OpenDoors reports a 60% increase in the number of believers who died for their faith in 2020
According to OpenDoors annual report, there was a 60% increase in the number of Christians who died for their faith in 2020 over 2019. This was a largely led by a dramatic rise in the number of Christians murdered in Nigeria by Islamic extremists. OpenDoors reported that 4,761 Christians died for their faith last year with 2,200 of them taking place in Nigeria. Several have been warning of a potential for a Christian genocide in the African nation. It also appears that the violence directed at Christians in Nigeria is spreading into neighbouring countries. This has been part of an overall increase in the persecution of Christians around the world noted by OpenDoors, an organization dedicated to helping persecuted Christians around the world. In their report, OpenDoors added that governments have also been using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to come down on Christians. They are not only trying to stop churches from meeting, while allowing similar secular events to continue, but in some areas of the world, they are purposefully cutting back aid …