Source: International Christian Concern, July 7, 2025
There aren’t many reports of Christians being attacked in Bhutan. For that matter, news of any sort from Bhutan is relatively scarce.
And yet Bhutan, an ostensibly serene little Buddhist hermit kingdom that emphasizes “Gross National Happiness,” currently ranks as more oppressive than Egypt toward Christians. An added factor here is that most Christians in Bhutan are ethnic Nepalis.
Bhutan has a complicated relationship with its ethnic Nepali population, regardless of religion. Toward the end of the 20th century, many native Bhutanese became concerned that ethnic Nepalis were gaining too much influence within their country.
So, the Bhutanese government began rescinding the citizenship of more than 100,000 ethnic Nepalis (which is no small number in a country with less than 1 million persons overall), then seizing their property and expelling them from the country.
The full story reports that the country’s Christians, whose numbers are growing, meet in private settings and are both joyful and fearful.
Two more stories from East Asia:
- See Refugee Church Finds a New Home in Texas, a story about the so-called “Mayflower Church,” believers who fled China seeking a new place to worship freely (Outreach Magazine).
- Read Muslim Mob Attacks Christian Youth Retreat. This is one of several recent events related to the contentious question of where Indonesian Christians can practice their faith (Christianity Today).