Good day. Today is Friday, January the 16th, 2026, and this is Denison Forum's Daily

Article podcast. The Daily Article is authored today by Senior Editor for Theology, Dr. Ryan

Denison. I'm Chris Elkins, narrator. Open Doors recently released its updated list of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian.

The top 10 remained largely unchanged with North Korea, Somalia, and Yemen continuing to hold the top three spots.

However, Syria broke into the list, rising from number 18 last year to 6 in the latest iteration.

Well, there are a number of factors that go into Open Doors rankings.

The primary areas they consider are the extent to which the nation negatively affects a believer's private life, public life, family, community, and church.

Syria ranked high, meaning persecution was rampant in all five,

with the threat of imminent violence tacked on for good measure.

In short, it's become one of the most dangerous places to live as a Christian,

and there are few signs of improvement.

However, that is not the case for Syrians in every part of the country, and the reason why could soon prove crucial for their fellow believers in Iran.

Open Doors notes in their entry on Syria that the pressure Christians face varies by region, with the northeast

generally safer and the greatest pressure coming near the northwest and in the nation's two largest

cities, Aleppo and Damascus.

When the new government took over following the fall of the Assad regime in December of

2024, they met with Christian leaders

and pledged to become more moderate than their predecessors. However, that has not been the case.

The government, under the leadership of Ahmad al-Shara, instead established Islamic law as the

foundation of the transitional constitution. While that should not come as too much of a

surprise, and the nation's leaders appear to still be wrestling with all that should entail, it has

opened the door for extremist groups to expand their activities in several parts of the country.

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