New report warns of ‘intensifying intolerance towards Christians in the West’
By Kurt Mahlburg, Mercator.
“This report is a warning call.”
“It is shocking to see Western countries — the same ones we think of as free and open societies — take authoritarian measures against Christians simply trying to live out their faith.”
So says Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, whose Center for Religious Liberty has just published its 2024 report on the state of religious freedom in the West.
Titled “Free to Believe?: The Intensifying Intolerance Towards Christians in the West”, the report — which the authors note is “far from exhaustive” — documents 168 incidents across 16 countries, all of which have taken place since the start of 2020.
“In the United Kingdom, Christians are being arrested for silently praying in their own heads outside of abortion facilities. In Germany, we see crackdowns on alternative faith-based forms of education. In the United States, Christian teachers and coaches are being fired for their beliefs about human sexuality, and Christians can no longer assume that their place of worship will not be targeted with violent action,” Perkins summarises.
“This report is a warning call.”
Alarmingly, the focus of the report was “government officials and entities targeting Christian churches, organizations, and individuals for prosecution or punishment based on their religious beliefs”. In other words, all 168 documented incidents were perpetrated by the governments of once-Christian, and supposedly still free, nations.
The report provides a shorthand summary of each incident, grouped by the country in which it occurred. Researchers compiled their data by analysing open-source documents, reports and media outlets.
Out of the four years examined by researchers (2020 to 2023), 2020 had the greatest number of incidents, in part due to Covid-19 restrictions that created new tensions between public health diktats and Christian leaders compelled by Scripture and conscience to continue meeting.
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