A socially conservative think-thank has released a supplemental report outlining, “Hostility Against Churches” in the first quarter of 2023.
According to the Family Research Council, there has been sixty-nine acts of vandalism against churches in the first quarter of the year. This represents a significant increase in the number of these attacks when compared to previous years.
Of the incidents recorded this year, 43 took place in January. There were 14 acts of vandalism in February and 12 in March.
Sixty-nine acts of vandalism against churches occurred in the first quarter of the year, constituting a significant increase in the number of attacks compared to previous years.
January saw the highest number of church attacks, totaling 43 documented incidents. Fourteen acts of vandalism occurred in February, while 12 occurred in March. In comparison, there were 15 attacks against churches in the first three months of 2018, 12 in the same period in 2019, 14 in the first quarter of 2021, and 22 in the first four months of 2022. There were no attacks during the first three months in 2020.
Of the 63 attacks documented by The Family Research Council, 53 of the attacks on churches were categorised as acts of vandalism, 10 as arson and three as gun-related incidents. North Carolina had the highest number of incidents of the 29 States that were reviewed in the study.
The Christian Post reported that, two of the acts of vandalism highlighted in the report appeared to have an explicitly political message. At St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Missouri for example, a vandal spray-painted the phrase “TRANS PWR” on the building’s exterior, expressing support for the LGBT agenda.
Meanwhile, at a church in Riverview, Florida, a vandal defaced the property with a phrase reading “Womens body womens choice,” suggesting sympathy with the pro-choice point of view on abortion.
