By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
The world awoke last Sunday morning with horrific news of a Michigan church full of worshippers being the victims of gun violence and arson. At least four persons were killed, eight were wounded and others were reported missing. Officials said the death toll likely will go higher.
“This appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America,” was the reaction of President Donald Trump, who promptly ordered the FBI and other federal agencies to investigate the incident at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township.
Recent attacks have centered on Christian churches, but our nation also has a sad record of assaults on members and houses of worship of the Jewish and Muslim faiths.
Reports of this and other examples of terror tactics against religious facilities and believers in the U.S. bring to mind the evil but effective strategies used by the Ku Klux Klan to resist integration and uphold white supremacy, starting after the Civil War and enduring through the Civil Rights era.
Why have churches been the targets of hatemongers here and elsewhere?
Almost from the founding of America, churches have served as a central, protected space for minorities, be they of religious or ethnic makeup. Churches often function as a school, a meeting place, and a refuge. By attacking such an important space, Klan members and other bigots hoped to demoralize the entire community.
Religious symbols on houses of worship, including the Christian cross, the Star of David for Jews, and the Star and Crescent for Muslims, often are targeted for desecration in hopes of twisting religious imagery of faith into symbols of terror. The goal of that tactic is to create a warning that the hatred of their enemies supersedes the protection of God or whomever.
If we cannot settle our differences, political and religious violence potentially could destroy this 250-year-old land of the free and home of the brave.
Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com.
