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Many Christians have experienced persecution from both non-Christians and from Other Christians during the History Of Christianity . Persecution may refer to unwarranted arrest, imprisonment, beating, torture, or execution. It also may refer to the confiscation or destruction of property, or incitement to hate Christians. JEWISH PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS The New Testament reports that the earliest Christians suffered persecution at the hands of the Jew ish leadership of the day, commencing with Jesus himself. It also reports the beginning of persecutions by the Romans (see below). However the definition of Jewish is frequently used in an indiscriminate way that has been the cause of later controversy. For details see Jews In The New Testament . The first Christians were born and raised under Judaism, as Christianity Began as a sect of Judaism. The earliest examples of "Jewish persecution of Christians" could better be understood perhaps as examples of "Jewish persecution of other Jews," that is, sectarian conflict. The creeds of early Christianity (for example ) were a clear departure from Pharisaic Judaism of the time. However, several other Jewish sects of this time such as the Essenes were similarly heterodox. According to the New Testament accounts, persecution of Jesus' followers continued after his death. Peter and John were imprisoned by the Jewish leadership, including high priest (a Pharisee well known from Rabbinic literature) convinced the Sanhedrin to free them (Acts 5:27-40), which the Sanhedrin did, after having flogged them. The New Testament recounts the stoning of Stephen (Acts 6:8-7:60) by the members of the , but he evaded them by being lowered over the City Wall in a basket by other Christians and then escaped to Jerusalem . Understandably, he had difficulty at first convincing the Christians in Jerusalem that he, their persecutor, had truly converted and was now being persecuted himself (Acts 9:26-27). Another attempt on his life was made, this time by "the Grecians" (KJV), referring to a group of Hellenistic Jews (Acts 9:29), whom he debated while in or around Jerusalem. There is some debate over why Paul, before his conversion, and other Pharisees persecuted Christians. According to Paula Fredriksen, in ''From Jesus to Christ'', the most likely reason was that Jewish Christians were preaching the imminent return of the King of the Jews and the establishment of his kingdom. To Roman ears, such talk was seditious. Romans gave Jews at that time limited self-rule (see Iudaea Province ); the main obligations of Jewish leaders were to collect taxes for Rome, and to maintain civil order. Thus, Jewish leaders would have to suppress any seditious talk. In cases where Jewish leaders did not suppress seditious talk, Jewish leaders were often sent to Rome for trial and execution. Later Jewish persecution of Christians During the famous Bar Kochba Rebellion of AD 135 , Christians refused to fight, as a result of which, according to Justin Martyr , they were "commanded to be punished severely, if they did not deny Jesus as the Messiah and blaspheme him." {Link without Title} In pre-Islamic Yemen , a Jewish king called Dhu Nuwas came to power and persecuted Christians in his realm, and massacred Christian communities in Najran in about 524 ; apparently this was intended as retaliation for Christian Byzantine Persecutions Of The Jews . {Link without Title} According to Muslim tradition, he was the person cursed in the Quran for burning believers alive (Quran 85:4-8.) In the early sixth century, Khosrau II , King of Persia from 590 to 628, 'invaded Asia Minor and Syria at the head of a large army. The Jews joined the Persians in great numbers under the leadership of Benjamin of Tiberias, a man of immense wealth, by whom they were enlisted and armed. The Tiberian Jews, with those of Nazareth and the mountain cities of Galilee, marched on Jerusalem with the Persian division commanded by Shahrbaraz. Later they were joined by the Jews of southern Palestine; and supported by a band of Arabs, the united forces took Jerusalem by storm (July, 614). Ninety thousand Christians are said to have perished. ... In conjunction with the Persians, the Jews swept through Palestine, destroyed the monasteries which abounded in the country, and expelled or killed the monks. Bands of Jews from Jerusalem, Tiberias, Galilee, Damascus, and even from Cyprus, united and undertook an incursion against Tyre, having been invited by the 4,000 Jewish inhabitants of that city to surprise and massacre the Christians on Easter night. The Jewish army is said to have consisted of 20,000 men. The expedition, however, miscarried, as the Christians of Tyre learned of the impending