This article is missing information about the history of the persecution of Christians in the country, including the disappearance of Francis Hong Yong-ho and persecutions during the Korean War.(July 2022) |
Persecution of Christians in North Korea | |
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Part of the Persecution of Christians | |
Location | North Korea |
Date | 1950s–present |
Victims | Christians |
Perpetrator | Government of North Korea |
Part of a series on |
Human rights in North Korea |
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The persecution of Christians in North Korea is an alleged systematic human rights violation in North Korea. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] According to multiple resolutions which have been passed by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the North Korean government considers religious activities political crimes, [7] because they could challenge the rule of Kim Il Sung and his family. [8] [9] [10]
In 2002, it was estimated that there were 12,000 Protestants, [11] and 800 Catholics in North Korea, but South Korean organisations and international church-related groups gave considerably higher estimates, such as 406,000 Christians. [12] [13] [14]
In a study of 117 North Koreans who had been affected by religious persecution which was conducted by the Korea Future Initiative, it was found that Christians made up about 80% of the people who were surveyed. [15]
Christian Solidarity Worldwide says that there are numerous reports of people being sent to prison [16] and subjected to inhuman treatment because of their faith. [17] The family members of reported Christians are also said to be targeted, including children. The youngest of these recorded detainees was two years old at the time of their arrest. [18]
According to interviews which have been given by refugees, if the North Korean authorities discover that North Korean refugees who were deported from China have converted to Christianity, they are subjected to harsher treatment and prolonged imprisonment. [19]
According to AsiaNews, during Kim Il Sung's administration, all non-foreign Catholic priests were executed, [20] and Protestant leaders who did not renounce their faith were purged as American spies. [21] The martyrdom of the Benedictine monks of Tokwon Abbey was documented [22] as the process of beatification was initiated for them. [23]
There are reports of public executions of Christians, [24] [25] for example, Ri Hyon-ok was allegedly publicly executed in Ryongchon on June 16, 2009, for giving out Bibles, while her husband and children were deported to the Hoeryong political prison camp. [26]
From 1949 to the mid-1950s, under the rule of Kim Il Sung, all churches were closed. [21] [27] [28] However, since 1988, four church buildings have been erected in Pyongyang with foreign donations: [29] one Catholic, two Protestant and one Russian Orthodox. The services are used to bring in foreign currency from foreign visitors, including South Koreans. It is claimed that the churches are solely there for propaganda purposes. [9] [30] [31] Defectors to South Korea claim that most North Koreans are unaware the churches exist. [32]
The Bible is reported to have been banned in North Korea and several incidents have emerged in which Christians were arrested or executed for possessing and/or selling the book, [26] while other reports state that they have their own translated Bible. [33] [34] [35]
In 2014, an American citizen, Jeffrey Edward Fowle, was detained for several months for proselytism after authorities discovered him leaving a Bible behind in a public restroom during his vacation in the country. [36]
Several pastors, priests, and missionaries who have been campaigning against the persecution have been detained by the North Korean government, for periods ranging from a couple weeks to more than two years, including:
In 2023, according to an unsourced american company called "Freedom House", the country was scored zero out of 4 for religious freedom; [38] as of May 2021, Christian Solidarity Worldwide estimated that almost 200,000 people were held in prison camps, mainly due to their Christian beliefs.
The persecution has been condemned by a variety of different organizations and movements, including Genocide Watch, [39] the SDLP, [40] and the British Government. [40] [15] [41]
The persecution of Christians can be historically traced from the first century of the Christian era to the present day. Christian missionaries and converts to Christianity have both been targeted for persecution, sometimes to the point of being martyred for their faith, ever since the emergence of Christianity.
A martyr is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party.
Religious intolerance is intolerance of another's religious beliefs, practices, faith or lack thereof.
Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs or affiliations or their lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within societies to alienate or repress different subcultures is a recurrent theme in human history. Moreover, because a person's religion frequently determines his or her sense of morality, worldview, self-image, attitudes towards others, and overall personal identity to a significant extent, religious differences can be significant cultural, personal, and social factors.
State atheism or atheist state is the incorporation of hard atheism or non-theism into political regimes. It is considered the opposite of theocracy and may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments. To some extent, it is a religion-state relationship that is usually ideologically linked to irreligion and the promotion of irreligion or atheism. State atheism may refer to a government's promotion of anti-clericalism, which opposes religious institutional power and influence in all aspects of public and political life, including the involvement of religion in the everyday life of the citizen. In some instances, religious symbols and public practices that were once held by religions were replaced with secularized versions of them. State atheism in these cases is considered as not being politically neutral toward religion, and therefore it is often considered non-secular.
