The situation created by radical Islamists in the Middle East will soon near a tipping point. Religious intolerance has become so bad that Christians risk being expunged. That’s the warning found in “Persecuted and Forgotten?,” a report published twice a year by Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic charity active in more than 145 countries. “In parts of the Middle East — particularly in Syria and Iraq — the crisis is so severe that barring significant interventions on the part of world powers, the Christian presence may disappear completely within a decade or even sooner,” the report found. “For example, there may be as few as 275,000 Christians left in Iraq, down from 1 million 12 years ago.” The authors note that the threat isn’t confined to the Middle East. Terrorist groups like Boko Haram threaten to wipe out Christians in Africa, and enclaves in Asia “look upon Christianity increasingly as a foreign ‘colonial’ import, leading to suspicion of Christians as doing the bidding of the West.”

America is increasingly distant from world affairs. As a result, it’s not just foreign relations that suffer but religious liberty as well. Aid to the Church in Need says, “The decline of Christianity … may significantly damage the prospects for peace in nations and regions where Church leaders — lay and clergy — have played important roles in promoting and providing education, community development and interfaith cooperation.” Instead of being petrified over Starbucks’ decision to leave Christmas ornaments off its holiday cups — which is well within its rights — perhaps Christians in America should demand to know why our leaders are turning a blind eye to our suffering brothers and sisters whose very existence is at stake.

You can read the report in its entirety here.