bombed and innocent Christian men women and children are routinely slaughtered in that country. The International Society for Human Rights estimates that  Christians worldwide are victims of 80% of all acts of  religious intolerance even though they constitute only 30% of the global population. The Pew Research Center in a recent report  has stated that while religious harassment by governments or other groups in society increased in 2016 the most frequently targeted  were Christians who suffer harassment in 144 countries.

The situation is so serious that in December 2018 the British Foreign Secretary ordered an official review into the plight of persecuted Christians around the world. In doing so he observed that the persecution of Christians is an accurate early warning sign of the persecution of every minority. Not that the Western nations are necessarily immune to the charge of Christian persecution, although they have not so far taken to actually killing Christians !. 

Recently a Christian street preacher was arrested handcuffed and his Bible torn out of his hands by police outside Southgate Tube Station  in North London. In July 2016 to the accompaniment of cheering crowds four Christian street preachers led by local resident Mike Overd who was preaching outside the Bristol Shopping Center were arrested for causing a ‘disturbance’ while  exhorting people to ‘obey God and keep His commandments’. In 2017 Ian Sleeper a Christian street preacher who was arrested outside Southwalk Cathedral for displaying placards conveying love for Muslims while criticising the ideology of Islam was held for 13 hours in a police cell and subsequently placed on bail for 6 weeks before finally being informed that no charges will be brought against him !  Moreover three years ago a nurse was sacked for offering a Bible to a patient. No wonder according to a recent survey 50% of British Christians say they have experienced prejudice.

In Belfast Northern Ireland in 2015 Daniel and Amy Macarthur the Christian owners of a Bakery were dragged to court over their conscientious refusal to accept an order to bake a cake decorated with a pro gay marriage slogan. The case went all the way to the supreme court which overturned the verdict of the lower courts and upheld their appeal in 2017. It is ironical that such things now take place in Britain which only a few generations ago  was a great colonial power steeped in the Judeo Christian heritage, enabling the dissemination of  the Christian Gospel to the uttermost parts of  the earth by the Christian Missionary Society (CMS). In the USA too Christians in the wedding industry who for religious reasons  have conscientiously declined to  provide custom orders for homosexual weddings have lost their businesses, their reputations, and thousands of dollars  and even faced death threats. And just last week the top Australian rugby international Israel Folau with 73 caps was sacked by the Australian rugby authorities for courageously asserting the Christian position about homosexuality on social media.

The recent fire that engulfed the Notre-Dame in Paris whatever the cause, occurred against the background of countless European Churches which are being vandalised,defecated on and torched every day.According to PI News a German news site there were 1,063 attacks on Christian churches or symbols (crucifixes, icons, statues) in France in 2018. A 2017 study revealed that, “Islamist extremist attacks on Christians” in France rose by 38 percent, reaching 376 in 2016. In Germany where four Churches were vandalised or set on fire this March, it was reported that in the Alps and Bavaria alone, around 200 churches had been attacked and many crosses broken in 2017. Furthermore it has been alleged that in many instances of Church attacks the authorities and the media have a tendency to underplay the identity of the “migrant” vandals and make excuses for them so as to avoid being accused of Islamaphobia !
So it is clear that over and above the violent persecution  they endure in many countries around the world, Christians  are increasingly encountering various forms of oppression and the denial of basic human rights  even in Western nations which having long since abandoned their Judeo Christian heritage and thrown overboard all restraints of Christian morality, have now transposed into  ultra liberal secular hedonistic societies enforcing an arrogant ‘cultural Marxism’ that is intolerant  of any Christian challenge to its  core values. 

Sad to say neither can Sri Lanka evade responsibility for numerous incidents over the years involving the harassment of Christians. In that sense the horrendous 2019 Easter Sunday attacks on Christian worshippers was but a new and frightening twist to a longstanding trend of Christian harrassment in various parts of the island. According to records based on regular reports by a credible local Christian organisation  from 2002 – 2019 there may have been around  650 incidents of varying severity targeting Christians. They have included arson, death threats, obstruction of burials, attacks on places of worship, disruption of worship, home invasions, stoning, assault, mob attacks, verbal abuse as well as police intimidation and inaction. The authorities have been consistently callous and indifferent in the face of such incidents  which have tarnished the reputation of the country for religious tolerance in the eyes of  the world. People may recall how a few years ago the then Minister of Justice made a public fool of himself by arrogantly denying the existence of this problem and threatening to have a reputable lawyer who had brought the facts to light removed from the bar !

