The Family Research Council (FRC) recently released a report that showed a growing trend of hostile acts being taken against US churches. The report detailed 915 incidents that occurred against US churches between 2018 to 2023. Incidents included acts of vandalism, bomb threats, arson, and gun violence. 463 of the incidents occurred in 2023 alone, doubling 2022’s total of 195. The FRC obtained its data for the study through open-source documents, reports, and media outlets. Acts of hostility were found in all 50 states and Washington, DC, with the most incidents (91) occurring in California. The report noted that the large jump from 2022 to 2023 indicates “that hostility against U.S. churches is not only on the rise but also accelerating.”

The study found that the main acts of hostility towards churches were acts of vandalism. While the motive of many acts of vandalism against churches was unknown, the report did cite some specific incidents where churches appeared to be specifically targeted in 2023. It noted that vandalism against certain Ohio churches appeared to be political. Two churches had signs to “Vote No” against Ohio Issue 1, which amended the state’s constitution to protect abortion, torn down. Another incident involved a “We Stand with Israel” sign outside a church being spray painted over with “Israel’s Genocide.” It also noted numerous church nativity scenes that were targeted in January 2023. The report includes a list of each incident and sources since 2018. The report noted that the increasing hostility against US churches appears in line with an American culture increasingly at odds with Christianity. “Although the motivations for many of these incidents remain unknown, the rise in crimes against churches is taking place in a context in which American culture appears increasingly hostile to 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,” said the report.

American churches are not alone in receiving growing hostility. In Canada, 33 churches have burned to the ground since 2021, with 24 cases being related to arson. Hostility towards churches in Canada escalated after hundreds of allegedly unmarked graves of indigenous children were uncovered at residential schools were uncovered. To date, no remains have been uncovered, but the outrage was so fierce that even the Pope apologized about the residential schools on his tour through Canada. Tony Perkins, president of the FRC, stated governments also bear responsibility for the increasing hostilities. “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. 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,” he said. On X, he called the hostility “intimidation.” “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.”