Over the last five years, the United States has suffered a dramatic increase in the number of attacks on Christian churches, often the result of far-left political movements.
As reported by Breitbart, the data from the Family Research Council (FRC) revealed a record-high number of church attacks in the year 2023 alone, with 436 incidents; these attacks range from arson and gun-related attacks, to vandalism and bomb threats.
The 436 incidents in 2023 was more than double the amount in 2022, and over eight times as high as the number in 2018, which FRC points to as proof that the anti-Christian sentiment from the Left “is not only on the rise but also accelerating.”
Between January and November of 2023, there were over 315 instances of vandalism, 75 arson attacks or attempted arson attacks, 20 bomb threats, 10 gun-related assaults, and 37 other miscellaneous incidents. These incidents were spread across all 50 states and Washington D.C., although states with larger populations are more likely to report a higher number of attacks; the state with the highest amount of incidents was California, with 33 different occurrences.
In its report, FRC suggested that the spike in attacks is representative of a “collapse in societal reverence and respect” for Christianity and the Church, as well as an opposition by the Left to Christianity’s conservative stances, “including those that touch on hot button political issues related to human dignity and sexuality.”
In recent years, the pro-abortion movement has led numerous attacks on churches and other Christian facilities in the wake of the 2022 ruling by the Supreme Court which overturned the notion that abortion is a nationally-guaranteed right. In the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Court overturned the 49-year precedent set by Roe v. Wade and determined that the issue of abortion is to be decided at the state level, on a state-by-state basis. As a result, multiple states have passed laws cracking down on abortion and protecting the rights of unborn children, often with the support of churches and Christian organizations.
FRC further noted that its report was not as comprehensive as it could be, as plenty of incidents are ultimately unreported to authorities or not covered by the media. Thus, the final true number of anti-Christian assaults is “undoubtedly much higher” than the number given in the official report.