As it Continues Closing Churches, Algeria Awaits its First Papal Visit

A leading figure of ancient Christianity, Saint Augustine, came from a land now known as Algeria. The region remained heavily Christian until the onset of jihadist invasions of the 7th century. Their influence was lasting. Today, more than 98% of Algeria’s 48 million people are Muslim.

During the early years of the 21st century, evangelical Christianity made significant strides in Algeria, particularly among the ethnic Kabylians, native to the mountainous region of Kabylia, also known as “Kabylie,” in northern Algeria.

Though only a small minority of ethnic Kabylians are Christian, they have a far higher proportion of Christians than the rest of Algeria.

Peter Augustin, who operates a social media account for Kabyle culture in the U.K., said he doesn’t have precise figures but suspects that Kabyle people living abroad have a higher Christian proportion than those in Algeria.

“Many of them have emigrated to countries like France or Canada, where they can freely practice their faith,” he said.

Though 21st-century Algeria has seen some incidents of anti-Christian violence, the violence nowhere near approaches the frequency seen in parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

But it seems that persecution has indeed increased in recent years. Though the Christian minority has not lost its faith, more than 40 Protestant churches have closed in less than a decade.

Augustin said that only one Protestant church remains open in Algeria.

Amid this disturbing trend, Pope Leo XIV has announced his intention to visit Algeria this spring following the conclusion of Ramadan.

No reigning pope has ever set foot in Algeria.

This unprecedented visit “could be a game-changer for the country’s Christians,” Augustin said. He expects it will “bring comfort to Algeria’s small Christian community” and provide a chance to “strengthen relations with the Muslim world and promote inter-religious dialogue.”

Augustin said he thinks it’s possible the papal visit could “help alleviate” the type of legal restrictions that have “led to the closure of churches and the harassment of Christians.”

Most Christians in Algeria are converts from Islam. And because many of them are ethnic Kabyles, the authorities tend to view Christianity as a rejection of the Algerian identity they expect them to adopt.

Augustin agreed with reports that Christians in Algeria are facing increased harassment. He cited reasons including “rising Islamist sentiment” and a tendency to view Christianity as a “Western import.”

The closing of churches is likely Algeria’s most vivid recent sign of rising hostility. The period of crackdown began in 2017, with authorities more rigidly enforcing preexisting laws that regulate non-Muslim religious practice.

The ensuing years have seen “tightened restrictions on non-Muslim religious groups, making it more difficult for Christians to practice their faith, organize events, or even gather,” Augustin said. He added that non-Muslim houses of worship are required to renew their registration, which is often refused.

Algerian authorities have also sought to suppress online Christian activities. In December 2024, they shut down a Christian social media group that had roughly 50,000 followers.

More than 50 Christians in Algeria have faced legal prosecution for religious activity in recent years. Today, “many Christians are forced to practice their faith in secret,” Augustin said.

In the U.S. Department of State’s most recent list of nations that consistently violate religious freedom, Algeria has not been designated a Country of Particular Concern (CPC). Still, it is on the Special Watch List. This category acknowledges nations that persecute religious minorities, but less severely than CPCs.

The Christian Kabyle Coalition has requested that the U.S. government classify Algeria as a CPC. The coalition also recommended specific actions, including targeted sanctions that would freeze assets and impose travel bans on relevant high-ranking officials.

Whether or not the U.S. implements sanctions “depends on political will,” Augustin said. And there is the possibility that “strategic interests,” particularly those involving counter-terrorism cooperation, might take precedence over “advocating for human rights.”

Algeria — which, geographically speaking, is the largest country in both Africa and the Arab world — is important to regional security, particularly in the ongoing fight against the terrorist group Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

The Algerian government does not release any official stats on religious demographics. Estimates of the country’s Christian population vary widely, typically between 80,000 and 300,000.

Catholics in Algeria — most of whom are migrants from sub-Saharan nations — generally receive less religious-based animosity than Protestants.

But there are clear restrictions. In October 2022, authorities shut down Caritas Algeria, the Catholic humanitarian charity. And in response to this forced closure, the archbishop of Algiers, Jean-Paul Vesco, said the church will “continue to do good without making noise” and does not want to “come into conflict with the authorities.”

If the region’s highest-ranking member of the Catholic hierarchy must take such a submissive tone, you might imagine what things are like for a regular person who decides to convert.

Story by R. Cavanaugh

The post As it Continues Closing Churches, Algeria Awaits its First Papal Visit first appeared on International Christian Concern.