Attacks on churches in the United States nearly tripled in the last four years, according to a report released by Family Research Council (FRC) this month.

"At least 420 acts of hostility against churches occurred between January 2018 and September 2022 across 45 U.S. states and Washington, D.C.," the report states.

"In 2018, there were 50 incidences of hostility against churches; in 2019, there were 83, in 2020 there were 54; in 2021 there were 96; and between January and September 2022, there were 137."

Most of the incidents (77%) were categorized as "vandalism" with 342 occurrences. The report also found 58 "arson" incidents, 12 "gun-related" incidents, 11 "bomb-threats," and 19 "other" types of incidents in the four years (i.e., "assault, threats, interruption of worship services, etc.")

Although some of the incidents came with "clear" messages or political statements, the motive for some of the other incidents remains "unclear," according to the report.

"At least 57 pro-abortion acts of hostility against churches occurred between January 2022 and September 2022," the report states. "Church buildings also bore the marks of other political protests."

"At least 11 instances of vandalism, especially in the Northwest, had to do with the public controversy in Canada over the treatment of indigenous children in former Catholic-run schools."

"At least 10 instances included anti-police messages and messages related to the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. Other instances were simply blatantly anti-Christian."

"[I]t is notable that a spike in church attacks seemed to follow rises in political tension," the report states. "This happened during the protests and concurrent riots related to George Floyd's death in May 2020 and following the leak of the Dobbs decision in May 2022."

"Overall, acts of hostility trended upward during the five-year reporting period. The first nine months of 2022 saw more than double the number of reported acts of hostility against churches that occurred in the entirety of 2018. "

Attacks on churches in 45 states and Washington, D.C. The states with the most incidents, which are also the most populous states in the country, were California (51), Texas (33), New York (31), and Florida (23).

"States with higher populations tended to report a greater number of incidents," the report states. "The only U.S. states without any known incidents during the five-year reporting period were Delaware, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Vermont."