Family Research Council (FRC) has released a new edition of its Hostility Against Churches report, updating data to include incidents from 2023. The report documents a significant increase in acts of hostility against churches across the United States.
According to the FRC, there were 436 recorded incidents in 2023, which is more than double the number identified in 2022 and over eight times the figure reported in 2018. Over the six-year period from 2018 to 2023, a total of 915 acts of hostility were identified. These acts included vandalism, arson, gun-related incidents, and bomb threats.
The report also notes that such incidents occurred in 48 states and the District of Columbia during 2023. California experienced the highest number with 33 incidents, followed by Texas with 28. Hawaii and Wyoming reported no incidents for that year.
The FRC suggests that criminal acts targeting church property may reflect a broader decline in societal respect for religious institutions.
Tony Perkins, president of FRC and former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, stated: “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.”
Arielle Del Turco, Director of the Center for Religious Liberty at FRC and author of the report, said: “Although the motivations for many of these acts of hostility remain unknown, the effect is unmistakable: religious intimidation. They send the message that churches are not wanted in the community or respected in general. 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.”
The full publication can be accessed at http://frc.org/HostilityAgainstChurches
