Researching persecution and martyrdom

Part 1. The external perspective

Abstract

Persecution and martyrdom can be viewed from a human rights/religious freedom perspective or from a Christian theological perspective. The author presents current research, outlines various research questions and points to academic disciplines which do or could pursue these: Why do the world religions and worldviews persecute Christians? (Religious Studies); What types of persecution are there? (Social Sciences); How can country profiles on persecution be developed? (Social Sciences); Where are Christians persecuted most today? (Geography for Mapping); How can the intensity of persecution be measured? (Sociology of Religion); What global trends can be observed in religious persecution? (Political Sciences and Futures Studies); Can martyrs be counted? (Statistics of Religion). To be continued with a theological part.