Arielle Del Turco, spokeswoman for the Family Research Council's (FRC) Center for Religious Liberty and Conscience, is a little surprised by the findings of her recent report on the persecution Christians face in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, America, and Canada.
"Free to Believe? The Intensifying Intolerance Toward Christians in the West" documented 168 incidents of persecution or unfair discrimination against believers across 16 countries between 2019 and 2023, though it did not count the 44 church burnings that have taken place across Canada since 2021.
"We noticed that there were many cases where the government was going after, in specific incidents, individual Christians or churches or Christian organizations for expressions of their religious beliefs," Del Turco relays. "We found the most incidents in the United States and the United Kingdom, with Canada coming in third."
She says no one source is to blame, but high on the list of reasons for this would be liberal media, what children are being taught in schools, and people turning away from their faith.
"We're looking at a situation where schools are teaching intolerance towards Christian beliefs," Del Turco notes. "They're teaching that foundational Christian beliefs are hateful and bigoted and that they deserve to be excluded from society. As Christians, we know that's a massive misunderstanding."
She submits that Christians need to be fostering a culture that supports religious freedom for all – something that is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and should be protected.
