A Wednesday letter claims that “The main reason that the evangelical Christian community is viewed by some as a great obstacle to social change is irrational anti-religious bigotry.” The writer talks about Christian reformers who opposed slavery and segregation, as if prejudice against Christians today were somehow related to minority Christian support for equality and compassion at times when the majority supported those oppressive practices.
More likely, any current bias against Christianity is related to more recent forms of Christian political activism rooted in intolerance toward homosexuality and other “heresies” and cartoonishly literal readings of the Bible, than in the more powerful traditions of social justice, love for one’s enemies, forgiveness of debts, all of which represents a very different face of Christianity. Martin Luther King Jr. did not crusade against homosexuality, evolution or Teletubbies like some later Christian activists, but against racism, injustice and war. It is not his kind of Christianity that draws ridicule or intolerance from the secular world.
Prejudice goes in more than one direction. I’ve heard some non-Christians put down Christianity, prompting me to defend Christians I’ve known who truly embodied the spirit and teachings of Jesus. I’ve also heard some Christians portray Islam as a Satanic religion and denounce violence in the Quran while holding the Bible to a different standard. I’ve heard atheists portrayed by some Christians as prideful hedonists who hate morality and “believe in nothing.” I’ve heard gays accused of attempting to bring down civilization by seeking marriage.
Prejudice is widespread, and it won’t work for any single group to claim that it alone is victimized while spreading stereotypes about other groups.
The only credible defense against being judged unfairly is to uphold a fairer standard in your judgment of others, regardless of differences in belief. We live in a nation grounded on religious freedom, not sectarian pride.
Michael Lockhart
Everett
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