Turkey: Churches and hostility both grow

Christianity is growing steadily in Turkey, but challenges remain amidst increasing hostility, with reports claiming that foreign Christians are being denied entry into the country.

Christianity has grown exponentially in the west-Asian country, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s (CSW) Research and Advocacy Officer for the Middle East and North Africa, who told en that a total of about 100 Christians in the 1980s has grown into about 100 congregations today. However, religious minorities find themselves “increasingly vulnerable to hate speech, discrimination and intolerance”.

The Turkish church is “small and scattered, nearly invisible”, according to Forgotten Missionaries International’s (FMI) Bruce Allen, with only about 20 to 30 indigenous churches across Istanbul and Ankara, which have a combined population of 22 million.