The Korean Martyrs were the victims of religious persecution against Catholics during the 19th century in Korea.
In Christianity, a martyr is a person who was or is killed for their testimony for Jesus or faith in Jesus. In years of the early church, stories depict this often occurring through death by sawing, stoning, crucifixion, burning at the stake, or other forms of torture and capital punishment. The word martyr comes from the Koine word μάρτυς, mártys, which means "witness" or "testimony".
Persecution of Christians in the post–Cold War era refers to the persecution of Christians from 1989 to the present. Part of a global problem of religious persecution, persecution of Christians in this era is taking place in Africa, the Americas, Europe, Asia and Middle East.
The human rights record of North Korea is widely considered to be among the worst in the world and has been globally condemned, with the United Nations and groups such as Human Rights Watch all critical of it. Amnesty International considers North Korea to have no contemporary parallel with respect to violations of liberty.
Protestants in Vietnam are a religious minority, constituting 1% of the population in 2022. Though its numbers are small, Protestantism is the country's fastest-growing religion, growing at a rate of 600% in the early 2000s.
Open Doors is a non-denominational mission supporting persecuted Christians around the world. They work with local partners to distribute Bibles and Christian literature, give discipleship training and provide practical support, such as emergency relief aid. Open Doors' stated aims are to raise awareness of global persecution, mobilising prayer, support and action among Christians from around the world. It is based in Ermelo, The Netherlands. Open Doors is also a member of the Forum of Bible Agencies International.
As of the year 2021, Christianity had approximately 2.38 billion adherents and is the largest religion by population respectively. According to a PEW estimation in 2020, Christians made up to 2.38 billion of the worldwide population of about 8 billion people. It represents nearly one-third of the world's population and is the largest religion in the world, with the three largest groups of Christians being the Catholic Church, Protestantism, and the Eastern Orthodox Church. The largest Christian denomination is the Catholic Church, with 1.3 billion baptized members. The second largest Christian branch is either Protestantism, or the Eastern Orthodox Church.
There are no known official statistics of religions in North Korea. Officially, North Korea is an atheist state, although its constitution guarantees free exercise of religion, provided that religious practice does not introduce foreign forces, harm the state, or harm the existing social order. Based on estimates from the late 1990s and the 2000s, North Korea is mostly irreligious, with the main religions being Shamanism and Chondoism. There are small communities of Buddhists and Christians. Chondoism is represented in politics by the Party of the Young Friends of the Heavenly Way, and is regarded by the government as Korea's "national religion" because of its identity as a minjung (popular) and "revolutionary anti-imperialist" movement.
The Catholic Church in South Korea is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
Christians have historically comprised a small community in Afghanistan. The total number of Christians in Afghanistan is currently estimated to be between 15,000 and 20,000 according to International Christian Concern. Almost all Afghan Christians are converts from Islam. The Pew Research Center estimates that 40,000 Afghan Christians were living in Afghanistan in 2010. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan did not recognize any Afghan citizen as being a Christian, with the exception of many expatriates. Christians of Muslim background communities can be found in Afghanistan, estimated between 500-8,000, or between 10,000 to 12,000.
Christianity in Africa first arrived in Egypt in approximately 50 AD. By the end of the 2nd century it had reached the region around Carthage. In the 4th century, the Aksumite empire in modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea became one of the first regions in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion. The Nubian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia followed two centuries later. From the late fifth and early sixth century, the region included several Christian Berber kingdoms. Important Africans who influenced the early development of Christianity and shaped the doctrines of Christianity include Tertullian, Perpetua, Felicity, Clement of Alexandria, Origen of Alexandria, Cyprian, Athanasius and Augustine of Hippo.
Christianity is a minority religion in Muslim-majority Somalia. According to a report by the Somali Bible Society in 2023, there is estimated population of 178,869 Christian practitioners in Somalia. The Somali population is about 19 million as of 2024.
Freedom of religion in North Korea (DPRK) is officially a right in North Korea.
Tokwon Abbey was a Benedictine monastery of the Congregation of Missionary Benedictines of Saint Ottilien, located near the town of Wonsan in what is now North Korea. Founded as a monastic mission in Seoul, the community transferred to Tokwon in the 1920s to take charge of the newly created Apostolic Vicariate of Wonsan. The persecution of Christians in North Korea since 1949 made any church activity in the abbacy impossible. However the Territorial Abbacy of Tokwon is formally still kept as one of the few remaining territorial abbeys within the Catholic Church.
Anti-Christian sentiment, also referred to as Christophobia or Christianophobia, constitutes the fear of, hatred of, discrimination, and/or prejudice against Christians, the Christian religion, and/or its practices.
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