by Heather Tomlinson, Premier Christianity
Stories of Christians being persecuted around the world rarely make the headlines in the mainstream media. Heather Tomlinson investigates why
Did you hear about the atrocity in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) earlier this year, when 70 Christians, including women, children and the elderly, were slaughtered, many of them beheaded? If you support one of the many Christian anti-persecution charities or read Christian news (including this magazine), you may have. But if you rely solely on mainstream news sources, the chances are you may be unaware.
For many years, there has been a conspicuous absence of stories about the suffering of Christian minorities, especially in the poorest countries of the world, such as Somalia, Niger and Sudan. The persecution charity Open Doors estimates that 4,476 Christians were killed for their faith last year globally – a conservative, minimum estimate. Yet, these terrible events rarely seem to feature in the headlines of our national newspapers or on the TV news.
Following the events in DRC, which first came to public attention through Open Doors in February, the lack of mainstream media coverage itself became the story. The ever-increasing number of Christian voices on YouTube and social media began wondering why there was silence in the mainstream. The US Christian broadcaster CBN News spoke for many when it asked: “Why is the media silent?”