All that remains in this review is to address three critical but related questions. Why is there so much  Christian persecution in the world ?  What is it about Christianity that so evokes the hatred of the world ? And what  ought to be the Christian  response to persecution ? The answer to such questions is grounded in the uncompromising affirmations of historic Christianity  and their highly dogmatic character, being rooted in the supreme authority of revealed truth in the Bible which the Church regards as God’s infallible Word spoken to humanity. Consequently pure Christianity  is ‘built on the inalienable foundation of the apostles and prophets of the early Church, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone’. That is the authentic Christianity  which saints and martyrs  have boldly proclaimed throughout the long history of the Church, and for which many were persecuted and paid the ultimate price. It is a far cry from  the insipid religious pluralism and pseudo-intellectual theological mumbo jumbo of inculturation with which many modern day liberal bishops and priests in the respectable mainline Churches betray the faith, distort Biblical Christianity, and align with the contemporary culture so as to avoid conflict with the world.

By contrast  authentic Christianity affirms the existence of  only one true sovereign Almighty God besides whom there is no other. He alone is the creator and sustainer of the universe and the judge of all mankind at the end of the age. Of the absolute specificity of his deity there can be no confusion, for he is the God of history who is known by name in the Bible which is a record of his dealings with the human race. Accordingly authentic Christianity rejects all other conceptions of god  as  vain superstition and idolatry, mere figments of the human imagination reflected in inarticulate images made of wood and stone, if not demonic beings of some kind somehow confused in the fallible human heart for deity. That is the testimony of authentic Christianity.
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Christianity also contrasts with all other religions in totally rejecting the notion that  the  goal of true religion is  to produce ‘good people’ abounding in meritorious works. On the contrary Christianity holds that all people even the best of them are in their natural state doomed sinners  who have turned their backs on God in a fallen world where their good works ( however admired by the world ) are like filthy rags, by the impossible standard of God’s holiness from which they fall miserably short. As a consequence the default position of every human being born into the world is that of a wretched sinner who having incurred the wrath of a holy God whom he has displeased, finds himself in a state of total depravity and total inability to extricate himself from the curse of sin, unless God himself in his infinite mercy and compassion were to take the initiative and save him. That is the painful news of authentic Christianity that is anathema to the world because it mocks the human ego, leaves no room for human pride,  and demands humiliating submission to God  alone who gives the free gift of salvation and eternal life to those who thus turn to him in humble repentance and faith. 
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It is at this point of seeming hopelessness that the glorious good news called the “Gospel” which is the very bedrock and centerpiece of the Christian religion  presents itself and makes Christianity unique amongst religions. The Christian Gospel is the astounding story of God’s historic offensive against human sin, where  in  his  infinite love for fallen humanity God came down to earth in history assuming human form as Jesus Christ who the Bible unequivocally records was the very “radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature”. Thus it was that the historical Jesus came into the world to save sinners. This he did  by leading a perfect life on earth and  after proving his divinity with mighty signs and wonders redeemed sinners by his manifold sufferings and brutal execution as a propitiation for their sin. There followed his mighty physical resurrection from the grave and ascension to Heaven.  

Accordingly God now calls on all people everywhere to turn to Christ Jesus in faith and repentance,  that being  as it were born again  as regenerate human beings  saved by the blood of Christ  and destined for eternal life, they may be empowered to dedicate the rest of their lives on earth to the glory of God through selfless service to humanity. That is the essence of authentic Christianity which therefore logically claims that Christ Jesus is the only way, the only Truth and the only life  with salvation in no one else, there being no other name under heaven by which human beings might attain eternal life.
That being Christianity, it is not difficult to see why there is so much Christian persecution in the world. By its very nature the Christian Gospel poses an inescapable challenge to the human race. It compels a literally life and death choice which the world finds uncomfortable. The human ego proud of its own beliefs and philosophical preconceptions resents being pushed into a corner ! Consequently for those who are able to accept it Christianity is a glorious hope but for those who reject it  a potential object of hatred. For those who respond to it the very wisdom of God but for  those who recoil from it the ultimate foolishness. For those attracted to it the supreme motivation, but  for those repelled by it a troublesome stumbling block to be eliminated.  No wonder there has been so much Christian persecution down the ages commencing with Jesus himself who was condemned by the Jewish establishment and executed ! 
Moreover Christianity  is basically an evangelistic religion with a strong missionary imperative  grounded in Jesus’ own unequivocal command “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation . .” However while Christians are exhorted do so respectfully in a spirit of love humility and self sacrifice – this is often resented as an unacceptable cultural intrusion and proselytizing,  provoking violent opposition.

