In public opinion polls, a clear pattern has emerged: White Christians are consistently more likely than whites who are religiously unaffiliated to deny the existence of structural racism. A close read of history reveals that we white Christians have not just been complacent or complicit; rather, as the nation's dominant cultural power, we have constructed and sustained a project of perpetuating white supremacy that has framed the entire American story. The legacy of this unholy union still lives in the DNA of white Christianity today — and not just among white evangelical Protestants in the South, but also among white mainline Protestants in the Midwest and white Catholics in the Northeast.
For more than two decades, I've studied the attitudes of religiously affiliated Americans across the country. And year over year, in question after question in public opinion polls, a clear pattern has emerged: White Christians are consistently more likely than whites who are religiously unaffiliated to deny the existence of structural racism.
For example, surveys conducted by PRRI in found that white Christians — including evangelical Protestants, mainline Protestants and Catholics — are nearly twice as likely as religiously unaffiliated whites to say the killings of Black men by police are isolated incidents rather than part of a pattern of how police treat African Americans. And white Christians are about 30 percentage points more likely to say monuments to Confederate soldiers are symbols of Southern pride rather than symbols of racism.
White Christians are also about 20 percentage points more likely to disagree with this statement: "Generations of slavery and discrimination have created conditions that make it difficult for Blacks to work their way out of the lower class. As a white Christian who was raised Southern Baptist and shaped by a denominational college and seminary, it pains me to see these patterns in the data.
Even worse, these questions only hint at the magnitude of the problem. To determine the breadth of these attitudes, I created a "Racism Index," a measure consisting of 15 questions designed to get beyond personal biases and include perceptions of structural injustice. These questions included the three above, as well as questions about the treatment of African Americans in the criminal justice system and general perceptions of race, racism and racial discrimination.
Even at a glance, the Racism Index reveals a clear distinction. Compared to nonreligious whites, white Christians register higher median scores on the Racism Index, and the differences among white Christian subgroups are largely differences of degree rather than kind.
Not surprisingly, given their concentration in the South, white evangelical Protestants have the highest median score 0. The same culture clash is playing out in quieter towns and lives. Jack Phillips is presently being prosecuted by the Colorado Attorney General for violating human rights - -because as a Christian, he would not bake a cake for a same-sex wedding celebration. After the Colorado Civil Rights Commission decides his case, a local prosecutor could take him to criminal court where he could face a year in jail.
If a lesbian tee-shirt shop owner refused to print anti-gay-marriage tee-shirts, would the same happen? I sure hope not. In New Mexico, the state has already decided against religious liberty.
In a unanimous ruling from the state supreme court , Justice Richard Bosson wrote that Christian wedding photographers "now are compelled by law to compromise the very religious beliefs that inspire their lives…the rule of law requires it. Similar stories are unfolding in schools, cities and universities across the country.
Call it a "persecution complex" if you want. The fact is some American Christians are today facing fines, bankruptcy and jail time for their religious beliefs. Some celebrate this as due revenge against the bigoted Christians. Others of us see it as hostile.
Among Christians, the gap is even bigger — two-thirds of U. While one-in-eight unaffiliated U. Similar patterns are seen on belief in God, attendance at religious services and prayer.
Additionally, the survey asked respondents whether they consider themselves religious and, separately, whether they consider themselves spiritual. These two questions, combined, result in four categories: those who describe themselves as both religious and spiritual, spiritual but not religious, religious but not spiritual, and neither religious nor spiritual. Smaller shares of populations in most countries say they are spiritual but not religious, or religious but not spiritual.
The religious makeup of Western Europe by this measure is significantly different from that of the United States.
The largest group in the U. A previously published analysis of data from 15 European countries used an older version of survey weights. Since then, Pew Research Center has improved the survey weights for greater accuracy leading to slight differences in some numbers between the two publications. The substantive findings of the previous publication are not affected by the revised weights. Please contact the Center for questions regarding weighting adjustments.
About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Newsletters Donate My Account. Research Topics. What is a median? Are Christian identity and Muslim immigration linked? Religious observance and attitudes toward minorities among Catholics and Protestants in Western Europe Although people in some predominantly Catholic countries in Europe, including Portugal and Italy, are more religiously observant than others in the region, Catholics and Protestants overall in Western Europe display similar overall levels of observance.
Sidebar: Religious identity in Western Europe over time Several countries in Western Europe have been collecting census data on religion for decades, and these data from Austria, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland indicate that the percentage of the population that identifies as Christian has fallen substantially since the s, while the share of the population that does not identify with any religion has risen.
The two-step approach tends to find smaller shares of people who say they are Christians or belong to some other religious group — and larger shares of people with no religion — than are found by surveys that use a one-step approach to religious identification, as Pew Research Center does. Both approaches are valid, though the results may differ. See the below sidebar for more discussion of question wording and an analysis of ESS data on religious identity. The first three items are highly correlated with one another and are included in the scale measuring nationalist, anti-immigrant and anti-minority views NIM.
