LAKE FOREST, CA (ANS) —While the world's eyes were rivetedto Syria and Iraq in 2014, life for Christians worsened even more profoundly inAfrica, according to an annual report on religious freedom.

According to World Watch Monitor,the situation deteriorated most rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa, in countrieswhere Islamic extremism is the main source of pressure upon Christians,according to the 2015 World Watch List, released Jan. 7 by Open DoorsInternational (ODI). ODI is a charity that supports Christians who face hostilities becauseof their faith.

The list, published annually since 1993, ranks the 50countries considered to be most hostile to Christians during the 12 monthsending Oct. 31, 2014. It surveys religious freedom for Christians in five areasof life: private; family; community; national; and the church. It also measuresviolence against Christians, and 2014 was a very violent year.

According to Open Doors, the 4,344 Christians reported tohave been killed during the 12-month period are more than double the 2,123killed in 2013, and more than triple the 1,201 killed the year before that. Themajority of the deaths in the most recent period occurred in Nigeria, where2,484 people were killed, and in Central African Republic, where 1,088 peoplewere killed.

"Overall, the survey scores assigned to the 50countries rose by nearly 10 percent compared to the 2014 scores, indicating agenerally rising tide of antagonism toward Christians in the 50 countries mosthostile to believers," said World Watch Monitor.

"The report also noted a resurgence of anti-Christianhostility in parts of Asia and Latin America, two regions where conditions hadbeen comparatively favorable in previous years.

"And for the first time in three years, Mexico is backon the list, at No. 38."

The main engine: Islamic extremism

In 40 of the 50 countries on the World Watch List, WWL, OpenDoors said "Islamic extremism" was a primary source of pressure onChristian life.

"It is fair to say that Islamic extremism has twoglobal centers of gravity. One in the Arab Middle East, but the other is insub-Saharan Africa, and even Christian majority states are experiencingunprecedented levels of exclusion, discrimination, and even violence,"wrote Ron Boyd-MacMillan, director of strategic trends and research for OpenDoors International, in a report supplementing the World Watch List.

Though violence against Christians made headlines throughout2014, it was largely the same in most countries, with the exception of Iraq,Syria and Nigeria, according to the report. Instead, pressure on Christiansincreased mostly in less obvious ways: being shunned by family; losing a joband rejection within the community for faith related reasons. Such"squeeze" tactics, the report said, are especially hard on formerMuslims who have embraced Christianity.

"It's important to understand this extremism is notonly from the violent jihadists like the militant Islamist group Boko Haram,but Islamists who seek to take over cultures by stealth," Boyd-McMillanwrote.

Influence of 'Islamic State'

Daily life for Christians in most of the top 50 countriesbecame more difficult during the past year, but the situation especiallydeteriorated in the northern provinces of Nigeria, where the Boko Haraminsurgency has followed the lead of the so-called "Islamic State" andproclaimed a caliphate of its own. (I was born in this part of Nigeria ofBritish missionary parents.)

Ranking No. 10 on the World Watch List, Nigeria's levels ofpressure and violence against Christians are at a record high.

In April, the abduction of the 276 school girls in the BornoState village of Chibok commanded worldwide attention, but the mass abductionwas only part of a wider anti-Christian front, one which killed nearly 2,500Christians across the country. Open Doors said the links between al-Qaeda inthe Maghreb and Boko Haram, as well as with other Islamic terrorist groups inthe region, make it likely the church will suffer more violent persecution inthe near future. The charity said violence from Hausa-Fulani Muslim herdsmen inthe country's Middle Belt region is expected to add to the threat, as ispre-election violence later this year.

Tiffany Lynch, a policy analyst for the U.S. Commission onInternational Religious Freedom, an advisory body to Congress, drew adistinction between the apparent expansionist ambitions of Islamic State andthe six-year-old Boko Haram uprising in Nigeria.

"ISIL fits in with greater national security concernsin the Middle East, whereas Boko Haram is a domestic Islamic insurgency withregional concerns," said Lynch, using a common name for Islamic State, inan email to World Watch Monitor. "More importantly, ISIL attacks onChristians and other non-Muslims are part of a broader question about thefuture of these small religious communities in the region and theirhomeland."

According to Open Doors, al-Shabaab, a Somalia-basedmilitant Islamist group affiliated with al-Qaeda, and other extremist movementsin Eastern Africa also are drawing inspiration from the tactics of IslamicState.

Asia increasingly difficult; North Korea still No.1

With the exception of North Korea, which has been No. 1 onthe World Watch List since its inception, Open Doors had been reportingimproving conditions for Christians in the Far East in recent years.

The trend reversed course in 2014, when every country on thelist but Laos and Sri Lanka received a higher persecution score. China, Indiaand Malaysia registered the largest increases. Twelve countries from East Asiaand the Far East are among the top 50.

Open Doors said some fundamentalist Hindu and Buddhistleaders feel threatened by the growth of Christianity.

The score assigned to No. 21 India is the highest ever."The season of impunity for anti-Christian action in India has startedsince the world's largest democracy elected a Hindu extremist Prime Ministerwho has declared open season on Christians," Open Doors said.

In China, which rose to No. 29, scores of churches wereattacked, with some being destroyed and about 300 crosses being removed. OpenDoors said the fact that the communist government is still undecided about howto deal with the church is good news because it suggests a debate about churchliberties is happening within the Chinese government.

Latin America

Mexico is the highest entrant on the WWL this year at No.38. The report said the growth of organized crime in the country, as well asbetter reporting of anti-Christian violence, helps to explain the country'sreturn to the list. The sources of persecution are complex in the predominantlyChristian country. Open Doors said weak states allow local forces, such as drugtraffickers, to hold sway. When Christians stand against the trade, they aretargeted.

The World Watch List, the only annual global survey ofChristian religious freedom, ranks countries using eight primary"persecution engines" to explain why the Christian community becomesespecially targeted in certain circumstances.

The "engines" are not always specificallyanti-Christian as they include forces such as "dictatorial paranoia"and "organized corruption," which sweeps up people of all faiths.

"Dictatorial paranoia is the second-most prevalentforce making life difficult for Christians, and is a primary source ofpersecution in 13 countries, including North Korea, according to the list.North Korean citizens who are discovered to be Christian face long prison termsor execution," continued World Watch Monitor.

"Against the backdrop of media coverage of violence andbeheadings in the Middle East, Open Doors said new co-operative relationshipsbeing forged between Muslims and Christians could have long term benefits. Thecharity said the crisis is forging a new level of inter-faith respect aspressured minorities have been forced to live and work together."

For more information, please go to World Watch Monitor.