Europe is facing a growing wave of anti-Christian violence, with Germany recording the highest number of arson attacks in 2024. According to the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe), a total of 2,211 anti-Christian offenses were documented across the continent, including 274 personal attacks involving physical violence and threats.
Analysts warn that these figures reflect a climate of growing intolerance that affects local communities in concrete ways.
While Europe saw a slight decrease from 2,444 offenses in 2023, OIDAC Europe attributes this to incomplete data collection. Serious incidents included the fatal November 2024 attack on a 76-year-old monk in a Spanish monastery and an ISIS-related killing of a worshipper during Sunday Mass in Istanbul in January 2024. In France, a historic church in Saint-Omer was almost completely destroyed in an arson attack, while in Dijon, tear gas was sprayed during a Seventh-Day Adventist service, injuring nine people.
Germany leads Europe in arson attacks against churches, with 33 recorded cases in 2024 (more than in any other European country), alongside 337 anti-Christian crimes overall—a 22% rise from the previous year. A survey by the Protestant Press Service found increasing instances of break-ins, thefts, and deliberate destruction, with 228 crimes recorded nationwide between January and December 2024.
According to the report, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain were the most affected countries. France recorded a high number of Islamist-related incidents, including the arrest of a suspect linked to an ISIS-inspired attack on Notre Dame de Paris and the vandalism of a cemetery in southern France, where more than 50 graves and the church were defaced with slogans like “Submit to Islam.”
In September, Iraqi Christian Ashur Sarnaya, who had fled ISIS persecution was brutally murdered in Lyon. According to a member of France’s Assyrian Christian community, Ashur was targeted for his criticism of Islam. But Ashur is not the only victim of Islamic violence in the West. Christians who have fled the Middle East due to its Islamic violence are increasingly facing the same type of violence in Europe.
Across Europe, Christians have also faced criminal charges for publicly expressing beliefs, praying near abortion clinics, or peacefully discussing Bible verses. Just last month, the Supreme Court of Finland heard the landmark case of Finnish parliamentarian Dr. Päivi Räsänen, who was accused of “hate speech” for referencing Romans 1:24-27 while questioning her church’s participation in an LGBT Pride event.
Among attacks where motives could be verified, OIDAC Europe found links to radical Islamist ideology, radical left-wing ideology, other political factors, and 15 incidents that included satanic symbols or references.
