The West’s churches are under attack – who’s responsible?

(Daily Caller News Foundation) – The Church of the Immaculate Conception in France went up in flames at the start of September, becoming the latest classic church in Europe to burn. Authorities are trying to determine what is driving the attacks, and data points to anti-Christian radicals and Islamists as the primary culprits.

A suspect with a history of allegedly committing arson attacks on churches was arrested for allegedly setting fire to the Saint-Omer church last week, according to France Bleu. He had recently been released from prison and allegedly targeted churches multiple times.

The suspect, Joel Vigoreuz, reportedly had posts sympathetic to left-wing views and videos of Islamic preachers on his social media.

“There is a general anti-Christian sentiment in France, from its anti-clerical and radical secularist history, which has gone unchallenged for years,” Anja Hoffmann of the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians (OIDAC) in Europe told the Caller. “It should not come as too much of a surprise that these attitudes might at some point translate into violent action.”

She stated an “increasing number of perpetrators” of the crimes targeting Christians are members of anti-Christian “ideological, political or religious groups.”

Hoffmann pointed to examples of vandalism from both radical Islam and the far left. During 2024, OIDAC Europe has recorded the defacement of one church, two chapels, five crosses, and over 50 graves with phrases like “Submit to Allah and “I will make war on the Christian world,” according to Hoffmann.

In July 2024, the Notre-Dame-du-Travail church in Paris was vandalized with “Submit to Allah,” and a knife was driven into the wooden throat of a statue of the Virgin Mary, La Croix reported.

In March, an Egyptian national with ties to the Islamic State was arrested for planning an attack on the Notre-Dame-de-Paris Cathedral in France, LeJournal du Dimanche reported. That same month, an Albanian man was arrested for interrupting a Holy Thursday mass and shouting “Allahu Akbar” in the Sainte-Eulalie church, according to Midi Libre.

In May, a Turkish man reportedly with psychological issues shouted “Allahu Akbar” after knocking over a Catholic cross with his van, according to the outlet FDS.

“In short, it would seem that a full-blown jihad has been declared on the churches of France, and its godless leadership is looking the other way when not actively providing cover,” Raymond Ibrahim, author of Defenders of the West, states on his website that documents Islamic attacks against Christians.

Hoffmann noted how the church of St. Bernadette in Montpellier was vandalized with the slogan “the only church that illuminates is the one that burns.” Photos show an anarchist symbol graffitied next to the ominous threat, reported Midi Libre.

OIDAC Europe collects data on anti-Christian hate crimes, and Hoffmann says France “consistently” ranks in the top three countries in the continent.

The group documented 106 anti-Christian hate crimes in its 2022 report, with only Italy and Germany having higher numbers.

The report defers to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) definition of a hate crime: “a criminal act motivated by bias or prejudice towards particular groups of people.”

OIDAC Europe’s report says the majority of hate crimes were committed by far-left groups, but there were also attacks by “far-right groups, satanist groups, and radical Islamist groups.”

The two main causes of church burnings are arson and “disrepair from neglect,” The Catholic Arena told the Caller. One of the most common attacks on churches is the destruction of tabernacles, according to the outlet.

The Catholic Arena noted it is the state’s responsibility to protect most churches. French President Emmanuel Macron promised last year to increase funding for repairing churches, but the destruction of churches has still not stopped, the outlet told the Caller.

From Aug. 25 to Sept. 1, OIDAC Europe documented six arson and attempted arson attacks on churches in Europe.