The United States saw a troubling surge of hostilities against Christian churches in 2024, with incidents ranging from vandalism to arson, shootings, and bomb threats. According to a report released on August 11 by the Family Research Council (FRC), 383 congregations suffered 415 separate attacks during the year—figures that may surprise those who think of America as a secure bastion of religious liberty.While the numbers mark a slight drop from the record 485 incidents in 2023, they remain far above levels seen just a few years ago. In 2021, only 98 churches were targeted. By 2022, that figure doubled, and since then, the pace of attacks has remained historically high.
The report, based on open-source documents, news coverage, and official records, details a spectrum of crimes: 284 acts of vandalism, 55 arson cases, 28 shootings, 14 bomb threats, and dozens of other disturbances including physical assaults and disruptions of worship services.In some cases, the violence proved deadly. In Athens, Tennessee, a church secretary was killed before her church was set ablaze, its roof collapsing in the fire. In southern Ohio, four churches burned within days of each other in August, leading investigators to suspect a single arsonist—though no arrest has yet been made.
The attacks appear most frequently in large states such as California (40 incidents), Pennsylvania (29), New York (25), Florida (25), and Texas (23). By contrast, several less-populated states, including Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, reported none.The motivations behind the hostility remain varied and, in many cases, unclear. While a wave of abortion-related vandalism followed the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, those incidents have sharply declined—from 59 in 2022 to just two in 2024. Likewise, reported satanic symbols or messages fell from a dozen in 2023 to only one last year. Anti-LGBTQ+ attacks on churches also decreased slightly, from 42 to 33 cases.Still, FRC Vice President Travis Weber warns that such crimes—whatever their origin—signal a worrying cultural shift. In an interview with The Daily Signal, he linked some of the hostility to divisive rhetoric from organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which lists the FRC on its “hate map” alongside extremist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.
Source: Archive: (note: I wanted to use the Fox News report, but I used this instead due to troubles archiving)
As civil unrest gripped the country in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in May 2020, Catholic churches were not exempt from mobs that destroyed property in cities across America. But while the riots and looting mostly died down in the summer of 2020, the attacks on Catholic churches have continued and escalated.
Since May 28, 2020, there have been at least 521 attacks against Catholic churches in the United States, including acts of arson which damaged or destroyed historic churches; spray-painting and graffiti of satanic messages; rocks and bricks thrown through windows; statues destroyed (often with heads cut off); and illegal disruptions of Mass. Attacks spiked dramatically after the draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked in May 2022. At least 355 attacks have been perpetrated against Catholic churches since the Supreme Court leak, with many including graffiti with pro-abortion messages. Crucially, while a handful of the attacks have included thefts, the vast majority have only involved property destruction, indicating that the primary motive is not material gain.
The attacks on Catholic churches have been widespread across the country, affecting 43 states plus DC. The top ten states with the most attacks are California (69), New York (60), Pennsylvania (36), Texas (26), Florida (23), New Jersey (20), Ohio (18 ), Oregon (18 ), Colorado (17), and Massachusetts (16).
Hotspots with large clusters of attacks include New York City (47) and the metro areas of Los Angeles (27); Philadelphia (17); Denver (15); Portland, Oregon (15); San Francisco/Bay Area (14); Boston (12); Washington, D.C. (11); Pittsburgh (11); Seattle (8 ); Miami/Fort Lauderdale (8 ); Chicago (8 ); Omaha (7); Houston (7); Cincinnati (6); Louisville (6); and San Antonio (6). Some of the churches have been attacked multiple times.
CatholicVote has found evidence of an arrest in connection with an attack against a church in only about 30% of cases.
The Biden administration has thus far refused to act to protect Catholic churches and stop these acts of domestic terrorism. In December 2021, CatholicVote sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice (DOJ) calling on them to act, pointing to a federal statute which requires the Attorney General to investigate and prosecute such crimes.
A new wave of attacks against Catholic churches began in the wake of the Supreme Court opinion leak in May 2022. Burch renewed his call to Garland and DOJ to enforce federal law and prosecute the attacks. Neither Garland nor the DOJ appear to have taken any specific action, and there have been no federal prosecutions in any of the cases, even though attacking a place of worship is a federal crime.
According to a report in June 2022, the Department of Homeland Security has privately warned the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops of “credible threats” against Catholic churches and clergy after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. A bulletin from the National Terrorism Advisory System issued in June 2022 warned that it expects the “the threat environment to become more dynamic as several high-profile events could be exploited to justify acts of violence against a range of possible targets”, including “faith-based institutions” and “houses of worship”. The attacks accelerated after the Supreme Court issued its final ruling overturning Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
In January 2023, CatholicVote sent a letter to U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) urging him to use the committee’s powers to open an investigation into the Biden Department of Justice’s failure to act against these acts of hatred.
