Anti-Christian sentiment or Christophobia constitutes opposition or objections to
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...
, the
Christian religion
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popul ...
, and/or its practices. Anti-Christian sentiment is sometimes referred to as Christophobia or Christianophobia, although these terms actually encompass "every form of discrimination and intolerance against Christians", according to the
Council of European Episcopal Conferences
An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...
.
Antiquity
Anti-Christian sentiment began in the Roman Empire during the first century. The steady growth of the Christian movement was viewed with suspicion by both the authorities and the people of
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. This led to the
persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. During the second century, Christianity was viewed as a negative movement in two ways. The first way encompasses the accusations which were made against adherents of the Christian faith in accordance with the principles which were held by the Roman population. The second way encompasses the supplementary controversy which was aroused during the intellectual age.
Anti-Christian sentiment is visible in the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
, and it seems to have been anticipated by
Jesus of Nazareth, as it was documented by the writers of the
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
s. The anti-Christian sentiment of the first century was not just expressed by the Roman authorities, it was also expressed by the Jews. Because Christianity was a sect which was largely emerging from
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...
at that time, this sentiment was the anger of an established religion towards a new and revolutionary faith.
Paul of Tarsus
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
, who persecuted Christians before he became a Christian, highlighted the
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consid ...
as a 'stumbling block' to the Jews, and the belief that the
messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
would have died on a cross was offensive to some of the Jews because they awaited a messiah who had different characteristics.
Early modern period
During the
Reign of Terror, a period of the
French revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
, radical revolutionaries and their supporters desired a cultural revolution that would rid the French state of all Christian influence.
In 1789, church lands were expropriated and priests killed or forced to leave France.
Later in 1792, "refractory priests" were targeted and replaced with their secular counterpart from the Jacobin club. Anti-Christian sentiments increased during 1793 and a
campaign of dechristianization occurred, and new forms of moral religion emerged, including the
deistic
Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin ''deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, and asserts that empirical reason and observation of t ...
Cult of the Supreme Being
The Cult of the Supreme Being (french: Culte de l'Être suprême) was a form of deism established in France by Maximilien Robespierre during the French Revolution. It was intended to become the state religion of the new French Republic and a re ...
and the atheistic
Cult of Reason
The Cult of Reason (french: Culte de la Raison) was France's first established state-sponsored atheistic religion, intended as a replacement for Roman Catholicism during the French Revolution. After holding sway for barely a year, in 1794 it ...
. The
drownings at Nantes
The drownings at Nantes (french: noyades de Nantes) were a series of mass executions by drowning during the Reign of Terror in Nantes, France, that occurred between November 1793 and February 1794. During this period, anyone arrested and jailed ...
targeted many Catholic priests and nuns. The first drownings happened on the night of 16 November 1793. The victims were 160 arrested Catholic priests that were labeled "
refractory clergy
During the French Revolution, the National Assembly abolished the traditional structure of the Catholic Church in France and reorganized it as an institution within the structure of the new French government through the Civil Constitution of the C ...
" by the
National Convention
The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...
.
Late modern period
![Kharput Greek-Orthodox refugees - C](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Kharput_Christian_refugees_-_C.D.Morris_-_National_Geographic%2C_Nov._1925.jpg)
Many Christians were persecuted and/or killed during the
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...
,
Greek genocide
The Greek genocide (, ''Genoktonia ton Ellinon''), which included the Pontic genocide, was the systematic killing of the Christian Ottoman Greek population of Anatolia which was carried out mainly during World War I and its aftermath (1914 ...
, and
Assyrian genocide
The Sayfo or the Seyfo (; see below), also known as the Assyrian genocide, was the mass slaughter and deportation of Assyrian / Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan province by Ottoman forces and some Kurdish ...
.
Benny Morris and
Dror Ze'evi
Dror Ze'evi (born 1953, Haifa) is an Israeli historian who studies political, social and cultural history of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey and the Levant.
Ze'evi's father, , was deputy head of Mossad, and his mother, Galila, is an interior design ...
argue that the
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...
and other contemporaneous
persecution of Christians in the Ottoman Empire (
Greek genocide
The Greek genocide (, ''Genoktonia ton Ellinon''), which included the Pontic genocide, was the systematic killing of the Christian Ottoman Greek population of Anatolia which was carried out mainly during World War I and its aftermath (1914 ...
, and
Assyrian genocide
The Sayfo or the Seyfo (; see below), also known as the Assyrian genocide, was the mass slaughter and deportation of Assyrian / Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan province by Ottoman forces and some Kurdish ...
) constitute an extermination campaign, or
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...
, carried out by the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
against
its Christian subjects.
The
Cristero War
The Cristero War ( es, Guerra Cristera), also known as the Cristero Rebellion or es, La Cristiada, label=none, italics=no , was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico from 1 August 1926 to 21 June 1929 in response to the implementa ...
was a widespread struggle in central and western
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
in response to the implementation of secularist and anticlerical articles. The rebellion was instigated as a response to an executive decree by Mexican President
Plutarco Elías Calles
Plutarco Elías Calles (25 September 1877 – 19 October 1945) was a general in the Mexican Revolution and a Sonoran politician, serving as President of Mexico from 1924 to 1928.
The 1924 Calles presidential campaign was the first populist ...
to strictly enforce Article 130 of the Constitution, a decision known as
Calles Law
The Calles Law (), or Law for Reforming the Penal Code (''ley de tolerancia de cultos'', "law of worship tolerance"), was a statute enacted in Mexico in 1926, under the presidency of Plutarco Elías Calles, to enforce restrictions against the ...
