In recent years, attacks against churches are intensifying, reaching high-impact levels of hostility. In the last six years, attacks against Christian worship buildings have skyrocketed by 800%, with 2023 being the year in which the highest number of incidents was recorded.
According to a report by the Family Research Council (FRC) think tank, last year (between January and November) there were 436 attacks or assaults against churches, more than half of those recorded between 2018 and 2023 (915). The most "hostile" months were June and July, while the least were February and March.
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In 2018, the FRC recorded 50 attacks against churches and, in 2019, there were 83. While in 2020 the number of attacks dropped to 55, in 2021 there were 96. In 2022, 195 were counted.
Acts of vandalism prevail with California as the state that recorded the most attacks
Regarding the types of attacks caused on churches between January and November 2023, the vast majority consisted of acts of vandalism (315), followed by arson (75), bomb threats (20) and attacks related to weapons fire (10). Another 17 were a combination of various types of attacks, and the FRC categorized 37 as "other."
By state, only two did not register any attacks: Hawaii and Wyoming. On the other end of the scale, California led the ranking of assaults with 33, followed by Texas (28), Tennessee (26), Ohio (24), Florida (23) and New York and North Carolina (22 each).
The reasons that led criminals to carry out attacks on churches in 2023 were very different, from political issues to anger against religion. In addition, robberies were also committed inside the churches. "Some acts of vandalism against churches appeared to be motivated by anger towards the church in question. Other acts appeared to be politically motivated. Some incidents appeared to have been committed by minors or mentally ill people. Several cases of vandalism also involved theft. Many acts of vandalism against churches were being investigated criminally; a minority were being investigated as hate crimes. Police were often unable to identify the vandals," the FRC said.
