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Page 1: Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

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892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 224

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H O S T I L E

E N V I R O N M E N T

UNDERS TAND I NG AND RES POND I NG

T O A N T I - C H R I S TI A N B I A S

G E O R G E Y A N C E Y

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InterVarsity Press

PO Box 983089983092983088983088 Downers Grove IL 983094983088983093983089983093-983089983092983090983094

ivpresscom

emailivpresscom

copy983090983088983089983093 by George Yancey

All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission

from InterVarsity Press

InterVarsity Pressreg is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian FellowshipUSAreg a

movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities colleges and schools

of nursing in the United States of America and a member movement of the International Fellowship

of Evangelical Students For information about local and regional activities visit intervarsityorg

All Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from the New American Standard

Biblereg copyright 983089983097983094983088 983089983097983094983090 983089983097983094983091 983089983097983094983096 983089983097983095983089 983089983097983095983090 983089983097983095983091 983089983097983095983093 983089983097983095983095 983089983097983097983093 by Te Lockman

Foundation Used by permission

While any stories in this book are true some names and identifying information may have been

changed to protect the privacy of individuals

Cover design Cindy Kiple

Interior design Beth McGill

Images Suffering Christ Ecce Homo or Suffering Christ by Bartolome Esteban Murillo at Caylus

Anticuario Madrid SpainBridgeman Images

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ISBN 983097983095983096-983088-983096983091983088983096-983092983092983090983090-983095 (print)

ISBN 983097983095983096-983088-983096983091983088983096-983097983095983094983097-983096 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

As a member of the Green Press Initiative InterVarsity Press is committed to protecting the environment and to the responsible use of natural resources o learnmore visit greenpressinitiativeorg

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

P 983090983088 983089983097 983089983096 983089983095 983089983094 983089983093 983089983092 983089983091 983089983090 983089983089 983089983088 983097 983096 983095 983094 983093 983092 983091 983090 983089

Y 983091983090 983091983089 983091983088 983090983097 983090983096 983090983095 983090983094 983090983093 983090983092 983090983091 983090983090 983090983089 983090983088 983089983097 983089983096 983089983095 983089983094 983089983093

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Contents

983089 Introduction 983097

983090 Haters Gonna Hate

he Roots of Christianophobia 983090983095

983091 Canrsquot Please All the People 983093983089

983092 Are Christians Responsible for Christianophobia 983094983097

983093 rouble Within 983097983093

983094 Hate Me Not 983089983089983097

983095 How to Deal with Christianophobia 983089983092983089

Appendix Note on Methodology 983089983093983093

Notes 983089983093983095

References 983089983095983091

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1

In t roduct ion

I remember vividly a disturbing conversation that I once had with

a good Christian friend who taught in a high school He told me

that he mentioned one day in class that some Christians around

the world were being killed for their faith o his amazementsome students approved of these murders In their minds it was

time for Christians to face the same death that Christians had

inflicted on others

I was struck by the ahistorical nature of this line of thought

Although Christians in the United States do not face jail or death

for their faith there is a long history of Christians around theworld being punished for their faith I also wondered how so

much hatred had developed against Christians Tis conver-

sation took place almost two decades ago and I see little evi-

dence that this type of hatred has abated

In fact my recent research has confirmed that such hatred is

still very powerful1 David Williamson and I conducted a survey

of culturally progressive activists using open-ended questions

Te survey questions elicited a variety of hostile statements

aimed at conservative Christians One statement in particular

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

(from a male age -) caught my attention ldquoTe only good

Christian is a dead Christianrdquo

Tis statement echoed a quotation from American history In

during the middle of the Indian Wars on the Great Plains

a Comanche chief named osawi told General Philip Sheridan

ldquoMe osawi me good Injunrdquo Sheridan is reported to have replied

ldquoTe only good Indians I ever saw were deadrdquo2 Te accuracy of

this statement has been disputed but the sentiment is clear

when one is in a war one should offer no mercy to the enemy

Te respondent made it clear that he sees Christians as the

enemy and believes that no mercy should be given to them

Tat response should have shocked me It didnrsquot I had already

read a lot of hateful anti-Christian comments Because of their

anonymity the respondents of the survey felt free to state their

opinions bluntly Tose interested in exploring the remarks inmore depth can examine our academic treatment of the subject3

but suffice it to say that such remarks remind us that some

people harbor a high level of irrational hatred toward Christians

We do not know how many people hold similar opinions but we

do know that many of them have social power

As a Christian I was tempted to become angry at those who

spew such venom I might also have matched the hatred of my

friendrsquos students with hatred of my own but I know that this is

not the right way to respond Tere is a contrary temptation to

shy away from confronting such unfair attacks After all are we

not told to turn the other cheek (Matthew ) By one interpre-

tation of this advice I should merely smile and forgive others

when they make hateful comments Perhaps if I do not say any-thing and avoid unpleasant people then life will be easier Yet I

know that this is simplistic and not the proper answer to such

attitudes What is a Christian response to hatred directed at us

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Introduction

Do we ignore that hatred to suffer in silence or do we confront it

Do we actively confront it and if we do then how should we do

so I wish I could tell you that I have perfect answers to such ques-

tions Te reality is that I struggle to identify the proper responses

Over the past few years I have done research into Christiano-

phobia defined as an unreasonable hatred or anger toward Chris-

tians My research indicates that these negative emotions are

generally directed at Christians with a conservative theological or

political perspective4 Tis research has helped me to understand

some of the sources of that hatredmdashnot justify that hatred but

understand it Diving into the data about Christianophobia forced

me as a believer to consider how I should respond to such rancor

Tis book allows me to share some of my insights regarding how

best to respond to those who dislike or fear Christians

MY BACKGROUND

I have not spent my entire academic career analyzing anti-

Christian animosity During my early years as a Christian scholar

I studied racial issues especially as they pertain to Christians

Being an African American Christian I naturally had an interest

in these issues

When I was in graduate school I experienced racism at the

hands of the mother of a woman I dated Te reactions of many

of my Christian friends were anything but supportive leading

me to question the role Christians play in perpetrating racism

in our society I wrote about racism within the church and

became very interested in how Christians can work toward es-

tablishing multiracial congregations While I did research racialissues apart from the church my main focus was helping Chris-

tians deal with the racialized nature of our society I hoped my

work would help to promote racial reconciliation

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

A few years ago I felt a call to change the direction of my re-

search Tere are a variety of issues that led to this shift but one

was my observation of anti-Christian perspectives I noticed these

attitudes in the reporting of local and national events though that

alone would not have motivated me to study anti-Christian ani-

mosity I also saw evidence of anti-Christian attitudes in how

some academics reacted to my faith For example when I was an

adjunct professor I was assigned to four classes in a semester One

class was sociology of race and ethnicity one was sociology of

religion and the other two were introduction to sociology courses

Soon thereafter I learned that some faculty had misgivings about

my ability to teach the religion class because I was a Christian

Tey feared that I would be biased However the fact that I am an

African American did not create any fear about my bias in teaching

the race and ethnicity course While all professors bring somedegree of bias into their teaching (an atheist certainly brings bias

to a sociology of religion course) the comments of these pro-

fessors indicated that black racial bias is acceptable while Christian

religious bias is not I have encountered more barriers in aca-

demia because of my faith than because of my race

Such experiences and my observation of social events convinced

me of the importance of studying hostility toward Christians My

previous work on the dynamics of racial intergroup conflict helped

me to understand issues of prejudice stereotyping bigotry and

hatred in this religious context I saw similar but not identical dy-

namics in anti-Christian hostility While I am convinced that the

Lord used me in my previous racial research to help address im-

portant racial issues he also used my time dealing with racial issuesto prepare me for understanding anti-Christian animosity

Over the past few years I have learned a lot about anti-

Christian animosity First I conducted research on social and

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Introduction

religious bias in academia I learned that evangelicals and fun-

damentalists are the groups most likely to face negative bias by

academics5 Unlike previous work on academic bias my work

was systematic and not anecdotal I found that almost half of all

academics were less willing to hire a candidate for an academic

job if they learned that the person was a conservative Prot-

estant6 Tat work provided evidence of the anti-Christian bias

prevalent throughout the academic community o look at po-

tential anti-Christian attitudes outside of academia I used data

from a national survey to document the extent of antifundamen-

talist hostility in the United States In a research article I showed

that this hostility at least matches the level of anti-Muslim hos-

tility or Islamophobia in our society7 In another book I tested

a theorymdashRight-wing authoritarianismmdashthat argued that vin-

dictiveness and hostility toward out-groups are much moreprevalent among religious and political conservatives than

among religious and political progressives I demonstrated that

religious and political progressives do possess vindictiveness

and hostility when asked about conservative Christians8

Finally I wanted to know what Christianophobia looks like

Te research I did on culturally progressive activists provided

several clues about the nature of Christianophobia in our society

I analyzed those answers and used a probability sample to doc-

ument the characteristics of those who have Christianophobia

My coauthored book provides solid analyses of the perception

individuals with Christianophobia have of Christians how they

dehumanize Christians and what they want in our society9 Te

responses from the national survey that is the basis for So ManyChristians replicated my earlier finding that conservative Chris-

tians face more animosity in society than any religious groups

other than atheists Tose with this animosity are more likely to

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

be white wealthy and educated and thus have relative power in

our society

Troughout this book I will refer to respondentsrsquo comments

collected from my research for books on cultural progressive ac-

tivists and on Christianophobia If you are interested in the meth-

odology used to find respondents see the appendix or pick up one

or both books that used this methodology10 Quotations from our

respondents combined with an analysis of current events will

help to illustrate the mindset of those with Christianophobia

DEFINING CHRISTIANOPHOBIA

Te term Christianophobia is controversial Some individuals

may see those who use the term as a bunch of Christians whining

about not getting their way Te actions of some Christians

justify this contempt But hatred and fear of Christians are pheno- mena with real consequences even in a democracy such as ours

As I considered how to label this phenomenon I decided that

Christianophobia is the best term devised to date to describe

much of the anti-Christian perspective in the United States

Tis is not a word that I made up Christianophobia is defined

by Macmillan Dictionary as ldquoan irrational animosity towards or

hatred of Christians or Christianity in generalrdquo In this sense it

is not unlike the way we use Islamophobia or homophobia in

that we are not addressing simply fear of a group of individuals

we are referring to the negative emotions directed at those indi-

viduals While it is inaccurate to make the assumption that

Christianophobia is exactly like other types of intolerances the

basic concept that certain individuals target a given group withhatred and negativity is fairly similar in this definition of Chris-

tianophobia Tus the Macmillan definition is the one to keep

in mind as I discuss this concept

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Introduction

I anticipate that some will argue that Christianophobia is

either a myth or that it really does not matter ldquoWhere is the

evidence that Christians are put at a disadvantage in our society

due to Christianophobiardquo they may ask Consider the fact that

my research as well as other research11 indicates that there is a

notable anti-Christian bias in academia Tis bias means that

one should not expect the level of academic documentation of

anti-Christian prejudice that we would expect for other types of

prejudice It is realistic to assert that Christians likely face prej-

udice in institutions other than academia institutions that also

have highly educated and culturally progressive individuals and

that a lack of curiosity about such religious prejudice among

academics keeps it hidden from the general public

Letrsquos play a thought experiment If there were research showing

that almost half of all academics are less willing to give a persona job simply because that person is Jewish then would we say that

anti-Semitism impacts the lives of Jews in our society After all

they would face an unfair barrier to academia which is an im-

portant source of culture creation What if those who hate Jews

are more likely to be wealthy and well educated Would we not

be concerned about how such individuals would express ani-

mosity toward Jews We know these things about Christiano-

phobia despite the anti-Christian academic bias that discourages

such research and so it is hard to argue that Christianophobia

has no effect on Christians As I will discuss later it is a mistake

to argue that Christianophobia is exactly like anti-Semitism or

racism but if we had the evidence of educational prejudice

toward Christians for another racial or religious group then fewif any people would argue that such prejudice does not matter

Even such evidence will not be enough to convince some indi-

viduals that Christianophobia is a problem Tey will require a

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

level of proof I cannot supply Beyond a few exceptional cases I

cannot absolutely prove that Christians are unfairly treated In

contemporary society such proof is indeed difficult to obtain but

not just for conservative Christians oday scholars of racial at-

titudes talk of microaggressions12 and subtle forms of racism13 at

least in part because surveys no longer reveal large percentages

of people who directly insult or show a willingness to explicitly

discriminate against African Americans o a lesser degree the

same can probably be said of sexism and homophobia although

I do not have the expertise in those areas to definitively make that

statement We do not demand absolute proof of overt systematic

discrimination based on race sex sexual preference or minority

religious status before addressing potential prejudices Tose

who demand such a criterion for Christians but no other social

groups need to explain why such a double standard is acceptableNot all Christians are equally likely to be victimized by Chris-

tianophobia Christians who do not challenge the ideals of those

with Christianophobia are less likely to experience this hatred

and prejudice Generally theologically or politically conser-

vative Christians who do challenge progressive social and poli-

tical attitudes are the ones who draw the ire of those with anti-

Christian hostility Tere are aspects of Christianophobia that

may also threaten progressive Christians and this seems espe-

cially the case in other countries14 However for the most part

it is the irrational hatred and fear directed toward conservative

Christians that we observe in the United States

WHY HAS CHRISTIANOPHOBIA BEEN IGNORED

Many Christians believe they have experienced animosity or dis-

crimination because of their faith Given my research I cannot

deny that they are right Yet there is little talk about Christiano-

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Introduction

phobia in the larger society Why is that

A large part of the silence on Christianophobia results from a

lack of academic analysis of this phenomenon Christianity is

what we sociologists call a majority religion It is the most popular

and powerful religion in the United States Generally scholars do

not concern themselves with prejudice experienced by those in

the majority group For example in the United States men gen-

erally have more power than women and whites generally have

more power than people of color Consequently there is not a lot

of academic research lamenting prejudice and discrimination

against men and whites Tis is not to say that prejudice and

discrimination against whites and men are nonexistent However

as a group both whites and men are quite powerful and isolated

instances of prejudice and discrimination do not eliminate the

general gender or racial advantages they possessBut can the same thing be said about Christians It is true that

Christians while suffering from isolated instances of prejudice

and discrimination also maintain a certain power advantage

over other religious groups However this is not nearly as uni-

versally true as it is for whites and men In key areas of our so-

ciety Christians are at a disadvantage simply because they are

Christians I alluded to this with my discussion above regarding

the Christian disadvantage in academia An overwhelming ma-

jority of the respondents from some disciplines such as anthro-

pology and English literature stated a willingness to religiously

discriminate15 We are not talking about an isolated bigot or two

We are talking about a substantial percentage of individuals in

our institutions of higher education Tus higher education andscience highly regarded segments of our society are commu-

nities where Christians do not enjoy the privileges of the ma-

jority and in fact operate at a disadvantage compared to those

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Introduction

common discourse with very little if any sanction

Even if the only social institution affected by Christianophobia

was our higher educational system we would have a serious

problem Powerful individuals are influenced by higher edu-

cation and those individuals generally go on to legal business

and political careers that put them in a position to negatively

impact Christians So far as far as I know higher education is the

only institution where systematic anti-Christian bias has been

documented But I suspect that other institutions with a higher

than normal percentage of cultural progressives such as media

entertainment and institutions of primary and secondary edu-

cation may also be susceptible to Christianophobia

In my academic research on Christianophobia I noted pat-

terns of bigotry hatred prejudice stereotyping and dehuman-

ization Some of the respondents characterized Christians as atype of aliban and asserted that without opposition to Chris-

tians our nation would soon become a theocracy Tese respon-

dents generally did not support direct measures against Chris-

tians but seemed delighted at the prospect of finding ways to

hinder conservative Christians For example note these respon-

dentsrsquo remarks

Te only difference I see between [a] Christian fundamen-

talist and [an] Islamic fundamentalist is terrorism At their

heart both movements are attempts to replace their coun-

tryrsquos government with theocracies Religion in the political

arena is dangerous to freedom and should be not allowed

Even minor intrusions such as allowing religious groups to

distribute public funds to the poor should not be allowed

(male age -)

Te Christian Rightrsquos influence in our government is as

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dangerous as the aliban in Afghanistan or the ayatollahs

in Iran We cannot allow them to get a solid foothold in our

government Te only way to do this without infringing on

rights is to be especially vigilant and point out their bigotry

and hypocrisy often and loudly so as to discredit them in

the eyes of their followers and more importantly the eyes

of the voting populace (female age -)

Tese individuals would likely deny that their comments areintolerant but clearly they exhibit the unreasonable disdain and

fear associated with other types of intolerances Christiano-

phobia can lead to discrimination against Christians as shown

in my previous work on the potential of anti-Christian academic

discrimination but it can also display the type of emotional

animosity found in other types of intolerant attitudes Tere is

little reason to believe that only academics are perpetrators of

anti-Christian prejudice

CHRISTIANOPH OBIA RACISM ANTI-SEMITI SM AND SUCH

Since I stated that my studies of racial issues have helped me to

understand Christianophobia one might naturally wonder if I

am arguing that Christianophobia is the same thing as racism Iam not o be sure I do see some similarities between Chris-

tianophobia and racism Demonizing others stereotyping fear

and hatred are quite common with both types of social dys-

function However racism is tied to the notion that certain racial

groups are biologically inferior Furthermore racial minority

groups are more likely to suffer economically because of racism

than Christians are because of Christianophobia In addition to

the economic costs racism is more likely to lead to violence than

is Christianophobia So while there are some similarities be-

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Introduction

tween animosity based on race and that based on religion the

differences between these types of animosity are profound

A better comparison may be between Christianophobia and

anti-Semitism Previous work on anti-Semitism has shown that

those with this type of bigotry fear Jews taking over our society18

Many anti-Semites have cited a discredited document called Te

Protocols of the Elders of Zion which claimed that a secret Jewish

plot existed with the aim of undermining Christian civilization

Several of the respondents to our surveys also talked about a

stealthy Christian plot that they feared would undermine their

vision of a progressive humanist society For example a female

age - stated that ldquoitrsquos pretty troubling to me what theyrsquore

doing how sneaky they are how they project their negativity onto

others mostly how they are trying to and succeeding take

over our public education systemrdquo Another female age -stated that Christians are ldquodangerousmdashattending law school so

they can infiltrate government and take over our countryrdquo

Fears of a societal and possibly governmental takeover mo-

tivate individuals to support attempts to limit the hated religious

group In both anti-Semitism and Christianophobia we find

abundant stereotyping hatred and prejudice based on often inac-

curate interpretations of the religious actions of members vic-

timized by anti-Semitism and Christianophobia Anti-Semitism

has a longer history and seems more likely to lead to violence than

Christianophobia may but my recent research19 shows far more

anti-Christian animosity in contemporary society than anti-

Semitism Since those with anti-Christian bias are more likely to

be white wealthy and well educated Christianophobia is likely tomotivate individuals with more social power than those motivated

by other types of prejudice (ie racism sexism Islamophobia)

Christianophobia has qualities similar to other types of prej-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

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Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

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Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

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H O S T I L E

E N V I R O N M E N T

UNDERS TAND I NG AND RES POND I NG

T O A N T I - C H R I S TI A N B I A S

G E O R G E Y A N C E Y

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InterVarsity Press

PO Box 983089983092983088983088 Downers Grove IL 983094983088983093983089983093-983089983092983090983094

ivpresscom

emailivpresscom

copy983090983088983089983093 by George Yancey

All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission

from InterVarsity Press

InterVarsity Pressreg is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian FellowshipUSAreg a

movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities colleges and schools

of nursing in the United States of America and a member movement of the International Fellowship

of Evangelical Students For information about local and regional activities visit intervarsityorg

All Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from the New American Standard

Biblereg copyright 983089983097983094983088 983089983097983094983090 983089983097983094983091 983089983097983094983096 983089983097983095983089 983089983097983095983090 983089983097983095983091 983089983097983095983093 983089983097983095983095 983089983097983097983093 by Te Lockman

Foundation Used by permission

While any stories in this book are true some names and identifying information may have been

changed to protect the privacy of individuals

Cover design Cindy Kiple

Interior design Beth McGill

Images Suffering Christ Ecce Homo or Suffering Christ by Bartolome Esteban Murillo at Caylus

Anticuario Madrid SpainBridgeman Images

Burnt paper edge copy SoubretteiStockphoto

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ISBN 983097983095983096-983088-983096983091983088983096-983092983092983090983090-983095 (print)

ISBN 983097983095983096-983088-983096983091983088983096-983097983095983094983097-983096 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

As a member of the Green Press Initiative InterVarsity Press is committed to protecting the environment and to the responsible use of natural resources o learnmore visit greenpressinitiativeorg

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

P 983090983088 983089983097 983089983096 983089983095 983089983094 983089983093 983089983092 983089983091 983089983090 983089983089 983089983088 983097 983096 983095 983094 983093 983092 983091 983090 983089

Y 983091983090 983091983089 983091983088 983090983097 983090983096 983090983095 983090983094 983090983093 983090983092 983090983091 983090983090 983090983089 983090983088 983089983097 983089983096 983089983095 983089983094 983089983093

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Contents

983089 Introduction 983097

983090 Haters Gonna Hate

he Roots of Christianophobia 983090983095

983091 Canrsquot Please All the People 983093983089

983092 Are Christians Responsible for Christianophobia 983094983097

983093 rouble Within 983097983093

983094 Hate Me Not 983089983089983097

983095 How to Deal with Christianophobia 983089983092983089

Appendix Note on Methodology 983089983093983093

Notes 983089983093983095

References 983089983095983091

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1

In t roduct ion

I remember vividly a disturbing conversation that I once had with

a good Christian friend who taught in a high school He told me

that he mentioned one day in class that some Christians around

the world were being killed for their faith o his amazementsome students approved of these murders In their minds it was

time for Christians to face the same death that Christians had

inflicted on others

I was struck by the ahistorical nature of this line of thought

Although Christians in the United States do not face jail or death

for their faith there is a long history of Christians around theworld being punished for their faith I also wondered how so

much hatred had developed against Christians Tis conver-

sation took place almost two decades ago and I see little evi-

dence that this type of hatred has abated

In fact my recent research has confirmed that such hatred is

still very powerful1 David Williamson and I conducted a survey

of culturally progressive activists using open-ended questions

Te survey questions elicited a variety of hostile statements

aimed at conservative Christians One statement in particular

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

(from a male age -) caught my attention ldquoTe only good

Christian is a dead Christianrdquo

Tis statement echoed a quotation from American history In

during the middle of the Indian Wars on the Great Plains

a Comanche chief named osawi told General Philip Sheridan

ldquoMe osawi me good Injunrdquo Sheridan is reported to have replied

ldquoTe only good Indians I ever saw were deadrdquo2 Te accuracy of

this statement has been disputed but the sentiment is clear

when one is in a war one should offer no mercy to the enemy

Te respondent made it clear that he sees Christians as the

enemy and believes that no mercy should be given to them

Tat response should have shocked me It didnrsquot I had already

read a lot of hateful anti-Christian comments Because of their

anonymity the respondents of the survey felt free to state their

opinions bluntly Tose interested in exploring the remarks inmore depth can examine our academic treatment of the subject3

but suffice it to say that such remarks remind us that some

people harbor a high level of irrational hatred toward Christians

We do not know how many people hold similar opinions but we

do know that many of them have social power

As a Christian I was tempted to become angry at those who

spew such venom I might also have matched the hatred of my

friendrsquos students with hatred of my own but I know that this is

not the right way to respond Tere is a contrary temptation to

shy away from confronting such unfair attacks After all are we

not told to turn the other cheek (Matthew ) By one interpre-

tation of this advice I should merely smile and forgive others

when they make hateful comments Perhaps if I do not say any-thing and avoid unpleasant people then life will be easier Yet I

know that this is simplistic and not the proper answer to such

attitudes What is a Christian response to hatred directed at us

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Introduction

Do we ignore that hatred to suffer in silence or do we confront it

Do we actively confront it and if we do then how should we do

so I wish I could tell you that I have perfect answers to such ques-

tions Te reality is that I struggle to identify the proper responses

Over the past few years I have done research into Christiano-

phobia defined as an unreasonable hatred or anger toward Chris-

tians My research indicates that these negative emotions are

generally directed at Christians with a conservative theological or

political perspective4 Tis research has helped me to understand

some of the sources of that hatredmdashnot justify that hatred but

understand it Diving into the data about Christianophobia forced

me as a believer to consider how I should respond to such rancor

Tis book allows me to share some of my insights regarding how

best to respond to those who dislike or fear Christians

MY BACKGROUND

I have not spent my entire academic career analyzing anti-

Christian animosity During my early years as a Christian scholar

I studied racial issues especially as they pertain to Christians

Being an African American Christian I naturally had an interest

in these issues

When I was in graduate school I experienced racism at the

hands of the mother of a woman I dated Te reactions of many

of my Christian friends were anything but supportive leading

me to question the role Christians play in perpetrating racism

in our society I wrote about racism within the church and

became very interested in how Christians can work toward es-

tablishing multiracial congregations While I did research racialissues apart from the church my main focus was helping Chris-

tians deal with the racialized nature of our society I hoped my

work would help to promote racial reconciliation

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

A few years ago I felt a call to change the direction of my re-

search Tere are a variety of issues that led to this shift but one

was my observation of anti-Christian perspectives I noticed these

attitudes in the reporting of local and national events though that

alone would not have motivated me to study anti-Christian ani-

mosity I also saw evidence of anti-Christian attitudes in how

some academics reacted to my faith For example when I was an

adjunct professor I was assigned to four classes in a semester One

class was sociology of race and ethnicity one was sociology of

religion and the other two were introduction to sociology courses

Soon thereafter I learned that some faculty had misgivings about

my ability to teach the religion class because I was a Christian

Tey feared that I would be biased However the fact that I am an

African American did not create any fear about my bias in teaching

the race and ethnicity course While all professors bring somedegree of bias into their teaching (an atheist certainly brings bias

to a sociology of religion course) the comments of these pro-

fessors indicated that black racial bias is acceptable while Christian

religious bias is not I have encountered more barriers in aca-

demia because of my faith than because of my race

Such experiences and my observation of social events convinced

me of the importance of studying hostility toward Christians My

previous work on the dynamics of racial intergroup conflict helped

me to understand issues of prejudice stereotyping bigotry and

hatred in this religious context I saw similar but not identical dy-

namics in anti-Christian hostility While I am convinced that the

Lord used me in my previous racial research to help address im-

portant racial issues he also used my time dealing with racial issuesto prepare me for understanding anti-Christian animosity

