Vice President JD Vance, in his speech at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year, called out European nations for the slippery slope of their disregard for free speech. It was an unexpected track for Vance at a conference dedicated to external security threats, such as those presented from nations like Russia or China.
Vance’s remarks were the inspiration for a Family Research Council report entitled “Is Prayer a Crime? Government Restrictions on Prayer in Europe,” Arielle Del Turco, the report’s author and the FRC’s director of its Center for Religious Liberty, said on Washington Watch Thursday.
“JD Vance took the opportunity to highlight something that really needs to be revealed, and that's some of the crises that's happening within Europe's borders, the crisis of their identity, particularly around the free speech issue, really [questioning] which way are they going to go.
“Are they going to look like Russia, which is happy to restrict free speech and freedom of religion, or are they going to hold on to their Western values?” Del Turco explained to show host Tony Perkins.
The epicenter of the problem is “Safe Access Zones” in the United Kingdom – comprising England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – which by law prohibit “direct” or “indirect” pro-life “influence” within 150 meters of an abortion clinic or provider. These safe zones include silent prayer among their prohibited measures of influence.
The goal, says the government, is to ensure that those seeking abortion services do not encounter harassment, intimidation or distress. Police have enforcement power and can be contacted by staff members or the public concerning any potential breach.
The zones are said to apply to public spaces and do not extend to private properties. Anyone living or working – or visiting – inside a private property within a safe zone must abide by zone requirements.
The FRC report found that after Scotland passed the Abortion Services Act of 2024, Edinburgh residents received letters from the government stating that “activities in a private place, such as a house within the area between the protected premises and the boundary of a zone, could be an offense if they can be seen or heard within the zone and are done intentionally or recklessly.”
Scottish Parliament member Gillian McKay, in response to a BBC reporter’s question, said whether one was found to be in violation of the Abortion Services Act “depends on who’s passing by the window.”
Not only in the U.K.
The Safe Zones may be the broadest and most visible, but they are not the only attacks on Christian speech in Europe. For example, France two decades ago banned all Christian symbols – such as the cross – and all school-sponsored religious activities.
In addition, the European Union has taken the attack online, earlier this year banning the Christian prayer app Hallow. Alex Jones, Hallow co-founder and CEO, said the app – which has seen more than 18 million downloads across 150 countries – was working on expanding its content among Polish, French, Italian and German audiences.
Europe is in a secular freefall, according to Pew Research Center, which estimates the continent’s Christian population could shrink by 100 million before 2050.
Legal restrictions on prayer won’t slow the slide. The FRC report documents more than a dozen cases, mostly in the U.K., but elsewhere in Europe as well.
“People have faced arrest, fines or criminal charges simply for praying,” Del Turco said.
In one case Dr. Richard Scott, a general practitioner at Bethesda Medical Centre in Margate, Kent, was found to have “overstepped the boundaries” of sharing his faith with a patient by a “fitness to practice tribunal” which was part of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service.
Scott served as a medical missionary in Tanzania before serving as a GP. A 19-year-old man with a history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was accompanied by his mother on a visit to see Scott, who prayed with the patient and gave him a Bible at the conclusion of the visit, Wales Online reports. Two weeks later, the man’s mother filed a complaint.
Ultimately, in order to maintain his practice, Scott agreed to a one-day “training” course that cost him the equivalent of $650. The course was offered after Scott successfully negotiated down from the Tribunal’s original suggestion that he attend a course intended for people accused of sexual impropriety and submit to a psychiatric evaluation, the FRC report found.
Something always fills the void
“This really shows what some of these European countries, especially their political leadership, value. Less and less they value religious freedom and the right even to pray with a patient who's emotionally and physically hurting and might really welcome that spiritual and emotional support – or the right to pray even silently in your own head outside of an abortion clinic,” Del Turco said.
While faith declines, the void is filled by increased emphasis on abortion. “We’re seeing that abortion is taken much more seriously than free speech and religious freedom,” Del Turco lamented.
Though dismissed by European leaders, Vance “is absolutely right to be raising awareness about this. It’s deeply concerning,” Del Turco concluded.
