Europe Saw Over 2,400 “Hate Crimes” Against Christians in 2023, Report

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – An annual report by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC) shows there were “2,444 anti-Christian hate crimes” across 35 European countries in 2023, Christianity Today (CT) reports.

Published in November, the OIDAC annual report shows that the most affected countries were France (1,000 incidents), the United Kingdom (over 700 incidents), and Germany (277 incidents), CT reports.

“These trends should alert us all to step up efforts to protect freedom of religion or belief, including the freedom to openly and respectfully discuss different philosophical and religious viewpoints on sensitive issues, without fear of reprisal and censorship,” Anja Hoffmann, executive director of OIDAC Europe, said in a press release.

Noting that hostility toward Christians in Europe does not generate the same kind of attention that the persecution of believers in other parts of the world does, Christof Sauer, senior consultant and former founding director for the International Institute for Religious Freedom, told CT: “It is particularly challenging to attract attention for discrimination against Christians in Europe, compared to the discrimination of minority groups such as Jews and Muslims.”

“Secularists might regard Christians in Europe as those in power, as ‘perpetrators’ of violence from a historical perspective, and might have a hard time acknowledging victimhood,” Sauer said. “There is an increasing degree of religious illiteracy in Europe, and understanding of the broad scope of religious freedom often is limited.”

Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.

More Worthy News

Global Debt Nears $353 Trillion — Could a Financial Crisis Accelerate a New Monetary System?
Global Debt Nears $353 Trillion — Could a Financial Crisis Accelerate a New Monetary System?
Sunday, August 16, 2026

The United States is rapidly approaching another historic fiscal milestone, with the national debt now nearing $40 trillion as Washington continues running massive annual deficits and interest costs consume a growing share of federal spending.

Kushner Meets Hamas Leadership in Egypt as U.S. Pushes Gaza Disarmament Plan
Kushner Meets Hamas Leadership in Egypt as U.S. Pushes Gaza Disarmament Plan
Sunday, August 16, 2026

U.S. envoy Jared Kushner met senior Hamas leaders in Egypt on Sunday as the Trump administration intensified efforts to move Gaza toward disarmament and postwar governance, even as Israel continued targeted strikes against terrorist operatives inside the Gaza Strip.

Third Red Heifer Born in Israel as Temple Preparations Advance
Third Red Heifer Born in Israel as Temple Preparations Advance
Sunday, August 16, 2026

A third red heifer has been born in Israel this season, giving rabbis three candidates now being examined as part of renewed efforts connected to the biblical purification rites required for Temple service.

Rare August Storm Shatters Rainfall Records in Israel, Sends Floodwaters Through Judean Desert
Rare August Storm Shatters Rainfall Records in Israel, Sends Floodwaters Through Judean Desert
Sunday, August 16, 2026

A highly unusual midsummer storm swept across parts of Israel on Saturday, August 15, bringing heavy rain to Jerusalem, shattering August rainfall records near the capital, and sending floodwaters through a Judean Desert stream in what meteorologists described as an unprecedented summer event.

France’s Constitutional Council Upholds Euthanasia Law, Clearing Way for Assisted Death
France’s Constitutional Council Upholds Euthanasia Law, Clearing Way for Assisted Death
Sunday, August 16, 2026

France’s Constitutional Council has upheld the core provisions of a sweeping new law establishing a legal right to assisted dying, clearing one of the final major obstacles to euthanasia and assisted suicide in a nation long shaped by Catholic tradition.

Scores Killed As Strong Earthquake Hits Indonesia’s Flores Island; Second Quake Strikes Sumatra
Scores Killed As Strong Earthquake Hits Indonesia’s Flores Island; Second Quake Strikes Sumatra
Saturday, August 15, 2026

Scores of people have been killed after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s Flores Island early Saturday, authorities said, as rescuers struggled to reach some of the hardest-hit areas, while a less powerful tremor was reported in North Sumatra province.

Five Injured In Virginia State University Shooting; Multiple Gunmen Sought
Five Injured In Virginia State University Shooting; Multiple Gunmen Sought
Saturday, August 15, 2026

Five people were injured, one critically, in a shooting involving multiple gunmen at Virginia State University early Saturday, authorities said, a day after six people, including a suspected shooter, died in separate shootings in Michigan.