Christian persecution complex is the belief, attitude, or
world view
A worldview or world-view or ''Weltanschauung'' is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the whole of the individual's or society's knowledge, culture, and point of view. A worldview can include natural ...
that Christian values and Christians are being oppressed by social groups and governments in the West. This belief is promoted by certain American Protestant churches, and some Christian- or Bible-based groups in Europe.
[: Afterword: White Nationalism, Trolling Humor as Propaganda, and the "Renaissance" of Christian Racism in the Age of Trump. "''In so doing, he, his speech writers, and advisors were pandering to the rising Christian white nationalist persecution complex in Poland and throughout Europe, giving voice to a message that Western Christianity—and Europeans—will defeat fundamentalist Islamism. He even concluded with an overt call to a modern-day Crusade: "So together, let us all fight like the Poles, for family, for freedom, for country, and for God."''"] It has been called the "Evangelical", "American Christian" or "
Christian right
The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with ...
" persecution complex.
Early Christianity
According to New Testament scholar
Candida Moss
Candida R. Moss (born 26 November 1978) is an English public intellectual, journalist, New Testament scholar and historian of Christianity, who is the Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology in the Department of Theology and Religion at the Univers ...
the Christian "persecution complex" appeared during the era of
early Christianity
Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewis ...
due to internal Christian
identity politics
Identity politics is a political approach wherein people of a particular race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social background, social class, or other identifying factors develop political agendas that are based upon these i ...
. Moss suggested that the idea of persecution is cardinal to the worldview of Christianity, noting that it creates the impression that Christians are a minority that are facing a war – even though they are numerically superior. This perception is grounded in the
manichaeistic belief that the world is divided into two factions, one led by
God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
and the other by
Satan. In this view there can be no compromise between the two, and even attempting to dialogue or engage with "the other" is seen as a form of collaboration with it. Medieval historian Paul Cavill argues that 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 ...
teaches that persecutions are inherent to Christianity.
20th and 21st centuries
Many find it difficult to define the origin of the Christian persecution complex. According to
Elizabeth Castelli
Elizabeth Castelli is an author and Professor of Religion at Barnard College. She specializes in biblical studies, late ancient Christianity, feminist studies in religion along with theory and method in the study of religion, with a particular focu ...
, some set the starting point in the middle of the 20th century, following a series of court rulings that declared public places to be out of bounds for religious activity (e.g. state-sanctioned
morning prayer in schools). This persecution complex became readily apparent in the United States in the 1990s with the adoption of the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998
The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (Public Law 105–292, as amended by Public Law 106–55, Public Law 106–113, Public Law 107–228, Public Law 108–332, and Public Law 108–458) was passed to promote religious freedom as a forei ...
as the official foreign policy. A few years later, the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
boosted its development. This complex "mobilizes the language of
religious persecution to shut down political debate and critique by characterizing any position not in alignment with this politicized version of Christianity as an example of anti-religious bigotry and persecution. Moreover, it routinely deploys the archetypal figure of the
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
as a source of unquestioned religious and political authority".
The concept that Christianity is being oppressed is popular among
conservative politicians in contemporary politics in the United States, and they use this idea to address issues concerning
LGBT people or the
Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...
's
contraceptive mandate
A contraceptive mandate is a government regulation or law that requires health insurers, or employers that provide their employees with health insurance, to cover some contraceptive costs in their health insurance plans.
In 1978, the United States ...
, which they perceive as an attack on Christianity. The application of the contraceptive mandate to closely held corporations with religious objections was struck down by the Supreme Court in ''
Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.''
Hornback notes that the Christian persecution complex is widespread among
nationalists
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
, who feel that they are defending the continent from a new
Islamic invasion.
Francesca Stavrakopoulou
Francesca Stavrakopoulou (; born 3 October 1975) is a British biblical scholar and broadcaster. She is currently Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion at the University of Exeter. The main focus of her research is on the Hebrew Bible, a ...
explains that the advances of
secularism
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...
, such as dropping
catechism from
publicly funded schools, is perceived by some Christians as persecution.
Christian persecution complex has an impact on
popular culture
Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
, with films which "imagine embattled Christians prevailing against entrenched secularist opposition". David Ehrlich, a film critic, describes how the persecution complex is fueled by films and media such as the
''God's Not Dead'' saga.
In a conversation at the British Humanist Congress in 2014, Stavrakopoulou suggested that some
Christian fundamentalists
Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British an ...
perceive the advancement of
secularism
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...
as a threat, and that this may support the idea of a persecution complex.
Some contemporary
white nationalists
White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...
promote a narrative of Western persecution of Christians, arguing that they, rather than minority or immigrant populations, are most often attacked and marginalized.
Some Christian journalists point out that "American Christians have a
persecution complex", while noting that the persecution of Christians is real in the Middle East.
See also
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Alliance Defending Freedom
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God's Not Dead''
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Decline of Christianity in the Western world
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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 ...
*''
Rosenberger v. University of Virginia''
*''
Town of Greece v. Galloway
''Town of Greece v. Galloway'', 572 U.S. 565 (2014), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the court decided that the Town of Greece, New York may permit volunteer chaplains to open each legislative session with a prayer. The plaintiffs ...
''
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Victim mentality
Victim mentality is an acquired personality trait in which a person tends to recognize or consider themselves a victim of the negative actions of others, and to behave as if this were the case in the face of contrary evidence of such circumstances ...
*
Victim playing
Victim playing (also known as playing the victim, victim card, or self-victimization) is the fabrication or exaggeration of victimhood for a variety of reasons such as to justify abuse to others, to manipulate others, a coping strategy, attention ...
*
White genocide conspiracy theory
The white genocide, white extinction, or white replacement conspiracy theory is a white supremacist conspiracy theory which states that there is a deliberate plot, often blamed on Jews, to promote miscegenation, interracial marriage, mass non ...
References
Bibliography
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{{refend
20th-century Christianity
21st-century Christianity
Christianity and politics in the United States
Christianity-related controversies
Conservatism in the United States
Freedom of religion in the United States
Early Christianity
Historiography of Christianity
Persecution of Christians
Psychology of religion
Religious discrimination in the United States
Secularism in the United States
Sociology of religion
Victimology