See Chapter 1 for a full analysis of these results. Since then, Pew Research Center has improved the survey weights for greater accuracy, leading to slight differences in some figures between the two publications. Please contact Pew Research Center for questions regarding weighting adjustments. See Chapter 2 for further analysis of focus group discussions on this topic. Pagination Next: 1. And on what measures are they similar to church-attending Christians? What has led Europeans to shed their religious identity?
Religiously unaffiliated Europeans tend to express different attitudes toward Muslims depending on how they were raised Most unaffiliated Europeans do not believe in a higher power, but a substantial minority hold some spiritual beliefs 1. Nationalism, immigration and minorities 2.
Religious identity 3. Religious practice and belief 4. Beliefs about God 5. Attitudes toward spirituality and religion 6. Religion and society Acknowledgments Appendix B: Methodology. Related Publications Aug 31, Publications Mar 6, No humility. And certainly no welcome. The only hint of Christ in it is His name.
That will not help you and your church bring others to Christ. Nobody wants to hang out with cold, hostile people, whose only point is a strident claim to the right to judge them continually. You are judging people, Justin, not just actions. It is not. You are not the be all and end all in determing what is wrong, what right, what is sin, what is not.
Please think a bit less harshly and more of Christian love. It will help you, as well as those you impact and be more in line with what he taught us to do — and not to do. Jesus told you judge, Justin?
He said to judge with righteous judgement. Meaning to judge that actions of people. The kind of judging you are mistakenly referring to means the judgement of what happens to someone after they die. Righteous judgement means to judge by the rules that GOD created.
Please… please… he pleaded into the uncaring void… to the author and any other Nonjudgians… stop framing the dialogue in this way. Humans with finctioning brain stems judge each other as a way of forming and maintaining or ending human relationships.
Words have spheres of meanings. As a Christian I find that when I try to befriend a certain group of non-Christians they always try to turn me into on of them.
As a Christian I try to live the bible as well as read it. For example when I mention I have a disability they start being judgy on me. But you get the idea. Anyways, sorry for the book. We all have a consciousness that needs to take stock of our own actions. One example; a lady that I depend on from a business arrangement. I feel like the term is thrown out there by a lot of people as a status symbol.
Christianity is a belief system. Actually, the different demoninations of Christianity vary greatly on their views of the afterlife. Christianity is cultural, most religions that I have studied recognize Jesus. Some say Jesus and Buddha met. I feel like too many religions get caught up in having to be right about the details and loose tract of the basic fundamentals of being a kind loving person.
It begins to feel like belonging to a certain sports team or political party. We are all guilty of judging, and it keeps us safe. True Jennifer…. As Christians we need to be like Jesus…humble, kind, truthful,etc. Non Christians or believers will see us for who we really are also so we must always be aware of that. People will always hate us for who we are…. Christians think and act as they are better than everyone else at all times.
They never take a critical look at who they are worshipping or what they allegedly believing in. We are better than we used to be. Every other Christian that is deep set is religiousity and tradition, have a haughty spirit because they think they know everything.
The journey is eternal. Who the hell are you to talk about Christianity, and then try and sell me a book? You had me believing, maybe things could be better, but then you tried to sell me a book! Did you know I have a demon inside of me? One that I swallowed willingly? Now I struggle everyday to deal w it But my grandsons r safe.
My alcoholism has grown out of proportion! More then it ever has. I struggle to keep myself in control. I struggle to keep myself sain. I am possessed by a very strong demon! I refuse to allow it release! I will go to hell to release it, if that is what it takes. It has thrown me against walls. It has tried to make my heart burst. It has tried to make me suffacte. I will stand strong for my grandsons, but I lose faith in God. Hello Neil, I hope you are doing well, are you still possessed with the demon?
Please let me know so I can help you. God loves everyone! I have heard those that rail against gay rights. I agree that those that live that lifestyle is there decision. A boy should be raised a man! If he decides later to change that is his choice. But I believe it is wrong to take away masculinity before it has a chance to mature. To show an unnatural world to a person b4 they experience the real world! Mother Mary was a virgin. It was prophesied. For Jesus to be the Saviour, He could not be born of the sinful nature of fallen Adam.
If you believe in God who created the universe, is it a stretch to believe that He can incarnate within the womb of a virgin? I was born Christian — not any more. I have one prayer. Dear God, please save me from the complete idiots who believe in this crap. Who refuses to understand evolution. How will they ever learn about man made climate change? But, also for having a destructive world view.
