Before the coronavirus became a global health crisis, more than 60 countries were already rife with mass surveillance, forced marriages, and violent attacks targeting religious minorities. But while much of the world grinds to a halt during stay-at-home orders, religious persecution is escalating at an alarming pace. The coronavirus is becoming a catalyst for faith-based discrimination internationally.
Christians in China were worshipping under government cameras long before the pandemic began, but now their resilience is tested further. One Wuhan pastor reports they are rising to the challenge of worship and community service under quarantine. he told Open Doors USA – “A virus can’t stop us.”
Now, as the coronavirus ravages the health and livelihoods of all people, Christians and other religious minorities in Asia are facing a new punishment: discriminatory distribution of emergency relief and medical care.
Asia isn’t the only offending region. In some countries hostile to christianity Christian nurses — who are seen as more expendable — are being assigned to the riskiest coronavirus cases.
Perhaps the faith-infused response is for American Christians to use this period of quarantine to remember the more than 200 million Christians worldwide who worship in isolation – before and after the coronavirus.