Open Doors disputes report that claims 90,000 Christians are martyred annually

Persecution watchdog group Open Doors has disputed the methodology of the report that claimed 90,000 Christians were martyred annually between 2006 and 2015.

The report, published by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity (CSGC) at Gordon-Conwell Seminary last month, claimed that 900,000 Christians were murdered for their faith in the past 10 years. Academics said that they arrived at the 90,000 figure by estimating the killings of Christians between 2006 and 2015 and dividing the total by 10.

Open Doors, however, reported that a total of 1,207 Christians were killed for their faith between November 2015 and October 2016, which is less than two percent of CSGC's figure.

In an interview with BBC World Service's More or Less program, Open Doors director of research Dr. Ron Boyd-MacMillan noted that the figure relied on witnesses, adding that it was "probably lower than it should be, but you've got to give figures you can absolutely verify."

Boyd-MacMillan also noted that the latest figure is significantly lower than the one reported in 2015 when more than 7,000 Christians were killed for their faith. He said that the decrease was the result of Boko Haram jihadists in Nigeria being routed and of some Christians in Iraq and Syria fleeing from the areas where they were at risk of being killed.

The report from CSGC noted that only 30 percent of the 90,000 were killed because of terrorism while the remaining 70 percent were killed in tribal conflicts in Africa.

In an email to its supporters, CSGC explained the definition of "martyr" used in the study.

"Our definition of 'martyr' highlights two important aspects: (1) the motivation of the killed rather than the killer; and (2) the inclusion of Christians who have died as a result of mass killings and genocides," CSGC stated.

"Martyrdom is a broad-based phenomenon not limited to state persecution that profoundly affects Christians experiencing civil war, genocide, and other conflicts," it continued.

Gina Zurlo, CSGC's assistant director, said that the study assumed that most Christians would not wish to participate in a war, so any Christians who died would have been targeted for their faith.

Germany-based Professor Thomas Schirrmacher, president of the International Council of the International Society for Human Rights, said the figure in the CSGC report was misleading because it gave "the impression that somebody counted 90,000 cases."

He said that the higher figures served as a reminder of how grave the problem is, adding that accurate statistics still do not exist. He estimated that less than 10,000 Christians are killed for their faith annually.