Turkey is a Muslim country, but for the most part, it has maintained a secular government. The recent election, however, was a bit of a referendum on that. Todd Nettleton of The Voice of the Martyrs says Erdogan had campaigned on closing the gap.
"Erdogan has moved the country in a more Islamic direction from a government perspective, so I think most Christians would say, 'Hey, we would've preferred the other guy,'" Nettleton relays.
Though he says Turkey is not the worst country in terms of Christian persecution, it is still not easy to be a faithful follower of Christ there.
"Turkish Christians aren't being regularly thrown into prison. They're not being regularly martyred for their faith, although that has happened over the last 20 years," the persecution watchdog notes. "But they are still paying a high price."
That often happens at home.
"Most persecution of Christians that happens in Turkey is not coming from the federal government," Nettleton explains. "It is coming at the local level. It's coming at the family level."
Turkish Christians, for example, are often denied jobs. They are sometimes kicked out of their Muslim homes or denied housing. So Nettleton is asking for prayer that Turkish believers would stay the course.
"Let's pray for boldness for our Turkish brothers and sisters, that even in a culture that says to be Turkish is to be Muslim, even in that environment, let's pray that they can be bold witnesses for Christ," he implores.