danger, and seized the 4,000 Tyrian Jews as hostages. The Jewish invaders destroyed the churches around Tyre, an act which the Christians avenged by killing two thousand of their Jewish prisoners. The besiegers, to save the remaining prisoners, withdrew.' According to the Jewish Encyclopedia , 'The immediate results of these wars filled the Jews with joy. Many Christians became Jews through fear. A Sinaitic monk embraced Judaism of his own free will, and became a vehement assailant of his former belief.' {Link without Title} According to modern day Jewish views, the followers of Judaism may not have been responsible for these atrocities. They dismiss accusations against the Jews as Christian propaganda which needs to be read with an eye to its intended audience and its intended effect. However, the episodes they seek to explain away are as well-attested as any events in ancient history. In Ethiopia, Queen Gudit , who persecuted Christians around 970 AD and helped bring down the Kingdom of Aksum , is said in Ethiopian chronicles to have been Jewish, though some modern scholars have cast doubt on this, suggesting that she may have been a pagan {Link without Title} . In contemporary Israel, conservative Jewish residents of Jerusalem's Meit Sharim district have been accused of spitting and otherwise molesting Christians (especially Armenian or Palestinian ones) who pass through their neighborhood. The Israeli government has been accused of intentionally denying residence visas to Christian clergy, owing to its dissatisfaction with the influence of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. PERSECUTION OF EARLY CHRISTIANS BY ROMANS Persecutions narrated in the New Testament According to the New Testament , Jesus' crucifixion was authorized by Roman authorities and carried out by Roman soldiers. The New Testament also records that Paul on his missions was imprisoned on several occasions by the Roman authorities. Once he was stoned and left for dead. Finally he was taken as a prisoner to Rome . The New Testament account does not say what then became of Paul, but Christian tradition reports that he was executed in Rome by being beheaded. Christian tradition reports that Peter was likewise executed in Rome, by Crucifixion (upside down, at his request because he did not feel he deserved the 'honor' of dying in the same way as Christ died). Rise of persecution in the Roman Empire Persecution under Nero, 64-68 A.D. The first documented case of imperially-supervised persecution of the Christians in the Roman Empire begins with Nero (37-68). In 64 A.D., a Great Fire Broke Out In Rome which destroyed vast portions of the city and economically devastated the Roman population. Nero, whose sanity had long been in question, was widely suspected of having intentionally set the fire himself. In his ''Annals,'' Tacitus , states that "to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace" (Tacit. ''Annals'' XV, see Tacitus On Jesus ). By implicating the Christians for this massive act of arson, Nero successfully capitalized on the already-existing public suspicion of this religious sect and, it could be argued, exacerbated the hostilities held toward them throughout the Roman Empire. Forms of execution used by the Romans included systematic murder, crucifixion, and the feeding of Christians to lions and other wild beasts. Tacitus' Annals XV.44 record: "...a vast multitude, were convicted, not so much of the crime of incendiarism as of hatred of the human race. And in their deaths they were made the subjects of sport; for they were wrapped in the hides of wild beasts and torn to pieces by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set on fire, and when day declined, were burned to serve for nocturnal lights." Persecution in the 2nd century By the mid 2nd century, mobs could be found willing to throw stones at Christians, and they might be mobilized by rival sects. Lucian tells of an elaborate and successful hoax perpetrated by a "prophet" of Asclepius, using a tame snake, in Pontus and Paphlygonia. When rumor seemed about to expose his fraud, the witty essayist reports in his scathing essay ''Alexander the false prophet'' , he issued a promulgation designed to scare them, saying that Pontus was full of atheists and Christians who had the hardihood to utter the vilest abuse of him; these he bade them drive away with stones if they wanted to have the god gracious. Further state persecutions were desultory until the persecution under Diocletian and more so Galerius that began in 303 AD. The persecution under Decius from the winter of 250 to the following spring of 251 martyred Pope Fabian , Bishop of Rome, involved Cyprian , bishop of Carthage, in controversy, and figures large in the founding myths of the seven bishops sent to Christianize