Over 900,000 Christians killed in the last decade, report claims

A report from a Christian research firm affiliated with the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts has indicated that over 900,000 Christians have been killed in the last 10 years.

The annual report on persecuted Christians published by Gordon-Conwell's Center for the Study of Global Christianity revealed that as many as 90,000 believers died for their faith last year, The Christian Post reported.

The report gained media attention even before its release after prominent Italian sociologist Massimo Introvigne discussed details of the study in an interview with Vatican Radio in December.

"The Center for the Study of Global Christianity has done extensive research on Christian martyrdom, both historical and contemporary. We estimate that between 2005 and 2015 there were 900,000 Christian martyrs worldwide — an average of 90,000 per year," the organization stated in an email to its supporters.

The study noted that only 30 percent of the 90,000 Christians were killed because of terrorism. The remaining 70 percent died in tribal conflicts in Africa, which puts into question whether the 70 percent were killed because of their faith or if they were just victims of violent conflicts.

Intorvigne explained in the interview that the study included Christians who were killed in tribal conflicts because many are not able to take up arms. He also noted that there are about 500,000 Christians across the globe who are unable to practice their faith freely.

Meanwhile, the persecution watchdog group Open Doors has estimated that over 1,200 Christians were killed for their faith globally between Nov. 1, 2015 and Oct. 31, 2016. Those statistics, however, do not include those who were killed in North Korea and some areas of Iraq and Syria. Open Doors Director of Communications Emily Fuentes also noted that the figures only included those with confirmed details such as name, location and other relevant information.

"Death rate is just one factor of persecution. Many Christians have been displaced, attacked, abused or face hardship in their everyday lives because of their faith," Fuentes stated.

"Sadly, this trend has been continuing upward for the past several years, so it is likely going to continue rising, especially with the spread of ISIS and other extremist groups throughout Africa, Central Asia, the Middle East and Southeast Asia," she added.