While Christians in the United States may face increased pressure, hatred, and persecution, the situation is even worse for believers in other countries. The U.S. State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report details the overseas persecution of people of faith, including Christians. One of the most severe instances is North Korea, where the communist regime has committed brutal and barbaric acts against Christians.
The non-denominational charitable organization Open Doors ranks North Korea as the world’s number one persecutor of Christians. The organization’s claims are corroborated by the State Department’s 2022 IRF report, which highlights that the communist nation is committed to the most extreme levels of persecution ever witnessed.
“North Korea remains a brutally hostile place for Christians to live. If discovered by the authorities, believers are either sent to labor camps as political prisoners where the conditions are atrocious, or killed on the spot – and their families will share their fate as well,” stated Open Doors. “Christians have absolutely no freedom. It is almost impossible for believers to gather or meet to worship.”
According to the United States State Department, North Korea has imprisoned around 70,000 citizens who are Christians. This is a significant portion of the estimated Christian population in North Korea, which ranges from 200,000 to 400,000 as per the United Nations. People are arrested for possessing religious items, expressing religious views, or practicing religion.
An Open Doors 2023 report noted that North Korea’s new “Anti-reactionary thought law” makes it clear that “being a Christian and/or possessing a Bible is a serious crime and will be severely punished.”
According to the State Department, in 2009, a family, including a 2-year-old child, received life sentences in political prison camps because of their religious practices and possession of a Bible. The regime not only punishes individuals found with Bibles but also their immediate family for up to three generations. This is a relatively lenient punishment compared to past cases of Bible possession.
According to the report, a member of the Korean Workers’ Party who possessed a Bible was captured by the communists and then executed at Hyesan Airfield in front of 3,000 people. The North Korean Religious Freedom Database states that a mother in her thirties was also killed at Hyesan Airfield for having a Bible, leaving her two children homeless and deceased after her husband was detained.
It has been reported that people in North Korea have been severely punished for possessing or reading a Bible. In one case, a man in his 40s was executed in 2008 after being caught reading a Bible while in a concentration camp. According to reports, there have been a total of 1,411 cases where people were punished for their faith. Among these cases, around 126 people were killed, 94 went missing, 79 were injured, 53 were forcefully moved to a different location, 826 were detained, 147 were immobilized, and 86 received other forms of punishment for their beliefs.
The report mentioned Christians’ remarkable fortitude despite the unimaginable cruelty they faced.
One witness indicated that “guards beat a Christian man who had been praying to the brink of death, leaving him bleeding on the ground. The man, however, continued to pray daily, even as guards beat him with a club and kicked him with their boots on.”
Currently, the FBI considers only one particular Christian group to be ideologically threatening. However, according to reports from the State Department, North Korea considers all Christians to be the most dangerous political group. For Christians who are being persecuted in North Korea, it is advised to seek refuge in South Korea instead of China, as it is unlikely that they will find sanctuary there.
China, which is a close ally of North Korea and a powerful country, also persecutes its Christian population. China even goes to the extent of pursuing Chinese Christians in other countries.
In addition to the usual mistreatment of Christians such as harassment, torture, detentions, church demolitions, forced disappearances, and executions that occur within China’s borders, the State Department’s IFR report has revealed that the Chinese communist regime has implemented new measures aimed at censoring Christian messaging. The report revealed that the regime now considers religious material online to be on the same level as drug dealing, and citing rebellion. Additionally, the regime has taken steps to shut down and fine religious schools and restrict the distribution of Bibles.
Open Doors rates Christian persecution in China as “very high.”
According to a 2020 report by Pew Research, Christians are the most targeted religious group worldwide, experiencing various forms of attacks due to their faith, including verbal abuse, physical violence, and even killings. This trend was observed in 145 countries out of 198. The persecution of Christians has been on the rise for more than a decade. Currently, as of January 2023, an estimated 360 million Christians reside in countries where they encounter significant levels of discrimination or persecution.
Last year, according to Christianity Today, more than 5,600 Christians were killed due to their faith. Moreover, over 2,100 churches were either closed or attacked, and about 71 churches were set on fire in Canada. Additionally, over 124,000 Christians were compelled to flee their homes due to their faith while 15,000 people had to become refugees on account of their religious beliefs.
Open Doors has released a list of the ten countries with the highest levels of persecution towards Christians. According to their report, North Korea is ranked as the most severe case, followed by Somalia, Yemen, Eritrea, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Sudan.
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