Three Christian families who refused to take part in animist worship in India have been assaulted and threatened with death.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports that the attack happened in the village of Salepal in the Bastar District of Chhattisgarh on 4 May, when local animists began worshipping on a field belonging to the Christians. When the Christians objected, the animists threatened to take their land.
The next day, the Christians were severely beaten and told to renounce their faith or die. They have now taken refuge in another village as the police have ignored their plight.
Meanwhile, pastors and their families in some parts of India are being excluded from government food aid during the covid-19 lockdown, Barnabas Fund reports. In one state, local Hindu extremists who organised the food distribution refused to give food to a pastor unless he renounced his faith in Jesus – leaving him to return empty-handed to his hungry family.