During the Counter-Reformation, believers were persecuted and burnt at the stake at the hand of the Catholic Inquisition, led by Lucrèce Borgia, Torqué Mada, and Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit priestly order. Countless believers lost their lives during the reformation movement led by Martin Luther and Calvin. Fleeing persecutions many believers and religious groups left Europe and migrated to the New World. North America, then populated by indigenous Indians, was the major recipient of such migration. As the opposition to Catholicism grew in Europe, the Protestant Church became stronger and through continuous struggles was finally established.
In our times, persecution of Christians is still taking place in the world, particularly in countries where the government system and heads of state are hostile to the Christian Faith. It is reported the two currents, which fuel Christian persecution today, are Communism and Muslim fundamentalism. Still now, persecutions remain common in countries such as: India, Iran, Pakistan, China, Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan, Indonesian, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ireland, North Korea, Nigeria, Cuba, etc. Persecutions of Christians in the world, throughout the past two thousands years, claimed 70 millions martyrs and 45 millions or 70% have been killed in the past century alone. Christian persecutions are well documented in history books and in Church history manuals.
