While there are multiple meanings behind the imagery of a burning church, including racially motivated hate crimes or for political reasons, this post is going to focus on black metal church burnings and the more recent motivation for church burnings in North America and Europe.

Black metal took off around the world in the 1990’s, and with the creation of Scandinavian black metal came Satanic imagery and a particular love of blasphemy and hatred of the Christian Church.

One particularly extreme (now deceased) member of the bands Burzum and Mayhem, Øystein Aarseth AKA Euronymous is thought to have burnt down the Fantoft stave church in Sweden, leading to four years of further church burnings in the area.

Church burnings have continued into the 2000’s, 2010’s and 2020’s, though these are typically attributed to anger towards the church for generational trauma that includes but is not limited to violence and abuse against indigenous peoples in North America, Australia and New Zealand and around the world; as well as violence towards members of the LGBTQ+ community.

As a tattoo burning churches are usually done as quite a large piece to make a statement. This is often done on full backs, as half sleeves, thigh pieces, or other large areas of skin. They are most often done in American traditional, black and grey and realism styles.

To learn about some of the evils of Christianity and in particular the Catholic church check out the documentary Deliver Us From Evil (2009) and read the books The Deconstruction of Christianity: What It Is, Why It’s Destructive, and how to Respond, and Speak of the Devil.