Anti-Christian Bias

A recent Department of Justice(DOJ) report has accused President Joe Biden of discriminating against Christians. The specific accusations include:

• FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances) Act Prosecutions
• Targeting of "Traditionalist" Catholics
• Sidelining Christian claims of discrimination in favor of other protected groups
• Targeting Christian parents at local school board meetings
• Levying record-breaking fines against Christian universities
• Mandating gender ideology in schools
• Preventing foster children from being placed with families that did not affirm gender ideology
• Dismissing religious objections to COVID-19 vaccine mandates
• Disregarding conscience rights for healthcare and health service providers
• Treating conscience rights as optional
• Using the Johnson Amendment to chill the speech of Christian organizations and churches
• Flying Pride flags at U.S. Embassies, including at the Vatican

As you would expect, there has been push-back on this report from secularists. But there has also been push-back from a source you might not expect – self-identified Christians who follow some form of theological liberalism. (You can read about this at https://baptistnews.com/article/experts-say-anti-christian-bias-task-force-report-is-full-of-bias/)

One of the more outspoken people who fall into this group is Melissa Rogers. She is an American church-state lawyer and non-resident senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. She previously served as executive director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships under President Barack Obama, and later in the same role under President Joe Biden. She has also teamed up with a couple of other like-minded individuals to lay out this “push-back” argument.

In criticizing the DOJ report, this group defended Biden’s actions:

• First, they claimed that Biden was a devout Catholic who attended Mass weekly. They contend that this fact shows he was not anti-Christian and, by extension, his actions were instead motivated by “fairness” and “Christian morality.”
• Second, they argued that traditional Christians do not share a unified worldview, and the report ignores people with differing viewpoints. In making this argument, they contend that the liberal theology they follow is just as legitimately Christian as what the DOJ was defending – which they refer to as Christian nationalism.

They went on to more specifically enumerate what they consider viable Christian arguments based on their theologically liberal viewpoint. Their arguments include the following points:

1. The U.S. is not a Christian nation - They call that idea “a false narrative created to privilege Christianity in policy and law.” They specifically stated that Christianity did not have a significant influence on America’s colonial origins, the text of the Declaration of Independence, or the formation and ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
2. The Constitution makes no mention of Christianity - They state that its only reference to religion is to ban religious tests for public office.
3. Christianity as envisioned by the DOJ report is misguided and represents a particular subset of Christians - They call the report a document with a Christian nationalist bias (their characterization of biblical Christianity).
4. True Christianity emphasizes mercy, peace, and humility – particularly as it relates to political policies regarding reproductive health care, protections for trans people, pandemic-era health measures, refugee programs, abortion, same-sex marriage, and illegal immigration. In other words, to them, true Christianity is based on theological liberalism, while biblical Christianity is a false, minority viewpoint.

It is true that in the modern era, the large majority of self-identified Christians do not hold a biblical worldview. According to Christian pollster George Barna’s latest polling, only six percent of self-identified Christians in America hold a biblical worldview. That doesn’t mean that only 6% are genuine Christians, but it does mean that the great majority hold to some beliefs that do not correspond to biblical teachings. Here’s Barna’s breakdown:

• All Self-Identified Christians - 6% hold a biblical worldview
• "Born-Again" Christians - 12%  hold a biblical worldview
• Evangelical Churchgoers - 11% hold a biblical worldview
• Charismatic/Pentecostal Churchgoers - 13% hold a biblical worldview
• Mainline Protestant Churchgoers - 6% hold a biblical worldview
• Catholic Churchgoers - 2% hold a biblical worldview

Some of those self-identified Christians are not genuine believers and some are. That said, the lower the percentage of those who hold a biblical worldview, the higher the likelihood that they don’t actually know a personal relationship with God. Add to that, the lower the percentage the more likely they are to believe some form of liberal theology.

In response to the criticisms:

1. The foundational beliefs underlying the formation of the American government are specifically Christian. The criticism that it is not is objectively false.
2. The fact that no specific reference to Christianity is found in the Constitution is totally beside the point. The beliefs and values that inform its contents do come from somewhere, and that somewhere is from Christianity. America is not a theocracy, nor was it ever intended to be. But its founding documents are based on Christian beliefs and values.
3. There definitely is a bias in the DOJ report. It is impossible for there not to be. But the criticism also reflects a particular bias. The question is, “Which bias reflects truth and reality?” The critics simply do not know how to make that distinction.
4. True Christianity does emphasize mercy, peace, and humility. However, what that means is not defined by political policies, but on the teachings found in the Bible. The evaluation of the critics is based on political philosophy, not the Bible.

Freddy Davis is the president of MarketFaith Ministries. He is the author of numerous books entitled The Truth Mirage, Rules for Christians Radicals, Liberalism vs. Conservatism, and his latest book Shattering the Truth Mirage and has a background as an international missionary, pastor, radio host, worldview trainer, and entrepreneur. Freddy is a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Communication, and holds MDiv and DMin degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a popular speaker, particularly on the topic of worldview and its practical implications for the Christian life. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife Deborah.

You may also contact Freddy at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule him for speaking or leadership engagements.

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