All cases

Filtered by: Negative Stereotyping

Paint Attack On Pro Femina in Munich

November 26, 2020, Germany

On November 26th the Pro Femina consulting center in Munich was the target of a paint attack. After the growing political pressure on Pro Femina in the last few weeks, the office building was smeared with pink paint. On the opposite side of the street, posters were hung up with the slogans: "Decriminalize abortion", "My body, my choice" or "Kill fetuses". The police have been informed and a criminal complaint has been filed.

'Burn the Clergy' Hashtag Tolerated By Twitter Spain

November 25, 2020, Spain

On November 24th, Pope Francis beatified 127 Catholics who were killed in hatred of the faith in Spain in the 20th century. At the same time the hashtag demanding Catholic priests to be burned alive became a trend on Twitter. Tweets with the hashtag #FuegoAlClero, which means "Burn the Clergy" were permitted by Twitter. Some of those tweets included pictures of priests with their heads in flames and others labeled priests as "pedophiles" and "thieves". Although Twitter's current user policy states that the promotion of violence on the basis of religious affiliation is not allowed, these pictures of priests in flames were not removed until the 25th of November.

False Accusations Against De Ligonnès' Prayer Group

November 23, 2020, France

In mid-November, two of the five sons of a 60-year-old man accused a traditionalist prayer group, called 'Eglise de Philadelphine', of abusing their father by exploiting his savings. The prayer group has been targeted by anti-cult groups because of unconfirmed rumors. However, a court in Metz dismissed the charge of abuse of weakness.

Vandals Smeared Facade of St. Jan Kanty Church in Warsaw

November 15, 2020, Poland

On November 15th the St. Jan Kanty church in Warsaw was smeared with accusations and the lightning symbol. The symbol is known as the sing of the women's strike. The parish was target by activists connected to the women's strike group before. After attempts of breaking into the church during holy mass, the parishioners took action themselves and hired a security guard.

Anti-Abortion Slogans On the Facade of St. Matthew's Church in Warsaw

October 23, 2020, Poland

Unknown vandals tagged the Church of St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist in Warsaw with anti-abortion slogans saying: "My body ≠ your religion" and "women's hell" on the facade. The incident occurred during the weekend of October 23rd, when the law for abortion in Poland was amended.

Wave of Attacks Against Churches in Poland by Feminist Group's After New Abortion Law Was Passed

October 22, 2020, Poland

On October 22nd, the polish Constitutional Tribunal decided that eugenic abortion is unconstitutional. This led to an outrage of the left-wing feminist organization "Women's Strike". among others, which started attacking churches across Poland and interrupting church services. The activists vandalized the facades of many religious buildings by tagging them with vulgar or insulting slogans. Among the attacked churches were the St. Magda Magdalena in Warsaw and the parish church St. Jakub in Warsaw, the St. Vincent de Paul church in Otwock and other Shrines and buildings. The police is investigating.

Students Seek to Oust Porter Over Views on Gender Ideology

October 22, 2020, United Kingdom

The Union of Clare Students (UCS) of the Cambridge Clare University are trying to remove the city councilor Kevin Price, for refusing to vote on a motion that contained a statement affirming that trans-women are women, trans-men are men and non-binary individuals are also non-binary. Price resigned his role to vote as a matter of conscience on the 22nd of October. The UCS considers Price "Unfit" and demand not only a safe environment for trans-people, but also that they feel "celebrated".

March for Life Interrupted by Counter-Demonstrators Insulting and Stereotyping Christians

October 17, 2020, Austria

On October 17th, counter-demonstrators interrupted the March for Life in Vienna by blocking streets, which led to serval changes of the originally planned route. The counter-demonstrators also verbally and physically insulted the participants of the march with vulgar expressions and gestures. They also held up highly insulting banners like:"If Mary would have aborted, we would have been spared of you." Additionally, the counter-demonstrators held up flags against homophobia, stereotyping Christians as homophobic, despite the fact that the march was not about LGBTQ+ issues but the protection of the unborn life.

