All cases

Spanish Evangelicals banned from using funeral chapels

May 31, 2025, Spain

In May 2025, the Federation of Evangelical Religious Entities of Spain (FEREDE) filed a formal complaint with the Spanish ombudsman, denouncing discrimination against the evangelical community in Spain, including a ban on using funeral chapels.

UK Court Backs Christian Teacher After Unfair Dismissal For Sharing Christian Views

February 12, 2025, United Kingdom

On February 12, 2025, the UK Court of Appeal ruled in favor of Christian teacher Kristie Higgs, who was fired in 2019 for sharing her concerns about sex education policies and expressed her Christian beliefs about this topic on her private Facebook page. The court confirmed that traditional Christian beliefs on social issues are protected under the Equality Act. The decision marks a major victory for freedom of speech and religion in the UK.

UPDATE: Deselected Christian candidate sues LibDems for religious discrimination

September 13, 2024, United Kingdom

David Campanale, who was deselected as a candidate because of his Christian worldview, is now suing the party for discriminating against him because of his protected religious beliefs. In their defence, the LibDems have reinforced the claim that some Christian beliefs are incompatible with the party's current values.

Secular Belgian court fines Catholic prelates for denying a woman access to deacon training

June 27, 2024, Belgium

Belgian prelates Archbishop Luc Terlinden of Mechelen-Brussels and former archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels Cardinal Jozef De Kesel were convicted by a Belgian court after they denied a woman entry into a diaconate formation program and ordered to pay compensation.

Evangelical church in Rome refused tax exemption, ECtHR dismisses case

June 20, 2024, Italy

As reported on June 20, the Supreme Court of Italy has ruled between Breccia di Roma, an evangelical church, and the Italian tax authorities. The authorities had refused to give the Breccia di Roma Church tax-exemption under Italian law, available to all religious places of worship, on the grounds that its premises lacked the “intrinsic characteristics” of a religious building. The Supreme Court backed the decision by the tax authorities. An appeal at the European Court of Human Rights has been dismissed. The case raises massive concerns about discrimination of evangelical churches in Italy.

Norwegian city under investigation for denying funding to Christian organisations

April 5, 2023, Norway

In the Norwegian city of Klepp, nine council members are conducting investigations into a suspected case of religious discrimination over the funding of Christian organisations. It is suspected that organisations that adhere to the traditional view of marriage appear to be left out of the community grants.

High Level of Anti-Christian Crimes in France Can't be Ignored Anymore: Collective Statement by 20 Personalities

March 3, 2023, France

The anti-Christian incidents have been rising in France, up to the point that 20 personalities from different organisations and careers have issued a letter to the authorities. The newspaper "Le Figaro" has published a collective statement signed by twenty french personalities asking for a better response against this problem in France and Europe. The article mentions recent news about two nuns who will leave the city of Nantes due to insecurity. The authors state: "If the worrying rise in violence against religions affects all believers, Christianity remains the primary target of anti-religious acts in France as in Europe." The statement asks the European Union to "react and recall that all anti-religious acts must be fought with the same force."

Church of Saint-Eustache in Paris Desecrated

March 2, 2023, France

On March 2, the church of Saint-Eustache located in Paris was severely damaged and desecrated, according to media reports. Unknown perpetrators broke the protective glass of the altar with a fire extinguisher. The parish community was shocked and commented: "This altar is at the heart of the church as Christ is at the heart of our gatherings and of the rich life of our parish community." Further damages and motives are still under investigation.

Update: Grandmother Fined for Praying on the Street Wins Her Appeal

July 18, 2022, United Kingdom

Rosa Lalor, who on the 24th of February of 2021 was fined for praying silently on the public street, and later decided to challenge the sanction, won her appeal. At the time, the police considered that she did not have a "reasonable excuse" to be outside, even though she explained that she was simply "walking and praying" and that daily exercise was allowed. She received a fine of £200 and was then detained in the police car. Rosa Lalor decided to challenge the fine, with the help of ADF UK and won the case in court.

Parental Consent Not Needed for Children Under 16 Years Old to Take Puberty Blockers

May 6, 2022, United Kingdom

On the 6th of May, the Supreme Court of the UK declined to take the Bell v Tavistock case, regarding puberty blockers for teenagers under 16 years old, which means the ruling by the Court of Appeals will currently stand. After the High Court ruled that 13-year-olds were not old enough and needed parental consent to begin hormone blockers; Tavistock appealed in June of 2021 and the Court of Appeals ruled that it was not the High Court's decision to make. Instead, they ruled that parental consent was unnecessary and that clinicians could decide it with their patients. This is a significant concern for Christian parents who would disagree with such treatment.

