Overview

• The German Bishops’ Conference says the severity of attacks has intensified since about 2015, citing decapitated statues, excrement in sacred spaces, smashed interiors and arson at altars.
• Federal data logged 111 politically motivated offenses targeting churches in 2024 versus 92 in 2023, while regional authorities report hundreds of property-damage cases each year, including large totals in North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria.
• Church leaders argue many incidents are recorded only as property damage, leaving a substantial dark field, and an NGO estimates at least 2,000 cases of damage at Christian sites in 2023.
• Politicians including Bodo Ramelow back a nationwide, more granular recording of church-targeted offenses, and Greens religion policy lead Lamya Kaddor calls the trend troubling and urges solidarity with affected communities.
• Parishes are adding volunteers, surveillance and protective glazing to keep buildings open, as the EKD stresses that closures are not the answer and sociologist Detlef Pollack notes rising antireligious attitudes since the 2010s.