Many pastors and Christian cultural commentators today are fond of saying things like, “We aren’t experiencing real persecution here in the United States, nor is there any significant persecution in places like Europe.” If that is the case, then why are so many people afraid to speak publicly about Christian moral convictions regarding sex, marriage, and what it means to truly build a Christian society like our fathers did? Why is it so difficult to teach Christian concepts in public schools, or to merely challenge secular dogma on human origins, even through general and benign concepts like “intelligent design”? Why is there such fierce opposition to abortion limits? There have been efforts in the past to challenge the secular zeitgeist, but they always seem to fizzle out.
The truth is that if you speak out, then you risk losing your job. There are cases where people in this country have been de-banked or had their assets frozen for their stands. Sometimes their property is vandalized or stolen, or maybe they will be doxxed or have their homes swatted. The more successful you are in speaking out, the more the persecution ramps up. We have even seen that people who are the most successful are getting assassinated or receiving death threats, such as Charlie Kirk.
Persecution Can Take Two Forms
There are actually two forms of persecution: masculine and feminine. Masculine forms of persecution are more direct, while feminine forms are more indirect. Masculine forms of persecution were prevalent in our past – beheading, torture, firing squads, gulags, and concentration camps were direct, violent forms of overt physical persecution. These are common in more masculine societies and are more historically familiar. The Soviets and Nazis are recent historical examples from Western Civilization, but this style of persecution is still prevalent, especially in Middle Eastern, Asian, and African countries.
On the other hand, feminine forms of persecution are far more subtle and occur in societies that are more feminine in nature. They are manipulative and relational methods. Feminine forms of persecution involve making someone pay a social price. One risks losing their job and livelihood for taking a stand. You could experience a legal action or lawsuits for “hateful” or “harmful” rhetoric. To the extent that there is physical violence, it is always targeted at or in safe places where pushback to the violence will be non-existent or even justified and encouraged by local authorities.
Examples of targeted violence are the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the death threats toward high-profile conservative commentators and their wives and children. Men like Matt Walsh, Benny Johnson, and Tim Pool are recent examples that come to mind. The persecution is not widespread, but targeted in order to maximize pressure on potential leaders and intimidate anyone who might step forward. The idea is to make life so miserable and costly that these successful Christian men will give up for the sake of their families.
Examples of violence occurring in “safe places” are mainly limited to urban centers controlled by leftist politicians. Widespread looting and burning of buildings by BLM or Antifa are justified as people “letting off steam.” Anyone who objects to the violence in these cities is prosecuted by local authorities for disrupting “peaceful protests.” All of this serves as a chilling effect to shut down Christians who might want to speak up. The fact that these forms of persecution are more subtle does not mean that they are less effective. In fact, an argument can be made that they are at least as effective, especially when you consider that in 1892, in a landmark Supreme Court case, America was declared a Christian nation. In The United States v.
The Holy Trinity, the court cited numerous examples to support its finding. Roughly 130 years into the future, it is difficult to imagine the current Court making such a ruling.
Courage is Required
There are no easy solutions to address the current problem of Christian persecution in the United States. In 1 Chronicles 12:32, the Bible describes the men of the tribe of Issachar as “men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” We need leaders and pastors who know what time it is. Men who understand that we don’t live in the same nation that existed 100, 50, or even 20 years ago. The enemies of Christianity are cunning and have adapted methods and strategies of persecution to effectively secularize a once profoundly Christian America. But as we say in recovery ministry, “the first step toward recovery is admitting that you have a problem.”
It is time to admit that we have a widespread Christian persecution problem in our country. Once we collectively have the courage to admit it, then and only then will we have the courage to deal with it.
