Around 400 million Christians worldwide are persecuted, making Christians the most persecuted religious community on Earth.

Omissions

• The underlying figure is 388 million (Open Doors World Watch List 2026); 'around 400 million' is a rounding, matching the Holy See's 'almost 400 million' phrasing rather than an exact statistic.
• The figure refers to Christians experiencing 'high levels of persecution and discrimination' under Open Doors' specific methodology, not necessarily active persecution in the legal sense for all 388 million.
• The claim that Christians are 'the most persecuted religious community' rests on Open Doors' World Watch List ranking (Christians rank #1) and Holy See advocacy framing; this ranking is methodology-dependent and has been disputed by some scholars and organisations, so it is an interpretation rather than a universally accepted fact.
• All cited sources (Open Doors WWL 2026, January 2026; Holy See statement, March 2026) predate the session date of 2026-07-08, so the MEP could have known them.

Sources

• PrimaryOpen Doors International (World Watch List 2026)388 million. Christians around the world suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith. (World Watch List 2026)
• SecondaryOpen Doors USA — 5 Things You Need to Know About the 2026 World Watch ListMore than 388 million Christians face high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith. That's one in seven Christians, worldwide.
• SecondaryVatican News (Church news, January 2026)Open Doors: Number of Christians persecuted worldwide rises to 388 million. As Open Doors releases its World Watch List 2026, reporting a new high.
• SecondaryVatican News (Holy See to UN, March 2026)"Almost 400 million Christians worldwide face persecution or violence, making them the most persecuted religious community in the world." (Holy See permanent observer, Geneva)