Persecution

With the immense amount of persecution the Christian Church has seen in 2011, the Christian community moves into 2012 with a hopeful focus on the church's future generations to carry the message of peace and faith.

Christians now wonder what happens to the children of persecuted parents, who, with their past experiences, are sure to carry the word of Jesus Christ with strength and conviction.

Christians living in China, Nigeria, South Sudan, Egypt, Bangladesh, and Pakistan have all seen momentous persecution in the past few years. more >>

A scorecard developed by the Secular Coalition for America has created debate over whether candidates should be allowed religious views or forced to follow a secular constitution.

The scorecard is a review by the coalition based on candidates’ stances on religious based issues. It was developed to help secular and nontheistic Americans to elect a candidate who would support their views. However, most presidential candidates received failing marks for mentioning their religious beliefs.

President Barack Obama was voted to have the most “secular stance,” but still only received average scores. Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, and Rick Santorum scored all but one “F” on the scorecard. Mitt Romney and Ron Paul also fell somewhere in between with mixed scoring, but few A’s. more >>

The Europe Union reiterated its plea to Iran Friday, urging the country to release Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani and Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who both face execution at the hands of Iran’s judiciary system.

“Thousands of individuals remain at risk of execution, including Ms. Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani and Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani. The EU reiterates its call on Iran not to execute them,” EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a written statement Friday.

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was arrested in Oct. 2009 for protesting against the teaching of Islam in his children’s schools. His charge was then changed to apostasy and attempting to evangelize Muslims, and he was sentenced to execution unless he renounced his faith. Nadarkhani stuck strong to his beliefs, and his case now sits in the hands of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for final review. more >>

Six people were killed and at least eight wounded after a gunman burst into a church during service and opened fire on the congregation in northeastern Nigeria late Thursday.

One of the people killed in the Deeper Life Church in Gombe is the wife of pastor Johnson Jauro, The Associated Press reported.

The attack comes only two weeks after a Muslim extremist group, Boko Haram, terrorized the country’s Christian population by bombing several churches on Christmas Day and killing 39 people, the bloodiest attack that has taken place close to the nation’s capital, Abuja, in central Nigeria. more >>

Increasing boldness by extreme Islamists is one of six top religious news stories that the Institute on Religion & Democracy predicts will make major headlines in 2012.

The religious freedom advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., warns that proclamations such as those made by the terrorist group Boko Haram declaring that all Christians must leave Nigeria indicates more of the same for this year.

“Islamists globally are making more assertive demands against vulnerable religious minorities,” IRD officials stated in their “IRD Predicts Top Church News of 2012” report released Thursday. “Egypt's Coptic Christians may face rule by Islamic parties and accelerated attacks by emboldened militants.” more >>

The People’s Republic of China is battling a culture war with the Western world, according to Chinese President Hu Jintao in a recently published essay.

The essay can be found in the Communist Party magazine, Seeking Truth, founded decades ago by China’s most prominent Communist revolutionary Mao Zedong.

“We must clearly see that international hostile forces are intensifying the strategic plot of westernizing and dividing China, and ideological and cultural fields are the focal areas of their long-term infiltration,” the Chinese president said, according to a translation by The Associated Press. more >>