The Family Research Council (FRC) began tracking this issue last year.
"We went back to 2018 trying to find out if this feeling that we had that attacks against churches were increasing was really true, and we found a very stark increase," report author Arielle Del Turco recently told the "Washington Watch" program.
FRC's study reveals there was an increase last year, especially in the last three months of 2022, when 54 incidents occurred.
"This January-March, there were 69," Del Turco added. "This is concerning to anyone who cares about religious freedom."
The report includes cases of vandalism, arson, gun-related incidents, bomb threats, and other types of assaults that might take place on church property.
"Most of the incidents were vandalisms," Del Turco relayed. "Some of them contained very hateful messages, but some of them were just senseless destruction that really shocked the pastors and communities that experienced it."
All of the reported attacks, she concluded, "are very serious issues, and they pose a real threat to the ability of Christians and Christian communities to go to church without feeling like they're being targeted."
