Dr. Gudrun Kugler of an Austrian think tank says a rise in anti-Christian incidents in Europe correlates with the rise of pluralism, and calls on all church leaders to fight for religious liberty as "Churchgoers in Europe are 'heading for a bloodless persecution' at the hands of secularists."
America is trending in like fashion, right behind Europe and Canada.
-- From "Churchgoers in Europe face ‘bloodless persecution’" posted at The Christian Institute (UK) 1/31/11
Dr Kugler cautioned that religious freedom is “at risk”, saying: “In private you can pray and think as you like – but in the public square there are ever more restrictions.”
She warned that journalists and policy makers are often more hostile towards churchgoers than general citizens, but it is such people in the media and politics that “shape the mood of the country”.
Dr Kugler also commented that church attenders are “increasingly being described as ‘homophobic’, sexist, intolerant and unworldly”.
Questioned about what churchgoers can do in response to the issues raised by her comments, she said: “Speak up”.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Christianity the last bastion against European secularist ‘totalitarianism’: Austrian think tank" by Hilary White, LifeSiteNews 1/27/11
“You cannot compare injustices here with the situation in, for example, North Korea, India or Pakistan,” observed Gudrun Kugler, a lawyer and director of the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe. “The Christians who are there in spite of fierce persecution are our great models.”
Nevertheless, in Europe Christianity is hated because it is “the last obstacle to a new vision of secularity which is so politically correct that it verges on totalitarianism,” she said.
“We have received many reports of the removal of Christian symbols, distorted, stereotyped and negative representations of Christians in the media, and social problems which are faced by Christians, such as being ridiculed or disadvantaged in places of work.”
In general, the Observatory’s report reveals that the main faultline in Europe is the clash between the new “equalities” laws that have been put in place at the prompting of the homosexualist and radical feminist political lobbies, and Europe’s still at least nominally Christian population. This has been helped by an institutionally anti-Christian media, she said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "'Bloodless persecution' predicted for Christians" by Bob Unruh © 2011 WorldNetDaily 2/5/11
"Discriminatory laws directly or indirectly prevent equal exercise of freedom," the [Observatory] report finds. "With regard to Christianity in Europe, this is often the case in the areas of freedom of speech, freedom of conscience and freedom of religion.
"The latter is understood to include the right to raise one's children in one's faith, to share one's faith peacefully with others, to publish religious materials without censorship, to change one's religion (by choice, not coercion) and to practice no religion at all," the report said.
"We often come across overly broad equal treatment or anti-discrimination legislation that causes indirect side-effect discrimination of Christians, criminalizing core elements of Christian teaching," it said.
For example, last October, former British MP Christine McCafferty urged the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to recommend limitations to conscientious objection when it comes to abortion.
"The draft report contained a limitation of freedom of conscience to individuals. Objecting individuals would have faced restrictions and blacklisting," the report said, describing the draft as "aiming at discriminating against Christians."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
