Lela Gilbert

Senior Fellow for International Religious Freedom

Lela Gilbert is Senior Fellow for International Religious Freedom at Family Research Council, where she brings a lengthy record of advocating for persecuted believers and addressing current-day faith and freedom issues. Lela resided in Israel for ten years, from 2006 to 2017; she writes and speaks about the intensifying persecution of Christians, Antisemitism, and abuses of religious minorities across the world.

An award-winning writer, Lela has authored or co-authored more than sixty books, including Saturday People, Sunday People: Israel through the Eyes of a Christian Sojourner (Encounter Books, 2013) and Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians (Thomas Nelson, 2013 -- co-authored with Hudson Institute Fellows Nina Shea and Paul Marshall. Lela also served as editorial director of Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes are Choking Freedom Worldwide, a volume co-authored by Paul Marshall and Nina Shea (Oxford University Press, 2011).

Her work has appeared in Newsweek, Fox News, RealClearReligion, Jerusalem Post, Providence Magazine, National Review, Catholic Herald and other publications.

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Recent Activity

Abused Armenian Christians: Today and Yesterday

Andy Biggs, Joel Griffith, Lela Gilbert, Jeff Clark

Remember to Pray for Nigeria’s Endangered Christians

Artsakh: The Final Days of a Christian Community

Saturday People, Sunday People and Americans at Risk

Israel: On Our Minds and Hearts

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem and the People of Israel

Ep. 40: Unpacking the Hamas/Israel War

Israel’s 9/11: Deadly Attacks on Israel’s Vulnerable Borders

Dispatches From Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenian Christians Flee Another Genocide

Ilham Aliyev: The Face of Crimes against Armenians

Slow and Silent Genocide: Please Pray for Artsakh’s Endangered Armenian Christians

A Brief Return to Israel: Reflections and Reasons for Concern

Why Is the Biden Administration Overlooking Nigeria’s Jihadi Attacks on Christians?

Africa’s Christian Believers Face Ever-Increasing Dangers

Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh: Scarred by Genocide, Endangered by Islamist Threats

Good News from Iran: A Million New Christian Believers

Trying Times and Dangerous Days - in Africa and Beyond

Xi and Putin Raise Global Stakes while Biden Touts Reelection

It’s Time for America to Remember Nigeria

A Call to Prayer - For the Peace of Jerusalem

Christian Aviators’ Release from Mozambique Prison Raises Hopes for Full Freedom

A Disappointing Election for Nigeria's Longsuffering Christians

Earthquakes, Erdogan, and Christian Persecution

Rep. Chris Smith Challenges Biden to Redesignate Nigeria as a Violator of Religious Freedom

What Every Christian Needs to Know about Anti-Semitism

Please Offer Up a Christmas Prayer for Nigeria’s Endangered Christians

Abraham Accords, the JCPOA, and Joe Biden’s Strange Attachment to Iran

Iran's Courageous Christians Join the Revolution

The U.S. State Department’s Outrageous Betrayal of Nigeria’s Suffering Christians

Putin’s Folly: Identifying as a Defender of Religious Freedom

Dangerous Days for America’s Military

300 Iranian Christians Declare Opposition to the Islamic Republic’s Abusive Regime

To Nuke or Not to Nuke? What Will Putin Do?

Women, Christians and Their Powerful Resistance to Iran's Fanatical Regime

African Christian Converts Face Increasing Violence in Uganda and Beyond

Iran’s Long List of Hated Enemies - Including Salman Rushdie and Christian Believers

Dan Bishop, Mary Hasson, Bob Good, Lela Gilbert, David Closson

Four Christians Face Execution as Sudan Reverts to Islamist Law

360 Million Christians Face Persecution, Displacement, and Homelessness Globally

Sam Brownback, Mike Farris, Brent Keilen, Dr. Gloria Samdi-Puldu, Lela Gilbert

Surging Violence Against Nigeria's Christians Demands White House Action

Nigerian Church Massacre Highlights Dire Need for International Intervention

Why is Nigeria No Longer a 'Country of Particular Concern'?

