According to a recent Family Research Council report, there were 436 incidents against churches in 2023, more than double the number reported by the group in 2022 and eight times the number identified in 2018.
The organization has collected data about acts of hostility against churches since 2018, identifying 915 such incidents over the past six years.
Between January and November 2023, FRC reported that 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. According to the report, 17 of the incidents fell into more than one category, with vandalism and arson being the most common combination.
FRC President Tony Perkins said in a statement, “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.”
He added, “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.”
Incidents were more likely to occur in states with larger populations.