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If you believe anti-Christian attacks have skyrocketed over the last decade, you’re right. Attacks on churches have increased 800% in less than six years — and more than doubled over the last year, according to a new report released today by Family Research Council. Documented acts of anti-church hostility include attempted bombings, shootings, satanic vandalism, and numerous attacks based on anti-Christian bias due to support for abortion or extreme transgender ideology. Some constituted unpunished election interference.
The report identified 915 acts of hostility against churches between January 2018 and November 2023, including:
- 709 acts of vandalism
- 135 completed or attempted arsons
- 32 bomb threats
- 22 gun-related incidents
- 61 other incidents, including assault, threats, and interruption of worship services.
The report shows that church attacks, and acts of violence, continued to explode in 2023. During the first 11 months of last year, researchers verified at least 436 acts of hostility against U.S. churches — more than double the number of attacks in all of 2022, including:
- 315 acts of vandalism
- 75 completed or attempted arsons
- 20 bomb threats
- 10 gun-related incidents
- 12 instances of satanic graffiti
- 59 churches faced repeated acts of hostility
Acts of anti-church hostility blanketed the country in 2023, taking place in 48 states and Washington, D.C. California experienced the largest number of incidents, with 91. Texas churches endured 62 incidents; New York had 58; and Florida had 47.
“The rise in hostility we identified in our December 2022 report has neither slowed nor plateaued; rather, it has accelerated,” says the new report. “The rise in crimes against churches is taking place in a context in which American culture appears increasingly hostile to Christianity. Criminal acts of vandalism and destruction of church property may be symptomatic of a collapse in societal reverence and respect.”
The raw numbers paint a grim picture of escalating anti-Christian action boiling over into bigoted action. The report totals:
- 50 acts of hostility against churches in 2018
- 83 in 2019
- 55 in 2020
- 96 in 2021
- 195 in 2022
- 436 in 2023