Despite the increasing prominence of the international religious freedom movement, violence against believers is getting worse in many regions of the world, such as Nigeria, Vietnam, and Pakistan.

Two recently held major international conferences brought together thousands of religious freedom advocates and government officials to cooperate in taking concrete action to end religious persecution.  

Chinese Communist Party opens the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Leadership School in conjunction with six other African countries.

The mass murder of praying congregants in a Nigerian church was horrific enough. But even worse was the daft conclusion of Irish President Michael Higgins that it was another grim consequence of climate change.

On Easter weekend Christians the world over prayed; some went to church. In Nigeria’s Plateau State, a Fulani pastor was martyred.

In Nigeria—Africa’s most populous country—violence and bloodshed continue to surge, week after week, month after month. Tragically, our Christian brothers and sisters are the primary targets of Islamist terrorism—murders, rapes, kidnapping, and never-ending threats of more.

As we remember Archbishop Desmond Tutu, we should, amongst many others, also remember the great Reverend Beyers Naudé.

The US has inexplicably removed Nigeria from its State Department list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC). To some, that may sound like innocuous paperwork or an ambassadorial feel-good gesture. But, in fact, this de-listing of Nigeria’s CPC designation is an outrageous betrayal of an already brutalized Christian community.

In this interview, John Barrett answers several questions based on his book, “Evangelism and Politics: A Christian Perspective on the Church and the State.”