Gaul, but finds no confirmation outside the ''vita'' of Cyprian composed by Pontius the deacon and writings in the Hagiographic tradition. Gregory Of Tours glosses the persecutions in his "History of the Franks" written in the decade before 594: then the monkies came "Under the emperor Decius many persecutions arose against the name of Christ, and there was such a slaughter of believers that they could not be numbered. Babillas, bishop of Antioch, with his three little sons, Urban, Prilidan and Epolon, and Xystus, bishop of Rome, Laurentius, an archdeacon, and Hyppolitus, were made perfect by martyrdom because they confessed the name of the Lord. Valentinian and Novatian were then the chief heretics and were active against our faith, the enemy urging them on. At this time seven men were ordained as bishops and sent into the Gauls to preach, as the history of the martyrdom of the holy martyr Saturninus relates. For it says: " In the consulship of Decius and Gratus, as faithful memory recalls, the city of Toulouse received the holy Saturninus as its first and greatest bishop." These bishops were sent: bishop Catianus to Tours; bishop Trophimus to Arles; bishop Paul to Narbonne; bishop Saturninus to Toulouse; bishop Dionisius to Paris; bishop Stremonius to Clermont, bishop Martial to Limoges." Christian sources aver that a decree was issued requiring public sacrifice, a formality equivalent to a testimonial of allegiance to the Emperor and the established order. Decius authorized roving commissions visiting the cities and villages to supervise the execution of the sacrifices and to deliver written certificates to all citizens who performed them. Christians were often given opportunities to avoid further punishment by publicly offering sacrifices or burning incense to Roman gods, and were accused by the Romans of impiety when they refused. Refusal was punished by arrest, imprisonment, torture, and executions. Christians fled to safe havens in the countryside and some purchased their certificates, called ''libelli.'' Several councils held at Carthage debated the extent to which the community should accept these lapsed Christians. It should be noted that today massive numbers of martyrs claimed by the early Church during these persecutions are not generally accepted by scholars. Edward Gibbon , in The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire , estimates that "the whole might consequently amount to about fifteen hundred ... an annual consumption of 150 martyrs." The Western provinces were little affected, and even in the East where Christianity was recognized as a growing threat, the persecutions were light and sporadic. Claims of martyrdom were exaggerated by the early Church Fathers in order to gain converts. The career and writings of Cyprian , bishop of Carthage, throw light on the aftermath of the Decian persecutions in the Carthaginian Christian community. (Fuller details are at the entry Cyprian .) Some early Christians sought out and welcomed their persecutions: Roman authorities tried hard to avoid Christians because they "goaded, chided, belittled and insulted the crowds until they demanded their death.";193; One man shouted to the Roman officials: "I want to die! I am a Christian," leading the officials to respond: "If they wanted to kill themselves, there was plenty of cliffs they could jump off.";194; But the Christians, following Tertullian's dicta that "martyrdom is required by God," forced their own martyrdom so they could die in an ecstatic trance: "Although their tortures were gruesome, the martyrs did not suffer, enjoying their analgesic state."195 '' {Link without Title} '' The conditions under which never accused Jesus of suicide or self-destruction, but rather says that Jesus chose not to resist arrest and crucifixion. EARLY PERSECUTIONS OUTSIDE THE ROMAN EMPIRE In 337, a spate in the ongoing hostilities between Sassanid Persia and the Roman Empire led to anti-Christian persecutions by the Persians of Christians who were perceived as potentially treacherous friends to a Christianized Rome under Constantine. Over the next few decades, thousands of Christians died. In the 3rd and 4th centuries, Christian missionaries (most successfully Ulfilas ) converted the Goths to Arian Christianity. The Goths saw this as an attack on their religion and culture. In response, the Visigoth King Athanaric began persecuting Christians, many of whom were killed. In the 5th and 6th century, Arianism became prevalent among the Goths; during their forays into Italy, Gaul (France) and Spain they destroyed many churches and killed a number of Christian clergy. In 429 the Vandals (who were Arians) conquered Roman Africa. Christians were discriminated against; Church property was confiscated. Thousands of Christians were banished from