Hostile Climate With Regard to Religion esp. Christianity
Anti-religion groups have created a climate hostile to frank discourse. Besides defamation campaigns and negative stereotyping, hate incidents have come to the Observatory’s notice. Activists physically prevented a professor to enter an auditorium to voice deviating views. Anti-religion slogans and images are often used in hurtful manners, such as the public destruction of crosses, the image of Jesus as a crucified pig, or slogans such as “We are here to hurt your feelings” or “If Mary had had an abortion, we would have been spared people like you”.
Such physically or verbally violent attacks are only employed by anti-religious groups and violate freedom of religion as well as social cohesion. Law enforcement officers often do not know how to react in such cases. It further seems that perpetrating organisations receive public funding. It is therefore very important that public funds are not granted to organisations which do not respect freedom of assembly or freedom of religion of political opponents. Source and further information: The Observatory's Report 2012 on Legal Restrictions Effecting Christians in Europe