There were 2,444 anti-Christian hate crimes across 35 European countries last year, with the UK among the highest, a new report has found. 

Most of the incidents were acts of vandalism against churches (62%), followed by the desecration of Christian sites (24%), arson (10%), threats (8%), and physical violence (7%). 

The report by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC) highlighted a knife attack in Spain in which a priest died, a car-ramming attack on a Corpus Christi procession in Poland, and the attempted murder of a Muslim convert to Christianity in the UK.

The UK had the second highest number of incidents in 2023 - over 700 - after France, where nearly a thousand were recorded last year.

The report expresses concern about discrimination against Christians in the workplace and in public life in some European countries and sees this trend as one of the reasons for "increasing self-censorship" among Christians in Europe.

It quotes the findings of a 2024 study by Voice for Justice UK which found that only a third (36%) of Christians under the age of 35 in the UK feel free to express their Christian views on social issues at work. 

OIDAC said that the UK prosecution of pro-life supporters Adam Smith-Connor and Isabel Vaughan-Spruce for praying silently in an abortion clinic buffer zone was "particularly shocking". 

Commenting on the findings, Anja Hoffmann, executive director of OIDAC Europe, said, "In particular, Christians who adhere to traditional religious beliefs face increasing discrimination and hostility, ranging from bullying at work to the loss of employment.

"It is very worrying that the peaceful expression of personal religious beliefs, for example on matters relating to marriage and family, has become the potential end of a political career or employment, or even the beginning of a court case."

Germany ranked third highest after France and the UK, rising from 135 incidents in 2022 to 277 last year - a 105% increase. 

The report is based on data reported by European governments to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2023, as well as instances reported by civil society. 

Hoffmann said it was likely that the real number of anti-Christian hate crimes was much higher as several countries, including France, did not submit statistics to the OSCE last year. 

Professor Regina Polak, OSCE Representative on Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Discrimination, said, "Anti-Christian hate crimes send a message of exclusion to the victims and their communities, and to society as a whole.

"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."

The report calls for the creation of an EU coordinator role to combat anti-Christian hatred on a par with existing mandates to combat antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred.

Professor Polak said the increase in discrimination and hate crimes against Christians in Europe must "be taken more seriously by governments and civil society and needs profound research to understand its specific nature and causes".