This week in Christian history: JFK meets pope, Clinton cracks down on church arsons

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, July 02, 2023

Church Arson Prevention Act signed into law – July 3, 1996

This week marks the anniversary of President Bill Clinton signing the Church Arson Prevention Act into law, which expanded federal prosecution power when investigating attacks on houses of worship.

The legislation was passed by Congress in response to a reported uptick in arson attacks against African American congregations in the South during the early to mid-1990s, and was coupled with Clinton’s creation of the National Church Arson Task Force.

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“Today I have signed into law H.R. 3525, the ‘Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996,’ which will make it easier to prosecute those who set fire to churches. I applaud the Congress' swift, unanimous, and bipartisan passage of this bill,” stated Clinton at the time.

“I have signed it promptly upon its transmittal to me so that the new law can go into effect as soon as possible, but I plan to acknowledge the Congress' role more formally and discuss the importance of this measure at an appropriate occasion next week.”