Jeremy Hunt is right: persecuted Christians have been neglected for too long

While I am supporting Boris Johnson to be our next Prime Minister, the contest has been positive, as his rival, Jeremy Hunt, has raised some very worthwhile issues. None more so than the

persecution of Christians around the world.

Hunt says: “The sense of misguided political correctness that has stopped us standing up for Christians overseas must end. It is a sad fact that Christians are the most persecuted religious

group in modern times. I am determined to show that we are on their side.”

Language is a very powerful tool in all this. At present, there is not a term for anti-Christian hatred to provide an equivalent to Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. Anba Angaelos, the Coptic

Archbishop of London, who has said that Christians faced ethnic cleansing in parts of the Middle East, suggests the term “Christophobia” be adopted.

Equal treatment would make sense. The cause that should be championed is freedom of worship. Atheists and others should be entitled to be as rude as they like about religious belief.

Comedians should be allowed to make jokes – however unfunny or offensive they might be. So any legal sanctions should not infringe free speech. The distinction is important between inciting

hatred against Christians or Muslims – and robust criticism of Christianity or Islam.

Often it is the same countries that persecute Christians and homosexuals. Brendan O’Neill writing in the Spectator about the Gay Pride march reflected on the 50th anniversary of the

Stonewall protests: “The riotous counter culturalists of the Sixties and Seventies demanded freedom. They didn’t give a damn what the ‘moral majority’ thought of them  — they just wanted the

moral majority to leave them alone.” But he adds: “It’s no longer enough to leave homosexuals alone to live however they choose and to inflict on them no persecution or discrimination or

any ill-will whatsoever on the basis of their sexuality, which is absolutely the right thing for a civilised liberal society to do. No, now you have to validate their identity and cheer

their life choices. You must doff your cap to that omnipresent bloody rainbow.”

That is the balance. Christians do not seek to impose their beliefs on anyone – but they do pursue their right to practice and proclaim their faith. The monitoring group Open Doors estimates

than 100 million Christians around the world face persecution. The Centre for the Study of Global Christianity in the United States estimated that 100,000 of them are killed each year for

their beliefs. Christian martyrdom is not merely a distant barbarism from the Roman Empire and Middle Ages, long since consigned to the history books. It is happening today on a terrifying

scale across the globe. More Christians are being killed for their beliefs than ever before. Often it is the Christians in refugee camps who are most at risk – but this additional peril they

face is generally ignored.

That leads us on to what we can do about it. Our refugee policy should give preference to Christians in recognition of realities that are taking place. The Islamist insurgent group, Boko

Haram, continues its campaign of murder and displacement against Nigerians Christians. A priority for our Overseas Aid funding should be that it goes to governments that are effective in

upholding religious freedom. The United States has an Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback. His office publishes a report on some of the worst offenders. He

says: “Iran has one of the worst records on religious freedom in the world and continues to show a blatant disregard for protecting individuals’ religious freedom”.

Brownback adds that the Chinese authorities have “increased their repression of Christians, shutting down churches and arresting adherents for their peaceful religious practices. And to this

we say to China: Do not be mistaken, you will not win your war on faith. This will have consequences on your standing at home and around the world”. While in Eritrea the “authorities

continue to confine Eritrean Orthodox Church Patriarch Antonios, who has been under house arrest since 2006. He along with hundreds of other prisoners of conscience should be free.”

It is welcome that the US Government is officially monitoring these offences. The former Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, established an Ambassador for Religious Freedom and an

Office of Religious Freedom in Canada. Under his Government it was made a priority. In 2016 the Office of Religious Freedom was closed by the newly elected government of Prime Minister,

Justin Trudeau. But it is needed more than ever. I hope it will be restored in Canada. We should also establish a British equivalent.

There are 7.3 billion people on our plant and nearly a third of us, 2.2 billion, are Christians. The number is growing at the rate of millions a year. Yet many pay at terribly high price for

practising that faith. Hunt is right to have raised this issue. But whether he or Johnson becomes our next PM, the British Government could and should be doing far more to fight this

horrific oppression.

By proceeding, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and our Privacy Policy.

If an account exists for this email address, you will shortly receive an email from us. You will then need to:

Please note, this link will only be valid for 24 hours. If you do not receive our email, please check your Junk Mail folder and add [email protected] to your safe list.