“Despite mounting repression, Christianity continues to grow in unexpected places,” ICC researchers wrote.
By Catholics for Catholics
In some places, Christian congregations around the world are under siege.
But they are also growing. Even as an estimated 380 million believers face persecution for their faith, according to a report from the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern.
According to a story by the Christian Post, ICC’s report, Global Persecution Index 2026, found that the Church is adding members in places where worship can bring arrest, imprisonment or death, pointing to underground and digital networks that let believers gather outside the reach of the state.
Take for example the country of Iran, where Christianity has turned into that nation’s fastest-growing faith. The faith is maintained by hidden networks and online evangelism even as converts from Islam are detained, jailed and, in some cases, executed under blasphemy and national-security statutes.
The report cites anonymous experts who position Iran’s Christian population as “one of the fastest-growing Christian populations in the world.”
“Though still a tiny part of the population, Iranian Christians are proving resilient to the government pressure that surrounds them every day,” the report states.
In nations like China, the faithful congregate in private residences and through encrypted online meetings even under constant state monitoring.
However, such expansion is happening alongside a rise in religious nationalism, a leading force behind shrinking freedom of belief, ICC stresses.
In India, militant Hindu groups tied to the governing Bharatiya Janata Party have attacked Christian and Muslim minorities, and several state governments have passed laws restricting conversion.
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