Ireland: Couple to go to Jail for Attending Mass During Lockdown

April 28, 2022, Ireland

Jim Ryan (64), and his wife Ann (59), were both fined €300 for travelling 70km to a Mass on Easter Sunday when there was a 5km limit for non essential travel during lockdown. They have since appealed their sentence but have also said they will go to jail rather then pay. Jim told the Sunday World "I have no intention of paying them a fine for me going to Mass - for doing what I have done my whole life."

Scottish Ministers Criticized for Seeking Dialogue Between Pro-life and Pro-Choice Groups

April 27, 2022, United Kingdom

Scottish ministers said they plan to explore options of mediation with pro-life activists regarding "buffer zones" around abortion clinics. According to minutes from an abortion "buffer zone" meeting in February, the Centre for Good Relations asked for engagement “with all interested parties, not just those who are directly involved with the conflict itself." The ministers were criticized for their plan which aims to understand “the issues and perspective from all sides."

Christian Asylum Seeker Wins on European Court of Human Rights

April 26, 2022, Switzerland

In 2018, a Pakistani national who had converted from Islam to Christianity requested asylum in Switzerland but was rejected by the authorities. Despite them recognizing his conversion, The Federal Administrative Court rejected the request; however, upon taking the case, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled in favor of the applicant. They held that articles 2 and 3 of the ECHR would be violated should he be sent back to Pakistan.

Spanish Council of the Judiciary: Proposed "Trans Law" Would Violate Human Rights

April 22, 2022, Spain

The Spanish General Council of the Judiciary's (CGPJ), warned that the LGBTQ+ draft law proposed by the government would violate the rights of women, parents, and religious persons. The law seeks to allow minors to change their sex after the age of 12 without submitting a medical or psychological report and after the age of 16, parental consent would not be needed. Christian parents would not be able to raise their children in line with their beliefs and women's spaces and women's sports could be jeopardized.

76-year-old Grandmother Arrested for Praying Outside during Lockdown

April 13, 2022, United Kingdom

76-year-old Rosa Lalor was arrested on February 24th, 2021 as she did not have a "reasonable excuse" to be outside at the time. This was despite her explaining to the police officer that she was "walking and praying," and daily exercise was allowed. The officer accused her of not praying in a house of worship and fined her £200 after detaining her in a police car. She challenged this fine and has taken it to court with the help of ADF UK.

DIY Abortion Pills Violate Parental Rights in England

April 5, 2022, United Kingdom

New DIY abortion laws in the UK, allow for women to have an abortion without seeing a medical professional; but, by simple talking, and then ordering pills over the phone. This raised serious concern for the health of women and the possibility for minors to abort without properly consulting a professional or their parents before starting something that could traumatize their lives. Parental rights are violated in this case, which is especially problematic for Christian parents who would not agree with their child taking such actions.

Update: Conversion Therapy Ban in UK No Longer Covers Transgender People

March 31, 2022, United Kingdom

Boris Johnson announced on March 31st that the so-called conversion therapy ban in the UK would no longer cover transgender people but only gay or bisexual people. This was a change from what had been announced a few hours earlier which was that the ban would be dropped entirely and non-legislative methods would be explored. Despite the entire ban not being dropped, this was still good news for the Christian community as this potential legislation would make it difficult if not impossible, for parents and teachers to encourage their children to adopt the Bibles views on gender and marriage.

Russian Occupied Crimea Orders Law to ban Ukrainian Orthodox Church

March 30, 2022, Russian occupied Crimea

Law makers were ordered, by Sergei Aksyonov head of Russian-controlled Crimea, to draft a law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the Black Sea Peninsula. The working list was planned to be finished by the end of the week, at which point, it would be adopted by parliament. This reflected the tension which existed for a number of years in the Orthodox Church, but saw a resent rise as the war developed.

WHO called for Doctors to Act Against Conscience

March 26, 2022, Switzerland

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for a ban on all limits on abortion as they may violate the rights of "women, girls or other pregnant persons." Among these proposed policies, was one that would limit medical professionals' rights to refuse to take part in abortion for conscientious reasons. These targeted Christian doctors who, for religiously based moral reasons, are unable to assist in an abortion and would face consequences if countries were to act on this guidance.

WEA Called Greece to Provide Religious Classes other than Christian Orthodox

March 23, 2022, Greece

In the UN Human Rights council's Universal Periodic Review of Greece on April 23rd, the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), encouraged Greece to provide alternative religious classes for students who were not Orthodox Christians. They said that there should be a class for all major religions in Greece and the Orthodox Christian class should be optional, as should all the other religious classes. This would increase the religious liberty of all denominations but also that of other Christian religions and especially parents of alternative religions.