Pride Parade in France Leads to Anti-Christian Attacks

October 10, 2020, France

On the 10th of October, during the Gay Pride Parade in La Roche sur Yon, anti-Christian attacks took place. The ICES, which is a catholic institute that has been criticized before as homophobic, was guarded by the police, while people held signs saying "Blow up the ICES", depicting Jesus in a rainbow background and other direct statements against the church. The mayor of La Roche sur Yon also attended the parade and did not react to the anti-Christian statements or attacks.

Vandals Smeared Church Facade With Insulting Graffiti

October 8, 2020, Poland

On 8 October, the parish of St. Cross in Szczecin was vandalized with paint-bombs and spray-paint by vandals with a LGBT message. They left a logo on the display case with the phrase "Only LGBT", and wrote "You have blood on your hands" on the wall. They also threw paint bombs with the rainbow colors on the wall. Bogna Chalczynska, an extreme-left activist and representative for women, compared these acts to a noble fight of the oppressed Polish people during the Soviet-German occupation. This has caused concern and outrage among the believers who demand respect for their religious buildings.

Martini Church in Bremen Vandalized Again

October 7, 2020, Germany

The Martini Church in Bremen that belonged to the pastor Olaf Latzel was vandalized again, as reported on the 7th of October. It was smeared by unknown perpetrators with anarchic signs and the inscription "Fight Homophobia" on the wall. The Pastor Latzel is seen as an opponent of abortion and homosexuality and a "hate-speaker" by the LGBTI community. The police will investigate. Meanwhile, in November the pastor will stand in court for sedition, because of his teaching about natural family and homosexuality.

Podcast With Christian Journalist Birgit Kelle Deleted from Spotify

September 28, 2020, Germany

The sequence number 61 of the podcast "indubio" was deleted by Spotify, where the journalist Birgit Kelle was invited to speak about her book "Noch Normal? Das lässt sich gendern!" (Still Normal? That can be gendered!), which criticizes the gender movement. Spotify did not give any precise reason for the deletion, it simply said "content policy violations". Birgit Kelle has accused the streaming service of censorship functioning under the umbrella of the theme of "cancel culture". The Podcast "Indubio" has never used hate speech or any form of insulting behavior. The makers of the podcast have also filed a protest to Spotify for the unfair deletion, which was forwarded to the technical support.

Former Lesbian Experiences Discrimination After Leaving LGBT-Lifestyle and Becoming Christian

September 24, 2020, Germany

In a news article of an interview with a former lesbian, published on 24. September, Teresa Frei (changed name) talks about how in the more than 20 years of lesbian life she endured a lot of discrimination, violence and intolerance. But she says: "no discrimination as a lesbian living woman was as bad as the one which overtook me after I had discarded this way of life. " She recalls being repeatedly criticized and called old-fashioned and arch-conservative. She wrote a book called "Frauen Lieben" (Loving Women) under the false name of Teresa Frei, because she knows under her real name she would be subjected to bullying, and attacks. Teresa believes that her testimony is harmful to the LGBT Lobby agenda, because it doesn't go along with their narrative, but she refuses to accept the prohibition of expression or to have imposed opinions. According to her, there are lobbyists who search the internet for critical information to then publish inflammatory articles to create hatred and silence other people. She talks openly about her biography and wounds that led her to chose a lesbian lifestyle. Teresa also states that being homosexual is not genetically predisposed, and she has firsthand insight on the topic.

Amsterdam Mayor Accused Hillsong Church of Intolerance against Homosexuals

September 18, 2020, Netherlands

Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema linked the activities of the Hillsong Church with an increasing violence against gays during a council meeting in September and associated them with the promotion of gay healing and conversion therapy. To take action against the church's alleged intolerance, she announced her intention to approach the landlord of the Hillsong Church building. Both Hillsong Church and Christian parties in the council expressed their surprise and disappointment at the unfounded claims.

Discrimination Against Christian Academics in State-Led Educational Agency

September 7, 2020, Spain

The Observatory of Freedom of Religion (OFRC) in Spain, presented a research project in October 2019, to the National Agency for Evaluation and Prospective Studies (ANEP) under the Ministry of Science and Innovation on a Climate Change topic. The actors involved were the University of Alcalá, the University of Catalonia and researchers of three different universities, from which two have a Christian background. In June 2020 they received a statement that the experience of the members of the research, related to climate change, is doubted and they are afraid of a biased study, given the religious weight of the institutions involved. The OLRC took the case to the Ministry, but it was rejected.

