European Parliament recognizes Christianity as most persecuted religion

The EU flag and a Christian church as an illustration for the European Parliament resolution on the persecution of Christians. Photo: open sources

On January 21, 2026, in Strasbourg, the European Parliament adopted an annual resolution on human rights and democracy in the world for 2025, in which it declared that Christianity remains the most persecuted religion in the world, as follows from the text of the European Parliament document.

On this topic European authorities downplay scale of Christian persecution, report says

The resolution notes that persecution of religious minorities is a violation of freedom of religion or belief. The preamble of the document states that Christian communities in the Middle East continue to face persecution, discrimination, forced displacement, and restrictions on freedom of religion.

In Article 83, the European Parliament reaffirmed its condemnation of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and persecution of Christians, calling for the creation and strengthening of mechanisms to record discrimination and ensure access to legal protection.

Article 84 notes that, despite the fact that Christianity affects more than 380 million persecuted believers, the European Union lacks a coordinator to combat Christianophobia, while the position of coordinator to counter Islamophobia has already been established.

The resolution is political in nature and does not provide for the introduction of specific measures at the EU level.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that in Brussels, Cardinal Parolin urged Europe to remember its Christian roots.

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