Source: www.worthynews.com
Date: November 19, 2024
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A newly published study by the Austria-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC) shows there were over 2,400 reported hate crimes targeting Christians in Europe last year.
According to the OIDAC report, police or civilians documented 2,444 anti-Christian hate in 35 European countries in 2023. However, the study authors said, the number of unreported incidents is probably high too.
OIDAC highlighted France, the United Kingdom, and Germany as “countries of particular concern.” France saw almost 1,000 anti-Christian hate crimes in 2023; the United Kingdom saw a rise to 700 incidents; and Germany saw a 105% increase in anti-Christian hate crimes to 277 recorded incidents in 2023.
In a statement quoted by OIDAC, Professor Regina Polak of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), said: “Christians are the target of hate crimes across the OSCE region. The nature of these crimes ranges from graffiti to vandalism and physical assaults against Christians distributing religious materials.”
“Anti-Christian hate crimes send a message of exclusion to the victims and their communities, and to society as a whole,” Polak added. “We can observe an increase of discrimination and hate crimes against Christians also in Europe. These phenomena must also be seen in the broader context of intolerance and discrimination against other groups and in particular against members of religious communities, both minority and majority groups.”
OIDAC further noted that attacks against Jews and Muslims skyrocketed last year. “Tragically and unsurprisingly, acts of violence against Jewish and Muslim believers were particularly high. Around 9,000 anti-Semitic and 6,000 anti-Muslim hate crimes were reported by European governments to the ODIHR/OSCE in 2023,” OIDAC said.