Why are there so many attacks on churches?

Hundreds of people jammed into the gymnasium of the Academy of the Holy Angels in southern Minnesota on Wednesday to mourn the shooting that day at Annunciation Church. As you know, two children were killed and several children and parishioners were injured.

News reports have called the tragedy a “school shooting,” and it did in fact involve students at the Catholic school. However, they were actually in the church itself celebrating Mass when they were attacked.

Bernard Hebda, archbishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, led the service, telling attendees that the front of the Annunciation Church bore the inscription, “House of God. Gate of Heaven.” Then he asked, “How is it that such a terrible tragedy could take place in a place that’s the house of God and the gate of Heaven?”

However, such attacks on churches have actually become far more common in recent years.

The Family Research Council (FRC) recently released its “Hostility Against Churches in the United States” 2024 report. From January 2018, when they began tracking such incidents, through December 2024, they documented 1,384 acts of hostility toward US churches. 

The latest edition identified 415 hostile incidents in 2024, affecting a total of 383 churches. This compares with 50 such incidents in 2018, a rise of 730 percent.

What explains these attacks and their escalation in recent years?

Surprising facts in the data

This is not a red state–blue state issue. While the report documents forty incidents in California, the most in the nation, and twenty-five in New York, it also reports twenty-five attacks in Florida and twenty-three in Texas. These are the four largest US states by population.

I assumed that the motive for attacking churches would center primarily on cultural issues, especially since the Catholic Church is known for its conservative values on abortion and marriage. This could align with Wednesday’s shooting: on a YouTube channel titled Robin W, the alleged shooter released a video showing a cache of weapons and ammunition, some with such phrases as “kill Donald Trump” and “Where is your God?” written on them.

However, the FRC report actually notes that pro-abortion sentiments have dropped significantly, with such cases falling from 59 in 2022 and 11 in 2023 to just two in 2024. Anti-LBGTQ incidents decreased as well, falling from 42 in 2023 to 33 in 2024. Nor is satanism a widely espoused motive: satanic attacks decreased from 12 in 2023 to one in 2024.

But if the attacks are not always motivated by ideology, what’s driving their increase? 

Safety on a sidewalk

A common motivation for mass shootings is personal retaliation or revenge. Others include a desire for attention or fame. A psychotic break sometimes motivates such attacks as well, though this is rare. It is known that psychopaths commit a disproportionate number of murders.

The pattern typically begins with a grievance harbored by the perpetrator, such as the loss of a job or relationship. The individual then fixates on a violent response, plans and prepares the attack, usually probes the intended location for security and potential barriers, and then stages the attack.

Whatever the motive, it is clear that large gatherings in the US are more dangerous than ever, whether they take place in churches, schools, shopping centers, or other venues. But as the other shootings this week in Minneapolis show, even a sidewalk can expose us to danger.

And the irrationality behind most attacks often makes it difficult for even family and friends to identify a threat in its early stages. As a result, any time you and I venture out into public, we could be in danger.

Two sources of daily hope

With that less-than-cheery thought in mind, let’s turn to two sources of hope we can claim every day, no matter what each day brings.

First, we should not assume persecution where it does not exist.

While attacks at churches have escalated enormously in recent years, as we have seen, so have other mass shootings. Churches rank behind workplaces, schools, shopping centers, and restaurants as likely targets. Of course, churches are sometimes targeted for reasons specific to the church, such as its ideology and belief system. However, such attacks seem to be rare compared with the larger total.

This does not mean we should not expect persecution in our fallen world. Jesus was clear: “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). Paul was blunt: “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).

But it does mean that we should not claim to be persecuted for our faith when this is not the case. This can only exaggerate the impulse to withdraw from our secularized culture at a time when our lost society needs our witness the most. 

Salt does no good in the saltshaker, or light under a basket (cf. Matthew 5:13–16). The courage required to stand for Christ can be a powerful witness to those who witness our resolve.

Second, we should prepare for danger but not fear it.

As I noted in an earlier website article today, Jesus taught us to pray for our “daily bread” (Matthew 6:11), pointing to the fact that we should seek God’s provision for our needs as we experience them each day. One such need is to be prepared for temptation and tragedy.

When we begin the day by submitting our lives to God’s Spirit, he can then empower, lead, and use us for his greatest glory and our greatest good (Ephesians 5:18). We can then be prepared to face temptation in his strength rather than our own. And as we walk closely with our Lord, we are ready to face tragedy in his presence and peace.

Such preparation helps us choose faith over fear. As Paul reminded us, “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7). When we are close to our Father, we can turn our fears over to him and say with David, “I sought the Lᴏʀᴅ, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4).

St. Augustine on prayer and work

St. Augustine (Aurelius Augustinus), perhaps the greatest theologian since the Apostle Paul, died on this day in AD 430. He famously taught us, “Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.” Then, as we work, God works. As we prepare for the day by submitting it to his power and purpose, we can work in the strength he provides (cf. Colossians 1:29).

All the while, we can claim my favorite of all St. Augustine’s observations:

“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”

Why do you need this reminder today?