Report: 1,384 Attacks on U.S. Churches Since 2018
“In 2024, the number of incidents leveled off with 415. However, this total from one 12-month span is nearly equal to the findings from our very first report, which covered 57 months.”
The latest mass shooting at a Minnesota Catholic school underscores a dangerous trend: America’s churches are increasingly under siege. New data reveal that political violence, arson, and even attempted massacres at houses of worship are not isolated events but part of a disturbing rise in hostility toward religion.
According to the Family Research Council (FRC), a conservative, evangelical group in Washington, DC, between January 2018 and December 2024, 1,384 incidents of hostility against churches were documented. Fox News highlighted the most recent tragedy:
The report comes amid the Wednesday morning shooting that unfolded at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minnesota, leaving two children dead and 18 others injured, including more than a dozen kids from the school.
The scope of the crisis is staggering.
The group recorded 50 incidents in 2018, 83 in 2019, 55 in 2020 and 98 in 2021.
The report then found a dramatic rise in incidents beginning in 2022 when there were 198 recorded instances, followed by 485 in 2023 and 415 in 2024.
Even though 2024 saw a slight dip, the situation remains dire.
“In 2024, the number of incidents leveled off with 415. However, this total from one 12-month span is nearly equal to the findings from our very first report, which covered 57 months.”
California led the nation with 40 attacks, followed by Pennsylvania (29), Florida and New York (25 each), Texas (23), and Tennessee and Ohio (19).
But the most chilling development is the rise in gun violence.
“Gun-related incidents were the only notable increase in comparison to previous years. In 2023, there were 12 such incidents, but that number jumped to 28 in 2024.”
One of those incidents nearly turned catastrophic:
“A man walked into Jesus’ Dwelling Place Church and pointed a gun at the pastor mid-sermon. A church deacon quickly tackled the gunman, preventing a potential tragedy.”
Arson, vandalism, and bomb threats continue to devastate communities. In Ohio, four churches in two counties were completely destroyed by fire within months. In Houston, Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church was attacked when a woman opened fire inside during services.
As the report warns:
“Acts of hostility against churches can send the message—regardless of whether it is the perpetrator’s intent—that churches are not wanted in the community or respected in general. This may cause congregants or church leaders to feel unsafe.”
With declining church attendance and pop culture openly mocking Christianity, the normalization of hostility toward faith is fueling violence. What used to be safe sanctuaries are now frontline targets in America’s growing political and cultural battles.
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Comments
yeah but does that realllyyyy compare with how many times the protected have been
looked at wrong
or insulted ,,by their definition
or not given promotions right to the C level??
anything that represents the wht patriarchy
the wht female ..is going to be open season
as the prosecutors on the left need to be renamed
as guardians of the unloved (aka criminals)
Unbelievable. So not only are Jews at risk, but even in a nation that is predominately Christian, Christians are at risk. Is this a cultural phenomenon arising from the generally antireligious and specifically anti-Christian aspect of cultural materialism, or is this some kind of orchestrated push to harm Christians?
Orchestrated push to harm Christians by the Religion of Peace®. That’s why you don’t see any imams condemning the violence against Christians. But then again you don’t see many Christian ministers doing so either. They just shrug their shoulders and say, “Wasn’t my church.” and do not speak out against the violence. And as long as nobody speaks up for the Christians the violence will continue. Until Christians no longer exist in the United States.
We’re actually a post-Christian nation, and have been for a number of years now. Not surprising with the rise of secularism, new age spirituality, and postmodernism.
But new age “spirituality” and postmodernism are godless, and are bereft of morality.
How many mosques I. America have been attacked in the same time?
According to USA Today, “The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) documented over 40 specific incidents targeting Islamic worship spaces such as mosques in 2024.”
CAIR is about as reliable as the Gaza Health Ministry.
Yes, but one would think they would lie about a higher number than 40.
Until Christians realize they are under attack and take action to defend themselves and the faith there won’t be much of a Christian religion left by the end of this decade and by the end of the next it will be extinct. Of course, when I said that last on another site I was accused of not being a True Christian® (whatever that is) and that apparently Christians must be like sheep to the slaughter and not attempt to do anything to prevent or stop the violence from occurring.
So until we start defending ourselves and the Faith and stop glorifying the people that would do harm against us incidents like the latest will happen over and over again.
Has it got anything to do with your name
Lucifer?
Ever heard of something called the screen name? I’m not a grizzly bear, but I go under that dame on this site and several others.
agree
they want the judeo christian way of life to end
but israel is proving that you dont have to …cant lay down and take a beating and say its ok
A True Christian is whatever denomination the one telling you you aren’t a true Christian happens to be.
An official government book that I ran across when I was in Boot Camp back in 1977 showed there were over 800 denominations of Christianity. Take your choice.
One thing I found interesting is they listed seven different denominations for Judaism. I was only aware of four.
Madonna’s Kabbalah?
I think history indicates Christianity thrives under persecution.
Many churches in the Birmingham area have quietly been taking security and protection measures for years. These can be as straightforward as having deacons and elders concealed carrying to hiring uniformed police officers. Controlling access to the buildings with physical door locks or maglocks on doors is commonly used. That smiling greeter who shakes your hand at the front door might be packing heat under his jacket. So might a choir member or two: I was in the choir at a church where one of the sopranos often did. (No, in this case it’s the choral part, not the family.) She was so nice and sweet that nobody would suspect.
.
My daughters church has several armed men, you just don’t know who they are
You can kind of tell
They have that look
The same Christ who said “love thy neighbor as thyself” also said “if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one”.
Ah, peace through strength.
We spent four years hearing about all those white supremacist groups running around and not a peep about this. I wonder why that is?
Because it has no place in the NYT narrative.
I wonder what percentage of attacks on churches are not anti-Christian (to be clear, including Catholic), and instead are anti-normalcy and anti-righteousness.
Historically, most “attacks” on churches have nothing to do with religion or anything like that. Churches are natural targets for crime for two main reasons: Teenage rebels like the wickedness factor; that’s why they also vandalize cemeteries. And churches are often empty at night, so they’re easy targets.
Remember the spate of arson that hit churches all over the USA in 1994/5. You will recall that it was sold to the public as if some sort of racist gang was going around burning black churches. The news industry whipped up a months-long moral panic about it, and some black churches did very well out of it. One in particular, where the bishop ended up going to prison for fraud.
I recall an opinion piece in the NY Times by former editor A. M. Rosenthal, making the completely valid point that although there was no direct evidence that this was a racist campaign, if it wasn’t then why were only black churches burning, and not any white ones?
My first clue that we were being had was a tiny article that appeared in the NY Times in mid-1995 that said to date there had been 37 fires at black churches, as well as “more than a score” at white ones. The contrast between the very precise number and the very vague one caught my attention, and I asked myself, “How many more than a score? Could it be 17 more? Or even more than that? Perhaps even more than a score more?”
And then they started solving some of the fires. Most remained unsolved, but none of the ones they did solve turned out to be racially motivated. They turned out to have been done for various unrelated motives, ranging from simple vandalism to insurance fraud.