It’s Wednesday, October 18th, A.D. 2023. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. ([email protected])

By Jonathan Clark

India has jailed 400 Christians

International Christian Concern reports officials in India have jailed nearly 400 Christians since 2020. The rise in imprisonments comes as nearly half of the country’s states have passed anti-conversion laws.

The persecution watchdog noted in a recent report, “Legally, the rise of anti-conversion laws criminalizes minority religious expression by making it illegal to convert, or attempt to convert, members of another faith.”

Officials in India target Christians in particular with these laws. Believers also face hundreds of mob attacks every year in the Hindu-majority country.

Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ in India, ranked 11th on the Open Doors’ World Watch List of nations where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven.”

India says “No!” to homosexual faux marriage

Speaking of India, the country’s top court declined to legalize faux homosexual marriage yesterday.

The court left the decision to India’s parliament. This comes five years after the five-judge bench struck down a law that criminalized homosexual acts.

Despite the latest ruling, Supreme Court Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud did say, “This court has recognized that equality demands that queer unions and queer persons are not discriminated against.”

Taiwan is the only jurisdiction in Asia that has legalized such ceremonies.

Roman Catholic Church on decline in America

In the U.S., the Roman Catholic Church is seeing declines across most states.

Pastor Ryan Burge presented the data in a piece last Thursday.

An estimated 17.5% of Americans now identify as Catholic, down from 21.5% in 2008.

The share of Catholics who attend mass at least weekly is also down. Mass attendance among Catholics is now about 25%, down from 50% in the early 1970s.

However, parts of Florida and Texas are seeing a resurgence of Catholic identification as the Hispanic share of the population increases in those areas.

Lowest scores on A.C.T. college admissions test

American high school students scored their lowest in three decades on the [American College Testing] college admissions test this year.

The A.C.T. score covers English, math, reading, and science. The composite score for students this year was 19.5 out of 36, the lowest since 1991.

The academic scores have declined for six years now and especially since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.

A.C.T. scores for public school students have been on the decline for decades. Meanwhile, scores for homeschooled and private-school students have increased over the same time and have consistently been higher than public school scores.

Planned Parenthood closes another abortion mill

And finally, another Planned Parenthood abortion mill shut down permanently last week.

Thanks to the work of a 40 Days for Life prayer campaign, the abortion mill in Council Bluffs, Iowa is closed.

The pro-life ministry announced in a blog post, “Planned Parenthood is reeling in Iowa, as NINE of the abortion giant's facilities in the Hawkeye State have closed FOREVER following a 40 Days for Life campaign! . . . The Council Bluffs Planned Parenthood is the 146th abortion facility to go under following a 40 Days for Life vigil.”

And at least 100 babies have been saved from abortion nation-wide during this fall’s 40 Days for Life campaign!

Proverbs 24:11 says, “Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, ‘Surely we did not know this,’ does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to