. Calles sought to eliminate the power of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in Mexico, its affiliated organizations and to suppress popular religiosity. To help enforce the law, Calles seized Church properties, expelled foreign priests, and closed monasteries, convents, and religious schools.
[Warnock, John W. ''The Other Mexico: The North American Triangle Completed']
p. 27
(1995 Black Rose Books, Ltd) Some have characterized Calles as the leader of an
atheist state
State atheism is the incorporation of positive atheism or non-theism into political regimes. It may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments. It is a form of religion-state relationship that is usually ideologically l ...
and his program as being one to eradicate religion in Mexico.
Tomás Garrido Canabal
Tomás Garrido Canabal (September 20, 1891 – April 8, 1943) was a Mexican politician, revolutionary and atheist activist. Garrido Canabal served governor of the state of Tabasco from 1920 to 1924 and from 1931 to 1934. He was noted for his ...
led persecutions against the Church in his state,
Tabasco
Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa.
It is located in ...
, killing many priests and laymen and driving the remainder underground.
The
Red Terror in Spain
The Red Terror in Spain ( es, Terror Rojo) is the name given by historians to various acts of violence committed from 1936 until the end of the Spanish Civil War by sections of nearly all the leftist groups. News of the rightist military upris ...
committed various acts of violence that included the
desecration
Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual.
Detail
Many consider acts of desecration to ...
and burning of monasteries, convents, and churches. The failed coup of July 1936 set loose a violent onslaught on those that revolutionaries in the Republican zone identified as enemies; "where the rebellion failed, for several months afterwards merely to be identified as a priest, a
religious
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...
, or simply a militant Christian or member of some apostolic or pious organization, was enough for a person to be executed without trial".
Throughout the
history of the Soviet Union
The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...
(1917–1991), there were periods when Soviet authorities
brutally suppressed and persecuted various forms of Christianity to different extents depending on State interests.
The state advocated the destruction of
religion
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
, and to achieve this goal, it officially denounced religious beliefs as
superstitious and backward.
[
][
Froese, Paul. "'I am an atheist and a Muslim': Islam, communism, and ideological competition." Journal of Church and State 47.3 (2005)] The
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
destroyed
churches, ridiculed, harassed, incarcerated and executed religious leaders, flooded the schools and media with anti-religious teachings, and it introduced a belief system called "
scientific atheism", with its own rituals, promises and proselytizers.
[Paul Froese. Forced Secularization in Soviet Russia: Why an Atheistic Monopoly Failed. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 43, No. 1 (Mar., 2004), pp. 35-50][Haskins, Ekaterina V. "Russia's postcommunist past: the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the reimagining of national identity." History and Memory: Studies in Representation of the Past 21.1 (2009)] According to some sources, the total number of Christian victims under the Soviet regime has been estimated to range around 12 to 20 million. At least 106,300 Russian clergymen were executed between 1937 and 1941.
Contemporary
Persecution of Christians in the post–Cold War era refers to the persecution of Christians from 1989 to the present, which is taking place in Africa, the Americas, Europe, Asia and Middle East.
Christians are
persecuted widely across the
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
and
Islamic world. Muslim-majority nations in which Christian populations have suffered acute discrimination, persecution, repression, violence and in some cases death,
mass murder or
ethnic cleansing include; Iraq, Iran, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia, Qatar, Kuwait, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives. Native Christian communities are subjected to persecution in several
Muslim-majority countries
The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In ...
such as Egypt and Pakistan.
The
persecution of Christians in North Korea
The persecution of Christians in North Korea is an ongoing and systematic human rights issue in North Korea. According to multiple resolutions which have been passed by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the North Korean government c ...
is ongoing and systematic.
According to the Christian organization
Open Doors, North Korea persecutes Christians more than any other country in the world.
The issue of Christianophobia in the UK was debated on 5 December 2007 in the House of Commons.
See also
*
Persecution of Christians in the post–Cold War era
*
Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire
*
Persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union
Throughout the history of the Soviet Union (1917–1991), there were periods when Soviet authorities brutally suppressed and persecuted various forms of Christianity to different extents depending on State interests. Soviet Marxist-Lenini ...
*
Criticism of Christianity
Criticism of Christianity has a long history which stretches back to the initial formation of the religion during the Roman Empire. Critics have challenged Christian beliefs and teachings as well as Christian actions, from the Crusades to moder ...
*
Persecution of Christians
The persecution of Christians can be historically traced from the first century of the Christian era to the present day. Christian missionaries and converts to Christianity have both been targeted for persecution, sometimes to the point of ...
*
Eagle catching Fish
*
Anti-Catholicism
*
Anti-Mormonism
Anti-Mormonism is discrimination, persecution, hostility or prejudice directed against the Latter Day Saint movement, particularly the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The term is often used to describe people or literat ...
*
Anti-Protestantism
Anti-Protestantism is bias, hatred or distrust against some or all branches of Protestantism and/or its followers.
Anti-Protestantism dates back to before the Protestant Reformation itself, as various pre-Protestant groups such as Arnoldis ...
*
Persecution of Eastern Orthodox Christians
*
Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs, The beliefs and Jehovah's Witnesses practices, practices of Jehovah's Witnesses have Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses, engendered controversy throughout History of Jehovah's Witnesses, their history. Consequently, t ...
*
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emp ...
References
Anti-Catholicism
Anti-Eastern Orthodoxy
Anti-Protestantism
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