Have you been persecuted for your faith lately? Being called a "fundamentalist" or "intolerant" doesn't count. Neither does being unable to sing an explicitly Christian song at a school Christmas play, or shopping at a store with banners reading "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas"
Those issues are annoyances and should be challenged, but nobody suffered physically as a result of them
If you answered "no," as nearly every American should, then it's one of the primary reasons we should be thankful today. We should cherish our religious liberty and remember the many worldwide who aren't so blessed:
• In Iran, a woman who ran a tailoring business was teaching three girls how to sew, according to a report by the Christian news service OneNewsNow. During their lessons, the woman talked about her Christian faith, but one of the girls was from a Muslim family that became upset over the conversations. The sewing shop was broken into, equipment was destroyed, and the woman was beaten and threatened with death. She was then taken to court, and a judge said her persecutors were within their rights to attack her. Converts from Islam to Christianity in Iran are still subject to the death penalty
• In North Korea, the Christian persecution watchdog organization Voice of the Martyrs reports that nine Korean Christians have been arrested because of their faith. The government counters by saying that they were arrested for espionage. The whereabouts of the nine are unknown, and some worry they may have been executed
"Following Jesus Christ is considered treason in North Korea, where the government mandates that worship is reserved for deceased dictator Kim Il Sung and his son, the current dictator, Kim Jong Il," said Todd Nettleton, spokesman for Voice of the Martyrs
• Open Doors, another Christian rights group, has created a list of the top 10 worst offenders. Coming in first is North Korea, followed by Saudi Arabia, Iran, Somalia, Maldives, Yemen, Bhutan, Vietnam, Laos and Afghanistan
In Saudi Arabia, public non-Muslim worship is prohibited, although members of the royal family say Christians are free to worship in their homes. But according to Open Doors, Christians regularly are arrested and punished
Persecution isn't exclusive to Christians. The most notable recent example -- the Buddhist monks in Myanmar who peacefully protested against the military junta that rules the country. Many were beaten and imprisoned, and now many monasteries are depleted of monks because of fear of reprisal by the government
Religious persecution was a crucial force in our country's creation. Our forefathers came to America long ago fleeing it. For their faith they endured loss of possessions, restricted worship and endangerment to their lives. They wanted to create a country where people could worship God without government interference, and that's exactly what they did
We should carry on their tradition by treating people of all faiths with respect. We can't win true converts by force. We win people over by demonstrating the value and principles of our faith in daily living, and by how we treat others