Vandal held territory. The ''New Catholic Encyclopedia'' notes that "Ancient, medieval and early modern hagiographers were inclined to exaggerate the number of martyrs. Since the title of martyr is the highest title to which a Christian can aspire, this tendency is natural". Estimates of Christians killed for religious reasons before the year 313 vary greatly, depending on the scholar quoted, from a high of almost 100,000 to a low of 10,000. PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS BY CHRISTIANS The , as first Antipope , who, according to Eusebius 's ''Ecclesiastical History'' 5.28.8-12, quoting the ''Little Labyrinth'' of Hippolytus, after being " Scourged all night by the holy angels", covered in ash, dressed in Sackcloth , and "after some difficulty", tearfully submitted to Pope Zephyrinus . Upon the establishment of official ties between the state and Christianity, the state and the Church turned their considerable negative attention to those deemed Heretics , although who was and was not a heretic could alter with the winds of political change. The first nonconforming Christian executed was Priscillian . Many 4th century examples of such a situation involved Arianism , which held, against the orthodox tradition, that Jesus was not "one in unity with the Father", but instead was a created being, not on the same level with God, above humans but below God The Father . When high-ranking officials agreed with orthodoxy, the state stopped at no ends to bring down the Arians. The converse was true when high-ranking officials, instead, adhered to Arianism, at which point the power of the state was used to promulgate that particular interpretation. The Germanic Goths and Vandals adhered to Arian Christianity, establishing Arian states in Italy and Spain. Orthodox Christians defended themselves vigorously against these foreign Arians. St. Augustine , for example, died while in a town besieged by the Arian Vandals. An increasing number of scholars have claimed that Early Christianity had no single agreed-upon tradition, and various sects claimed no limit of things about Jesus, God, and the universe, but the extent of this "proto-Christian" diversity can be a matter of debate. Some scholarly opinion adheres to the picture of a continual line of theological orthodoxy, but the early sources, such as Celsus , Origen , Arius , Irenaeus , and Marcion , suggest a world of Christianity far more colorful than the Nicene And Post-Nicene Fathers painted. In the medieval period the Roman Catholic church moved to suppress the Cathar heresy, the Pope having sanctioned a Crusade Against The Latter that was obscenely violent and genocidal even by mediaeval standards (in the eyes of most modern historians). The Crusades in the Middle East also spilled over into conquest of Eastern Orthodox Christians by Roman Catholics and attempted suppression of the Orthodox Church for a time. The Waldenses were as well brutally persecuted by the Catholic Church, but survived up to this day. The Reformation led to a long period of warfare and communal violence between Catholic and Protestant factions, leading to massacres and forced suppression of the alternative views by the dominant faction in many countries. In the 1572 St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre the French king ordered the murder of Protestants in France. In the modern period, such events include violence between Mormons and Protestants in the United States during the 19th Century . That century also saw the Martyrdom of St. Peter The Aleut at the hands of Roman Catholic clergy in San Francisco, California . ISLAMIC PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS Al-Andalus While the Dhimmi status granted some protection to Christian Mozarab s, there were waves of persecution. In the case of the Martyrs Of Córdoba (9th century), some Christians, encouraged by Eulogius , publicly attacked Islam wishing to awake their fellows from contemporization and the allure of Islam. Iconoclasm Ottoman Empire Genocide in Turkey 1.5 million Armenian Christians and Syriac Christians ( Assyrians ) were killed by the Young Turk government between 1915 and 1917 . The massacre, which became known as the Armenian Genocide , is considered the first genocide of the 20th Century, one of the biggest in terms of number of victims, and could have been a direct inspiration for Hitler 's Final Solution . However, it was often ignored or given little significance by many Western governments for most of the 20th Century, due to political pressure from Turkey , one of the West's few allies in the Middle-East . And although Western governments have begun recognising the genocide in the past few years, Turkey still officially denies that it took place. However, Turkey has begun to debate the