A new report has shown that arson attacks on churches in Europe have doubled in one year.
OIDAC Europe (Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe), an NGO, released its 2025 report on Monday, raising the alarm regarding attacks on Christians in Europe.
Notably, the number of arson attacks on churches and other Christian buildings doubled in 2024, compared to the previous year, with 94 reported cases. Germany experienced the highest number of documented arson attacks with 33.
According to the report, a total of 2,211 anti-Christian hate crimes were recorded in 2024, including 274 attacks on individuals. “Behind these figures are specific cases of church vandalism, arson, and physical violence that have real consequences for the lives of local communities,” explained Anja Tang, director of OIDAC Europe.
Most anti-Christian crimes in 2024 occurred in France (770), the United Kingdom (502), Germany (337), and Austria (116). According to the report, the crimes range from graffiti on buildings and smashed windows to murder.
OIDAC warned of a dangerous shift: although the total number has fallen slightly compared to 2023, attacks against individuals, as well as arson attacks, have increased.
Among the most severe cases, OIDAC names the murder of a 76-year-old monk who was killed during an attack on a Spanish monastery, and a man who was shot in “an ISIS-related attack during Sunday mass at a Catholic church in Istanbul.”
The report criticized the U.K.’s “buffer zone laws” around abortion facilities, criminalizing silent prayer for the unborn in those areas. It names U.K. army veteran Adam Smith-Connor, who was convicted for silently praying in one of these buffer zones.
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