A new report has found that the level of marginalization of Christians is at unprecedented levels in Europe, with some politicians and organizations finally beginning to acknowledge the problem.

LifeSiteNews.com is reporting that the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDCE) has released its annual report chronicling incidents of anti-Christian discrimination in all member states of the European Union. It samples the “most striking” cases in which Christians have encountered either outright hate crimes or legal restrictions, including arrests and lawsuits, targeting their freedom of expression, belief and conscience.

Dr. Gudrun Kugler, director of the Observatory, explains: “Studies suggest that 85% of all hate crimes with an anti-religion background in Europe are directed against Christians. It is high time for the public debate to respond to this reality! We also notice professional restrictions for Christians: a restrictive application of freedom of conscience leads to professions such as magistrates, doctors, nurses and midwives as well as pharmacists slowly closing for Christians. Teachers and parents get into trouble when they disagree with state-defined sexual ethics. Our research shows that only with a more accommodating approach to religion and specifically to Christianity, Europe will live up to its foundational value of freedom.”

The numbers are appalling. According to the Scottish government, 95 percent of all religiously motivated violence was against Christians in 2010-2011, a figure which represents a 10 percent increase over the previous year.

In France, 84 percent of vandalism incidents were directed against Christians in 2010, which amounted to 522 acts of desecration – a number that represents a 34 percent increase over the previous year.

In the UK, 74 percent of the citizenry said they feel Christians are more sidelined than members of any other faith in 2010, up from just 66 percent the year before. Most said they believe the marginalization, which is caused by the rise of secularism, homosexuality and Islam, will get worse in the future due to unjust treatment of Christians by the courts and in the media.

The report lists over 200 incidents of Christian persecution that occurred in the last year, ranging from Christians who have been arrested and jailed for preaching against homosexual activity to vandalism of churches and cemeteries, particularly in Spain and France, countries with Europe’s largest populations of Islamic immigrants.

For example, in March 2011, Irene Weins, a mother of 12, was forced to serve a 43-day jail sentence in Germany for refusing to enroll her children in state-run sex ed programs. In January, 2011, a Christian UK couple was fined more than $5,000 for refusing to accommodate a homosexual couple in their guesthouse. A French teacher was fired for showing his students a film on abortion and discussing French abortion law.

Conscience rights are also under assault around the world, such as in the Netherlands where doctors are forced to refer patients for euthanasia even when it violates their religious beliefs. In Germany, a politician is seeking to sue physicians who refer homosexual clients for counseling.

As Dr. Kugler said during an interview with Vatican Radio, some medical professions in Europe are being “step by step closed up for Christians if they really take their faith seriously.” This affects midwives, doctors, nurses and pharmacists. He gave the example of France where pharmacists are “forced by law” to sell the abortion drug, RU 486.

“Raising awareness,” Dr. Kugler said, is the first step in countering anti-Christian religious discrimination. Journalists and politicians are not acting out of bad intentions but from a lack of knowledge of religious priorities and requirements.

Click here to read the full report.

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