Anti-Christian Violence Rises in Europe, Experts Tell U.N.
Anti-Christian violence and legal pressure affecting religious freedom are increasing in Europe and require stronger protection of freedom of religion worldwide, experts warned during a recent United Nations Human Rights Council side event in Geneva.
More than 760 anti-Christian hate crimes were recorded in Europe in 2024 according to official reporting cited at the meeting, which speakers said was the first state-sponsored side event at the council focused specifically on persecution and discrimination against Christians. Other reports put the number at more than 2900 attacks with 94 church arson attacks.
“Several European governments have targeted individuals through criminal procedures for peacefully expressing their religious beliefs,” said Anja Tang, executive director of the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe.
Tang also pointed to neutrality laws limiting religious references in schools and legal disputes that she said affect parental rights in education and the internal autonomy of religious communities. (intoleranceagainstchristians.eu)
Speakers said some restrictions arise from laws affecting religious expression in schools, legal disputes involving internal church governance or public expressions of faith such as prayer or baptisms. Tang said cases across Europe have involved bans on public expressions of faith as well as court rulings interfering with the autonomy of religious communities. (intoleranceagainstchristians.eu)
Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the Holy See‘s permanent observer to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, said the observatory documented 2,211 violent incidents affecting Christians across the continent during 2024. Some incidents involved direct violence, while others involved legal actions against individuals expressing religious beliefs. “These include prosecutions for silent prayer near abortion facilities or for quoting a Bible verse on social issues,” he said.
🚨 Second church fire in the #UK in one week:
The former King’s Hall Methodist Church in Southall, London, was engulfed in flames Sunday night. Around 70 firefighters responded. Cause under investigation.
Last week: fire at former St John’s Church in Camelon, now probed as arson. pic.twitter.com/LEmtenBcrx— Observatory on Intolerance against Christians EU (@OIDACEurope) February 23, 2026
Nazila Ghanea, the U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, told the event that violence against Christians often involves wider violations of fundamental rights and should be understood within the broader system of international human rights protections. “Christians do not and should not stand alone,” Ghanea said, adding that the global human rights framework recognizes the interconnected nature of rights and places human dignity at the center of the U.N. system.
Marie Thérèse Pictet Althann, ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the United Nations in Geneva, called the discussion a significant moment because the Human Rights Council had rarely focused directly on discrimination against Christians. Márk Aurél Érszegi, special advisor for religion and diplomacy at Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said practical assistance programs can help communities facing persecution.
Balestrero said nearly 400 million Christians worldwide face persecution or violence and that about one in seven Christians is affected. He also said nearly 5,000 Christians were killed for their faith in 2025, an average of about 13 people each day. The archbishop said governments must protect freedom of religion by preventing third parties from violating that right and by safeguarding believers before, during and after attacks.
–Dwight Widaman
#AntiChristianViolence #Europe #ReligiousFreedom #UnitedNations #Christians #HumanRightsCouncil #Geneva
