Potok said it was cheap to set up a Web site and bigots do not have to be literate. A spokesman for the group said they do speak up for whites on some issues, but they are not a hate group. We have non-white members that are members of the organization. The increasing number of hate groups does not necessarily mean more Americans are hating. Some new groups may be breakaway organizations.
Acts of violence can cause some members to leave a hate group.
Potok said Christian Identity saw a drop in congregations from 81 to 62 in a year marked by an extensive manhunt for one of its practitioners, Eric Rudolph. Rudolph is believed to have planted a bomb that killed a police officer and maimed a nurse at an Alabama abortion clinic. The Christian Identity movement opposes abortion. It also teaches that whites are God's chosen people and must prepare for a race war. Correspondent Anne McDermott and Reuters contributed to this report.