Violent Attacks Against Christians in Europe: A Rising Threat to Human Dignity, Religious Freedom, and Democratic Order

By Hon. William Wagner (Ret)

WFFC Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom, Spring Arbor University

Executive Summary

Violent attacks and hate crimes against Christians in Europe rose sharply in 2024, according to the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC)—data first brought to international attention through reporting by The Christian Post. While the total number of incidents decreased slightly from the previous year, the severity escalated dramatically, with nearly double the number of arson attacks on churches and a significant increase in personal assaults. These trends reveal a profound moral and cultural crisis in Europe, where Christianity is increasingly marginalized and targeted. This Issue Brief analyzes the significance of these developments for human dignity, religious liberty, and good governance under the Rule of Law. It concludes with practical recommendations for Christian individuals, families, citizens, and churches seeking to respond faithfully and constructively in a time of rising hostility toward the Christian faith.

Introduction

Across Europe, a troubling pattern has taken shape—one that strikes at the foundations of human dignity, freedom of conscience, and the stability of democratic society. According to OIDAC’s most recent data, violent attacks against Christians surged in 2024, revealing not only a cultural drift from the continent’s historic Christian roots but a new willingness among some to use violence against Christians and their places of worship. The Christian Post played a key journalistic role in elevating these findings to public attention, reporting the documented record of more than 2,200 anti-Christian hate crimes, including nearly one hundred arson attacks and a marked rise in physical assaults and threats.

In a Europe long regarded as the cradle of Western civilization, these developments raise pressing questions for the Church, for civil society, and for governments that claim commitment to the rule of law and protection of fundamental rights. This Issue Brief analyzes the implications of this data through the lens of a Christian worldview and a constitutional framework, reflecting themes often emphasized in my public writings—truth, virtue, conscience, and the indispensable role of faith in sustaining freedom.

Key Findings from the European Data

OIDAC recorded 2,211 anti-Christian hate crimes across Europe in 2024. Although this represents a slight numerical decrease from the 2,444 incidents reported the year before, the severity of these attacks deepened significantly. Arson attacks against churches nearly doubled, rising to 94 incidents, signaling an alarming willingness to target sacred spaces that hold profound spiritual, cultural, and historical significance. Alongside the attacks on buildings, personal assaults and violent threats increased to 274, up from 232 in 2023. Clergy members, worshippers, and individuals identified as Christian were increasingly targeted.

The countries most affected were France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, and Austria—nations at the heart of Europe’s political and cultural life. European Christian leaders and human rights monitors warn that many governments are slow to acknowledge or properly classify anti-Christian hostility, sometimes ignoring it altogether. The reluctance to confront the problem risks allowing this hostility to grow unchecked.

Good Governance, Rule of Law, and Moral Analysis

A clear theme emerges from these statistics: the reverberations of these attacks reach far beyond individual crimes. They strike at the essence of what it means to be human and free. Every violent act against a believer or a church building constitutes an assault on human dignity, for human beings are created in the image of God and possess a conscience ordered toward truth. When individuals are harmed for following that conscience—or when sacred places are desecrated—the moral order that sustains justice and freedom is undermined.

A second truth must be acknowledged: freedom is fragile where objective truth is denied. A society that abandons truth and the moral foundations provided by the Christian faith quickly discovers that its commitment to freedom is hollow. Europe’s accelerating secularization has created a cultural vacuum in which hostility to the Christian faith can grow with little resistance. Laws alone cannot sustain liberty; liberty depends on virtue. And virtue, as the West has long understood, depends on truth.

Europe’s recent failures in addressing anti-Christian violence also raise serious concerns about the integrity of democratic governance. Nations that claim to uphold democratic institutions, good governance, and the Rule of Law have a duty to protect vulnerable minorities—including Christians—from targeted violence and discrimination. Yet in many instances, anti-Christian hate crimes are treated with less urgency than attacks against other groups. Equal protection under the law must not be selective. When governments fail in this duty, they erode the rule of law itself.

