# "Christianophobia" - is there a double standard in the way Christianity is treated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 7, 2026, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877 "2026-09-07T16:12:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![JDYanYan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jdyanyan/32/21663_2.png) [@JDYanYan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDYanYan)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/101 "2026-09-08T21:47:33Z")
I don’t think the privilege “invisible napsack” framing really works for people raised in a dominant religion since those tend to be the people most often victimized by that religion. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/102 "2026-09-08T22:22:03Z")
This is exactly why non-default people think default people live on a different planet. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/103 "2026-09-09T08:41:58Z")
Well,obviously, my ideal Archbishop of Canterbury would be a black, atheist transwoman, but we hae some way to go before that happens. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/104 "2026-09-09T09:48:01Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > What word or phrase do you feel would be more accurate? Special consideration perhaps? You’re not wrong though, I do think think there’s some fear about appearing Islamophobic, and being a bigot, whereas most people aren’t worried about appearing anti-Christian. The phrase I think would be more accurate is the one I used: > [@](#): > > It’s a wariness of appearing to support Islamophobia in the act of condemning homophobia. I don’t want to open up the “intersectionality” can of worms but it can be tricky dealing with one form of bigotry in a population that themselves are subject to bigotry. The lines between “criticising that group for their bad behavior” and “pretending to care about that issue as an excuse to further persecute that group” tend to get blurred. I’ve certainly seen plenty of blatant Islamophobes pretending to care about the treatment of LGBTQ+ people by Muslims who in the next breath will spout some virulent homophobia themselves. TL;DR: It’s complicated. Meanwhile, a reminder that US evangelicals have been instrumental is promoting some pretty nasty anti-gay legislation themselves. > **[Uganda Just Made Homosexuality Punishable by Death. American Evangelical...](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/05/uganda-homosexuality-death-american-evangelical-groups?srsltid=AfmBOoqcw6UNNh2e__SLveGQvcI_iHl5MpbG9Hf7aAlMoIvP6KSIAlJC)** > > President Joe Biden—and even Ted Cruz—has condemned the Ugandan law. The legislation comes after years of lobbying from American Christian groups, some of which previously supported such harsh anti-LGBTQ measures. It’s so much easier to get away with persecution when the government is on your side, no matter your religion. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/105 "2026-09-09T18:20:15Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > Well,obviously, my ideal Archbishop of Canterbury would be a black, atheist transwoman, but we hae some way to go before that happens. Atheist makes no sense, but the Archbishop of Canterbury is a woman- Dame Sarah Elisabeth Mullally , she is married with two children. And this thread has drifted from the Op into Christian bashing/bigotry. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/106 "2026-09-09T19:07:34Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And this thread has drifted from the Op into Christian bashing/bigotry. Not at all; I’m very fond of the Church of England, simply because it is so open to new ideas and interpretations. If any church could be ‘culturally Christian’ while being agnostic or atheist, the CoE has that potential. I remember with fondness the Bishop of Durham, David Jenkins, who cast doubt on many of the tenets of conventional Christianity. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/107 "2026-09-09T19:26:20Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > If any church could be ‘culturally Christian’ while being agnostic or atheist The Unitarian Universalists filled that niche in the USA, AIUI. But really “church being culturally Christian while atheist”… maybe it’s just my own oldfartitude but my reaction to that is what would be the point. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/108 "2026-09-09T19:45:04Z")
Jewish Atheism is a long-established and well-respected identity. > **[Jewish atheism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_atheism)** > > Jewish atheism is the atheism of people who follow the ethnic and cultural construct of Judaism. "Jewish atheism" is not a contradiction because Jewish identity encompasses not only religious components but also ethnic and cultural ones. Jewish law's emphasis on descent through the mother means that even religiously conservative Orthodox Jewish authorities would accept an atheist born to a Jewish mother as fully Jewish. Jewish secularism, which describes Jews who do not explicitly reject the exi... Christian Atheism also exists, and has many different schools of thought. Many UK people are culturally Christian, but the theological side does not appeal to them at all. > **[Christian atheism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_atheism)** > > Christian atheism embraces the teachings, narratives, symbols, practices, or communities associated with Christianity without accepting the existence of a deity. It is a form of nontheism and often overlaps with post-theism. There are different schools of thought among Christian atheists. Thomas Ogletree, Frederick Marquand Professor of Ethics and Religious Studies at Yale Divinity School, lists these four common beliefs: One approach to Christian atheism is Death of God theology, which had brie... We have already discussed Buddhist atheism, which is very well-established and just about the dominant school in that belief system. Non-theism also exists in Hinduism. The ethics and moralities of these various religions can be regarded as important and separate from the theology, and if a religion is open to a secular interpretation, then encouraging such an interpretation is a worthwhile strategy, and entirely different to ‘Christianophobia’. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/109 "2026-09-09T20:00:21Z")
