Is church vandalism rising across Europe?

Barely a day seems to pass without a new report of church vandalism in Europe.

Consider the following recent incidents:

• Italian media reported Aug. 24 that human excrement was smeared near the entrance of Sant’Antonio al Seggio church in Aversa, Italy.

• On Aug. 25, vandals damaged gravestones at the Church of Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Cuthbert, in Bedford, England, for the second time in a month.

• The head of a sculpture of an apostle was stolen between Aug. 29 and Aug. 30 from Trier Cathedral, Germany’s oldest cathedral and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

• On Sept. 1, Spain’s Observatory of Religious Freedom and Conscience reported that seven of the nation’s churches suffered vandalism or desecration in the previous month, in what it called a “black August” for the Catholic Church.

What should we make of these reports? While they are each striking, are they isolated incidents or do they reflect a growing trend?

And if church vandalism in Europe is increasing, what are the possible reasons?

The question of whether church vandalism is rising in Europe is simple enough. But it is not easy to answer.

Europe consists, depending on how you count it, of around 50 countries of varying sizes and economic development. While some nations meticulously track incidents, others scarcely record them.

Vandalism appears to be an ingrained form of human behavior, seen in most times and places. Given there are tens of thousands of churches across Europe, regular reports of vandalism are hardly surprising.

But we are not entirely bereft of data. One of the most authoritative collectors of church vandalism reports is the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe in Vienna, which began its monitoring work in 2005. The observatory’s annual reports have become one of the most reliable ways to track trends across the continent.

In 2021, it recorded more than 500 anti-Christian hate crimes, around 300 of which related to vandalism.

In 2022, a total of 748 cases were reported in 30 countries, including 516 instances of vandalism.

In 2023, the observatory documented 2,444 anti-Christian hate crimes in 35 countries. Vandalism accounted for 62% of the incidents (approximately 1,500 cases).

These figures suggest a rapid increase in church vandalism in Europe.

The observatory is yet to publish its figures for 2024, but is likely to do so in October or November. Given the sharp rise from 2021 to 2023, a further increase in 2024 would seem to confirm a continent-wide trend of surging church vandalism.

But we are unlikely ever to have a comprehensive statistical picture of the situation across Europe due to the difficulty of gathering data.

France is among the few European countries that publishes annual figures for anti-religious acts, including church vandalism.

The country’s Ministry of the Interior reported 857 anti-Christian acts in 2021, 923 incidents in 2022, and 854 in 2023.

Of the 2023 incidents, 90% were attacks on property, such as churches and cemeteries.

There is a lag in releasing the figures, so the numbers for 2024 could be available in January or February 2026.

According to the Observatory of Religious Heritage, founded in 2006 to safeguard France’s religious patrimony, 27 churches were damaged by fire in 2023, eight of which were deemed criminal acts.

In 2024, there were 26 church fires, 14 of which were classified as criminal.

The German government also publishes annual crime statistics that include vandalism against churches. It identified 92 crimes against churches in 2023, and 111 in 2024 — a 20% rise.

The figures for 2025 are likely to be released in May or June 2026.

A spokesman for the German bishops’ conference said in August 2025 that vandalism had become more “brutal” in recent years.

“Broken offering boxes and overturned, broken candles were always annoying, but since around 2015, we have been dealing with an intensified dimension,” he said.

As examples of the intensification, he mentioned “excrement in holy water fonts and confessionals, decapitated statues of Christ and saints.”

In April 2025, the Countryside Alliance, a U.K. organization representing rural interests, reported that more than 9,000 crimes were recorded at churches from 2022 to 2024.

Information provided by 34 out of 45 of the U.K.’s territorial police forces showed there were 3,396 incidents of criminal damage, vandalism, and arson among a total of 9,648 crimes.

Given the moderate response rate, the total figures are likely higher than recorded.

Commentators offer various theories for the apparent rise in church vandalism in Europe.