genocide in public as a result of pressure from the EU , recently (September 2005) holding a conference to discuss it. Many Assyrians have fled from the Middle East during the last 100 years, most notably during the World War I . Many died in what some call the Assyrian Genocide . There are however no verifiable figures for this nor proof that they were targeted as such like for the Armenian Genocide . As some Assyrians had joined pro-British or pro-Russian military forces it is possible, but not specifically documented as such, that the Ottoman authorities specifically retaliated against Assyrian civilians in order to massacre and annihilate them, which would make it an Assyrian Genocide . Persecution of Christians in Sudan It is estimated that over 1.5 million Christians have been killed by the Sudanese army, the Janjaweed , and even suspected Islamists in northern Sudan since 1984. However, the conflict is not purely a religious one, as many black Muslims, as well as Muslim Arab tribesmen, have also been killed in the conflict. It is difficult to ascertain how many deaths are due to the conflict and how many are due to the numerous Famines which have affected Sudan, costing thousands of lives. Attacks on Christians by Islamist s in Pakistan Oct. 28, 2001 - Lahore, Pakistan - Islamic militants killed 15 Christians at a church. On 25 September 2002 two terrorists entered the "Peace and Justice Institute", Karachi. They separated Muslims from the Christians, and then executed eight Christians by shooting them in the head. Attacks on Christians by Islamists in Indonesia Religious conflicts have typically occurred in Western New Guinea , Maluku (particularly Ambon ), and Sulawesi . The presence of Muslims in these regions is largely due to Suharto 's '' Transmigrasi '' plan of population re-distribution. Conflicts have often occurred because of the aims of radical Islamist organisations such as Jemaah Islamiah or Laskar Jihad to impose Sharia . The following list is far from comprehensive: 1998 - 500 Christian churches burned down in Java . November, 1998 - 22 churches in Jakarta are burned down. 13 Christians killed. Christmas Day 1998 - 180 homes and stores owned by Christians are destroyed in Poso , Central Sulawesi . Easter 2000 - 800 homes and stores owned by Christians are destroyed in Poso, Central Sulawesi. May 23 , 2000 - Christians fight back against a Muslim Mob . 700 people die. June, 2001 - the Laskar Jihad declares Jihad against Christians. Muslim Citizen s are recruited by the thousands to exterminate Christians. May 28 , 2005 - A bomb is exploded in a crowded market in Tentena , killing 28. This marks the highest death toll due to bombing after the devastating attacks in Bali . {Link without Title} On October 29 , 2005 three school girls were found Beheaded near Poso. The girls, students at Central Sulawesi Christian Church , were killed by six unidentified assailants while on their way to class. Discrimination and persecution in other Arab and Muslim nations In Saudi Arabia , Christians are arrested and lashed in public for practicing their faith. Bibles and other non-Muslim religious books are captured, piled up and burned by the religious police of Saudi. No non-Muslims are allowed to become Saudi citizens. Prayer services by Christians are frequently broken up by the police and the Christians are arrested and tortured without even allowing them to be released on bail. People who convert to Christianity can officially be executed, although this has not in fact been done in many years. (cf. US State Department ) In and his grandson, Boutros Boutros-Ghali . There have been anti-Christian incidents carried out in areas governed by the Palestinian Authority . Some claim that this represents a pattern of deliberate mistreatment by the PA; others hold that these are isolated incidents that reflect the beliefs of the individuals involved, but not the society in general. Two American courts, one in Illinois and the other in North Carolina, accepted the threat of "religious persecution" as grounds for granting asylum to Evangelical converts fleeing PA territory. There is an ongoing trend for emigration among Palestinian Christian s doubling that of Muslims. The ration of Christians among Palestinians went from 18%-20% in 1947 to 13% in 1966 to 2.1% in 1993 '' Palestinian Christians: An Historic Community at Risk? '', by Don Wagner (Palestine Center - Information Brief No. 89, 12 March 2002) quoting , the comparatively warmer welcome that Christians have in the Americas and the rise of Islamism in Palestine politics. Though Iran recognizes Christians as a religious minority (along with Jews and Zoroastrians) after the Revolution , Muslim converts to Christianity have been arrested and often executed. In the