Christian Oppression of Non-Christian Peoples

Parker Haycock

Carmen Lemmon

Jared Pemberton

Jason Rammell

Salt Lake Community College

Social Health and Diversity

Jackie Farnsworth
 America is a democracy, ruled by the majority. From politics to ethnicities, if

more than half of the vocal population believes it, it is viewed as absolute truth. One of

these majorities that has lately received attention is that of the Christian population.

Because Christians are the majority, they decide how America should view non-Christian

religions. Usually unconsciously, Christians use their special Christian privilege to take

advantage of others. Christians stereotype other religions as “strange” or “mere fiction,”

also extending this stereotype to the constituents of these religions in order to build up the

Christian religions. This eventually leads to the oppression of the minority religions by

denying them rights based solely on their beliefs. We believe that all Christians are guilty

of each of these issues, to one extent or another. However, by educating others about our

role in the oppression of other religions, we would try to lessen Christians’ negative

impact on the world.

We are a group of Christian college students charged with volunteering at non-

Christian organizations. Through this service, we were able to gain special insight into

exactly how we abuse our Christian privilege, how we unconsciously stereotype others,

and how we add to their oppression as a whole. This service allowed the members of the

group to see exactly how “the other half” lives and what they may do to overcome this

Christian blindness.

It is more comfortable to be ignorantly privileged, of course, so when one learns

that others may be suffering or oppressed because of this privilege, there is some sense of

wrongdoing and, admittedly, discomfort.

We were very surprised by the many ways we found Christians are privileged. It

was difficult to notice much in just a few hours of service, but after thinking about the
experience, a couple of Christian privileges stood out. We noticed the lack of media

involvement. There was a Jewish Arts Festival (all welcome) that the group knew

nothing about until volunteering at the event, held at the Jewish Community Center. We

never saw a flyer or heard an ad for it. When we got there it looked like a really big deal

and a lot of work went into it. We were a bit surprised we hadn’t heard it advertised.

Maybe we were not looking for it or listening for it, but there are countless

advertisements for Christian related activities in the area, especially around Christian

holidays, holidays recognized by the American government. We didn’t even know where

these places were that we were to volunteer at; we hardly even knew they existed. We

were ignorant to these facts, and it didn’t really matter to us until we were compelled to

volunteer. Surely most people there or in other non-Christian groups are much more

aware of Christian places of worship or recreation or of Christian related activities and

holidays.

Being part of a majority is certainly easier, until, deep inside, the hint of guilt for

the sake of the minority suggests we must recognize their oppression and act against the

norm a bit to equalize where we can. When Christianity is established as the norm, often

without noticing, Christians may project their own experience as representative of

humanity. Non-Christian groups are marked as “the others”: different, even inferior. It

seems it is also easier to stereotype a minority group. A noticeable trait or action in one

tends to lead to labeling all as having that trait or being that way. The individual member

of a minority is not recognized as an individual like an individual member of the

dominant group is.

 In reality, while visiting non-Christian places, such as the Jewish Community

Center, almost nothing was noticeably different about them. Nothing suggested “the way

they are” because “the way they are” is complex, human individuals, just like Christian

people.

According to Austin Cline (About.com), a common defense of Christian privilege

is the idea that Christians are a majority, and in a democracy, the majority rules. If

Christians want to use their influence to shape legal, political, and cultural institutions to

conform to their own religious values, then that’s what being a Christian nation is all

about. In a liberal democracy, however, the rights and equality of all are protected.

Christians can no more vote to benefit Christianity than whites can vote to advance their

race.

The defense of privilege is a defense of dominance and discrimination, but for

those who benefit it’s a defense of their traditional way of life. They need to become

conscious of their privileges and realize that in a free society, such privileges are

inappropriate. Christian privilege is one of the few traditional privileges that continue to

be openly defended in modern society. Other forms of privilege like white privilege and

male privilege may continue to exist but it’s regarded as impolite to actually argue in

their defense anymore.

For example, something one group member realized about Christian privilege

when she was at the Jewish Community Center was that Christian holidays are nationally

recognized, but she didn’t know much about Jewish holidays or how they are celebrated.

It’s interesting that other religions know so much about Christian holidays, but Christians

for the most part are blind to non-Christian holidays.

 Christianity is the dominant religion here in the United States and is considered

by many to be the only true religion. Non-Christian religions are subject to stereotyping

because they are different from the norm.

Stereotyping occurs when a commonly held belief develops about a group of

people. Some of the stereotypes about the Hindu religion that are common here in the

United States include that Hindu’s worship cows, and that Hinduism is a polytheistic

religion. Stereotypes about Judaism include that they are exceedingly “frugal” or that

Christians can’t convert to Judaism. These stereotypes are false and are used to make

these religions seem inferior to the Christian religion. Sociologist Charles E. Hurst

wrote, “One reason for stereotypes is the lack of personal, concrete familiarity that

individuals have with persons in other racial or ethnic groups. Lack of familiarity

encourages the lumping together of unknown individuals”. (Hurst)

Many of the stereotypes held about non-Christian religions could be broken by

learning more about these religions and getting to know the members of the religion.

