Behind the Attack on Christianity: A Theory
Christianity is undeniably under attack in the United States. That fact
and examples are strewn all over the news and the Internet but little is said about why.
I'll present my theory on Why . . . but first a few gratuitous words on the ever-popular, widely published assertion that America was built on Christian values. The moral values at the core of Christianity are indeed a powerful part of our culture and Christians are now the majority in America but it is important to note that a) the moral values at the basis of Christianity are not exclusively Christian values; the majority of the world's major religions share nearly identical moral values and b) many of the founders of this country were Diests, not Christians. Indeed, they talked and wrote of "God" and the "Creator," but very little was said of Christ or Christianity.
That said, let me say that I share much of the Christian outrage over these attacks, primarily because they are unfairly one-sided. I've heard, for example, that some schools and other institutions are removing any mentions (or symbols) of the Christian religion while leaving other religious imagery untouched. I'm not a Christian but that kind of discrimination offends my sense of fair play.
One would have to assume from these clearly one-sided attacks that Christianity has either deeply offended some vocal, powerful segment of the non-Christian population or has scared them badly enough to create a Christian backlash.
My guess at why this started:
In 1979, Richard Viguerie, Paul Weyrich and Howard Phillips created an
organization known as the Moral Majority. Headed by the Reverend Jerry Falwell, the group actively opposed abortion, equal rights for homosexuals, sex education in the schools, pornography, and the Equal Rights Amendment. All well and good for a Christian organization, but this Christian organization stepped over a line by not just speaking out against these things, as a religious entity is expected to do, but by attempting (and succeeding) to influence legislation on these issues like a
political entity. Voila! A religion, normally a benign social force, has now, in many peoples eyes, transformed itself into a political force -- something to be feared; it has traded its Christian doctrine for a political agenda.
I believe that until and unless Christianity rids itself of it's "Religious Right" image and goes back to being a religion -- removing the fear factor -- the onslaught against Christian symbols will probably continue.
Or! There is one other scenario -- the very one all these people are afraid of. It's very unlikely, but possible, that the Religious Right will eventually become so powerful in government and in the judiciary that it will squash all opposition -- effectively making the United States a Christian Theocracy.