What Christians in India face
Reported pressure on Christians across India.
A decade of rising pressure
India is among the 15 hardest countries to be a Christian.
12th
Of 50 on the World Watch List
India scored 84 of 100 in 2026.
Open Doors, World Watch List 2026 India Country Dossier (accessed 2026) (opens in a new tab)747
Incidents documented in 2025
Confirmed out of more than 915 reports.
Evangelical Fellowship of India, Religious Liberty Commission Yearly Report 2025 (accessed 2026) (opens in a new tab)1,622
Christians detained in one year
Held without trial, arrested or sentenced, to September 30, 2025.
Open Doors, World Watch List 2026 India Country Dossier (accessed 2026) (opens in a new tab)177
Incidents in Chhattisgarh in 2025
Second only to Uttar Pradesh (217).
Evangelical Fellowship of India, Religious Liberty Commission Yearly Report 2025 (accessed 2026) (opens in a new tab)8.8 / 10
Social hostility involving religion
Second highest of the 25 most populous countries, after Nigeria.
Pew Research Center, “Religious restrictions in the 25 most populous countries in 2023,” published June 15, 2026 (accessed 2026) (opens in a new tab)7th year
Recommended as a Country of Particular Concern
USCIRF’s label for the most serious violators of religious freedom.
USCIRF, India Country Brief, August 2026 (accessed 2026) (opens in a new tab)
Incidents by year
Incidents reported to the United Christian Forum helpline, by year.
- 2020: 279 incidents
- 2021: 505 incidents
- 2022: 601 incidents
- 2023: 734 incidents
- 2024: 834 incidents
One helpline’s count. Part of the rise is that more people now know the helpline.
United Christian Forum, reported by Radio Veritas Asia, April 11, 2025 (accessed 2026) (opens in a new tab)Anti-conversion laws in 13 of India’s 28 states
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Chhattisgarh
- Gujarat
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
- Jharkhand
- Karnataka
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Odisha
- Rajasthan
- Uttar Pradesh
- Uttarakhand
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh has no anti-conversion law, but the Evangelical Fellowship of India recorded 13 incidents there in 2025.
USCIRF, India Country Brief, August 2026 (accessed 2026) (opens in a new tab)