Persecution

“Communism is not, fundamentally, about a certain menu of economic theories or political tactics.” PowerBlog

“According to the High Court, those who hide their religious affiliations are equivalent to those who betray the state. Due to this reason, it was important for people who want government jobs to proclaim their faith.” RNS

“Mike Pence unveiled plans for the United States to provide more direct aid to Christians and other minorities facing genocide in the Middle East.” CToday

“Many believe that this is a move by the Chinese government to show the state and the world just how serious it is about its new rules regarding regulating religion in order to enhance national security, dismantling and preventing extremism, and curbing the practice of faith by organizations which are not approved by the state.” WRNews

“Conservative websites were wrong to claim that an LGBT mega-donor wants to punish Christians; Christians have nothing to worry about, as long as they support an LGBT agenda, reporter Andy Kroll concluded.” CPost

“The FBI released the 2015 Hate Crime Statistics on Monday, showing the number of hate crimes reported to police increased by about 6.7 percent last year, led largely by a 67 percent rise in [reported] crimes against Muslims.” Jurist

Mark Ward: Christians should react to the world’s hatred by remembering that God is the true object of any vitriol or persecution they endure. Don’t be so arrogant as to think that you are worthy of Apollyon’s arrows, and don’t let Giant Despair get you discouraged either—you are not the real issue.

“According to China Aid … personnel of the religious affairs bureau and the police raided the Olive Tree Church’s Sunday worship service on the morning of July 10. The officials took pictures of the congregation, confiscated church property, banned their church meetings, sealed the church doors and then took away 30 of its members to the police station.” ChristianTimes

“Overall, religious restrictions were high in 34 percent of the 198 countries and self-governing territories Pew examined in 2014, down from 39 percent in 2013 and 43 percent in 2012. About half of the countries (51%) saw decreases in government restrictions, while about a third (36%) saw increases.” CT

“Survey suggests tone matters when advocating for religious liberty.”