Christians are experiencing some of the worst persecution of modern times, with believers around the world being killed because they are easy targets. Outside the United States, many have no weapons and have been taught that being a Christian means being a pacifist who turns the other cheek and does not defend himself.
Less than two days ago, on October 23, 2026, gunmen carrying pistols and a long gun opened fire on a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan’s Karak governorate. They killed seven people and wounded 34 others.
In Damascus in June 2025, an Islamic State suicide bomber entered Mar Elias Church, opened fire on worshippers and detonated his explosive vest. The attack killed 22 people, according to Syria’s Ministry of Health, and Islamists have repeatedly targeted Syria’s Christians since. In July 2025, Allied Democratic Forces rebels stormed a Catholic church in Komanda, Congo, during a vigil, killing at least 38 people inside with guns and machetes. The rebels are affiliated with the Islamic State.
In Nigeria, Christians are killed on a daily basis. According to Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List, 3,490 Christians were killed for their faith in Nigeria between October 2024 and September 2025. That is an average of more than nine per day and 72 percent of the 4,849 Christians killed worldwide.
Massacres followed by mass burials have become the norm for Christians in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. On Easter Sunday 2026, gunmen raided a Catholic church and an evangelical church in Ariko, in Kaduna State, killing worshippers and abducting dozens.
In April, Islamic State West Africa Province gunmen killed 29 Christians. On June 22, 2026, Fulani gunmen killed 28 Christians, including Rev. Markus Nyam of the Church of Christ in Nations, in Kawel village in Bokkos County.
In October, Boko Haram fighters locked an evangelist inside his house in Adamawa State and set it on fire.
Witnesses have repeatedly described attackers carrying AK-47s and machetes. Some Fulani herdsmen attack Christian villages with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades, while villagers try to defend themselves with clubs or knives. One local told WORLD, “if someone comes to attack you with an AK-47, you’re dead.”
In Jordan, Syria, Congo and Nigeria, the attackers were armed and the worshippers were not.