Persecution: Interpreting Information on the Internet
John
Roxborogh
The
internet and worldwide web make it possible for persecuted groups to tell their
stories and difficult for others to stop them. At the same time it is not
always easy to interpret conflicting information or cope with the quantity of
it. Texts which explore distinctions and create awareness of the history and
interests of different groups are an important help in providing an
interpretive framework. The Worldwide web provides a new opportunity for
research, prayer, awareness, and constructive response. This article outlines
the issues and highlights some useful sites. Web addresses may change. These
were correct as of July 1999.
The advent of email, the internet and then the
development of the worldwide web have enabled minority groups to tell their
stories to a global audience. While governments may interfere with the flow of
information, close down sites, and present alternative views, it is difficult
for them to prevent access to dossiers and evidence located outside their
boundaries. Material on the web can
speak when the subjects of the story themselves may be silenced.
Access to the web enables minority groups to tell
their stories and researchers to locate that information. While there can be no
guarantees about the quality of the information, or the critical skills of the
researcher, today there is unprecedented access to information about
persecution and the responses of concerned groups in other countries. The
ability to further disseminate information into the hands of media, politicians
and praying Christians is enormous. The challenge remains to seek for quality
in what is reported, and exercise discretion in making information public,
judgment in analysis and wisdom in determining strategies to ameliorate
suffering.
Material on the web about persecution raises the
same questions that have long existed with print media: is this sensationalist,
reliable, self-critical, capable of influencing governments, friendly or
hostile? What are the assumptions and viewpoints of the writers and those who
make their material available? Is there a concern for accuracy about events,
people, places and dates? Is the detail more or less specific than the
sensitivities of the situation require? As with print, the facility that gets
information out also makes it available to those who may use it against
minority groups, except that the scope is vastly greater. Concerns about the
uncontrolled nature of material on the web relative to print also apply, though
information processed through known organizations will have been subject to a
measure of editorial judgement. Even so, responsibility for interpretation is
still very much with the reader. Unmoderated chat rooms and posted discussion
material has few controls, and disinformation is also out there to confuse the
unwary. Readers always need to ask themselves what is genuine, rather than just
plausible, and what may be distorted, even sincerely, by enthusiasm or fear or
a desire for vengance. It is important to recognize integrity whatever its
viewpoint.
Situations of persecution are seldom if ever pure
matters of religious discrimination and it does not quite go without saying
that Christian compassion extends to suffering in general, not just that
related to a person’s Christian confession. Attitudes towards Christians are
often mixed with issues of class, caste, social and ethnic group, community
fears and injustices and their exploitation. People committing acts of
persecution or providing a climate of discrimination may be doing little more
than acting out the prejudices of media owners, and may see themselves as
protecting their own interests or correcting ancient wrongs. The web enables
researchers to be aware of these dimensions as they explore the context and
history of persecution. It is also possible to evaluate a range of responses
including prayer, aid, intervention, international political pressure, and
publicity.
Christians need to be aware of the different
approaches being taken by different groups. Some will align themselves more
with one approach than another and that should not be surprising. The Web helps
ensure that those outside are not captive to one line of interpretation and
that anyone with a computer, telephone line and modem, and an internet account
is well placed to make their own judgment.
A number of printed sources help provide a context
of interpretation, though their own assumptions and intentions should be taken
into account. Some have a tendency to uncritical or sensationalist reporting,
others may have been so dry in being factual that gains in objectivity of one
kind can lose the emotional dimension of real suffering by real people. It is
helpful to make distinctions between different types of situations, and to have
a framework for dealing with the difficult fact that those most personally
affected may lack understanding about what is going on.
Reasonably balanced in its passion and analysis,
and perhaps the most comprehensive general survey currently available is Paul
Marshall, Their Blood Cries Out (Dallas, Word 1997). Marshall is
concerned to mobilize a broad spectrum of opinion to get religious freedom
higher on the United States foreign policy agenda. The International Religious
Freedom Act of 1998 and the formation of the U.S. Commission on International
Religious Freedom which held its first meeting in June 1999 are fruits of the
campaign of Marshall and others.
