Centreville, Ala.
Five rural Baptist churches, all within 10 miles of one another, were burned in one night last week. Three other churches were damaged by fire a few days later. “We don’t have any idea why anyone would want to do this,” said a parishioner at Ashby Baptist Church. “The building is gone, but our church is still all around us.” Police said they would investigate the arsons as possible hate crimes. One church in the first group, Pleasant Sabine, has a predominantly black congregation, while the others are predominantly white.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Unprepared for a pandemicOpinion What happens if bird flu evolves to spread among humans?
-
6 impressive homes in TorontoFeature Featuring floating stairs in Lytton Park and a two-tiered infinity pool in Banbury-Don Mills
-
Samantha Harvey's 6 favorite books that redefine how we see the worldFeature The Booker Prize-winning author recommends works by Marilynne Robinson, George Eliot, and more
