The Religion that Cried Wolf

When Christian Accountability Results in ‘Anti-Christian Bias’ Legislation

I grew up believing that Christians were persecuted. Whether it was because people said ‘Happy Holidays’ instead of ‘Merry Christmas’, because abortion wasn’t yet outlawed, or prayer wasn’t allowed in schools. The rhetoric about our persecution was rampant. Further, we were taught that Christian’s rights and liberties would continue to be taken away, that people were against us, and, in some cases, we would become martyrs for our faith.

For those who don’t know, a martyr is a person who is killed because of their faith or religious beliefs. To be a martyr for one’s faith was lauded–almost romanticized. There was no higher honor than to die because of your faith in Jesus Christ. So amongst the disturbing conversations about what would happen during the reign of the anti-Christ (which was usually the most relevant Democrat in the country) there was a silver lining that even though we would likely die for our faith, it was an honor to do so. (Is it starting to make sense why the Christian Right values violence so much?!?)

Despite having grown up around this messaging, I was confused. While I didn’t make it a habit to stand on my school playground and preach mini-sermons to my classmates that they needed to repent or go to Hell, I never felt like I was being persecuted for my faith.

Even in the moments where I was bold and outwardly proclaimed Christ,