Over the past few years I have learned a lot about anti-

Christian animosity First I conducted research on social and

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Introduction

religious bias in academia I learned that evangelicals and fun-

damentalists are the groups most likely to face negative bias by

academics5 Unlike previous work on academic bias my work

was systematic and not anecdotal I found that almost half of all

academics were less willing to hire a candidate for an academic

job if they learned that the person was a conservative Prot-

estant6 Tat work provided evidence of the anti-Christian bias

prevalent throughout the academic community o look at po-

tential anti-Christian attitudes outside of academia I used data

from a national survey to document the extent of antifundamen-

talist hostility in the United States In a research article I showed

that this hostility at least matches the level of anti-Muslim hos-

tility or Islamophobia in our society7 In another book I tested

a theorymdashRight-wing authoritarianismmdashthat argued that vin-

dictiveness and hostility toward out-groups are much moreprevalent among religious and political conservatives than

among religious and political progressives I demonstrated that

religious and political progressives do possess vindictiveness

and hostility when asked about conservative Christians8

Finally I wanted to know what Christianophobia looks like

Te research I did on culturally progressive activists provided

several clues about the nature of Christianophobia in our society

I analyzed those answers and used a probability sample to doc-

ument the characteristics of those who have Christianophobia

My coauthored book provides solid analyses of the perception

individuals with Christianophobia have of Christians how they

dehumanize Christians and what they want in our society9 Te

responses from the national survey that is the basis for So ManyChristians replicated my earlier finding that conservative Chris-

tians face more animosity in society than any religious groups

other than atheists Tose with this animosity are more likely to

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

be white wealthy and educated and thus have relative power in

our society

Troughout this book I will refer to respondentsrsquo comments

collected from my research for books on cultural progressive ac-

tivists and on Christianophobia If you are interested in the meth-

odology used to find respondents see the appendix or pick up one

or both books that used this methodology10 Quotations from our

respondents combined with an analysis of current events will

help to illustrate the mindset of those with Christianophobia

DEFINING CHRISTIANOPHOBIA

Te term Christianophobia is controversial Some individuals

may see those who use the term as a bunch of Christians whining

about not getting their way Te actions of some Christians

justify this contempt But hatred and fear of Christians are pheno- mena with real consequences even in a democracy such as ours

As I considered how to label this phenomenon I decided that

Christianophobia is the best term devised to date to describe

much of the anti-Christian perspective in the United States

Tis is not a word that I made up Christianophobia is defined

by Macmillan Dictionary as ldquoan irrational animosity towards or

hatred of Christians or Christianity in generalrdquo In this sense it

is not unlike the way we use Islamophobia or homophobia in

that we are not addressing simply fear of a group of individuals

we are referring to the negative emotions directed at those indi-

viduals While it is inaccurate to make the assumption that

Christianophobia is exactly like other types of intolerances the

basic concept that certain individuals target a given group withhatred and negativity is fairly similar in this definition of Chris-

tianophobia Tus the Macmillan definition is the one to keep

in mind as I discuss this concept

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Introduction

I anticipate that some will argue that Christianophobia is

either a myth or that it really does not matter ldquoWhere is the

evidence that Christians are put at a disadvantage in our society

due to Christianophobiardquo they may ask Consider the fact that

my research as well as other research11 indicates that there is a

notable anti-Christian bias in academia Tis bias means that

one should not expect the level of academic documentation of

anti-Christian prejudice that we would expect for other types of

prejudice It is realistic to assert that Christians likely face prej-

udice in institutions other than academia institutions that also

have highly educated and culturally progressive individuals and

that a lack of curiosity about such religious prejudice among

academics keeps it hidden from the general public

Letrsquos play a thought experiment If there were research showing

that almost half of all academics are less willing to give a persona job simply because that person is Jewish then would we say that

anti-Semitism impacts the lives of Jews in our society After all

they would face an unfair barrier to academia which is an im-

portant source of culture creation What if those who hate Jews

are more likely to be wealthy and well educated Would we not

be concerned about how such individuals would express ani-

mosity toward Jews We know these things about Christiano-

phobia despite the anti-Christian academic bias that discourages

such research and so it is hard to argue that Christianophobia

has no effect on Christians As I will discuss later it is a mistake

to argue that Christianophobia is exactly like anti-Semitism or

racism but if we had the evidence of educational prejudice

toward Christians for another racial or religious group then fewif any people would argue that such prejudice does not matter

Even such evidence will not be enough to convince some indi-

viduals that Christianophobia is a problem Tey will require a

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

level of proof I cannot supply Beyond a few exceptional cases I

cannot absolutely prove that Christians are unfairly treated In

contemporary society such proof is indeed difficult to obtain but

not just for conservative Christians oday scholars of racial at-

titudes talk of microaggressions12 and subtle forms of racism13 at

least in part because surveys no longer reveal large percentages

of people who directly insult or show a willingness to explicitly

discriminate against African Americans o a lesser degree the

same can probably be said of sexism and homophobia although

I do not have the expertise in those areas to definitively make that

statement We do not demand absolute proof of overt systematic

discrimination based on race sex sexual preference or minority

religious status before addressing potential prejudices Tose

who demand such a criterion for Christians but no other social

groups need to explain why such a double standard is acceptableNot all Christians are equally likely to be victimized by Chris-

tianophobia Christians who do not challenge the ideals of those

with Christianophobia are less likely to experience this hatred

and prejudice Generally theologically or politically conser-

vative Christians who do challenge progressive social and poli-

tical attitudes are the ones who draw the ire of those with anti-

Christian hostility Tere are aspects of Christianophobia that

may also threaten progressive Christians and this seems espe-

cially the case in other countries14 However for the most part

it is the irrational hatred and fear directed toward conservative

Christians that we observe in the United States

WHY HAS CHRISTIANOPHOBIA BEEN IGNORED

Many Christians believe they have experienced animosity or dis-

crimination because of their faith Given my research I cannot

deny that they are right Yet there is little talk about Christiano-

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Introduction

phobia in the larger society Why is that

A large part of the silence on Christianophobia results from a

lack of academic analysis of this phenomenon Christianity is

what we sociologists call a majority religion It is the most popular

and powerful religion in the United States Generally scholars do

not concern themselves with prejudice experienced by those in

the majority group For example in the United States men gen-

erally have more power than women and whites generally have

more power than people of color Consequently there is not a lot

of academic research lamenting prejudice and discrimination

against men and whites Tis is not to say that prejudice and

discrimination against whites and men are nonexistent However

as a group both whites and men are quite powerful and isolated

instances of prejudice and discrimination do not eliminate the

general gender or racial advantages they possessBut can the same thing be said about Christians It is true that

Christians while suffering from isolated instances of prejudice

and discrimination also maintain a certain power advantage

over other religious groups However this is not nearly as uni-

versally true as it is for whites and men In key areas of our so-

ciety Christians are at a disadvantage simply because they are

Christians I alluded to this with my discussion above regarding

the Christian disadvantage in academia An overwhelming ma-

jority of the respondents from some disciplines such as anthro-

pology and English literature stated a willingness to religiously

discriminate15 We are not talking about an isolated bigot or two

We are talking about a substantial percentage of individuals in

our institutions of higher education Tus higher education andscience highly regarded segments of our society are commu-

nities where Christians do not enjoy the privileges of the ma-

jority and in fact operate at a disadvantage compared to those

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Introduction

common discourse with very little if any sanction

Even if the only social institution affected by Christianophobia

was our higher educational system we would have a serious

problem Powerful individuals are influenced by higher edu-

cation and those individuals generally go on to legal business

and political careers that put them in a position to negatively

impact Christians So far as far as I know higher education is the

only institution where systematic anti-Christian bias has been

documented But I suspect that other institutions with a higher

than normal percentage of cultural progressives such as media

entertainment and institutions of primary and secondary edu-

cation may also be susceptible to Christianophobia

In my academic research on Christianophobia I noted pat-

terns of bigotry hatred prejudice stereotyping and dehuman-

ization Some of the respondents characterized Christians as atype of aliban and asserted that without opposition to Chris-

tians our nation would soon become a theocracy Tese respon-

dents generally did not support direct measures against Chris-

tians but seemed delighted at the prospect of finding ways to

hinder conservative Christians For example note these respon-

dentsrsquo remarks

Te only difference I see between [a] Christian fundamen-

talist and [an] Islamic fundamentalist is terrorism At their

heart both movements are attempts to replace their coun-

tryrsquos government with theocracies Religion in the political

arena is dangerous to freedom and should be not allowed

Even minor intrusions such as allowing religious groups to

distribute public funds to the poor should not be allowed

(male age -)

Te Christian Rightrsquos influence in our government is as

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dangerous as the aliban in Afghanistan or the ayatollahs

in Iran We cannot allow them to get a solid foothold in our

government Te only way to do this without infringing on

rights is to be especially vigilant and point out their bigotry

and hypocrisy often and loudly so as to discredit them in

the eyes of their followers and more importantly the eyes

of the voting populace (female age -)

Tese individuals would likely deny that their comments areintolerant but clearly they exhibit the unreasonable disdain and

fear associated with other types of intolerances Christiano-

phobia can lead to discrimination against Christians as shown

in my previous work on the potential of anti-Christian academic

discrimination but it can also display the type of emotional

animosity found in other types of intolerant attitudes Tere is

little reason to believe that only academics are perpetrators of

anti-Christian prejudice

CHRISTIANOPH OBIA RACISM ANTI-SEMITI SM AND SUCH

Since I stated that my studies of racial issues have helped me to

understand Christianophobia one might naturally wonder if I

am arguing that Christianophobia is the same thing as racism Iam not o be sure I do see some similarities between Chris-

tianophobia and racism Demonizing others stereotyping fear

and hatred are quite common with both types of social dys-

function However racism is tied to the notion that certain racial

groups are biologically inferior Furthermore racial minority

groups are more likely to suffer economically because of racism

than Christians are because of Christianophobia In addition to

the economic costs racism is more likely to lead to violence than

is Christianophobia So while there are some similarities be-

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Introduction

tween animosity based on race and that based on religion the

differences between these types of animosity are profound

A better comparison may be between Christianophobia and

anti-Semitism Previous work on anti-Semitism has shown that

those with this type of bigotry fear Jews taking over our society18

Many anti-Semites have cited a discredited document called Te

Protocols of the Elders of Zion which claimed that a secret Jewish

plot existed with the aim of undermining Christian civilization

Several of the respondents to our surveys also talked about a

stealthy Christian plot that they feared would undermine their

vision of a progressive humanist society For example a female

age - stated that ldquoitrsquos pretty troubling to me what theyrsquore

doing how sneaky they are how they project their negativity onto

others mostly how they are trying to and succeeding take

over our public education systemrdquo Another female age -stated that Christians are ldquodangerousmdashattending law school so

they can infiltrate government and take over our countryrdquo

Fears of a societal and possibly governmental takeover mo-

tivate individuals to support attempts to limit the hated religious

group In both anti-Semitism and Christianophobia we find

abundant stereotyping hatred and prejudice based on often inac-

curate interpretations of the religious actions of members vic-

timized by anti-Semitism and Christianophobia Anti-Semitism

has a longer history and seems more likely to lead to violence than

Christianophobia may but my recent research19 shows far more

anti-Christian animosity in contemporary society than anti-

Semitism Since those with anti-Christian bias are more likely to

be white wealthy and well educated Christianophobia is likely tomotivate individuals with more social power than those motivated

by other types of prejudice (ie racism sexism Islamophobia)

Christianophobia has qualities similar to other types of prej-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

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Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

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Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

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H O S T I L E

E N V I R O N M E N T

UNDERS TAND I NG AND RES POND I NG

T O A N T I - C H R I S TI A N B I A S

G E O R G E Y A N C E Y

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InterVarsity Press

PO Box 983089983092983088983088 Downers Grove IL 983094983088983093983089983093-983089983092983090983094

ivpresscom

emailivpresscom

copy983090983088983089983093 by George Yancey

All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission

from InterVarsity Press

InterVarsity Pressreg is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian FellowshipUSAreg a

movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities colleges and schools

of nursing in the United States of America and a member movement of the International Fellowship

of Evangelical Students For information about local and regional activities visit intervarsityorg

All Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from the New American Standard

Biblereg copyright 983089983097983094983088 983089983097983094983090 983089983097983094983091 983089983097983094983096 983089983097983095983089 983089983097983095983090 983089983097983095983091 983089983097983095983093 983089983097983095983095 983089983097983097983093 by Te Lockman

Foundation Used by permission

While any stories in this book are true some names and identifying information may have been

changed to protect the privacy of individuals

Cover design Cindy Kiple

Interior design Beth McGill

Images Suffering Christ Ecce Homo or Suffering Christ by Bartolome Esteban Murillo at Caylus

Anticuario Madrid SpainBridgeman Images

Burnt paper edge copy SoubretteiStockphoto

Fire flames copy sbayramiStockphoto

Burnt hole copy robynmaciStockphoto

ISBN 983097983095983096-983088-983096983091983088983096-983092983092983090983090-983095 (print)

ISBN 983097983095983096-983088-983096983091983088983096-983097983095983094983097-983096 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

As a member of the Green Press Initiative InterVarsity Press is committed to protecting the environment and to the responsible use of natural resources o learnmore visit greenpressinitiativeorg

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

P 983090983088 983089983097 983089983096 983089983095 983089983094 983089983093 983089983092 983089983091 983089983090 983089983089 983089983088 983097 983096 983095 983094 983093 983092 983091 983090 983089

Y 983091983090 983091983089 983091983088 983090983097 983090983096 983090983095 983090983094 983090983093 983090983092 983090983091 983090983090 983090983089 983090983088 983089983097 983089983096 983089983095 983089983094 983089983093

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Contents

983089 Introduction 983097

983090 Haters Gonna Hate

he Roots of Christianophobia 983090983095

983091 Canrsquot Please All the People 983093983089

983092 Are Christians Responsible for Christianophobia 983094983097

983093 rouble Within 983097983093

983094 Hate Me Not 983089983089983097

983095 How to Deal with Christianophobia 983089983092983089

Appendix Note on Methodology 983089983093983093

Notes 983089983093983095

References 983089983095983091

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1

In t roduct ion

I remember vividly a disturbing conversation that I once had with

a good Christian friend who taught in a high school He told me

that he mentioned one day in class that some Christians around

the world were being killed for their faith o his amazementsome students approved of these murders In their minds it was

time for Christians to face the same death that Christians had

inflicted on others

I was struck by the ahistorical nature of this line of thought

Although Christians in the United States do not face jail or death

for their faith there is a long history of Christians around theworld being punished for their faith I also wondered how so

much hatred had developed against Christians Tis conver-

sation took place almost two decades ago and I see little evi-

dence that this type of hatred has abated

In fact my recent research has confirmed that such hatred is

still very powerful1 David Williamson and I conducted a survey

of culturally progressive activists using open-ended questions

Te survey questions elicited a variety of hostile statements

aimed at conservative Christians One statement in particular

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

(from a male age -) caught my attention ldquoTe only good

Christian is a dead Christianrdquo

Tis statement echoed a quotation from American history In

during the middle of the Indian Wars on the Great Plains

a Comanche chief named osawi told General Philip Sheridan

ldquoMe osawi me good Injunrdquo Sheridan is reported to have replied

ldquoTe only good Indians I ever saw were deadrdquo2 Te accuracy of

this statement has been disputed but the sentiment is clear

when one is in a war one should offer no mercy to the enemy

Te respondent made it clear that he sees Christians as the

enemy and believes that no mercy should be given to them

Tat response should have shocked me It didnrsquot I had already

read a lot of hateful anti-Christian comments Because of their

anonymity the respondents of the survey felt free to state their

opinions bluntly Tose interested in exploring the remarks inmore depth can examine our academic treatment of the subject3

but suffice it to say that such remarks remind us that some

people harbor a high level of irrational hatred toward Christians

We do not know how many people hold similar opinions but we

do know that many of them have social power

As a Christian I was tempted to become angry at those who

spew such venom I might also have matched the hatred of my

friendrsquos students with hatred of my own but I know that this is

not the right way to respond Tere is a contrary temptation to

shy away from confronting such unfair attacks After all are we

not told to turn the other cheek (Matthew ) By one interpre-

tation of this advice I should merely smile and forgive others

when they make hateful comments Perhaps if I do not say any-thing and avoid unpleasant people then life will be easier Yet I

know that this is simplistic and not the proper answer to such

attitudes What is a Christian response to hatred directed at us

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Introduction

Do we ignore that hatred to suffer in silence or do we confront it

Do we actively confront it and if we do then how should we do

so I wish I could tell you that I have perfect answers to such ques-

tions Te reality is that I struggle to identify the proper responses

Over the past few years I have done research into Christiano-

phobia defined as an unreasonable hatred or anger toward Chris-

tians My research indicates that these negative emotions are

generally directed at Christians with a conservative theological or

political perspective4 Tis research has helped me to understand

some of the sources of that hatredmdashnot justify that hatred but

understand it Diving into the data about Christianophobia forced

me as a believer to consider how I should respond to such rancor

Tis book allows me to share some of my insights regarding how

best to respond to those who dislike or fear Christians

MY BACKGROUND

I have not spent my entire academic career analyzing anti-

Christian animosity During my early years as a Christian scholar

I studied racial issues especially as they pertain to Christians

Being an African American Christian I naturally had an interest

in these issues

When I was in graduate school I experienced racism at the

hands of the mother of a woman I dated Te reactions of many

of my Christian friends were anything but supportive leading

me to question the role Christians play in perpetrating racism

in our society I wrote about racism within the church and

became very interested in how Christians can work toward es-

tablishing multiracial congregations While I did research racialissues apart from the church my main focus was helping Chris-

tians deal with the racialized nature of our society I hoped my

work would help to promote racial reconciliation

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

A few years ago I felt a call to change the direction of my re-

search Tere are a variety of issues that led to this shift but one

was my observation of anti-Christian perspectives I noticed these

attitudes in the reporting of local and national events though that

alone would not have motivated me to study anti-Christian ani-

mosity I also saw evidence of anti-Christian attitudes in how

some academics reacted to my faith For example when I was an

adjunct professor I was assigned to four classes in a semester One

class was sociology of race and ethnicity one was sociology of

religion and the other two were introduction to sociology courses

Soon thereafter I learned that some faculty had misgivings about

my ability to teach the religion class because I was a Christian

Tey feared that I would be biased However the fact that I am an

African American did not create any fear about my bias in teaching

the race and ethnicity course While all professors bring somedegree of bias into their teaching (an atheist certainly brings bias

to a sociology of religion course) the comments of these pro-

fessors indicated that black racial bias is acceptable while Christian

religious bias is not I have encountered more barriers in aca-

demia because of my faith than because of my race

Such experiences and my observation of social events convinced

me of the importance of studying hostility toward Christians My

previous work on the dynamics of racial intergroup conflict helped

me to understand issues of prejudice stereotyping bigotry and

hatred in this religious context I saw similar but not identical dy-

namics in anti-Christian hostility While I am convinced that the

Lord used me in my previous racial research to help address im-

portant racial issues he also used my time dealing with racial issuesto prepare me for understanding anti-Christian animosity

Over the past few years I have learned a lot about anti-

Christian animosity First I conducted research on social and

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Introduction

religious bias in academia I learned that evangelicals and fun-

damentalists are the groups most likely to face negative bias by

academics5 Unlike previous work on academic bias my work

was systematic and not anecdotal I found that almost half of all

academics were less willing to hire a candidate for an academic

job if they learned that the person was a conservative Prot-

estant6 Tat work provided evidence of the anti-Christian bias

prevalent throughout the academic community o look at po-

tential anti-Christian attitudes outside of academia I used data

from a national survey to document the extent of antifundamen-

talist hostility in the United States In a research article I showed

that this hostility at least matches the level of anti-Muslim hos-

tility or Islamophobia in our society7 In another book I tested

a theorymdashRight-wing authoritarianismmdashthat argued that vin-

dictiveness and hostility toward out-groups are much moreprevalent among religious and political conservatives than

among religious and political progressives I demonstrated that

religious and political progressives do possess vindictiveness

and hostility when asked about conservative Christians8

Finally I wanted to know what Christianophobia looks like

Te research I did on culturally progressive activists provided

several clues about the nature of Christianophobia in our society

I analyzed those answers and used a probability sample to doc-

ument the characteristics of those who have Christianophobia

My coauthored book provides solid analyses of the perception

individuals with Christianophobia have of Christians how they

dehumanize Christians and what they want in our society9 Te

responses from the national survey that is the basis for So ManyChristians replicated my earlier finding that conservative Chris-

tians face more animosity in society than any religious groups

other than atheists Tose with this animosity are more likely to

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

be white wealthy and educated and thus have relative power in

our society

Troughout this book I will refer to respondentsrsquo comments

collected from my research for books on cultural progressive ac-

tivists and on Christianophobia If you are interested in the meth-

odology used to find respondents see the appendix or pick up one

or both books that used this methodology10 Quotations from our

respondents combined with an analysis of current events will

help to illustrate the mindset of those with Christianophobia

DEFINING CHRISTIANOPHOBIA

Te term Christianophobia is controversial Some individuals

may see those who use the term as a bunch of Christians whining

about not getting their way Te actions of some Christians

justify this contempt But hatred and fear of Christians are pheno- mena with real consequences even in a democracy such as ours

As I considered how to label this phenomenon I decided that

Christianophobia is the best term devised to date to describe

much of the anti-Christian perspective in the United States

Tis is not a word that I made up Christianophobia is defined

by Macmillan Dictionary as ldquoan irrational animosity towards or

hatred of Christians or Christianity in generalrdquo In this sense it

is not unlike the way we use Islamophobia or homophobia in

that we are not addressing simply fear of a group of individuals

we are referring to the negative emotions directed at those indi-

viduals While it is inaccurate to make the assumption that

Christianophobia is exactly like other types of intolerances the

basic concept that certain individuals target a given group withhatred and negativity is fairly similar in this definition of Chris-

tianophobia Tus the Macmillan definition is the one to keep

in mind as I discuss this concept

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Introduction

I anticipate that some will argue that Christianophobia is

either a myth or that it really does not matter ldquoWhere is the

evidence that Christians are put at a disadvantage in our society

due to Christianophobiardquo they may ask Consider the fact that

my research as well as other research11 indicates that there is a

notable anti-Christian bias in academia Tis bias means that

one should not expect the level of academic documentation of

anti-Christian prejudice that we would expect for other types of

prejudice It is realistic to assert that Christians likely face prej-

udice in institutions other than academia institutions that also

have highly educated and culturally progressive individuals and

that a lack of curiosity about such religious prejudice among

academics keeps it hidden from the general public

Letrsquos play a thought experiment If there were research showing

that almost half of all academics are less willing to give a persona job simply because that person is Jewish then would we say that

anti-Semitism impacts the lives of Jews in our society After all

they would face an unfair barrier to academia which is an im-

portant source of culture creation What if those who hate Jews

are more likely to be wealthy and well educated Would we not

be concerned about how such individuals would express ani-

mosity toward Jews We know these things about Christiano-

phobia despite the anti-Christian academic bias that discourages

such research and so it is hard to argue that Christianophobia

has no effect on Christians As I will discuss later it is a mistake

to argue that Christianophobia is exactly like anti-Semitism or

racism but if we had the evidence of educational prejudice

toward Christians for another racial or religious group then fewif any people would argue that such prejudice does not matter

Even such evidence will not be enough to convince some indi-

viduals that Christianophobia is a problem Tey will require a

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

level of proof I cannot supply Beyond a few exceptional cases I

cannot absolutely prove that Christians are unfairly treated In

contemporary society such proof is indeed difficult to obtain but

not just for conservative Christians oday scholars of racial at-

titudes talk of microaggressions12 and subtle forms of racism13 at

least in part because surveys no longer reveal large percentages

of people who directly insult or show a willingness to explicitly

discriminate against African Americans o a lesser degree the

same can probably be said of sexism and homophobia although

I do not have the expertise in those areas to definitively make that

statement We do not demand absolute proof of overt systematic

discrimination based on race sex sexual preference or minority

religious status before addressing potential prejudices Tose

who demand such a criterion for Christians but no other social

groups need to explain why such a double standard is acceptableNot all Christians are equally likely to be victimized by Chris-

tianophobia Christians who do not challenge the ideals of those

with Christianophobia are less likely to experience this hatred

and prejudice Generally theologically or politically conser-

vative Christians who do challenge progressive social and poli-

tical attitudes are the ones who draw the ire of those with anti-

Christian hostility Tere are aspects of Christianophobia that

may also threaten progressive Christians and this seems espe-

cially the case in other countries14 However for the most part

it is the irrational hatred and fear directed toward conservative

Christians that we observe in the United States

WHY HAS CHRISTIANOPHOBIA BEEN IGNORED

Many Christians believe they have experienced animosity or dis-

crimination because of their faith Given my research I cannot

deny that they are right Yet there is little talk about Christiano-

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Introduction

phobia in the larger society Why is that

A large part of the silence on Christianophobia results from a

lack of academic analysis of this phenomenon Christianity is

what we sociologists call a majority religion It is the most popular

and powerful religion in the United States Generally scholars do

not concern themselves with prejudice experienced by those in

the majority group For example in the United States men gen-

erally have more power than women and whites generally have

more power than people of color Consequently there is not a lot

of academic research lamenting prejudice and discrimination

against men and whites Tis is not to say that prejudice and

discrimination against whites and men are nonexistent However

as a group both whites and men are quite powerful and isolated

instances of prejudice and discrimination do not eliminate the

general gender or racial advantages they possessBut can the same thing be said about Christians It is true that

Christians while suffering from isolated instances of prejudice

and discrimination also maintain a certain power advantage

over other religious groups However this is not nearly as uni-

versally true as it is for whites and men In key areas of our so-

ciety Christians are at a disadvantage simply because they are

Christians I alluded to this with my discussion above regarding

the Christian disadvantage in academia An overwhelming ma-

jority of the respondents from some disciplines such as anthro-

pology and English literature stated a willingness to religiously

discriminate15 We are not talking about an isolated bigot or two

We are talking about a substantial percentage of individuals in

our institutions of higher education Tus higher education andscience highly regarded segments of our society are commu-

nities where Christians do not enjoy the privileges of the ma-

jority and in fact operate at a disadvantage compared to those

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Introduction

common discourse with very little if any sanction

Even if the only social institution affected by Christianophobia

was our higher educational system we would have a serious

problem Powerful individuals are influenced by higher edu-

cation and those individuals generally go on to legal business

and political careers that put them in a position to negatively

impact Christians So far as far as I know higher education is the

only institution where systematic anti-Christian bias has been

documented But I suspect that other institutions with a higher

than normal percentage of cultural progressives such as media

entertainment and institutions of primary and secondary edu-

cation may also be susceptible to Christianophobia

In my academic research on Christianophobia I noted pat-

terns of bigotry hatred prejudice stereotyping and dehuman-

ization Some of the respondents characterized Christians as atype of aliban and asserted that without opposition to Chris-

tians our nation would soon become a theocracy Tese respon-

dents generally did not support direct measures against Chris-

tians but seemed delighted at the prospect of finding ways to

hinder conservative Christians For example note these respon-

dentsrsquo remarks

Te only difference I see between [a] Christian fundamen-

talist and [an] Islamic fundamentalist is terrorism At their

heart both movements are attempts to replace their coun-

tryrsquos government with theocracies Religion in the political

arena is dangerous to freedom and should be not allowed

Even minor intrusions such as allowing religious groups to

distribute public funds to the poor should not be allowed

(male age -)

