Several Items of Interest

Christianity "Close to Extinction" in the Middle East
According to a new study by the think tank Civitas, Christianity faces being wiped out in the "biblical heartands" in the Middle East because of mounting persecution of Christians  -  with militant Islam the primary reason for the oppression, The Telegraph reports.  The report, entitled "Christianophobia," warns that Christians suffer greater hostility around the world than any other religious group, and asserts that politicians have been "blind" to the extent of violence faced by Christians in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.  It also claims that oppression in Muslim countries is often ignored because of a fear that criticism will be seen as "racism." Study author Rupert Shortt, a journalist and visiting fellow of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford, wrote: "Exposing and combating the problem ought in my view to be political priorities across large areas of the world.  That this is not the case tells us much about a questionable hierarchy of victimhood.  The blind spot displayed by governments and other influential players is causing them to squander a broader opportunity. Religious freedom is the canary in the mine for human rights generally."


Fathers Vanish in U.S. as Single Motherhood Continues to Rise
In every U.S. state, the portion of families where children have two parents, rather than one, has dropped significantly over the past decade, the Washington Times reports.  Even as the country added 1600,000 families with children, the number of two-parent households decreased by 1.2 million.  Fifteen million U.S. children, or one in three, currently live without a father  -  compared to 1960 when just 11 percent of American children lived in homes without fathers. And in an America awash in crime, poverty, drugs and other problems, Vincent DiCaro of the National Fatherhood Institute ultimately points to absent fathers: "[People] look at a child in need, in poverty or failing in school, and ask, 'What can we do to help?' But what we do is ask, 'Why does that child need help in the first place?' And the answer is often because [the child lacks] a responsible and involved father."


U.N. Estimates 60,000 Killed in Syria
As the civil war in Syria nears its two-year anniversary, the United Nations estimates that more than 60,000 people have been killed, with monthly casualty figures steadily increasing, reports Yahoo!News. The death toll, based on reporting by seven different sources, is a third more than the figure of 45,000 given by activists opposed to the regime of President Bashar Assad  -  the first time that the U.N.'s estimates are higher.  "The number of casualties is much higher than we expected, and is truly shocking," said Navi Pillay, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Syria Rebels Behead Christian, Feed Him to Dogs as Fears Grow Over Islamist Atrocities
Syrian rebels beheaded a Christian man and fed his body to dogs, according to a nun who says the West is ignoring atrocities committed by Islamic extremists, ASSIST News Service reports.  According to Britain's Daily Mail, Sister Agnes-Miriam de la Croix said taxi driver Andrel Arbashe, 38, was kidnapped after his brother was heard complaining that fighters against the ruling regime behaved like bandits.  She said his headless corpse was found by the side of the road, surrounded by hungry dogs.  He had recently married and was soon to be a father. "His only crime was his brother criticized the rebels, accusing them of acting like bandits, which is what they are, " Sister Agnes-Miriam said.  According to the Daily Mail, there have been a growing number of accounts of atrocities carried out by rogue elements of the Syrian Free Army, which opoposes Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and is recognized by the West as the legitimate leadership. "The free and democratic world is supporting extremists," Sister Agnes-Miriam said.  "They want to impose sharia law and create an Islamic state inSyria . . .The uprising has been hijacked by Islamist mercenaries who are more interested in fighting a holy war than in changing the government.  It has turned into a sectarian conflict  -  one in which Christians are paying a high price."  An estimated 300,000 Syrian Christians have been displaced in the conflict, with 80,000 forced out of the Homs area alone.  Many have fled abroad, raising fears that Syrian's Christian community may vanish like others across the Middle East.  Since the uprising against the Assad regime began in March 2011, some 60,000 have been killed.

15 Christians Have Throats Slit by Boko Haram Extremists in Northern Nigeria
At least 15 Christians were killed by suspected Boko Haram militants in northern Nigeria on Dec. 28 when the militants snuck into Musari, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Maiduguri, early in the morning and slit the throats of the Christians in their own homes, International Christian Concern reports.  Nigerian military officials  -  who often under-report the casualties in Boko Haram attacks  -  put the death toll at five, but residents of Musari and other relief organizations put the number at 15.  According to a resident, the militants were specifically targeting Christians because they  broke into only Christian homes in an area of Musari that is predominantly Christian.  A relief offical added that the victims "were selected because they were all Christians, some of whom had moved into the neighborhood from other parts of Maiduguri hit by Boko Haram attacks."  Since beginning its armed insurgency in 2009 in a campaign to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria's north, Boko Haram has killed more than 3,000 people in Nigeria.  Christians in the region continue to live in a constant state of fear amid an increasing number of bombings, shootings and violent attacks.

Nigeria Leader: Islamists Won't Stop Christians From Worshiping
Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan told Christians gathered at a church in Nigeria's capital on Sunday that "the church is one of the main targets" of terrorist attacks by the Islamist group Boko Haram, but "if the idea of Boko Haram is to stop Nigerians from worshiping God, they will not succeed."  Boko Haram carried out several attacks over Christmas, including Christmas Eve attacks on two churches and the slaughter of 15 Christians in the village of Musari, but Nigerian security agencies suppressed other planned attacks on Christmas Day and during the Christmas holdiay, Jonathan said.  He added that the government would do everything possible to curtail the activities of Boko Haram in the new year. "With your persistent prayer we shall defeat them," he said.  The Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans has been urging the U.S. to label Boko Haram a foreign terrorist organization, a move that could hurt its funding and support.

( Religion Today Daily Headlines, Jan. 2, 3, & 4)