Vandals Defaced Church of Santo Stefano di Macurano

August 9, 2020, Italy

On the 9th of August, the medieval Church of Santo Stefano di Macurano, in the countryside of Alessano, was defaced with paint inscriptions on the walls. The phrases were vulgar and blasphemous made with red and black paint insulting the Church and God. The perpetrators were identified through witnesses and security cameras as an Italian man and a German woman.

Government Proposed to Ban Pro-Life Campaigns In Front Of Abortion Hospitals

June 15, 2020, Ireland

In Ireland, the Government proposed creating "free access zones", where pro-life campaigners would not be allowed to stand in front of Hospitals and Abortion centers. Pro Life Campaigner Eilis Mulroy criticises the intended introduction of censorship zones. He claims that these exclusion zones go against freedom of speech and peaceful protests. Also, the Pro-Life movement criticizes the absence of meaningful support or interest in providing other alternatives to abortion in the draft Program for the Government.

Report Shows Increase in Violence Against Christian Believers in Spain

June 8, 2020, Spain

The Observatory of Religious Freedom (OLRC) based in Spain, reported a decrease in the attacks towards fundamental rights and an increase in violence against Catholic believers and places of worship (mostly Christian), on June 8th. According to Maria Garcia, President of the OLRC, 80% of the attacks have been directed against Christians. The report also shows political parties like "Podemos", the left party and the PSOE party as clear opposers of religious freedom involved in acts against Christians. The most affected cities are Madrid, Andalucia and Cataluña.

Church Falsely Accused of Spreading COVID-19 Virus

May 28, 2020, Germany

After many COVID-19 cases have been detected among the worshipers of the Bremerhavan Pentecostal church, the crisis management team warned of discrimination against believers. However, it was made clear that the infections have been through family and social contacts. The church defended itself and stated having a coherent hygienic procedure. The mayor complained, that the accusation was a discrimination act against believers.

Vandalism on Parish House And Urination on the Church of Omegna

April 17, 2020, Italy

On the 17th April, an 22-year-old vandal smeared the walls of the parish house in Omegna. On April 18th, the parishioners found urine in the confessional of the parish church, where a man was seen entering by witnesses. The police started investigating both cases, and identified the man through the surveillance cameras. He was responsible for both acts.

Unjust Stigmatization of Evangelicals in France

March 17, 2020, France

On Tuesday 17th March, the Prefect of the Grand Est and the Bas Rhin, Josiane Chevalier, questioned on the France Inter Program the responsibility of the Christian Church Open Door in Mulhouse (Haut Rhin) for the propagation of Covid-19. Her speech offended many evangelicals, who did not accept to be stigmatized by his remarks. She implied that the church meetings were irresponsible, although the last big meeting of Christians happened in February, before the lockdown was announced.

Organization Barnevernet: Children Taken Away From Parents Because of Religious Teaching

March 10, 2020, Norway

In Norway 16th November 2015, the Norwegian-Romanian family Bodnariu was forcefully separated, all five children were sent to different foster homes, because of the parents' Christian faith. The school teacher expressed concern to the Child Protection Organization Barnevernet, that the children were taught at home that "God punishes sins". There was no family review or court judgment. The Norwegian Authorities interrogated and intimidated the parents during the process. Two hundred and ten days later, the family could finally be reunited. There are several cases of forced adoption and family separations in Norway, influenced by the Organization Barnevernet. There have been protests against this organization, which has "destroyed many families" according to the victims. In another family, Merlita and Terje, whose son was taken away for 12 years, won the case against Norway after taking it to the European Court of Human Rights. Norway was convicted to human rights violations.

Tibidabo Church and Other Churches in Barcelona Vandalized on March 8th by Radical Feminists

March 8, 2020, Spain

The Church of Tibidabo was targeted by radical feminists on the 8th of March. Other churches vandalized on this day were the Sagrada Familia and Saint Agnes, among others. There were phrases displayed against Christians, stating that Christian values are oppressive and blasphemies about the Virgin Mary.

