A Family Research Council (FRC) report found that attacks on churches in the U.S. increased nearly 800% between 2018-2023, indicating growing hostility.
It identified 915 incidents in that period, with 436 in 2023 alone, more than double 2022’s 195 incidents.
The majority were acts of vandalism but also included arson, bomb threats, and gun violence.
It’s all connected. The Left’s coordinated use of “Christian nationalism” and the rise in hostility against houses of worship. It’s an intimidation game designed to silence Christians and suppress our votes. Don’t buy it.
Keep praying — keep standing — keep voting — for… pic.twitter.com/Apj9mMVUwP
— Tony Perkins (@tperkins) February 22, 2024
Incidents occurred in every state and had various suspected motives like anger, politics, mental illness or juveniles.
According to the FRC, “This was more than double the number of incidents in all 12 months of 2022, which was 195. It also marked the second consecutive year that saw more than twice the number of incidents of the year before.”
“There were at least 96 incidents in 2021, 55 in 2020, 83 in 2019, and 50 in 2018. Over the entire reporting period for this report, from 2018 to 2023, acts of hostility appear to have increased in frequency over time,” the authors noted.
The FRC suggested the increase “could be due in part to increased public reporting on crimes against churches, resulting in more available data than in the past.”
“Some acts of vandalism against churches appeared to have been motivated by anger toward the targeted church. Other acts appeared to have a political motivation. Some incidents appeared to have been committed by juveniles or persons struggling with mental illness,” wrote the FRC.
“Several instances of vandalism also involved theft. Many acts of vandalism against churches were under criminal investigation; a minority were under investigation as hate crimes. Police were often unable to identify the vandals,” explained the report.
The FRC claimed to “set out to analyze publicly available data to better understand the problem and determine whether there has been a statistically significant increase over time” in response to “the perceived increased in acts of hostility against churches in the United States.”
Notable incidents included arson by individuals identifying as transgender and vandalism linking attacks to abortion debates.
The report is meant to document publicly reported attacks but notes the real number is likely higher.
While motives in many cases are unknown, the author says the rise indicates a lack of respect for Christianity in American culture and signals discomfort with religion.
The report’s author, Arielle Del Turco, said, “the rise in crimes against churches is taking place in a context in which American culture appears increasingly hostile to Christianity.”
She continued, “Criminal acts of vandalism and destruction of church property may be symptomatic of a collapse in societal reverence and respect for houses of worship and religion—in this case, churches and Christianity Americans appear increasingly comfortable lashing out against church buildings, pointing to a larger societal problem of marginalizing core Christian beliefs, including those that touch on hot-button political issues related to human dignity and sexuality.”
“Attacks on houses of worship may also signal a discomfort with religion in general,” she warned.
“The free exercise of religion has always been an essential component of American society and is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution as a basic right. Attempts to prevent religious exercise through threats or violence should be soundly condemned by anyone who values the First Amendment,” insisted Del Turco.
The free exercise of religion is a core American and constitutional value, and violence to prevent it should be condemned.
Attacks on churches have increased nearly 800 percent in less than six years, indicating that “hostility against U.S. churches is not only on the rise but also accelerating,” a Family Research Council (FRC) report found.
Between 2018 and 2023, FRC identified 915 acts of hostility against churches in the United States by analyzing open-source documents, reports, and media outlets. In just the last year alone (between January and November of 2023), 436 acts of hostility against churches occurred, according to the report.