Philippines, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Abu Sayyaf has attacked and killed Christians. {Link without Title} Abdul Rahman , a 41-year-old Afghan citizen, has been charged in Afghanistan with rejecting Islam ( Apostasy ). Under Sharia , apostasy is punishable by death. {Link without Title} {Link without Title} Persecution in the Balkans After its territory was conquered by Ottoman Empire , Christians in the Balkans were persecuted, as were other Christian subjects of the empire. This accelerated during late 19th century, continued during most of 20th, especially during the Balkan wars. Persecution of Christians also resulted in destruction of hundreds of Christian churches, monasteries, graveyards and other religious monuments, some of them being of great historical and architectural importance. The latest wave of anti-Christian violence was during the 90' in Yugoslavia. However, it should be noted that this conflict may be more related to ethnic tensions following Milosevic 's campaign of Ethnic Cleansing than pure sectarianism unrelated to the political climate. NAZI-FASCIST PERSECUTION Although far less hostile to Christianity than to Judaism, which the Nazis sought to exterminate in The Holocaust throughout the Third Reich and lands that came under Nazi rule, Nazi Totalitarianism demanded that all religious activity conform to the desires of Nazi leadership. Christian churches were obliged to accept the racist doctrines of Nazism. The Gestapo monitored Christian clergy and congregations for any semblance of dissent with Nazi policies, and many Christian clergy and laymen ended up in concentration camps when they asserted opposition to the teachings and practices of Nazism or if they acted upon pacifist convictions (like many Jehovah's Witnesses and some Confessing Church members). During the early part of the Nazi rule, the " German Christians " were an important pseudo-Protestant tool of the regime to bring about the Gleichschaltung of the churches. The expansion of Nazi Germany and the establishment of Nazi rule in occupied countries brought about persecutions ranging from those characteristic in Germany itself to conditions approaching those of the Soviet Union. Catholic priests in Poland that were opposed to the Nazis were taken to the concentration camps; many were murdered in the liquidation of the Polish Intelligentsia . Due to its long historical association with Slavic cultures, Nazi occupation officials used collaborators such as the Ustashe to specifically target Eastern Orthodox Christians in Yugoslavia . In Italy the fascist regime of Mussolini heavily persecuted Pentecostals and Jehovah's Witnesses from 1936 to 1954, when the Persecution Decree, named Circolare Buffarini-Guidi was revoked due Western nations pressure. DISCRIMINATION AND PERSECUTION IN THE SOVIET UNION After the Revolution of 1917, the Bolsheviks undertook a massive program to remove the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church from the government and Russia n society, and to make the state Atheist . Thousands of churches were destroyed or converted to other uses, such as warehouses. Monasteries were closed and often converted to prison camps, most notably the Solovetz monastery becoming Solovki camp. Many members of clergy were imprisoned for anti-government activities. These victims are now recognized as the " New Martyrs " by the Russian Orthodox Church , the old martyrs being the victims of the Roman persecutions. Church property, including the icons and other objects of worship (especially those made of precious metals) was confiscated and put to other uses. While religion was never outlawed in the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Constitution actually guaranteed religious freedom to all Soviet citizens, persecution was still government policy. The persecutions were usually carried out for political, not religious, reasons and abated during World War II , at which time Stalin 's government reached a truce with the Church in order to use it as part of its program to inspire Russian Patriotic fervor. Nevertheless, the Soviet government sought to put the Church under control by appointing loyal men as priests, allegedly ending up with the entire upper ranks of the Church being officers of the KGB . Throughout the 1920s and 1930s the celebration of Christmas and the traditional Russian holiday of New Year (Feast of the Circumcision of Christ) was prohibited (later on New Year was reinstated as a secular holiday and is now the most significant family holiday in Russia ). Gatherings and religious processions were initially prohibited and later on strictly limited and regulated. In later years, a more subtle method of disrupting Christian holidays involved broadcasting very popular movies one after the other on the major