#1. President Barack Obama won a second term as president of the United States. The election results, which drew diverse reactions from Christians around the world…The results also showed fundamental changes to the American electorate: increased ethnic, cultural and ideological diversity, as well as increased secularization. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith was also a prominent issue.

2012 was a year filled with politics and controversies, persecution and protests, tragedy and hope. Here are the stories the editors of ReligionToday.com believe most affected Christians around the world during the past 12 months.

1. The 2012 presidential election: In what some called the most consequential election in recent history, President Barack Obama won a second term as president of the United States. The election results, which drew diverse reactions from Christians around the world, revealed a deeply divided nation — not just at the political level, but at the worldview level.

2. Massacre in Newtown, Connecticut: The nation and the world grieved along with the community of Newtown, Conn., after a lone gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14 and opened fire, killing 20 first-graders and six adults before killing himself.

3. The Chick-fil-A gay marriage controversy: When the president and CEO of Chick-fil-A expressed support for traditional marriage this summer, controversy erupted. “I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,'” Dan Cathy said. “… We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family.”

4. Christian prisoners freed: The stories of three Christians whose sagas attracted international attention had happy endings.

• Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani
• Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng
• Pakistani teenager Rimsha Masih.

5. The Middle East heats up: Now two years since the beginning of the so-called “Arab Spring,” Christians in the Middle East and northern Africa are suffering more than ever amid Muslim domination and ever-increasing persecution of religious minorities.

6. Religious objections to the Obama administration’s contraception mandate: The Obama administration’s Health and Human Services mandate requiring all employers to provide contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs kicked in this summer, sparking outrage from Catholic and other Christian businesses, nonprofits, schools and hospitals

7. Hurricane Sandy devastation and relief efforts: “Superstorm” Sandy, deemed one of the most destructive storms to hit the United States in decades, left millions without power for weeks and caused billions of dollars of damage.

8. Boko Haram’s war on Christians in Nigeria: The militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which has declared war on Nigeria’s Christians, has been responsible for an estimated 3,000 deaths since 2009 in its deadly campaign to establish an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.

9. U.S. colleges legislate against campus Christian groups: Christian groups on campus are being increasingly singled out with “anti-discrimination” policies that require student groups to allow anyone, regardless of beliefs or behavior, to be able to obtain membership and seek leadership positions. In other words, a Christian group could be sent off campus for requiring its leaders to be Christians and practice their faith. ”

10. The TBN scandal: Brittany Koper, the granddaughter of Trinity Broadcasting Network founders Paul and Jan Crouch and its chief financial officer until September 2011, accused network directors of illegally distributing “charitable assets” worth more than $50 million for their personal use. ”

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