European countries recorded more than 2,400 anti-Chrisitan hate crimes in 2023, the Vienna-based monitoring group the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe has found.

Of intolerance and discrimination against Christians of particular concern was France, with nearly 1,000 anti-Christian hate crimes in 2023; the United Kingdom, where incidents rose to more than 700; and Germany, which saw a 105% increase in anti-Christian hate crimes, rising from 135 in 2022 to 277 in 2023, the group said in its 2024 Hate Crime Data report.

In its latest report, the Vienna-based OIDAC identified 2,444 anti-Christian hate crimes that were documented by police and civil society in 35 European countries in 2023, including 232 personal attacks on Christians, such as harassment, threats, and physical violence.

These figures include data from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights /Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which found 1,230 anti-Christian hate crimes recorded by 10 European governments in 2023, up from 1,029 recorded by governments in 2022.

"As France and some other countries with high numbers did not submit their statistics to the OSCE, the actual numbers are even higher than the OSCE data suggests. As far as anti-Christian hate crimes are concerned, we have registered 2,444 cases for 2023, but assume a high number of unreported cases", explained Anja HoRmann, executive director of OIDAC Europe.

While only 10 European governments submitted disaggregated data on anti-Christian hate crimes in 2023, civil society reported incidents from 26 European countries.

The ODIHR/OSCE Hate Crime Data Report was released on Nov. 15 to coincide with the International Day of Tolerance.

"Tragically and unsurprisingly, acts of violence against Jewish and Muslim believers were particularly high. Around 9,000 anti-Semitic and 6,000 anti-Muslim hate crimes were reported by European governments to the ODIHR/OSCE in 2023," said the report.

FRANCE PARTICULAR CONCERN

According to OIDAC Europe, countries of particular concern were France, with nearly 1,000 anti-Christian hate crimes in 2023; the United Kingdom, where incidents rose to more than 700; and Germany, which saw a 105% increase in anti-Christian hate crimes, rising from 135 in 2022 to 277 in 2023.

Regarding church vandalism, German police recorded more than 2,000 cases of property damage to Christian places of worship in 2023.

Professor Regina Polak, OSCE representative on Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Discrimination, also focusing on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians and members of other religions, said, "Christians are the target of hate crimes across the OSCE region.

"The nature of these crimes ranges from graffiti to vandalism and physical assaults against Christians distributing religious materials."

Of the incidents recorded by OIDAC Europe in 2023, the most common forms of violence were vandalism against churches (62 percent) – including many cases of desecration (24 percent) and beheading of religious statues – arson attacks (10 percent) and threats (8 percent).

While physical violence remains relatively rare (7 percent), there have been some tragic cases in

2023, including the murder of a Catholic altar server by a jihadist terrorist in Algeciras, a car-ramming attack on a procession in Poland, and the attempted murder of a convert to Christianity from a Muslim background in the UK, who was considered by the perpetrator to be an "apostate who deserved to die."

'MESSAGE OF EXCLUSION'

Polak also expressed concern about the implications: "Anti-Christian hate crimes send a message of exclusion to the victims and their communities and to society as a whole. We can observe an increase in discrimination and hate crimes against Christians also in Europe.

"These phenomena must also be seen in the broader context of intolerance and discrimination against other groups and in particular against members of religious communities, both minority and majority groups."

In January 2023, a jihadist terrorist attacked two Catholic churches in Algeciras, Spain. The man killed an altar server with a machete and injured four people, shouting "Allah is great" and "Death to Christians.

In November 2023, a Tunisian Christian convert from Italy was beaten and robbed for 'attending a Christian church.' The attackers were fellow countrymen who opposed his conversion to the Christian faith, a judge found.

OIDAC Europe says it has documented anti-Christian hate crimes for almost 15 years and has seen a steady increase in the number of incidents.

While most documented anti-Christian hate crimes are vandalism cases, threats, physical attacks, and even murder occur.

New findings have revealed widespread discrimination against Christians in the workplace and in different spheres of society.

The expression of traditional religious beliefs increasingly face hostility and can lead to discrimination and work bullying or loss of employment.

Christian politicians are especially vulnerable to discrimination based on their personal religious beliefs and may be forced to choose between a political career and religious beliefs.

These forms of discrimination have a "chilling effect," leading many Christians, particularly among the younger generation, to self-censor or even hide their beliefs at university and in the workplace, as recent findings demonstrate