Cartoon Mocked the Church and the Pope

February 23, 2020, Spain

A blasphemous cartoon of the Pope and the Church was published by the Newspaper "El Diario", showing the Pope with a huge bag of money, paying the media.

Evangelical Pastor Accused Of Spreading The Coronavirus

February 17, 2020, France

From February 17th to February 21th 2020, evangelical French Christians gathered to pray and fast in the church of La Porte Ouverte in Mulhouse. This gathering was wrongly accused in the French media of being the beginning of contamination and dissemination of the coronavirus, leading to the stigmatization of evangelicals and threats. The pastor of the Evangelical church apologized for not being more informed, but there was no lockdown in place, as this happened at the beginning of the pandemic.

Insulting Graffiti on Saint Birgitta's and Blessed Hemming's Church and Synagogue in Turku

January 24, 2020, Finland

On the night of 23 to 24 the St. Brigitta's and Blessed Hemming's Church was spray-painted with slogans stating: "Stop hiding the pedophiles" and "Liars" in black and red paint. This is the second time this year that the church has been attacked with graffiti. The incident was reported to the police. The next week, the Jewish synagogue in Turku was also vandalised with red paint bombs. The 27th of January is the day of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust.

British Christmas Card Producer under fire for deeply offensive products

December 8, 2019, United Kingdom

A line of Christmas cards produced by British card company 'Love Layla' caused controversy for including messages mocking some of the deeply held beliefs of the Christian faith. The cards included taglines which call into question the Virgin Mary's miraculous conception, and which refer to Jesus as "a bloke that wore socks with sandals." Speaking to the Daily Mirror, James Mildred, for Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) said, "A lot of Christians will be deeply offended by this sort of thing...It highlights a fundamental hypocrisy that Christianity is seen as fair game to mock, disparage and insult."

Judge Opens Proceedings Against "Pederoclastia" Installation

July 25, 2019, Spain

The Spanish Association of Christian Lawyers has sought a court order to shut down an artist’s installation entitled "Pederoclastia" that contains "ornaments used in Catholic worship" and "figures of children in explicitly sexual postures." The Association also said on July 19 that it would file a criminal complaint against artist Fernando Barredo de Valenzuela (who is also the coordinator for Toledo Laica) for offending religious sentiments and inciting hatred, and may take steps against the Círculo de Arte de Toledo for "attacking the feelings of Catholics." On July 25, Toledo’s Court of First Instance No 2 opened a preliminary investigation into the possibility that the case constituted corruption of minors but had not ordered the exhibition to be shut down.

Evangelical Event Attendees Harshly Ridiculed

June 17, 2019, Austria

Many Christians complained about being offended and insulted for their religious faith after verbal attacks by Rudi Fußi on the Austrian talkshow "Fellner! Live: Rudi Fußi vs. Andreas Mölzer" which aired on June 17th on OE24.TV. As a guest on the program, Fußi launched into a tirade calling the estimated 10,000 Christians gathered at an evangelical event “lunatics” and mocking the act of praying for the Republic of Austria and the former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, calling it "completely cuckoo, totally sick" after the show host had introduced the topic.

Christian Group Ordered to Pay for Extra Security at Oxford Event

October 29, 2018, United Kingdom

Oxford students voted to ban Christian Concern from hosting its Wilberforce Academy residential conference at Lady Margaret Hall, calling the group a “real threat to the physical and mental safety of students.” The college, however, said it would permit the group to use its facilities provided that it paid for extra security. A college spokesperson said that Christian Concern's "opposition to abortion, Islam and LGBTQ+" rights would lead to protests so it needed to pay "additional security costs."

Scottish Campaign calls Believers 'Bigots'

October 22, 2018, United Kingdom

An anti-hate crime campaign One Scotland, launched in September 2018 by the Scottish police and government, includes a poster directed toward religious believers which reads (in part), “Dear Bigots, you can’t spread your religious hatred here. End of sermon. Yours, Scotland.” Other posters in the campaign were directed toward 'transphobes' and 'homophobes.' Critics of the campaign have noted that it singles out religious believers and calls them bigots without any qualification, and it is based on a political ideology which discriminates against those who hold traditional views.

