(CP) There were no less than 168 incidents of non secular freedom violations against Christians in Western countries between January 2020 and December 2023, in keeping with a recent report from the Family Research Council’s Center for Religious Liberty, which documented cases across 16 countries.
The violations include arrests and fines for public preaching and praying, penalties for expressing biblically informed beliefs, and punitive measures against pastors not adhering to COVID-19 restrictions, which were often more severe for religious institutions than secular ones, says the study, titled “Free to Believe? The Intensifying Intolerance Toward Christians within the West.”
Using open-source documents, reports and news from media outlets, the study reveals a concerning trend of government-sanctioned actions against Christian practices and expressions, with no less than 58 incidents within the United States, 36 in Canada, 43 within the United Kingdom, and 6 in Greece. Other countries with similar incidents included France, Switzerland, Spain, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Germany, Malta, Australia and New Zealand.
Tony Perkins, president of FRC and former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, emphasized the alarming rise in Western hostility toward Christians, noting the authoritarian measures against individuals practicing their faith.
In the U.S., a California teacher, Jessica Tapia, was fired in February 2023 after questioning the district’s policy forcing teachers to cover and even mislead parents about students’ gender confusion and desire to discover as the other sex at college.
In Australia, Pastor Martin Beckett was investigated by police in August 2021 after admitting on a social media livestream that he had conducted a marriage in violation of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.
In Canada, Pastor Derek Reimer was arrested in March 2023 for breaking orders following his previous arrest, which forbade him from being inside 200 meters of any LGBT event. At the time of each arrests, Reimer was protesting drag queen storytime events at public libraries. He was charged with counts of disturbance, mischief, and 6 counts of harassment, each incurring fines or six months in prison.
The report lists the 168 incidents of non secular freedom violations against Christians within the 16 countries.
Arielle Del Turco, the report’s writer and director of FRC’s Center for Religious Liberty, expressed concern over the erosion of non secular freedom in Western democracies. Despite a decrease in COVID-19 related incidents after 2020, discrimination against Christians for his or her beliefs has reportedly increased, Del Turco noted.
The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe previously released a report documenting an increase in anti-Christian hate crimes across Europe in 2022, including physical assaults and murders.
The observatory’s findings suggested an underreporting of such crimes, attributing it to a scarcity of media coverage and a chilling effect amongst victims. New laws regulating speech and non secular expression have further infringed upon Christians’ freedoms, with specific mention of ‘buffer zones’ around abortion clinics criminalizing silent prayer, it said.
Legal developments affecting religious freedom include laws that potentially criminalize parents, pastors and teachers for expressing views contrary to prevailing opinions on LGBT issues or discouraging body mutilating trans procedures for religious reasons. The report also touched on the impact of the Ukraine war on religious freedom, noting discrimination against Orthodox Christians and actions by Russian authorities against Christian practices.
Both reports call for improved dialogue between governments, civil society and non secular groups to guard religious freedoms. Recommendations include enhancing religious literacy amongst public officials, ensuring fair media representation of non secular views and inspiring Christians to interact respectfully in public discourse to bridge the gap between religion and secular society.