Finally, while always insisting that Christians have a right to protection under the law, the proper Christian response to persecution involves pragmatically accepting the reality that it is inevitable. Centuries before Jesus was born the scriptures record God’s people crying out to Him “Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered” ! Jesus himself warned his disciples “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart I have overcome the world” ! 
Therefore rejoicing in  their “citizenship in heaven” and enjoying the absolute assurance of eternal life Christians glory in their manifold sufferings on earth where having no fear of death they regard this life as only a temporary interlude where as the apostle Paul put it, persecution is  but a “slight momentary affliction preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” .Thus Christians are enabled to forgive their enemies  bless their torturers and pray for their oppressors, while absorbing persecution with patience and long suffering in the great tradition of  countless saints and martyrs throughout the history of the Church. The knowledge of Christian persecution worldwide should not evoke the pity of the world so much as astonishment at those who endure suffering victoriously crying out with the great apostle Paul who writing from  a Roman prison around AD 61 exclaimed “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain” !
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WASHINGTON — A Nigerian priest who oversees trauma care for people victimized by Boko Haram in northern Nigeria visited the United States this week to share his concerns about how Christians are facing lesser-known forms of societal discrimination because of their faith in Christ. 
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Father Joseph Bature Fidelis, the director of psychosocial support and trauma care in the Diocese of Maiduguri, Nigeria, attended a weekly meeting of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable presided by U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback. 
For the meeting, Fidelis prepared an “ask note” on behalf of his diocese calling for the U.S.'s intervention in the plight of Christians in Nigeria. 

“A lot of it is going on and sometimes it's not so much known to the wider world,” Fidelis told The Christian Post in an interview Tuesday morning. “The response is very slow. So people continue to suffer for their faith.”
In Nigeria, thousands of Christians have been killed in recent years by extremist violence carried out by Boko Haram and the Islamic State’s West Africa Province in Northern Nigeria. Thousands more have been killed amid increased attacks carried out by radical Fulani herders against Christian farming communities in the Middle Belt of the country.

In addition to the extremism and communal violence, Fidelis stressed that Christians living in Muslim-majority northern Nigeria are facing other forms of persecution that are lesser reported in the media but are impacting Christians’ finances, jobs, education, retirement and ability to worship.
Political deprivationAccording to Fidelis, one particular phenomenon being seen in northern Nigeria is Christians being “deliberately deprived” of certain high-level positions in government. 
“They are denied promotion or cannot access certain offices simply for being Christians,” Fidelis said. 
Instances of political deprivation, he said, can be seen widely in Borno state and Yobe state. 

In Yobe, Fidelis said Christians can’t be head of a government school. 
“Muslims have been so much in power, so a lot of Christians will not be able to have access to certain positions,” he explained. “You don’t see it openly done. Let's say you go for an interview and five or six of you are supposed to qualify for a director position in a department. The Muslim is given preference over a Christian. That pattern has been there steadily. So you watch it and you see that certain positions are just not given to Christians.”

The priest said that in a place like Yobe, Christians might get lower-level local government positions but aren’t likely to be directors or commissioners. 
“Maybe they appoint commissioners and out of 25 you have two Christians,” Fidelis detailed. 

Fidelis believes that if a person is qualified and competent for a certain position, they should be given those positions no matter what their religious beliefs are. 
Economic exclusion Due to the recent increase in violence carried out by Boko Haram and Fulani radicals, Fidelis said many Christian traders have relocated from the north to safer regions of the country in the last several years. 
But in areas such as Mubi, Potiskum and in some parts of Maiduguri where some Christians remain, market shops and buildings that have been reconstructed by the government after being destroyed by militants have been “allocated mainly to Muslims.” 

“This again is peculiar because of the kind of attacks. Previously, Christians had shops in those states and people lived very well,” Fidelis recalled. “With the conflict, a lot of Christians moved out of the area, especially when they were being targeted. When they allocate those [rebuilt shops] now, they just allocate to very few Muslims.”

Fidelis believes that the government should make provisions for all who qualify to get shops no matter what their religion is.
“But that is not happening,” Fidelis stressed. “And if it's not happening, something is wrong. Even the few Christians who are still maintaining around should be given equal opportunity to have access to this and be able to promote their businesses. There's a lot of fear and those who are in charge of doing business do it based on religion.”

Land grabbingAccording to Fidelis, there seems to be a “deliberate plan to acquire land all over the country to give to herders who are predominantly Fulani Muslims.”