We are all entitled to our opinions but we should not hate those who do not have our opinions. No one should try and force their beliefs on another regardless of what it is. We have freedom of religion and speech right now so we have to try and respect each other if we are EVER to unite in this Country and the World.
There is enough hate in the World so we have to try and love each other best we can. The World can be a better place…. Thank you Alma. I do not believe, but am involved with a man who does, we both are older, 60ties and 70ties. We love each other but even that love is tainted by the punitive god in whom he believes. Why would a god guilt an old man because the old man can and wants to have sex with an old woman?
At least that would be my interpretation. So again Alma, thank you for listening. Wish I could find a solution in that book he lives by…. I am sorry that you have had that experience. I try to be authentic in my faith and try to treat others as Jesus did and would.
I am far from perfect….. I wish you well. Nobody alive on this earth truly knows how the universe was created. Even atheist historians agree on the authenticity of the Bible…. If it is true, it is the biggest decision of your very short life… years vs eternity. So basically, it would require a whole lot more faith to believe something came from nothing which is scientifically impossible.
Thank you so much for the self awareness! Thank you for realizing that. In making such a comment are you not also doing the same by judging people? In my 52 year of life experience, other Christians have been the most hateful, critical, aggressively judgmental, alienating people I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. I have known very few who were not consumed with self-righteousness, who did not base their existence on the abuse and oppression of others, who did not seek flaws in all they met.
It is no wonder that people are driven from the faith, when Christians are so universally Un-Christlike and most make no effort to address this with themselves before attacking others. Witness all of the people who speak, vote, and act to hurt those with whom they differ in belief, lifestyle, and circumstance. Oh shit karma? I believe in real karma! Did you know that karma is not about this life?
Karma is about previous lives. Your current life is about cleaning karma from previous lives so you can claim your life in salvation.
Every single thing u have done in previous lives is judged. You have this life to make it right. Otherwise u r condemned to another life to try again. Christians like to hide behind a wall of bigotry. Silently distancing themselves from reality. Some of the homophobic and islamophobic comments in this thread are prime examples. Homosexuality: at the time of the writing of the various parts of the bible, Jews and christians were an endangered people, enslaved by the Egyptians and later persecuted by the Romans.
Islam: Jews and by extension their christian supporters and Muslims have been fighting over the holy land for how long?
Oppression of Jews by Muslims occurred during the middle ages for centuries — restrictive laws, violence and killings, then after the first and second world wars, the tables turned when Jews started moving back into Israel in droves to escape oppression and genocide in Europe.
Israeli Jews currently fight with Palestinians over the West Bank and the Gaza strip, alternately bulldozing homes and firing rockets at each other, with the occasional suicide bombing. Christians persecuted Muslims all through the Crusades, in their drive to remove them from the holy land at any cost. The only rational answer I see is to abandon religion altogether and just understand that we are all people, regardless of whatever is on the outside of our bodies, and inside our brains.
We all want the same things: Clothing, shelter, water, food, love, respect, peace and freedom and education, healthcare, and utilities, but that goes without saying. Can we just understand that and leave the religious baggage behind??
In response to the first objection to Christians, have you as a fellow Christian I assume, ever read 1 John ? The idea is to love the people IN the world as John himself wrote over and over but not the things OF the world. Both hard things to do…. If the Christian God detests the world so much, then why does the Christian God continually sends living beings here? It starts at the top.
God does not hate the world…. John says he loves the World. God will never contradict himself or lie…. Do not love the world. God created all people, so we should love all people. Beautiful article. I am a church leader and sympathize. Brothers and sisters, I feel your dislike to Christian pseudos. Look to God and only God. Man will always fall short. Basically a theyVus homophobic stance. If they spent all their energy in spreading love and understanding, they would stop propagating hate.
Tim V. You, like a lot of other cowards, have confused the meaning of the word phobia. As I said, coward, phobia means fear of, not hatred of. Belief has nothing to do with anything. Half the world sees and experiences the transcendent everywhere. Abrahamic religion separates spirit from matter, and so the lesson is lost. We are not separate, but distinct. Belief is literally for two year olds.
And older people who are ignorant, arrogant, belligerent, and deadened by literalism. Is the way to end global warming and limit global warming to 1. That way there would be just hunter gathers on earth and no global warming. There were plenty of wealthy people in the Bible who were never told by God to give all of their stuff away.
In my opinion investing in things of good quality that serve us well and last a long time like a good car and a well-built house is better stewardship of our money than buying cheap e. Please, Christians are not victims. One of the main actions that Christians are advised to undertake is sharing the message. Spreading the message. But Christians do. So, stop already with the victimhood. Thank you Margaret Cook! I agree that Christians endure much less persecution in the U.
