Christians “should be eradicated without hesitation or remorse.” So remarked an “elite” respondent years ago in a sociological study that documented anti-Christian bigotry in the United States. And just this week, too, we heard that the Idaho National Guard allegedly has a “no Christians in command” policy. But the man in command of our executive branch, President Donald Trump, has resolved to end such prejudice. At least, that is, in the federal government. Per USA Today:
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order creating a Justice Department task force to eradicate what he called “anti-Christian bias” within the federal government.
In 2023, a House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government reported that under the pretext of tackling the threat of domestic terrorism, the FBI’s Richmond office described certain “radical-traditionalist Catholics” as violent extremists and “proposed opportunities for the FBI to infiltrate Catholic churches as a form of threat mitigation.”
… The mission of the task force will be to “immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination in the federal government,” including at the Department of Justice, the FBI, the IRS and other agencies, Trump said in a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday.
“In addition, the task force will work to fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society, and to move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide,” he said.
No More Lions?
Providing more detail on the president’s remarks, The Christian Post reports:
“In recent years, we’ve seen this sacred liberty threatened like never before in American history,” Trump [stated], asserting that the Biden administration engaged in “persecution” against devout Christians.
Trump gave the example of a 75-year-old pro-life activist who was imprisoned for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for praying and protesting at an abortion clinic.
“They were terrible to you, and they were terrible to people of religion, all religions,” Trump continued, noting that it was his honor to pardon 23 pro-life protesters, including the elder activist, upon taking office.
While naysayers will dismiss the above as pandering, the reality is that anti-Christian bias has been intensifying for decades. For example, Christian businessmen, from bakers to florists to wedding planners, had been persecuted for many years for refusing to participate in faux (same-sex) weddings. Then, consider the following illustrative headlines:
- “An Anti-Christian Children’s Book” (2008)
- “The ABA’s Plan to Purge the Legal Profession of Christians, Conservatives” (2016)
- “ACLU Survey/Fundraising Letter Confirms Its Anti-Christian Bias” (2016)
- “Thirty-year Christian Worker Fired After Opposing ‘Gay Marriage’” (2016)
- “As Christians Are Slaughtered ‘for Sport,’ Biden Says Nothing” (2024)
The Research
Anecdotes, however, don’t truly tell the tale. But perhaps what does is the aforementioned study, conducted by two University of North Texas sociologists approximately a decade ago. Those researchers, professors George Yancey and David Williamson, shared their findings in a 2014 book titled So Many Christians, So Few Lions: Is There Christianophobia in the United States?
The academics say that “Christianophobia” — which they define as “unreasonable hatred or fear of Christians” — isn’t common among common people. It absolutely does, though, characterize those in America’s upper echelons. It is intense, too. The book’s title was apparently inspired by pseudo-elitist interviewees lamenting how there were “so few lions,” referencing the Roman Empire’s practice of throwing Christians into an arena to be slaughtered by the wild cats.
And this is something about which Christians “should be concerned,” reported The Christian Post in 2015. This is “because those with ‘Christianophobia’ tend to be powerful elites with influence in certain important areas, such as higher education,” the site quoted Yancey as saying. Commenting on this and the professors’ motivation for conducting their research, Yancey also told the Post:
There is a lot of literature on hostility toward many different groups but just about none on hostility toward Christians. Yet when we collected qualitative data from cultural progressive activists we quickly saw some of the unnecessary vitriol and fears within many of our respondents. We also saw the social status of those who exhibited this hatred and many of them would be in positions that allowed them to at least subtly act on their anger and fears.
As for the sources of the professors’ data, the Post wrote that it
comes from a large national survey, the American National Election Survey, and interviews they conducted with members of liberal advocacy organizations.
Elite Hatred
As to these interviews, some of the remarks made by the “cultural progressive activists” are eyebrow-raising. As The Blaze reported in 2015, on a sampling referencing the “Christian right”:
- “I want them all to die in a fire.” (Male, aged 26-35 with Doctorate)
- “They should be eradicated without hesitation or remorse. Their only purpose is to damage and inflict their fundamentalist virus onto everyone they come in contact with.” (Female, aged 66-75 with Master degree)
- “They make me a believer in eugenics…. They pollute good air…. I would be in favor of establishing a state for them…. If not, then sterilize them so they can’t breed more.” (Male, aged 46-55 with Master degree)
Well, as the saying goes, “There’s no one as illiberal as a liberal.” But what, in particular, explains this intense anti-Christian wrath?
The Birth of a Hatred
It’s an old story. We’ve all had the experience of rendering some constructive criticism, only to have the object of it react with anger. No one likes having his bubble burst. The more attached to the errant idea or behavior the person is, too, the stronger his resistance will be — and the more viciously he may attack those who dare challenge his illusions.
Enter Christianity. In this relativistic age of “If it feels good, do it” where sin is in, the ancient faith upholds that absolute, unchanging, nonnegotiable standard of morality. It tells people that their sins really are sins — not just lifestyle choices — and that they’ll be judged for them. And just as one small pin can burst a balloon, a tiny bit of Truth can shatter a rationalization.
It’s no surprise, either, that Yancey also found that anti-Christian pseudo-elitists are generally “white, educated [miseducated, actually] and wealthy.” These are not just the “idle minds” that are the “Devil’s playground.” These are not just, to echo George Orwell, the kind of people who could believe truly absurd ideas: intellectuals. They also invariably are advocates for some anti-Christian movement, such as feminism or our Great Sexual Heresy. They don’t just usually indulge sin (people tend to push what they’re attached to). They’ve in addition come to believe their very happiness depends on their social vision’s realization — and Christianity stands in its way. And there’s something that’s often a corollary of “If it feels good, do it”:
If it feels bad, destroy it.
Returning to President Trump, he cannot, of course, single-handedly reverse this secularist social rot. He cannot make the halls of the federal government synonymous with godliness. But maybe, just perhaps, he can ensure that they’re not the Devil’s workshop.
