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The worlds most widely followed faith is gathering persecutors, even non-Christians should worry about that. 世界上最流行的宗教信仰正在各处受到压制，即使非基督徒也应对此关切。 CHRISTIANITY is growing almost as fast as humanity itself, but its 2.2 billion adherents cannot count on safety in numbers. That is partly because the locus of the worlds largest religion is shifting to hotter (in several senses) parts of the world. According to a report published by the Pew Forum in December, the Christian share of the population of sub-Saharan Africa has soared over the past century, from 9% to 63%. Meanwhile, the think-tank says, the Christian proportion of Europeans and people in the Americas has dropped, respectively, from 95% to 76% and from 96% to 86%. 基督教徒的数量几乎和世界人口数量同步增长，但是，22亿信徒的众多数量并不能自然地保障他们的安全。部分原因是，这个世界上最大宗教的地域越益向世界更热的地方扩展（这里热字有多种含义）。据Pew论坛今年12月发表的一份报告，黑非洲（撒哈拉以南）的基督教人口占总人口的比例，在上个世纪中从9%猛增至63%。与此同时，欧洲和美国人口中基督徒的比例却分别从95%和96%降到76%和86%。 But moving from the jaded north to the dynamic south does not portend an easy future. In Nigeria scores of Christians have died in Islamist bomb attacks, targeting Christmas prayers. In Iran and Pakistan Christians are on death row, for apostasyquitting Islamor blasphemy. Dozens of churches in Indonesia have been attacked or shut. Two-thirds of Iraqs pre-war Christian population have fled. In Egypt and Syria, where secular despots gave Christianity a shield of sorts, political upheaval and Muslim zeal threaten ancient Christian groups. Not all Christianitys woes are down to Muslims. The faith faces harassment in formally communist China and Vietnam. In India Hindu nationalists want to penalise Christians who make converts. In the Holy Land local churches are caught between Israeli encroachment on their property and Islamist bids to monopolise Palestinian life. Followers of Jesus may yet become a rarity in his homeland. | 
