Persecution of Christians

Persecution means that people are treated badly or unfairly because of what they believe. For Christians, this has been a part of their history since the very beginning.

This history spans from the first century to the present day. Some people were targeted because they were missionaries or new converts. In many cases, people were even martyred, which means they died for their faith. Early Christians faced pressure from the Jewish communities where their religion began. They also faced trouble from the Roman Empire, which ruled many early Christian areas.

In the early days, the way people were treated changed often. For example, the Apostle Paul wrote about his own many sufferings. He was beaten with rods and even faced shipwrecks and robberies.

Some early leaders, like Stephen, were killed by mobs in Jerusalem. In the Roman Empire, the leader Nero blamed Christians for the Great Fire of Rome. This led to supervised persecution by the state. For a long time, these hardships were often local or led by regional governors. It was not until the year 249 that the first empire-wide government persecution began under Decius.

As time went on, the nature of these conflicts changed. It was not always people of different faiths fighting one another. Since the fourth century, Christians have also persecuted other Christians. This happened because of differences in doctrine, which are specific sets of beliefs. These disagreements are sometimes called heresies. Large splits, known as schisms, happened between different groups like Rome and Constantinople. Later, the Protestant Reformation also caused severe conflicts and sectarian violence between different Christian denominations.

In the 20th century, the scale of hardship became even larger. In the Ottoman Empire, Christian populations faced genocide. This includes the Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian genocides.

These were very large-scale events where entire groups were targeted. Some people also faced persecution in atheist states within the former Eastern Bloc. These events caused many people to flee their homes and seek safety elsewhere.

Today, Christianity is the largest religion in the world. However, about 10% of Christians live as minorities in states where they are not the majority.

In some parts of Africa and Asia, governments may show favoritism to one religion. This can lead to religious discrimination for others. Some groups also face harm from non-state actors, which are organizations not part of a government. This history shows that while many people live in peace, others continue to face hard times because of their faith.