While debates about freedom of religion and speech often feel urgent here in Australia, events overseas remind us just how high the stakes can be for Christians around the world.

In recent weeks, reports have emerged from Armenia – considered the world’s oldest Christian nation – of growing state interference in church affairs.

Clergy who have criticised government policy have reportedly been arrested and imprisoned, and church leaders have warned of increasing pressure on the independence of the Armenian Apostolic Church. For a nation whose identity is deeply intertwined with Christianity, these developments are deeply troubling. When the state seeks to silence religious leaders or control church life, freedom of religion itself is under threat.

At the same time, violence against Christians continues unabated in parts of Nigeria. In recent attacks, Islamic State affiliates and other extremist groups have killed Christians in targeted assaults on villages and communities.

Families have been murdered, homes destroyed, and entire communities left traumatised simply because of their faith. These attacks followed renewed international attention on ISIS activity, including U.S. strikes on terrorist targets at Christmas – strikes aimed at groups responsible for slaughtering Christians and other religious minorities.

Australia supported those actions, recognising the real and ongoing threat posed by extremist violence.

These stories are confronting. They remind us that religious persecution is not a historical relic, nor a distant abstraction. For millions of Christians worldwide, faith is lived under threat of imprisonment, violence, or death.

Against this backdrop, it is important to keep perspective. While Australians may face legal, professional, or social consequences for expressing their faith, Christians elsewhere are paying a far higher price. That reality should deepen our gratitude for the freedoms we still enjoy, even as we remain vigilant in defending them.

At HRLA, we work to protect freedom of religion, conscience, and speech in Australia. We do so knowing that these freedoms cannot be taken for granted. History shows that  religious liberty is fragile and may be eroded gradually through law or violently through persecution.

Remembering the suffering of Christians overseas should strengthen our resolve here at home: to defend freedom peacefully, lawfully, and with compassion, so that faith may be lived openly without fear – and never under the shadow of violence.