Te Christian Rightrsquos influence in our government is as

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dangerous as the aliban in Afghanistan or the ayatollahs

in Iran We cannot allow them to get a solid foothold in our

government Te only way to do this without infringing on

rights is to be especially vigilant and point out their bigotry

and hypocrisy often and loudly so as to discredit them in

the eyes of their followers and more importantly the eyes

of the voting populace (female age -)

Tese individuals would likely deny that their comments areintolerant but clearly they exhibit the unreasonable disdain and

fear associated with other types of intolerances Christiano-

phobia can lead to discrimination against Christians as shown

in my previous work on the potential of anti-Christian academic

discrimination but it can also display the type of emotional

animosity found in other types of intolerant attitudes Tere is

little reason to believe that only academics are perpetrators of

anti-Christian prejudice

CHRISTIANOPH OBIA RACISM ANTI-SEMITI SM AND SUCH

Since I stated that my studies of racial issues have helped me to

understand Christianophobia one might naturally wonder if I

am arguing that Christianophobia is the same thing as racism Iam not o be sure I do see some similarities between Chris-

tianophobia and racism Demonizing others stereotyping fear

and hatred are quite common with both types of social dys-

function However racism is tied to the notion that certain racial

groups are biologically inferior Furthermore racial minority

groups are more likely to suffer economically because of racism

than Christians are because of Christianophobia In addition to

the economic costs racism is more likely to lead to violence than

is Christianophobia So while there are some similarities be-

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Introduction

tween animosity based on race and that based on religion the

differences between these types of animosity are profound

A better comparison may be between Christianophobia and

anti-Semitism Previous work on anti-Semitism has shown that

those with this type of bigotry fear Jews taking over our society18

Many anti-Semites have cited a discredited document called Te

Protocols of the Elders of Zion which claimed that a secret Jewish

plot existed with the aim of undermining Christian civilization

Several of the respondents to our surveys also talked about a

stealthy Christian plot that they feared would undermine their

vision of a progressive humanist society For example a female

age - stated that ldquoitrsquos pretty troubling to me what theyrsquore

doing how sneaky they are how they project their negativity onto

others mostly how they are trying to and succeeding take

over our public education systemrdquo Another female age -stated that Christians are ldquodangerousmdashattending law school so

they can infiltrate government and take over our countryrdquo

Fears of a societal and possibly governmental takeover mo-

tivate individuals to support attempts to limit the hated religious

group In both anti-Semitism and Christianophobia we find

abundant stereotyping hatred and prejudice based on often inac-

curate interpretations of the religious actions of members vic-

timized by anti-Semitism and Christianophobia Anti-Semitism

has a longer history and seems more likely to lead to violence than

Christianophobia may but my recent research19 shows far more

anti-Christian animosity in contemporary society than anti-

Semitism Since those with anti-Christian bias are more likely to

be white wealthy and well educated Christianophobia is likely tomotivate individuals with more social power than those motivated

by other types of prejudice (ie racism sexism Islamophobia)

Christianophobia has qualities similar to other types of prej-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

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Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

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Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

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InterVarsity Press

PO Box 983089983092983088983088 Downers Grove IL 983094983088983093983089983093-983089983092983090983094

ivpresscom

emailivpresscom

copy983090983088983089983093 by George Yancey

All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission

from InterVarsity Press

InterVarsity Pressreg is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian FellowshipUSAreg a

movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities colleges and schools

of nursing in the United States of America and a member movement of the International Fellowship

of Evangelical Students For information about local and regional activities visit intervarsityorg

All Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from the New American Standard

Biblereg copyright 983089983097983094983088 983089983097983094983090 983089983097983094983091 983089983097983094983096 983089983097983095983089 983089983097983095983090 983089983097983095983091 983089983097983095983093 983089983097983095983095 983089983097983097983093 by Te Lockman

Foundation Used by permission

While any stories in this book are true some names and identifying information may have been

changed to protect the privacy of individuals

Cover design Cindy Kiple

Interior design Beth McGill

Images Suffering Christ Ecce Homo or Suffering Christ by Bartolome Esteban Murillo at Caylus

Anticuario Madrid SpainBridgeman Images

Burnt paper edge copy SoubretteiStockphoto

Fire flames copy sbayramiStockphoto

Burnt hole copy robynmaciStockphoto

ISBN 983097983095983096-983088-983096983091983088983096-983092983092983090983090-983095 (print)

ISBN 983097983095983096-983088-983096983091983088983096-983097983095983094983097-983096 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

As a member of the Green Press Initiative InterVarsity Press is committed to protecting the environment and to the responsible use of natural resources o learnmore visit greenpressinitiativeorg

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

P 983090983088 983089983097 983089983096 983089983095 983089983094 983089983093 983089983092 983089983091 983089983090 983089983089 983089983088 983097 983096 983095 983094 983093 983092 983091 983090 983089

Y 983091983090 983091983089 983091983088 983090983097 983090983096 983090983095 983090983094 983090983093 983090983092 983090983091 983090983090 983090983089 983090983088 983089983097 983089983096 983089983095 983089983094 983089983093

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Contents

983089 Introduction 983097

983090 Haters Gonna Hate

he Roots of Christianophobia 983090983095

983091 Canrsquot Please All the People 983093983089

983092 Are Christians Responsible for Christianophobia 983094983097

983093 rouble Within 983097983093

983094 Hate Me Not 983089983089983097

983095 How to Deal with Christianophobia 983089983092983089

Appendix Note on Methodology 983089983093983093

Notes 983089983093983095

References 983089983095983091

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1

In t roduct ion

I remember vividly a disturbing conversation that I once had with

a good Christian friend who taught in a high school He told me

that he mentioned one day in class that some Christians around

the world were being killed for their faith o his amazementsome students approved of these murders In their minds it was

time for Christians to face the same death that Christians had

inflicted on others

I was struck by the ahistorical nature of this line of thought

Although Christians in the United States do not face jail or death

for their faith there is a long history of Christians around theworld being punished for their faith I also wondered how so

much hatred had developed against Christians Tis conver-

sation took place almost two decades ago and I see little evi-

dence that this type of hatred has abated

In fact my recent research has confirmed that such hatred is

still very powerful1 David Williamson and I conducted a survey

of culturally progressive activists using open-ended questions

Te survey questions elicited a variety of hostile statements

aimed at conservative Christians One statement in particular

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

(from a male age -) caught my attention ldquoTe only good

Christian is a dead Christianrdquo

Tis statement echoed a quotation from American history In

during the middle of the Indian Wars on the Great Plains

a Comanche chief named osawi told General Philip Sheridan

ldquoMe osawi me good Injunrdquo Sheridan is reported to have replied

ldquoTe only good Indians I ever saw were deadrdquo2 Te accuracy of

this statement has been disputed but the sentiment is clear

when one is in a war one should offer no mercy to the enemy

Te respondent made it clear that he sees Christians as the

enemy and believes that no mercy should be given to them

Tat response should have shocked me It didnrsquot I had already

read a lot of hateful anti-Christian comments Because of their

anonymity the respondents of the survey felt free to state their

opinions bluntly Tose interested in exploring the remarks inmore depth can examine our academic treatment of the subject3

but suffice it to say that such remarks remind us that some

people harbor a high level of irrational hatred toward Christians

We do not know how many people hold similar opinions but we

do know that many of them have social power

As a Christian I was tempted to become angry at those who

spew such venom I might also have matched the hatred of my

friendrsquos students with hatred of my own but I know that this is

not the right way to respond Tere is a contrary temptation to

shy away from confronting such unfair attacks After all are we

not told to turn the other cheek (Matthew ) By one interpre-

tation of this advice I should merely smile and forgive others

when they make hateful comments Perhaps if I do not say any-thing and avoid unpleasant people then life will be easier Yet I

know that this is simplistic and not the proper answer to such

attitudes What is a Christian response to hatred directed at us

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Introduction

Do we ignore that hatred to suffer in silence or do we confront it

Do we actively confront it and if we do then how should we do

so I wish I could tell you that I have perfect answers to such ques-

tions Te reality is that I struggle to identify the proper responses

Over the past few years I have done research into Christiano-

phobia defined as an unreasonable hatred or anger toward Chris-

tians My research indicates that these negative emotions are

generally directed at Christians with a conservative theological or

political perspective4 Tis research has helped me to understand

some of the sources of that hatredmdashnot justify that hatred but

understand it Diving into the data about Christianophobia forced

me as a believer to consider how I should respond to such rancor

Tis book allows me to share some of my insights regarding how

best to respond to those who dislike or fear Christians

MY BACKGROUND

I have not spent my entire academic career analyzing anti-

Christian animosity During my early years as a Christian scholar

I studied racial issues especially as they pertain to Christians

Being an African American Christian I naturally had an interest

in these issues

When I was in graduate school I experienced racism at the

hands of the mother of a woman I dated Te reactions of many

of my Christian friends were anything but supportive leading

me to question the role Christians play in perpetrating racism

in our society I wrote about racism within the church and

became very interested in how Christians can work toward es-

tablishing multiracial congregations While I did research racialissues apart from the church my main focus was helping Chris-

tians deal with the racialized nature of our society I hoped my

work would help to promote racial reconciliation

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

A few years ago I felt a call to change the direction of my re-

search Tere are a variety of issues that led to this shift but one

was my observation of anti-Christian perspectives I noticed these

attitudes in the reporting of local and national events though that

alone would not have motivated me to study anti-Christian ani-

mosity I also saw evidence of anti-Christian attitudes in how

some academics reacted to my faith For example when I was an

adjunct professor I was assigned to four classes in a semester One

class was sociology of race and ethnicity one was sociology of

religion and the other two were introduction to sociology courses

Soon thereafter I learned that some faculty had misgivings about

my ability to teach the religion class because I was a Christian

Tey feared that I would be biased However the fact that I am an

African American did not create any fear about my bias in teaching

the race and ethnicity course While all professors bring somedegree of bias into their teaching (an atheist certainly brings bias

to a sociology of religion course) the comments of these pro-

fessors indicated that black racial bias is acceptable while Christian

religious bias is not I have encountered more barriers in aca-

demia because of my faith than because of my race

Such experiences and my observation of social events convinced

me of the importance of studying hostility toward Christians My

previous work on the dynamics of racial intergroup conflict helped

me to understand issues of prejudice stereotyping bigotry and

hatred in this religious context I saw similar but not identical dy-

namics in anti-Christian hostility While I am convinced that the

Lord used me in my previous racial research to help address im-

portant racial issues he also used my time dealing with racial issuesto prepare me for understanding anti-Christian animosity

Over the past few years I have learned a lot about anti-

Christian animosity First I conducted research on social and

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Introduction

religious bias in academia I learned that evangelicals and fun-

damentalists are the groups most likely to face negative bias by

academics5 Unlike previous work on academic bias my work

was systematic and not anecdotal I found that almost half of all

academics were less willing to hire a candidate for an academic

job if they learned that the person was a conservative Prot-

estant6 Tat work provided evidence of the anti-Christian bias

prevalent throughout the academic community o look at po-

tential anti-Christian attitudes outside of academia I used data

from a national survey to document the extent of antifundamen-

talist hostility in the United States In a research article I showed

that this hostility at least matches the level of anti-Muslim hos-

tility or Islamophobia in our society7 In another book I tested

a theorymdashRight-wing authoritarianismmdashthat argued that vin-

dictiveness and hostility toward out-groups are much moreprevalent among religious and political conservatives than

among religious and political progressives I demonstrated that

religious and political progressives do possess vindictiveness

and hostility when asked about conservative Christians8

Finally I wanted to know what Christianophobia looks like

Te research I did on culturally progressive activists provided

several clues about the nature of Christianophobia in our society

I analyzed those answers and used a probability sample to doc-

ument the characteristics of those who have Christianophobia

My coauthored book provides solid analyses of the perception

individuals with Christianophobia have of Christians how they

dehumanize Christians and what they want in our society9 Te

responses from the national survey that is the basis for So ManyChristians replicated my earlier finding that conservative Chris-

tians face more animosity in society than any religious groups

other than atheists Tose with this animosity are more likely to

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

be white wealthy and educated and thus have relative power in

our society

Troughout this book I will refer to respondentsrsquo comments

collected from my research for books on cultural progressive ac-

tivists and on Christianophobia If you are interested in the meth-

odology used to find respondents see the appendix or pick up one

or both books that used this methodology10 Quotations from our

respondents combined with an analysis of current events will

help to illustrate the mindset of those with Christianophobia

DEFINING CHRISTIANOPHOBIA

Te term Christianophobia is controversial Some individuals

may see those who use the term as a bunch of Christians whining

about not getting their way Te actions of some Christians

justify this contempt But hatred and fear of Christians are pheno- mena with real consequences even in a democracy such as ours

As I considered how to label this phenomenon I decided that

Christianophobia is the best term devised to date to describe

much of the anti-Christian perspective in the United States

Tis is not a word that I made up Christianophobia is defined

by Macmillan Dictionary as ldquoan irrational animosity towards or

hatred of Christians or Christianity in generalrdquo In this sense it

is not unlike the way we use Islamophobia or homophobia in

that we are not addressing simply fear of a group of individuals

we are referring to the negative emotions directed at those indi-

viduals While it is inaccurate to make the assumption that

Christianophobia is exactly like other types of intolerances the

basic concept that certain individuals target a given group withhatred and negativity is fairly similar in this definition of Chris-

tianophobia Tus the Macmillan definition is the one to keep

in mind as I discuss this concept

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Introduction

I anticipate that some will argue that Christianophobia is

either a myth or that it really does not matter ldquoWhere is the

evidence that Christians are put at a disadvantage in our society

due to Christianophobiardquo they may ask Consider the fact that

my research as well as other research11 indicates that there is a

notable anti-Christian bias in academia Tis bias means that

one should not expect the level of academic documentation of

anti-Christian prejudice that we would expect for other types of

prejudice It is realistic to assert that Christians likely face prej-

udice in institutions other than academia institutions that also

have highly educated and culturally progressive individuals and

that a lack of curiosity about such religious prejudice among

academics keeps it hidden from the general public

Letrsquos play a thought experiment If there were research showing

that almost half of all academics are less willing to give a persona job simply because that person is Jewish then would we say that

anti-Semitism impacts the lives of Jews in our society After all

they would face an unfair barrier to academia which is an im-

portant source of culture creation What if those who hate Jews

are more likely to be wealthy and well educated Would we not

be concerned about how such individuals would express ani-

mosity toward Jews We know these things about Christiano-

phobia despite the anti-Christian academic bias that discourages

such research and so it is hard to argue that Christianophobia

has no effect on Christians As I will discuss later it is a mistake

to argue that Christianophobia is exactly like anti-Semitism or

racism but if we had the evidence of educational prejudice

toward Christians for another racial or religious group then fewif any people would argue that such prejudice does not matter

Even such evidence will not be enough to convince some indi-

viduals that Christianophobia is a problem Tey will require a

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

level of proof I cannot supply Beyond a few exceptional cases I

cannot absolutely prove that Christians are unfairly treated In

contemporary society such proof is indeed difficult to obtain but

not just for conservative Christians oday scholars of racial at-

titudes talk of microaggressions12 and subtle forms of racism13 at

least in part because surveys no longer reveal large percentages

of people who directly insult or show a willingness to explicitly

discriminate against African Americans o a lesser degree the

same can probably be said of sexism and homophobia although

I do not have the expertise in those areas to definitively make that

statement We do not demand absolute proof of overt systematic

discrimination based on race sex sexual preference or minority

religious status before addressing potential prejudices Tose

who demand such a criterion for Christians but no other social

groups need to explain why such a double standard is acceptableNot all Christians are equally likely to be victimized by Chris-

tianophobia Christians who do not challenge the ideals of those

with Christianophobia are less likely to experience this hatred

and prejudice Generally theologically or politically conser-

vative Christians who do challenge progressive social and poli-

tical attitudes are the ones who draw the ire of those with anti-

Christian hostility Tere are aspects of Christianophobia that

may also threaten progressive Christians and this seems espe-

cially the case in other countries14 However for the most part

it is the irrational hatred and fear directed toward conservative

Christians that we observe in the United States

WHY HAS CHRISTIANOPHOBIA BEEN IGNORED

Many Christians believe they have experienced animosity or dis-

crimination because of their faith Given my research I cannot

deny that they are right Yet there is little talk about Christiano-

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Introduction

phobia in the larger society Why is that

A large part of the silence on Christianophobia results from a

lack of academic analysis of this phenomenon Christianity is

what we sociologists call a majority religion It is the most popular

and powerful religion in the United States Generally scholars do

not concern themselves with prejudice experienced by those in

the majority group For example in the United States men gen-

erally have more power than women and whites generally have

more power than people of color Consequently there is not a lot

of academic research lamenting prejudice and discrimination

against men and whites Tis is not to say that prejudice and

discrimination against whites and men are nonexistent However

as a group both whites and men are quite powerful and isolated

instances of prejudice and discrimination do not eliminate the

general gender or racial advantages they possessBut can the same thing be said about Christians It is true that

Christians while suffering from isolated instances of prejudice

and discrimination also maintain a certain power advantage

over other religious groups However this is not nearly as uni-

versally true as it is for whites and men In key areas of our so-

ciety Christians are at a disadvantage simply because they are

Christians I alluded to this with my discussion above regarding

the Christian disadvantage in academia An overwhelming ma-

jority of the respondents from some disciplines such as anthro-

pology and English literature stated a willingness to religiously

discriminate15 We are not talking about an isolated bigot or two

We are talking about a substantial percentage of individuals in

our institutions of higher education Tus higher education andscience highly regarded segments of our society are commu-

nities where Christians do not enjoy the privileges of the ma-

jority and in fact operate at a disadvantage compared to those

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Introduction

common discourse with very little if any sanction

Even if the only social institution affected by Christianophobia

was our higher educational system we would have a serious

problem Powerful individuals are influenced by higher edu-

cation and those individuals generally go on to legal business

and political careers that put them in a position to negatively

impact Christians So far as far as I know higher education is the

only institution where systematic anti-Christian bias has been

documented But I suspect that other institutions with a higher

than normal percentage of cultural progressives such as media

entertainment and institutions of primary and secondary edu-

cation may also be susceptible to Christianophobia

In my academic research on Christianophobia I noted pat-

terns of bigotry hatred prejudice stereotyping and dehuman-

ization Some of the respondents characterized Christians as atype of aliban and asserted that without opposition to Chris-

tians our nation would soon become a theocracy Tese respon-

dents generally did not support direct measures against Chris-

tians but seemed delighted at the prospect of finding ways to

hinder conservative Christians For example note these respon-

dentsrsquo remarks

Te only difference I see between [a] Christian fundamen-

talist and [an] Islamic fundamentalist is terrorism At their

heart both movements are attempts to replace their coun-

tryrsquos government with theocracies Religion in the political

arena is dangerous to freedom and should be not allowed

Even minor intrusions such as allowing religious groups to

distribute public funds to the poor should not be allowed

(male age -)

Te Christian Rightrsquos influence in our government is as

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dangerous as the aliban in Afghanistan or the ayatollahs

in Iran We cannot allow them to get a solid foothold in our

government Te only way to do this without infringing on

rights is to be especially vigilant and point out their bigotry

and hypocrisy often and loudly so as to discredit them in

the eyes of their followers and more importantly the eyes

of the voting populace (female age -)

Tese individuals would likely deny that their comments areintolerant but clearly they exhibit the unreasonable disdain and

fear associated with other types of intolerances Christiano-

phobia can lead to discrimination against Christians as shown

in my previous work on the potential of anti-Christian academic

discrimination but it can also display the type of emotional

animosity found in other types of intolerant attitudes Tere is

little reason to believe that only academics are perpetrators of

anti-Christian prejudice

CHRISTIANOPH OBIA RACISM ANTI-SEMITI SM AND SUCH

Since I stated that my studies of racial issues have helped me to

understand Christianophobia one might naturally wonder if I

am arguing that Christianophobia is the same thing as racism Iam not o be sure I do see some similarities between Chris-

tianophobia and racism Demonizing others stereotyping fear

and hatred are quite common with both types of social dys-

function However racism is tied to the notion that certain racial

groups are biologically inferior Furthermore racial minority

groups are more likely to suffer economically because of racism

than Christians are because of Christianophobia In addition to

the economic costs racism is more likely to lead to violence than

is Christianophobia So while there are some similarities be-

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Introduction

tween animosity based on race and that based on religion the

differences between these types of animosity are profound

A better comparison may be between Christianophobia and

anti-Semitism Previous work on anti-Semitism has shown that

those with this type of bigotry fear Jews taking over our society18

Many anti-Semites have cited a discredited document called Te

Protocols of the Elders of Zion which claimed that a secret Jewish

plot existed with the aim of undermining Christian civilization

Several of the respondents to our surveys also talked about a

stealthy Christian plot that they feared would undermine their

vision of a progressive humanist society For example a female

age - stated that ldquoitrsquos pretty troubling to me what theyrsquore

doing how sneaky they are how they project their negativity onto

others mostly how they are trying to and succeeding take

over our public education systemrdquo Another female age -stated that Christians are ldquodangerousmdashattending law school so

they can infiltrate government and take over our countryrdquo

Fears of a societal and possibly governmental takeover mo-

tivate individuals to support attempts to limit the hated religious

group In both anti-Semitism and Christianophobia we find

abundant stereotyping hatred and prejudice based on often inac-

curate interpretations of the religious actions of members vic-

timized by anti-Semitism and Christianophobia Anti-Semitism

has a longer history and seems more likely to lead to violence than

Christianophobia may but my recent research19 shows far more

anti-Christian animosity in contemporary society than anti-

Semitism Since those with anti-Christian bias are more likely to

be white wealthy and well educated Christianophobia is likely tomotivate individuals with more social power than those motivated

by other types of prejudice (ie racism sexism Islamophobia)

Christianophobia has qualities similar to other types of prej-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

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Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

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Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

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Contents

983089 Introduction 983097

983090 Haters Gonna Hate

he Roots of Christianophobia 983090983095

983091 Canrsquot Please All the People 983093983089

983092 Are Christians Responsible for Christianophobia 983094983097

983093 rouble Within 983097983093

983094 Hate Me Not 983089983089983097

983095 How to Deal with Christianophobia 983089983092983089

Appendix Note on Methodology 983089983093983093

Notes 983089983093983095

References 983089983095983091

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1

In t roduct ion

I remember vividly a disturbing conversation that I once had with

a good Christian friend who taught in a high school He told me

that he mentioned one day in class that some Christians around

the world were being killed for their faith o his amazementsome students approved of these murders In their minds it was

time for Christians to face the same death that Christians had

inflicted on others

I was struck by the ahistorical nature of this line of thought

Although Christians in the United States do not face jail or death

for their faith there is a long history of Christians around theworld being punished for their faith I also wondered how so

much hatred had developed against Christians Tis conver-

sation took place almost two decades ago and I see little evi-

dence that this type of hatred has abated

In fact my recent research has confirmed that such hatred is

still very powerful1 David Williamson and I conducted a survey

of culturally progressive activists using open-ended questions

Te survey questions elicited a variety of hostile statements

aimed at conservative Christians One statement in particular

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

(from a male age -) caught my attention ldquoTe only good

Christian is a dead Christianrdquo

Tis statement echoed a quotation from American history In

during the middle of the Indian Wars on the Great Plains

a Comanche chief named osawi told General Philip Sheridan

ldquoMe osawi me good Injunrdquo Sheridan is reported to have replied

ldquoTe only good Indians I ever saw were deadrdquo2 Te accuracy of

this statement has been disputed but the sentiment is clear

when one is in a war one should offer no mercy to the enemy

Te respondent made it clear that he sees Christians as the

enemy and believes that no mercy should be given to them

Tat response should have shocked me It didnrsquot I had already

read a lot of hateful anti-Christian comments Because of their

anonymity the respondents of the survey felt free to state their

opinions bluntly Tose interested in exploring the remarks inmore depth can examine our academic treatment of the subject3

but suffice it to say that such remarks remind us that some

people harbor a high level of irrational hatred toward Christians

We do not know how many people hold similar opinions but we

do know that many of them have social power

As a Christian I was tempted to become angry at those who

spew such venom I might also have matched the hatred of my

friendrsquos students with hatred of my own but I know that this is

not the right way to respond Tere is a contrary temptation to

shy away from confronting such unfair attacks After all are we

not told to turn the other cheek (Matthew ) By one interpre-

tation of this advice I should merely smile and forgive others

when they make hateful comments Perhaps if I do not say any-thing and avoid unpleasant people then life will be easier Yet I

know that this is simplistic and not the proper answer to such

attitudes What is a Christian response to hatred directed at us

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Introduction

Do we ignore that hatred to suffer in silence or do we confront it

Do we actively confront it and if we do then how should we do

so I wish I could tell you that I have perfect answers to such ques-

tions Te reality is that I struggle to identify the proper responses

Over the past few years I have done research into Christiano-

phobia defined as an unreasonable hatred or anger toward Chris-

tians My research indicates that these negative emotions are

generally directed at Christians with a conservative theological or

political perspective4 Tis research has helped me to understand

some of the sources of that hatredmdashnot justify that hatred but

understand it Diving into the data about Christianophobia forced

me as a believer to consider how I should respond to such rancor

Tis book allows me to share some of my insights regarding how

best to respond to those who dislike or fear Christians

MY BACKGROUND

I have not spent my entire academic career analyzing anti-

Christian animosity During my early years as a Christian scholar

I studied racial issues especially as they pertain to Christians

Being an African American Christian I naturally had an interest

in these issues

When I was in graduate school I experienced racism at the

hands of the mother of a woman I dated Te reactions of many

of my Christian friends were anything but supportive leading

me to question the role Christians play in perpetrating racism

in our society I wrote about racism within the church and

became very interested in how Christians can work toward es-

tablishing multiracial congregations While I did research racialissues apart from the church my main focus was helping Chris-

tians deal with the racialized nature of our society I hoped my

work would help to promote racial reconciliation

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

A few years ago I felt a call to change the direction of my re-

search Tere are a variety of issues that led to this shift but one

was my observation of anti-Christian perspectives I noticed these

attitudes in the reporting of local and national events though that

alone would not have motivated me to study anti-Christian ani-

mosity I also saw evidence of anti-Christian attitudes in how

some academics reacted to my faith For example when I was an

adjunct professor I was assigned to four classes in a semester One

class was sociology of race and ethnicity one was sociology of

religion and the other two were introduction to sociology courses

Soon thereafter I learned that some faculty had misgivings about

my ability to teach the religion class because I was a Christian

Tey feared that I would be biased However the fact that I am an

African American did not create any fear about my bias in teaching

the race and ethnicity course While all professors bring somedegree of bias into their teaching (an atheist certainly brings bias

to a sociology of religion course) the comments of these pro-

fessors indicated that black racial bias is acceptable while Christian

religious bias is not I have encountered more barriers in aca-

demia because of my faith than because of my race

Such experiences and my observation of social events convinced

me of the importance of studying hostility toward Christians My

previous work on the dynamics of racial intergroup conflict helped

me to understand issues of prejudice stereotyping bigotry and

hatred in this religious context I saw similar but not identical dy-

namics in anti-Christian hostility While I am convinced that the

Lord used me in my previous racial research to help address im-

portant racial issues he also used my time dealing with racial issuesto prepare me for understanding anti-Christian animosity

