A deadly mass shooting at a Minnesota Catholic church is drawing national attention to the ongoing surge in violence targeting churches across the United States.

Hostility against religious institutions has risen dramatically in recent years, according to a new report documenting over 1,300 incidents of violence and vandalism at churches between 2018 and 2024, Fox News reported.

The Family Research Council released new data showing a significant increase in attacks on churches nationwide. Its report cataloged 1,384 separate incidents of hostility between January 2018 and December 2024, with the highest number of these incidents recorded over the past three years.

Churches Saw a Sharp Increase in 2023

The annual data revealed that violent or hostile acts against churches began rising sharply in 2022. That year, 198 incidents were reported, nearly doubling the 98 cases reported in 2021. In 2023, the total increased even further to 485 incidents—the peak of the seven years studied.

Although the total slightly declined to 415 in 2024, the number remains high and almost equals the sum of incidents recorded from 2018 to 2021 combined. In 2018, only 50 incidents were reported, with fluctuations through 2020 before the clear upward trend began in 2021.

The vast majority of incidents involved vandalism, making it the most common form of aggression reported during this time. The Council’s findings were based on open-source data such as media coverage, public databases, and law enforcement reports, searched using terms like “church arson” and “church threats.”

Gun-Related Incidents on the Rise

In 2024, a noticeable change occurred in these attacks. Gun-related incidents became more common than in prior years, while acts connected to pro-abortion sentiments declined. Researchers noted that although some categories of hostility shifted, many patterns from the previous years persisted.

The Family Research Council underscored the limitations of its data, emphasizing that many events likely went unreported or were not made public. Official figures may not fully reflect the actual scope of violence churches are experiencing across the nation.

“Although the total number of incidents slightly decreased in 2024, we observed a continuation of many of the previous year’s trends,” the report stated. “Vandalism remained the most common type of incident; many states with high numbers of incidents in 2023 also ranked among the top in 2024, and many incidents were similar in nature to those from the previous year.”

Minnesota Church Shooting Highlights New Dangers

These concerns were amplified by a recent mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minnesota. On a Wednesday morning, a shooter entered the church and opened fire during a school-related event. The act left two children dead and 18 others injured, most of them children from the affiliated school.

The attacker was identified as Robin Westman, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene. Westman, whose legal name change was recorded in 2019, had previously identified as male but had begun living as a woman before the shooting.

This tragic incident underscores the severity of violence now facing even religious spaces that serve educational roles, not merely worship services. The Minnesota shooting added to growing fears about the safety of church-goers and faith-based communities nationwide.

Some States Report Higher Hostility

The 2024 data showed that 43 states experienced at least one incident of church-related violence or vandalism. A total of 383 churches were affected last year alone. States with larger populations tended to report the most incidents, aligning with previous patterns noted in the Council’s findings.

California led the nation in 2024 with 40 reported cases, followed by Pennsylvania with 29. Florida and New York each recorded 25, while Texas saw 23. Tennessee and Ohio tied with 19 incidents apiece. These states accounted for a significant share of the year’s total figures.

“As in previous years, states with larger populations tended to have more incidents,” the Family Research Council explained. The organization sees this trend as consistent across its multi-year analysis, though the reasons behind these geographical differences remain unclear.

Changing Social Trends and Religious Decline

The recent shooting and sustained levels of hostility come amid broader cultural shifts. National trends show a steady decline in regular attendance at in-person religious services, raising concerns about changing attitudes toward organized religion in American life.

For some experts, this decline may be contributing to an environment in which churches are more frequently targeted. Others argue that the growing divisiveness in public discourse could be fueling this upswing in violent expressions of ideology or personal grievance.

Nonetheless, the report warns that the data may be just the tip of the iceberg. “We identified 415 incidents in 2024; however, this figure may not represent the full scope of hostility against churches, as many cases likely went unreported to law enforcement or unpublished by news outlets,” the Council cautioned.