Discrimination and hostilities against Christians are a reality in Europe. Some reports have even shown that such incidents have increased in recent years.

The issue recently reached the European Parliament, where religious freedom experts call for better protection of religious freedom in Europe.

Religious hate crimes reached a record in UK

According to official data from the UK Home Office, the number of hate crimes recorded in the year ending March 2025, increased for the first time in three years.

“There were 115,990 hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales (excluding the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)), a 2% increase compared with the previous year”, says the report.

Religiously motivated hate crimes reached a new record high, with over 7,100 incidents, a 3% more than last year.

Among them, 502 were against Christians. Furthermore, the majority affected Muslims (4,478), an increase of 19%, while the number of religious hate crimes directed at Jewish people (2,873) fell by 18%.

However, the report warns that those figures exclude the MPS's data, which recorded “40% of all religious hate crimes targeted at Jewish people in the last year”, that is why “caution is needed”.

Meanwhile, the data published by the Home Office also shows that “there was a 6% increase in race hate crimes and there were falls in the other 3 strands: sexual orientation (down 2%), disability (down 8%) and transgender (down 11%)”.

“Today's hate crime statistics show that too many people are living in fear because of who they are, what they believe, or where they come from. I will not tolerate British people being targeted simply because of their religion, race, or identity”, stressed UK home secretary Shabana Mahmood.

Mahmood also pointed out that the government has increased police patrols at synagogues and mosques, after the attack on a synagogue in Manchester.

“We stand with every community facing these attacks and will ensure those who commit hate crimes face the full force of the law”, she added.

“Christians in France too often feel abandoned”

Hostility against Christians is also a problem in France. A recent report showed that, although police recorded a 10% drop in anti-Christian attacks in 2023, there were almost 50 attempts on and arsons of Christian places of worship in 2024, an increase of more than 30%.

New figures also reveal that in the first five months of 2025 alone, 322 anti-Christian acts were recorded, an increase of 13% over the same period last year, Roman catholic news website Zenit reports.

That is why 86 French senators issued a public appeal, calling on the government to “take decisive measures to safeguard Christians as fully as it protects other religious communities”.

“Not a week passes without regional press or social media reporting new attacks, from vandalism and profanation to deliberate fires or violence against the faithful”, denounced the senators.

“Christians in France too often feel abandoned,we urged the government to act without delay”, they concluded.

Germany and Turkey

Evangelicals in Turkey also recently denounced a rise in hate speech and discrimination against Christians in the country, and received public support from the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) at the UN Human Rights Council.

Meanwhile, a recent report by the German federal government showed that anti-Christian offences have increased in Germany over the last two years. In 2024, 228 such incidents were recorded.