holidays when believers are expected to participate in religious processions, especially during the Easter celebration. Apparently, this was intended to keep those whose faith was uncertain or wavering in their homes and glued to their TV s. An intense ideological anti-Christian and anti-religious campaign was carried out throughout the history of the Soviet Union . An extensive education and propaganda campaign was undertaken to convince people, especially the children and youth, not to become believers. The role of the Christian religion and the Church was painted in black colors in school textbooks. For instance, much emphasis was placed on the role of the Church in such historical horror stories as the Inquisition , persecution of Galileo , Giordano Bruno , and other heretical scientists, and the Crusades . School students were encouraged to taunt and use Peer Pressure against classmates wearing crosses or otherwise professing their faith. In the 1920s there were many "anti-God" publications and social clubs sponsored by the government, most notably the scathingly satirical " Godless At The Workbench " ("Bezbozhnik u Stanka" in Russian). Later on, these disappeared because a new generation has grown up essentially Atheist . A "scientific" perspective was used to attack religion extensively. The Church was portrayed as obscurantist and opposed to the findings of Science . Much was made of alleged Christian belief in the literal Creation account in the book of Genesis which the pro- Darwinian textbooks ridiculed. Interestingly, as part of the anti-foreign and anti-capitalist propaganda, an effort was made, especially in the 1920s and 1930s, to imprint in the minds of the people an image of the West as dominated by the anti-scientific ignorance of the Church, as opposed to the scientifically "progressive" Atheist Soviet state. In general, Christianity was portrayed as corrupt, hypocritical, a loyal servant of the reactionary Czar , obscurantist, "opium for the people" according to Karl Marx , and otherwise evil. This Communist persecution of the Church proved enormously successful. Within the span of one generation, the traditionally highly devout Russian people became overwhelmingly Atheist . This transformation was, for the most part, complete by the 1950's. As such, it counted as one of the greatest and the most successful persecutions Christianity had ever experienced, on par only with the destruction of Christianity in the Middle East , North Africa , and Asia Minor by the Islamic and Turkish conquests. After the fall of the Soviet Union , the government of Russia openly embraced the Russian Orthodox Church , and there was a reputed renaissance in the number of the faithful in Russia . As of 2004 it is generally noted, however, that whereas a very large percent of Russians today identify themselves as believers and members of the Church (up from a very small group in the Soviet days), still relatively few of them actually attend Church regularly, read the Bible , or otherwise take their Communion with the Church seriously. For many, it seems, Faith has become a matter of personal identification and readiness to Baptize their children or have church Marriage and Burial ceremonies, and not much else. This is a clear testimony to the completeness and the long term success of the Communist persecution of the Christianity in Russia . Richard Wurmbrand , author of '' Tortured For Christ '' described the systematic persecution of Christians in one East Bloc nation. Many Christian believers in the Soviet Union have told of being imprisoned for no other reason than believing in God - a fate shared no less by Jewish believers. Many have recently been canonized as Saint s following their death at the hands of Soviet authorities; they are collectively referred to in the Orthodox Church as the "new martyrs". (See also Enemy Of The People , Gulag , Alexander Solzhenitsyn , Varlam Shalamov ) PERSECUTION IN OTHER EASTERN BLOC NATIONS Enver Hoxha conducted a campaign to extinguish all forms of religion in Albania in 1967 , closing all religious buildings and declaring the state atheist. Albania was the only Eastern Bloc nation that actually outlawed religion. See Communist And Post-Communist Albania . However, persecution of Christians, especially Protestants, Pentecostals and non-registered minority denominations, has continued after the fall of the Soviet Union, in many countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia , notably Tajikistan , Uzbekistan and Belarus . However, it should be noted that Jews and certain Muslim sects are also frequently subject to similar discrimination, and harsh treatment does not extend to all Christian sects. PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS IN CHINA Emperor Tang Wu Zong Tang