Articles with Christian persecution

100 Million Christians Lack Access to the Bible

Somalia ranks #1 on the Bible Access List (BAL) of 88 countries where access to the Bible is blocked by law, actions of religious extremists, or acts by other nonstate actors.

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The BAL, a new annual assessment, uncovers the stark reality of the lack of Bible access for an estimated 100 million Christians around the globe. The report combines data-driven analysis with contextual understanding and shows where access to the Bible is most restricted and where the shortage among believers is greatest.

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In Somalia—where 99.7% of the population is Muslim and 0.3% is Christian, according to Operation World—multiple forces of persecution operate simultaneously to restrict Bible access, including Islamic oppression, clan oppression, organized corruption and crime, and dictatorial paranoia, according to BAL’s profile of that country.

Counterterrorism Guide: Situational Awareness to Hinder An Attack

The Joint Counterterrorism Assessment Team (JCAT) is a US interagency collaboration based at the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), which is aligned under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

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Working with intelligence analysts from NCTC, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), JCAT’s primary mission is to improve counterterrorism information sharing between federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government agencies and the private sector. The latter is where that information is adaptable for personal self-defense and church security teams in being situationally aware to pre-indicators of criminal and terroristic attacks.

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One resource is JCAT’s Counterterrorism Guide For Public Safety Personnel, offering content to assist self-defenders and church safety volunteers in:

Report: US Government “Weaponized Its Full Weight Against Christians” 2021–2024

“A review of federal departments and agencies revealed a consistent and systematic pattern of discrimination against Christians during the [years 2021 to 2024],” summarizes the US Department of Justice’s 49-page Initial Report by the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias. “Where there should have been ‘equal justice under law’ there was unequal treatment—policies and practices that singled out Christian people, Christian houses of worship, and Christian convictions for disfavored treatment.”

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This “initial assessment of the harm caused when religious liberty is denied” is the first outcome of President Trump’s February 6, 2025, Executive Order, Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias, his mandate to “ensure that any unlawful and improper conduct, policies, or practices that target Christians are identified, terminated, and rectified.”

US Federal Workers Are Now Allowed to Express Their Religious Beliefs

US federal agencies are now required to protect religious expression in the government workplace, according to a new wide-ranging memo—marking one of the most sweeping moves in decades to defend faith and freedoms in the civil service, reports Fox News Digital.

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The memo is in keeping with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14202 in February and Executive Order 14291 in May. The former aims to eradicate anti-Christian bias in the United States and announce a task force to review government policies and practices that may discriminate against Christians and to recommend actions to protect religious liberties. The latter establishes the task force to enforce the historic and robust protections for religious freedom enshrined in federal law.

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The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on July 28, 2025, sent the memo, titled Protecting Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace, to government agencies, telling federal workers they are now at liberty to display Bibles, crucifixes, or mezuzahs on their desks; pray in groups while off-duty; invite colleagues to church; and speak about their religious beliefs, even to the public, without fear of reprisal.