In a concerning revelation, a recent report highlights over 2,400 anti-Christian hate crimes across Europe in 2023, with the UK recording one of the highest numbers. The findings underscore a unsettling trend of targeted vandalism and violence against Christian sites and individuals.
The majority of these incidents, 62%, involved acts of vandalism against churches. Other significant occurrences included desecration of Christian sites (24%), arson (10%), threats (8%), and physical violence (7%). The report by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC) cites alarming cases such as a fatal knife attack on a priest in Spain and a car-ramming incident during a religious procession in Poland.
Among the European nations, the UK reported over 700 incidents, second only to France, which recorded nearly a thousand hate crimes. The report expresses concern over workplace and public discrimination against Christians, attributing it to an increase in “self-censorship” among believers.
OIDAC references a 2024 study by Voice for Justice UK, which indicates that only 36% of Christians under 35 in the UK feel they can freely express their views on social issues at work. The prosecution of pro-life advocates Adam Smith-Connor and Isabel Vaughan-Spruce in the UK for silent prayer in a designated buffer zone was noted as a particularly troubling incident.
According to Anja Hoffmann, executive director of OIDAC Europe, “In particular, Christians who adhere to traditional religious beliefs face increasing discrimination and hostility, ranging from bullying at work to the loss of employment.”
Germany saw a significant rise in incidents, moving to third place with 277 cases in 2023, a 105% increase from the previous year. The report bases its data on figures provided by European governments to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and reports from civil society.
Hoffmann suggests that the actual number of anti-Christian hate crimes might be higher, noting that several countries, including France, did not submit their statistics to the OSCE. The report advocates for an EU coordinator to address anti-Christian hatred, akin to existing roles for combating antisemitism and anti-Muslim sentiment.
Professor Regina Polak, OSCE Representative on Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Discrimination, emphasized, “Anti-Christian hate crimes send a message of exclusion to the victims and their communities, and to society as a whole.” She adds, “We can observe an increase of discrimination and hate crimes against Christians also in Europe.”
The report underscores the necessity for governments and civil society to take these trends “more seriously” and calls for thorough research to understand the specific nature and causes of such discrimination.
This article was originally written by www.christiantoday.com
