Christianity is beginning “to disappear” in its own birthplace after 2,000 years because of a wave of “organised persecution” across the Middle East, the Prince of Wales has warned. In an impassioned intervention, he said that the world is in danger of losing something “irreplaceably precious” with communities tracing their history back to the time […]

A Chinese Christian pastor and 23 members of his congregation have been held at an unknown location illegally and without access to lawyers since mid-November. The case of Pastor Zhang Shaojie is evidence that in parts of China the violent suppression and unlawful arrests of the faithful by local government officials continues. China’s poor record […]

Northern Ireland’s Justice Minister has said he will consult on weakening the Province’s abortion laws to allow unborn babies with fatal abnormalities to be aborted. Unlike the rest of the UK, abortion is only legal in Northern Ireland to save the life of a mother. Justice Minister David Ford told BBC Radio Ulster’s Nolan Show […]

Christianity is in danger of becoming extinct in its ancient homelands because of a rising tide of sectarian attacks, a senior minister will warn on Friday. Violence against Christian worshippers and other religious minorities by fanatics has become a “global crisis” and is the gravest challenge facing the world this century, Baroness Warsi will say. […]

An MP has told a parliamentary debate that the persecution of Christians today should be compared to the Kristallnacht attack on Jews instigated by the Nazis. Listing “a preponderance” of anti-Christian violence, including forced conversions on pain of death, kidnappings and attacks in Christian homes, churches and businesses, Fiona Bruce MP highlighted increasing reports of […]

A gay commentator says same-sex marriage is a “bare-faced state power grab”, and not “some warm fluffy equality bunny”. Paddy Manning, writing in the Irish Daily Mirror, said that with gay marriage the state remakes the institution as “an anything-goes irrelevant partnership agreement between adults”. And he commented that same-sex marriage “asks us to ignore […]

The aftermath of the attack was visible on the patio of the church, constructed in 1883, during the British colonial era. The brick was stained with blood, and dozens of pairs of sandals belonging to victims lay unclaimed. The historic white-stone church looked as if it had stood between gunmen in a battle, with hundreds of […]

For 15 years Canon Andrew White has led Iraq’s only Anglican church, in an increasingly menacing period for Christians across the Middle East. Multiple attacks by Islamists on St George’s has prompted the Iraqi government to set up three checkpoints to protect the church. The new security measures make it virtually impossible to attack the […]

A new study says the world is more religious now than it was four decades ago, and this trend will continue to 2020 and perhaps beyond even as the global share of the nonreligious is likely to witness a sustained decrease. The percentage of the world that is religious continues to increase, according to the […]

Release International is urging people to sign its petition on religious freedom in India following the passage of anti-conversion laws in several states. Madhya Pradesh has just passed legislation requiring anyone wanting to change their religion to obtain permission from the authorities first. Converts who fail to report their change of faith could face up to three […]