Experts weigh in.
Concerns over “constant attacks in the media” and believers being “marginalized through the law” led International Christian Concern to include America on its religious freedom Hall of Shame list for the first time.
Should the US be included on such lists? Here’s how experts weighed in. Answers are arranged on a spectrum from “yes” answers at the top to “no” answers at the bottom.
“Persecution in the US isn’t comparable to overseas. Yet there have been too many Christians fired or sued, and too many negative court cases and laws, to miss a clear trend. Most governments don’t publicly declare their hostility toward religion; they use laws like zoning or employment to push it out of the public square. Religious freedom in the US is being pushed toward private expression.”
~Jeff King, president, International Christian Concern
“Every country, including the US, should be included in global assessments of religious liberty or persecution of Christians. The US has only 4.4 percent of the world population, but 10 percent of all Christians. Yet it is highly unlikely that the US will soon be on any list of ‘most persecuted’ countries.”
~Todd Johnson, director, Center for the Study of Global Christianity
“The US displays worrying trends on religious freedom due to secular intolerance, which tries to eradicate religion from the public domain. However, if we scored the US with our questionnaire for the World Watch List, it would certainly not rank among the 50 countries where it is hardest to be a Christian. The nature and intensity of persecution in those nations are at an entirely different level.” ~Frans Veerman, director, ...
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