Persecution Complexes: Identity Politics and the “War on Christians”

Abstract

the flagship newsmagazine show of the Christian Broadcasting Network, host Pat Robertson called for covert operatives acting on behalf of the United States to assassinate President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. "He has destroyed the Venezuelan economy, and he's going to make that a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent," Robertson averred, continuing: You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don't think any oil shipments will stop. But this man is a terrific danger and the United. .. This is in our sphere of influence, so we can't let this happen. We have the Monroe Doctrine, we have other doctrines that we have announced. And without question, this is a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us very badly. We

Effects of Online Christian Self-Disclosure on Impression Formation

“…In fact, in light of the principles of homophily and social identity theory, it may be somewhat unreasonable to expect that Christian self‐disclosure would elicit widespread negative reactions from a majority‐Christian U.S. audience. Perhaps some Christians’ reluctance to self‐disclose is grounded more in the rhetoric of the “Christian persecution complex,” popularized by some U.S. religious and political leaders in recent years (Castelli 2007), than in actual experiences of negative reactions to online or offline disclosures.…”

International Religious Freedom Promotion and US Foreign Policy

“…57-60;Marshall and Gilbert 1997;Marshall and Shea 2011;Marshall et al 2013 The coalition coalesced around support for Congressman Frank Wolf (R-Virginia) and Senator Arlen Specter's (R-Pennsylvania) IRFA. 5 Wolf's original concern had been largely for persecuted Christians, with limited appeal across both houses of Congress, by expanding an anti-persecution rhetoric into a positive affirmation and promotion of religious freedom internationally, the coalition was able to draw in those other faiths or those concerned about them (Bettiza 2019, p. 60;Castelli 2007;Hertzke 2004;Jewish Telegraph Agency 1998). The IRFA brought international religious liberty to the attention of the US foreign policy community, creating the Office for International Religious Freedom (OIRF) in the US State Department, and the position of Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.…”

Daniel as an Americanized Apocalypse

“…This term unfairly stigmatizes all evangelicals but identifies a widely shared sensitivity. 23 Some Christians major in the persecution complex, even to the point of associating florists who will not serve same-sex couples with actual Christian martyrs in the Middle East. 24 Recent films like God's Not Dead and God's Not Dead 2 imagine embattled Christians prevailing against entrenched secularist opposition.…”