OIDAC report: Europe records a surge in violence against Christians in 2024

The organization OIDAC Europe (Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe) has published its annual report, according to which 2,211 hate crimes against Christians were recorded in Europe in 2024. The report points to a disturbing trend: despite a slight decrease in the total number of incidents, the number of physical attacks reached a record high of 274, and the number of arson attacks against churches and religious sites doubled.

France, the UK, Germany, Germany, Spain and Austria had the highest number of crimes, according to the report. Among the most high-profile events in 2024 are the murder of a 76-year-old monk in Spain, the shooting of a parishioner by an ISIS militant at a Catholic church in Istanbul, and the destruction of a historic church in an arson attack in the French town of St. Omer. Of particular concern is the rise in arson – 94 cases, a third of which occurred in Germany, where the Bishops’ Conference said “shrines no longer have protection.”

In addition to physical violence, the OIDAC report notes an increase in legal and social pressure on Christians. Legal harassment and discriminatory restrictions in 2024-2025 are cited as examples. For example, in the UK an army veteran was convicted of “silent prayer” outside a clinic, in Finland the case of a deputy who quoted the Bible went all the way to the Supreme Court, and in Spain a court banned a father from reading the Bible to his son, giving the mother sole authority over religious education.

In a broader context, the authors of the report draw attention to coordination between authoritarian regimes that “export patterns of repression”. A study by the US-based McCain Institute points to the formation of an “axis of destabilization” (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea) actively cooperating to control religion.

In conclusion, OIDAC Europe calls on EU governments and institutions to recognize anti-Christian intolerance as a real threat and to take systemic measures to protect believers and religious sites. “Attacks on Christians are no longer isolated incidents,” the authors emphasize. – They reflect a deeper crisis of values in European society”.

We will remind, a member of the European Parliament from the group “Europe of sovereign nations” Peter Volgin said that the law “On the ban of the UOC” in Ukraine does not comply with the Charter of fundamental rights of the EU. The official sent a corresponding request to the European Commission demanding that it clarify Brussels’ position on Kiev’s actions.