Over the past few years I have learned a lot about anti-

Christian animosity First I conducted research on social and

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Introduction

religious bias in academia I learned that evangelicals and fun-

damentalists are the groups most likely to face negative bias by

academics5 Unlike previous work on academic bias my work

was systematic and not anecdotal I found that almost half of all

academics were less willing to hire a candidate for an academic

job if they learned that the person was a conservative Prot-

estant6 Tat work provided evidence of the anti-Christian bias

prevalent throughout the academic community o look at po-

tential anti-Christian attitudes outside of academia I used data

from a national survey to document the extent of antifundamen-

talist hostility in the United States In a research article I showed

that this hostility at least matches the level of anti-Muslim hos-

tility or Islamophobia in our society7 In another book I tested

a theorymdashRight-wing authoritarianismmdashthat argued that vin-

dictiveness and hostility toward out-groups are much moreprevalent among religious and political conservatives than

among religious and political progressives I demonstrated that

religious and political progressives do possess vindictiveness

and hostility when asked about conservative Christians8

Finally I wanted to know what Christianophobia looks like

Te research I did on culturally progressive activists provided

several clues about the nature of Christianophobia in our society

I analyzed those answers and used a probability sample to doc-

ument the characteristics of those who have Christianophobia

My coauthored book provides solid analyses of the perception

individuals with Christianophobia have of Christians how they

dehumanize Christians and what they want in our society9 Te

responses from the national survey that is the basis for So ManyChristians replicated my earlier finding that conservative Chris-

tians face more animosity in society than any religious groups

other than atheists Tose with this animosity are more likely to

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

be white wealthy and educated and thus have relative power in

our society

Troughout this book I will refer to respondentsrsquo comments

collected from my research for books on cultural progressive ac-

tivists and on Christianophobia If you are interested in the meth-

odology used to find respondents see the appendix or pick up one

or both books that used this methodology10 Quotations from our

respondents combined with an analysis of current events will

help to illustrate the mindset of those with Christianophobia

DEFINING CHRISTIANOPHOBIA

Te term Christianophobia is controversial Some individuals

may see those who use the term as a bunch of Christians whining

about not getting their way Te actions of some Christians

justify this contempt But hatred and fear of Christians are pheno- mena with real consequences even in a democracy such as ours

As I considered how to label this phenomenon I decided that

Christianophobia is the best term devised to date to describe

much of the anti-Christian perspective in the United States

Tis is not a word that I made up Christianophobia is defined

by Macmillan Dictionary as ldquoan irrational animosity towards or

hatred of Christians or Christianity in generalrdquo In this sense it

is not unlike the way we use Islamophobia or homophobia in

that we are not addressing simply fear of a group of individuals

we are referring to the negative emotions directed at those indi-

viduals While it is inaccurate to make the assumption that

Christianophobia is exactly like other types of intolerances the

basic concept that certain individuals target a given group withhatred and negativity is fairly similar in this definition of Chris-

tianophobia Tus the Macmillan definition is the one to keep

in mind as I discuss this concept

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Introduction

I anticipate that some will argue that Christianophobia is

either a myth or that it really does not matter ldquoWhere is the

evidence that Christians are put at a disadvantage in our society

due to Christianophobiardquo they may ask Consider the fact that

my research as well as other research11 indicates that there is a

notable anti-Christian bias in academia Tis bias means that

one should not expect the level of academic documentation of

anti-Christian prejudice that we would expect for other types of

prejudice It is realistic to assert that Christians likely face prej-

udice in institutions other than academia institutions that also

have highly educated and culturally progressive individuals and

that a lack of curiosity about such religious prejudice among

academics keeps it hidden from the general public

Letrsquos play a thought experiment If there were research showing

that almost half of all academics are less willing to give a persona job simply because that person is Jewish then would we say that

anti-Semitism impacts the lives of Jews in our society After all

they would face an unfair barrier to academia which is an im-

portant source of culture creation What if those who hate Jews

are more likely to be wealthy and well educated Would we not

be concerned about how such individuals would express ani-

mosity toward Jews We know these things about Christiano-

phobia despite the anti-Christian academic bias that discourages

such research and so it is hard to argue that Christianophobia

has no effect on Christians As I will discuss later it is a mistake

to argue that Christianophobia is exactly like anti-Semitism or

racism but if we had the evidence of educational prejudice

toward Christians for another racial or religious group then fewif any people would argue that such prejudice does not matter

Even such evidence will not be enough to convince some indi-

viduals that Christianophobia is a problem Tey will require a

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

level of proof I cannot supply Beyond a few exceptional cases I

cannot absolutely prove that Christians are unfairly treated In

contemporary society such proof is indeed difficult to obtain but

not just for conservative Christians oday scholars of racial at-

titudes talk of microaggressions12 and subtle forms of racism13 at

least in part because surveys no longer reveal large percentages

of people who directly insult or show a willingness to explicitly

discriminate against African Americans o a lesser degree the

same can probably be said of sexism and homophobia although

I do not have the expertise in those areas to definitively make that

statement We do not demand absolute proof of overt systematic

discrimination based on race sex sexual preference or minority

religious status before addressing potential prejudices Tose

who demand such a criterion for Christians but no other social

groups need to explain why such a double standard is acceptableNot all Christians are equally likely to be victimized by Chris-

tianophobia Christians who do not challenge the ideals of those

with Christianophobia are less likely to experience this hatred

and prejudice Generally theologically or politically conser-

vative Christians who do challenge progressive social and poli-

tical attitudes are the ones who draw the ire of those with anti-

Christian hostility Tere are aspects of Christianophobia that

may also threaten progressive Christians and this seems espe-

cially the case in other countries14 However for the most part

it is the irrational hatred and fear directed toward conservative

Christians that we observe in the United States

WHY HAS CHRISTIANOPHOBIA BEEN IGNORED

Many Christians believe they have experienced animosity or dis-

crimination because of their faith Given my research I cannot

deny that they are right Yet there is little talk about Christiano-

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Introduction

phobia in the larger society Why is that

A large part of the silence on Christianophobia results from a

lack of academic analysis of this phenomenon Christianity is

what we sociologists call a majority religion It is the most popular

and powerful religion in the United States Generally scholars do

not concern themselves with prejudice experienced by those in

the majority group For example in the United States men gen-

erally have more power than women and whites generally have

more power than people of color Consequently there is not a lot

of academic research lamenting prejudice and discrimination

against men and whites Tis is not to say that prejudice and

discrimination against whites and men are nonexistent However

as a group both whites and men are quite powerful and isolated

instances of prejudice and discrimination do not eliminate the

general gender or racial advantages they possessBut can the same thing be said about Christians It is true that

Christians while suffering from isolated instances of prejudice

and discrimination also maintain a certain power advantage

over other religious groups However this is not nearly as uni-

versally true as it is for whites and men In key areas of our so-

ciety Christians are at a disadvantage simply because they are

Christians I alluded to this with my discussion above regarding

the Christian disadvantage in academia An overwhelming ma-

jority of the respondents from some disciplines such as anthro-

pology and English literature stated a willingness to religiously

discriminate15 We are not talking about an isolated bigot or two

We are talking about a substantial percentage of individuals in

our institutions of higher education Tus higher education andscience highly regarded segments of our society are commu-

nities where Christians do not enjoy the privileges of the ma-

jority and in fact operate at a disadvantage compared to those

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Introduction

common discourse with very little if any sanction

Even if the only social institution affected by Christianophobia

was our higher educational system we would have a serious

problem Powerful individuals are influenced by higher edu-

cation and those individuals generally go on to legal business

and political careers that put them in a position to negatively

impact Christians So far as far as I know higher education is the

only institution where systematic anti-Christian bias has been

documented But I suspect that other institutions with a higher

than normal percentage of cultural progressives such as media

entertainment and institutions of primary and secondary edu-

cation may also be susceptible to Christianophobia

In my academic research on Christianophobia I noted pat-

terns of bigotry hatred prejudice stereotyping and dehuman-

ization Some of the respondents characterized Christians as atype of aliban and asserted that without opposition to Chris-

tians our nation would soon become a theocracy Tese respon-

dents generally did not support direct measures against Chris-

tians but seemed delighted at the prospect of finding ways to

hinder conservative Christians For example note these respon-

dentsrsquo remarks

Te only difference I see between [a] Christian fundamen-

talist and [an] Islamic fundamentalist is terrorism At their

heart both movements are attempts to replace their coun-

tryrsquos government with theocracies Religion in the political

arena is dangerous to freedom and should be not allowed

Even minor intrusions such as allowing religious groups to

distribute public funds to the poor should not be allowed

(male age -)

Te Christian Rightrsquos influence in our government is as

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dangerous as the aliban in Afghanistan or the ayatollahs

in Iran We cannot allow them to get a solid foothold in our

government Te only way to do this without infringing on

rights is to be especially vigilant and point out their bigotry

and hypocrisy often and loudly so as to discredit them in

the eyes of their followers and more importantly the eyes

of the voting populace (female age -)

Tese individuals would likely deny that their comments areintolerant but clearly they exhibit the unreasonable disdain and

fear associated with other types of intolerances Christiano-

phobia can lead to discrimination against Christians as shown

in my previous work on the potential of anti-Christian academic

discrimination but it can also display the type of emotional

animosity found in other types of intolerant attitudes Tere is

little reason to believe that only academics are perpetrators of

anti-Christian prejudice

CHRISTIANOPH OBIA RACISM ANTI-SEMITI SM AND SUCH

Since I stated that my studies of racial issues have helped me to

understand Christianophobia one might naturally wonder if I

am arguing that Christianophobia is the same thing as racism Iam not o be sure I do see some similarities between Chris-

tianophobia and racism Demonizing others stereotyping fear

and hatred are quite common with both types of social dys-

function However racism is tied to the notion that certain racial

groups are biologically inferior Furthermore racial minority

groups are more likely to suffer economically because of racism

than Christians are because of Christianophobia In addition to

the economic costs racism is more likely to lead to violence than

is Christianophobia So while there are some similarities be-

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Introduction

tween animosity based on race and that based on religion the

differences between these types of animosity are profound

A better comparison may be between Christianophobia and

anti-Semitism Previous work on anti-Semitism has shown that

those with this type of bigotry fear Jews taking over our society18

Many anti-Semites have cited a discredited document called Te

Protocols of the Elders of Zion which claimed that a secret Jewish

plot existed with the aim of undermining Christian civilization

Several of the respondents to our surveys also talked about a

stealthy Christian plot that they feared would undermine their

vision of a progressive humanist society For example a female

age - stated that ldquoitrsquos pretty troubling to me what theyrsquore

doing how sneaky they are how they project their negativity onto

others mostly how they are trying to and succeeding take

over our public education systemrdquo Another female age -stated that Christians are ldquodangerousmdashattending law school so

they can infiltrate government and take over our countryrdquo

Fears of a societal and possibly governmental takeover mo-

tivate individuals to support attempts to limit the hated religious

group In both anti-Semitism and Christianophobia we find

abundant stereotyping hatred and prejudice based on often inac-

curate interpretations of the religious actions of members vic-

timized by anti-Semitism and Christianophobia Anti-Semitism

has a longer history and seems more likely to lead to violence than

Christianophobia may but my recent research19 shows far more

anti-Christian animosity in contemporary society than anti-

Semitism Since those with anti-Christian bias are more likely to

be white wealthy and well educated Christianophobia is likely tomotivate individuals with more social power than those motivated

by other types of prejudice (ie racism sexism Islamophobia)

Christianophobia has qualities similar to other types of prej-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

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Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

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Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

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1

In t roduct ion

I remember vividly a disturbing conversation that I once had with

a good Christian friend who taught in a high school He told me

that he mentioned one day in class that some Christians around

the world were being killed for their faith o his amazementsome students approved of these murders In their minds it was

time for Christians to face the same death that Christians had

inflicted on others

I was struck by the ahistorical nature of this line of thought

Although Christians in the United States do not face jail or death

for their faith there is a long history of Christians around theworld being punished for their faith I also wondered how so

much hatred had developed against Christians Tis conver-

sation took place almost two decades ago and I see little evi-

dence that this type of hatred has abated

In fact my recent research has confirmed that such hatred is

still very powerful1 David Williamson and I conducted a survey

of culturally progressive activists using open-ended questions

Te survey questions elicited a variety of hostile statements

aimed at conservative Christians One statement in particular

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

(from a male age -) caught my attention ldquoTe only good

Christian is a dead Christianrdquo

Tis statement echoed a quotation from American history In

during the middle of the Indian Wars on the Great Plains

a Comanche chief named osawi told General Philip Sheridan

ldquoMe osawi me good Injunrdquo Sheridan is reported to have replied

ldquoTe only good Indians I ever saw were deadrdquo2 Te accuracy of

this statement has been disputed but the sentiment is clear

when one is in a war one should offer no mercy to the enemy

Te respondent made it clear that he sees Christians as the

enemy and believes that no mercy should be given to them

Tat response should have shocked me It didnrsquot I had already

read a lot of hateful anti-Christian comments Because of their

anonymity the respondents of the survey felt free to state their

opinions bluntly Tose interested in exploring the remarks inmore depth can examine our academic treatment of the subject3

but suffice it to say that such remarks remind us that some

people harbor a high level of irrational hatred toward Christians

We do not know how many people hold similar opinions but we

do know that many of them have social power

As a Christian I was tempted to become angry at those who

spew such venom I might also have matched the hatred of my

friendrsquos students with hatred of my own but I know that this is

not the right way to respond Tere is a contrary temptation to

shy away from confronting such unfair attacks After all are we

not told to turn the other cheek (Matthew ) By one interpre-

tation of this advice I should merely smile and forgive others

when they make hateful comments Perhaps if I do not say any-thing and avoid unpleasant people then life will be easier Yet I

know that this is simplistic and not the proper answer to such

attitudes What is a Christian response to hatred directed at us

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Introduction

Do we ignore that hatred to suffer in silence or do we confront it

Do we actively confront it and if we do then how should we do

so I wish I could tell you that I have perfect answers to such ques-

tions Te reality is that I struggle to identify the proper responses

Over the past few years I have done research into Christiano-

phobia defined as an unreasonable hatred or anger toward Chris-

tians My research indicates that these negative emotions are

generally directed at Christians with a conservative theological or

political perspective4 Tis research has helped me to understand

some of the sources of that hatredmdashnot justify that hatred but

understand it Diving into the data about Christianophobia forced

me as a believer to consider how I should respond to such rancor

Tis book allows me to share some of my insights regarding how

best to respond to those who dislike or fear Christians

MY BACKGROUND

I have not spent my entire academic career analyzing anti-

Christian animosity During my early years as a Christian scholar

I studied racial issues especially as they pertain to Christians

Being an African American Christian I naturally had an interest

in these issues

When I was in graduate school I experienced racism at the

hands of the mother of a woman I dated Te reactions of many

of my Christian friends were anything but supportive leading

me to question the role Christians play in perpetrating racism

in our society I wrote about racism within the church and

became very interested in how Christians can work toward es-

tablishing multiracial congregations While I did research racialissues apart from the church my main focus was helping Chris-

tians deal with the racialized nature of our society I hoped my

work would help to promote racial reconciliation

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

A few years ago I felt a call to change the direction of my re-

search Tere are a variety of issues that led to this shift but one

was my observation of anti-Christian perspectives I noticed these

attitudes in the reporting of local and national events though that

alone would not have motivated me to study anti-Christian ani-

mosity I also saw evidence of anti-Christian attitudes in how

some academics reacted to my faith For example when I was an

adjunct professor I was assigned to four classes in a semester One

class was sociology of race and ethnicity one was sociology of

religion and the other two were introduction to sociology courses

Soon thereafter I learned that some faculty had misgivings about

my ability to teach the religion class because I was a Christian

Tey feared that I would be biased However the fact that I am an

African American did not create any fear about my bias in teaching

the race and ethnicity course While all professors bring somedegree of bias into their teaching (an atheist certainly brings bias

to a sociology of religion course) the comments of these pro-

fessors indicated that black racial bias is acceptable while Christian

religious bias is not I have encountered more barriers in aca-

demia because of my faith than because of my race

Such experiences and my observation of social events convinced

me of the importance of studying hostility toward Christians My

previous work on the dynamics of racial intergroup conflict helped

me to understand issues of prejudice stereotyping bigotry and

hatred in this religious context I saw similar but not identical dy-

namics in anti-Christian hostility While I am convinced that the

Lord used me in my previous racial research to help address im-

portant racial issues he also used my time dealing with racial issuesto prepare me for understanding anti-Christian animosity

Over the past few years I have learned a lot about anti-

Christian animosity First I conducted research on social and

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Introduction

religious bias in academia I learned that evangelicals and fun-

damentalists are the groups most likely to face negative bias by

academics5 Unlike previous work on academic bias my work

was systematic and not anecdotal I found that almost half of all

academics were less willing to hire a candidate for an academic

job if they learned that the person was a conservative Prot-

estant6 Tat work provided evidence of the anti-Christian bias

prevalent throughout the academic community o look at po-

tential anti-Christian attitudes outside of academia I used data

from a national survey to document the extent of antifundamen-

talist hostility in the United States In a research article I showed

that this hostility at least matches the level of anti-Muslim hos-

tility or Islamophobia in our society7 In another book I tested

a theorymdashRight-wing authoritarianismmdashthat argued that vin-

dictiveness and hostility toward out-groups are much moreprevalent among religious and political conservatives than

among religious and political progressives I demonstrated that

religious and political progressives do possess vindictiveness

and hostility when asked about conservative Christians8

Finally I wanted to know what Christianophobia looks like

Te research I did on culturally progressive activists provided

several clues about the nature of Christianophobia in our society

I analyzed those answers and used a probability sample to doc-

ument the characteristics of those who have Christianophobia

My coauthored book provides solid analyses of the perception

individuals with Christianophobia have of Christians how they

dehumanize Christians and what they want in our society9 Te

responses from the national survey that is the basis for So ManyChristians replicated my earlier finding that conservative Chris-

tians face more animosity in society than any religious groups

other than atheists Tose with this animosity are more likely to

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

be white wealthy and educated and thus have relative power in

our society

Troughout this book I will refer to respondentsrsquo comments

collected from my research for books on cultural progressive ac-

tivists and on Christianophobia If you are interested in the meth-

odology used to find respondents see the appendix or pick up one

or both books that used this methodology10 Quotations from our

respondents combined with an analysis of current events will

help to illustrate the mindset of those with Christianophobia

DEFINING CHRISTIANOPHOBIA

Te term Christianophobia is controversial Some individuals

may see those who use the term as a bunch of Christians whining

about not getting their way Te actions of some Christians

justify this contempt But hatred and fear of Christians are pheno- mena with real consequences even in a democracy such as ours

As I considered how to label this phenomenon I decided that

Christianophobia is the best term devised to date to describe

much of the anti-Christian perspective in the United States

Tis is not a word that I made up Christianophobia is defined

by Macmillan Dictionary as ldquoan irrational animosity towards or

hatred of Christians or Christianity in generalrdquo In this sense it

is not unlike the way we use Islamophobia or homophobia in

that we are not addressing simply fear of a group of individuals

we are referring to the negative emotions directed at those indi-

viduals While it is inaccurate to make the assumption that

Christianophobia is exactly like other types of intolerances the

basic concept that certain individuals target a given group withhatred and negativity is fairly similar in this definition of Chris-

tianophobia Tus the Macmillan definition is the one to keep

in mind as I discuss this concept

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Introduction

I anticipate that some will argue that Christianophobia is

either a myth or that it really does not matter ldquoWhere is the

evidence that Christians are put at a disadvantage in our society

due to Christianophobiardquo they may ask Consider the fact that

my research as well as other research11 indicates that there is a

notable anti-Christian bias in academia Tis bias means that

one should not expect the level of academic documentation of

anti-Christian prejudice that we would expect for other types of

prejudice It is realistic to assert that Christians likely face prej-

udice in institutions other than academia institutions that also

have highly educated and culturally progressive individuals and

that a lack of curiosity about such religious prejudice among

academics keeps it hidden from the general public

Letrsquos play a thought experiment If there were research showing

that almost half of all academics are less willing to give a persona job simply because that person is Jewish then would we say that

anti-Semitism impacts the lives of Jews in our society After all

they would face an unfair barrier to academia which is an im-

portant source of culture creation What if those who hate Jews

are more likely to be wealthy and well educated Would we not

be concerned about how such individuals would express ani-

mosity toward Jews We know these things about Christiano-

phobia despite the anti-Christian academic bias that discourages

such research and so it is hard to argue that Christianophobia

has no effect on Christians As I will discuss later it is a mistake

to argue that Christianophobia is exactly like anti-Semitism or

racism but if we had the evidence of educational prejudice

toward Christians for another racial or religious group then fewif any people would argue that such prejudice does not matter

Even such evidence will not be enough to convince some indi-

viduals that Christianophobia is a problem Tey will require a

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

level of proof I cannot supply Beyond a few exceptional cases I

cannot absolutely prove that Christians are unfairly treated In

contemporary society such proof is indeed difficult to obtain but

not just for conservative Christians oday scholars of racial at-

titudes talk of microaggressions12 and subtle forms of racism13 at

least in part because surveys no longer reveal large percentages

of people who directly insult or show a willingness to explicitly

discriminate against African Americans o a lesser degree the

same can probably be said of sexism and homophobia although

I do not have the expertise in those areas to definitively make that

statement We do not demand absolute proof of overt systematic

discrimination based on race sex sexual preference or minority

religious status before addressing potential prejudices Tose

who demand such a criterion for Christians but no other social

groups need to explain why such a double standard is acceptableNot all Christians are equally likely to be victimized by Chris-

tianophobia Christians who do not challenge the ideals of those

with Christianophobia are less likely to experience this hatred

and prejudice Generally theologically or politically conser-

vative Christians who do challenge progressive social and poli-

tical attitudes are the ones who draw the ire of those with anti-

Christian hostility Tere are aspects of Christianophobia that

may also threaten progressive Christians and this seems espe-

cially the case in other countries14 However for the most part

it is the irrational hatred and fear directed toward conservative

Christians that we observe in the United States

WHY HAS CHRISTIANOPHOBIA BEEN IGNORED

Many Christians believe they have experienced animosity or dis-

crimination because of their faith Given my research I cannot

deny that they are right Yet there is little talk about Christiano-

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Introduction

phobia in the larger society Why is that

A large part of the silence on Christianophobia results from a

lack of academic analysis of this phenomenon Christianity is

what we sociologists call a majority religion It is the most popular

and powerful religion in the United States Generally scholars do

not concern themselves with prejudice experienced by those in

the majority group For example in the United States men gen-

erally have more power than women and whites generally have

more power than people of color Consequently there is not a lot

of academic research lamenting prejudice and discrimination

against men and whites Tis is not to say that prejudice and

discrimination against whites and men are nonexistent However

as a group both whites and men are quite powerful and isolated

instances of prejudice and discrimination do not eliminate the

general gender or racial advantages they possessBut can the same thing be said about Christians It is true that

Christians while suffering from isolated instances of prejudice

and discrimination also maintain a certain power advantage

over other religious groups However this is not nearly as uni-

versally true as it is for whites and men In key areas of our so-

ciety Christians are at a disadvantage simply because they are

Christians I alluded to this with my discussion above regarding

the Christian disadvantage in academia An overwhelming ma-

jority of the respondents from some disciplines such as anthro-

pology and English literature stated a willingness to religiously

discriminate15 We are not talking about an isolated bigot or two

We are talking about a substantial percentage of individuals in

our institutions of higher education Tus higher education andscience highly regarded segments of our society are commu-

nities where Christians do not enjoy the privileges of the ma-

jority and in fact operate at a disadvantage compared to those

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Introduction

common discourse with very little if any sanction

Even if the only social institution affected by Christianophobia

was our higher educational system we would have a serious

problem Powerful individuals are influenced by higher edu-

cation and those individuals generally go on to legal business

and political careers that put them in a position to negatively

impact Christians So far as far as I know higher education is the

only institution where systematic anti-Christian bias has been

documented But I suspect that other institutions with a higher

than normal percentage of cultural progressives such as media

entertainment and institutions of primary and secondary edu-

cation may also be susceptible to Christianophobia

In my academic research on Christianophobia I noted pat-

terns of bigotry hatred prejudice stereotyping and dehuman-

ization Some of the respondents characterized Christians as atype of aliban and asserted that without opposition to Chris-

tians our nation would soon become a theocracy Tese respon-

dents generally did not support direct measures against Chris-

tians but seemed delighted at the prospect of finding ways to

hinder conservative Christians For example note these respon-

dentsrsquo remarks

Te only difference I see between [a] Christian fundamen-

talist and [an] Islamic fundamentalist is terrorism At their

heart both movements are attempts to replace their coun-

tryrsquos government with theocracies Religion in the political

arena is dangerous to freedom and should be not allowed

Even minor intrusions such as allowing religious groups to

distribute public funds to the poor should not be allowed

(male age -)

Te Christian Rightrsquos influence in our government is as

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dangerous as the aliban in Afghanistan or the ayatollahs

in Iran We cannot allow them to get a solid foothold in our

government Te only way to do this without infringing on

rights is to be especially vigilant and point out their bigotry

and hypocrisy often and loudly so as to discredit them in

the eyes of their followers and more importantly the eyes

of the voting populace (female age -)

