Conditions for Christians have worsened in more than half of the 18 countries that Aid to the Church in Need has closely monitored for two years, The Christian Post reports. The Roman Catholic persecution watchdog published its findings Tuesday in a report titled "Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians Oppressed for Their Faith 2024-26." It covers August 2024 through June 2026 and assesses the situation of roughly 413 million Christians in 18 countries where religious freedom violations are of particular concern. The trends of its last report, the charity says, have continued.
The Middle East worries the watchdog most for the faith's ancient heartland. It points to the ongoing civil war in Syria, Islamist violence in the Levant and the ramifications of Israel's response to Hamas' terrorist attack on October 7, 2023. ACN writes that the Holy Family and Saint Porphyrius churches served as sanctuaries for Christians fleeing violence in Gaza, and that the conflict spread into Lebanon after Israeli strikes on Hezbollah. The report says operations against Hezbollah emptied Christian towns along the Israel-Lebanon border, that at least 1 million people have been displaced across Lebanon, and that the U.S.-Iran War in February 2026 inflamed tensions further. All of this, ACN says, has renewed fears among Christians about whether their future in the region is sustainable.
Iraq is a special concern. The Christian Post reports that Iran's attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq have raised fears of a new mass exodus of Christians from the country. Iraq's Christian population has already dwindled from nearly 1 million to about 187,000 over the past decade of political upheaval and war.
ACN calls sub-Saharan Africa the epicenter of global Christian persecution, with attacks it describes as the worst since the height of ISIS violence in the Middle East. Six of the top 10 countries in the 2026 Global Terrorism Index were in Africa, the report notes, and the violence has spread from the east coast to the western shores. Sudan's civil war has brought accusations of war crimes and Islamic oppression, with more than 100 churches damaged or destroyed. At least 1 million Christians in Nigeria are among the more than 3.5 million Nigerians displaced inside their country.
One voice from Nigeria stands out. Solomon Ako, a 33-year-old Christian from the north of the country, was kidnapped and repeatedly abused after he refused to renounce his faith. He told ACN that he drew strength from remembering that Christians around the world were praying for the persecuted church. The Christian Post notes that ACN's findings match those of Open Doors U.S., whose World Watch List earlier this year found approximately 388 million Christians facing intense persecution or discrimination, more than one in seven, an increase of more than 8 million compared to 2024. Pray for Syria and Iraq by name. 1 Corinthians 12:26 binds us to their suffering.
Read 1 Corinthians 12:26
