How big is the Threat?

Why is this topic so important? Are churches really that large of a target?

Q: How many religious congregations are there in the United States?

A: There is no official directory for all the congregations in the county, so sociologists of religion have to rely on statistical estimates extrapolated from surveys. These are often disputed, and to complicate matters, thousands of new churches open each year, while thousands of others close. Hartford Institute estimates there are roughly 335,000 religious congregations in the United States. Of those, about 300,000 are Protestant and other Christian churches, and 22,000 are Catholic and Orthodox churches. Non-Christian religious congregations are estimated at about 12,000.

http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/fastfacts/fast_facts.html