A Costly Faith: The New Challenges for Christians in the West

In the summer of 2019, the Evangelical Church of Finland pledged its full support for a Helsinki Pride event. Päivi Räsänen, a member of the church and a longstanding elected official, posted on X (then Twitter) a picture of Romans 1:24-27 along with a question.

“How does the doctrine of the church, the Bible, fit together with the fact that shame and sin are raised as a matter of pride?”

How many times have you posted something on social media and later learned you were under police investigation for your post? Probably zero times.

Well, a few weeks after Päivi shared those words, she read in her newspaper that local police were investigating her post. A call to her local police confirmed that she was under investigation. She was interrogated over several months for 13 hours.

As the former Interior Minister of Finland, she was now being grilled by the very police force she had overseen. She actually rejoiced in the opportunity to share God’s Word and the message of salvation.

Although what we face in the West cannot compare to the brutal persecution in other nations, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus face a cost for their faithfulness. This article will explore the nature of that price in modern Europe and Canada.

Although we should not directly compare what we suffer with the death and destruction believers face in countries like North Korea or Nigeria, at the same time, we should not dismiss the legal prosecution, professional consequences, and social hostility that many faithful believers in Europe and other Western countries face.

The Criminalization of Conscience: When Belief Becomes a “Hate Crime”

Returning to the case of Päivi Räsänen, a year later, after she first learned she was under investigation, she was charged with three counts of “agitation against a minority group” for:

1] Publicly voicing her opinion on marriage and human sexuality in a 2004 pamphlet distributed at her church.

2] Comments she made on a 2019 radio show.

3] Her post on X/Twitter directed at the leadership of her church.

These charges were punishable by up to two years in prison and the equivalent of tens of thousands of dollars in fines. Ironically, Päivi was a member of Parliament about 13 years earlier, when the country’s criminal code was changed.

Päivi is being charged along with Bishop Juhan Pohjola, the author of the 2004 pamphlet that Päivi distributed.

An Alliance Defending Freedom attorney helping with her case summed it up this way:

“What the prosecutor essentially is calling for is the criminalization of the orthodox Christian position on fundamental Christian doctrine regarding marriage, sexuality, sin, and so forth.”

Thankfully, Päivi has now been acquitted unanimously by two lower courts, but she still faces a hearing before the Finnish Supreme Court. An oral hearing has been scheduled for October 30, 2025.

We could look to other examples in Europe that are not directly connected but do show the same disturbing trend. For example, numerous street preachers in England have been arrested for “hate crimes” or “homophobic behavior” simply for preaching the Bible in public.

The Price in the Workplace and Classroom

In 2021, Tim Wyatt wrote an article in Premier Christianity called “Investigation: Are Christians in the UK Persecuted?” The article did a good job explaining some of the challenges Christians there have faced.

Examples include:

1] Daniel and Amy McArthur, owners of Ashers Bakery, who were sued after refusing to make a cake with the slogan ‘support gay marriage,’ but later won their case at the Supreme Court.

2} Nadia Eweida, who was placed on unpaid leave by British Airways for wearing a small cross, but later won her case at the European Court of Human Rights.

3] Joshua Sutcliffe, a teacher who said he’d been dismissed from his school for “misgendering” a pupil.

However, in the article, Wyatt suggested something very offensive, both to Christians who have already suffered for their faith and to the rich heritage of the United Kingdom:

Our pro-gay marriage society does not insist Christians abandon their personal beliefs. Therefore, can it be fairly accused of persecution if it expects everyone, regardless of faith, to uphold the law of the land?

If this means some jobs are unsuitable for Christians, is this just the price to be paid for living as exiles and strangers in a world still waiting for its redemption by Christ?

There is no doubt that Christians must be willing to suffer, but to just roll over and say, “Well, that’s just the price we pay,” is a miserable solution. Should we not try to fight back against the forces of evil?

Kristie Higgs of Gloucestershire ((I can barely pronounce the name of this town, but I remember this as the place where the martyr and important Bible translator William Tyndale was born) is another believer who faced persecution for her Christian beliefs. Kristie was dismissed from her teaching position in 2019 after posting on Facebook a criticism of the LGBTQ+ relationship education in the Church of England’s primary schools.

The good news is that in her case, the school that fired her lost the case. We celebrate this victory, but let’s not think it came without a cost.

Another example is that of Enoch Burke. In 2022, he was not fired from his teaching position, but was put on administrative leave for not wanting to use fake pronouns for a confused student. Though many would have probably just encouraged Burke to be silent, he chose to stand for truth by continuing to show up to work at his school, arguing that his case is still pending.

For making this bold choice in defiance of the court, Burke has spent over 400 days in prison and faces significant fines.

I don’t fault Burke for his bold stance. If no one takes a bold stand for truth, doesn’t that just encourage evil-doers to go after others?

From Online Censorship to Physical Hostility

Moving across the Atlantic Ocean to Canada, we must consider the bold witness of Chris Elston, better known as Billboard Chris. Now, I must be honest in saying that I don’t know if this brave man is a professed believer. I do know that on the matter of gender perversion and the mutilation of children by the trans industry, he stands for truth and sanity.

Billboard Chris goes to public places with what is called a sandwich board, sharing two main messages:

Children cannot consent to puberty blockers.

No child has ever been born in the wrong body.

We should all say “Amen” to both of these messages. They both represent the truth of God’s Word. For his bold stand, the Australian government ordered a post he made on X to be removed. Thankfully, the U.S. Department of Justice has issued a statement in support of Elston on this.

In addition to this, Elston has been attacked by radical transgender-identifying people who hate the truth he seeks to share.

Before leaving Canada, I do want to recognize the following Canadian pastors who suffered bravely for standing against COVID tyranny:

1] Pastor Artur Pawlowski of Calgary

2] Pastor James Coates of Edmonton

3] Pastor Tim Stephens of Calgary

4] Pastor Tobias Tissen of Manitoba

5] Pastor John Koopman of Chilliwack, BC

These five pastors stood for truth in a dark time. I know that they would not elevate themselves, but their courage must not be forgotten. We pray that the Lord will raise others who are willing to count the cost.

Is This Really Persecution?

As I mentioned in the first article, the Bible acknowledges that believers suffer in different ways. We don’t all suffer to the point of death or bloodshed or suffer incredible seasons of cruel imprisonment as did Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand under communist Romania.

Normally, I don’t think very highly of Christianity Today magazine, but I am thankful for a good article on the subject of suffering in Europe from earlier in 2025. In it, they reference a report by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC).

In their report released last November, they note that in 2023, there were 2,444 anti-Christian hate crimes in 35 countries in Europe. The three countries reporting the most attacks were France, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The majority of incidents involved vandalism of church properties or property.

Even in Western countries, many believers are being called to suffer in various ways. We must be aware of this to aid us in our prayers and help us think about what we could well face in the coming years. The examples I have shared certainly do not cover the full scope of this issue.

In my next article, I want to share some stories of those in the U.S. who have suffered for the name of Christ. But I hope this article encourages you to pray and stand with our brothers and sisters in the Lord in Canada and Europe.