EU: A 52-page report about anti-Christian hostility, hate crimes and violence in Europe
Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe/ Report 2025. A call to action by the EU and its Fundamental Rights Agence (FRA)
HRWF (18.11.2025) – On Tuesday 18 November, MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen hosted the presentation of a documented report of 52 pages about anti-Christian hostility, hate crimes and violence in Europe in the European Parliament.
The most affected countries in 2024 were France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain.
In 2024, a total of 2,211 anti-Christian hate crimes were recorded by governments and civil society organisations across Europe, including 274 personal attacks, compared to 232 in 2023.
These figures were revealed by Anja Tang, director of the OIDAC European Observatory, at the SGP (Reformed Political Party) conference in the European Parliament.
And Anya Tang summarized the global issue as follows: “Not only are we seeing an increase in the number of incidents against Christians or churches, but intolerance in general is also on the rise. There is less room to promote Christian values. There are various examples of this. The best known is the case against Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen, who has been prosecuted for years for tweeting a Bible verse. As far as the Netherlands is concerned, we can mention the unfounded arrests of vigilantes at abortion clinics.”
In November, a 76-year-old monk was killed and several others injured during an attack on a Spanish monastery. In January, one man was shot dead in an ISIS-related attack during Sunday mass at a Catholic church in Istanbul. In September, a historic church in Saint-
Omer, France, was almost completely destroyed in an arson attack.
Recent surveys from Poland and Spain indicate significant underreporting of aggression against clergy. In Poland nearly half of surveyed priests reported experiencing aggression in the past year—yet over 80% did not report the incidents to the police.
SGP MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen commented: ‘Violence against Christians and discrimination against Christians in Europe receive little attention, but the figures are alarming. I call on the EU and Member States to finally take action.’
The actions he proposed were:
- To ask EU Member States to collect and report data on violence and discrimination against Christians;
- To provide EU funding for projects to combat violence and discrimination against Christians, as it is done to combat anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
Since its creation in 2007 in Vienna, the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) has never published any report about anti-Christian hostility in EU Member States where the OSCE appointed a Special Representive on those issues. (*)
(*) Representative on combating racism, xenophobia and discrimination, with a special focus on discrimination against Christians and members of other religions” of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Methodology and Terminology
International Human Rights Provisions and their Implications
Summary of findings
Part I: Anti-Christian Hate Crimes and Social Hostility
Hate Crimes and Social Hostility
Most Affected Countries: Map
OSCE Publishes Guidelines on Combatting Anti-Christian Hate Crimes .
Poland: Half of Surveyed Priest Faced Aggression in Past Year
Germany: Half of Youth See Hostility Towards Christians
Spain: Survey on Discrimination and Aggression Towards Priests
United Kingdom
Anti-Christian Bias in the Media
Systemic Religious Oppression in Russian-Occupied Ukraine
Part II: Legal Restrictions
- Individuals Targeted for Expressing Religious Beliefs
- Individuals Prosecuted for Praying under “Buffer Zone” Legislation
- Discriminatory Treatment and Religious Autonomy Rights
- Criminalisation of Christian Teaching and Counselling
- Religious Symbols and Manifestation in the Public Sphere
- Parental Rights and Religious Education
- Freedom of Conscience
Conclusions
Recommendations
Endnotes