Tese individuals would likely deny that their comments areintolerant but clearly they exhibit the unreasonable disdain and

fear associated with other types of intolerances Christiano-

phobia can lead to discrimination against Christians as shown

in my previous work on the potential of anti-Christian academic

discrimination but it can also display the type of emotional

animosity found in other types of intolerant attitudes Tere is

little reason to believe that only academics are perpetrators of

anti-Christian prejudice

CHRISTIANOPH OBIA RACISM ANTI-SEMITI SM AND SUCH

Since I stated that my studies of racial issues have helped me to

understand Christianophobia one might naturally wonder if I

am arguing that Christianophobia is the same thing as racism Iam not o be sure I do see some similarities between Chris-

tianophobia and racism Demonizing others stereotyping fear

and hatred are quite common with both types of social dys-

function However racism is tied to the notion that certain racial

groups are biologically inferior Furthermore racial minority

groups are more likely to suffer economically because of racism

than Christians are because of Christianophobia In addition to

the economic costs racism is more likely to lead to violence than

is Christianophobia So while there are some similarities be-

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Introduction

tween animosity based on race and that based on religion the

differences between these types of animosity are profound

A better comparison may be between Christianophobia and

anti-Semitism Previous work on anti-Semitism has shown that

those with this type of bigotry fear Jews taking over our society18

Many anti-Semites have cited a discredited document called Te

Protocols of the Elders of Zion which claimed that a secret Jewish

plot existed with the aim of undermining Christian civilization

Several of the respondents to our surveys also talked about a

stealthy Christian plot that they feared would undermine their

vision of a progressive humanist society For example a female

age - stated that ldquoitrsquos pretty troubling to me what theyrsquore

doing how sneaky they are how they project their negativity onto

others mostly how they are trying to and succeeding take

over our public education systemrdquo Another female age -stated that Christians are ldquodangerousmdashattending law school so

they can infiltrate government and take over our countryrdquo

Fears of a societal and possibly governmental takeover mo-

tivate individuals to support attempts to limit the hated religious

group In both anti-Semitism and Christianophobia we find

abundant stereotyping hatred and prejudice based on often inac-

curate interpretations of the religious actions of members vic-

timized by anti-Semitism and Christianophobia Anti-Semitism

has a longer history and seems more likely to lead to violence than

Christianophobia may but my recent research19 shows far more

anti-Christian animosity in contemporary society than anti-

Semitism Since those with anti-Christian bias are more likely to

be white wealthy and well educated Christianophobia is likely tomotivate individuals with more social power than those motivated

by other types of prejudice (ie racism sexism Islamophobia)

Christianophobia has qualities similar to other types of prej-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

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Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

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Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

(from a male age -) caught my attention ldquoTe only good

Christian is a dead Christianrdquo

Tis statement echoed a quotation from American history In

during the middle of the Indian Wars on the Great Plains

a Comanche chief named osawi told General Philip Sheridan

ldquoMe osawi me good Injunrdquo Sheridan is reported to have replied

ldquoTe only good Indians I ever saw were deadrdquo2 Te accuracy of

this statement has been disputed but the sentiment is clear

when one is in a war one should offer no mercy to the enemy

Te respondent made it clear that he sees Christians as the

enemy and believes that no mercy should be given to them

Tat response should have shocked me It didnrsquot I had already

read a lot of hateful anti-Christian comments Because of their

anonymity the respondents of the survey felt free to state their

opinions bluntly Tose interested in exploring the remarks inmore depth can examine our academic treatment of the subject3

but suffice it to say that such remarks remind us that some

people harbor a high level of irrational hatred toward Christians

We do not know how many people hold similar opinions but we

do know that many of them have social power

As a Christian I was tempted to become angry at those who

spew such venom I might also have matched the hatred of my

friendrsquos students with hatred of my own but I know that this is

not the right way to respond Tere is a contrary temptation to

shy away from confronting such unfair attacks After all are we

not told to turn the other cheek (Matthew ) By one interpre-

tation of this advice I should merely smile and forgive others

when they make hateful comments Perhaps if I do not say any-thing and avoid unpleasant people then life will be easier Yet I

know that this is simplistic and not the proper answer to such

attitudes What is a Christian response to hatred directed at us

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Introduction

Do we ignore that hatred to suffer in silence or do we confront it

Do we actively confront it and if we do then how should we do

so I wish I could tell you that I have perfect answers to such ques-

tions Te reality is that I struggle to identify the proper responses

Over the past few years I have done research into Christiano-

phobia defined as an unreasonable hatred or anger toward Chris-

tians My research indicates that these negative emotions are

generally directed at Christians with a conservative theological or

political perspective4 Tis research has helped me to understand

some of the sources of that hatredmdashnot justify that hatred but

understand it Diving into the data about Christianophobia forced

me as a believer to consider how I should respond to such rancor

Tis book allows me to share some of my insights regarding how

best to respond to those who dislike or fear Christians

MY BACKGROUND

I have not spent my entire academic career analyzing anti-

Christian animosity During my early years as a Christian scholar

I studied racial issues especially as they pertain to Christians

Being an African American Christian I naturally had an interest

in these issues

When I was in graduate school I experienced racism at the

hands of the mother of a woman I dated Te reactions of many

of my Christian friends were anything but supportive leading

me to question the role Christians play in perpetrating racism

in our society I wrote about racism within the church and

became very interested in how Christians can work toward es-

tablishing multiracial congregations While I did research racialissues apart from the church my main focus was helping Chris-

tians deal with the racialized nature of our society I hoped my

work would help to promote racial reconciliation

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

A few years ago I felt a call to change the direction of my re-

search Tere are a variety of issues that led to this shift but one

was my observation of anti-Christian perspectives I noticed these

attitudes in the reporting of local and national events though that

alone would not have motivated me to study anti-Christian ani-

mosity I also saw evidence of anti-Christian attitudes in how

some academics reacted to my faith For example when I was an

adjunct professor I was assigned to four classes in a semester One

class was sociology of race and ethnicity one was sociology of

religion and the other two were introduction to sociology courses

Soon thereafter I learned that some faculty had misgivings about

my ability to teach the religion class because I was a Christian

Tey feared that I would be biased However the fact that I am an

African American did not create any fear about my bias in teaching

the race and ethnicity course While all professors bring somedegree of bias into their teaching (an atheist certainly brings bias

to a sociology of religion course) the comments of these pro-

fessors indicated that black racial bias is acceptable while Christian

religious bias is not I have encountered more barriers in aca-

demia because of my faith than because of my race

Such experiences and my observation of social events convinced

me of the importance of studying hostility toward Christians My

previous work on the dynamics of racial intergroup conflict helped

me to understand issues of prejudice stereotyping bigotry and

hatred in this religious context I saw similar but not identical dy-

namics in anti-Christian hostility While I am convinced that the

Lord used me in my previous racial research to help address im-

portant racial issues he also used my time dealing with racial issuesto prepare me for understanding anti-Christian animosity

Over the past few years I have learned a lot about anti-

Christian animosity First I conducted research on social and

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Introduction

religious bias in academia I learned that evangelicals and fun-

damentalists are the groups most likely to face negative bias by

academics5 Unlike previous work on academic bias my work

was systematic and not anecdotal I found that almost half of all

academics were less willing to hire a candidate for an academic

job if they learned that the person was a conservative Prot-

estant6 Tat work provided evidence of the anti-Christian bias

prevalent throughout the academic community o look at po-

tential anti-Christian attitudes outside of academia I used data

from a national survey to document the extent of antifundamen-

talist hostility in the United States In a research article I showed

that this hostility at least matches the level of anti-Muslim hos-

tility or Islamophobia in our society7 In another book I tested

a theorymdashRight-wing authoritarianismmdashthat argued that vin-

dictiveness and hostility toward out-groups are much moreprevalent among religious and political conservatives than

among religious and political progressives I demonstrated that

religious and political progressives do possess vindictiveness

and hostility when asked about conservative Christians8

Finally I wanted to know what Christianophobia looks like

Te research I did on culturally progressive activists provided

several clues about the nature of Christianophobia in our society

I analyzed those answers and used a probability sample to doc-

ument the characteristics of those who have Christianophobia

My coauthored book provides solid analyses of the perception

individuals with Christianophobia have of Christians how they

dehumanize Christians and what they want in our society9 Te

responses from the national survey that is the basis for So ManyChristians replicated my earlier finding that conservative Chris-

tians face more animosity in society than any religious groups

other than atheists Tose with this animosity are more likely to

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

be white wealthy and educated and thus have relative power in

our society

Troughout this book I will refer to respondentsrsquo comments

collected from my research for books on cultural progressive ac-

tivists and on Christianophobia If you are interested in the meth-

odology used to find respondents see the appendix or pick up one

or both books that used this methodology10 Quotations from our

respondents combined with an analysis of current events will

help to illustrate the mindset of those with Christianophobia

DEFINING CHRISTIANOPHOBIA

Te term Christianophobia is controversial Some individuals

may see those who use the term as a bunch of Christians whining

about not getting their way Te actions of some Christians

justify this contempt But hatred and fear of Christians are pheno- mena with real consequences even in a democracy such as ours

As I considered how to label this phenomenon I decided that

Christianophobia is the best term devised to date to describe

much of the anti-Christian perspective in the United States

Tis is not a word that I made up Christianophobia is defined

by Macmillan Dictionary as ldquoan irrational animosity towards or

hatred of Christians or Christianity in generalrdquo In this sense it

is not unlike the way we use Islamophobia or homophobia in

that we are not addressing simply fear of a group of individuals

we are referring to the negative emotions directed at those indi-

viduals While it is inaccurate to make the assumption that

Christianophobia is exactly like other types of intolerances the

basic concept that certain individuals target a given group withhatred and negativity is fairly similar in this definition of Chris-

tianophobia Tus the Macmillan definition is the one to keep

in mind as I discuss this concept

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Introduction

I anticipate that some will argue that Christianophobia is

either a myth or that it really does not matter ldquoWhere is the

evidence that Christians are put at a disadvantage in our society

due to Christianophobiardquo they may ask Consider the fact that

my research as well as other research11 indicates that there is a

notable anti-Christian bias in academia Tis bias means that

one should not expect the level of academic documentation of

anti-Christian prejudice that we would expect for other types of

prejudice It is realistic to assert that Christians likely face prej-

udice in institutions other than academia institutions that also

have highly educated and culturally progressive individuals and

that a lack of curiosity about such religious prejudice among

academics keeps it hidden from the general public

Letrsquos play a thought experiment If there were research showing

that almost half of all academics are less willing to give a persona job simply because that person is Jewish then would we say that

anti-Semitism impacts the lives of Jews in our society After all

they would face an unfair barrier to academia which is an im-

portant source of culture creation What if those who hate Jews

are more likely to be wealthy and well educated Would we not

be concerned about how such individuals would express ani-

mosity toward Jews We know these things about Christiano-

phobia despite the anti-Christian academic bias that discourages

such research and so it is hard to argue that Christianophobia

has no effect on Christians As I will discuss later it is a mistake

to argue that Christianophobia is exactly like anti-Semitism or

racism but if we had the evidence of educational prejudice

toward Christians for another racial or religious group then fewif any people would argue that such prejudice does not matter

Even such evidence will not be enough to convince some indi-

viduals that Christianophobia is a problem Tey will require a

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

level of proof I cannot supply Beyond a few exceptional cases I

cannot absolutely prove that Christians are unfairly treated In

contemporary society such proof is indeed difficult to obtain but

not just for conservative Christians oday scholars of racial at-

titudes talk of microaggressions12 and subtle forms of racism13 at

least in part because surveys no longer reveal large percentages

of people who directly insult or show a willingness to explicitly

discriminate against African Americans o a lesser degree the

same can probably be said of sexism and homophobia although

I do not have the expertise in those areas to definitively make that

statement We do not demand absolute proof of overt systematic

discrimination based on race sex sexual preference or minority

religious status before addressing potential prejudices Tose

who demand such a criterion for Christians but no other social

groups need to explain why such a double standard is acceptableNot all Christians are equally likely to be victimized by Chris-

tianophobia Christians who do not challenge the ideals of those

with Christianophobia are less likely to experience this hatred

and prejudice Generally theologically or politically conser-

vative Christians who do challenge progressive social and poli-

tical attitudes are the ones who draw the ire of those with anti-

Christian hostility Tere are aspects of Christianophobia that

may also threaten progressive Christians and this seems espe-

cially the case in other countries14 However for the most part

it is the irrational hatred and fear directed toward conservative

Christians that we observe in the United States

WHY HAS CHRISTIANOPHOBIA BEEN IGNORED

Many Christians believe they have experienced animosity or dis-

crimination because of their faith Given my research I cannot

deny that they are right Yet there is little talk about Christiano-

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Introduction

phobia in the larger society Why is that

A large part of the silence on Christianophobia results from a

lack of academic analysis of this phenomenon Christianity is

what we sociologists call a majority religion It is the most popular

and powerful religion in the United States Generally scholars do

not concern themselves with prejudice experienced by those in

the majority group For example in the United States men gen-

erally have more power than women and whites generally have

more power than people of color Consequently there is not a lot

of academic research lamenting prejudice and discrimination

against men and whites Tis is not to say that prejudice and

discrimination against whites and men are nonexistent However

as a group both whites and men are quite powerful and isolated

instances of prejudice and discrimination do not eliminate the

general gender or racial advantages they possessBut can the same thing be said about Christians It is true that

Christians while suffering from isolated instances of prejudice

and discrimination also maintain a certain power advantage

over other religious groups However this is not nearly as uni-

versally true as it is for whites and men In key areas of our so-

ciety Christians are at a disadvantage simply because they are

Christians I alluded to this with my discussion above regarding

the Christian disadvantage in academia An overwhelming ma-

jority of the respondents from some disciplines such as anthro-

pology and English literature stated a willingness to religiously

discriminate15 We are not talking about an isolated bigot or two

We are talking about a substantial percentage of individuals in

our institutions of higher education Tus higher education andscience highly regarded segments of our society are commu-

nities where Christians do not enjoy the privileges of the ma-

jority and in fact operate at a disadvantage compared to those

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Introduction

common discourse with very little if any sanction

Even if the only social institution affected by Christianophobia

was our higher educational system we would have a serious

problem Powerful individuals are influenced by higher edu-

cation and those individuals generally go on to legal business

and political careers that put them in a position to negatively

impact Christians So far as far as I know higher education is the

only institution where systematic anti-Christian bias has been

documented But I suspect that other institutions with a higher

than normal percentage of cultural progressives such as media

entertainment and institutions of primary and secondary edu-

cation may also be susceptible to Christianophobia

In my academic research on Christianophobia I noted pat-

terns of bigotry hatred prejudice stereotyping and dehuman-

ization Some of the respondents characterized Christians as atype of aliban and asserted that without opposition to Chris-

tians our nation would soon become a theocracy Tese respon-

dents generally did not support direct measures against Chris-

tians but seemed delighted at the prospect of finding ways to

hinder conservative Christians For example note these respon-

dentsrsquo remarks

Te only difference I see between [a] Christian fundamen-

talist and [an] Islamic fundamentalist is terrorism At their

heart both movements are attempts to replace their coun-

tryrsquos government with theocracies Religion in the political

arena is dangerous to freedom and should be not allowed

Even minor intrusions such as allowing religious groups to

distribute public funds to the poor should not be allowed

(male age -)

Te Christian Rightrsquos influence in our government is as

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dangerous as the aliban in Afghanistan or the ayatollahs

in Iran We cannot allow them to get a solid foothold in our

government Te only way to do this without infringing on

rights is to be especially vigilant and point out their bigotry

and hypocrisy often and loudly so as to discredit them in

the eyes of their followers and more importantly the eyes

of the voting populace (female age -)

Tese individuals would likely deny that their comments areintolerant but clearly they exhibit the unreasonable disdain and

fear associated with other types of intolerances Christiano-

phobia can lead to discrimination against Christians as shown

in my previous work on the potential of anti-Christian academic

discrimination but it can also display the type of emotional

animosity found in other types of intolerant attitudes Tere is

little reason to believe that only academics are perpetrators of

anti-Christian prejudice

CHRISTIANOPH OBIA RACISM ANTI-SEMITI SM AND SUCH

Since I stated that my studies of racial issues have helped me to

understand Christianophobia one might naturally wonder if I

am arguing that Christianophobia is the same thing as racism Iam not o be sure I do see some similarities between Chris-

tianophobia and racism Demonizing others stereotyping fear

and hatred are quite common with both types of social dys-

function However racism is tied to the notion that certain racial

groups are biologically inferior Furthermore racial minority

groups are more likely to suffer economically because of racism

than Christians are because of Christianophobia In addition to

the economic costs racism is more likely to lead to violence than

is Christianophobia So while there are some similarities be-

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Introduction

tween animosity based on race and that based on religion the

differences between these types of animosity are profound

A better comparison may be between Christianophobia and

anti-Semitism Previous work on anti-Semitism has shown that

those with this type of bigotry fear Jews taking over our society18

Many anti-Semites have cited a discredited document called Te

Protocols of the Elders of Zion which claimed that a secret Jewish

plot existed with the aim of undermining Christian civilization

Several of the respondents to our surveys also talked about a

stealthy Christian plot that they feared would undermine their

vision of a progressive humanist society For example a female

age - stated that ldquoitrsquos pretty troubling to me what theyrsquore

doing how sneaky they are how they project their negativity onto

others mostly how they are trying to and succeeding take

over our public education systemrdquo Another female age -stated that Christians are ldquodangerousmdashattending law school so

they can infiltrate government and take over our countryrdquo

Fears of a societal and possibly governmental takeover mo-

tivate individuals to support attempts to limit the hated religious

group In both anti-Semitism and Christianophobia we find

abundant stereotyping hatred and prejudice based on often inac-

curate interpretations of the religious actions of members vic-

timized by anti-Semitism and Christianophobia Anti-Semitism

has a longer history and seems more likely to lead to violence than

Christianophobia may but my recent research19 shows far more

anti-Christian animosity in contemporary society than anti-

Semitism Since those with anti-Christian bias are more likely to

be white wealthy and well educated Christianophobia is likely tomotivate individuals with more social power than those motivated

by other types of prejudice (ie racism sexism Islamophobia)

Christianophobia has qualities similar to other types of prej-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

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Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

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Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

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Introduction

Do we ignore that hatred to suffer in silence or do we confront it

Do we actively confront it and if we do then how should we do

so I wish I could tell you that I have perfect answers to such ques-

tions Te reality is that I struggle to identify the proper responses

Over the past few years I have done research into Christiano-

phobia defined as an unreasonable hatred or anger toward Chris-

tians My research indicates that these negative emotions are

generally directed at Christians with a conservative theological or

political perspective4 Tis research has helped me to understand

some of the sources of that hatredmdashnot justify that hatred but

understand it Diving into the data about Christianophobia forced

me as a believer to consider how I should respond to such rancor

Tis book allows me to share some of my insights regarding how

best to respond to those who dislike or fear Christians

MY BACKGROUND

I have not spent my entire academic career analyzing anti-

Christian animosity During my early years as a Christian scholar

I studied racial issues especially as they pertain to Christians

Being an African American Christian I naturally had an interest

in these issues

When I was in graduate school I experienced racism at the

hands of the mother of a woman I dated Te reactions of many

of my Christian friends were anything but supportive leading

me to question the role Christians play in perpetrating racism

in our society I wrote about racism within the church and

became very interested in how Christians can work toward es-

tablishing multiracial congregations While I did research racialissues apart from the church my main focus was helping Chris-

tians deal with the racialized nature of our society I hoped my

work would help to promote racial reconciliation

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

A few years ago I felt a call to change the direction of my re-

search Tere are a variety of issues that led to this shift but one

was my observation of anti-Christian perspectives I noticed these

attitudes in the reporting of local and national events though that

alone would not have motivated me to study anti-Christian ani-

mosity I also saw evidence of anti-Christian attitudes in how

some academics reacted to my faith For example when I was an

adjunct professor I was assigned to four classes in a semester One

class was sociology of race and ethnicity one was sociology of

religion and the other two were introduction to sociology courses

Soon thereafter I learned that some faculty had misgivings about

my ability to teach the religion class because I was a Christian

Tey feared that I would be biased However the fact that I am an

African American did not create any fear about my bias in teaching

the race and ethnicity course While all professors bring somedegree of bias into their teaching (an atheist certainly brings bias

to a sociology of religion course) the comments of these pro-

fessors indicated that black racial bias is acceptable while Christian

religious bias is not I have encountered more barriers in aca-

demia because of my faith than because of my race

Such experiences and my observation of social events convinced

me of the importance of studying hostility toward Christians My

previous work on the dynamics of racial intergroup conflict helped

me to understand issues of prejudice stereotyping bigotry and

hatred in this religious context I saw similar but not identical dy-

namics in anti-Christian hostility While I am convinced that the

Lord used me in my previous racial research to help address im-

portant racial issues he also used my time dealing with racial issuesto prepare me for understanding anti-Christian animosity

Over the past few years I have learned a lot about anti-

Christian animosity First I conducted research on social and

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Introduction

religious bias in academia I learned that evangelicals and fun-

damentalists are the groups most likely to face negative bias by

academics5 Unlike previous work on academic bias my work

was systematic and not anecdotal I found that almost half of all

academics were less willing to hire a candidate for an academic

job if they learned that the person was a conservative Prot-

estant6 Tat work provided evidence of the anti-Christian bias

prevalent throughout the academic community o look at po-

tential anti-Christian attitudes outside of academia I used data

from a national survey to document the extent of antifundamen-

talist hostility in the United States In a research article I showed

that this hostility at least matches the level of anti-Muslim hos-

tility or Islamophobia in our society7 In another book I tested

a theorymdashRight-wing authoritarianismmdashthat argued that vin-

dictiveness and hostility toward out-groups are much moreprevalent among religious and political conservatives than

among religious and political progressives I demonstrated that

religious and political progressives do possess vindictiveness

and hostility when asked about conservative Christians8

Finally I wanted to know what Christianophobia looks like

Te research I did on culturally progressive activists provided

several clues about the nature of Christianophobia in our society

I analyzed those answers and used a probability sample to doc-

ument the characteristics of those who have Christianophobia

My coauthored book provides solid analyses of the perception

individuals with Christianophobia have of Christians how they

dehumanize Christians and what they want in our society9 Te

responses from the national survey that is the basis for So ManyChristians replicated my earlier finding that conservative Chris-

tians face more animosity in society than any religious groups

other than atheists Tose with this animosity are more likely to

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

be white wealthy and educated and thus have relative power in

our society

Troughout this book I will refer to respondentsrsquo comments

collected from my research for books on cultural progressive ac-

tivists and on Christianophobia If you are interested in the meth-

odology used to find respondents see the appendix or pick up one

or both books that used this methodology10 Quotations from our

respondents combined with an analysis of current events will

help to illustrate the mindset of those with Christianophobia

DEFINING CHRISTIANOPHOBIA

Te term Christianophobia is controversial Some individuals

may see those who use the term as a bunch of Christians whining

about not getting their way Te actions of some Christians

justify this contempt But hatred and fear of Christians are pheno- mena with real consequences even in a democracy such as ours

As I considered how to label this phenomenon I decided that

Christianophobia is the best term devised to date to describe

much of the anti-Christian perspective in the United States

Tis is not a word that I made up Christianophobia is defined

by Macmillan Dictionary as ldquoan irrational animosity towards or

hatred of Christians or Christianity in generalrdquo In this sense it

is not unlike the way we use Islamophobia or homophobia in

that we are not addressing simply fear of a group of individuals

we are referring to the negative emotions directed at those indi-

viduals While it is inaccurate to make the assumption that

Christianophobia is exactly like other types of intolerances the

basic concept that certain individuals target a given group withhatred and negativity is fairly similar in this definition of Chris-

tianophobia Tus the Macmillan definition is the one to keep

in mind as I discuss this concept

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Introduction

I anticipate that some will argue that Christianophobia is

either a myth or that it really does not matter ldquoWhere is the

evidence that Christians are put at a disadvantage in our society

due to Christianophobiardquo they may ask Consider the fact that

my research as well as other research11 indicates that there is a

notable anti-Christian bias in academia Tis bias means that

one should not expect the level of academic documentation of

anti-Christian prejudice that we would expect for other types of

prejudice It is realistic to assert that Christians likely face prej-

udice in institutions other than academia institutions that also

have highly educated and culturally progressive individuals and

that a lack of curiosity about such religious prejudice among

academics keeps it hidden from the general public

Letrsquos play a thought experiment If there were research showing

that almost half of all academics are less willing to give a persona job simply because that person is Jewish then would we say that

anti-Semitism impacts the lives of Jews in our society After all

they would face an unfair barrier to academia which is an im-

portant source of culture creation What if those who hate Jews

are more likely to be wealthy and well educated Would we not

be concerned about how such individuals would express ani-

mosity toward Jews We know these things about Christiano-

phobia despite the anti-Christian academic bias that discourages

such research and so it is hard to argue that Christianophobia

has no effect on Christians As I will discuss later it is a mistake

to argue that Christianophobia is exactly like anti-Semitism or

racism but if we had the evidence of educational prejudice

toward Christians for another racial or religious group then fewif any people would argue that such prejudice does not matter

Even such evidence will not be enough to convince some indi-

viduals that Christianophobia is a problem Tey will require a

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

level of proof I cannot supply Beyond a few exceptional cases I

cannot absolutely prove that Christians are unfairly treated In

contemporary society such proof is indeed difficult to obtain but

not just for conservative Christians oday scholars of racial at-

titudes talk of microaggressions12 and subtle forms of racism13 at

least in part because surveys no longer reveal large percentages

of people who directly insult or show a willingness to explicitly

discriminate against African Americans o a lesser degree the

same can probably be said of sexism and homophobia although

I do not have the expertise in those areas to definitively make that

statement We do not demand absolute proof of overt systematic

discrimination based on race sex sexual preference or minority

religious status before addressing potential prejudices Tose

who demand such a criterion for Christians but no other social

groups need to explain why such a double standard is acceptableNot all Christians are equally likely to be victimized by Chris-

tianophobia Christians who do not challenge the ideals of those

with Christianophobia are less likely to experience this hatred

and prejudice Generally theologically or politically conser-

vative Christians who do challenge progressive social and poli-

tical attitudes are the ones who draw the ire of those with anti-

Christian hostility Tere are aspects of Christianophobia that

may also threaten progressive Christians and this seems espe-

cially the case in other countries14 However for the most part

it is the irrational hatred and fear directed toward conservative

Christians that we observe in the United States

WHY HAS CHRISTIANOPHOBIA BEEN IGNORED

Many Christians believe they have experienced animosity or dis-

crimination because of their faith Given my research I cannot

deny that they are right Yet there is little talk about Christiano-

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Introduction

phobia in the larger society Why is that

A large part of the silence on Christianophobia results from a

lack of academic analysis of this phenomenon Christianity is

what we sociologists call a majority religion It is the most popular

and powerful religion in the United States Generally scholars do

not concern themselves with prejudice experienced by those in

the majority group For example in the United States men gen-

erally have more power than women and whites generally have

more power than people of color Consequently there is not a lot

of academic research lamenting prejudice and discrimination

against men and whites Tis is not to say that prejudice and

discrimination against whites and men are nonexistent However

as a group both whites and men are quite powerful and isolated

instances of prejudice and discrimination do not eliminate the

general gender or racial advantages they possessBut can the same thing be said about Christians It is true that

