In 2023, over 2,400 hate crimes against Christians were reported across Europe

Vienna, November 21, 2024. Photo: Getty/iStock Photo: Getty/iStock A new report shows that in 2023, 2,444 hate crimes against Christians were committed in 35 countries across Europe, Christian Today reports. Most incidents were vandalism of churches (62% of the total), desecration of Christian shrines (24%), arson (10%), threats (8%) and physical violence (7%). The report by the non-governmental human rights organization Monitoring Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC; headquartered in Vienna, Austria) highlights the following egregious incidents: a machete attack by a Moroccan man on clergy and parishioners at two Catholic churches in the Spanish city of Algeciras, which resulted in the death of a church worker; an incident in which a car was driven by a Moroccan man; and an incident in which a church worker was attacked by a Moroccan man with a machete. A car rammed into a procession marking the popular popular popular Christian feast of Corpus Christi in Poland (Boże Ciało; celebrated by Catholics on the first Thursday after the Feast of the Trinity); and the attempted murder of an ex-Muslim convert to Christianity in the United Kingdom. Topping the sad ranking of these countries is France, where nearly 1,000 crimes against Christians were reported last year; second place goes to Britain, with more than 700 such incidents; and third place goes to Germany, where the number of such crimes rose from 135 in 2022 to 277 in 2023, a 105% increase. The report expresses concern about discrimination against Christians in work and public life in some European countries. In particular, it cites research by Christian charity and advocacy organization Voice for Justice UK, conducted in 2024, which found that only a third (36%) of Christians under the age of 35 in the UK are not shy about expressing their views on various social issues at work. OIDAC said that criminal prosecutions in the UK ex-military man Adam Smith-Connor and volunteer Isabel Vaughan-Spruce for silently praying for unborn babies within the so-called "buffer zone" of an abortion clinic was "particularly shocking." "Christians in Europe who hold traditional religious views face ever-increasing discrimination and hostility, from workplace bullying and harassment to job loss. It is very worrying that the peaceful expression of personal religious beliefs, for example on family issues, can now potentially lead to the end of a political career, dismissal or even legal action," said Anja Hoffmann, OIDAC's executive director. The report is based on data provided by European governments to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2023, as well as facts reported by civil society. According to A. Hoffmann, it is likely that many more hate crimes against Christians were actually committed because several countries, including France, did not submit statistics to the OSCE in 2023. The report calls for the creation of an EU Coordinator for Combating Hate against Christians, on a par with the existing positions of Coordinators for Combating Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. "The rise in discrimination and hate crimes against Christians in Europe must be taken more seriously by governments and civil society and needs to be investigated in depth to understand its specific nature and causes," said Prof. Regina Polak, OSCE Representative on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination.