Religious communities express concerns over rising acts of vandalism
Chief religion correspondent Lauren Green speaks with church leaders who feel 'deeply hurt' by recent acts of vandalism
Dozens of Christian churches have been targeted with "pro-abortion hostility" since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to a new reporting that documents increasing vandalism against houses of worship.
"Criminal acts of vandalism and destruction of church property are symptomatic of a collapse in societal reverence and respect for houses of worship and religion — in this case, churches and Christianity," argued the report, published by the Family Research Council and titled "Hostility Against Churches Is on the Rise in the United States."
"Americans appear increasingly, comfortable lashing out against church buildings, pointing to a larger societal problem of marginalizing core Christian beliefs, including those that touch on hot-button political issues related to human dignity and sexuality."
The report's analysis of crime data found there were 420 acts of hostility against 397 churches between January 2018 and September 2022. The attacks took place across 45 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., the report said.
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A message spray-painted in June on the wall of St. Louise Catholic Church in Bellevue, Washington, read: "religion of hate." (FOX13 Seattle)
The report documented 342 vandalism occurrences, 58 arson attacks or attempts, 12 gun-related incidents, 11 bomb threats and 19 other incidences such as assault, threats, interruption of worship services. Twenty incidents crossed over into multiple categories, according to the data.
The report also showed that from January to September 2022, there were at least 57 pro-abortion acts of hostility against Christian houses of worship.
By comparison, there were only five pro-abortion incidents from 2019 to 2021, according to FRC.
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Vandalism on the Sacred Heart of Mary Church in Boulder, Colorado, in May. (Mark Haas)
"When the U.S. Supreme Court’s draft decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was leaked on May 2, 2022, churches saw a spike in graffiti incidents with pro-abortion messages and protests that interrupted church services," the report noted. "This trend has continued since the Dobbs decision was officially handed down and Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 24, 2022."
California saw the most incidents documented in the report, with 51. Texas had 33 incidents, New York had 31 and Florida had 23, according to the FRC data.
Hate crimes against Christians increased from 2019 to 2021 before dipping slightly in 2020, according to FBI annual statistics noted by the FRC analysis.
Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Houston was vandalized with pro-choice message. (Fox 26 Houston)
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"In 2021, the most recent year with available data, the FBI reported 240 anti-Christian ‘hate crimes,'" FRC said. "This was up from 213 anti-Christian incidents in 2020 … the FBI reported 217 anti-Christian incidents in 2019 and 172 in 2018."
FRC president Tony Perkins said he believes the increasing hostility against Christians is the result of American society moving away from its biblical foundations.
"As a former commissioner and chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), I've seen the warning signs of this gathering like clouds across the Atlantic," said Perkins.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, speaks at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa Aug. 9, 2014. (REUTERS/Brian Frank)
"As the mainstream culture moves further and further away from a biblical worldview, I've witnessed the hostility to moral truth creep closer to our shores. The West, once the safe haven of free speech and religion, is turning cold to our religious foundations that have helped us thrive," Perkins continued.
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Perkins added that the Biden administration should do more to address the attacks, which he said are "creating an environment of lawlessness around the country."
