Anti-Christian Intolerance and Discrimination in Europe by OIDAC Europe

In its latest report published in November 2023, the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe)[1] documented 748 anti-Christian hate crimes in 30 different countries in 2022, rising from 519 in 2021. Attacks ranged from arson attacks, graffiti, desecrations, and thefts targeting Christian places of worship to fait-related physical attacks, insults, and threats against Christians. These numbers match the data of the OSCE hate crimes report, which recorded 792 anti-Christian hate crimes in 2022.

A particularly worrying trend is the increase in arson attacks, which rose by 75% between 2021 and 2022, according to OIDAC Europe. The countries with the highest numbers were Germany, followed by France, Italy, and the United Kingdom.[2]

Besides violent attacks, Christians have also faced different forms of faith-related discrimination, ranging from suspensions and loss of employment to unlawful arrests or even criminal court cases for peaceful expression religious views in public.

Sadly, these problems have continued in 2023-24. The following examples shall shed some light on the nature of anti-Christian intolerance and discrimination in the countries examined in the GTTO project.

In the United Kingdom police data reveals a high number of anti-Christian hate crimes.[3] The country also continues to face systematic metal theft, which has caused serious damage and even the closure of some churches.[4] In October 2023, Javed Nouri, a Christian convert to Christianity from a Muslim background barely escaped an attempted murder by his housemate who considered Nouri an apostate “who deserved to die”.

On the legal front, some restrictions on religious freedom have raised concerns. In March 2023 , authorities in Birmingham arrested Isabel Vaughan-Spruce for silently praying outside an abortion clinic within a so-called “buffer zone” where a city council order prohibits protests, including prayer.[5] In a similar incident, a woman in Northern Ireland was arrested for peacefully praying in a designated area and faces six months in prison if found guilty by the court.[6] Concerns over UK legislation criminalising prayer and other peaceful religious expressions have raised international concern, including from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.[7]

Germany continues to show worrying numbers of anti-Christian hate crimes, including high numbers of arson attacks on churches[8], which sometimes result into high damages for the parish communities[9] or the closure of churches[10].

In a legal case, a taxi driver from Essen was fined for displaying a small Bible verse sticker on the rear window of his car. The city authorities claimed that the Bible verse constituted “religious advertising”, which are considered part of the public transport system.[11]

France has seen a high number of anti-Christian hate crimes in recent years. In 2021, 857 of the 1.659 anti-religious hate crimes were directed against Christians, including a worrying attack and death threats against a Catholic procession in Nanterre.[12] Growing security concerns led to a joint statement by twenty public figures calling for a better response to anti-Christian hate crimes in France and the European Union.[13]

In 2023, the French police recorded nearly 1,000 anti-Christian attacks [14], which is almost 3 incidents per day. In addition to arson attacks on churches, including with Molotov cocktails[15], the desecration of Christian cemeteries with Islamic extremist inscriptions have raised particular concerns.[16] In June 2024, the Seventh-day Adventist church in Dijon was attacked with tear gas during Sunday service, causing panic among the congregation, nine of whom were injured.[17]

In the legal sphere, France has one of the strictest forms of secularism (laicité), including calls for the removal of historic Christian symbols from public spaces.[18] In August 2024, Paris police unlawfully arrested six Christians who were on a bus with the inscription “Stop attacks on Christians” in reply to the parody of the Last Supper at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. The volunteers were unlawfully detained and reported ill-treatment by the police.[19]

Poland ranked fifth among the countries with the highest number of anti-Christian vandalism, according to OIDAC Europe’s findings from 2022. In 2023-24 Poland continued to experience frequent acts of vandalism, often involving the complete destruction of religious statues.[20] However, incidents in 2024 also included the arrest of two individuals, one for threatening a priest with a knife during mass[21], the other for insulting the congregation and attacking an altar server[22].

Belgium ranked eighth in the number of anti-Christian vandalism incidents recorded by OIDAC Europe in 2022. Although church vandalism remained rare in 2023-24, repeated attacks in Profondeville in April 2023, involving vandalism, the destruction of statues and an arson attack on a chapel, raised attention.[23] Later that year, St Cordula’s Church in Schoten announced that the doors would remain closed, due to repeated cases of vandalism.[24]

In 2024, a decision by a secular Belgian court raised concerns about religious autonomy rights. Two Belgian prelates were convicted and fined by a secular court for refusing to admit a woman to a diaconate programme.[25] This was despite the fact that women cannot be ordained as deacons in the Catholic Church and that the right to religious freedom includes the freedom of religious institutions to decide on the training and ordinations of clergy without state interference.[26]

In Hungary, anti-Christian hate crimes and church vandalism remain a rather rare phenomenon, with only a few incidents recorded by OIDAC Europe each year. However, a serious arson attack on the Greek Orthodox Church of Gödöllő happened in 2021.[27] On New Year’s Eve 2023/24 a statue of Mary in Dunavecse was repeatedly destroyed, with its head being cut off, shortly after it had been renovated by the parish.[28]

While not many anti-Christian hate crimes have been recorded in Moldova[29], a particularly shocking incident occurred in 2022, when 20 crosses and 70 funeral wreaths were set on fire at the St. Lazarus cemetery in Chișinău in what officials identified as a satanic “ritual”.[30] In 2023, the Orthodox centre in the village of Butuceni, Hincesti district, was attacked by vandals who destroyed furniture, doors, windows, icons, and also burned all religious textbooks.[31]

[1] The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe) is a research-based non-governmental organisation focusses on systematically documenting anti-Christian hate crimes and discrimination. This data is analysed, classified, and collared on an annual basis and significantly contributes to the yearly Hate Crime Data Report of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), for which OIDAC Europe is one of the main providers of anti-Christian hate crime data from this region.

