What’s Better—Persecution or Power?

Nilay Saiya analysed data from 166 countries between 2010 and 2020 and discovered “the most important determinant of Christian vitality is the extent to which governments give official support to Christianity through their laws and policies.”

1. Pluralism

In countries where Christianity enjoys a monopoly over other faiths, it is weak. Christianity is more likely to thrive where it has to compete freely with other faith traditions.

In Asia, Christianity is growing twice as fast as the population. Yet only the Philippines is a Christian-majority nation. The ten countries with the fastest-growing Christian populations are all in sub-Saharan Africa. Only in one is there some level of official government support. Contrast this with Europe where Christianity has enjoyed state support for hundreds of years, yet state-supported Christianity is in terminal decline.

2. Privilege

Churches with a favoured position in society think they can exert influence. Instead they tend to become civil religions expressing their faith in rituals and symbols. Commitment levels fall as they drift from a white-hot Biblical faith to cultural accommodation.

3. Persecution

History shows it is possible to suppress the spread of Christianity through systematic, brutal persecution, but that’s the exception, not the rule. Typically persecution results in the vitality of Christianity. Right now there are around one million followers of Christ in Iran, despite the opposition of the Islamic regime. China is on the way to becoming the most populous Christian nation on earth, despite the opposition of its Communist rulers.

Nilay Saiya concludes that political and cultural power is a greater threat to the vitality of Christianity than persecution.

Stay tuned for the analysis and implications of Saiya’s research, including a podcast interview.