Page 8 The Skanner July 5, 2017
News
Amid Caution, Black Church Groups
Join Effort to Bring Attention to
Global Attacks on Christians
No major Black-led church has been part of the discussion about persecution of Christians overseas until
recently, when Rev. Anthony Evans, of the National Black Church Initiative, which claims 34,000 Black
and Latino churches as its constituency announced its decision to join the effort.
National Black Church
Initiative, which claims
34,000 Black and Latino
churches as its constitu-
ency announced its deci-
The leadership of the denominations are well
educated as to the issue of persecution, but
they have never made this an issue. That’s a
problem in the greater Black and White reli-
gious communities in general
sion to join the effort.
Evans explained the
ideological
split
as
something historically
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greater Black and White
religious communities in
general.”
He places part of the
blame on how the war
on terror has shaped the
conversation.
Most recently, the Mid-
dle Eastern nation of Qa-
tar has been a particular
focus of rights organi-
zations, both for accusa-
tions of state-sponsored
terrorism and lack of
tolerance for the practice
of Christianity. Yet the
focus on terror, and the
strategic importance of
Qatar to the US military
After the church shooting in
Charleston, it became clear
that Christians are a target
common among church
groups “The leadership
of the denominations
are well educated as to
the issue of persecu-
tion, but they have nev-
er made this an issue.
That’s a problem in the
in y o u r c o m m
denomination has been
part of the discussion
until recently, when Rev.
Anthony Evans, of the
eve
thodox, and Roman Cath-
olic churches; blowing
up monasteries and the
tombs of prophets; dese-
lo c a l n e w s •
“
crating cemeteries,” said
Kerry.
But while a significant
coalition of faith and
political leaders have
rallied to the cause, the
vast majority of those
most vocal about the is-
sue have been members
of the Christian right, or
the conservative wings
of denominations other-
wise considered liberal.
That has led to skepti-
cism among some that
efforts to protect Chris-
tian refugees and Chris-
tians in Muslim states
are tied to conservative
political calls for travel
bans based on religion,
selective deportation of
immigrants and broader
policies considered to be
anti-Muslim.
No major Black-led
nt •
A
According to Pew Re-
search, more than 75% of
the world’s population
lives in areas with “se-
vere religious restric-
tion.”
Simply because of the
size and scope of the
Christian church, many
of those restrictions are
likely to be against Chris-
tians.
In 2016, then Secretary
of State John Kerry de-
clared killings by ISIS in
Mosul as acts of aggres-
sion specifically based
on religion, saying in
an official speech, “We
know that in areas un-
der its control, [ISIS has
made a systematic effort
to destroy the cultural
heritage of ancient com-
munities—destroying
Armenian, Syrian Or-
me
By Urban News
(Religion Staff)
n array of multi-
cultural
organi-
zations
fighting
against what they
describe as “Christian
persecution” around the
world is finding it diffi-
cult to win broad public
support for the issue.
That is especially true in
the Black church, where
politics, policy, and the
perceived agendas of
those sending the mes-
sage, have dampened the
ability of Black advocates
to sell the issue as a ma-
jor concern to both lead-
ers and the community at
large.
What there seems to be
no question about is the
reality of the problem.
Organizations such as
Human Rights Watch
and Open Doors USA
have identified more
than 25 countries where
treatment of Christians
could be described as
“persecution” in a full
range of actions from ha-
rassment and aggressive
intolerance to genocide,
including Nigeria, Syria,
and Egypt, among oth-
ers.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE URBAN NEWS SERVICE
National Black Church Initiative hopes to move
issue of persecution to the Black community
at large
has clouded issues of re-
ligion.
“A terrorist act may
happen and the focus
becomes the event. That
often overshadows the
fact that an attack may
be against Christians,
because they are Chris-
tians. It makes it hard to
shape the narrative be-
cause sometimes the gov-
ernment has a separate
agenda, “Evans said.
Most recently, the fo-
cus of the problem shares
the stage with similar at-
tacks against ethnic and
religious communities
outside the Christian
faith, and across a broad
spectrum of circum-
stances.
The National Black
Church Initiative hopes
to move the issue of per-
secution beyond church
leadership to parish-
ioners and the Black
community at large by
connecting incidents of
violence against Chris-
tians abroad to similar
incidents closer to home.
Evans said, “We don’t
necessarily have to look
across continents. After
the church shooting in
Charleston, it became
clear that Christians are
a target. That is a power-
ful modern example. The
shooter hated the Chris-
tian church. And what
is one the most venera-
ble and vocal symbols of
Christianity in America?
The Black church.”
But he acknowledges
that bringing new coali-
tions together will not be
an easy task, given a wide
range other priorities.
“It’s about education and
outreach. It begins with
personal
testimonies,
which are powerful in
the faith. Right now it’s
not an issue at the top
of the food chain, then
again I have not been a
part of it before,” said Ev-
ans.
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