How Often are Christians Prosecuted for Evangelizing

The conservative Christian site I review tells often of Christians prosecuted in countries dominated by either Islam or Hinduism. Once in a while there is an interesting case involving Christianity where one doesn't expect it. There is one going on in Finland. It is about a public official and Catholic Bishop.

The case is headlined as Christian persecution. What it is about, however, is picking out a group in Finish society and demonizing them. The group, as we might predict, is gay and trans. The public official and Bishop were fined for expressing the old saw that the Bible only finds two genders thus finding trans not Christians.

In the U.S. we experience cycles of hatred and discrimination and, eventually, try to correct. There was a time in the South when a real Christian opposed ending slavery and later opposed ending segregation. After all, God put different races on different continents with the intention they not mix. Certainly, they were not to marry and produce mixed race children.

As readers know our country made various attempts to end this mean-spirited thinking, even though it was thought by millions to be Christian. Now, Finland is trying to do the same with trans and running into the same accusation it is practicing discrimination against Christianity. 

Western societies mostly promote both freedom of speech and fair treatment of all races and genders. The two principles, of course, run into each other and there has not been a perfect balance. Finland is trying to find it. France prohibited religious hair covering because it was thought to impose religion on others. In the U.S. we continue to look for the perfect balance.