The advent season is used by Belgian anti-religious politicians to propose ban of religious symbols on objects serving a public function and a ban on religious traditions of public life.
A Christian hotelier couple who expressed their Christian beliefs to Muslim guest during a discussion of religion were subsequently arrested for disrupting public order. Charges were later dismissed.
Homosexual students disrupted a lecture of Protestant philosopher Prof. Edith Düsing at Cologne University. The students made noise and used kissing and banners due to her support of a manifesto in May 2009 protesting the cancellation of an academic lecture at a psychology congress on grounds of the speakers’ research on healing homosexuality.
The International Social Survey Program - a 45-nation academic group - finds that nearly 40 percent of population has negative view of Christians. 49 percent of those surveyed said they would either "absolutely" or "most likely" not support a political party that accepted people from another religion. No non-Muslim religious gathering in Turkey is completely "risk free."
A couple from northern Hessen (Germany) had to pay a fine to the extent of 120 € for taking their children out of school for religious reasons. The district Court of Kassel charged the 48-year-old man and his 43-year-old wife with 60 daily rates of 1€ in an appellate decision. In the previous contested judgment of June 2008 they were supposed to go to jail for three months, even though the attorney admitted that the children are well educated.
New FBI statistics on hate crimes show a nine percent increase in crimes against religious groups in 2008 and an almost 25 percent increase in reported hate crimes against Catholics.
EU-equal opportunities-commissioner Vladimir Spidla has said that absolutely no exemptions can be allowed in anti-discrimination laws, even for religious conscience. In a letter to the British government, the EU has demanded that Britain abolish laws protecting religious freedom rights with regards to "sexual orientation."
United Left (IU) and Initiative for a Green Catalonia (ICV) proposed an amendment to the National Spanish Budget to deprive the Catholic Church of state funding, remove the tax deduction of volunteer contributions of citizens, and end the benefits on value-added-tax and property tax.
The Women’s Telephone Association of Milan launched an awareness campaign on violence against women featuring a semi-nude woman in the position of the crucifixion, with the slogan: “Who pays for the sins of men?”
Chapel set on fire in the night from November 15th to 16th in Over (Hamburg). Damage caused is estimated over 100,000 Euros.