More than 600 attacks on churches and places of worship have taken place across Northern Ireland over the past five years, 173 in Belfast alone.
The figures were revealed by the Christian charity, Christian Action Research and Education (CARE NI) following a Freedom of Information request to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
The police confirmed to the charity that 601 crimes were recorded as criminal damage to religious buildings, churchyards or cemeteries across its 11 policing districts.
That means on average an attack on a place of worship every three days during the period 2014-2019.
Commenting on the research findings, CARE NI’s policy officer Mark Baillie said: “More than 600 attacks in the last five years is a reminder that places of worship, which should be safe spaces for worshippers and congregants, are all too often targeted by vandalism and violence.”
The charity has called for a protective security funding scheme for places of worship to be set up in Northern Ireland, mirroring a similar scheme available in England and Wales.
Referring to the “alarming regularity” of the attacks, Mark Baillie said it made sense for the government in Northern Ireland to consider introducing a security fund to provide financial resources so places of worship could finance security measures such as CCTV, fencing and lighting.
Last year CARE wrote to party leaders in Northern Ireland asking for a commitment to create this kind of security fund for places of worship.
“In a free and democratic society, no-one should be afraid of gathering together with those who share their faith in a place of worship,” Mark Baillie said.
In July 2016, England and Wales introduced a fund for the protection of places of worship while the Scottish Government has announced it is introducing a similar scheme there, leaving Northern Ireland as the only part of the United Kingdom without such a scheme.
“We had positive engagement with a number of political parties, and we are today calling on the Northern Ireland Executive to take this up. It is a human right for individuals to live out and practice their religious beliefs and attacks on places of worship offend against those rights. The scheme in England and Wales is a practical step we could introduce here to equip places of worship to invest in adequate security to prevent criminal damage,” Mark Baillie said.
Speaking to The Tablet about CARE NI’s research findings and the charity’s call for a security fund, Bishop Donal McKeown of Derry said: “I would very much welcome any scheme any financial support for parishes which try to keep their churches open.”
A spokesperson for the Diocese of Down and Connor, Fr Edward McGee also backed the call.
He told The Tablet: “Such attacks are a violation of the sanctity of the place of worship and an attack on the local community which causes significant damage to the property and leaves local communities distressed and upset. Places of worship hold deep significance for the entire community and for their local congregations.”
Fr McGee added that the Diocese of Down and Connor would welcome the government establishing measures and funding schemes assisting with the protection of churches and other religious buildings.
James Mildred of Care UK told The Tablet that the new data appears to show that year on year a significant number of incidents of criminal damage are recorded against places of worship, graveyards and cemeteries in Northern Ireland.
The data, he explained, does not indicate which denominations have been particularly targeted. “We are aware that churches from various denominations have been targeted” but he said he couldn't say this was part of a concerted campaign as they did not know the motivations of those who perpetrated the offences.
“Some of these cases may simply be crimes of opportunity while others may be motivated by animus against particular faith communities rising to the level of hate crime,” James Mildred said.
CARE NI has met most of the Executive parties in Stormont on the matter but none of the parties has committed to introducing the scheme as they are awaiting the outcome of an ongoing review which is being conducted by the Department of Justice.
“A number of questions have been asked of the Minister for Justice around this since the restoration of the devolved institutions and the Department is currently reviewing whether or not the right policy response would be the introduction of a Places of Worship Security Scheme,” James Mildred explained.
He added the charity had also spoken to a number of church leaders who indicated that they are interested in the scheme.
The places of worship fund in England was established in 2016 as part of the Government’s hate crime action plan. Last year the Home Secretary boosted funding for places of worship protective security to £1.6 million to reassure communities and safeguard mosques and other places of worship. This is double the amount awarded in 2018. In addition, a new £5 million fund was provided for security training.
James Mildred said CARE NI wasn’t in a position to estimate precisely the cost of such a scheme for Northern Ireland. “We wouldn’t envisage an annual cost over the low hundreds of thousands. It very much depends on the precise details involved which the Department of Justice are considering,” he said.
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