National and global politicians, activists, and thought leaders have cited growing religious persecution as one of the preeminent threats of our time. Authoritarian regimes have denied the political rights of those who do not hold the same religious beliefs of the majority faith or the state. The COVID pandemic has brought this even more into the spotlight as certain regimes refuse aid to religious minorities. In some countries, imprisonment and physical oppression of religious minorities is commonplace. Particularly in non-Western countries, Christians face real threats every day in one form or another. In many of these contexts, claiming to be a Christian is virtually a death sentence. For many legitimate reasons, all of this should be troubling.
There are those in America who claim that Christians are experiencing religious persecution in a country that upholds religious liberty. That if we aren’t already in the midst of persecution, we are experiencing the first ripples of what will eventually grow into a tidal wave of religious persecution we already see in other countries. The removal of the Ten Commandments from courthouse grounds, the “flagging” of social media posts, the prohibition against school prayer in public school settings, and others are cited by those troubled by the asserted persecution against Christians. The height of last year’s pandemic has exacerbated the issue as religious bodies were prohibited from holding congregational meetings and instead, for those who were able to, hold services virtually. Many Christians and churches claimed to be the target of government oversight and oppression, a claim that is still made by many even as restrictions begin to be lifted across the country. At the same time, there are those who deny that the American Church is under religious persecution. For them, much of the purported persecution is simply part of the growing pains as America has and continues to become more religiously diverse.
What should we think about these issues? Is the American Church making claims of persecution that are unfounded or is this something we should truly be worried about? Is the Christian church in America under religious persecution or is it in need of a reality check? All that and more on this edition of Questions From The Pew.
RESOURCES:
Religious Persecution and Political Order in the United States, David T. Smith
World Watch List, Open Doors USA
“The Evangelical Persecution Complex,” The Atlantic
“Why Do White Christians in America Think They Are Persecuted?” The Canopy Forum
“Is There Really Anti-Christian Discrimination in America?” The Gospel Coalition