In June 2024, CatholicVote sent another letter to the Biden administration’s Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights begging for action, but received no response.
Source: https://catholicvote.org/tracker-church-attacks/
Archive:
Edited to get rid of emojis, and to add a note that I will delete this topic if it is already covered.
The report, based on open-source documents, news coverage, and official records, details a spectrum of crimes: 284 acts of vandalism, 55 arson cases, 28 shootings, 14 bomb threats, and dozens of other disturbances including physical assaults and disruptions of worship services.In some cases, the violence proved deadly. In Athens, Tennessee, a church secretary was killed before her church was set ablaze, its roof collapsing in the fire. In southern Ohio, four churches burned within days of each other in August, leading investigators to suspect a single arsonist—though no arrest has yet been made.
The attacks appear most frequently in large states such as California (40 incidents), Pennsylvania (29), New York (25), Florida (25), and Texas (23). By contrast, several less-populated states, including Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, reported none.The motivations behind the hostility remain varied and, in many cases, unclear. While a wave of abortion-related vandalism followed the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, those incidents have sharply declined—from 59 in 2022 to just two in 2024. Likewise, reported satanic symbols or messages fell from a dozen in 2023 to only one last year. Anti-LGBTQ+ attacks on churches also decreased slightly, from 42 to 33 cases.Still, FRC Vice President Travis Weber warns that such crimes—whatever their origin—signal a worrying cultural shift. In an interview with The Daily Signal, he linked some of the hostility to divisive rhetoric from organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which lists the FRC on its “hate map” alongside extremist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.
Source: Archive: (note: I wanted to use the Fox News report, but I used this instead due to troubles archiving)
As civil unrest gripped the country in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in May 2020, Catholic churches were not exempt from mobs that destroyed property in cities across America. But while the riots and looting mostly died down in the summer of 2020, the attacks on Catholic churches have continued and escalated.
Since May 28, 2020, there have been at least 521 attacks against Catholic churches in the United States, including acts of arson which damaged or destroyed historic churches; spray-painting and graffiti of satanic messages; rocks and bricks thrown through windows; statues destroyed (often with heads cut off); and illegal disruptions of Mass. Attacks spiked dramatically after the draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked in May 2022. At least 355 attacks have been perpetrated against Catholic churches since the Supreme Court leak, with many including graffiti with pro-abortion messages. Crucially, while a handful of the attacks have included thefts, the vast majority have only involved property destruction, indicating that the primary motive is not material gain.
The attacks on Catholic churches have been widespread across the country, affecting 43 states plus DC. The top ten states with the most attacks are California (69), New York (60), Pennsylvania (36), Texas (26), Florida (23), New Jersey (20), Ohio (18 ), Oregon (18 ), Colorado (17), and Massachusetts (16).
Hotspots with large clusters of attacks include New York City (47) and the metro areas of Los Angeles (27); Philadelphia (17); Denver (15); Portland, Oregon (15); San Francisco/Bay Area (14); Boston (12); Washington, D.C. (11); Pittsburgh (11); Seattle (8 ); Miami/Fort Lauderdale (8 ); Chicago (8 ); Omaha (7); Houston (7); Cincinnati (6); Louisville (6); and San Antonio (6). Some of the churches have been attacked multiple times.
CatholicVote has found evidence of an arrest in connection with an attack against a church in only about 30% of cases.
The Biden administration has thus far refused to act to protect Catholic churches and stop these acts of domestic terrorism. In December 2021, CatholicVote sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice (DOJ) calling on them to act, pointing to a federal statute which requires the Attorney General to investigate and prosecute such crimes.
A new wave of attacks against Catholic churches began in the wake of the Supreme Court opinion leak in May 2022. Burch renewed his call to Garland and DOJ to enforce federal law and prosecute the attacks. Neither Garland nor the DOJ appear to have taken any specific action, and there have been no federal prosecutions in any of the cases, even though attacking a place of worship is a federal crime.
According to a report in June 2022, the Department of Homeland Security has privately warned the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops of “credible threats” against Catholic churches and clergy after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. A bulletin from the National Terrorism Advisory System issued in June 2022 warned that it expects the “the threat environment to become more dynamic as several high-profile events could be exploited to justify acts of violence against a range of possible targets”, including “faith-based institutions” and “houses of worship”. The attacks accelerated after the Supreme Court issued its final ruling overturning Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
In January 2023, CatholicVote sent a letter to U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) urging him to use the committee’s powers to open an investigation into the Biden Department of Justice’s failure to act against these acts of hatred.
In June 2024, CatholicVote sent another letter to the Biden administration’s Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights begging for action, but received no response.
Source: https://catholicvote.org/tracker-church-attacks/
Archive:
Edited to get rid of emojis, and to add a note that I will delete this topic if it is already covered.
