You Are Not a Martyr

Odds are that if you’re reading my post, you’re probably an American Christian or at least a cultural Christian; having been raised in a culture that identifies as predominantly Christian.

 

This essay is especially for you…but you probably won’t read it, because you fear it may challenge your beliefs. I get it.

You may even feel persecuted for your beliefs.

I hope you’ll read it for exactly that reason.

…..

 

 

 

If so, the following may help you with some needed perspective.

 

Let’s set the record straight: American Christians are not persecuted.

 

They are not oppressed. They are not silenced. They are not on the margins of society, clawing for basic dignity and freedom. No, in the USA …hell…across the depth and breadth of the entire North and South American continents…Christians are the majority. In the USA, Christians own the largest share of cultural capital, political influence, and institutional power and they always have.

 

So when you hear someone whining that “Christian values are under attack,” understand what’s really happening: the most dominant religious group in American history is throwing a tantrum because others dare to speak against them.

 

Christianity in America is not some humble, persecuted faith wandering in the wilderness. It’s a billion-dollar enterprise with tax-exempt status. It owns prime real estate in every city and saturates our airwaves with televangelist drivel and prosperity gospel snake oil. Its adherents routinely hold office, draft legislation, shape school curriculums, and most recently, wield the Supreme Court like a sledgehammer.

 

Last year, illegal immigrants in the USA paid approximately $96 Billion in taxes. Churches paid ZERO. So let’s be clear: When your churches don’t pay taxes but your God ends up in our government, you are not persecuted. You are privileged.

 

And when you cry foul because someone criticizes your views or publishes a book that offends your theology, you’re not being oppressed, you’re being reminded that this is still, at least in theory, a democracy.

 

There’s a crucial distinction we must all understand: disagreement is not persecution.

 

If someone mocks your beliefs, that’s not oppression. That’s free speech. You have every right to practice your faith. Your neighbor has every right to mock it.

 

If a gay couple wants to get married and it makes you uncomfortable, that’s not an assault on your religion. That’s equality in action.

 

If a public school teaches evolution instead of the nonsense of creationism, that’s not marginalizing you. That’s science reclaiming its rightful place from religious intrusion.

 

And if a library refuses to ban a book because it includes queer characters or challenges Christian nationalism, that’s not a war on faith. That’s liberty doing its job.

 

What we’re witnessing isn’t the persecution of Christianity, it’s the discomfort of unchecked power being challenged. And power that grows too comfortable with its dominance tends to mistake accountability for attack.

 

Look at who’s actually banning books. It’s not atheists. It’s not secular humanists. It’s not Muslims or Buddhists or Jews. It’s conservative Christians, overwhelmingly, who are waging war on libraries, school boards, and teachers.

 

Books about gender, race, and history; especially those that don’t flatter white Christian narratives, are disappearing from shelves. Drag story hours are being shut down. Teachers are afraid to use the word “gay” in class. And all the while, this same crowd dares to claim victimhood.

 

They’re not fighting for freedom. They’re fighting for control; for a monopoly on moral authority. And the only reason they cry “persecution” is because they’re finally being told “No.” and by they, I probably mean “you.”

 

America was never meant to be a Christian nation. It was meant to be a free one. Our founders, many of whom were deeply skeptical of organized religion, enshrined the separation of church and state not because they hated faith, but because they knew what religious tyranny looked like.

 

Yet here we are in 2025, with laws being written by people who believe the Bible should replace the Constitution. Abortion access is vanishing not because of public health concerns but because of theology. LGBTQ+ rights are under attack not for legal reasons but for scriptural concepts intended to guide the lives of illiterate Bronze Age shepherds who didn’t know where the sun went at night.

 

This is not religious freedom. It’s theocratic creep. And it must be stopped.

 

The myth of Christian persecution in America isn’t just laughable; it’s dangerous. It weaponizes false victimhood to justify real oppression. It turns the majority into a mob and the minority into targets. It warps empathy into outrage and replaces dialogue with dominance.

 

So the next time a politician, pundit, or pulpit preacher claims that Christianity is under siege, ask them this:

Because it’s not the secularists. It’s not the Muslims. It’s not the atheists. It’s the Christians.

And if your version of faith requires silencing others, it’s not worth protecting.

 

Democracy requires balance. It requires debate. It requires the courage to allow ideas to clash without calling disagreement an attack.

 

If we’re going to preserve that balance, we must stop indulging the myth of Christian persecution and start confronting the reality of Christian privilege. We must resist theocratic overreach not because we’re anti-Christian, but because we’re pro-democracy.