“Don't hide behind the Constitution or the Bible. If you're against gay marriage, just be honest, put a scarlet 'H' on your shirt, and say, 'I am a homophobe!” ― Henry Rollins
Imagine you have an obnoxious bigger sibling who will not stop pushing you around and telling you what to do. They say all the toys are theirs. And they demand you play by their rules. All you want is to be left alone. But they will not cease their bullying.
One day, after years of bullying, you have had enough. You tell them to quit. And to emphasize the point, you push them away. They run to Mommy crying, “Sarah (or whatever name you go by) hit me. She hurt me. Make her stop. It’s so unfair.”
In a nutshell, I have described conservative Christians.
Millions of religious Americans keep their own counsel and pursue a live-and-let-live policy. But too many are sanctimonious gits who believe that they are entitled to live in a world where everyone has to bow to their views of how things ought to be. Views they give the veneer of unquestionable absolutism by insisting they are the mandate of an invisible being that talks to them — but not to you. And you have to take their word that this astral, fascist rule-giver exists.
Many Americans — including many that do not check the heteronormative bigender box, as well as their family and loved ones — have resisted the push by conservative Christians to force their beliefs on others. They are not proselytizing or fighting a crusade. They are not telling Christians to stop being Christian. They are not promoting their modus vivendi. They only want to live in a land of the free — not a theocracy.
In response, conservative Christians are acting like the spoiled brats they are. Take the Family Research Council (FRC)— one of a horde of anodyne-named organizations dedicated to promoting heterosexual patriarchy as the sole acceptable state of being.
The number one item on their website is a whiny piece of ‘woe is us’ they title Hostility Against Churches Is on the Rise in the United States - Analyzing Incidents from 2018-2023. In reading this, the critical thinker must ask two questions. Is the FRC correct that there is an increase in hostility against churches? And if so, is it a significant issue?
The answer to the first is unknown, as the FRC admits. Their language alone is so vague as to be meaningless. Look at the following excerpts — with my commentary.
“Due to the perceived increase in acts of hostility against churches” — “Perceived” is not a synonym of “actual.”
“This could be due in part to increased public reporting on crimes against churches, resulting in more available data than in the past.” — They admit the increase may not be an increase.
“Americans appear increasingly comfortable lashing out against church buildings.” — “appear” equals “just guessing.”
There is much more, but I will not belabor the point. Instead, I will ask whether this increase (if it actually exists) is significant. Here, the answer is clear — “No.”
The FRC distills its data into four “key points.” Let us have a look at them. For the sake of argument, I will accept their numbers are valid.
1. “Over the past six years (2018-2023), FRC has identified 915 acts of hostility against churches in the United States.”
According to the National Congregational Study Survey, the US has an estimated 380,000 churches. This number means that any individual church ‘suffered’ a 0.24% likelihood of an “act of hostility” during that time — not lottery odds, but vanishingly rare. Put another way, out of the 380,000 churches, 379,085 had no problem.
2. “Between January and November 2023, at least 436 acts of hostility against churches took place in the United States, more than double the number FRC identified in 2022.”
Similar math tells us that in 2023, 0.11% of churches had an issue. “More than double” of very few is still not a lot.
3. “From January to November 2023, there were at least 315 occurrences of vandalism, 75 arson attacks or attempts,10 gun-related incidents, 20 bomb threats, and 37 other incidents. Seventeen incidents fell into multiple categories.”
Despite there being hardly any overt hostility to US churches, the FRC is determined to make it seem as if it is a real problem. But again, their language is too vague to mean anything. What constitutes vandalism? They do not say. How many of the 75 arson attacks were “attempts” (ie not arson)? Were there any actual bombs? Plenty of nutters phone in threats where there is no jeopardy. What are “other incidents?”
4. “Criminal acts of vandalism and destruction of church property may be symptomatic of a collapse in societal reverence and respect for houses of worship and religion.”
The flip side of “may be” is “maybe not.” We have learned nothing. More importantly, if there is a collapse in “societal reverence and respect” for Christianity, the FRC should look in the mirror and ask themselves, “Why?”
If I act like an arrogant dick, I should expect the people around me to take a negative view of my behavior. And it seems that many Americans have taken a negative view of Christianity. The FRC should stop pot-stirring and blame-shifting and consider why so many previously Christian Americans decided to cancel their membership.
The numbers should make the FRC rethink its marketing strategy. Anyone selling a product that loses 1/3 of its market share must look at the product’s branding and content. To start, the FRC should analyze the role homophobia, xenophobia, misogyny, and all their other aggressive bigotries have played in their religion’s declining approval ratings and adherents.
If they do that with an open mind and clear vision, the FRC will realize the reason for a “collapse in societal reverence and respect for houses of worship and religion” is fundamentalist Christians acting like assholes.
Do not hold your breath. Zealots will not look inward. Instead, they will keep blaming militant LGBTQ, the UN, feminazis, socialists, the deep state, globalism, city residents, the far left, Antifa, illegal aliens, social media, George Soros, and fluoridation for their declining ratings.
Here is another question for the FRC. How many gays have said Christians do not have the right to get married?
The FRC should do some more math. In 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), there were 3,697 antisemitic incidents in the US. This rate of hate means there are almost the same number of incidents as synagogues in the US (c.3,700).
I will grant you that the antisemitism numbers and the church vandalism stats are not an apples-to-apples comparison. But they do point to the fact that antisemitism is both absolutely and relatively a far worse problem than anti-Christian sentiment in the US.
But that will not stop the religious bigots and their godhead, the mephitic Citizen Trump, from whining that they are far more sinned against than sinning. Just like bullies everywhere do.