Christians while suffering from isolated instances of prejudice

and discrimination also maintain a certain power advantage

over other religious groups However this is not nearly as uni-

versally true as it is for whites and men In key areas of our so-

ciety Christians are at a disadvantage simply because they are

Christians I alluded to this with my discussion above regarding

the Christian disadvantage in academia An overwhelming ma-

jority of the respondents from some disciplines such as anthro-

pology and English literature stated a willingness to religiously

discriminate15 We are not talking about an isolated bigot or two

We are talking about a substantial percentage of individuals in

our institutions of higher education Tus higher education andscience highly regarded segments of our society are commu-

nities where Christians do not enjoy the privileges of the ma-

jority and in fact operate at a disadvantage compared to those

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Introduction

common discourse with very little if any sanction

Even if the only social institution affected by Christianophobia

was our higher educational system we would have a serious

problem Powerful individuals are influenced by higher edu-

cation and those individuals generally go on to legal business

and political careers that put them in a position to negatively

impact Christians So far as far as I know higher education is the

only institution where systematic anti-Christian bias has been

documented But I suspect that other institutions with a higher

than normal percentage of cultural progressives such as media

entertainment and institutions of primary and secondary edu-

cation may also be susceptible to Christianophobia

In my academic research on Christianophobia I noted pat-

terns of bigotry hatred prejudice stereotyping and dehuman-

ization Some of the respondents characterized Christians as atype of aliban and asserted that without opposition to Chris-

tians our nation would soon become a theocracy Tese respon-

dents generally did not support direct measures against Chris-

tians but seemed delighted at the prospect of finding ways to

hinder conservative Christians For example note these respon-

dentsrsquo remarks

Te only difference I see between [a] Christian fundamen-

talist and [an] Islamic fundamentalist is terrorism At their

heart both movements are attempts to replace their coun-

tryrsquos government with theocracies Religion in the political

arena is dangerous to freedom and should be not allowed

Even minor intrusions such as allowing religious groups to

distribute public funds to the poor should not be allowed

(male age -)

Te Christian Rightrsquos influence in our government is as

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dangerous as the aliban in Afghanistan or the ayatollahs

in Iran We cannot allow them to get a solid foothold in our

government Te only way to do this without infringing on

rights is to be especially vigilant and point out their bigotry

and hypocrisy often and loudly so as to discredit them in

the eyes of their followers and more importantly the eyes

of the voting populace (female age -)

Tese individuals would likely deny that their comments areintolerant but clearly they exhibit the unreasonable disdain and

fear associated with other types of intolerances Christiano-

phobia can lead to discrimination against Christians as shown

in my previous work on the potential of anti-Christian academic

discrimination but it can also display the type of emotional

animosity found in other types of intolerant attitudes Tere is

little reason to believe that only academics are perpetrators of

anti-Christian prejudice

CHRISTIANOPH OBIA RACISM ANTI-SEMITI SM AND SUCH

Since I stated that my studies of racial issues have helped me to

understand Christianophobia one might naturally wonder if I

am arguing that Christianophobia is the same thing as racism Iam not o be sure I do see some similarities between Chris-

tianophobia and racism Demonizing others stereotyping fear

and hatred are quite common with both types of social dys-

function However racism is tied to the notion that certain racial

groups are biologically inferior Furthermore racial minority

groups are more likely to suffer economically because of racism

than Christians are because of Christianophobia In addition to

the economic costs racism is more likely to lead to violence than

is Christianophobia So while there are some similarities be-

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Introduction

tween animosity based on race and that based on religion the

differences between these types of animosity are profound

A better comparison may be between Christianophobia and

anti-Semitism Previous work on anti-Semitism has shown that

those with this type of bigotry fear Jews taking over our society18

Many anti-Semites have cited a discredited document called Te

Protocols of the Elders of Zion which claimed that a secret Jewish

plot existed with the aim of undermining Christian civilization

Several of the respondents to our surveys also talked about a

stealthy Christian plot that they feared would undermine their

vision of a progressive humanist society For example a female

age - stated that ldquoitrsquos pretty troubling to me what theyrsquore

doing how sneaky they are how they project their negativity onto

others mostly how they are trying to and succeeding take

over our public education systemrdquo Another female age -stated that Christians are ldquodangerousmdashattending law school so

they can infiltrate government and take over our countryrdquo

Fears of a societal and possibly governmental takeover mo-

tivate individuals to support attempts to limit the hated religious

group In both anti-Semitism and Christianophobia we find

abundant stereotyping hatred and prejudice based on often inac-

curate interpretations of the religious actions of members vic-

timized by anti-Semitism and Christianophobia Anti-Semitism

has a longer history and seems more likely to lead to violence than

Christianophobia may but my recent research19 shows far more

anti-Christian animosity in contemporary society than anti-

Semitism Since those with anti-Christian bias are more likely to

be white wealthy and well educated Christianophobia is likely tomotivate individuals with more social power than those motivated

by other types of prejudice (ie racism sexism Islamophobia)

Christianophobia has qualities similar to other types of prej-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

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Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

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Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

A few years ago I felt a call to change the direction of my re-

search Tere are a variety of issues that led to this shift but one

was my observation of anti-Christian perspectives I noticed these

attitudes in the reporting of local and national events though that

alone would not have motivated me to study anti-Christian ani-

mosity I also saw evidence of anti-Christian attitudes in how

some academics reacted to my faith For example when I was an

adjunct professor I was assigned to four classes in a semester One

class was sociology of race and ethnicity one was sociology of

religion and the other two were introduction to sociology courses

Soon thereafter I learned that some faculty had misgivings about

my ability to teach the religion class because I was a Christian

Tey feared that I would be biased However the fact that I am an

African American did not create any fear about my bias in teaching

the race and ethnicity course While all professors bring somedegree of bias into their teaching (an atheist certainly brings bias

to a sociology of religion course) the comments of these pro-

fessors indicated that black racial bias is acceptable while Christian

religious bias is not I have encountered more barriers in aca-

demia because of my faith than because of my race

Such experiences and my observation of social events convinced

me of the importance of studying hostility toward Christians My

previous work on the dynamics of racial intergroup conflict helped

me to understand issues of prejudice stereotyping bigotry and

hatred in this religious context I saw similar but not identical dy-

namics in anti-Christian hostility While I am convinced that the

Lord used me in my previous racial research to help address im-

portant racial issues he also used my time dealing with racial issuesto prepare me for understanding anti-Christian animosity

Over the past few years I have learned a lot about anti-

Christian animosity First I conducted research on social and

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Introduction

religious bias in academia I learned that evangelicals and fun-

damentalists are the groups most likely to face negative bias by

academics5 Unlike previous work on academic bias my work

was systematic and not anecdotal I found that almost half of all

academics were less willing to hire a candidate for an academic

job if they learned that the person was a conservative Prot-

estant6 Tat work provided evidence of the anti-Christian bias

prevalent throughout the academic community o look at po-

tential anti-Christian attitudes outside of academia I used data

from a national survey to document the extent of antifundamen-

talist hostility in the United States In a research article I showed

that this hostility at least matches the level of anti-Muslim hos-

tility or Islamophobia in our society7 In another book I tested

a theorymdashRight-wing authoritarianismmdashthat argued that vin-

dictiveness and hostility toward out-groups are much moreprevalent among religious and political conservatives than

among religious and political progressives I demonstrated that

religious and political progressives do possess vindictiveness

and hostility when asked about conservative Christians8

Finally I wanted to know what Christianophobia looks like

Te research I did on culturally progressive activists provided

several clues about the nature of Christianophobia in our society

I analyzed those answers and used a probability sample to doc-

ument the characteristics of those who have Christianophobia

My coauthored book provides solid analyses of the perception

individuals with Christianophobia have of Christians how they

dehumanize Christians and what they want in our society9 Te

responses from the national survey that is the basis for So ManyChristians replicated my earlier finding that conservative Chris-

tians face more animosity in society than any religious groups

other than atheists Tose with this animosity are more likely to

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

be white wealthy and educated and thus have relative power in

our society

Troughout this book I will refer to respondentsrsquo comments

collected from my research for books on cultural progressive ac-

tivists and on Christianophobia If you are interested in the meth-

odology used to find respondents see the appendix or pick up one

or both books that used this methodology10 Quotations from our

respondents combined with an analysis of current events will

help to illustrate the mindset of those with Christianophobia

DEFINING CHRISTIANOPHOBIA

Te term Christianophobia is controversial Some individuals

may see those who use the term as a bunch of Christians whining

about not getting their way Te actions of some Christians

justify this contempt But hatred and fear of Christians are pheno- mena with real consequences even in a democracy such as ours

As I considered how to label this phenomenon I decided that

Christianophobia is the best term devised to date to describe

much of the anti-Christian perspective in the United States

Tis is not a word that I made up Christianophobia is defined

by Macmillan Dictionary as ldquoan irrational animosity towards or

hatred of Christians or Christianity in generalrdquo In this sense it

is not unlike the way we use Islamophobia or homophobia in

that we are not addressing simply fear of a group of individuals

we are referring to the negative emotions directed at those indi-

viduals While it is inaccurate to make the assumption that

Christianophobia is exactly like other types of intolerances the

basic concept that certain individuals target a given group withhatred and negativity is fairly similar in this definition of Chris-

tianophobia Tus the Macmillan definition is the one to keep

in mind as I discuss this concept

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Introduction

I anticipate that some will argue that Christianophobia is

either a myth or that it really does not matter ldquoWhere is the

evidence that Christians are put at a disadvantage in our society

due to Christianophobiardquo they may ask Consider the fact that

my research as well as other research11 indicates that there is a

notable anti-Christian bias in academia Tis bias means that

one should not expect the level of academic documentation of

anti-Christian prejudice that we would expect for other types of

prejudice It is realistic to assert that Christians likely face prej-

udice in institutions other than academia institutions that also

have highly educated and culturally progressive individuals and

that a lack of curiosity about such religious prejudice among

academics keeps it hidden from the general public

Letrsquos play a thought experiment If there were research showing

that almost half of all academics are less willing to give a persona job simply because that person is Jewish then would we say that

anti-Semitism impacts the lives of Jews in our society After all

they would face an unfair barrier to academia which is an im-

portant source of culture creation What if those who hate Jews

are more likely to be wealthy and well educated Would we not

be concerned about how such individuals would express ani-

mosity toward Jews We know these things about Christiano-

phobia despite the anti-Christian academic bias that discourages

such research and so it is hard to argue that Christianophobia

has no effect on Christians As I will discuss later it is a mistake

to argue that Christianophobia is exactly like anti-Semitism or

racism but if we had the evidence of educational prejudice

toward Christians for another racial or religious group then fewif any people would argue that such prejudice does not matter

Even such evidence will not be enough to convince some indi-

viduals that Christianophobia is a problem Tey will require a

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

level of proof I cannot supply Beyond a few exceptional cases I

cannot absolutely prove that Christians are unfairly treated In

contemporary society such proof is indeed difficult to obtain but

not just for conservative Christians oday scholars of racial at-

titudes talk of microaggressions12 and subtle forms of racism13 at

least in part because surveys no longer reveal large percentages

of people who directly insult or show a willingness to explicitly

discriminate against African Americans o a lesser degree the

same can probably be said of sexism and homophobia although

I do not have the expertise in those areas to definitively make that

statement We do not demand absolute proof of overt systematic

discrimination based on race sex sexual preference or minority

religious status before addressing potential prejudices Tose

who demand such a criterion for Christians but no other social

groups need to explain why such a double standard is acceptableNot all Christians are equally likely to be victimized by Chris-

tianophobia Christians who do not challenge the ideals of those

with Christianophobia are less likely to experience this hatred

and prejudice Generally theologically or politically conser-

vative Christians who do challenge progressive social and poli-

tical attitudes are the ones who draw the ire of those with anti-

Christian hostility Tere are aspects of Christianophobia that

may also threaten progressive Christians and this seems espe-

cially the case in other countries14 However for the most part

it is the irrational hatred and fear directed toward conservative

Christians that we observe in the United States

WHY HAS CHRISTIANOPHOBIA BEEN IGNORED

Many Christians believe they have experienced animosity or dis-

crimination because of their faith Given my research I cannot

deny that they are right Yet there is little talk about Christiano-

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Introduction

phobia in the larger society Why is that

A large part of the silence on Christianophobia results from a

lack of academic analysis of this phenomenon Christianity is

what we sociologists call a majority religion It is the most popular

and powerful religion in the United States Generally scholars do

not concern themselves with prejudice experienced by those in

the majority group For example in the United States men gen-

erally have more power than women and whites generally have

more power than people of color Consequently there is not a lot

of academic research lamenting prejudice and discrimination

against men and whites Tis is not to say that prejudice and

discrimination against whites and men are nonexistent However

as a group both whites and men are quite powerful and isolated

instances of prejudice and discrimination do not eliminate the

general gender or racial advantages they possessBut can the same thing be said about Christians It is true that

Christians while suffering from isolated instances of prejudice

and discrimination also maintain a certain power advantage

over other religious groups However this is not nearly as uni-

versally true as it is for whites and men In key areas of our so-

ciety Christians are at a disadvantage simply because they are

Christians I alluded to this with my discussion above regarding

the Christian disadvantage in academia An overwhelming ma-

jority of the respondents from some disciplines such as anthro-

pology and English literature stated a willingness to religiously

discriminate15 We are not talking about an isolated bigot or two

We are talking about a substantial percentage of individuals in

our institutions of higher education Tus higher education andscience highly regarded segments of our society are commu-

nities where Christians do not enjoy the privileges of the ma-

jority and in fact operate at a disadvantage compared to those

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Introduction

common discourse with very little if any sanction

Even if the only social institution affected by Christianophobia

was our higher educational system we would have a serious

problem Powerful individuals are influenced by higher edu-

cation and those individuals generally go on to legal business

and political careers that put them in a position to negatively

impact Christians So far as far as I know higher education is the

only institution where systematic anti-Christian bias has been

documented But I suspect that other institutions with a higher

than normal percentage of cultural progressives such as media

entertainment and institutions of primary and secondary edu-

cation may also be susceptible to Christianophobia

In my academic research on Christianophobia I noted pat-

terns of bigotry hatred prejudice stereotyping and dehuman-

ization Some of the respondents characterized Christians as atype of aliban and asserted that without opposition to Chris-

tians our nation would soon become a theocracy Tese respon-

dents generally did not support direct measures against Chris-

tians but seemed delighted at the prospect of finding ways to

hinder conservative Christians For example note these respon-

dentsrsquo remarks

Te only difference I see between [a] Christian fundamen-

talist and [an] Islamic fundamentalist is terrorism At their

heart both movements are attempts to replace their coun-

tryrsquos government with theocracies Religion in the political

arena is dangerous to freedom and should be not allowed

Even minor intrusions such as allowing religious groups to

distribute public funds to the poor should not be allowed

(male age -)

Te Christian Rightrsquos influence in our government is as

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dangerous as the aliban in Afghanistan or the ayatollahs

in Iran We cannot allow them to get a solid foothold in our

government Te only way to do this without infringing on

rights is to be especially vigilant and point out their bigotry

and hypocrisy often and loudly so as to discredit them in

the eyes of their followers and more importantly the eyes

of the voting populace (female age -)

Tese individuals would likely deny that their comments areintolerant but clearly they exhibit the unreasonable disdain and

fear associated with other types of intolerances Christiano-

phobia can lead to discrimination against Christians as shown

in my previous work on the potential of anti-Christian academic

discrimination but it can also display the type of emotional

animosity found in other types of intolerant attitudes Tere is

little reason to believe that only academics are perpetrators of

anti-Christian prejudice

CHRISTIANOPH OBIA RACISM ANTI-SEMITI SM AND SUCH

Since I stated that my studies of racial issues have helped me to

understand Christianophobia one might naturally wonder if I

am arguing that Christianophobia is the same thing as racism Iam not o be sure I do see some similarities between Chris-

tianophobia and racism Demonizing others stereotyping fear

and hatred are quite common with both types of social dys-

function However racism is tied to the notion that certain racial

groups are biologically inferior Furthermore racial minority

groups are more likely to suffer economically because of racism

than Christians are because of Christianophobia In addition to

the economic costs racism is more likely to lead to violence than

is Christianophobia So while there are some similarities be-

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Introduction

tween animosity based on race and that based on religion the

differences between these types of animosity are profound

A better comparison may be between Christianophobia and

anti-Semitism Previous work on anti-Semitism has shown that

those with this type of bigotry fear Jews taking over our society18

Many anti-Semites have cited a discredited document called Te

Protocols of the Elders of Zion which claimed that a secret Jewish

plot existed with the aim of undermining Christian civilization

Several of the respondents to our surveys also talked about a

stealthy Christian plot that they feared would undermine their

vision of a progressive humanist society For example a female

age - stated that ldquoitrsquos pretty troubling to me what theyrsquore

doing how sneaky they are how they project their negativity onto

others mostly how they are trying to and succeeding take

over our public education systemrdquo Another female age -stated that Christians are ldquodangerousmdashattending law school so

they can infiltrate government and take over our countryrdquo

Fears of a societal and possibly governmental takeover mo-

tivate individuals to support attempts to limit the hated religious

group In both anti-Semitism and Christianophobia we find

abundant stereotyping hatred and prejudice based on often inac-

curate interpretations of the religious actions of members vic-

timized by anti-Semitism and Christianophobia Anti-Semitism

has a longer history and seems more likely to lead to violence than

Christianophobia may but my recent research19 shows far more

anti-Christian animosity in contemporary society than anti-

Semitism Since those with anti-Christian bias are more likely to

be white wealthy and well educated Christianophobia is likely tomotivate individuals with more social power than those motivated

by other types of prejudice (ie racism sexism Islamophobia)

Christianophobia has qualities similar to other types of prej-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

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Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

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892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

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892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

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Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

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Introduction

religious bias in academia I learned that evangelicals and fun-

damentalists are the groups most likely to face negative bias by

academics5 Unlike previous work on academic bias my work

was systematic and not anecdotal I found that almost half of all

academics were less willing to hire a candidate for an academic

job if they learned that the person was a conservative Prot-

estant6 Tat work provided evidence of the anti-Christian bias

prevalent throughout the academic community o look at po-

tential anti-Christian attitudes outside of academia I used data

from a national survey to document the extent of antifundamen-

talist hostility in the United States In a research article I showed

that this hostility at least matches the level of anti-Muslim hos-

tility or Islamophobia in our society7 In another book I tested

a theorymdashRight-wing authoritarianismmdashthat argued that vin-

dictiveness and hostility toward out-groups are much moreprevalent among religious and political conservatives than

among religious and political progressives I demonstrated that

religious and political progressives do possess vindictiveness

and hostility when asked about conservative Christians8

Finally I wanted to know what Christianophobia looks like

Te research I did on culturally progressive activists provided

several clues about the nature of Christianophobia in our society

I analyzed those answers and used a probability sample to doc-

ument the characteristics of those who have Christianophobia

My coauthored book provides solid analyses of the perception

individuals with Christianophobia have of Christians how they

dehumanize Christians and what they want in our society9 Te

responses from the national survey that is the basis for So ManyChristians replicated my earlier finding that conservative Chris-

tians face more animosity in society than any religious groups

other than atheists Tose with this animosity are more likely to

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

be white wealthy and educated and thus have relative power in

our society

Troughout this book I will refer to respondentsrsquo comments

collected from my research for books on cultural progressive ac-

tivists and on Christianophobia If you are interested in the meth-

odology used to find respondents see the appendix or pick up one

or both books that used this methodology10 Quotations from our

respondents combined with an analysis of current events will

help to illustrate the mindset of those with Christianophobia

DEFINING CHRISTIANOPHOBIA

Te term Christianophobia is controversial Some individuals

may see those who use the term as a bunch of Christians whining

about not getting their way Te actions of some Christians

justify this contempt But hatred and fear of Christians are pheno- mena with real consequences even in a democracy such as ours

As I considered how to label this phenomenon I decided that

Christianophobia is the best term devised to date to describe

much of the anti-Christian perspective in the United States

Tis is not a word that I made up Christianophobia is defined

by Macmillan Dictionary as ldquoan irrational animosity towards or

hatred of Christians or Christianity in generalrdquo In this sense it

is not unlike the way we use Islamophobia or homophobia in

that we are not addressing simply fear of a group of individuals

we are referring to the negative emotions directed at those indi-

viduals While it is inaccurate to make the assumption that

Christianophobia is exactly like other types of intolerances the

basic concept that certain individuals target a given group withhatred and negativity is fairly similar in this definition of Chris-

tianophobia Tus the Macmillan definition is the one to keep

in mind as I discuss this concept

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Introduction

I anticipate that some will argue that Christianophobia is

either a myth or that it really does not matter ldquoWhere is the

evidence that Christians are put at a disadvantage in our society

due to Christianophobiardquo they may ask Consider the fact that

my research as well as other research11 indicates that there is a

notable anti-Christian bias in academia Tis bias means that

one should not expect the level of academic documentation of

anti-Christian prejudice that we would expect for other types of

prejudice It is realistic to assert that Christians likely face prej-

udice in institutions other than academia institutions that also

have highly educated and culturally progressive individuals and

that a lack of curiosity about such religious prejudice among

academics keeps it hidden from the general public

Letrsquos play a thought experiment If there were research showing

that almost half of all academics are less willing to give a persona job simply because that person is Jewish then would we say that

anti-Semitism impacts the lives of Jews in our society After all

they would face an unfair barrier to academia which is an im-

portant source of culture creation What if those who hate Jews

are more likely to be wealthy and well educated Would we not

be concerned about how such individuals would express ani-

mosity toward Jews We know these things about Christiano-

phobia despite the anti-Christian academic bias that discourages

such research and so it is hard to argue that Christianophobia

has no effect on Christians As I will discuss later it is a mistake

to argue that Christianophobia is exactly like anti-Semitism or

racism but if we had the evidence of educational prejudice

toward Christians for another racial or religious group then fewif any people would argue that such prejudice does not matter

Even such evidence will not be enough to convince some indi-

viduals that Christianophobia is a problem Tey will require a

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

level of proof I cannot supply Beyond a few exceptional cases I

cannot absolutely prove that Christians are unfairly treated In

contemporary society such proof is indeed difficult to obtain but

not just for conservative Christians oday scholars of racial at-

titudes talk of microaggressions12 and subtle forms of racism13 at

least in part because surveys no longer reveal large percentages

of people who directly insult or show a willingness to explicitly

discriminate against African Americans o a lesser degree the

same can probably be said of sexism and homophobia although

I do not have the expertise in those areas to definitively make that

statement We do not demand absolute proof of overt systematic

discrimination based on race sex sexual preference or minority

religious status before addressing potential prejudices Tose

who demand such a criterion for Christians but no other social

groups need to explain why such a double standard is acceptableNot all Christians are equally likely to be victimized by Chris-

tianophobia Christians who do not challenge the ideals of those

with Christianophobia are less likely to experience this hatred

and prejudice Generally theologically or politically conser-

vative Christians who do challenge progressive social and poli-

tical attitudes are the ones who draw the ire of those with anti-

Christian hostility Tere are aspects of Christianophobia that

may also threaten progressive Christians and this seems espe-

cially the case in other countries14 However for the most part

it is the irrational hatred and fear directed toward conservative

Christians that we observe in the United States

WHY HAS CHRISTIANOPHOBIA BEEN IGNORED

Many Christians believe they have experienced animosity or dis-

crimination because of their faith Given my research I cannot

deny that they are right Yet there is little talk about Christiano-

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Introduction

phobia in the larger society Why is that

A large part of the silence on Christianophobia results from a

lack of academic analysis of this phenomenon Christianity is

what we sociologists call a majority religion It is the most popular

and powerful religion in the United States Generally scholars do

not concern themselves with prejudice experienced by those in

the majority group For example in the United States men gen-

erally have more power than women and whites generally have

more power than people of color Consequently there is not a lot

of academic research lamenting prejudice and discrimination

against men and whites Tis is not to say that prejudice and

discrimination against whites and men are nonexistent However

as a group both whites and men are quite powerful and isolated

instances of prejudice and discrimination do not eliminate the

general gender or racial advantages they possessBut can the same thing be said about Christians It is true that

Christians while suffering from isolated instances of prejudice

and discrimination also maintain a certain power advantage

over other religious groups However this is not nearly as uni-

versally true as it is for whites and men In key areas of our so-

ciety Christians are at a disadvantage simply because they are

Christians I alluded to this with my discussion above regarding

the Christian disadvantage in academia An overwhelming ma-

jority of the respondents from some disciplines such as anthro-

pology and English literature stated a willingness to religiously

discriminate15 We are not talking about an isolated bigot or two

We are talking about a substantial percentage of individuals in

our institutions of higher education Tus higher education andscience highly regarded segments of our society are commu-

nities where Christians do not enjoy the privileges of the ma-

jority and in fact operate at a disadvantage compared to those

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892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

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Introduction

common discourse with very little if any sanction

Even if the only social institution affected by Christianophobia

was our higher educational system we would have a serious

problem Powerful individuals are influenced by higher edu-

cation and those individuals generally go on to legal business

and political careers that put them in a position to negatively

impact Christians So far as far as I know higher education is the

only institution where systematic anti-Christian bias has been

documented But I suspect that other institutions with a higher

than normal percentage of cultural progressives such as media

entertainment and institutions of primary and secondary edu-

cation may also be susceptible to Christianophobia

In my academic research on Christianophobia I noted pat-

terns of bigotry hatred prejudice stereotyping and dehuman-

ization Some of the respondents characterized Christians as atype of aliban and asserted that without opposition to Chris-

tians our nation would soon become a theocracy Tese respon-

dents generally did not support direct measures against Chris-

tians but seemed delighted at the prospect of finding ways to

hinder conservative Christians For example note these respon-

dentsrsquo remarks

Te only difference I see between [a] Christian fundamen-

talist and [an] Islamic fundamentalist is terrorism At their

heart both movements are attempts to replace their coun-

tryrsquos government with theocracies Religion in the political

arena is dangerous to freedom and should be not allowed

Even minor intrusions such as allowing religious groups to

distribute public funds to the poor should not be allowed

(male age -)

Te Christian Rightrsquos influence in our government is as

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dangerous as the aliban in Afghanistan or the ayatollahs

in Iran We cannot allow them to get a solid foothold in our

government Te only way to do this without infringing on

rights is to be especially vigilant and point out their bigotry

and hypocrisy often and loudly so as to discredit them in

the eyes of their followers and more importantly the eyes

of the voting populace (female age -)

