Globally, churches are symbols of faith, community, and identity.
It is the one place where many people can feel safe, have a sense of belonging, and commune quietly with their maker. So, for most people, this hallowed ground should be holy, deeply revered, and sacred.
However, we’ve seen that not everyone shares this sentiment. While some will go to great lengths to protect their faith and place of worship, others will desecrate it in an attempt to send a message.
For decades, the church has been the target of attacks by those wishing to make a statement against what the church stands for or to express their displeasure with life. No attack carried out against places of worship has been random.
It is always well thought out and intended to convey a message. In the United States, there have been thousands of attacks against churches.
The Protestants removed the Bibles because they saw them as a Catholic attempt to undermine American culture.
Although there is no definitive number, recent studies by the Family Research Council, a body that tracks incidents of hostility such as arson, gun-related attacks, and vandalism, have documented over 430 incidents in 2023 and 415 reported cases in 2024.
Globally, there has also been a rise in attacks against churches in the 2020s, with documentation of over 14,700 hostilities against churches and Christian properties. This shows us that from America’s earliest riots to global extremist campaigns, churches have always been a target.
The question, therefore, is why?
To answer this, we must go back to the beginning, or rather, as far back as the first recorded attack against a church in the United States. We will examine how, across centuries, social tension, ideology, and identity politics have repeatedly made churches targets.
Early Church Attacks in America: The 1800s and Anti-Catholic Riots
At the start of the 19th century, there were deep sectarian divisions in the United States due to the increasing involvement of religious organizations in debates over race, immigration, and political power. Despite the immense social change and infrastructural growth of this time, tensions were brewing beneath the surface, and churches were about to bear the brunt of the anger and divisiveness that would soon erupt.
The AME Church Attacks
The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, founded by Richard Allen in 1816, was the first independent Black denomination in the United States. This made it the target for white hostility.
Why?
The church represented what the Blacks were fighting for: self-governance, education, and resistance to white authority. Also, the AME church was said to be a stop for the Underground Railroad, a secret network of routes and safehouses that enslaved African Americans used to escape to places where they could live as freed people.
In 1822, the Emanuel AME church in Charleston, South Carolina, was burned down after Denmark Vesey, one of the founders, led a failed slave revolt plot. The White residents feared more insurrection and Black rebellion, leading them to ban all Black churches in 1834.
Four years later, in 1838, the Mother Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia was destroyed during riots for the destruction of an abolitionist meeting. During the 20th century, there were other attacks, like the St. James AME church bombing in Lake City, South Carolina, in 1955, and the firebomb attack at the St. Luke’s AME Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1962.
Anti-Catholic Riots in Philadelphia
The Black rights movement was not the only reason for church attacks. In May and July 1844, the Philadelphia Nativist Riots happened. These riots occurred from the anger of protestants over the surge of Irish and German catholic immigrants.
The immigrant catholics challenged the established protestant residents over the removal of the King James Bible from public schools. The Protestants removed the Bibles because they saw them as a Catholic attempt to undermine American culture.
When there is social tension, churches representing minorities or groups with unpopular opinions become targets.
So, when the catholic immigrants pushed back, the white mobs attacked. The violence, which was primarily driven by xenophobia, led to 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries. Two catholic churches, St. Michael’s and St. Augustine’s, were burnt. Order was only restored when the state militia stepped in.
The Murder of Joseph Smith
In between the months of the Philadelphia Nativist Riots, in June 1844, Joseph Smith Jr., the founder of Mormonism (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), was killed in Carthage, Illinois, by an armed mob. The Mormon community had significant economic and political power after establishing the city of Nauvoo.
The establishment and the success of the city led to resentment and fear among its non-Mormon neighbors. To make matters worse, Smith ordered the destruction of an anti-Mormon newspaper, The Nauvoo Expositor. Also, the Mormon leader was a polygamist, and he unified the community’s voting system.
All these led to local hostility and religious suspicion. So, while he was imprisoned for the newspaper destruction and charges of treason (he declared martial law in Nauvoo to protect it from external threats), he was killed by a mob on June 27, 1844.
All these events establish one undeniable fact: when there is social tension, churches representing minorities or groups with unpopular opinions become targets. Those who fought for racial equality, immigration status, or developed novel theology were seen as enemies and attacked by those seemingly stronger, and in a bid to protect what they believed was America’s identity.
Civil Rights Era Violence: The Birmingham Church Bombing
This belief was carried into the civil rights era. To protect what many believed to be the way America should be, the residents of Birmingham, Alabama, were highly segregated. The White supremacists had zero tolerance for any form of integration.
The group viewed the church as a Black institution that symbolized strength, resilience, and unity in the face of racial segregation.
