I've written many times about the phenomenon of Christians seeking to restore the existence of Christian Privilege in America. Closely associated with this is the existence of a 'persecution complex' where Christians whine about how they aren't allowed to do whatever they wish and, therefore, are being persecuted because of their religion.

Wife and Mother of Two writes:

When you have Christian Persecution Complex, you see every judicial decision, every cultural change, and every constitutional challenge to the status quo of entrenched Christian superiority as a war on Christianity. They cannot see the difference between “a Christian nation” and “a secular nation with a Christian majority”. Since they are the majority, they seem to think that American culture and law should bend itself to their religious beliefs. They’ll talk about the “tyranny of the minority” when issues like gay marriage or school prayer are decided by the courts.

They’ll scream that we’re trying to “excise God like a cancer” if we (you know, “the left”) argue that posting Ten Commandments in courthouses, In God We Trust on money, or forcing schoolchildren to recite under God during the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional (somehow, all three are merely ceremonial deism - not religion - but the fundies defend them as if it meant more than that.) When we defend women’s abortion rights, they’ll claim that we had to “cheat” by taking the fight to the courts, because we can’t accomplish our ends through the democratic political process. When we work to see gay people attain full citizenship in this country, we’re accused of “shoving the gay agenda down people’s throats”.

As good as the above comments are, I really like this:

As a member of the majority religion, they don’t see these government endorsements of Christianity the way some of us do. They see In God We Trust on the money and it’s just a simple fact to them; I see government promoting faith in an unprovable religious opinion counter to the First Amendment. They see Ten Commandments in courthouses and it’s a natural extension of God’s Law; I see a government that claims to treat all its citizens equally without regard to religion, yet displays Judeo-Christian scripture to show that some religions are more equal than others. They see prayer in public school as a healthy ritual for children; I see the children of Wiccans, Buddhists, Muslims, and Atheists forced to endure government-sponsored indoctrination into Judeo-Christian ideals (how am I supposed to convince my kid that belief in God is a foolish superstition when his school and his government are constantly telling him there is a God?)

I wish I had written that. Well, I have written about this idea before, but this is better than how I have phrased it. I’m going to have to remember this so I can point it out in the future — these are really important things to remember.

 

Read More:

• Christmas Wars: Recent News
• Christmas Wars: Overview, Rebuttal
• What do Atheists do During Christmas Holidays?
• Should Atheists Ignore Christmas?
• Are Atheists and Secularists Undermining Christmas?
• Is Jesus the Reason for the Season?
• Sources of Christmas Traditions, Modern and Ancient
• Are the Gospels Reliable About Jesus' Birth?
• Should Parents Perpetuate the Santa Claus Myth?
• Christmas Symbols, Christmas Holidays
• Christmas: Religious or Secular?
• Bah Humbug! Arguing Against Christmas