Europe's Churches Are Burning: 39 Anti Christian Hate Crimes in January Alone
OIDAC recorded 39 anti Christian hate crimes across Europe in January 2026 including arson, vandalism, and desecration of churches and religious symbols.
Anti Christian Hate Crimes Are Surging Across Europe and Nobody Is Talking About It
The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC) recorded 39 anti Christian hate crimes across the continent in January 2026 alone. The incidents included 18 cases of vandalism, 10 arson attacks, five desecrations, and four thefts targeting religious symbols.
Italy led with 10 incidents, followed by Germany with eight and France with seven. Seven additional countries each reported at least one case. Outside the European Union, two incidents were documented in the United Kingdom and one in Ukraine.
January saw an unusually high concentration of arson attacks, most of which targeted churches in Germany and Italy. In one alarming UK incident, police banned a "Walk With Jesus" march through Whitechapel over concerns about disorder from the local community.
The European Parliament recently passed a resolution acknowledging anti Christian persecution across the continent. The resolution highlighted a glaring institutional gap: while the EU maintains a coordinator for combating anti Islamophobia, it has failed to appoint a counterpart for Christianophobia.
OIDAC director Anja Tang Hoffman emphasized the urgency of the situation.
There is a need for sustained monitoring, effective preventive measures, and proportionate law enforcement responses.
The true scale of anti Christian violence remains largely hidden. OIDAC documented over 2,200 hate crimes against Christians in 2024, averaging more than 180 per month. January's 39 reported cases likely represent only a fraction of actual incidents. In 2024 alone, 94 arson attacks were recorded on churches across Europe, nearly double the previous year's total, with one third occurring in Germany.
Among the most severe cases in recent years: a 76 year old monk was killed during an attack on a Spanish monastery in November 2024, and a historic church in Saint Omer, France, was nearly destroyed by arson in September 2024.
Rising Attacks on Churches and Christians in Europe Reveal a Crisis of Faith and Freedom
The pattern is unmistakable. Vandalism, arson, desecration, and physical assaults against Christians are climbing year after year, and European governments continue to drag their feet. France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, and Austria lead the list of nations with the highest number of recorded incidents.
Previous research by OIDAC confirms that anti Christian hate crimes are routinely downplayed, underreported, and politically overlooked across the continent.
The Crusader's Opinion
Let us be absolutely clear about what is happening. Christians in Europe are watching their churches burn, their sacred statues smashed, and their brothers and sisters physically attacked, and the EU's response is a strongly worded resolution. Meanwhile, they have a dedicated coordinator for Islamophobia but cannot be bothered to appoint one for the systematic persecution of Christians on their own soil. Imagine if 94 mosques were set ablaze in a single year across Europe. The world would rightly be in uproar. But when it is churches, the silence is deafening. This is not merely negligence. This is a deliberate double standard that tells Christians across the West that their faith, their heritage, and their safety are expendable. We will not accept that.
Take Action
- Report anti Christian hate crimes in your area to the OIDAC observatory at intoleranceagainstchristians.eu to ensure incidents are documented and counted.
- Contact your MEP or national representative and demand the appointment of an EU coordinator for Christianophobia, mirroring the existing anti Islamophobia coordinator.
- Support persecuted Christians through www.TheShepherdsShield.org, which provides aid and advocacy for Christians facing persecution worldwide.
- Donate to Open Doors or Voice of the Martyrs to support Christians enduring persecution in Europe and beyond.
- Share this article and the OIDAC reports on social media to raise awareness. The media will not cover this crisis unless we force them to.
