Christians around the world continue to suffer persecution for their faith in record numbers. Following a century when more Christians were martyred than in the previous twenty centuries combined, Christians continue to be killed, tortured, exiled, and to see their property destroyed from North Korea to Nigeria, China to Egypt, and India to Indonesia.

Under Caesar’s Sword: Christians in Response to Persecution is an online course that explores the plight of Christians and challenges participants to respond in solidarity as Christian disciples. Sessions introduce the scope and nature of the global persecution of Christians; the theology of persecution and martyrdom as it has developed through the Bible and subsequent tradition; strategies for responding to persecution, both through law and government and through churches and activist networks; comparisons between global persecution and threats to religious freedom in the contemporary West; and the nature of solidarity with persecuted Christians.

The course is offered through the STEP program at the McGrath Institute of Church Life at the University of Notre Dame. It was developed by the Under Caesar’s Sword project, a joint initiative of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame and the Religious Freedom Institute.

The next iteration of the course is September 2 – October 11, 2019. Registration is available now.