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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.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION ]

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.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of SITUATIONAL AWARENESS ]

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

2025 Edition of Hostility Against Churches Report Shows 415 US Attacks in 2024

Family Research Council (FRC) has released the newest edition of its report, Hostility Against Churches in the United States: Analyzing Incidents from 2024, which records 415 hostile incidents across 383 churches, including vandalism (284), arson (55), bomb threats (14), armed aggression (28, which is more than double the number (12) identified in 2023), and other crimes (47).

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Church Security Book Review: Defending the Flock ]

“Religious freedom is seldom handed to the passive,” says Tony Perkins, president, FRC. “It’s claimed by those who exercise it even when a hostile culture says they may not. This report clearly shows religious freedom faces substantial threats here at home.”

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Notable findings in this edition include the following:

LaSorsa & Associates Executive Protection Incidents Report

LaSorsa & Associates is a global source for security consulting, private investigations, technical surveillance counter-measures, and executive protection services and training. Its primary focus is on business and political security, but it also offers training for church security teams.

[ Use the SemperVerus reference site, CHURCH SECURITY INTELLIGENCE CLIPBOARD ]

The LaSorsa & Associates Executive Protection Incidents Report (Jan.–Jun. 2025) provides a comprehensive overview of publicly documented security incidents, drawn from open-source information, impacting high-profile individuals in the first half of 2025.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Church Security Training: Decision Decks Help You Think Through a Crisis Before It Happens ]

Church security teams can apply implications from the analysis to sharpen your threat awareness and planning as you conduct Executive Protection (EP) practices for church leaders and congregations.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

Key Takeaways: