Criminal attacks against Christian churches have accelerated—according to a report from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
By Eileen Griffin
Attacks on Christian churches are accelerating, ranging from vandalism to arson and murder.
Christian churches experienced more violence in 2023 than in any recent year such crime has been documented, The Federalist reports. Much of the crime, such as fire bombings, were ignored or afforded minimal investigative resources.
Acts of hostility against churches in the United States are on the rise, states a new report published by the Family Research Council. The report documents criminal acts targeting churches between the years 2018 and 2023.
Churches across the nation have been victimized by acts of arson, vandalism, bomb threats, and other criminal activities. Seventeen incidents documented fell into multiple categories.
Between January and November of 2023, 436 attacks on churches were documented. That number is double what it was in 2022.
The year of 2023 was the worst year of all the six studied by FRC, and the trend shows increasing hostility toward religion.
Some of the attacks on churches included satanic symbols or references. A church in Louisiana was vandalized and the wall was graffitied with the message, “Devil Has Risen” on the walls.
“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,” writes Arielle Del Turco for FRC. “The rise in acts of hostility against churches is cause for concern and reflects a larger societal trend of intolerance toward religion and Christianity specifically.”
After the death of George Floyd, attacks specifically on Catholic churches increased, the New York Post reported. Even when the rioting, looting, and other criminal activity started to die down, attacks on Catholic churches continued and escalated.
Violence aimed at church facilites included the decapitation of statues of religious figures. Graffiti messages of a satanic nature were found in several churches.
“While the motives for vandalism and other offenses against churches are not always clear, in many cases they seem motivated by either by anger toward the targeted church or by a political motivation against Christian teaching on issues such as abortion, gay marriage, or transgenderism,” writes Thomas Williams, Ph.D., for Breitbart.
In 2023, the Rev. Franklin Graham, son of the Rev. Billy Graham and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse, warned of the increasing persecution of Christians, CBN reports.
“We are living in a cancel culture that wants to destroy Christian organizations,” Graham said. “They want us to shut our mouths. They don’t want to hear from us.”
“Just don’t sit there on your hands and let the storm hit,” Graham said. “And then have this look on your face like I didn’t know that was coming. I didn’t see that coming. You’d better see it coming. The world hates us, and Jesus told us the world hated me first and they’re going to hate you. If you stand for Christ, the world hates you.”
Under the Biden administration, the assault on Christianity has been given tacit support and encouragement, FRC President Tony Perkins writes in a commentary for The Washington Stand, MRC’s media outlet.
“Religious freedom, the top foreign policy objective of the former Trump administration, has been replaced with prioritizing attacks on the unborn, promoting LGBTQ ideology, and the climate, the unholy trinity of the Left,” Perkins writes.
A January report provided by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops warns of the threat the Biden administration poses to Christians, as Heartland Daily News previously reported.
In addition to violent attacks on churches, threats to Christianity include excessive regulation and suppression of religious expression.
“The free exercise of religion has always been an essential component of American society and is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution as a basic right,” Del Turco writes. “Attempts to prevent religious exercise through threats or violence should be soundly condemned by anyone who values the First Amendment.”
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