church burning
Sacred building ablaze
Church burning is the deliberate act of setting fire to a church building, typically as a hate crime targeting religious or racial communities.
The term gained particular prominence in the United States during the 1990s wave of arsons targeting Black churches in the South: Federal investigators linked the church burnings to white supremacist groups.
Church burning carries connotations of terrorism and racial intimidation beyond ordinary arson.
- arsonCriminal deliberate burning
- hate crimeOffense motivated by prejudice
- hate groupOrganization promoting hostility toward demographics
- desecrationViolating something sacred
- flamesVisible burning combustion
fire damage · ashes · steeple · congregation · racist · civil rights era · inner city · KKK · white supremacy · Norway · black metal · sacrilege · holy ground · place of worship · smoke · ruins · terrorism · vandalism
- hate crimeshate crime, racial attack, antisemitic attack, hate groups, racial violence
- arsonarson, arsonist, arson investigator, arson investigation, attempted arson
- violenceviolence, physical attack, brutality, physical violence, aggression
church burningchurch building
Religious worship facility
church restoration · cathedral building · historic preservation · church dedication · laying the cornerstone
church, burning, churches, churched, churchly, churchman, churchyard, burn, burns