Issues@Hand

AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs

March 2016 – At the December conference “Under Caesar’s Sword” in Rome, Italy, researchers from University of Notre Dame and Georgetown University examined how Christians respond to persecution in countries around the globe. Estimates indicate that 80% of instances of religious persecution are carried out against Christians, but Christian responses vary depending on the form of persecution.

In places such as Syria and Nigeria, where Christians are openly attacked, they are more likely to flee, whereas they may try to live quietly and cope under unfriendly state governments in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, or Afghanistan.

While there have been instances of terrorized Christians taking up arms in self-defense in places such as Nigeria, researchers note that these examples have been remarkably few. Far more often, Christians do not retaliate with violence.

“In 2013, dozens of Christian churches were burned down, and the response was to paint on their crumbling walls: ‘Love your enemy,’” said Egyptian Coptic Christian Bishop Anba Angaelos.

In Western Europe and countries such as the U.S. and Indonesia, where persecution is largely faced in attempts to exclude Christian faith from the public arena, Christians actively seek to advocate for themselves by addressing social, cultural, and political issues.

cruxnow.com, 12/11/15; christianitytoday.com, 12/14/15