The perils of being Christian

Americans typically disapprove of preachers telling their congregations how to vote in political elections. Our constitutional separation of church and state honors Jesus' directive to "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."Sadly, the freedom of faith Americans take for granted is imperiled in nations whose governments persecute religious minorities. In Zimbabwe's capital city of Harare this month, a dozen helmeted, black-booted police stormed St. Francis Anglican church just as parishioners were receiving communion. Swinging their batons, they drove the faithful from the church.The outrage was repeated in suburban St. Paul's church when a dozen police officers entered shouting, "Go back to your homes. You are not supposed to be here." When the faithful refused to leave, more than 50 riot police were summoned. They lashed their batons at men, women and children alike.Bishop Sebastian Bakare, protesting the Zimbabwe government's interrogation of his priests and the arrests of members of more than a dozen of his churches, said it reminded him of the perils of the earliest Christians. "We are being persecuted," he said.President Robert Mugabe, facing a runoff election, targeted his nation's Anglicans because the worldwide Communion had called on all Christians to pray for Zimbabwe's deliverance "from violence, the concealing and juggling of election results, deceit, oppression and corruption."The bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recently cited 11 "countries of particular concern," whose governments have either permitted violations of religious freedom or actually participated in them. The commission also "remains seriously concerned about religious-freedom conditions in Iraq."During a private meeting with President Bush at the White House, Pope Benedict XVI expressed his concerns about the treatment of Christians in U.S.-occupied Iraq. Until recently, Christians constituted about 3 percent of the Iraqi population. But in the past five years, the numbers of Chaldean Christians alone have been reduced by half, to 600,000.The State Department reports that Christians in Iraq have been threatened with violence if they do not leave their homes. There are beatings and assassinations, and churches have been bombed.The Sabian Mandeans, who follow the teachings of John the Baptist, have lost 55,000 members through killings and forced exile. No wonder non-Muslims in Iraq keep a low profile.The constitutions of both Iraq and Afghanistan guarantee religious freedom, but also provide that no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of Islam.Two years ago, Abdul Rahman was tried and faced a death sentence for the "crime" of converting from Islam to Christianity in Afghanistan. Eventually, he was fortunate to be granted asylum in Italy. It was a rare exception to a harsh rule.(David Yount's "Growing in Faith: A Guide for the Reluctant Christian" (Seabury) is now available in a new paperback edition. He answers readers at P.O. box 2758, Woodbridge, VA 22195 and dyount(at)erols.com.)