Violence against European Christians increased in 2024 over the prior year, and the surge included cases of murder, according to a new report.
The Vienna, Austria-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe) found 274 personal attacks on Christians, up from 232 in 2023. Most of the 2,211 anti-Christian hate crimes in 2024 occurred against places of worship in France, the U.K., Germany and Spain.
Anja Tang (formerly Hoffmann), director of OIDAC Europe, presented the latest figures at a meeting of the Intergroup on Freedom of Religion, Belief and Conscience in the European Parliament on Tuesday (Nov. 18). Tang recalled violent incidents, including murders, to 30 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) at the meeting.
“Not only do we observe a worrying number of attacks against Christians, but we also find that increasing intolerance within broader society confronts Christians,” Tang said. “Moreover, a growing number of people in Europe prosecute Christians for peacefully expressing their beliefs – among them Finnish politician Päivi Räsanen, who has stood trial for more than six years after tweeting a Bible verse in 2019.”
The report cited examples of murders, including the death of a 76-year-old friar in Spain on Nov. 9 last year. A man claiming to be Jesus Christ entered the Monastery of Santo Espíritu del Monte in Gilet, north of Valencia, and attacked the monks, leaving several others injured.
An assailant stabbed an Iraqi Christian to death on Sept. 10, 2025 while he livestreamed on TikTok about his faith outside his apartment in Lyon, France. Ashur Sarnaya, a disabled Assyrian Christian who used a wheelchair, had fled persecution from terrorist group Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and had reportedly stated that he received threats in online comments and anonymous phone calls. He was 45.
The attack reportedly happened before 10:30 p.m. near his apartment at 53 Rue Sergent Michel Berthet in the 9th arrondissement. Witnesses at the time reported that the assailant waited for Sarnaya and stabbed him in the neck.
In another reported incident this year, an Islamic State-related attacker shot a man dead during Sunday Mass at a Catholic church in Istanbul in January.
The report stated that aggression against clergy in Poland and Spain has been significantly underreported.
“In Poland, nearly half of priests surveyed reported experiencing aggression in the past year – yet over 80 percent did not report the incidents to the police,” it stated.
Multiple restrictions on religious freedom on the continent include bans on public prayer and religious manifestation, prosecutions for expressing religious beliefs, infringements on religious autonomy and parental rights, and limitations on conscientious objection, according to OIDAC Europe.
In March of this year, a Finnish court convicted an elderly Christian couple of “assault” after they prayed with a young man struggling with his sexuality.
“The young man had voluntarily sought their support and participated in the prayer, yet the court upheld his claim that the prayers caused psychological harm,” stated the report.
A continuing trend from previous years continued as several authorities across Europe charged Christians for silently praying or offering voluntary conversations at “buffer zones” near abortion clinics.
In Spain, at least 20 individuals have faced prosecution since 2022 for peacefully praying near abortion clinics.
“Others faced prosecution for peacefully expressing their religious beliefs or historic Christian teachings on issues related to sexual ethics,” the report noted.
France recorded the highest number of anti-Christian hate crimes in Europe. Incidents arose by 13 percent in the first half of 2025 compared with the previous year.
Examples included the arrest of an Islamist suspect linked to a planned IS-inspired terrorist attack on Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris. Another involved the destruction of 50 graves in southern France. Graffiti slogans on the graves and a nearby church carried messages such as “Submit to Islam.”
In Germany, hate crimes against Christians in 2024 increased by 22 percent, from 277 to 337 incidents. This data follows a 105 percent increase in the previous year. The country also had the highest number of arson attacks with 33 incidents against Christians.
The report noted that those numbers only include hate crimes with a political motive, thereby overlooking many anti-Christian attacks with other motives.
Violent attacks against Christians doubled in Spain, and vandalism of church buildings and symbols increased by 12 percent.
The U.K. Commission of Inquiry into Discrimination Against Christians (CIDAC) issued a June 2024 report asserting that 56 percent of Christians surveyed reported experiencing hostility or ridicule for expressing their beliefs, especially in a workplace.
Further hearings by the commission this year, however, found that many Christian victims of discrimination chose not to participate in the study, even anonymously, fearing stigmatization or personal consequences.
“Christians self-reportedly feel marginalized in what they regard as an increasingly hostile and discriminatory environment,” the commission noted, according to the OIDAC Europe report.
The report also cited concerns about media prejudice against Christians in Europe and highlighted violations of religious freedom in Ukrainian areas that Russia occupied.
Intergroup co-chairs MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen and MEP Miriam Lexmann underlined the importance of concrete EU action about the issues contained in the report.
“Attacks on Christians and discrimination against Christians in Europe receive little attention, but the figures alarm us,” Ruissen said. “As an Intergroup of 30 concerned MEPs, we call on the EU and its member states to finally take action.”
The Intergroup of MEPs published a demand for three “concrete measures from the European Commission to address this problem,” the OPIDAC Europe noted.
Firstly, they demanded the European Commission appoint a European Coordinator to combat attacks and discrimination against Christians, as similar coordinators for combating antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred exist.
The MEPs previously requested this appointment of a coordinator in a letter (April 4) to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and Magnus Brunner, commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, saying, “It is now high time that the incidents against Christians receive proper address.”
Secondly, they asked EU member states to collect and report data on attacks and discrimination against Christians. Thirdly, they requested EU funding to combat attacks and discrimination against Christians, with comparable funding available to combat antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred.