Therefore, when activists like Martin Luther King Jr. and Fred Shuttlesworth used the basement of the 16th Street Baptist Church to organize campaign meetings, it did not sit well with extremist groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).
The group viewed the church as a Black institution that symbolized strength, resilience, and unity in the face of racial segregation. Armed with this conviction, they decided to take action.
During the early morning hours of September 15, 1963, the KKK took action. The group planted a bomb with a timing device beneath the steps of the church.
According to authorities, Sanford told a local politician that he “hated people of the Mormon faith” and referred to the church as the “antichrist.”
The bomb exploded at 10:22 a.m., just before the start of the adult worship service. The children’s Sunday School class was held in the basement, and the blast killed four young girls between the ages of 14 and 11. Twenty-two others were injured.
The bomb blast and the bodies of the dead girls in the newspapers led to national outrage. The church, which was supposed to be a sanctuary, had suddenly become unsafe, causing the KKK’s action to backfire on them.
Rather than stopping the building momentum of the civil rights movement, it earned them more supporters. It accelerated the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the four deceased victims were made martyrs, solidifying the church’s role in the fight for equality.
Modern Attacks on Churches in the U.S: Charleston and Beyond
Decades later, the violence against churches persists. Two notable church attacks come to mind: the 2015 Emanuel AME Church shooting and the 2025 Mormon church attack.
Emanuel AME Church (2015)
In 2015, in Charleston, South Carolina, Emanuel African Episcopal Methodist Church suffered an attack from a white supremacist. A 21-year-old white supremacist, Dylan Roof, attended a Bible study at the church. According to news reports, he sat with the Bible study group for an hour before he started shooting.
He killed nine people, including the senior pastor and state senator, Rev. Clementa Pinckney. Roof’s motive was not so different from those who attacked churches in the 19th and 20th centuries. According to news reports, he wanted to start a “race war” and retaliate against Black people.
Roof was fully aware of what the AME church stood for in the Black community. So he targeted it, wanting to intimidate and terrorize the Black community. However, like the KKK, he failed.
Instead, his actions were met with outrage, and the victims’ families chose to forgive him publicly, showing that hate cannot overcome love. Also, the incident led to the removal of the Confederate flag from the grounds of the South Carolina State House.
Grand Blanc, Michigan (2025)
A decade later, in 2025, another church attack made the headlines. On September 28, during service at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a 40-year-old former U.S. Marine and Iraq War veteran, Thomas Jacob Sanford, drove his pickup truck into the front doors of the church.
He then exited his vehicle and started shooting with an assault rifle. Next, he poured gasoline on the floor and set the building on fire. Authorities reported four deaths and injuries from the gunshot and smoke inhalation.
It was rooted in radical extremist ideology, with the group stating they were retaliating for the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand.
Sanford was later killed in a shootout with law enforcement officers who responded at the scene. However, his motive for the attack was discovered during investigations. According to authorities, Sanford told a local politician that he “hated people of the Mormon faith” and referred to the church as the “antichrist.”
His friends recounted that his animosity towards the church was not recent, but started after a relationship with them and some personal struggles while he was in Utah. Whatever his motives might have been, Sanford is just one out of a long list of individuals and organizations that see religious minorities as a threat or simply hate them.
International Church Attacks: Sri Lanka, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria
While the United States has witnessed several church attacks, several other countries have, too. Globally, churches have also been targeted based on political opposition, differing faiths, and divergent opinions. Let’s examine three global church attacks.
Sri Lanka Easter Bombings (2019)
Sri Lanka was shaken when Easter Sunday 2019 recorded multiple coordinated suicide attacks in churches. On April 21, three churches — St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, and Zion Church in Batticaloa — holding Easter services were attacked with eight bomb blasts.
Over 250 people died, and hundreds sustained injuries. Reports showed that members of local extremist groups carried out the attacks, primarily National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ), which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS).
Their motive?
It was rooted in radical extremist ideology, with the group stating they were retaliating for the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand. Additionally, the group sought to garner global attention by targeting Easter Sunday, when the number of casualties was expected to be high.
Burkina Faso (2019)
That same year, Burkina Faso, a West African country, recorded multiple attacks by gunmen in different churches. In May 2019, in Diablo, gunmen shot at several worshippers during a Sunday Service, killing a priest and several people.
These attacks are carried out by bandits and Boko Haram insurgents, and are meant to shock and retaliate against communities for resisting their expansion.
The reason for the attacks was rooted in intimidation and a desire to displace Christian communities. Also, extremist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda or ISIS were said to have been responsible. The group wanted to create fear, destroy Christian influence, and force Christians to flee their villages, thereby asserting territorial control over specific regions.
Nigeria (2022)
Nigeria is another West African country that has been plagued by violence against churches, particularly in the northern region. However, other parts of the country are not immune to the attacks.
