A major new report into the increasing levels of discrimination faced by Christians in Europe has been launched in Vienna. 

The report, produced by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe highlights the growing trend towards marginalising Christians from the public square.

The paper, Shadow Report on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe gives examples of attacks on freedom of religion and freedom of conscience, including moves in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to force doctors to perform abortions against their conscience.

The launch coincided with a conference sponsored by The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on freedom of conscience and religion.

The document also refers to attacks on freedom of expression, such as the Spanish Government imposing a €100,000 fine on a Christian TV network for running a series of advertisements in favor of the family and opposing the homosexual lifestyle.

Launching the document, the Observatory’s director, Dr. Gudrun Kugler, said that religious freedom was endangered “especially with regard to its public and its institutional dimension”.

She said that her organisation had received many reports “on the removal of Christian symbols, misrepresentation and negative stereotyping of Christians in the media, and social disadvantages for Christians, such as being ridiculed or overlooked for promotion in the work place”.

“We work towards greater awareness of a growing problem in Europe as a first step of a remedy. Our goal are equal rights for all, including Christians,” Dr Kugler said.

Mr. Mario Mauro, an Italian member of the European Parliament and OSCE representative on freedom of religion said: “The examples shown … prove that the discrimination against Christians occurs not only in countries where Christians are a minority, but that cases of intolerance and discrimination against Christian are present both East and West of Vienna, without counting the violent persecutions which affect Christian communities outside the OSCE area.

“There are several types of discriminations … intentional, when discrimination is motivated by an effective dislike of Christians, and unintentional, that is when some apparently neutral government rules result in unequal treatment for Christians.”

Mr. Mauro concluded by recalling the importance of ensuring freedom of religion, as well as guaranteeing the right to conscientious objection and also ensuring a full participation in public life by modifying legislation that provokes intolerance against Christians.

The document also refers to a “growing recognition” of the problem intolerance towards Christians as a result of the increasingly secular nature of European society.

It quotes the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Mr. Doudou Diène, who in 2008 urged UN Member States “to take the necessary measures to ensure that the promotion and development of secularism do not lead to a questioning or denial of the right of everyone, irrespective of religion, to participate in public life”.

Mr Diène added: “In this context respect for religious and cultural pluralism implies acknowledgment, not only of the right but also of the vocation of religions and spiritual traditions to deliver opinions on the fundamental issues in society, in particular those relating to ethics, the family, marriage and life.”

It also quotes a 2004 report by the UN Economic and Social Council, which acknowledges that some European countries seem to exhibit “a fear of allowing religion to play a role in public life”.

The quoted report states: “This is apparently explained by a “rationalist” aversion towards religion, which is seen as representing the irrational, as well as by a tradition of secularism that denies religions the possibility, if not the right, to play a role in public life.

“This form of prejudice against Christians or ideas based on religion, which exists both in Europe and in the United States, mainly concerns questions relating to sex, marriage and the family, on which the Catholic, Muslim and Orthodox Churches have taken stands.”