The Church, meanwhile, faces a moment of testing. Hostility toward the Christian faith does not call for retreat but for faithful presence. Persecution—whether violent or cultural—has historically been a crucible for refining Christian witness. The Church must not yield to fear or bitterness but must respond with courage, clarity, compassion, and steadfast faith.

Implications for Europe, the Church, and the Free World

The rise in anti-Christian hostility across Europe carries profound implications. First, the threat is not limited to Europe. The cultural conditions giving rise to anti-Christian sentiment—aggressive secularism, identity-driven politics, moral relativism, and state ambivalence toward faith—also exist in North America. Europe’s present often foreshadows the future trajectory of Western nations more broadly.

Second, when Christianity is marginalized or demeaned, society loses one of its primary guardians of human dignity, moral responsibility, and civic virtue. Christianity has shaped the moral and legal foundations of the West, including equality before the law, the inherent worth of the human person, and the primacy of conscience. Attacks on Christians therefore weaken the very principles that sustain democratic order.

Third, government indifference to anti-Christian violence is itself dangerous. When governments hesitate to enforce equal protection for Christians, they send a signal that attacks against the faithful will be tolerated or excused. This emboldens aggressors and erodes confidence in public institutions.

Finally, the Church must recognize this moment as both crisis and opportunity. A hostile cultural environment tests the Church’s faithfulness, but it also calls forth courageous witness. The darkness of hostility cannot extinguish the light of Christ—but it can expose the need for renewed commitment to truth, discipleship, and public engagement.

Recommended Actions for Christian People

Faced with a rise in anti-Christian hostility, the Christian response must be both spiritual and practical. Churches should cultivate a deepened life of corporate prayer for persecuted believers, including those in Europe who face arson, assault, and intimidation. Congregations can designate regular times to pray for the persecuted Church and for governing authorities charged with protecting religious freedom. Education within the Church is also vital; Christians must understand that religious liberty, conscience rights, and human dignity are not political constructs but biblical truths with profound implications for civic life.

Churches should also consider strengthening security measures—not from a spirit of fear, but from a posture of wise stewardship. This includes fostering relationships with local law enforcement, evaluating vulnerabilities, and responsibly caring for their facilities and people. Partnerships with European churches can provide mutual encouragement; congregations in safer contexts can offer prayer, resources, and fellowship to those facing hostility.

Christian citizens can also engage legislatively and civically, urging their elected representatives to recognize anti-Christian violence as a serious human-rights concern and to work with international partners to promote religious freedom. Supporting organizations that monitor persecution, sharing verified reports, and speaking publicly against the marginalization of Christians all contribute to a healthier public square.

Families and individuals have a vital role as well. Parents should teach children about the cost of discipleship and prepare them to live faithfully in a culture that may increasingly reject biblical truth. Christians should live their faith openly and courageously, responding to hostility not with fear but with compassion, truth, and moral integrity. Solidarity with persecuted believers—through prayer, communication, encouragement, and support—is an essential Christian calling.

Concluding Thoughts

Europe’s rise in anti-Christian violence is more than a regional concern; it is a moral crisis revealing the fragility of freedom when societies drift from truth and virtue. While the statistics are troubling, they also remind the Church of its calling. Christians are not defined by the hostility they may face but by the Lord they serve.

In this moment, the path forward requires clarity, courage, compassion, and unwavering faith. Christians must remain steadfast in defending human dignity, proclaiming truth, loving their neighbors, and shining the light of Christ into a world that sorely needs it. The challenges are real, but so is the hope that God provides to those who remain faithful.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The author gratefully acknowledges the use of AI-assisted drafting tools (specifically OpenAI’s ChatGPT) in the preparation of this Issue Brief. All ideas, structural decisions, analysis, and final edits are solely the author’s own, and the author bears full responsibility for the content.