❓WHAT HAPPENED: A sharp rise in hostile incidents targeting American churches was recorded in 2024, with 436 documented cases, up from 315 in 2023 and nearly double the 230 in 2022, according to the Family Research Council.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Churches across 43 states were affected, with incidents ranging from vandalism to arson and gun-related threats. The Family Research Council compiled the data.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The incidents occurred throughout 2024, with California seeing the highest number (40), followed by Pennsylvania (29), with Florida and New York tied at 25 each.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Family Research Council identified 415 hostile incidents in 2024, affecting a total of 383 churches.” – Family Research Council
🎯IMPACT: The data highlights ongoing challenges to places of worship in America, as societal shifts and political disagreements contribute to rising hostility.
In 2024, attacks on churches across the United States surged to unprecedented levels, with 436 incidents reported, marking a steep rise from 315 in 2023 and close to doubling the 230 recorded in 2022. The numbers, compiled by the Family Research Council (FRC), highlight a troubling pattern of growing hostility toward Christian places of worship.
These incidents spanned 43 states and included a wide range of offenses. Vandalism topped the list with 284 documented cases, including property damage, defacement, burglary, and ransacking. Arson followed with 55 instances, some confirmed and others under investigation. Gun-related incidents more than doubled from the previous year, rising to 28 from just 12 in 2023. There were also 14 bomb threats, mostly hoaxes, and 47 other violent acts, including assaults during church break-ins.
California reported the most attacks with 40, followed by Pennsylvania with 29. Florida and New York each recorded 25 incidents. The Family Research Council, which tracks these incidents, has itself been controversially labeled an anti-LGBT “hate group” by the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center.
While statistics for 2025 are not yet available, Catholic children were targeted in Minneapolis, Minnesota this week in a mass shooting perpetrated by a transgender gunman who decorated his weapons with Satanic pentagrams.
The growing hostility to Christians is not limited to the United States. Europe has seen a disturbing wave of similar attacks. In just three weeks during the late summer of 2024, nine churches across Germany, France, and the Netherlands were struck by arson attacks. Across France, nearly 1,000 anti-Christian hate crimes were recorded in 2023 alone, with that number rising further into 2024.
Germany reported a 105 percent increase in politically motivated crimes against Christians, while violent attacks and vandalism targeting churches have also become common in countries like Spain and Belgium.
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