Christians in the UK are being increasingly punished for public expressions of their faith, the Commission of Inquiry into Discrimination Against Christians (CIDAC) has found.
The warning comes in its interim report into the nature and scale of discrimination faced by Christians in the UK.
The report is based on 1,500 responses from Christians across the UK who report experiencing loss of employment, baseless criminal investigations, bank account closures, bullying, physical attacks and other forms of discrimination.
The commission has held 17 hearings to date and heard evidence which it said appears to represent "the tip of a very large iceberg – of Christians self-reportedly feeling marginalised in what they regard as an increasingly hostile and discriminatory environment".
Expressing traditional views on marriage, sexuality and abortion appear to be particular triggers, the report said, with "some evidence of a 'search and destroy' organisational approach by interest groups in education, business, banking, the health service, and even within government departments".
Case studies include Aaron Edwards who described being "Twitter-mobbed" by LGBT activists after he was sacked as a theology lecturer by Cliff College, a Methodist institution, for tweeting a biblical view of sexuality.
In another incident, housing manager Maureen Martin lost her job after running as a mayoral candidate for Lewisham in 2023 with an election manifesto that expressed her beliefs about marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
Also highlighted in the report is Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a Christian pro-life campaigner, who recently received £13,000 in compensation from West Midlands Police after being wrongfully arrested twice for praying silently within an abortion clinic buffer zone, despite the facility being closed at the time.
The report sees a link between the discrimination and activism by LGBTQI groups, and says that "Christians are singled out for attack – perhaps because they are easy 'targets', who usually won't fight back", while other faiths appear to be shown greater tolerance".
"Despite the fact religion is included in the list of protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010 – of equal standing with the 8 other protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, sex, and sexual orientation – in the cases the Inquiry has so far heard there appears clear evidence that the freedom to practice and manifest Christian belief is being progressively reduced; and even, on occasion, deliberately ignored," it states.
"This would seem to be a result of activist groups, dedicated to the promotion and imposition of their favoured aims, deliberately targeting those who express views that they interpret as 'hostile' to the achievement of their goals."
The report goes on, "The evidence given by our witnesses so far would also seem to indicate that, far from lessening over time, as LGBTQ+ values become progressively 'normalised' within society, hostility is intensifying."
CIDAC said that some Christians were so concerned about discrimination that they declined to participate in the inquiry or be named publicly in the report.
Commenting on the findings of the interim report, CIDAC said a picture had emerged from the witness testimonies of "an ever-expanding realm of punishable activities".
"Flippant remarks made in the privacy of a small circle of friends, silent prayer, questions asked in alleged safe spaces, and tweets are all activities which can render Christians vulnerable to attack," it said.
"These concerning examples suggest an orchestrated opposition fuelled by intolerance towards Christians. The main weapon of complainants is spurious claims of victimhood buttressed by misuse of the Equality Act and various Diversity Equality and Inclusion initiatives. And while Christians too have protections, the reality is these are not taken seriously."
CIDAC continued, "This early onset persecution against Christians exposes an attack on our fundamental freedoms and core human rights of freedom of speech and freedom of religion. While Christians may be most conspicuously in the firing line, ultimately this loss of our freedoms affects us all."
Patrons of CIDAC include retired major general Tim Cross, Oxford professor Nigel Biggar, Catholic Herald associate editor and former chaplain to the Queen, Dr Gavin Ashenden, and senior research fellow at the University of Oxford's Ian Ramsey Centre, Professor Roger Trigg.
