This week, Christians around the world reflect upon the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. As we do so, we are also mindful of the estimated 380 million people globally who face a threat of persecution — and sometimes even martyrdom — because of their faith in Jesus. That’s roughly one in seven Christians globally.
President Trump has rightly drawn the world’s attention to the plight of the persecuted church and of others who suffer in countries without our constitutional protection of religious freedom. Last week, the U.S. State Department took steps designed to eliminate anti-Christian bias within the U.S. State Department. In his first term, President Trump highlighted religious freedom before the United Nations, convened a first-of-its-kind international religious freedom summit, and carved out a special category within the U.S. refugee resettlement program for those fleeing religious persecution. In setting the annual refugee admissions ceiling at 50,000 during his first week of his first term, he prioritized “refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution.”
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