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The European Parliament has recognised the real threat of “Christianophobia” against Christian believers all over the world.
In a resolution passed at the end of January, the European Parliament reiterated its condemnation of all forms of racism and discrimination, including “persecution of Christians”. The resolution noted that Christians living in the Middle East, the birthplace of Christianity, were often among the worst treated.
“Christian communities in the Middle East, among the oldest in the world, continue to face severe persecution, discrimination, forced displacement and restrictions on their freedom of religion or belief,” the resolution said.
The resolution went on to say, “Christianity remains the most persecuted religion in the world today, with more than 380 million people affected, there is no European coordinator responsible for combating Christianophobia, even though a coordinator has been appointed to combat Islamophobia.”
The resolution formally adopted a 2025 European Parliament report on human rights and democracy in the world.
That report also reiterates the European Parliament’s “condemnation of all forms of racism, intolerance, antisemitism, Islamophobia, persecution of Christians, xenophobia and discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, social class, disability, caste, religion, belief, age, sexual orientation or gender identity; calls for the adoption or the strengthening of mechanisms for reporting discriminatory behaviours, as well as access to effective legal remedies, to help end the impunity of those who engage in such acts”.
The news has been welcomed by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC), which particularly noted the recognition that there is a European coordinator to deal with Islamophobia, but no such post to deal with anti-Christian prejudice and discrimination.
In doing so, the OIDAC said, “the Parliament not only acknowledges the global scale of anti-Christian persecution but also highlights an institutional asymmetry within the EU’s existing anti-discrimination architecture”.
