Police-recorded religious hate crime rose 13% in England and Wales
Police recorded 11,419 religious hate crimes in England and Wales in the year to March 2026, up 13%. In the United States, 62.4% of religion-bias victims in 2025 were targeted for anti-Jewish bias.
How this affects people
People are attacked because of their religion in many countries, and the groups most often targeted differ by place. In England and Wales, 5,132 recorded offences (46%) targeted Muslims and 3,162 (28%) targeted Jewish people; both rose over the year, by 15% and 10%.
Counts depend on reporting and recording. The Home Office warns that police-recorded figures do not give reliable trends in hate crime since 2014, and in the US only 18.3% of participating agencies reported incidents to the FBI. EU surveys that predate October 2023 found that 37% of Jewish respondents had been harassed because they are Jewish and 27% of Muslim respondents had experienced racist harassment.
Look at what keeps the problem going
- 01Trigger events and the spill-over of conflicts abroad
- 02Conspiracy narratives and Holocaust denial or distortion
- 03Public disorder and protest-related incidents
- 04Differences in reporting and recording, which shape the counts
What could happen next
The future leaves room for choices. Compare the outlooks, check what supports them and notice where the evidence becomes less certain
Spikes follow trigger events
The Home Office links monthly spikes in recorded religious hate crime to events such as the Southport disorder in August 2024 and the Heaton Park synagogue attack in October 2025.
The future is not a timetable. These summaries reflect published scenarios and trends, with deeper uncertainty at longer horizons. Choices made now matter.
Where could a useful response begin?
Begin with a question you can investigate. Compare the sources and follow related briefings to see how the problem connects to other lives and places. This prototype does not accept proposals yet.
This preview does not accept proposals or create an account.
Sources
- Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2026UK Home Office · 2026
- Reported Crimes in the Nation, 2025 (Quick Stats)FBI Uniform Crime Reporting · 2026
- Jewish people's experiences and perceptions of antisemitism (third survey)EU Agency for Fundamental Rights · 2024
- Being Muslim in the EUEU Agency for Fundamental Rights · 2024