Ways pastors have addressed persecution of Christians
Percent of U.S. Protestant pastors, 2025 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: Encouraged congregation to pray for persecuted Christians (86%). Lowest: Showed a video in a worship service (16%).
- Encouraged congregation to pray for persecuted Christians: 86%
- Prayed for them in a worship service: 85%
- Talked about modern global persecution in a sermon: 66%
Source: Lifeway Research, Christian Persecution Reaches Extreme Levels in Several Nations · Based on a 2025 Lifeway Research study of Protestant pastors. Article published 2026-02-23.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: Encouraged congregation to pray for persecuted Christians (86%). Lowest: Showed a video in a worship service (16%). Encouraged congregation to pray for persecuted Christians: 86%. Prayed for them in a worship service: 85%. Talked about modern global persecution in a sermon: 66%.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2025. Source: Lifeway Research, Christian Persecution Reaches Extreme Levels in Several Nations (https://research.lifeway.com/2026/02/23/christian-persecution-reaches-extreme-levels-in-several-nations/).
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About this data
Leader Insights collects statistics about U.S. churches from published research by organizations such as Lifeway Research, Barna Group, Springtide, the American Bible Society and PRRI. Every number is checked against the wording of the original source before it is published, and each statistic links back to the study it came from. Figures are reproduced from the publishers named above; see the source for full methodology.