Christian persecution set to rise ‘sharply’ in 2019, group warns

FOX NEWS/ Caleb Parke

An international Christian organization is warning that the persecution of Christians worldwide is set to rise in 2019 — and it’s calling on the United States to do more to help.

Release International, a U.K.-based charity that helps supports persecuted Christians around the world and a partner organization of Voice of the Martyrs, warns that this year, particularly in China, India, and Nigeria, persecutions against Christians is rising.

“These are countries that have long been on the list but we’re seeing an upwards curve, an alarming rise in persecution,” Andrew Boyd, Release International spokesman, told Fox News.

“Release has been doing this work for 50 years,” Boyd added. “I have no doubt that persecution is increasing and it is alarming and the contexts are different. You have militant Islam in Nigeria; China, which is communism; India, which is militant Hinduism; North Korea which is a weird blend of communism and Emporer worship. There is an increasing intolerance and it’s being played out in violence and we know it because of the reports that are coming from our partners on the ground.” Continue reading…