Tese individuals would likely deny that their comments areintolerant but clearly they exhibit the unreasonable disdain and

fear associated with other types of intolerances Christiano-

phobia can lead to discrimination against Christians as shown

in my previous work on the potential of anti-Christian academic

discrimination but it can also display the type of emotional

animosity found in other types of intolerant attitudes Tere is

little reason to believe that only academics are perpetrators of

anti-Christian prejudice

CHRISTIANOPH OBIA RACISM ANTI-SEMITI SM AND SUCH

Since I stated that my studies of racial issues have helped me to

understand Christianophobia one might naturally wonder if I

am arguing that Christianophobia is the same thing as racism Iam not o be sure I do see some similarities between Chris-

tianophobia and racism Demonizing others stereotyping fear

and hatred are quite common with both types of social dys-

function However racism is tied to the notion that certain racial

groups are biologically inferior Furthermore racial minority

groups are more likely to suffer economically because of racism

than Christians are because of Christianophobia In addition to

the economic costs racism is more likely to lead to violence than

is Christianophobia So while there are some similarities be-

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Introduction

tween animosity based on race and that based on religion the

differences between these types of animosity are profound

A better comparison may be between Christianophobia and

anti-Semitism Previous work on anti-Semitism has shown that

those with this type of bigotry fear Jews taking over our society18

Many anti-Semites have cited a discredited document called Te

Protocols of the Elders of Zion which claimed that a secret Jewish

plot existed with the aim of undermining Christian civilization

Several of the respondents to our surveys also talked about a

stealthy Christian plot that they feared would undermine their

vision of a progressive humanist society For example a female

age - stated that ldquoitrsquos pretty troubling to me what theyrsquore

doing how sneaky they are how they project their negativity onto

others mostly how they are trying to and succeeding take

over our public education systemrdquo Another female age -stated that Christians are ldquodangerousmdashattending law school so

they can infiltrate government and take over our countryrdquo

Fears of a societal and possibly governmental takeover mo-

tivate individuals to support attempts to limit the hated religious

group In both anti-Semitism and Christianophobia we find

abundant stereotyping hatred and prejudice based on often inac-

curate interpretations of the religious actions of members vic-

timized by anti-Semitism and Christianophobia Anti-Semitism

has a longer history and seems more likely to lead to violence than

Christianophobia may but my recent research19 shows far more

anti-Christian animosity in contemporary society than anti-

Semitism Since those with anti-Christian bias are more likely to

be white wealthy and well educated Christianophobia is likely tomotivate individuals with more social power than those motivated

by other types of prejudice (ie racism sexism Islamophobia)

Christianophobia has qualities similar to other types of prej-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

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Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

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892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

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Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2324

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2424

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httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1124

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

be white wealthy and educated and thus have relative power in

our society

Troughout this book I will refer to respondentsrsquo comments

collected from my research for books on cultural progressive ac-

tivists and on Christianophobia If you are interested in the meth-

odology used to find respondents see the appendix or pick up one

or both books that used this methodology10 Quotations from our

respondents combined with an analysis of current events will

help to illustrate the mindset of those with Christianophobia

DEFINING CHRISTIANOPHOBIA

Te term Christianophobia is controversial Some individuals

may see those who use the term as a bunch of Christians whining

about not getting their way Te actions of some Christians

justify this contempt But hatred and fear of Christians are pheno- mena with real consequences even in a democracy such as ours

As I considered how to label this phenomenon I decided that

Christianophobia is the best term devised to date to describe

much of the anti-Christian perspective in the United States

Tis is not a word that I made up Christianophobia is defined

by Macmillan Dictionary as ldquoan irrational animosity towards or

hatred of Christians or Christianity in generalrdquo In this sense it

is not unlike the way we use Islamophobia or homophobia in

that we are not addressing simply fear of a group of individuals

we are referring to the negative emotions directed at those indi-

viduals While it is inaccurate to make the assumption that

Christianophobia is exactly like other types of intolerances the

basic concept that certain individuals target a given group withhatred and negativity is fairly similar in this definition of Chris-

tianophobia Tus the Macmillan definition is the one to keep

in mind as I discuss this concept

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1224

Introduction

I anticipate that some will argue that Christianophobia is

either a myth or that it really does not matter ldquoWhere is the

evidence that Christians are put at a disadvantage in our society

due to Christianophobiardquo they may ask Consider the fact that

my research as well as other research11 indicates that there is a

notable anti-Christian bias in academia Tis bias means that

one should not expect the level of academic documentation of

anti-Christian prejudice that we would expect for other types of

prejudice It is realistic to assert that Christians likely face prej-

udice in institutions other than academia institutions that also

have highly educated and culturally progressive individuals and

that a lack of curiosity about such religious prejudice among

academics keeps it hidden from the general public

Letrsquos play a thought experiment If there were research showing

that almost half of all academics are less willing to give a persona job simply because that person is Jewish then would we say that

anti-Semitism impacts the lives of Jews in our society After all

they would face an unfair barrier to academia which is an im-

portant source of culture creation What if those who hate Jews

are more likely to be wealthy and well educated Would we not

be concerned about how such individuals would express ani-

mosity toward Jews We know these things about Christiano-

phobia despite the anti-Christian academic bias that discourages

such research and so it is hard to argue that Christianophobia

has no effect on Christians As I will discuss later it is a mistake

to argue that Christianophobia is exactly like anti-Semitism or

racism but if we had the evidence of educational prejudice

toward Christians for another racial or religious group then fewif any people would argue that such prejudice does not matter

Even such evidence will not be enough to convince some indi-

viduals that Christianophobia is a problem Tey will require a

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

level of proof I cannot supply Beyond a few exceptional cases I

cannot absolutely prove that Christians are unfairly treated In

contemporary society such proof is indeed difficult to obtain but

not just for conservative Christians oday scholars of racial at-

titudes talk of microaggressions12 and subtle forms of racism13 at

least in part because surveys no longer reveal large percentages

of people who directly insult or show a willingness to explicitly

discriminate against African Americans o a lesser degree the

same can probably be said of sexism and homophobia although

I do not have the expertise in those areas to definitively make that

statement We do not demand absolute proof of overt systematic

discrimination based on race sex sexual preference or minority

religious status before addressing potential prejudices Tose

who demand such a criterion for Christians but no other social

groups need to explain why such a double standard is acceptableNot all Christians are equally likely to be victimized by Chris-

tianophobia Christians who do not challenge the ideals of those

with Christianophobia are less likely to experience this hatred

and prejudice Generally theologically or politically conser-

vative Christians who do challenge progressive social and poli-

tical attitudes are the ones who draw the ire of those with anti-

Christian hostility Tere are aspects of Christianophobia that

may also threaten progressive Christians and this seems espe-

cially the case in other countries14 However for the most part

it is the irrational hatred and fear directed toward conservative

Christians that we observe in the United States

WHY HAS CHRISTIANOPHOBIA BEEN IGNORED

Many Christians believe they have experienced animosity or dis-

crimination because of their faith Given my research I cannot

deny that they are right Yet there is little talk about Christiano-

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892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

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Introduction

phobia in the larger society Why is that

A large part of the silence on Christianophobia results from a

lack of academic analysis of this phenomenon Christianity is

what we sociologists call a majority religion It is the most popular

and powerful religion in the United States Generally scholars do

not concern themselves with prejudice experienced by those in

the majority group For example in the United States men gen-

erally have more power than women and whites generally have

more power than people of color Consequently there is not a lot

of academic research lamenting prejudice and discrimination

against men and whites Tis is not to say that prejudice and

discrimination against whites and men are nonexistent However

as a group both whites and men are quite powerful and isolated

instances of prejudice and discrimination do not eliminate the

general gender or racial advantages they possessBut can the same thing be said about Christians It is true that

Christians while suffering from isolated instances of prejudice

and discrimination also maintain a certain power advantage

over other religious groups However this is not nearly as uni-

versally true as it is for whites and men In key areas of our so-

ciety Christians are at a disadvantage simply because they are

Christians I alluded to this with my discussion above regarding

the Christian disadvantage in academia An overwhelming ma-

jority of the respondents from some disciplines such as anthro-

pology and English literature stated a willingness to religiously

discriminate15 We are not talking about an isolated bigot or two

We are talking about a substantial percentage of individuals in

our institutions of higher education Tus higher education andscience highly regarded segments of our society are commu-

nities where Christians do not enjoy the privileges of the ma-

jority and in fact operate at a disadvantage compared to those

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892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1524

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1624

Introduction

common discourse with very little if any sanction

Even if the only social institution affected by Christianophobia

was our higher educational system we would have a serious

problem Powerful individuals are influenced by higher edu-

cation and those individuals generally go on to legal business

and political careers that put them in a position to negatively

impact Christians So far as far as I know higher education is the

only institution where systematic anti-Christian bias has been

documented But I suspect that other institutions with a higher

than normal percentage of cultural progressives such as media

entertainment and institutions of primary and secondary edu-

cation may also be susceptible to Christianophobia

In my academic research on Christianophobia I noted pat-

terns of bigotry hatred prejudice stereotyping and dehuman-

ization Some of the respondents characterized Christians as atype of aliban and asserted that without opposition to Chris-

tians our nation would soon become a theocracy Tese respon-

dents generally did not support direct measures against Chris-

tians but seemed delighted at the prospect of finding ways to

hinder conservative Christians For example note these respon-

dentsrsquo remarks

Te only difference I see between [a] Christian fundamen-

talist and [an] Islamic fundamentalist is terrorism At their

heart both movements are attempts to replace their coun-

tryrsquos government with theocracies Religion in the political

arena is dangerous to freedom and should be not allowed

Even minor intrusions such as allowing religious groups to

distribute public funds to the poor should not be allowed

(male age -)

Te Christian Rightrsquos influence in our government is as

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1724

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dangerous as the aliban in Afghanistan or the ayatollahs

in Iran We cannot allow them to get a solid foothold in our

government Te only way to do this without infringing on

rights is to be especially vigilant and point out their bigotry

and hypocrisy often and loudly so as to discredit them in

the eyes of their followers and more importantly the eyes

of the voting populace (female age -)

Tese individuals would likely deny that their comments areintolerant but clearly they exhibit the unreasonable disdain and

fear associated with other types of intolerances Christiano-

phobia can lead to discrimination against Christians as shown

in my previous work on the potential of anti-Christian academic

discrimination but it can also display the type of emotional

animosity found in other types of intolerant attitudes Tere is

little reason to believe that only academics are perpetrators of

anti-Christian prejudice

CHRISTIANOPH OBIA RACISM ANTI-SEMITI SM AND SUCH

Since I stated that my studies of racial issues have helped me to

understand Christianophobia one might naturally wonder if I

am arguing that Christianophobia is the same thing as racism Iam not o be sure I do see some similarities between Chris-

tianophobia and racism Demonizing others stereotyping fear

and hatred are quite common with both types of social dys-

function However racism is tied to the notion that certain racial

groups are biologically inferior Furthermore racial minority

groups are more likely to suffer economically because of racism

than Christians are because of Christianophobia In addition to

the economic costs racism is more likely to lead to violence than

is Christianophobia So while there are some similarities be-

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892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

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Introduction

tween animosity based on race and that based on religion the

differences between these types of animosity are profound

A better comparison may be between Christianophobia and

anti-Semitism Previous work on anti-Semitism has shown that

those with this type of bigotry fear Jews taking over our society18

Many anti-Semites have cited a discredited document called Te

Protocols of the Elders of Zion which claimed that a secret Jewish

plot existed with the aim of undermining Christian civilization

Several of the respondents to our surveys also talked about a

stealthy Christian plot that they feared would undermine their

vision of a progressive humanist society For example a female

age - stated that ldquoitrsquos pretty troubling to me what theyrsquore

doing how sneaky they are how they project their negativity onto

others mostly how they are trying to and succeeding take

over our public education systemrdquo Another female age -stated that Christians are ldquodangerousmdashattending law school so

they can infiltrate government and take over our countryrdquo

Fears of a societal and possibly governmental takeover mo-

tivate individuals to support attempts to limit the hated religious

group In both anti-Semitism and Christianophobia we find

abundant stereotyping hatred and prejudice based on often inac-

curate interpretations of the religious actions of members vic-

timized by anti-Semitism and Christianophobia Anti-Semitism

has a longer history and seems more likely to lead to violence than

Christianophobia may but my recent research19 shows far more

anti-Christian animosity in contemporary society than anti-

Semitism Since those with anti-Christian bias are more likely to

be white wealthy and well educated Christianophobia is likely tomotivate individuals with more social power than those motivated

by other types of prejudice (ie racism sexism Islamophobia)

Christianophobia has qualities similar to other types of prej-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1924

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

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Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

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Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

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HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

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Introduction

I anticipate that some will argue that Christianophobia is

either a myth or that it really does not matter ldquoWhere is the

evidence that Christians are put at a disadvantage in our society

due to Christianophobiardquo they may ask Consider the fact that

my research as well as other research11 indicates that there is a

notable anti-Christian bias in academia Tis bias means that

one should not expect the level of academic documentation of

anti-Christian prejudice that we would expect for other types of

prejudice It is realistic to assert that Christians likely face prej-

udice in institutions other than academia institutions that also

have highly educated and culturally progressive individuals and

that a lack of curiosity about such religious prejudice among

academics keeps it hidden from the general public

Letrsquos play a thought experiment If there were research showing

that almost half of all academics are less willing to give a persona job simply because that person is Jewish then would we say that

anti-Semitism impacts the lives of Jews in our society After all

they would face an unfair barrier to academia which is an im-

portant source of culture creation What if those who hate Jews

are more likely to be wealthy and well educated Would we not

be concerned about how such individuals would express ani-

mosity toward Jews We know these things about Christiano-

phobia despite the anti-Christian academic bias that discourages

such research and so it is hard to argue that Christianophobia

has no effect on Christians As I will discuss later it is a mistake

to argue that Christianophobia is exactly like anti-Semitism or

racism but if we had the evidence of educational prejudice

toward Christians for another racial or religious group then fewif any people would argue that such prejudice does not matter

Even such evidence will not be enough to convince some indi-

viduals that Christianophobia is a problem Tey will require a

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892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1324

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

level of proof I cannot supply Beyond a few exceptional cases I

cannot absolutely prove that Christians are unfairly treated In

contemporary society such proof is indeed difficult to obtain but

not just for conservative Christians oday scholars of racial at-

titudes talk of microaggressions12 and subtle forms of racism13 at

least in part because surveys no longer reveal large percentages

of people who directly insult or show a willingness to explicitly

discriminate against African Americans o a lesser degree the

same can probably be said of sexism and homophobia although

I do not have the expertise in those areas to definitively make that

statement We do not demand absolute proof of overt systematic

discrimination based on race sex sexual preference or minority

religious status before addressing potential prejudices Tose

who demand such a criterion for Christians but no other social

groups need to explain why such a double standard is acceptableNot all Christians are equally likely to be victimized by Chris-

tianophobia Christians who do not challenge the ideals of those

with Christianophobia are less likely to experience this hatred

and prejudice Generally theologically or politically conser-

vative Christians who do challenge progressive social and poli-

tical attitudes are the ones who draw the ire of those with anti-

Christian hostility Tere are aspects of Christianophobia that

may also threaten progressive Christians and this seems espe-

cially the case in other countries14 However for the most part

it is the irrational hatred and fear directed toward conservative

Christians that we observe in the United States

WHY HAS CHRISTIANOPHOBIA BEEN IGNORED

Many Christians believe they have experienced animosity or dis-

crimination because of their faith Given my research I cannot

deny that they are right Yet there is little talk about Christiano-

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892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1424

Introduction

phobia in the larger society Why is that

A large part of the silence on Christianophobia results from a

lack of academic analysis of this phenomenon Christianity is

what we sociologists call a majority religion It is the most popular

and powerful religion in the United States Generally scholars do

not concern themselves with prejudice experienced by those in

the majority group For example in the United States men gen-

erally have more power than women and whites generally have

more power than people of color Consequently there is not a lot

of academic research lamenting prejudice and discrimination

against men and whites Tis is not to say that prejudice and

discrimination against whites and men are nonexistent However

as a group both whites and men are quite powerful and isolated

instances of prejudice and discrimination do not eliminate the

general gender or racial advantages they possessBut can the same thing be said about Christians It is true that

Christians while suffering from isolated instances of prejudice

and discrimination also maintain a certain power advantage

over other religious groups However this is not nearly as uni-

versally true as it is for whites and men In key areas of our so-

ciety Christians are at a disadvantage simply because they are

Christians I alluded to this with my discussion above regarding

the Christian disadvantage in academia An overwhelming ma-

jority of the respondents from some disciplines such as anthro-

pology and English literature stated a willingness to religiously

discriminate15 We are not talking about an isolated bigot or two

We are talking about a substantial percentage of individuals in

our institutions of higher education Tus higher education andscience highly regarded segments of our society are commu-

nities where Christians do not enjoy the privileges of the ma-

jority and in fact operate at a disadvantage compared to those

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1524

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1624

Introduction

common discourse with very little if any sanction

Even if the only social institution affected by Christianophobia

was our higher educational system we would have a serious

problem Powerful individuals are influenced by higher edu-

cation and those individuals generally go on to legal business

and political careers that put them in a position to negatively

impact Christians So far as far as I know higher education is the

only institution where systematic anti-Christian bias has been

documented But I suspect that other institutions with a higher

than normal percentage of cultural progressives such as media

entertainment and institutions of primary and secondary edu-

cation may also be susceptible to Christianophobia

In my academic research on Christianophobia I noted pat-

terns of bigotry hatred prejudice stereotyping and dehuman-

ization Some of the respondents characterized Christians as atype of aliban and asserted that without opposition to Chris-

tians our nation would soon become a theocracy Tese respon-

dents generally did not support direct measures against Chris-

tians but seemed delighted at the prospect of finding ways to

hinder conservative Christians For example note these respon-

dentsrsquo remarks

Te only difference I see between [a] Christian fundamen-

talist and [an] Islamic fundamentalist is terrorism At their

heart both movements are attempts to replace their coun-

tryrsquos government with theocracies Religion in the political

arena is dangerous to freedom and should be not allowed

Even minor intrusions such as allowing religious groups to

distribute public funds to the poor should not be allowed

(male age -)

Te Christian Rightrsquos influence in our government is as

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1724

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dangerous as the aliban in Afghanistan or the ayatollahs

in Iran We cannot allow them to get a solid foothold in our

government Te only way to do this without infringing on

rights is to be especially vigilant and point out their bigotry

and hypocrisy often and loudly so as to discredit them in

the eyes of their followers and more importantly the eyes

of the voting populace (female age -)

Tese individuals would likely deny that their comments areintolerant but clearly they exhibit the unreasonable disdain and

fear associated with other types of intolerances Christiano-

phobia can lead to discrimination against Christians as shown

in my previous work on the potential of anti-Christian academic

discrimination but it can also display the type of emotional

animosity found in other types of intolerant attitudes Tere is

little reason to believe that only academics are perpetrators of

anti-Christian prejudice

CHRISTIANOPH OBIA RACISM ANTI-SEMITI SM AND SUCH

Since I stated that my studies of racial issues have helped me to

understand Christianophobia one might naturally wonder if I

am arguing that Christianophobia is the same thing as racism Iam not o be sure I do see some similarities between Chris-

tianophobia and racism Demonizing others stereotyping fear

and hatred are quite common with both types of social dys-

function However racism is tied to the notion that certain racial

groups are biologically inferior Furthermore racial minority

groups are more likely to suffer economically because of racism

than Christians are because of Christianophobia In addition to

the economic costs racism is more likely to lead to violence than

is Christianophobia So while there are some similarities be-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1824

Introduction

tween animosity based on race and that based on religion the

differences between these types of animosity are profound

A better comparison may be between Christianophobia and

anti-Semitism Previous work on anti-Semitism has shown that

those with this type of bigotry fear Jews taking over our society18

Many anti-Semites have cited a discredited document called Te

Protocols of the Elders of Zion which claimed that a secret Jewish

plot existed with the aim of undermining Christian civilization

Several of the respondents to our surveys also talked about a

stealthy Christian plot that they feared would undermine their

vision of a progressive humanist society For example a female

age - stated that ldquoitrsquos pretty troubling to me what theyrsquore

doing how sneaky they are how they project their negativity onto

others mostly how they are trying to and succeeding take

over our public education systemrdquo Another female age -stated that Christians are ldquodangerousmdashattending law school so

they can infiltrate government and take over our countryrdquo

Fears of a societal and possibly governmental takeover mo-

tivate individuals to support attempts to limit the hated religious

group In both anti-Semitism and Christianophobia we find

abundant stereotyping hatred and prejudice based on often inac-

curate interpretations of the religious actions of members vic-

timized by anti-Semitism and Christianophobia Anti-Semitism

has a longer history and seems more likely to lead to violence than

Christianophobia may but my recent research19 shows far more

anti-Christian animosity in contemporary society than anti-

Semitism Since those with anti-Christian bias are more likely to

be white wealthy and well educated Christianophobia is likely tomotivate individuals with more social power than those motivated

by other types of prejudice (ie racism sexism Islamophobia)

Christianophobia has qualities similar to other types of prej-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1924

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2024

Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2124

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2224

Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2324

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2424

Page 13: Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1324

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

level of proof I cannot supply Beyond a few exceptional cases I

cannot absolutely prove that Christians are unfairly treated In

contemporary society such proof is indeed difficult to obtain but

not just for conservative Christians oday scholars of racial at-

titudes talk of microaggressions12 and subtle forms of racism13 at

least in part because surveys no longer reveal large percentages

of people who directly insult or show a willingness to explicitly

discriminate against African Americans o a lesser degree the

same can probably be said of sexism and homophobia although

I do not have the expertise in those areas to definitively make that

statement We do not demand absolute proof of overt systematic

discrimination based on race sex sexual preference or minority

religious status before addressing potential prejudices Tose

who demand such a criterion for Christians but no other social

groups need to explain why such a double standard is acceptableNot all Christians are equally likely to be victimized by Chris-

tianophobia Christians who do not challenge the ideals of those

with Christianophobia are less likely to experience this hatred

and prejudice Generally theologically or politically conser-

vative Christians who do challenge progressive social and poli-

tical attitudes are the ones who draw the ire of those with anti-

Christian hostility Tere are aspects of Christianophobia that

may also threaten progressive Christians and this seems espe-

cially the case in other countries14 However for the most part

it is the irrational hatred and fear directed toward conservative

Christians that we observe in the United States

WHY HAS CHRISTIANOPHOBIA BEEN IGNORED

Many Christians believe they have experienced animosity or dis-

crimination because of their faith Given my research I cannot

deny that they are right Yet there is little talk about Christiano-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1424

Introduction

phobia in the larger society Why is that

A large part of the silence on Christianophobia results from a

lack of academic analysis of this phenomenon Christianity is

what we sociologists call a majority religion It is the most popular

and powerful religion in the United States Generally scholars do

not concern themselves with prejudice experienced by those in

the majority group For example in the United States men gen-

erally have more power than women and whites generally have

more power than people of color Consequently there is not a lot

of academic research lamenting prejudice and discrimination

against men and whites Tis is not to say that prejudice and

discrimination against whites and men are nonexistent However

as a group both whites and men are quite powerful and isolated

instances of prejudice and discrimination do not eliminate the

general gender or racial advantages they possessBut can the same thing be said about Christians It is true that

Christians while suffering from isolated instances of prejudice

and discrimination also maintain a certain power advantage

over other religious groups However this is not nearly as uni-

versally true as it is for whites and men In key areas of our so-

ciety Christians are at a disadvantage simply because they are

Christians I alluded to this with my discussion above regarding

the Christian disadvantage in academia An overwhelming ma-

jority of the respondents from some disciplines such as anthro-

pology and English literature stated a willingness to religiously

discriminate15 We are not talking about an isolated bigot or two

We are talking about a substantial percentage of individuals in

our institutions of higher education Tus higher education andscience highly regarded segments of our society are commu-

nities where Christians do not enjoy the privileges of the ma-

jority and in fact operate at a disadvantage compared to those

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1524

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1624

Introduction

common discourse with very little if any sanction

Even if the only social institution affected by Christianophobia

was our higher educational system we would have a serious

problem Powerful individuals are influenced by higher edu-

cation and those individuals generally go on to legal business

and political careers that put them in a position to negatively

impact Christians So far as far as I know higher education is the

only institution where systematic anti-Christian bias has been

documented But I suspect that other institutions with a higher

than normal percentage of cultural progressives such as media

entertainment and institutions of primary and secondary edu-

cation may also be susceptible to Christianophobia

In my academic research on Christianophobia I noted pat-

terns of bigotry hatred prejudice stereotyping and dehuman-

ization Some of the respondents characterized Christians as atype of aliban and asserted that without opposition to Chris-

tians our nation would soon become a theocracy Tese respon-

dents generally did not support direct measures against Chris-

tians but seemed delighted at the prospect of finding ways to

hinder conservative Christians For example note these respon-

dentsrsquo remarks

Te only difference I see between [a] Christian fundamen-

talist and [an] Islamic fundamentalist is terrorism At their

heart both movements are attempts to replace their coun-

tryrsquos government with theocracies Religion in the political

arena is dangerous to freedom and should be not allowed

Even minor intrusions such as allowing religious groups to

distribute public funds to the poor should not be allowed

(male age -)

Te Christian Rightrsquos influence in our government is as

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1724

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dangerous as the aliban in Afghanistan or the ayatollahs

in Iran We cannot allow them to get a solid foothold in our

government Te only way to do this without infringing on

rights is to be especially vigilant and point out their bigotry

and hypocrisy often and loudly so as to discredit them in

the eyes of their followers and more importantly the eyes

of the voting populace (female age -)

Tese individuals would likely deny that their comments areintolerant but clearly they exhibit the unreasonable disdain and

fear associated with other types of intolerances Christiano-

phobia can lead to discrimination against Christians as shown

in my previous work on the potential of anti-Christian academic

discrimination but it can also display the type of emotional

animosity found in other types of intolerant attitudes Tere is

little reason to believe that only academics are perpetrators of

anti-Christian prejudice

CHRISTIANOPH OBIA RACISM ANTI-SEMITI SM AND SUCH

Since I stated that my studies of racial issues have helped me to

understand Christianophobia one might naturally wonder if I

am arguing that Christianophobia is the same thing as racism Iam not o be sure I do see some similarities between Chris-

tianophobia and racism Demonizing others stereotyping fear

and hatred are quite common with both types of social dys-

function However racism is tied to the notion that certain racial

groups are biologically inferior Furthermore racial minority

groups are more likely to suffer economically because of racism

than Christians are because of Christianophobia In addition to

the economic costs racism is more likely to lead to violence than

is Christianophobia So while there are some similarities be-

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892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1824

Introduction

tween animosity based on race and that based on religion the

differences between these types of animosity are profound

A better comparison may be between Christianophobia and

anti-Semitism Previous work on anti-Semitism has shown that

those with this type of bigotry fear Jews taking over our society18

Many anti-Semites have cited a discredited document called Te

Protocols of the Elders of Zion which claimed that a secret Jewish

plot existed with the aim of undermining Christian civilization

Several of the respondents to our surveys also talked about a

stealthy Christian plot that they feared would undermine their

vision of a progressive humanist society For example a female

age - stated that ldquoitrsquos pretty troubling to me what theyrsquore

doing how sneaky they are how they project their negativity onto

others mostly how they are trying to and succeeding take

over our public education systemrdquo Another female age -stated that Christians are ldquodangerousmdashattending law school so

they can infiltrate government and take over our countryrdquo

Fears of a societal and possibly governmental takeover mo-

tivate individuals to support attempts to limit the hated religious

group In both anti-Semitism and Christianophobia we find

abundant stereotyping hatred and prejudice based on often inac-

curate interpretations of the religious actions of members vic-

timized by anti-Semitism and Christianophobia Anti-Semitism

has a longer history and seems more likely to lead to violence than

Christianophobia may but my recent research19 shows far more

anti-Christian animosity in contemporary society than anti-

Semitism Since those with anti-Christian bias are more likely to

be white wealthy and well educated Christianophobia is likely tomotivate individuals with more social power than those motivated

by other types of prejudice (ie racism sexism Islamophobia)