Beaten and Burned for Praising Jesus: A Nigerian Student’s Tragic Death

Beaten and Burned for Praising Jesus: A Nigerian Student's Tragic Death

Haris Alic, Warren Davidson, Mark Tapscott, Lela Gilbert, David Closson

USCIRF: America's Watchdog On International Religious Freedom Presents Its 2022 Report

Vladimir Putin Must be Tried for War Crimes

Nigeria's Christians Face Increasing Violence Day after Day

Marjorie Jackson, Travis Weber, Arielle Del Turco, Lela Gilbert, David Closson

While Ukrainian Violence Dominates The News, The Silent Slaughter Of Nigerian Christians Continues

The Precarious Circumstances of Iran's Christians

Leah Sharibu's Grim Anniversary: Four Years in Captivity

China's Relentless Abuses -- From Tiananmen Square to Today's Olympics

Corporate America Caves to China. Main Street America Must Not.

U.S. Complicity and Complacency Endangers Christians Worldwide

On Religious Freedom Day, Let's Recommit to This Fundamental Human Right

African Christians Face Deadly Violence in 2022

Washington Watch - December 23, 2021

Listening to Christians Around the World: Do You Hear What I Hear?

Jerry Boykin, Lela Gilbert, Chip Roy, Chuck Grassley

An Urgent Letter of Particular Concern

Powerful Words about Biden's 'Unconscionable Retreat' in Nigeria

A Shocking Reversal: The US Officially Turns a Blind Eye to Nigeria's Endangered Christians

Steve Daines, Andrea Lucas, Roger Severino, Andy Biggs, Lela Gilbert

This Sunday, Pray for the 340 Million Global Christians in Harm's Way

International Christian Persecution: Remembering the Mistreated

A Hate Group Grows on Campus

Military Coup in Sudan Alarms International Christian Community

Americans Remain Stranded in Afghanistan While Biden Looks On

Why Religion And Radical Islam Are Essential To Understanding The Taliban

Why Is The US Government Blocking Refugee Flights From Afghanistan?

Afghan Christians Are Facing A Taliban Reign Of Terror

Listen: A Voice of Faith from Inside Iran's Evin Prison

The West Cannot Ignore Violence Against Nigerian Christians

Pompeo: Biden's Weak Response to an Increasingly Dangerous Iran

Israel Enters Divisive, Uncharted Waters With New PM

Persecuted Iranian Christian Mary Mohammadi Votes for Truth in Her Homeland

Twitter Blocks and Bans in Nigeria

A Personal Reflection on Israel's Never-Ending Conflict with Hamas

Iran's Deadly Grip Reaches Into Africa

The World's Faithful: Paying the Ultimate Price

John Kerry's Shocking Betrayal of U.S. Intelligence and Israel Security

It's Past Time for the U.S. to Formally Acknowledge the Armenian Genocide

The Resurgence of History's Oldest Hatred

Urgent Prayer Alert: Six Somali Christians Face Life-or-Death Trial for their Faith

Terrible News for Nigeria's Christians as Violence Increases

Burma: More Dangerous Than Ever for Religious Minorities

When will the World Respond to Jihadi Violence in Africa?

More Nigerian Schoolgirls Kidnapped while a Christian Pastor Pleads for His Life

Leah Sharibu: Held Captive 3 Years for Her Christian Faith

Choosing the Hard Path in Iran: Exclusive Interview with Mary Mohammadi

Important Update about Burma/Myanmar's Military Coup from Dave Eubank

Umar Mulinde: A Ugandan Pastor's Story of Persecution

A 2020 Retrospective: Violence Against Africa's Christians

Christmas in Nigeria: Celebration Overshadowed by Danger

Remembering Persecuted Christians at Christmas

Mike Johnson, Lela Gilbert, Mike McClure, David Closson

Nigeria Is Officially Declared a "Country of Particular Concern"—and Not a Minute Too Soon

Brutal Attack on Indonesian Christians Stirs Renewed Fears of Persecution

Christian Persecution: A Glaring Blind Spot in Nigeria and Beyond

Victor Davis Hanson, Lela Gilbert, Andrew Beckwith, Jonathan Keller

Multiple Beheadings in Mozambique: Is the World Indifferent?

