Church vandalism in Europe doubled in July, report says

The cover of OIDAC Europe’s July report. Photo: OIDAC Europe

Human rights advocates reported a twofold increase in acts of vandalism against Christian churches and other religious sites across Europe in July 2026. The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe) published the figures in its monthly report.

In total, researchers recorded 40 hate crimes targeting Christian communities during July. Germany had the highest number, with 15 incidents, followed by France with 10. Human rights monitors recorded five incidents in Italy, three in the United Kingdom, and two in Poland. Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Finland, and Turkey each recorded one incident.

The sharp rise in the desecration of religious sites was the main trend in July, with the number of such offenses reaching 18. Vandals targeted churches, monuments, crosses, parish cemeteries, and liturgical items. The attacks forced some congregations to temporarily close churches, reduce opening hours, or move Sunday services elsewhere. In the British town of Sheerness, for example, one congregation moved its Sunday services to a local café after church windows were repeatedly targeted with slingshots.

In addition to vandalism, human rights monitors recorded several cases of arson and desecration of sacred objects. In the German city of Hamm, police uncovered plans by a teenage ISIS supporter to set fire to a Christian church. In Kelheim, perpetrators burned a liturgical book inside a church. In the Irish town of Tramore, an unidentified assailant stabbed a woman as she prayed before Mass.

Attacks targeting individual believers are of particular concern to human rights advocates. In Regensburg, Germany, assailants beat an asylum seeker because he was wearing a cross around his neck. Authorities, however, declined to recognize religious hatred as the primary motive for the attack, describing it as a secondary factor. OIDAC Europe stressed the need to give greater consideration to religious motivation when recording such crimes.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that vandals had ransacked the Chapel of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Greece.

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