In its methodology, OIDAC Europe distinguishes between intolerance, signifying violent anti-Christian behaviour usually related to social hostilities, and faith-related discrimination, which occurs mainly in the workplace and usually stems from laws which fail to accommodate religious beliefs or other restrictions through governments or businesses.

[2] OIDAC Europe, “Annual Report 2022”, 2023, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/publications/annual-report-2022-23, (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[3] Home Office, “Hate crime, England and Wales, 2022 to 2023”,Table 2.2, 2023, https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2022-to-2023/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2022-to-2023 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[4] Historic England, “Extent of Heritage and Cultural Property Crime in England” 2024, https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/news/heritage-crime-research-findings-revealed/ (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[5] The Telegraph “Woman arrested for silent prayer outside abortion clinic wins £13k payout” , 2024, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/08/19/christian-volunteer-silent-prayer-13k-payout-thought-crime/ (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[6]OIDAC Europe, “Ni court prosecutes man and woman for praying in coleraine "buffer zone" “, 2024, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=8328 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[7] USCIRF, “ Annual Report 2024”, 2024, p. 78

[8] Some churches have been repeatedly targeted with arson attacks, such as the St. Benedict church in Eisenharz: https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=8319

[9] OIDAC Europe, “Arson in carlsberg church of the holy cross”, 2024,  https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=7475 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[10] OIDAC Europe, “Ahlen church closed due to repeated vandalism”, 2024, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=7969,

OIDAC Europe,“St John's church in Herford remains closed due to vandalism” , 2024, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=7560 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[11] OIDAC Europe, “Taxi driver fined for displaying bible verse”, 2024, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=7442 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[12] OIDAC Europe, “Immaculate conception procession attacked with insults and death threats”, 2021, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=5232 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[13] OIDAC Europe, “High level of anti-christian crimes in france can't be ignored anymore: collective statement by 20 personalities”, 2023, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=6731 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[14] OIDAC Europe, “France records almost 1,000 hate crimes against christians in 2023”, 2024, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=15&activity=it0tfYim (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[15] OIDAC Europe,, “Third church attacked with arson in paris during one week”, 2023, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=6652 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[16] OIDAC Europe, “Church and 50 graves desecrated with islamist slogans”, 2024, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=7535 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[17] Le Bien Public, “Dijon: a religious service sprinkled with tear gas?”, 2024, https://www.bienpublic.com/faits-divers-justice/2024/06/30/dijon-un-office-religieux-asperge-de-gaz-lacrymogene (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[18] 20 minutes, “Vendée: The famous statue of Saint-Michel finally moved... a few meters”, 2023, https://www.20minutes.fr/societe/4055303-20230928-vendee-fameuse-statue-saint-michel-finalement-deplacee-quelques-metres, (last visit: August 16, 2024)

OIDAC Europe, “Religious statue removal to be decided in french court”, 2022, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=5408 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[19] OIDAC Europe,”Christian activists unlawfully arrested in paris”, 2024, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=8342 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[20]OIDAC Europe, “Desecration of church in koziegłowy. a man has been arrested.”, 2023, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=6686,  (last visit: August 16, 2024)

OIDAC Europe,”Vandals destroy a shrine and smash statues”, 2023, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=7123, (last visit: August 16, 2024)

OIDAC Europe,”Vandalism at a roadside shrine in włocławek”, 2024, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=7424,(last visit: August 16, 2024)

 OIDAC Europe,”Repeated cross vandalism: figure of jesus cut into pieces”, 2024, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=8334 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[21] OIDAC Europe, “Man armed with knife caught in church“, 2024, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=8030 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[22] OIDAC Europe,”Man insults congregation and attacks liturgical servant during mass”, 2024, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=7714 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[23] OIDAC Europe”Three acts of vandalism to churches in a Belgian village.”, 2023, ,https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=6801 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[24] OIDAC Europe,”St Cordula church closed due to repetitive vandalism”, 2023, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=7120 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[25] OIDAC Europe,”Secular belgian court fines catholic prelates for denying a woman access to deacon training”, 2024, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=8252 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[26] The UN Human Rights Committee found that “the practice and teaching of a religion or belief includes acts integral to the conduct by religious groups of their basic affairs, such as the freedom to choose their religious leaders, priests and teachers, the freedom to establish seminaries or religious schools and the freedom to prepare and distribute religious texts or publications.” (UN Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 22, para 4.)

[27] OIDAC Europe,”Arson and vandalism in church in Gödöllő”, 2021, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=4456 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[28] OIDAC Europe, “Statue of Mary vandalised for the second time” , 2023,  https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=7151 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[29] OSCE, ODIHR, “Moldova Hate Crime Report 2022”, 2022, https://hatecrime.osce.org/reporting/moldova/2022 last visit: August 16, 2024)

[30] OIDAC Europe, “Satanist profanation of cementery in Chișinău”, 2022, https://www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu/index.php?id=12&case=6423 (last visit: August 16, 2024)

[31] TV8, “The Orthodox center in the village of Butseny was vandalized: windows were broken and icons were burned”, 2023, https://tv8.md/ru/2023/06/08/pravoslavnii-tsentr-v-sele-butseni-podvergsya-vandalizmu-razbili-okna-i-sozhgli-ikoni/231692 (last visit: August 16, 2024)