Over 400 hostile acts committed against US churches since 2018, increased incidents since 2021

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A new study by the conservative Christian Family Research Council (FRC) shows there have been over 400 hostile acts committed against US churches since 2018, with the rate of hostile incidents increasing significantly from last year, the Christian Post reports.

The FRC study recorded at least 420 acts of hostility aimed at 397 separate churches across 45 US states between January 2018 and September 2022, CP reports. The acts included vandalism, bomb threats, arson and incidents involving a gun.

The report documents 50 hostile acts against churches in 2018, and 83 in 2019, CP said. That number decreased to 54 in 2020, probably due to COVID-19 lockdowns. The number rose to 96 in 2021 and 137 in the first nine months of 2022. At least 57 acts of documented acts committed against churches in 2022 were abortion-related, carrying hostile pro-choice messaging.

According to the report, California had the highest number of incidents against churches this year, followed by Texas at 33, New York at 31, and Florida at 23, CP said. Delaware, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Vermont had no known reported incidents.

“This increase in religious hostility should not be taken lightly. Such acts are destructive and have the potential to intimidate a religious community. Therefore, they deserve to be condemned,” the FRC said in its report.

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