A recent report shows that hostility toward churches in the U.S. remains alarmingly high, according to the Christian group that has tracked incidents since 2018.
The Family Research Council (FRC) reports the data each year. Its latest data shows there were a documented 415 hostile acts that targeted 383 churches across 43 states last year.
As Fox News reports, the numbers are a decline from the 485 incidents documented in 2023, but the incidents in 2024 are double the attacks in 2022.
The FRC is a conservative Christian advocacy and lobbying group that promotes a Judeo-Christian worldview in public policy. To date, the FRC has identified 1,384 acts of hostility toward U.S. churches between January 2018 and December 20424. These incidents include vandalism, arson, bomb threats, gun-related incidents, and other crimes.
"Such acts are destructive and have the potential to intimidate religious communities," researchers said in the report. "They therefore warrant unequivocal condemnation."
FRC researchers say that while the motivations for many of these incidents remain unknown, they believe the rise in crimes against churches is taking place in a “context in which fewer Americans are attending religious services” or identifying with a specific faith.
According to Gallup, 42% of U.S. adults regularly attended religious services 20 years ago, but the number has decreased to 30%.
“This decline means that fewer Americans share a common understanding of what church buildings represent,” said researchers.
One of the biggest church attacks in the U.S. in 2024 was the Abundant Life Christian School Shooting in Madison, Wisconsin, where two people died and six others were injured during the shooting.
In another incident in Houston, Texas, there was an active shooter inside Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church. Video obtained by ABC News revealed that the suspect, Genesse Ivonne Moreno, walked into the church holding her 7-year-old son’s hand and an assault-style rifle and a bag that investigators said also contained another rifle.
Read the full report here.