Wu Zong (of the Tang Dynasty ) ruled China from 840 to 846 . Known as a Taoist zealot, he first suppressed Buddhism in China for its perceived excesses. He then attacked all other "foreign" religions, including Christianity. Nestorianism , the only Chinese Christian branch at that time, was virtually wiped out in China. Qing Dynasty When Jiaqing Emperor Of China declared the closed-door policy, Christianity suffered the first repercussions under the Qing Dynasty . After the Opium War , Christians became a target of hatred and many Christians were killed in the Boxer Rebellion . People's Republic of China The Communist government of the People's Republic Of China tries to maintain tight control over all religions, so the only legal Christian Churches ( TSPM and CPCA ) are those under the Communist Party's control. Teaching in those Churches is importantly modified towards party's goals in it's internal politics. By doing this they forced Christians to compromise their belief or the law to practice their beliefs (''see article on'' Chinese House Churches ) with all the subsequent consequences for them. PERSECUTION IN JAPAN Arrival of Christianity In the early 1500s Christianity was brought to Japan by a Portuguese Jesuit named Francis Xavier . Following its arrival, Christianity gained much ground. Edo Period As the . Dutch attempted to make inroads into Japan's economy, Christianity was outlawed. Meiji Revolution and WWII During the Meiji Era and until the end of World War II , the law banning Christianity remained in effect, even though the Meiji Constitution technically allowed freedom of religion. As a result Christianity was still an illegal religion in Japan that remained punishable by death. With the new reforms, Nagasaki became open to trade, but as the ban on Christianity still remained in effect so did the government persecution. Despite this Christianity continued to grow. During World War II Shinto became the official state religion of Japan and all others were banned, with varying degrees of punishment. The persecution, specifically toward Christians (Especially Protestant s, who were seen as sympathetic to the Allies), intensified until the end of the war, as non-Shinto were seen as traitors to Japan. 1945 onwards After the surrender of Japan in 1945, the government was forced to enact freedom of religion as part of the surrender. After Japan regained her sovereignty, freedom of religion remained as part of the new Constitution Of Japan . HINDU PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS 23 Jan 1999 - Graham Staines, an Australian Christian missionary aged 55 years, and his two sons, aged 8 and 10, were burned to death in the state of Orissa by members of Hindutva Parivar , a Hindu nationalist group. Staines was accused of making derogatory remarks about Hinduism, fraudulently converting local tribals, sexually assaulting a villager's wife and slaughtering cows, the most sacred animal to Hindus. In Sept. 2002 eight Christian missionaries were beaten during worship services by Hindu fundamentalists. In Oct. 2002 the governor of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu issued an ordinance aimed at preventing people from converting to Christianity, on the pretext that such conversions occur due to fraud. Christians may be sentenced to up to three years in jail if convicted of such a crime. Local Hindus have often criticized missionaries for exploiting the impoverished condition of non-Christians to convert them. In several cases, Christian pastors have publicly made derogatory remarks about Hinduism. In other cases, foreign missionaries have denied medical treatment and food aid to Hindus who refuse to convert to Christianity. http://in.news.yahoo.com/050116/139/2j1rp.html http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/jan/24shoba.htm The nuns and Christian Pastors typically conducted themselves as most ruthless barbarians by preying Tsunami victims' hapless state. When villagers react to such utter disregard to human suffering, the Christian pastors hypocrtically call that as persectution and massacre. It should be noted that the majority of instances of persecutions of Christians in India do not involve the native Saint Thomas Christians , but rather Latin Rite Catholic s and Protestant s. Christian News Source with several articles on persecution of Christians in India RECENT CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION IN OTHER COUNTRIES A partial list of countries not already mentioned above where significant recent persecution of Christians exists includes North Korea , Vietnam , Laos , Sri Lanka , Bhutan , Maldives , Serbia And Montenegro - Province Of Kosovo And Metohia , Afghanistan , China , and Lebanon . REFERENCES
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