As part of coverage on Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List, our president, Wissam al-Saliby, was invited to respond to the findings and place them within a wider global context. We are pleased to reprint the Baptist Standard article below with attribution.
Kendall Lyons/Baptist Standard
International Christian nonprofit and ministry Open Doors released its World Watch List for 2026 confirming Christian persecution is at an all-time high in 15 nations, including Nigeria and Syria.
The data released needs to be understood within a broader context, Wissam al-Saliby, president of 21Wilberforce, said.
“Around the world, violent conflict, domestic unrest, and human rights violations are increasing,” al-Saliby said. “When peace and security are threatened, when freedoms of expression and assembly are curtailed, freedom of religion is inevitably violated, and faith communities face greater pressure, discrimination, and threats of violence.”
“This dynamic is especially pronounced in countries where churches and Christian communities are growing,” al-Saliby said. “For Christians, it is essential to understand this bigger picture of where the world is heading in order to respond wisely and effectively.”
Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List
Ryan Brown, CEO of Open Doors, told Baptist Press the increase in attacks on the church throughout the world is the result of the church advancing and the enemy’s work toward fighting the church.
The World Watch List ranks countries by their persecution scores. The score is a point system measuring from 0 to 100 with higher scores indicating severe persecution and danger for Christians residing in a specific country.
To compile the score, the World Watch Research Unit works with researchers to measure freedom of worship across six areas: private life, family life, community life, national life, church life, and violence. A score of 81-100 is considered “extreme persecution,” 41-60 “high,” and 61-80 is “very high.”
The World Watch List, according to Baptist Press, ranked North Korea first for the 24th year, with Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea, Syria, Nigeria, Pakistan, Libya, and Iran ranked second through 10th.
Baptist Press also reported the following from Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List:
- 224,129 Christians were forced to leave their homes and go into hiding or leave their respective country.
- 67,843 Christians were beaten, threatened, or physically or psychologically abused, 163 of whom were in Mexico.
- 5,202 Christians were sexually assaulted, harassed, or forced to marry non-Christians, with an estimated 1,000 of those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- 25,794 attacks were made on Christian homes, shops, and businesses.
- 4,849 Christians were killed for faith-related reasons, 3,490 of them in Nigeria.
- 4,712 Christians were detained without trial, arrested, sentenced, or imprisoned, with more than 1,600 of these incidents occurring in India.
- 3,302 Christians were abducted.
- 3,632 churches or public Christian properties were attacked or closed, with about 1,000 of those in China.
Open Doors’ World Watch List is “an important tool for awareness,” al-Saliby said. Advocating for religious freedom, peace, and security can be built on that awareness, he explained.
“At 21Wilberforce, our advocacy for religious freedom and for peace and security is always shaped by country-specific contexts and developed in close dialogue with local Christian leaders,” al-Saliby explained.
“We listen carefully to understand their capacity, their margin of maneuver, and their sense of calling—where they believe God is leading them to advocate.”
Featured image: Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List map. (Screen shot)