Sociologists at the University of North Texas are issuing a cautionary warning to Christians noting that, though there isn’t widespread “Christianophonia” in the U.S., the small group of those who have a strong aversion to conservative believers are among the influential and elite.
George Yancey and David Williamson shared findings corroborating this notion in their recently released book “So Many Christians, So Few Lions: Is There Christianophobia in the United States?” which promises to offer a “provocative look at anti-Christian sentiments in America.”
The sociologists, who define Christianophobia as “unreasonable hatred or fear of Christians,” argue that it’s worth exploring potential intense bias against Christians, as it helps readers understand the “social dynamics” that exist in the U.S., according to an official book description.
As far as how prevalent the problem truly is, Yancey told the Christian Post that it’s really a small group of people that hold strong hostility, though that group is comprised of elite individuals with more societal power than the average person.
Yancey said that he and his co-author were motivated to explore potential Christianophonia after they began collecting qualitative data from interviews with liberal activists and noticed a troubling trend among a certain subset of these respondents.
That in mind, a few months ago, the sociologist shared a sampling of some of the “unreasonable hatred” he said he encountered through interviews with cultural progressive activists for the purpose of his study. Here are just three of the comments that were made about the Christian right:
“I want them all to die in a fire.” (Male, aged 26-35 with Doctorate)
“They should be eradicated without hesitation or remorse. Their only purpose is to damage and inflict their fundamentalist virus onto everyone they come in contact with.” (Female, aged 66-75 with Master degree)
“They make me a believer in eugenics….They pollute good air…I would be in favor of establishing a state for them… If not, then sterilize them so they can’t breed more.” (Male, aged 46-55 with Master degree)
These statements caused Yancey to look deeper at the pool of respondents — individuals who were chosen from unnamed groups that are actively opposed to sentiments held by many conservative Christians.
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