When one of the group members was doing her service learning at the Jewish

Community Center, she noticed that you couldn’t distinguish a Jewish person from a non-

Jewish person, and that everyone was made to feel included in this free Arts Festival.

She also noticed that the Jewish members buying items from the gift shop for Christmas

did not show any signs of being “cheap”, a common stereotype assigned to Jews.

Many times stereotyping can lead to discrimination. If a group of people is made

to seem inferior to one’s own group then it becomes easy to justify treating them

differently.
 Perhaps our country could lessen the stereotypes and discrimination if our

students were educated about different religions and their beliefs from an early age. That

way when these students heard a stereotype they would be educated enough to know it

wasn’t true, and would be open minded in their lives when encountering members of

non-Christian religions.

As Christians, we need to be more aware of the stereotypes we may hold about

non-Christian religions, and educate ourselves about their beliefs. We also need to

educate others when they express these false stereotypes.

Oppression is defined as “the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome,

cruel, or unjust manner” (Dictionary.com). Oppression is expressed in many different

ways, and is found in all aspects of life. Religious oppression can be one of the most

severe kinds of oppression because of the deep rooted beliefs that tie humans and their

religious beliefs. Persecution towards a person’s spiritual beliefs often offends the very

existence of that person.

Religious oppression is rampant throughout the world, and the United States is no

exception. This country is largely controlled by Christianity. Christianity has the power to

define normalcy in the religious spectrum of this population. With this power,

Christianity knowingly and unknowingly oppresses the minor religions in this nation.

Often times the dominant group is unaware of the injustice that it inflicts upon

subordinate groups. Islam and Hinduism are two examples of religions that are oppressed

by the dominant group. However, even these subordinate groups are affected in different

ways. In American media, Islam is a huge topic. It is often in the spotlight, but

suppressed by Christianity. Hinduism, on the other hand, is much more passive.

Hinduism is not an aggressive religion compared to many others. Because of this, Hindus

are seen as barely religious, and not devoted to their beliefs. Hinduism is oppressed by its

lack of attention and recognition in the public sphere and on an individual level.

Hinduism is seen as illegitimate and exotic. This can be seen by the acceptance of their

doctrine compared to Christianity. Christian Biblical stories are recognized as based in

fact, whereas Hindu doctrine is seen as fantastical or superstitious.

One member of the group observed that Jewish people are oppressed in the same

ways, but not to the same degree as Hindu people, in that the Hindu religion isn’t taken

seriously by some Christian people. This can lead to them being treated as outsiders by

some Christians.

In truth, the members of our group who volunteered at the Hindu temple for

Diwali found a very serious and devout group of worshippers, as devoted as any

Christian who might be found at a Christmas Mass or Easter Sunrise Service. The sheer

number in attendance suggested a commitment to this Hindu holiday’s observance that

was a pleasant surprise. And the beauty of the ceremony, including the prayerful singing

and incense burning certainly equaled those in Christian religious observance.

By discounting Hindu doctrine and belief, it is much easier for society to ignore

the needs of the Hindu community. Another member of our service learning group

noticed that members of the Hindu religion are often credited as believing in a religion

that follows fictitious stories. Also, this oppression plays large roles in the lives of

Hindus. Some members of our group believe, for example, that in the professional world,

employers will assume that Indians are Hindu and that they do not have strong moral

foundations. This may be due to the fact that the multiple deities within the Hindu
religion do not conform to the ideas of the dominant monotheistic society that has ruled

this nation since its founding.

America may be a democracy, but many of its people aren’t very democratic. By

not allowing themselves to see beyond the Christian majority, they lose sight of many of

the very powerful religions that much of the country adheres to. This majority’s blindness

gives Christians certain privileges that allow them to stereotype and ultimately oppress

most other religions. Religious diversity has much to offer, and it is only by learning

about and accepting other cultures that Americans will be able to realize what a

marvelously diverse nation this is.

 Works Cited

Cline, A. (n.d.). Christianism and Christian Privileges in American Society: Unpacking

Hidden Ways that Christians are Privileged in America. Agnosticism / Atheism -

Skepticism & Atheism for Atheists & Agnostics. Retrieved December 5, 2010,

from http://atheism.about.com/od/christianismnationalism/p/XianPrivileges.htm

Hurst, Charles E. Social Inequality: Forms, Causes, and. 6. Boston: Pearson Education,

Inc, 2007

oppression. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved December 05, 2010, from

Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/oppression