Author and radio talk show host Dennis Prager in July 2007
"Islam, or Christianity, or Judaism, or Buddhism should be just as subject to criticism as conservatism or liberalism. However, the only religion the West permits criticism of is Christianity. People write books, give lectures and conduct seminars on the falsity of Christian claims, or on the immoral record of Christianity, and no one attacks them for racism or bigotry.... The head of the Anti-Defamation League announces that conservative Christians are the greatest threat to America today, and no one charges him with racism or Christianophobia."
Writer George Weigel says that Europe is suffering from "Christ(ian)ophobia," and he believes that the continent's low birthrate is due, in part, to the widespread unbelief in God. http://www.zenit.org/article-11770?l=english
A senior United Nations Official, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance, in June 2007: “Christianophobia has always existed, alongside anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. But its current growth is, paradoxically, not being noted in international discussions. Spectacular cases of hostility to Christians are currently occuring outside Europe in India, Nigeria and other countries but has reached its deepest ideological expression in the West. Here in Europe there is suspicion towards religious practices, as well as a rise in intolerance expressed by the slow marginalisation of citizens who confess any faith. The challenge to the whole continent is to find a balance between defending secular principles and upholding religious freedom”.
May, 16, 2007 (Interfax) - A Russian Orthodox bishop has accused the European Union of turning a blind eye to anti-Christian practices in EU countries. In insisting on tolerance, EU leaders slam Islamophobia and anti- Semitism but often ignore various anti-Christian practices, Hilarion, bishop of Vienna and Austria and the representative of the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox Church to European organizations, said at a meeting in Brussels with members of European religious communities. He cited alleged efforts to oust the church from public life as one such practice. http://www.interfax.ru/
Jewish writer David Joel Horowitz argues that if one fails to take decisive action, Christians will become “the Jews of the 21st century, the scapegoats of choice of the world's thug regimes.” (in: Protecting persecuted Christians, Christian Century, Dec 2, 98)
In 1983, Pope John Paul II mentions in his “Lourdes Speech” besides ‘common forms of persecution’ not to overlook “more sophisticated punishments, such as social discrimination or subtle restrictions of freedom, possibly leading to a kind of civil death.” He speaks of “a materialistic and religiously indifferent climate, which suffocates all spiritual efforts”. Believers ought to be courageous “to keep a clear vision, stay faithful and use their freedom well”.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, issued a rallying cry to the faithful, saying that the liberal consensus had now evolved into a "worrying and aggressive" ideology. "In politics, it seems to be almost indecent to speak about God, almost as it were an attack on the freedom of someone who doesn't believe," he said. (The Daily Telegraph, Nov 20, 2004).
Vatican „minster of foreign affairs“ Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo spoke about Christianophobia during a press conference on December 3rd, 04, at the occasion of a UN conference on religious freedom. He asked that in the future, UN documents on human rights mention Christianophobia together with Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism.
‘There is often a sort of Christophobia in the intelligentsia and opinion-formers in our society,’ says Cardinal Murphy O’Connor says, ‘but England urgently needs to hear the Christian message (in Spectator, 30 June 2006).
Europe is not safe from religious persecution, warned Vatican Cardinal Paul Poupard - although, he said, modern-day attacks on believers may take more subtle forms than those of previous eras did. Speaking to the Italian daily Avvenire, the president of the Pontifical Council for Culture observed that in Europe today: "Christians are mocked for their faith; many young couples are ostracized socially if they want a lot of children; those who oppose same-sex 'marriage' are considered intolerant."
All these "forms of persecution, hidden or overt, will bear their fruits," Cardinal Poupard said. The French prelate explained that an aggressive secularizing trend in Europe would eventually lead to more direct attacks on religion. Pointing to the thousands of Christians who died for the faith in Europe during the 20th century, he predicted: "This century will have some, too, in some countries."
As evidence of the growing hostility toward Christianity in Europe, the French prelate cited "the categorical rejection of a reference to the Christian roots of Europe in the preamble to the constitution for the European Union." That rejection, he argued, was a refusal to acknowledge historical reality. It is, he continued, "more than simple anti-clericalism," because it seeks to eradicate the evidence of Christian faith (Rome, July 7, 2004, CWNews.com).
One of the reasons why a reference to Europe’s Christian roots was rejected was, according to Jewish Professor of International Law (NYU) Joseph Weiler, European laicité: “European laicité, as distinct from American secularism, is not simply an “I don’t happen to believe in God.” It is a kind of faith in itself. It is a positive hostility to religion, which in Europe means Christianity. This is why I did not hesitate in my book to speak about Christophobia.”