WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Family Research Council (FRC) today released the newest edition of its Hostility Against Churches report. This edition examines incidents of hostility toward U.S. churches (including vandalism, arson, bomb threats, gun-related incidents, and other crimes) that occurred in calendar year 2024. The first edition of the report, covering incidents dating back to 2018, was published in December 2022. Since then, FRC has released a new edition of the report annually.
Notable findings in this edition include, but are not limited to:
- The previous six years (2018-2023) featured an increase in hostile incidents against U.S. churches. FRC identified 50 incidents in 2018, 83 in 2019, 55 in 2020, and 98 in 2021. The total number of incidents in 2023 (485) was more than double the number identified in 2022 (198).
- In 2024, the number of incidents leveled off with 415. This total from one 12-month span is nearly equal to the findings from FRC’s very first report (420), which covered 57 months.
- California had the most incidents in 2024 with 40, followed by Pennsylvania with 29, Florida and New York with 25, Texas with 23, and Tennessee and Ohio with 19.
- There were 284 instances of vandalism, 55 instances of arson, 14 bomb threats, and 47 “other.” Notably, the number of gun-related incidents in 2024 (28) was more than double the number identified in 2023 (12). Thirteen incidents fell into more than one category.
- FRC has identified 1,384 acts of hostility against U.S. churches that have taken place since January 2018.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, who served as chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom during President Trump’s first term, remarked:
“Religious freedom is seldom handed to the passive; it is claimed by those who exercise it even when a hostile culture says they may not. This report clearly shows religious freedom faces substantial threats here at home. The American woke Left has been intentional in spreading its hostility toward the Christian faith throughout every corner of America. We applaud the efforts of the Trump administration, but efforts must be taken at every level of government to protect and promote this fundamental human right. Christians must expect and demand more from their government leaders when it comes to prosecuting and preventing criminal acts targeting religious freedom.”
Arielle Del Turco, Director of FRC’s Center for Religious Liberty, commented on the report:
“No instance of vandalism or other crimes against churches is acceptable, and political leaders should be quick to condemn such actions and affirm the importance of religious freedom. Religious freedom does not rely on legal protections alone, but also on cultural support. We must bolster cultural support for religious freedom and respect for our Christian heritage.”
Travis Weber, FRC’s Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs, shared:
“The reality presented by this report may be surprising to many, as we are often accustomed to thinking of ‘the West’ as the place of freedom. Yet, my hope and prayer is that anyone who is a friend of freedom will observe the trend documented here and sit up and take notice. The fact that hundreds of churches around the United States are denigrated in this manner highlights the broader reality that Christians, Jews, and others are no longer ‘automatically’ safe to live and worship in peace in the United States – a trend that is at work in other Western countries as well. Government leaders should do their part in ensuring that our laws and constitutional protections for the free exercise of religion are enforced, and our culture and its institutions must do their part in ensuring honor and respect for religious freedom. Meanwhile, we must prepare ourselves for how to live amid such hostility, should this trend continue or perhaps get even worse.”
To access the full publication, please visit: https://www.frc.org/HostilityAgainstChurches
SOURCE Family Research Council
