More than 40 anti-Christian incidents were recorded across Europe in July, targeting churches, religious symbols, clergy and individual believers.
The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe) documented “40 anti-Christian hate crimes targeting Christian places of worship, religious symbols, cemeteries, clergy, worshipers, Christian converts, and other Christian individuals” during the month.
OIDAC’s latest annual report recorded 2,211 anti-Christian hate crimes across Europe in 2024, with France, the U.K. and Germany among the countries historically reporting the highest numbers.
July’s total matched the 40 incidents recorded in June and remained just below the year’s monthly high of 41 in March. Vandalism was the most common category in July, accounting for 18 incidents.
The organization also recorded eight arson-related attacks, seven desecrations, two incidents of physical violence, two threats, two thefts of religious objects and one case involving both vandalism and violence.
Germany recorded the highest number of incidents in July with 15, followed by France with 10, Italy with five, the United Kingdom with three and Poland with two. Austria, Finland, Ireland, Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina each recorded one.
Several incidents involved the desecration of churches with human or animal waste. At St. Johann Catholic Church in Bad Dürrheim, Germany, a 40-year-old man “left excrement inside the church before damaging the interior while under the influence of alcohol.”
At St. Giles Catholic Church in Worth am Rhein, Germany, dog feces were reportedly placed before the altar. At St. Symphorien Church in Chambray-les-Tours, France, hosts were scattered across the floor and excrement was left near the entrance, while unknown perpetrators urinated in the holy water font at St. Boniface Church in Abenheim, Germany.
At Sancta Maria in Albis Church in Breil-sur-Roya, France, a threatening message reading “The only church that illuminates is the one that burns” was left at the site.
Individual Christians were also targeted. In Tramore, Ireland, a woman praying at Holy Cross Catholic Church was stabbed before morning Mass by a man known to have mental health issues. She suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
OIDAC said other incidents involving churches occurred across Europe during July but were excluded from its hate-crime total because investigators could not establish an explicit anti-Christian motive.
