by Robert W. McDonald

Created on: December 26, 2009

Those who make a claim that there is a “growing movement to suppress Christianity” have been successful in making their opinions known. Unfortunately, they have not been as successful in convincing others, including myself, to accept the validity of their opinions. This essay will, hopefully, present a rebuttal to at least some of these allegations.

Those claiming that Christianity is being suppressed in favor of some other religion or, God-forbid, humanism (pun intended), seem to begin from the position that Christianity is innately superior to every other religion and/or philosophical system. By this line of reasoning, anyone holding views contrary is wrong and it is their “duty” to make everyone else “see the light and come to Jesus.” We will then, by obeying the Laws of God, live happily ever after.

Throughout history, such thinking invariably leads to the contention that the problems of society will simply go away if only we would hurry down the rosy path of righteousness to join those already embracing the One True Faith. I need only recall that when a “One True Faith” was proposed as the only “solution” to the many problems facing Russia in 1917 or Germany in the 1930s, the results were not very pleasant. In fact, it was extremely unpleasant on those citizens who found themselves “on the outside looking in.”

Another popular misrepresentation is that the absence of prayer or “Christian” pre- and after-school activities along with, of course, the teaching of “evil-lution,” within the public schools is part and parcel of this alleged suppression. The advocates of this position seem to selectively forget that, until the 1950s and even later in some cases, many public schools taught the superiority of Christianity and justified “separate but equal” segregation on the basis of a few ambiguous Bible verses. I must admit that I was educated in such a school but that I also fear that if the First Amendment is “disregarded” there may be less and less reluctance to “disregard” other Constitutional rights.

I will also acknowledge that there are indeed countries such as Syria, Iran, the Palestinian Homeland, Arabia, or China where it isn’t very healthy to be a practicing Christian. I also do not understand how the actions in those countries can be cited as “proof” of some alleged anti-Christian pogrom in the United

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