Marshall’s January 1998 article in the International Bulletin of Missionary
Research is also helpful in its analysis and in its distinctions (as
between discrimination and persecution, and between pressure from independent
groups and that which is “part of the legal code itself”).[1]
However political engagement is not without ambiguity. Not all think that North
American concepts of religion and religious freedom are universal,[2]
or that politicizing issues is always wise. Marshall appears to have difficulty
hearing the significance of some of these concerns.[3] It is important to take note of the
unfortunate legacy of “extraterritoriality” which provided for the defense of
Christians by foreign governments in China.
Persecution of missionaries was used by the French government as a
pretext for their nineteenth century expansion into Vietnam. Today having a
foreign government on your case may be helpful, or it may be dangerous. This is
not a matter for well-wishers to decide without reference to those affected.
Christians also need to be cautious about a defense of freedom which may carry
an assumption about religion being an essentially private matter to which society
ought to be indifferent. In our concern to prevent persecution we need to note
that any response, including a failure to act, has consequences. The experience
with Nato’s attempts to help the Kosova Albanians highlights on a grand and
tragic scale issues which Christians concerned about fellow believers also have
to wrestle with. Our desire to do good is also capable of making things worse.
David Barrett’s “Annual Statistical Table on Global
Mission”, published each January in the
International Bulletin of Missionary
Research, includes estimates of the number of Christian martyrs per year.
The figure for 1999 was given as 164,000.[4]
Barrett’s series of articles and his monumental World Christian Encyclopedia
are important not only for their figures, and their country by country
descriptions, but also for the way in which his definitions often become de
facto standards. The categorization of religious liberty into ten stages
between state propagation of Christianity to state suppression is relevant.[5]
It will be interesting to see how it is developed in the forthcoming new
edition which “will report on and enumerate every known martyrdom situation in
Christian history and identify thousands of martyrs by name.”[6]
Popular attitudes towards minority groups are as
important as the declared policy of governments, and the dynamic between these
is complex. Government policy may reflect, exacerbate, or moderate populist
tendencies. Governments should not always be blamed for the actions of their
citizens, and their ability to control situations based on hatred and fear can
be limited. On the other hand these same factors can be a route to political
power which is difficult to resist.
As well as questions of politics and relative
numbers, awareness is needed of the debilitating and divisive effects
persecution has on the Church. Vernon Sterk provides an analysis of what
actually goes on when a Christian community is under sustained pressure. His
example is from Mexico, rather than the more usual cases from under communism
or in relation to Islam, and his practical advice on preparing the church and
identifying appropriate forms of reporting and support is useful.[7]
It is sobering to place alongside this the guidelines prepared for the United
States Catholic Mission Association on “Crisis Management in the Event of
Arrest, Disappearance, or Death of Mission Personnel”.[8]
Issues facing the church under persecution require
wisdom not just commitment. Good Christians can take diametrically opposite
stances over co-operation with authorities, and it does not necessarily mean
that one group is faithful and courageous and the other faithless and weak. It
is rather too easy for outside groups to be drawn into polarized debates
between different groups of Christians without taking account of what is going
on. The tensions of the situation lend themselves to dramatic condemnations
which may be understandable in the situation itself, but which do not need to
be amplified by those at a distance. If
it is difficult for outside supporters to minister to both factions, at least
they can avoid making the situation worse. This should be one of the lessons
from the experiences with Communist Russia and with the Chinese churches
whereby the World Council of Churches supported registered churches and
evangelical groups supported unregistered. In the Russian situation Keston
College, now Keston Institute, was one of the few which sought to bridge the
internal divides and to be fair to the different ways in which people responded.
It was not always thanked for its objectivity.
It is helpful if Christians can relate their
concerns to human rights in general. Religious and political freedom issues can
be quite subtle in ways we do not always appreciate. Different cultures have different
understandings of the way in which religious beliefs affect people’s
relationship to society. The assumptions we carry from our own political
traditions and religious experiences may not be as universal as we think. Those
whose Christian experience carries them easily into corridors of power do not
readily identify with Christians in underground churches and are easily
persuaded such groups would be trouble-makers in any country. Those who feel on the margins in their own
society find it hard to sympathize with those who submit to state restrictions
for the sake of legality and the possibility of some influence with the
government.
A desire to obtain freedom for fellow-believers
quickly raises issues about the freedoms of those who have a different
religion, or whose form of Christianity appears less than orthodox. For
Evangelicals it can be a litmus test of our own commitment to freedom if we
observe what is happening to groups with which we may not have much natural
empathy. The treatment of Moonies in
England, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, and cults in France and other parts of
Europe may stretch our sympathies, but they also provide warning signs for
minority Christian groups in general.
