Statistics on Religious Hate Crimes

The following data about anti-Jewish and religiously-biased hate crimes in the United States has been exceprted from the annual Report on Hate Crimes released by the Uniform Crime Reporting Program of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

To read the full Hate Crime Reports, archived from 1996, click here.

In 2017, law enforcement agencies across the United States participating in the Hate Crimes Statistics program reported 7,175 hate crime incidents involving 8,437 offenses. The number of incidents increased from 6,121 in 2016 in part because more police departments reported data to the FBI. Another possible factor in the change in the number of incidnets over time is the growth of the U.S. population. A third influence on the statistics is that because “Jews have special sensitivity, and are more likely to report incidents,” according to Jonathan Sarna, a professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University.

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 21.8% of incidents during 2017, involving 1,009 offenders and 1,749 victims.

A breakdown of the offenses shows that 60% of religious hate crimes were anti-Jewish, 17% were anti-Islamic and 5% were anti-Catholic. Anti-Semitic hate crimes increased 37% while anti-Islamic crimes declined by 11%.

Josh Nathan-Kazis noted that three quarters of anti-Jewish hate crimes involved vandalism, 7% were assaults and less than one percent were aggravated assaults. “There were just 64 instances of assault targeting Jews, and only eight of them were considered serious enough to be charged as a felony,” he observed. “That’s a far different breakdown than for nearly every other group included in the FBI’s report. Across all hate crimes in 2017, roughly a third were assaults and a third were vandalism.” This pattern is consistent with past years.

The following table tracks hate crimes by religious bias as reported by U.S. law enforcement agencies since 1996.

Year	Incidents
Year	Anti-Jewish	Change	Anti-Islamic	Change	Total Religious	Total Change	% Change
2017	938	254	273	-34	1,564	291	23%
2016	684	-11	307	50	1,273	-81	-6%
2015	695	86	257	103	1,354	340	34%
2014	609	-16	154	19	1,014	-17	-2%
2013	625	-49	135	5	1,031	-68	-6%
2012	674	-97	130	-27	1,099	-134	-11%
2011	771	-116	157	-3	1,233	-89	-7%
2010	887	-44	160	53	1,322	19	1%
2009	931	-82	107	2	1,303	-216	-14%
2008	1,013	44	105	-10	1,519	119	9%
2007	969	2	115	-41	1,400	-62	-4%
2006	967	119	156	28	1,462	235	19%
2005	848	-106	128	-28	1,227	-147	-11%
2004	954	27	156	7	1,374	31	2%
2003	927	-4	149	-6	1,343	-83	-6%
2002	931	-112	155	-326	1,426	-402	-22%
2001	1,043	-66	481	453	1,828	356	24%
2000	1,109	0	28	-4	1,472	61	4%
1999	1,109	28	32	11	1,411	21	2%
1998	1,081	-6	21	-7	1,390	5	0%
1997	1,087	-22	28	1	1,385	-16	-1%
1996	1,109		27		1,401

Year	Incidents
Year	% Anti-Jewish	Change	% Anti-Islamic	Change
2017	60%	6%	17%	-7%
2016	54%	2%	24%	5%
2015	51%	-9%	19%	4%
2014	60%	-1%	15%	2%
2013	61%	-1%	13%	1%
2012	61%	-1%	12%	-1%
2011	63%	-5%	13%	1%
2010	67%	-4%	12%	4%
2009	71%	5%	8%	1%
2008	67%	-3%	7%	-1%
2007	69%	3%	8%	-2%
2006	66%	-3%	11%	0%
2005	69%	0%	10%	-1%
2004	69%	0%	11%	0%
2003	69%	4%	11%	0%
2002	65%	8%	11%	-15%
2001	57%	-18%	26%	24%
2000	75%	-3%	2%	0%
1999	79%	1%	2%	1%
1998	78%	-1%	2%	-1%
1997	78%	-1%	2%	0%
1996	79%		2%

Year	Victims
Year	Anti-Jewish	Change	Anti-Islamic	Change	Total Religious	Total Change	% Change
2017	1,017	155	325	-63	1,749	165	10%
2016	862	131	388	81	1,584	182	13%
2015	731	83	307	123	1,402	262	23%
2014	648	-89	184	17	1,140	-83	-7%
2013	737	-99	167	12	1,223	-117	-9%
2012	836	-100	155	-30	1,340	-140	-9%
2011	936	-104	185	-12	1,480	-72	-5%
2010	1,040	-92	197	65	1,552	-23	-1%
2009	1,132	-13	132	2	1,575	-157	-9%
2008	1,145	18	130	-12	1,732	104	6%
2007	1,127	-17	142	-66	1,628	-122	-7%
2006	1,144	167	208	57	1,750	345	25%
2005	977	-99	151	-50	1,405	-181	-11%
2004	1,076	51	201	26	1,586	97	7%
2003	1,025	-59	175	1	1,489	-170	-10%
2002	1,084	-112	174	-380	1,659	-459	-22%
2001	1,196	-73	554	518	2,118	419	25%
2000	1,269	-20	36	2	1,699	13	1%
1999	1,289	54	34	11	1,686	-34	-2%
1998	1,235	-12	23	-9	1,720	134	8%
1997	1,247	38	32	-1	1,586	51	3%
1996	1,209		33		1,535

* The term victim may refer to a person, business, institution, or society as a whole.

Year	Victims
Year	% Anti-Jewish	Change	% Anti-Islamic	Change
2017	58%	4%	19%	-6%
2016	54%	2%	24%	3%
2015	52%	-5%	22%	6%
2014	57%	-3%	16%	2%
2013	60%	-2%	14%	2%
2012	62%	-1%	12%	-1%
2011	63%	-4%	13%	0%
2010	67%	-5%	13%	4%
2009	72%	6%	8%	1%
2008	66%	-3%	8%	-1%
2007	69%	4%	9%	-3%
2006	65%	-4%	12%	1%
2005	70%	2%	11%	-2%
2004	68%	-1%	13%	1%
2003	69%	3%	12%	1%
2002	65%	9%	10%	-16%
2001	56%	-18%	26%	24%
2000	75%	-2%	2%	0%
1999	76%	5%	2%	1%
1998	72%	-7%	1%	-1%
1997	79%	0%	2%	0%
1996	79%		2%

Full Hate Crime Reports

Sources: Federal Bureau of Investigation;
Josh Nathan-Kazis, “FBI Data Shows Plenty Of Vandalism, Little Violence Against U.S. Jews,” Forward, (November 15, 2018).