Heard of a little thing called the Spanish Inquisition? How about the Crusades? How about the fate of Joan of Arc? Jesus was persecuted by the Romans at the behest of the leaders of the Jewish community at the time. Muslim and Jewish laws have very similar roots, and in many cases directly influenced each other, and christian morals derive pretty directly from Jewish law. I should add though that even atheists — my chosen in-group — are not free of blame.
I am not above all this either — I tend to view christians with contempt — but have managed not to kill anyone over it at least. Communist atheism has been used to persecute and kill religious people, viewing them as a threat to authority.
There are numerous historical examples: Whites kill non-whites. Whites enslaved Africans for hundred of years, killing who knows how many and still persecute them today Police killings, lynchings. Spaniard christians killed native people all over central and south America and infected them with European diseases, pretty much wiping them out. Christians kill Muslims Crusades, numerous actions in middle east and Afghanistan.
Roman pagans killed christians for sport. Turks slaughtered Armenians in the Armenian Genocide. This has been going on since the dawn of time. No one is innocent. This is called Islamophobia, and it is rampant amongst christians.
And I tolerate you You lie cheat and steal! I cannot tolerate. Veil of virtue hung to hide your method While I smile and laugh and dance and Sing your praise and glory Shroud of virtue hung to mask your stigma As I smile and laugh and dance and sing your glory While you lie cheat and steal!
How can I tolerate you? You lie cheat and steal! I will not tolerate you I will go down beside you I must go down beside you No one is innocent. And while I myself have never beheaded anyone or bombed an abortion clinic, you are correct in that I am not innocent.
None of us are — which is why we all need Christ. The crusades, as well, were the catholics. Nothing wrong with the crusades. They were a response to years of cowardly islamic terrorism. Then why do they all follow a book that commands everyone that reads it to be a terrorist? Joan of arc was catholic…NOT christian.
If I can find this info so can you. We never really knew much about his family. I spent 12 years in Oklahoma researching his ancestry, boy what an eye opener! He was born in Wewoka, Indian Territory. My perception of Christianity went to hell from there pun intended.
This article! True fact. Guilt pushing and hypocrisy are given fact in the stereotype. As a non-christian atheist I can also confirm 3. Stink at Friendship. One could perhaps claim it to be a consequence of the first two. Do you mean into a Christian tradition? Jesus came not to bring peace but a sword. If people end up in hell they will wish others were preaching the gospel more aggressively to those who want to hear.
Or to live Christ like in front of unbelievers and back sliders. I agree, Mark. And unfortunately this article appears guilty of stereotyping all Christians together for being guilty of what it itself is accusing the Christians. I believe it is very natural for Christians to not be perfect as Paul describes in Mmmm Romans chapter 7 , maybe. But it takes being a Christian and reading the Bible to make some sense of that.
Kinda funny, right? Good bit of irony here. When we are by nature sinners, and I can speak to this because by nature I am one, we reach immediately for criticizing those whose standard puts our own into question.
Think of the sibling who is caught and confronted by the parents who tries to deflect attention and comes off with the announcement of what the little sister had done wrongly the previous day. Haha… We are all sinners in need of a Savior, something most if not all non believers will also hate to hear or agree with because it makes us see that we need to give up the sin that we love so much.
Again, I can say this from personal experience. Both sides here are validly in err due to human nature, and both can be corrected and healed by Jesus. Yet the one thing, also likely hated by a nonbeliever, I must not neglect to point out here is this: No.
Look to the one your faith needs to be in rather than the follower of Him. I know. Our human nature will try to rebel at all costs for our love of sin and pride and in so doing blame others, pretty much always until we are corrected by Jesus Himself. Call on Him and then you will begin to understand what is really going on here. Like we are the center of the universe. Just saying. Again, not important. I consider this article, if nothing else, a call to be a better Christian, even a better human in general.
Maybe this article is for you too, after all. Did Jesus tell us not to judge? Jesus said: Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. John This is our next topic in my bible study group John A new command I give you; Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. What the Choir is searching for is authentic. Our culture is hostile only to the inauthentic living of the gospel. It is, by and large, hostile to the right things. It actually longs to embrace the gospel of inclusion and non-violence, of compassionate love and acceptance. Even atheists cherish such a prospect.
I m in agreement with this opinion. God gave us a simple directive as believers: Love one another. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Looks like I can only reply to a specific comment.
Firstly I just want to say that on the topic of evangelism, the new testaments describes that as a spiritual gift. As in Philip the evangelist. These are the people who should be going out as the spirit directs and evangelizing, but not everyone has every gift, so not everyone should be doing this. Fore the rest of us, scripture says we should be ready to defend our faith, ie if someone asks or accuses we need to be prepared beforehand to give a reason for our faith.
Does the bible instruct us all to go out and accost random people as the go about their business? My 2nd point here is that we need to keep a perspective on the relative importance of things.
There is a lot of reaction from the community on the subject of homosexuality.
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