Human rights concerns are frequently related to the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. These concerns are
wider than issues of religions freedom. The Declaration of Human Rights (note
article 18[9])
can be found online without difficulty.[10]
The diversity of information on the web is confusing,
but it also makes it possible to put individual cases in perspective. It is
also important to develop personal links through email, and to be aware where
different groups are coming from in the cases they present. It is easy to be
overwhelmed, but there is an opportunity to be in direct affordable contact
with some particular part of the Body of Christ, be informed in prayer and
action, and learn from the persecuted church.
Electronic mail is immediate, it can be sent to defined
destinations, its security is greater than the open information on web sites,
and it can be generated and exchanged through older generation computers and
modems. Moderators of list servers which distribute compiled reports or share
discussion have control over the initial recipients of their mailings. Some
groups require a subscription, many just seek donations. Where information is
likely to be sensitive, moderators check the credentials of those seeking to
obtain information. It is still important for those placing information and
writing reports to realize that though there are boundaries to what they write
entering the public domain, they are quite permeable. Those who reproduce
information need to be aware of how what they say will serve the interests of
those referred to. It could be well for there to be some ethical guidelines
developed.
Among those who provide email newsletters are
Compass Direct,[11] the
East-West Church and Ministry Report, Human Rights Without Frontiers, Keston
Institute, Open Doors and the World Evangelical Fellowship Religious Liberty
Commission. Many of these also have web sites as noted below.
Material on the web is in full view of all those
with access to the internet. No matter how obscure the site, the world can beat
a path to its door. With the aid of search engines like Yahoo and AltaVista its
contents will be noted and indexed for people to find with little
difficulty. While this is usually what
is intended, sometimes it may provide more exposure than may have been
anticipated.
The web sites of organizations tend to be concerned
with events, campaigns, issues, political and religious motivation, and the
support of the reporting organizations. Some provide links to other groups.
Some also provide online copies of older reports. What follows here are a
selected number of sites relating to security situations in countries, human
rights generally, and the persecution of Christians. There are many other sites
which originate and reproduce material on the persecuted church. These can be
readily located by using a search engine on the web.
For general information on the security situation
in different countries see the United States State Department “Travel Warnings”
and “Consular Information Sheets”.[12]
The United States Government also issues country reports on Human Rights
Practices.[13]
Amnesty International was formed in 1961. It is
directed at defined groups and individuals who are “prisoners of conscience”
and seeks to be even handed in its investigation of countries with a wide range
of political and religious systems. Western governments have found it salutary
to also be subject to scrutiny. The Amnesty annual report, news and resources
are available online.
Human Rights Without Frontiers is based in Belgium
and has been particularly involved in monitoring the way in which European
concerns about cults has spilt over into government action against a wide range
of Christian groups which would be regarded as mainstream in the English
speaking world. Its material is available in French, English, Italian and
German, in print, and by email. Select material is also available on its
website.
Although the situation of Christians in the former
Soviet Union and East Central Europe is much better than it was under
Communism, it is still far from ideal, especially for newer denominations,
evangelicals and other religious minorities. The reports of the Institute are
important for their analysis of the situation and informed practical advice for
those contemplating work in the area. Along with its director, Mark Elliott, in
1999 the Institute moved to The Global Center, Beeson Divinity School at
Samford University, Birmingham Alabama. The East-West Church & Ministry
Report is available in print and as online email editions. The Spring 1999
issue has material on internet resources.[14]
Group discounts are available, and articles from earlier issues can be obtained
from the website.
Keston Institute was founded by Michael Bourdeaux
and for many years was unique in the integrity of its reporting and analysis of
the situation of Christians of all denominations in the former Soviet Union and
Eastern Europe. Its archive of samizdat is a major resource and is now housed
in Oxford. It monitors freedom of religion and researches
religious affairs in communist and post communist countries. Sample material is
available on its website, and its news service is available by email and print
subscription. Keston founded the journal, Religion in Communist Lands,
now Religion State and Society. It also publishes Frontier. Books
and articles by Michael Bourdeaux, the late Jane Ellis and others associated
with Keston are essential reading for understanding the history of Christianity
under Russian communism as well as for engaging with the ongoing complexities
of religion in countries which continue to operate with a totalitarian
mind-set.