One of the most horrific attacks occurred on June 5, 2022, when gunmen raided the St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, during a Pentecost Sunday mass, killing dozens of worshippers.
Regardless of the location, the perpetrators always have an animosity towards the target church or a hatred-filled reason for their actions.
These attacks are carried out by bandits and Boko Haram insurgents, and are meant to shock and retaliate against communities for resisting their expansion. Also, the attacks sometimes lead to the kidnapping of victims for ransom.
Again, the motives for these attacks are to instill fear, silence the voice of minorities, and send a message of terror to those affected and the world.
The Ongoing Debate: Why Churches Remain Vulnerable
The motives for church violence are clear, and governments have tried to create a system of deterrence by punishing offenders. However, despite these efforts, churches remain vulnerable to attacks more than any other religious institution. So, why do attackers choose churches?
Why Attackers Choose Churches: Symbolism, Visibility, and Identity
The reasons why attackers choose churches are not far-fetched and share similarities globally. After a detailed historical analysis, these are some of the patterns we have identified:
- Symbolism: As mentioned, churches serve as a haven for people and have strong ties to the communities in which they are located. When destroyed, like in the case of the AME churches, the morale of the community is impacted, and people fear what might happen to them in the place where they are supposed to feel safe.
- Visibility and Vulnerability: Churches are open and welcoming, with most preaching love for one another. As such, anyone is allowed, irrespective of race and ideology, and most churches lack high security measures. As a result, it is easy for attackers to bring in guns and other equipment they can use to cause harm. Additionally, the number of people who gather in churches on service day provides attackers with a significant number of targets.
- Identity: Attacking churches means harming people in their safe place. As such, most people would be scared to go to church or deny their identity as Christians if they feel targeted.
Are These Isolated Tragedies, or Part of a Global Pattern?
Although every church attack is local, it has a discernible global pattern built on religious violence and the desire to intimidate. Data shows that globally, there has been an increase in church attacks, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
Regardless of the location, the perpetrators always have an animosity towards the target church or a hatred-filled reason for their actions. Also, the attackers always choose when churches are likely to be filled to carry out attacks, showing careful planning and a desire to harm and terrify those who feel safe in these sanctuaries.
Church violence will either show the resilience of humans to rise above hate or the cracks in society that technological and legal advancements cannot fix.
The Debate: Do Such Attacks Expose a Deeper Problem of Division, or The Resilience of Faith Communities?
The nature of these attacks has led to the question: Do these attacks reveal a deeper problem of societal division or resilience of faith?
In places like Nigeria, the attacks against churches have led to division, with many seeing it as a plot to displace people from their lands and homes, create strife between different religions, and increase the economic hardship in the country.
In the United States, violence against specific churches like the AME and those of the Mormon faith sought to impact communal trust and increase religious and racial divides. When the government fails to take action, as in the case of Nigeria, it can be perceived as silently consenting to and encouraging such attacks.
On the flipside, this violence unites communities. Those affected strengthen their faith and bond with one another, demonstrating that they will not be taken aback and will persevere through difficult times.
So, while people will undeniably have different reactions, one thing is clear: church violence will either show the resilience of humans to rise above hate or the cracks in society that technological and legal advancements cannot fix.
Can We Prevent Future Church Attacks?
The reality is complex!
No one can stop church attacks because they are born of radical ideologies, personal biases, racism, extremism, and polarization. However, there are things we can do as a society to reduce the occurrences or at least the fallout.
Since attackers often take time to plan and carry out their attacks, churches can train staff and volunteers to recognize concerning behaviors. Set up a reliable security system that will scan for guns and explosives before people enter the church premises, beginning from the gate.
Church leaders can also encourage dialogue and educate others who may not share their doctrines. Partnering with local law enforcement agencies would also aid in threat assessment and facilitate a faster response in the event of an attack.
All these will take churches a step closer to keeping their members safe and ensuring they protect their congregation and values. So, do you think churches need to take proactive steps to prevent attacks? And do these attacks show our divisions or our resilience?
Share your thoughts with us.
References and Further Reading:
- Family Research Council (FRC) Reports
- FRC Data
- Dolan Consulting Group Analysis of FBI/NIBRS Data
- U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Backgrounder
- Open Doors World Watch List 2024 (PDF)
- Open Doors WWL 2024 Overview: Summary of the 2024 World Watch List Data
- Pew Research Center Report: Report on Government Restrictions on Religion for 2022
- Pew Research Center Overview: Analysis of 2022 Data on Global Restrictions
- African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church History
- Joseph Smith – Church History
- FBI History of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing
- Church Massacre Suspect Held as Charleston Grieves
- The Guardian’s Coverage of the Grand Blanc Shooting
- Sri Lanka Bombings: What We Know