Fidelis criticized government policies that would create reserved communities for nomadic herders to live, grow and shepherd their cattle. 
A Ruga (rural grazing area) policy promoted by the Buhari administration would prohibit open grazing but establish grazing reserves throughout the country. 

“Ever since 2015-2016, it became very serious,” Fidelis said. “There has been this dream of providing grazer reserves. That didn't go well. Then they wanted to provide a cattle ranch. That didn't go very well. Late last year, there was the idea of Ruga to create cattle colonies.”

“They were asking for very vast land in every state to give to these herders,” he continued. “That was proposed as a solution to end the herder-farmer clash. You ask for a large chunk of land in every state? How many ethnic groups do we have? How many forms of businesses do we have? There are farmers also, other traders. There are other ethnic groups also. How sensitive is that to the diversity of the country?”

Objections to such policies came from many wondering whose land would be taken to create these grazing reserves, Fidelis said.  
“Where would you have in a state that expanse of land?” Fidelis asked. “Let's say you want to get 40 hectares of land in each state. How, where would you get such land in one place, or even in three places without having to encroach on a little piece of farmer's land?”

“So what happens?” Fidelis wondered. “Will you compensate [the farmer] and throw him out of business? What does he do?”

Fidelis said that up until now, most lands that are not government reserve lands are owned by indigenous tribes and locals whose ancestors have lived there for generations. 

“So if I go into a place, I don't just go to the ministry of a land survey and pay money there. There is an individual who owns that land,” Fidelis said. “It is to him I say, ‘I want to have a piece of your land’ and we negotiate. An agreement is drafted and I pay him money and I go there to get a certificate of occupancy and develop the land.”

Denial of land to build churches In northern states such as Borno and Yobe, Fidelis said it's extremely difficult for Christian communities to acquire land to build churches. 


“It will vary from state to state,” he said. “In Borno and Yobe, you will struggle to get land. When you get it, they will just give it to you far out of the town. You can imagine being given land to build a church and that land is 15 miles outside of the town.” 
Within the town, Fidelis said it's difficult because sales must be approved by certain local officials. Oftentimes, he said, those officials are Muslims who oppose the construction of churches. 
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“These [officials] are mostly Muslims,” he said. “It’s better to use a private person to get the land who can give it [to the church] as a donation.” 
Fidelis said that in the past, missionaries were given lands. But recently, many churches in these areas need to rent properties to hold public services.
“The evangelicals went that way,” he said. “If someone has a hall or big parlor, they go to these places and worship.”

Denial of just remunerationsFidelis said that many Christians retiring from government service are often being denied their fair pensions or remunerations when they reach retirement age in northern Nigeria.

Fidelis said they are being “denied their just entitlements simply because they are Christians.” 
“When you're retiring, it's very hard for you to get your remuneration when you are a Christian,” he told CP. “In other times, they process that of Muslims because [Muslims are] always in charge of finance or whatever.”
“So you hear that someone has serious retirement benefits and gratuity, and so he's settling for pension,” he continued. “But a Christian goes like two or three years and is off salary and is not on pension.”

Fidelis said that some officials in charge of awarding the pension will demand kickbacks from Christians before their pension is paid out. 
“It’s very difficult for them to process that and ask for that,” he said. 
While those in charge are not outright denying pension to Christian employees, Fidelis said that Christians are often forced to overcome undue obstacles. 

“They’ll say that a file is missing or tell them to apply again,” Fidelis explained. “That is the persecution. No one comes openly and says ‘You are a Christian. I'm not giving you your gratuity.’ They wouldn't do that. But sometimes they say, ‘Ah, we haven't even received the letter and the file is missing the office.’ You will begin processing your rights and all that. When someone is done, it moves the next desk and they are told to come back.”
Fidelis said that life is very hard when someone is forced to wait as many as five to 10 years to receive their pensions. 

Denial of access to some degree fieldsAccording to Fidelis, access to study law or medicine in state-run universities in northern Nigeria is often denied to Christian candidates. 
In Yobe, Fidelis said that Christians are also denied scholarships enabling them to study abroad. 

Denial of such educational opportunities to Christians also impacts their ability to obtain well-paying jobs. 
“A lot of our students apply to study law, to study medicine in the university,” Fidelis explained. “This particular at the University of Maiduguri. Even if you have the points and all that, you will never get there.”
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Nigeria ranks as the 12th worst nation in the world when it comes to Christian persecution on Open Doors USA's 2020 World Watch List. In December, Nigeria was listed for the first time on the U.S. State Department's “special watch list” of countries where religious freedom violations are severe.