Our mission
To contribute to a Europe where Christians may fully exercise their fundamental rights to freedom of religion, conscience, expression, and association, without fear of reprisals, censorship, threats, or violence.
To contribute to a Europe where Christians may fully exercise their fundamental rights to freedom of religion, conscience, expression, and association, without fear of reprisals, censorship, threats, or violence.
Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians is the phrase we use to describe the denial of equal rights of Christians and the social marginalisation of Christians.
In its “Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe Report 2024” OIDAC Europe identified 2,444 anti-Christian hate crimes which were documented by police and civil society in 35 European countries in 2023, including 232 personal attacks on Christians, such as harassment, threats and physical violence. These figures include data from the ODIHR/OSCE, which found 1,230 anti-Christian hate crimes recorded by 10 European governments in 2023, up from 1,029 recorded by governments in 2022. The ODIHR/OSCE Hate Crime Data Report is also released on 15 November, in view of the International Day of Tolerance. According to OIDAC Europe, countries of particular concern were France, with nearly 1,000 anti-Christian hate crimes in 2023; the United Kingdom, where incidents rose to more than 700; and Germany, which saw a 105% increase in anti-Christian hate crimes, rising from 135 in 2022 to 277 in 2023. In addition to violent attacks, OIDAC Europe’s report also found discrimination against Christians in the workplace and in public life in some European countries, leading to increasing self-censorship among Christians in Europe. The past year has also seen a number of restrictions on religious freedom by European governments, ranging from bans on religious processions to the targeting of Christians for the peaceful expression of their religious beliefs.
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Nine students – seven countries – one concern: “Self-Censored” explores the situation of Christian students across Europe who perceive different degrees of difficulty when sharing their faith and convictions at their universities. The film presents the genuine and honest conversation of nine students who identify a similar experience across their denomination and national differences: Most of them tend to withhold some of their thoughts and opinions or even hide their faith out of fear of conflict, rejection, or other consequences. The 40-minutes film gathers positive and negative experiences and takes the viewer through the life stories of each of the young adults, their passions, their fears – and their hopes and vision for a society without polarization and discrimination.
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New report by OIDAC Europe, released on November 16, 2023, finds an increase of anti-Christian hate crimes, rising to 748 cases in 2022. This matches the data of the new OSZE Annual Hate Crime Report, which documents 792 anti-Christian hate crimes in 2022. OIDAC Europe’s annual report found an increase of anti-Christian hate crimes by 44% over the last year. Arson attacks on churches increased even by 75% between 2021 and 2022. The organization also found that more crimes have a clear extremist motivation, and that Christians who expressed traditional Christian worldview have faced legal discrimination.
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The annual report by OIDAC Europe was released in Vienna two days before the International Day of Tolerance (16 Nov.). It focuses on three main developments of intolerance against Christians in European countries: Anti-Christian hate crimes, self-censorship and negative stereotypes and treatment of Christians in the media. OIDAC provides an overview of over 500 Europewide anti-Christian Hate Crimes and discusses disproportionate Covid-19 regulations for churches. The report analyses other forms of discrimination through legislation and lack of competence from authorities when dealing with cases involving religion and religious freedom.
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