There were at least 168 incidents of religious freedom violations against Christians in Western countries between January 2020 and December 2023, according to a new report from the Family Research Council’s Center for Religious Liberty, which documented cases across 16 countries. The violations include arrests and fines for public preaching and praying, penalties for expressing biblically informed beliefs, and punitive measures against pastors not adhering to COVID-19 restrictions, which were often more severe for religious institutions than secular ones, says the study, titled “Free to Believe? The Intensifying Intolerance Toward Christians in the West.”