Well, if you publicly mock Islam or make it the target of comedic barbs, you might get yourself assassinated. I’m thinking that’s a strong deterrent. Whereas, if you mock Christianity or make it the object of comedic barbs, you don’t face much of a downside. Taylor Tomlinson’s newest Netflix comedy special was actually performed in an old Christian church, and most of her hour or so was mocking Christianity. I don’t recall hearing a single barb being thrown at Islam or any other religion. I’m seeing it as safely doing what is politically correct. Mocking Christianity is okay because it is viewed as the basic religion of American culture. Mocking any other religion is viewed as mocking the culture that has that particular religion as their basic religion. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/110 "2026-09-09T20:06:32Z")
And hey, if you make a whole musical mocking the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, they’ll buy an ad in your program. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/111 "2026-09-09T20:09:40Z")
Are you kidding?! Well, someone said bad publicity is better than none at all. Maybe that was their thinking? LOL ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/112 "2026-09-09T20:20:28Z")
I’d much rather have a religion that you can poke fun at than one you can’t. LDS seems to embrace their (frankly absurd) theology and revel in it. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/113 "2026-09-09T20:22:26Z")
Larry David got away with writing a musical that poked fun at the _fatwa_ against Salman Rushdie, albeit as a show-within-a-show on _Curb Your Enthusiasm_. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/114 "2026-09-09T20:32:10Z")
Nope. I went to the musical, and the ad in the playbill said something like, “you’ve seen the show, now read the book”, and was pretty prominent. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/115 "2026-09-09T20:35:18Z")
And if you write a hit song parody lampooning the Amish, they won’t know it exists. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/116 "2026-09-09T20:35:47Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Larry David got away with writing a musical that poked fun at the _fatwa_ against Salman Rushdie For now … LO ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/117 "2026-09-09T20:43:30Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Well, if you publicly mock Islam or make it the target of comedic barbs, you might get yourself assassinated. I’m thinking that’s a strong deterrent. The word “might” is doing some very heavy lifting, there. You might also get assassinated for offending Christians. You might get assassinated by members of any demographic, for any reason. But it’s not very likely that you’ll get assassinated for offending Muslims. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/118 "2026-09-09T21:02:51Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Nope. I went to the musical, and the ad in the playbill said something like, “you’ve seen the show, now read the book”, and was pretty prominent. It’s been a while since I read this but apparently many people have been inspired enough by seeing The Book of Mormon to go learn the reality about Mormonism and, in some cases, to convert. The LDS have taken the exact right tack on this issue. > [@Jasmine](#): > > Well, if you publicly mock Islam or make it the target of comedic barbs, you might get yourself assassinated. And yet lots of people have made fun of Islam and Muslims and not been assassinated. Also - has no one seen _Four Lions_? It’s so good. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/119 "2026-09-09T21:50:38Z")
By way of allegory — When I lived in Athens Georgia, Catholic Christians were very much the minority. They had one church that I was aware of, whereas the town was rife with Methodist churches, had a double handful of Presbyterian churches, multiple Lutheran churches, and a Baptist church on every corner. Whenever I found myself interacting with any Catholic folks, they were surprisingly progressive, directly involved in some kind of caring outreach, and activist. The Baptist folks, on the other hand, were intolerant, pushy, and strongly inclined to insist that anyone who was not a Baptist was going to hell. I’ve been living in the New York City region since 1984 and the Catholic Church is much more the establishment up here. They’re the ones most likely to be bragging about their intolerance and declaring this and that behavior to be reason for excommunication, these folks and those folks to be evil sinful people to speak out against. Yeah, I think there’s a bit of a double standard towards Christianity in general from some of us here in the United States. The Christianity we look down our noses at is the United States incarnation of it, where it is so often the establishment religion, and arrogant and pushy and intolerant and judgmental. ---
**Author:** ![JDYanYan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jdyanyan/32/21663_2.png) [@JDYanYan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDYanYan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877/120 "2026-09-09T22:20:10Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > And yet lots of people have made fun of Islam and Muslims and not been assassinated. > > Also - has no one seen _Four Lions_? It’s so good. The fact that someone has to reach back more than a decade really shows how ridiculous the assertion is. As if the Mayor of New York isn’t being openly blamed by the MSM for 9-11 (which happened when he was a young child) because he’s Muslim. As if dozens of far right provocateurs haven’t made a name for themselves with anti-Islamic bigotry. As if this country’s Christians haven’t actively signed off on the destruction of Palestine because they want to get to the end of their story book. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianophobia-is-there-a-double-standard-in-the-way-christianity-is-treated/1032877.md?page=7)