Violence against Christians is increasing in Europe

In its latest annual report, the OIDAC notes a 44 per cent increase in hate crimes against Christians in Europe, the watchdog organisation announces in a press release. “In the West, we tend to think of violence against religious believers as primarily a problem of countries in Africa and Asia. While it is important to highlight these dramatic examples of persecution, we must also pay close attention to what is happening in Europe”, Anja Hoffmann, the Executive Director of OIDAC Europe, says.

The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC) is a watchdog organisation that monitors religious freedom in Europe. It is based in Vienna.

The organisation found out that, although most attacks target churches and cemeteries, there is also an increase in attacks against individual Christians throughout Europe.

For example, the French Ministry of Interior Affairs recorded almost 1,000 anti-Christian hate crimes in 2023. Of those, 84 were personal attacks against Christians.

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Murder

This year, OIDAC Europe states in its report that there have already been documented cases of physical violence, threats and attempted murder against Christians in the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland and Serbia.

Sometimes, entire communities are victims of anti-religious violence. In June, for example, a Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Dijon was attacked with tear gas during a church service. That resulted in panic, and nine people were injured in the incident, OIDAC writes.

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According to director Anja Hoffmann, especially Christian converts with a Muslim background are vulnerable to violence. In April, an Italian court found people guilty after they had beaten up a Tunisian Christian convert. Hoffmann stresses that the right to convert to another religion is “an essential element of religious freedom”. Therefore, she says, European governments must do their utmost to protect these Christians, “who are at high risk of violence.”