Bangladesh (MNN) — A growing sense of fear is taking hold among Christians in Bangladesh. Believers are concerned about increasing persecution at home and rising tensions linked to neighboring India.
Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs USA says persecution remains a reality for many Christians, especially at the local level. They are a small minority in the country. According to the 2022 census, Christians represent approximately 0.30% of Bangladesh’s population.
“They face mob violence, they face attacks at the village level, they sometimes face attacks within their own families,” says Nettleton.
Bangladeshi man sitting next to water, Sadarghat, Dhaka, Bangladesh (photo courtesy of Refat Ul Islam via Unsplash)
The current Bangladeshi government, led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has made public statements supporting religious minorities:
“The controlling [BNP] party in the government has talked about being a rainbow country where people of different stripes — Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, and Christians — all have a place, but carrying that forward, especially at the village level, can be very difficult,” says Nettleton.
Despite those commitments, many believers say daily life can be challenging. In some communities, Christians remain outsiders in the eyes of their neighbors and can become easy targets for discrimination and abuse.
Another concern is the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a Hindu nationalist party, in the neighboring Indian state of West Bengal, which borders Bangladesh. Movement between Bangladesh and India is common, with many people crossing the border legally and illegally for work, family, and other reasons.
Nettleton explains the ideology behind India’s ruling Hindu nationalist movement: “This is a Hindu nationalist party whose philosophy is that India is a Hindu country; only Hindus really belong there.”
Some Bangladeshi Christians worry that the spread of Hindu nationalist ideas could contribute to increased pressure on religious minorities and lead to the kind of persecution seen in other parts of India.
Pray for the Gospel to advance in Bangladesh. Pray also that God would protect believers in Bangladesh and neighboring India as they seek to follow Christ faithfully.
Visit Voice of the Martyrs USA to learn more about the persecuted Church and discover ways you can stand alongside believers facing persecution.
Header photo: Dhaka, Dhaka Division, Bangladesh (photo courtesy of Somogro Bangladesh via Pexels).