BBC Scotland Posts Video Mocking Catholics

April 9, 2018, United Kingdom

The Bishop of Paisley criticized BBC Scotland for encouraging anti-Catholic prejudice. It posted a short film entitled ‘Homophobia in 2018, Time for Love’ on its Facebook page which depicts a priest holding a Mini Cheddar in a parody of the Host, and giving it to a woman who makes the sign of the cross, with a voice-over saying, “tastes like cardboard and smells like hate.” Bishop Keenan described the content as “beyond the pale, and unworthy of the BBC as a public service broadcaster.” The Archdiocese of St. Andrew's and Edinburgh also criticized the video for suggesting that Christianity fosters public hatred toward homosexuals. It was also said that "recent government figures on crimes with religious aggravations showed that 57% of these are now directed to Catholics, an increase of 14%.

Eggs Thrown at Priest's House after Homily

March 31, 2018, Spain

Eggs were thrown at the door of a priest's home on Holy Saturday, March 31st, a day after he was criticized by LGBTI groups for a homily in which he questioned whether 'gender ideology' was a biased view of the nature of men and women, and whether it had a scientific basis.

"Jesus Magazine" Mocked by French Daily Host

February 20, 2018, France

On the daily television program Le Quotidien, host Yann Barthès mocked the publication of a magazine called "Jesus" and comedian Vincent Dedienne joined in by singing "I have holes in my hands and in my feet." Eric Célérier, founder of the website Top Chrétien, publicly denounced this by noting that "mocking Jews is anti-Semitism and punishable by law. Mocking Muslims is Islamophobia. But strangely, it seems that making fun of Christians and Jesus is... humor."

Christian Polish Prayer Initiative called Islamophobic; Controversial

October 7, 2017, Poland

The public prayer event "Rosary to the Borders" was called "a problematic expression of Islamophobia" by the Associated Press and "controversial" by the BBC and other media.

Catalonian Separatists say Church is the Enemy

September 26, 2017, Spain

At a press conference held on September 26, 2017 in front of the cathedral in Tarragona, officials from the pro-Catalan independence political party CUP (Candidatura d'Unitat Popular) called the Catholic Church a "power structure to crush" that "discriminates against women and LGBT groups." It has also called for the elimination of aid to Christian schools and removal of a favorable tax status for churches.

German Greens Created "Anti-Feminist" Wiki; Targeted Christian Public Figures

July 28, 2017, Germany

The Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, the foundation of the German Green Party, created a website called "Agent*In" that listed individuals and organizations said to be "anti-feminist" in order to better find and combat them. The majority of the persons and organizations listed were Christians or Church organizations. After public criticism, the website was temporarily taken offline.

U.K. Foreign Office Agency says Evangelical Christians in the Global South Should “Reinterpret” the Bible

July 17, 2017, United Kingdom

The Barnabas Fund has highlighted a Wilton Park (an executive agency of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) report from 2016 in which it describes biblical sexual morality as 'hateful' and evangelical Christians in prejudicial terms. A key recommendation of the report is "challenging the interpretation of sacred texts."

The Arran Organization Lleida Launches Obscene Campaign Against Bishops

June 27, 2017, Spain

The Catalan separatist youth organization launched a campaign against the Bishop of Solsona, Xavier Novell, and Cardinal Archbishop of Valencia, Antonio Cañizares. Arran distributed a poster with the image of Antonio Cañizares and Xavier Novell practicing anal sex as "denunciation" of the Church's position on homosexuality.

Journalist "Jokes" about imprisoning Priests

June 6, 2017, Romania

The Romanian journalist Ovidiu Eftimie has stated that he “yearns for the years of communist persecution, where the priest were taken to the canal and stranded in jail” (“tânjește după anii de prigoană comunistă, în care preoții erau duși la canal și înfundau pușcăriile”). He has also stated that he would love to become a new Vişinescu and punch the church leaders. The media has characterized these statements as a joke.

