America's churches under siege as violence increasingly invades sacred ground

In the America of our childhood, churches were untouchable ground – sanctuaries of refuge, worship, community and peace. They were the one place where the noise of the world fell silent and reverence took its rightful seat. They were the last places anyone imagined would require security plans and emergency drills. Today, those sacred walls are under threat, not in theory, but in cold and documented reality. The data delivers an uncomfortable truth: houses of worship are being targeted with increasing frequency, severity and lethal intent.