Religious differences run deep in our pluralistic world. It may come as no surprise that such disagreements sometimes end up in violence.
Yet that rarely is the case in what might be called Christendom. Indeed, in large part there is little discrimination let alone persecution against spiritual minorities in majority Christian nations. The exceptions tend to be countries that suffered under communism or other authoritarian forms of rule.
In contrast, brutal mistreatment of religious minorities of all faiths is the norm in majority Muslim countries. The degree of harm varies—Christians live better in the small Gulf States than in Saudi Arabia, for instance, where not a single church is allowed to exist. Yet only under a secular dictator like Iraq's Saddam Hussein did religious minorities appear to enjoy anything approaching legal equality.
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