Christianophobia has qualities similar to other types of prej-

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892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1924

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2024

Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2124

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2224

Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2324

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2424

Page 14: Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1424

Introduction

phobia in the larger society Why is that

A large part of the silence on Christianophobia results from a

lack of academic analysis of this phenomenon Christianity is

what we sociologists call a majority religion It is the most popular

and powerful religion in the United States Generally scholars do

not concern themselves with prejudice experienced by those in

the majority group For example in the United States men gen-

erally have more power than women and whites generally have

more power than people of color Consequently there is not a lot

of academic research lamenting prejudice and discrimination

against men and whites Tis is not to say that prejudice and

discrimination against whites and men are nonexistent However

as a group both whites and men are quite powerful and isolated

instances of prejudice and discrimination do not eliminate the

general gender or racial advantages they possessBut can the same thing be said about Christians It is true that

Christians while suffering from isolated instances of prejudice

and discrimination also maintain a certain power advantage

over other religious groups However this is not nearly as uni-

versally true as it is for whites and men In key areas of our so-

ciety Christians are at a disadvantage simply because they are

Christians I alluded to this with my discussion above regarding

the Christian disadvantage in academia An overwhelming ma-

jority of the respondents from some disciplines such as anthro-

pology and English literature stated a willingness to religiously

discriminate15 We are not talking about an isolated bigot or two

We are talking about a substantial percentage of individuals in

our institutions of higher education Tus higher education andscience highly regarded segments of our society are commu-

nities where Christians do not enjoy the privileges of the ma-

jority and in fact operate at a disadvantage compared to those

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1524

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1624

Introduction

common discourse with very little if any sanction

Even if the only social institution affected by Christianophobia

was our higher educational system we would have a serious

problem Powerful individuals are influenced by higher edu-

cation and those individuals generally go on to legal business

and political careers that put them in a position to negatively

impact Christians So far as far as I know higher education is the

only institution where systematic anti-Christian bias has been

documented But I suspect that other institutions with a higher

than normal percentage of cultural progressives such as media

entertainment and institutions of primary and secondary edu-

cation may also be susceptible to Christianophobia

In my academic research on Christianophobia I noted pat-

terns of bigotry hatred prejudice stereotyping and dehuman-

ization Some of the respondents characterized Christians as atype of aliban and asserted that without opposition to Chris-

tians our nation would soon become a theocracy Tese respon-

dents generally did not support direct measures against Chris-

tians but seemed delighted at the prospect of finding ways to

hinder conservative Christians For example note these respon-

dentsrsquo remarks

Te only difference I see between [a] Christian fundamen-

talist and [an] Islamic fundamentalist is terrorism At their

heart both movements are attempts to replace their coun-

tryrsquos government with theocracies Religion in the political

arena is dangerous to freedom and should be not allowed

Even minor intrusions such as allowing religious groups to

distribute public funds to the poor should not be allowed

(male age -)

Te Christian Rightrsquos influence in our government is as

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1724

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dangerous as the aliban in Afghanistan or the ayatollahs

in Iran We cannot allow them to get a solid foothold in our

government Te only way to do this without infringing on

rights is to be especially vigilant and point out their bigotry

and hypocrisy often and loudly so as to discredit them in

the eyes of their followers and more importantly the eyes

of the voting populace (female age -)

Tese individuals would likely deny that their comments areintolerant but clearly they exhibit the unreasonable disdain and

fear associated with other types of intolerances Christiano-

phobia can lead to discrimination against Christians as shown

in my previous work on the potential of anti-Christian academic

discrimination but it can also display the type of emotional

animosity found in other types of intolerant attitudes Tere is

little reason to believe that only academics are perpetrators of

anti-Christian prejudice

CHRISTIANOPH OBIA RACISM ANTI-SEMITI SM AND SUCH

Since I stated that my studies of racial issues have helped me to

understand Christianophobia one might naturally wonder if I

am arguing that Christianophobia is the same thing as racism Iam not o be sure I do see some similarities between Chris-

tianophobia and racism Demonizing others stereotyping fear

and hatred are quite common with both types of social dys-

function However racism is tied to the notion that certain racial

groups are biologically inferior Furthermore racial minority

groups are more likely to suffer economically because of racism

than Christians are because of Christianophobia In addition to

the economic costs racism is more likely to lead to violence than

is Christianophobia So while there are some similarities be-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1824

Introduction

tween animosity based on race and that based on religion the

differences between these types of animosity are profound

A better comparison may be between Christianophobia and

anti-Semitism Previous work on anti-Semitism has shown that

those with this type of bigotry fear Jews taking over our society18

Many anti-Semites have cited a discredited document called Te

Protocols of the Elders of Zion which claimed that a secret Jewish

plot existed with the aim of undermining Christian civilization

Several of the respondents to our surveys also talked about a

stealthy Christian plot that they feared would undermine their

vision of a progressive humanist society For example a female

age - stated that ldquoitrsquos pretty troubling to me what theyrsquore

doing how sneaky they are how they project their negativity onto

others mostly how they are trying to and succeeding take

over our public education systemrdquo Another female age -stated that Christians are ldquodangerousmdashattending law school so

they can infiltrate government and take over our countryrdquo

Fears of a societal and possibly governmental takeover mo-

tivate individuals to support attempts to limit the hated religious

group In both anti-Semitism and Christianophobia we find

abundant stereotyping hatred and prejudice based on often inac-

curate interpretations of the religious actions of members vic-

timized by anti-Semitism and Christianophobia Anti-Semitism

has a longer history and seems more likely to lead to violence than

Christianophobia may but my recent research19 shows far more

anti-Christian animosity in contemporary society than anti-

Semitism Since those with anti-Christian bias are more likely to

be white wealthy and well educated Christianophobia is likely tomotivate individuals with more social power than those motivated

by other types of prejudice (ie racism sexism Islamophobia)

Christianophobia has qualities similar to other types of prej-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1924

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2024

Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2124

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2224

Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2324

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2424

Page 15: Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1524

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1624

Introduction

common discourse with very little if any sanction

Even if the only social institution affected by Christianophobia

was our higher educational system we would have a serious

problem Powerful individuals are influenced by higher edu-

cation and those individuals generally go on to legal business

and political careers that put them in a position to negatively

impact Christians So far as far as I know higher education is the

only institution where systematic anti-Christian bias has been

documented But I suspect that other institutions with a higher

than normal percentage of cultural progressives such as media

entertainment and institutions of primary and secondary edu-

cation may also be susceptible to Christianophobia

In my academic research on Christianophobia I noted pat-

terns of bigotry hatred prejudice stereotyping and dehuman-

ization Some of the respondents characterized Christians as atype of aliban and asserted that without opposition to Chris-

tians our nation would soon become a theocracy Tese respon-

dents generally did not support direct measures against Chris-

tians but seemed delighted at the prospect of finding ways to

hinder conservative Christians For example note these respon-

dentsrsquo remarks

Te only difference I see between [a] Christian fundamen-

talist and [an] Islamic fundamentalist is terrorism At their

heart both movements are attempts to replace their coun-

tryrsquos government with theocracies Religion in the political

arena is dangerous to freedom and should be not allowed

Even minor intrusions such as allowing religious groups to

distribute public funds to the poor should not be allowed

(male age -)

Te Christian Rightrsquos influence in our government is as

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1724

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dangerous as the aliban in Afghanistan or the ayatollahs

in Iran We cannot allow them to get a solid foothold in our

government Te only way to do this without infringing on

rights is to be especially vigilant and point out their bigotry

and hypocrisy often and loudly so as to discredit them in

the eyes of their followers and more importantly the eyes

of the voting populace (female age -)

Tese individuals would likely deny that their comments areintolerant but clearly they exhibit the unreasonable disdain and

fear associated with other types of intolerances Christiano-

phobia can lead to discrimination against Christians as shown

in my previous work on the potential of anti-Christian academic

discrimination but it can also display the type of emotional

animosity found in other types of intolerant attitudes Tere is

little reason to believe that only academics are perpetrators of

anti-Christian prejudice

CHRISTIANOPH OBIA RACISM ANTI-SEMITI SM AND SUCH

Since I stated that my studies of racial issues have helped me to

understand Christianophobia one might naturally wonder if I

am arguing that Christianophobia is the same thing as racism Iam not o be sure I do see some similarities between Chris-

tianophobia and racism Demonizing others stereotyping fear

and hatred are quite common with both types of social dys-

function However racism is tied to the notion that certain racial

groups are biologically inferior Furthermore racial minority

groups are more likely to suffer economically because of racism

than Christians are because of Christianophobia In addition to

the economic costs racism is more likely to lead to violence than

is Christianophobia So while there are some similarities be-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1824

Introduction

tween animosity based on race and that based on religion the

differences between these types of animosity are profound

A better comparison may be between Christianophobia and

anti-Semitism Previous work on anti-Semitism has shown that

those with this type of bigotry fear Jews taking over our society18

Many anti-Semites have cited a discredited document called Te

Protocols of the Elders of Zion which claimed that a secret Jewish

plot existed with the aim of undermining Christian civilization

Several of the respondents to our surveys also talked about a

stealthy Christian plot that they feared would undermine their

vision of a progressive humanist society For example a female

age - stated that ldquoitrsquos pretty troubling to me what theyrsquore

doing how sneaky they are how they project their negativity onto

others mostly how they are trying to and succeeding take

over our public education systemrdquo Another female age -stated that Christians are ldquodangerousmdashattending law school so

they can infiltrate government and take over our countryrdquo

Fears of a societal and possibly governmental takeover mo-

tivate individuals to support attempts to limit the hated religious

group In both anti-Semitism and Christianophobia we find

abundant stereotyping hatred and prejudice based on often inac-

curate interpretations of the religious actions of members vic-

timized by anti-Semitism and Christianophobia Anti-Semitism

has a longer history and seems more likely to lead to violence than

Christianophobia may but my recent research19 shows far more

anti-Christian animosity in contemporary society than anti-

Semitism Since those with anti-Christian bias are more likely to

be white wealthy and well educated Christianophobia is likely tomotivate individuals with more social power than those motivated

by other types of prejudice (ie racism sexism Islamophobia)

Christianophobia has qualities similar to other types of prej-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1924

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2024

Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2124

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2224

Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2324

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2424

Page 16: Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1624

Introduction

common discourse with very little if any sanction

Even if the only social institution affected by Christianophobia

was our higher educational system we would have a serious

problem Powerful individuals are influenced by higher edu-

cation and those individuals generally go on to legal business

and political careers that put them in a position to negatively

impact Christians So far as far as I know higher education is the

only institution where systematic anti-Christian bias has been

documented But I suspect that other institutions with a higher

than normal percentage of cultural progressives such as media

entertainment and institutions of primary and secondary edu-

cation may also be susceptible to Christianophobia

In my academic research on Christianophobia I noted pat-

terns of bigotry hatred prejudice stereotyping and dehuman-

ization Some of the respondents characterized Christians as atype of aliban and asserted that without opposition to Chris-

tians our nation would soon become a theocracy Tese respon-

dents generally did not support direct measures against Chris-

tians but seemed delighted at the prospect of finding ways to

hinder conservative Christians For example note these respon-

dentsrsquo remarks

Te only difference I see between [a] Christian fundamen-

talist and [an] Islamic fundamentalist is terrorism At their

heart both movements are attempts to replace their coun-

tryrsquos government with theocracies Religion in the political

arena is dangerous to freedom and should be not allowed

Even minor intrusions such as allowing religious groups to

distribute public funds to the poor should not be allowed

(male age -)

Te Christian Rightrsquos influence in our government is as

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1724

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dangerous as the aliban in Afghanistan or the ayatollahs

in Iran We cannot allow them to get a solid foothold in our

government Te only way to do this without infringing on

rights is to be especially vigilant and point out their bigotry

and hypocrisy often and loudly so as to discredit them in

the eyes of their followers and more importantly the eyes

of the voting populace (female age -)

Tese individuals would likely deny that their comments areintolerant but clearly they exhibit the unreasonable disdain and

fear associated with other types of intolerances Christiano-

phobia can lead to discrimination against Christians as shown

in my previous work on the potential of anti-Christian academic

discrimination but it can also display the type of emotional

animosity found in other types of intolerant attitudes Tere is

little reason to believe that only academics are perpetrators of

anti-Christian prejudice

CHRISTIANOPH OBIA RACISM ANTI-SEMITI SM AND SUCH

Since I stated that my studies of racial issues have helped me to

understand Christianophobia one might naturally wonder if I

am arguing that Christianophobia is the same thing as racism Iam not o be sure I do see some similarities between Chris-

tianophobia and racism Demonizing others stereotyping fear

and hatred are quite common with both types of social dys-

function However racism is tied to the notion that certain racial

groups are biologically inferior Furthermore racial minority

groups are more likely to suffer economically because of racism

than Christians are because of Christianophobia In addition to

the economic costs racism is more likely to lead to violence than

is Christianophobia So while there are some similarities be-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1824

Introduction

tween animosity based on race and that based on religion the

differences between these types of animosity are profound

A better comparison may be between Christianophobia and

anti-Semitism Previous work on anti-Semitism has shown that

those with this type of bigotry fear Jews taking over our society18

Many anti-Semites have cited a discredited document called Te

Protocols of the Elders of Zion which claimed that a secret Jewish

plot existed with the aim of undermining Christian civilization

Several of the respondents to our surveys also talked about a

stealthy Christian plot that they feared would undermine their

vision of a progressive humanist society For example a female

age - stated that ldquoitrsquos pretty troubling to me what theyrsquore

doing how sneaky they are how they project their negativity onto

others mostly how they are trying to and succeeding take

over our public education systemrdquo Another female age -stated that Christians are ldquodangerousmdashattending law school so

they can infiltrate government and take over our countryrdquo

Fears of a societal and possibly governmental takeover mo-

tivate individuals to support attempts to limit the hated religious

group In both anti-Semitism and Christianophobia we find

abundant stereotyping hatred and prejudice based on often inac-

curate interpretations of the religious actions of members vic-

timized by anti-Semitism and Christianophobia Anti-Semitism

has a longer history and seems more likely to lead to violence than

Christianophobia may but my recent research19 shows far more

anti-Christian animosity in contemporary society than anti-

Semitism Since those with anti-Christian bias are more likely to

be white wealthy and well educated Christianophobia is likely tomotivate individuals with more social power than those motivated

by other types of prejudice (ie racism sexism Islamophobia)

Christianophobia has qualities similar to other types of prej-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1924

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2024

Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2124

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2224

Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2324

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2424

Page 17: Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1724

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dangerous as the aliban in Afghanistan or the ayatollahs

in Iran We cannot allow them to get a solid foothold in our

government Te only way to do this without infringing on

rights is to be especially vigilant and point out their bigotry

and hypocrisy often and loudly so as to discredit them in

the eyes of their followers and more importantly the eyes

of the voting populace (female age -)

Tese individuals would likely deny that their comments areintolerant but clearly they exhibit the unreasonable disdain and

fear associated with other types of intolerances Christiano-

phobia can lead to discrimination against Christians as shown

in my previous work on the potential of anti-Christian academic

discrimination but it can also display the type of emotional

animosity found in other types of intolerant attitudes Tere is

little reason to believe that only academics are perpetrators of

anti-Christian prejudice

CHRISTIANOPH OBIA RACISM ANTI-SEMITI SM AND SUCH

Since I stated that my studies of racial issues have helped me to

understand Christianophobia one might naturally wonder if I

am arguing that Christianophobia is the same thing as racism Iam not o be sure I do see some similarities between Chris-

tianophobia and racism Demonizing others stereotyping fear

and hatred are quite common with both types of social dys-

function However racism is tied to the notion that certain racial

groups are biologically inferior Furthermore racial minority

groups are more likely to suffer economically because of racism

than Christians are because of Christianophobia In addition to

the economic costs racism is more likely to lead to violence than

is Christianophobia So while there are some similarities be-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1824

Introduction

tween animosity based on race and that based on religion the

differences between these types of animosity are profound

A better comparison may be between Christianophobia and

anti-Semitism Previous work on anti-Semitism has shown that

those with this type of bigotry fear Jews taking over our society18

Many anti-Semites have cited a discredited document called Te

Protocols of the Elders of Zion which claimed that a secret Jewish

plot existed with the aim of undermining Christian civilization

Several of the respondents to our surveys also talked about a

stealthy Christian plot that they feared would undermine their

vision of a progressive humanist society For example a female

age - stated that ldquoitrsquos pretty troubling to me what theyrsquore

doing how sneaky they are how they project their negativity onto

others mostly how they are trying to and succeeding take

over our public education systemrdquo Another female age -stated that Christians are ldquodangerousmdashattending law school so

they can infiltrate government and take over our countryrdquo

Fears of a societal and possibly governmental takeover mo-

tivate individuals to support attempts to limit the hated religious

group In both anti-Semitism and Christianophobia we find

abundant stereotyping hatred and prejudice based on often inac-

curate interpretations of the religious actions of members vic-

timized by anti-Semitism and Christianophobia Anti-Semitism

has a longer history and seems more likely to lead to violence than

Christianophobia may but my recent research19 shows far more

anti-Christian animosity in contemporary society than anti-

Semitism Since those with anti-Christian bias are more likely to

be white wealthy and well educated Christianophobia is likely tomotivate individuals with more social power than those motivated

by other types of prejudice (ie racism sexism Islamophobia)

Christianophobia has qualities similar to other types of prej-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1924

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2024

Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2124

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2224

Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2324

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2424

Page 18: Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1824

Introduction

tween animosity based on race and that based on religion the

differences between these types of animosity are profound

A better comparison may be between Christianophobia and

anti-Semitism Previous work on anti-Semitism has shown that

those with this type of bigotry fear Jews taking over our society18

Many anti-Semites have cited a discredited document called Te

Protocols of the Elders of Zion which claimed that a secret Jewish

plot existed with the aim of undermining Christian civilization

Several of the respondents to our surveys also talked about a

stealthy Christian plot that they feared would undermine their

vision of a progressive humanist society For example a female

age - stated that ldquoitrsquos pretty troubling to me what theyrsquore

doing how sneaky they are how they project their negativity onto

others mostly how they are trying to and succeeding take

over our public education systemrdquo Another female age -stated that Christians are ldquodangerousmdashattending law school so

they can infiltrate government and take over our countryrdquo

Fears of a societal and possibly governmental takeover mo-

tivate individuals to support attempts to limit the hated religious

group In both anti-Semitism and Christianophobia we find

abundant stereotyping hatred and prejudice based on often inac-

curate interpretations of the religious actions of members vic-

timized by anti-Semitism and Christianophobia Anti-Semitism

has a longer history and seems more likely to lead to violence than

Christianophobia may but my recent research19 shows far more

anti-Christian animosity in contemporary society than anti-

Semitism Since those with anti-Christian bias are more likely to

be white wealthy and well educated Christianophobia is likely tomotivate individuals with more social power than those motivated

by other types of prejudice (ie racism sexism Islamophobia)

Christianophobia has qualities similar to other types of prej-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1924

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2024

Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2124

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2224

Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2324

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2424

Page 19: Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 1924

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

udice but it also has distinctive characteristics We can compare

Christianophobia to other types of intolerance to better under-

stand it but we make a mistake if we see Christianophobia as

identical to these others For example despite spending a good

deal of time studying this type of intolerance I have seen few ex-

amples of physical violence aimed at Christians in the United

States Christians rarely have to worry about being physically

abused because of their faith which may not be the case for

Muslims On the other hand those who tend to have Christiano-

phobia are in a better position to punish Christians in nonviolent

ways because they possess more social power than those who

tend to exhibit overt racism Islamophobia or homophobia For

example some colleges have driven conservative Christian

student groups off campus with policies requiring those groups

to open up their leadership to non-Christians It is a policy that istechnically ldquoneutralrdquo but one with a strong disparate impact on

conservative Christian groups20 Christianophobia is a social

problem both worse than and better than other types of intol-

erance depending upon what sort of negative impacts we examine

A QUICK ASIDE ON HOMOSEXUALITY

One of the huge issues that comes up when dealing with anti-

Christian animosity is homosexuality It was an issue some respon-

dents brought up as a reason for hating conservative Christians

Over thirty percent of our respondents in the qualitative sample

mention issues of homosexuality at some point in their responses21

Tis is quite high for open-ended questions in which the respon-

dents were not prompted to think about homosexuality Fur-thermore I cannot remember a single time in which the respondent

wrote about homosexuality and did not link it to condemnation of

Christians or the Christian Right o argue that homosexuality is

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2024

Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2124

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2224

Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2324

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2424

Page 20: Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2024

Introduction

the major issue driving Christianophobia goes too far but it is a

major issue brought up by many with anti-Christian disdain

In my personal experience I have found homosexuality to be

difficult to discuss Emotions on both sides of the issue easily

become inflamed and rational discourse becomes impossible

Te issue is more complex and nuanced than one would expect

given the types of sound bites and spins that so often come up

when the discussion turns to homosexuality I originally wrote a

chapter for this book in an attempt to deal with those nuances and

to consider how Christians may be able to find a way forward

However I have decided not to include the chapter in this

book First I am not certain that even a chapter-long treatment

of this subject would suffice Such a subject may take a book-

length treatment and I do not possess the expertise in this

subject today to write such a book Tere are simply too manytwists and turns in this subject for it to be easily dealt with in the

few pages of a chapter Second I fear that my chapter on homo-

sexuality would attract a disproportionate amount of attention

given its controversial nature Many times when individuals

make a statement about homosexuality that statement is taken

out of context in an effort to smear the other assertions made by

that person Tis book will be controversial enough without me

walking into that minefield

Te focus of this book is Christianophobia and how Chris-

tians need to deal with it It is a critically important topic that

deserves our full attention My goal is to point out the reality of

this phenomenon to Christians and help them to think about

how to adjust to it If I accomplish this then the book will be asuccess Perhaps at some point in the future if I feel it to be ap-

propriate I may write about some of my ideas concerning homo-

sexuality But this is not the right time for that discussion

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2124

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2224

Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2324

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2424

Page 21: Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2124

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

TWO WRONG APPROACHES TO CHRISTIANOPHOBI A

I am not the first person to claim that Christians are unfairlytreated in our society but I have seen the Christian community

respond ineffectively to the claims of anti-Christian bigotry

Perhaps much of the Christian reaction toward real episodes of

Christianophobia has been ineffective because Christians in the

United States are not used to dealing with anti-Christian prej-

udice and discrimination I find two different types of errors

Christians have made in their responses to prejudice

Te first mistake comes from Christians who exaggerate and

make claims of persecution Tese Christians (who generally

are more conservative in their politics and theology and thus

more likely to experience Christianophobia) immediately re-

spond to episodes of anti-Christian bias with accusations of

persecution Pretty soon almost everything these Christians donot like in our society prompts a claim of persecution I have

seen a similar tendency among some African Americans It has

been called ldquoplaying the race cardrdquo the willingness of some

blacks to make unwarranted accusations of racism I speculate

that they do this because it is easier to make claims of racism

than to deal honestly with the situation at hand For exampleaccusing a teacher of racism might appear to be an easier path

to a good grade in class than actually studying I am sure that

sometimes these tactics have worked and blacks who used

them gained what they desired However I suspect that most

people see these manipulative tactics for what they are Respect

for real racism is quickly lost and crying wolf hinders our

ability to deal with racism In a similar way blowing incidents

out of proportion and making wild accusations of persecution

impede our ability to counter Christianophobia We must be

measured in our responses and work toward gaining accep-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2224

Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2324

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2424

Page 22: Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2224

Introduction

tance with real assessments rather than seek out the temporary

gains we may obtain with polemical accusations

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the second erroneous

approach some Christians make which is to minimize or even

ignore Christianophobia Tese Christians (who generally are

more liberal in their politics and theology and thus less likely to

experience Christianophobia) often sound like Christiano-

phobic individuals themselves as they argue that Christians who

complain about discrimination are more interested in claiming

victimhood than addressing real discrimination Given the exis-

tence of Christians who cry ldquopersecutionrdquo there is some basis

for this argument But totally ignoring the reality of Christiano-

phobia is just as senseless as elevating instances of Christiano-

phobia into accusations of persecution Some Christians ac-

knowledge these problems but take seriously Christrsquos call to turnthe other cheek Even if Christians do experience prejudice and

discrimination is it not right to simply endure it Clearly there

are times when we should die to ourselves and endure injustice

Christians should not focus on claiming their every right but

the biblical interpretation that we never advocate for ourselves

is incomplete Paul did not hesitate to use his right as a Roman

citizen to appeal his unjust treatment (Acts ) Claiming the

rights of that citizenship allowed him more opportunities to

spread the gospel A one-size-fits-all approach by which Chris-

tians consistently refuse to assert any rights is not in keeping

with a holistic interpretation of Scripture22 A better approach

is to look for principles that guide us in determining when we

should assert our rights and when we should turn our cheeksIn the following chapters I will address both approaches in

more detail We must both confront Christianophobia and ad-

dress real problems in the Christian community We cannot ad-

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2324

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

Copyrighted Material wwwivpresscompermissions

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2424

Page 23: Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

892019 Hostile Environment By George Yancey - EXCERPT

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhostile-environment-by-george-yancey-excerpt 2324

HOSILE ENVIRONMEN

dress Christianophobia and totally ignore the dysfunctions we

unfortunately have allowed to flourish within the church But we

must take proactive steps to confront Christianophobia and rec-

ognize it for the evil that it is We need an approach that does

not go to the extremes of either making wild accusations of per-

secution or ignoring the malevolence of Christianophobia I

hope that this book starts a larger dialogue in the body of Christ

about how to address this social dysfunction

In the end part of the rise in overt Christianophobia is linked

to changing social reality In the past Christians had a degree of

cultural dominance that not only allowed them to protect them-

selves from those with anti-Christian animosity but also provided

power that was sometimes misused against non-Christians Some

though not all Christianophobia arose because of this misuse of

societal power oday we have become a multicultural society inwhich the cultural dominance of Christians has dramatically

fallen It is irrelevant whether we approve of this social change it

is a reality we have to deal with Christians should not expect to

regain cultural dominance in the near future and attempts to

assert their status as the majority group are likely to engender

more anger than support However Christians do have the right

to maintain their place in the cultural discussion a place that is

currently threatened by Christianophobia Making the transition

from being the dominant religious group to a religious group that

wishes to maintain its voice and its cultural boundaries among

other cultural and religious groups is the challenge for Christians

in the twenty-first century Both recognizing Christiansrsquo own

failings and confronting Christianophobia are important parts ofmaking that transition Tis book offers insight and initial

thoughts about how to accomplish that task

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