Berlin's Left-Wing Politicians Opposed Cross on City Palace

May 20, 2017, Germany

The Greens and the Left party objected to plans to put a cross on top of the rebuilt Stadtschloss, the future site of the Humboldt Forum, saying the plan endangers the "open cultural dialogue" intended for the site. The Humboldt Forum is an art and culture museum project.

News Article Used Pro-Life Rally Picture to Illustrate "Religious Extremism"

May 11, 2017, Germany

News and email website GMX published an article by journalist Mathias Heim about a recently-published study correlating certain head trauma with religious "fundamentalism." Although the article begins with “The problem of the religious fundamentalists has been a topic in science even prior to IS-Terror”, and never mentions Christians or Christianity, the photograph accompanying the article, with the headline “Injuries in the brain can lead to religious extremism”, depicts a peaceful Christian pro-life demonstration. This clearly negatively stereotypes Christian pro-life activists as "extremists".

Croatian Theatre Festival Included Play with Jesus Christ Rape Scene

April 22, 2017, Croatia

A theater festival in Split was to include a controversial play which depicts Jesus Christ raping a Muslim woman wearing a hijab. This drew strong condemnation from Croatia's Catholic Church.

Blasphemous Attack against Church on Maundy Thursday

April 14, 2017, France

During Maundy Thursday a young woman enter the Saint-Bruno Church, Bordeaux France, and pulled down her trousers and showed her stomach where she had painted a word in the color red. She then proceeded to proudly post the pictures of this blasphemous attack on her Facebook profile.

Social Worker Discouraged Parents from Christening Son

April 13, 2017, United Kingdom

A social worker from Kent met with parents who were considering placing their child for adoption and told them the chances of their son being adopted would be hindered if he were “christened into the Christian faith,” after they expressed their wish to have their son baptized.

Demolition of Cross Recommended by Organization in Castellón

April 8, 2017, Spain

The Association of Friends of Ribalta have recommended demolishing the cross in the Ribalta Park as they say that it is a fascist symbol and thus does not comply with the law of historical memory. A petition against the Association of Friends of Ribalta’s claim is circulating. It is not the first time that the cross's existence has been up for debate. In 1979, there was a political vote on the issue and the cross was allowed to remain standing.

Catalan Club Received Complaints for Offensive Show

April 7, 2017, Spain

A club in Barcelona received several complaints after its Good Friday show included an actor dressed as Jesus dancing with a cross. Adults who attended the show were offended and started a petition to ensure that the show was not repeated. They called the show “a mockery to the religion of Christianity to its believers and what it really means to celebrate Easter” (“una burla hacia la religión cristiana, hacia sus creyentes ya lo que realmente significa la celebración de Semana Santa”).

Journalist Calls Bishop Sexist and Homophobic

March 27, 2017, Spain

Spanish Journalist Fernando Pérez Monguió published a blog post about the Bishop of Cordoba, Demetrio Fernández, in which he called him "a fanatic and a dangerously sexist and homophobic prelate." He accused the Bishop of having attacked the honor and dignity of homosexuals and women and demanded an apology. Among the writer's complaints were the Bishop's remarks against abortion, homosexuality, and gender ideology -- each of which are consistent with the teaching of the Catholic Church.

Columnist Calls Immigration Minister's Crucifix Necklace a Symbol of Xenophobia

March 6, 2017, Norway

Sven Egil Omdal, a veteran journalist and editor who currently works as a commentator for newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad, noted that Sylvi Listhaug, Norway’s government minister in charge of immigration and asylum issues, had been wearing a cross necklace much more often than in the past. “Am I claiming that she uses the cross as a political statement to appeal to that strange group who thinks that fear of foreigners is a Christian virtue?” Omdal queried on social media. “Yes, that’s basically what I’m doing.”

Spanish Councilman Officiated Wedding Dressed as a Priest

March 3, 2017, Spain

Councilman Javier Botella of Levatemos El Puerto officiated at a wedding of his childhood friends in a priest costume. He was wearing an F.C. Barcelona scarf as a stole and a black cassock with golden edges. He posted a picture of himself and the newly married couple on Facebook and was immediately criticized for ridiculing the Church and the sacrament of marriage in his public capacity.