Open Doors was founded in 1955 to support the
distribution of Bibles into Communist countries in Eastern Europe. It now has a
global ministry “to go where faith costs the most, to equip and encourage
Christians who are suffering for their faith world-wide”.[15]
Its website includes a World Watch List[16]
which ranks countries and tracks changes since it began in January 1993. On a
point system, those with less than 10 points are generally considered to have
freedom of religion. There are currently 88 countries with points from 10 to
over 80. Muslim and Communist countries provide the most difficult contexts on
this analysis. An indication is given of trends, the degree of uncertainty
attached to the results, and an estimate of the Christian population in each country.
The list is compiled with the aid of a questionnaire which is available on the
web for people to complete and submit.[17] A short analysis is updated from time to
time[18]
and maps for 1970 and 1995 can be found in the Atlas of World Christianity.[19]
A recent service from Open Doors USA[20]
is a 90 second daily audio “Frontline World Report”.[21]
The story of the development of the Religious
Liberty Commission since its formation in 1992 is part of the revival of the
work of the World Evangelical Fellowship and has proved one its most necessary
and successful commissions. Its website contains news items concerning the
persecuted church[22]
and includes material on the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted
church.[23]
Email news is available to approved subscribers.
It is appreciated that there are many other groups
besides those mentioned here who also have a vital part to play in using the tools
of email and the worldwide web to share information about the persecuted
church, to be advocates for relief, and to learn from those for whom faith in
Jesus Christ carries a price socially, economically, in education, and even of
life itself. I apologise to those who
feel they should have been included in this brief article and who are not. Those that are mentioned are representative
and serve to highlight some of the issues of interpretation that I have raised.
It is hoped that what is shared here increases awareness of the electronic
resources available and of the people that it is ultimately all about, and that
it contributes in a small way to a better understanding not only of the
complexities of being involved, but the necessity of doing so regardless.
Christian History
Christianity Today
Frontier
Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations
Journal of Church and State
Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs (previously Journal of the Institute for Muslim Minority Affairs)
Religion, State and Society (previously
Religion in Communist Lands)
Ackermann, Denise M., ‘Women, religion and
culture: a feminist perspective on “freedom of religion”’, Missionalia 22.3 (1994), pp.212-226
Barrett,
David B. and Todd M Johnson, ‘Annual Statistical Table on Global Mission’ International Bulletin of Missionary
Research. January each year since 1985.
Barrett,
David. World Christian Encyclopedia
(Oxford, Oxford University Press 1982)
Bria,
Jon, ‘Martyrdom’ in Müller, Karl et
al eds., Dictionary of Mission (Maryknoll,
Orbis 1997)
Brierley,
Peter and Heather Wraight, Atlas of World Christianity, (London: Christian Research 1998)
Chenu,
Bruno, et al., The book of Christian
martyrs (London, SCM 1990)
Cosmas,
Desmond, Persecution East and West
(Harmondsworth, Penguin 1983)
Elliott,
Mark and Sharyl Corrado, comps., ‘Internet Resources on Religion’, East-West
Church & Ministry Report 7.2 (Spring 1999), pp.12-14
Jaffarian,
E. Michael, ‘The World Christian Encyclopedia, First (1982) and Second
(Forthcoming) Editions’, Missiology 27.1 (January 1999), p.32
Koshy,
Ninan, ‘Religious Liberty’ in Lossky, Nicholas et al, eds., Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement
(Grand Rapids, Eerdmans / Geneva, WCC 1991)
Koshy,
Ninan, Religious Freedom in a changing
world (Geneva, WCC 1992)
Marshall,
Paul, ‘Persecution of Christians in the Contemporary World’ International Bulletin of Missionary
Research 22.1 (January 1998), pp.2-8
Marshall,
Paul, Their blood cries out (Dallas, Word 1997)
Mendiola, Maria R. ‘Human Rights: Content or context of
mission?’ International Review of Mission
66 (1977) pp.225-230.
Richardson, James T., ‘Minority religions,
religious freedom, and the new pan-European political and judicial
institutions’ Journal of Church and State
37.1 (1995) pp.39-59
Scherer James A. ‘To the Editor’ and Paul
Marshall ‘Author’s Reply’ International
Bulletin of Missionary Research 23.1 (January 1999), pp.66-67
Schreiter, Robert J., The ministry of
reconciliation: Spirituality and Strategies (Maryknoll, Orbis 1998)
Sheils,
W. J. ed., Persecution and toleration, Studies
in Church History 21 (Oxford, Blackwell 1984).
