A growing wave of nationalism in Turkey is creating challenges for the country’s Christian minority, who face social and institutional pressures, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported, citing Open Doors’ World Watch List 2025.
The annual report evaluates and ranks countries where Christians face the most persecution, analyzing factors such as societal discrimination, government restrictions and violence against Christian communities. The 2025 Open Doors World Watch List ranked Turkey among the 50 countries where Christians face the most challenges in practicing their faith. This year’s findings for Turkey highlight a troubling mix of cultural, legal and social challenges that continue to marginalize the Christian population.
According to the report despite Christianity’s long historical presence in the region, it is often viewed as a negative Western influence, a perception that has persisted even among moderate Muslims and secular Turks. Members of Christian communities, such as Greek and Armenian Orthodox believers, are often regarded as outsiders. Their churches regularly face bureaucratic hurdles and legal challenges aimed at restricting their religious practices.
Armenian and Assyrian (Syriac) communities face heightened pressure in southeastern Turkey, where ethnic and religious tensions intersect. Many Christians from these groups have left their ancestral regions, relocating to western Turkey to escape ongoing hostilities tied to rivalries between the Turkish military and Kurdish resistance movements.
While converting from Islam to Christianity is not illegal, converts face intense familial and societal pressure, including threats of divorce, disinheritance and being disowned.
The report highlighted pervasive everyday discrimination against Christians in Turkey. Religious affiliation is recorded on Turkish ID cards, enabling bias against Christian job applicants.
Protestant Christians, primarily concentrated in western coastal cities such as Istanbul, also encounter challenges. While these urban centers are generally more liberal and secular, pockets of social conservatism and Islamic influence still subject Christians to hostility. Rural and inland areas are described as being even less tolerant.
The Protestant community remains a specific target, with several expatriate Christians subjected to entry bans, forcing them to leave Turkey. Additionally, Christian asylum seekers and refugees — many of whom are converts from Islam — face widespread discrimination and abuse. This group includes individuals from countries such as Iran, Afghanistan and Syria who fled persecution in their home countries only to encounter further challenges in Turkey.
The report documented a rise in targeted attacks on church buildings over the past year, along with two reported killings of Christians. While overall societal attitudes toward the Christian community remain largely unchanged, the high levels of social and systemic discrimination continue to be a serious concern.