One of the main sources of anti-Christian aggression are radicalised members of extreme political organisations, with a majority of cases coming from far-left political groups such as Antifa, radical feminists, or LGBTIQ circles, a recent report shows.

Religiously motivated hate crimes against Christians in Europe increased by 44 per cent in just one year, a report by a prominent Christian persecution monitoring group reveals.

The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe) released its Annual Report 2022/23 just recently, which documents a sharp rise in violent incidents and social hostility against Christians, as well as in vandalism and arson attacks on churches, Breitbart highlights.

A la suite du Maire #Angers @JM_Verchere je condamne avec force cet acte odieux de saccage de l’église de la Madeleine. Une atteinte au patrimoine religieux de la ville et á la culture chrétienne au lendemain des fêtes de Pâques. pic.twitter.com/arzwZRswND

— Maxence HENRY ن (@Maxence49) April 12, 2023

The report also underscores legal developments in several European countries that infringe upon the religious freedom of Christians, including „hate speech” legislation, under which some Christians have been prosecuted for voicing mainstream Christian beliefs in public.

In 2022, OIDAC Europe documented 748 anti-Christian hate crimes in 30 different countries, ranging from arson attacks, graffiti, desecrations and thefts to physical attacks, insults, and threats. This figure is evidently low, OIDAC observes, because of the notorious underreporting of such crimes.

Between 2021 and 2022, anti-Christian hate crimes increased by 44 per cent, from 519 to 748, including arson attacks, which rose from 60 to 105.

There has also been an increasing trend in hate crimes perpetrated by radicalised members of ideological, political, or religious groups that follow an anti-Christian narrative, the report finds.

The document also notes that anti-Christian hate crimes have been steadily increasing over the past 10 years. While most documented hate crimes against Christians are cases of vandalism, more vandalism often leads to increased cases of physical assaults, the report states.

Among the anti-Christian hate crimes documented in 2022 were 38 crimes of physical assault, including the violent murders of three Christians.

There has also been a rise in attacks around Christian festivities, such as Easter and Christmas.

Attacks are also more likely “when the visibility of Christians is higher, such as during processions, public celebrations, and events with public decorations and symbols,” the report points out.

Alarming violations of Christians’ right to freedom of speech have included the establishment of „buffer zones” around abortion clinics, which have led to the criminalisation of Christians for praying silently on the street.

As is known, several countries have recently introduced so-called censorship zones or buffer zones near abortion clinics, where even silent prayer is forbidden, leading to a number of conflicts. As V4NA highlighted in an earlier article, in the summer, local authorities in Bournemouth, UK, have filed criminal charges against a man, who was fined for praying silently within an abortion facility buffer zone.

The parental rights of Christians has also been affected through legal developments, such as vaguely formulated and overreaching laws that would criminalise parents if they express dissenting opinions regarding LGBTIQ-related discussions or discourage their children from undergoing „hormone therapies” for gender dysphoria, the report by OIDAC Europe says.

According to data presented in the report, the top three countries with the highest number of anti-Christian hate crimes were Germany (231 cases), Italy (146 cases), and France (106 cases).

One of the main sources of anti-Christian aggression is radicalised members of extreme political organisations, with a majority of cases coming from far-left political groups such as Antifa, radical feminists, or LGBTIQ circles,

– the report reveals.

At the same time, OIDAC has also documented anti-Christian attacks by radical individuals from far-right groups, satanist groups, and radical Islamist groups.