Stirk,
Vernon J. ‘You can help the Persecuted Church: Lessons from Chiapas, Mexico’ International Bulletin of Missionary
Research 23.1 (January 1999) pp.15-18
Sullivan,
Winnifred Fallers, ‘Exporting Religious Freedom’ Bulletin of the Council of
Societies for the Study of Religion, 28.2 (April 1999), pp.41-42
Weingartner, Erich. ‘Human Rights’. Lossky, Nicholas,
et al eds., Dictionary of the Ecumenical
Movement (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans / Geneva, WCC 1991)
Witte, John, Jr., and Johan D. van der
Vyver, eds., Religious Human Rights in Global Perspective: Legal
Perspectives (Den Hague, Martinus Nijhoff 1996)
Witte,
John, Jr., and Johan D. van der Vyver,
eds., Religious Human Rights in Global Perspective: Religious Perspectives
(Den Hague, Martinus Nijhoff 1996)
Wolfinger,
Franz, ‘Tolerance and Religious Liberty’ in Müller, Karl et al eds., Dictionary of Mission (Maryknoll, Orbis
1997)
Wood,
Diana, ed., Martyrs and martyrologies
Studies in Church History 30 (Oxford, Blackwell 1993)
John Roxborogh was until 1999 Associate Editor of Evangelical
Review of Theology and Lecturer at the Bible College of New Zealand. He can
be emailed on wjr@roxborogh.com. This material was developed from the
experience of being secretary for the New Zealand Society for the Study of
Religion and Communism (in association with Keston College) and from teaching
courses on Minority Christianity at the Bible College of New Zealand and at
Seminari Theoloji Malaysia. The contribution of Michael Bourdeaux and of
students at STM and BCNZ to my understanding of these issues is gratefully
acknowledged.
(updated September 13, 2003)
[1] ‘Persecution of Christians in the Contemporary World’ International Bulletin of Missionary Research 22.1 (January 1998) 2-8
[2] Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, ‘Exporting Religious Freedom’ Bulletin of the Council of Societies for the Study of Religion, 28.2 (April 1999) pp.41-42
[3] See James A. Scherer ‘To the Editor’ and Paul Marshall ‘Author’s Reply’ International Bulletin of Missionary Research 23.1 (January 1999) pp.66-67. Scherer was commenting on Marshall’s article ‘Persecution of Christians in the Contemporary World’ in the January 1998 issue.
[4] David B. Barrettt and Todd M. Johnson, ‘Annual Statistical Table on Global Mission: 1999’ International Bulletin of Missionary Research 23.1 (January 1999) p.25
[5] David B. Barrett, ed. World Christian Encyclopedia (Nairobi, Oxford University Press, 1982) p.777
[6] E. Michael Jaffarian, ‘The World Christian Encyclopedia, First (1982) and Second (Forthcoming) Editions’, Missiology 27.1 (January 1999) p.32
[7] Vernon J. Sterk ‘You can help the Persecuted Church: Lessons from Chiapas, Mexico’ International Bulletin of Missionary Research 23.1 (January 1999) pp.15-18
[8] International Bulletin of Missionary Research (July 1985) p.115f.
[9] “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”
[10] See also the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights 50th anniversary information kit. http://www.un.org/rights/50/kit5.htm
[11] Compass Direct is widely quoted, but does not appear to have a website. It can be contacted by email at compassdr@compuserve.com
[12] http://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html
[13] http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1997_hrp_report/97hrp_report_toc.html
[14] Mark Elliott and Sharyl Corrado, comps., ‘Internet Resources on Religion’, East-West Church & Ministry Report 7.2 (Spring 1999), pp.12-14
[15] Ministry Highlights http://www.solcon.nl/odi/whatdone.htm
[19] Peter Brierley and Heather Wraight, Atlas of World Christianity, (London: Christian Research 1998) p.32
[20] http://www.gospelcom.net/od/ODUSA/
[21] http://www.broadcast.com/lightsource/content/frontline/
[22] http://www.worldevangelical.org/noframes/2persec.htm
[23] http://www.worldevangelical.org/noframes/2daypray.htm