SW News: A study by an Austria-based NGO has revealed that hate crimes against Christians significantly dipped in Europe in 2021 compared to the previous year. There were more than 500 such incidents last year compared to nearly 1,000 in 2020, according to a study conducted by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe.

The figures were revealed in the NGO’s 2021 Annual Report. It covers all the crimes against believers on the continent from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021. As per the report, there were 519 incidents of hate crimes that year. It was in France that the highest number of anti-Christian incidents were reported and the number was 124. Germany with 112 such incidents came second on the list.

While Italy witnessed 92 similar incidents during the same period, Poland recorded 60 anti-Christian hate crimes and the UK 40. There were 30 such crimes against Christians in Spain last year followed by Austria with 15, Belgium with 10, Ireland and Switzerland marking seven each.

However, in Germany, the government statistics say that there were only 109 anti-Christian hate crimes. According to the NGO, the most common hate crime against Christians was the vandalism of churches and Church institutions. In its report, it recorded 300 such incidents which included “graffiti, damage to property and desecration”. In 2021, there were 80 incidents of “theft of offerings, religious objects, consecrated hosts and church equipment”. There were also 60 cases of arson or attempts to do so.

The report says that there were 14 incidents of physical attack or threats and four cases of homicide. The number of hate crimes against Christians is slightly lower than the 578 such cases that were recorded in 2019. Senior Fellow for Europe at the Religious Freedom Institute Todd Huizinga said that “Religious freedom is gravely threatened in Europe, especially that of Christians.”