50 countries where your faith in God could kill you

This is according to Open Doors’ 2018 World Watch List (WWL), an annual ranking of the 50 countries where being a Christian is literally the worst thing you could be.

Open Doors researchers say that approximately 215 million Christians live in countries where Christianity is “illegal, forbidden, or punished.”

The first on the list is North Korea. For 16 years in a row, this country has remained the world’s worst persecutor of Christians.

The report says, “With more than 50,000 in prison or labor camps, such a ranking is a little surprise for the totalitarian regime that controls every aspect of life in the country and forces worship of the Kim family.”

Next is Afghanistan, which scored 93 under North Korea’s total score of 94 (on a 100-point scale).

Open Doors USA president and CEO David Curry says, “Never before have the top two countries been so close in incidents. Both countries are extreme in intolerance and outright persecution of Christians in every area Open Doors monitors.”

The rising persecution in Afghanistan “is a tragedy considering the efforts being made by the international community to help rebuild Afghanistan are failing to ensure freedom of religion.

“Reports of violence and human rights atrocities from North Korea are pervasive, while the situation faced by Christians in Afghanistan may be underestimated. It is hard for Westerners to imagine a second country could nearly meet the levels of persecution seen in North Korea, but Afghanistan has reached that level this year.”

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The 50 countries on this year’s “World Watch List” are:

Highlights of the report:

Christians suffered the most violence in Pakistan.

Egypt, India, Libya, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Turkey are the countries where persecution increased the most.

Thankfully, Comoros and Tanzania are no longer on this list. Unfortunately, they have been replaced by the newcomers, Nepal and Azerbaijan.

Cury adds: “The most disturbing trend we’ve seen .. is the increased attacks on Christian women. That is particularly shocking this year.”

Reportedly, six women are sexually harassed, forced into marriage with Muslim men and raped every single day.

According to Open Doors, the list helps to highlight this problem.

“As Christians, we are called to take a stand for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ. The Bible calls us to be a voice for the voiceless," Open Doors USA says on its website.

Faith Wire reports that the research was gathered between Nov. 1, 2016, through Oct. 31, 2017.