NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Incidents of arson, vandalism and other hostile acts against U.S. churches rose to at least 436 last year, more than double the number recorded in 2022, the Family Research Council says.
In releasing its sixth “Hostility Against Churches” report during the 2024 National Religious Broadcasters International Christian Media Convention here, the family values advocacy group said the figure is more than eight times the number of incidents recorded in 2018, when it began tracking such incidents.
Besides vandalism and arson, acts against congregations included gun-related incidents and bomb threats, among others. The Family Research Council has identified a total of 915 such acts since 2018.
Last year, churches in 48 states and the District of Columbia found themselves under attack, the FRC report says. Hawaii and Wyoming were the only states that reported no incidents, while California had the largest number, 33. Texas, with 28 incidents, was second.
According to the report, at least 315 occurrences of vandalism, 75 arson attacks or attempts, 10 gun-related incidents, 20 bomb threats and 37 other incidents took place at churches between January and November 2023. FRC said 17 of the reported incidents fell into multiple categories.
The report notes an incident that caused $100,000 in damage in June at Fowler United Methodist Church, a historically Black congregation in Annapolis, Maryland. Vandals ripped pages out of pew Bibles and hymnals, a large wooden cross was taken down and upholstered pews were ripped. The vandals removed a Christian flag from its stand and stripped the church’s outdoor sign of its lettering.
The report comes on the heels of an earlier FRC study saying that persecution of Christians by Western governments rose by 60% last year.
FRC President Tony Perkins, a former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, says the two are related.
“There is a common connection between the growing religious persecution abroad and the rapidly increasing hostility toward churches here at home: our government’s policies,” Mr. Perkins said. “The indifference abroad to the fundamental freedom of religion is rivaled only by the increasing antagonism toward the moral absolutes taught by Bible-believing churches here in the U.S., which is fomenting this environment of hostility toward churches.”
According to report author Arielle Del Turco, director of the organization’s Center for Religious Liberty, “religious intimidation” is the goal of hostile attackers.
Such incidents send “the message that churches are not wanted in the community or respected in general,” Ms. Del Turco said. “Our culture is demonstrating a growing disdain for Christianity and core Christian beliefs, and acts of hostility against churches could be a physical manifestation of that.”
“Regardless of the motivations of these crimes, everyone should treat churches and all houses of worship with respect and affirm the importance of religious freedom for all Americans,” she said.
• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.
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