A new investigation shows threats, violence, and arson attacks targeting Christians in Europe grew significantly more severe over the last year, highlighting mounting concerns about the spread of radical Islam and anti-Christian sentiments across the continent.
Although the total number of hate incidents slightly declined, the Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe) warned that attacks have become more brutal, ranging from physical assaults and church burnings to targeted killings.
OIDAC Europe said 2,211 anti-Christian hate crimes were recorded across the continent in 2024, slightly fewer than in 2023. However, physical attacks rose sharply from 232 cases in 2023 to 274 cases last year, while arson attacks on churches and Christian properties nearly doubled, reaching 94 recorded incidents.
The watchdog cautioned that data on personal attacks from France and the United Kingdom — two of the countries with chronically high levels of hostility toward Christians — was not available, suggesting the real numbers could be considerably higher.
France, Britain, Germany, Spain, and Austria recorded the highest totals of anti-Christian incidents.
DEADLY AND ORGANIZED ATTACKS SPREAD
One of the most violent attacks occurred in Spain in November 2024, when a 26-year-old Moroccan man stormed the Friary of Santo Espiritu del Monte shouting, “I am Jesus Christ!” He killed a 76-year-old Catholic friar and injured seven others while moving room to room through the monastery, according to investigators.
In another major incident, Islamic State (ISIS)-affiliated gunmen opened fire during Sunday Mass at the Church of Santa Maria in Istanbul in January 2024, killing a 52-year-old man preparing to convert to Christianity, according to investigators.
France also witnessed a wave of devastating church fires. The Church of the Immaculate Conception in Saint-Omer, built in 1859 and restored in 2018, was almost destroyed by arson in September 2024, officials said. The blaze came weeks after another fire damaged Rouen’s historic cathedral, drawing comparisons to the catastrophic 2019 fire at Notre-Dame.
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