Reported Experiences of Anti-Christian Prejudice among Christian Adolescents in England

Abstract

Christians' experiences of anti-Christian prejudice are relatively unexplored in sociological research. This paper analyses perceived anti-Christian prejudice reported by Christian adolescents in England. Rich interview data were generated with Anglican, Baptist and Catholic adolescents (n=26) over a five month period in churches and church youth groups in an English city. They reported incidents of anti-Christian name-calling (slurs), bullying, labelling and aggressive questioning about their faith by non-Christian peers indicating that anti-Christian prejudice may affect the status of Christians in adolescent peer-group hierarchies. They also perceived formal aspects of schooling to be biased against Christian beliefs and practices. These episodes suggest that, like prejudice against other religious groupings, anti-Christian prejudice has historical, negative tropes and stereotypes based upon perceived inferiority. However, unlike other kinds of religious prejudice, the analyses also suggest anti-Christian prejudice can sometimes be related to philosophical objections to religious beliefs rather than negative racial or ethnic attributes. The relationship between these findings and secularisation are discussed.

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