Nagorno-Karabakh Survivors: "My Home Is in Ruins. I Have Nothing Left"

Please Pray With Us for Persecuted Christians Around the World

In Somalia: Christian Prisoners and Courageous Witnesses

Nagorno-Karabakh: Where Armenian Christians Are Fighting for Their Lives

Losing the Life They Once Knew: The Harrowing Plight of Coptic Christians

Violence Is Increasing Against Nigeria's Christian Communities

Armenia: An Unwelcome Conflict and a Call to Prayer

Historic Israeli Peace Agreements A Breath of Fresh Air for Middle East

Burma's Relentless Abuse of Christians and Rohingya Muslims

In North Korea, the Choice to Be a Christian Can Be Fatal

West Africa: Praying for a Miracle

Pakistan's Religious Injustice: Prayers and Pressure Needed

Erdogan And His Quest For Hagia Sophia

Robert Aderholt, Ralph Norman, Calvin Beisner, Roger Brooks, Faith McDonnell, Lela Gilbert

The Crisis of Christian Persecution in Nigeria

Hagia Sophia: From Ancient Church to Mosque

Istanbul's Hagia Sophia is Now a Mosque. What Next?

Greg Murphy, Ken Blackwell, Lela Gilbert, Abigail Shrier

Mark Green, Roger Marshall, David Closson, Lela Gilbert

Erdogan's agenda: Neo-Ottoman ambition or pan-Islamist zeal?

Andy Harris, Lela Gilbert, Quentin Van Meter, Chris Ferrara, Travis Weber

The Threat of Genocide Darkens the Future for Nigeria's Christians

It's Time to Reassess U.S. Policy Toward Turkey and Erdogan's Islamist Agenda

USCIRF Hearing: Applause and Alarm for Syria's Fledgling Northeast Government

'Black Lives Matter' Around The World, Including In Nigeria Amid Rising Violence

Joe diGenova, Lela Gilbert, Cathy Ruse, Abigail Shrier

Witnessing the growing rise of antisemitism in the US as a non Jew

Katherine Beck Johnson, Vicky Hartzler, Scott Tuner, Gordon Groseclose, Gordon Chang, Lela Gilbert

India Is A U.S. Ally While Persecuting Christians

One Christian Family's Story of Unending Persecution in India

Scott Perry, Shawn Steel, Lela Gilbert, Travis Weber

Nigeria's Christians and their Endless Persecution

A Mother's Day Prayer for a Nigerian Miracle

A Mother's Day Prayer for a Nigerian Miracle

National Day of Prayer: Remembering Those Suffering Worldwide for Their Faith

De Blasio Targets NYC Jewish Community Amidst Rising Global Anti-Semitism

Tony Perkins, Arielle Del Turco, Lela Gilbert, Travis Weber

North Korea's Horrifying Human Rights Record

Why We Remember the Armenian Genocide

Mike Pompeo, Roy Blunt, Lela Gilbert, Travis Weber

Is the World Ignoring a Christian Genocide in Nigeria?

Roger Severino, David Closson, Jennifer Bryson, Katherine Beck Johnson, Lela Gilbert

Coronavirus, Turkish attacks threaten Kurds, Christians in northeast Syria

This Easter, Christians Worldwide Are Fighting Not Just COVID-19 But Persecution Too

China's people of faith: Canaries in Xi Jinping's coal mine

What American Christians can learn from the Chinese church in coronavirus crisis

Iran's Imprisoned Christians Face Yet Another Danger: COVID-19

China's Abuses Against Uighurs Not Going Away: Here's How You Can Help

A Purim lesson at the White House