The War on Christians: Who Is Really Leading the Attack?

by: Mariann Devlin

The holidays are over, but it doesn’t mean the conservative belly-aching over Christian persecution is.

Every holiday season, fundamentalist Christians- aided by Fox News- revive the non-existent War on Christmas, decrying cultural and religious inclusiveness as its own form of oppression. But even though the holidays have passed, nearly all GOP candidates — Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, and Rick Perry — and a certain Chicago Cardinal, continue to bemoan a War on Christians, that if it exists at all, is something they can be blamed for.

Christians are not a homogenous group of unintellectual, queer-hating zealots, whose religious and nationalist fervor bars them from engaging in thoughtful dialogue. Yet it’s the cacaphonous voices of these GOP candidates and their fundamentalist supporters, ampified by Fox News, that continues to mar Christianity’s image. If atheists, agnostics or people of other faiths are skeptical of Christianity’s capacity for love, compassion and acceptance, its the fault of Republican candidates and the conservative news organizations that spotlight their ignorance.

When the only Christian voices we hear in the media are those who preach bigotry and self-interest, then our concept of what Christianity stands for becomes inevitably skewed.

However, all of this is moot point. Santorum, who thinks Christians are more persecuted than queers, doesn’t really care about Christianity — just like Fox News doesn’t really care about the GOP’s credibility. For those anti-queer Republican politicians, Christian virtues like humility, kindness and charity are denied in favor of wrath, greed and pride. More importantly, though, appealing to fear of the Other is a more efficient way of gaining voters, than an appeal to reason and tolerance.

If Fox News cared about the survival of the Republican party, it would aim its cameras at Ron Paul or Jon Huntsman, candidates whose platform I don’t agree with but who are at least consistent and tactful. I will say it again, appealing to fear of the Other is a more efficient way of gaining viewers, than an appeal to reason and tolerance.

I will never expect fundamentalist Christian Republicans, nor Fox News commentators to take responsibility for Christianity’s tarnished reputation as a religion of fear-mongering, hatred and self-worship. To do so would be to lose the only ammunition they have against their more liberal political opponents.

In Our Words has explored the reclamation of words like “queer” and “tranny” and differing opinions on those issues. Even though I’m an atheist, it’s my recommendation that intellectual and progressive Christians begin reclaiming the word “Christian” to mean something other than ignorance and prejudice — if Christianity has any hope of surviving the onslaught of both New Atheists and conservative fundamentalism (those unlikely bedfellows).

As my Christian mother said to me, “There isn’t a war on Christianity. It’s Republicans masquerading as Christians waging war on everyone else.” Or, if there is a war on Christianity, its these Republicans, with their self-righteous victimhood, who are carrying it out.

Mariann Devlin is a recent journalism school graduate from Loyola University. She’s a reporter for Patch.com, and a volunteer contributor to Streetwise magazine, a publication dedicated to ending homelessness. Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, Mariann moved to Chicago four years ago and still complains incessantly about the cold winters. Follow her on her blog at  mariannecdotes.wordpress.com.