In season 2 episode 27 of Spongebob Squarepants, Spongebob and his friend Patrick are on a run from the law. Quickly realizing how ill-prepared they are for such living, the duo becomes worried when they realize they have no food. Spongebob however, has two chocolate bars, which he offers to share with his partner in crime. Spongebob warns Patrick to be cautious with his share of the chocolate as that is their only source of nutrients. Patrick, however, eats the bar in two bites and judging by the rumbling of his belly, is still hungry. He quickly accuses Spongebob of stealing his chocolate bar, leading to Patrick telling Spongebob “You stole my only food, now I’m going to starve” This is of course an overreaction to a problem that he himself created. The same problem can be seen with Christians in America. Despite being the overarching majority in the United States, Christians, especially conservative Christians play the victim in modern politics to a disturbing degree. While it must be understood that no one person’s life can be without struggles, the real problem is the fact that this shifts the focus away from victims of actual discrimination and prejudice, towards the loud minority of Christan outrage. The AP archive shows this outrage perfectly with their video “Christians Feel Under Siege in Divided America”. These points must be dissected, analyzed, and fact-checked to truly get an idea towards the actual source of this anger.

1. “There’s nobody hated more in this nation than Christians ” (0:43)

The beginning of the video is nothing more than what could be described as an average, even mundane church service in Kentucky. Where this sermon changes for the worse is when the pastor starts to speak of challenges and persecution. This passage makes sense considering the fact that during the time the bible was written Christians were actually punished for their beliefs by death. According to a website dedicated to archiving information of the history of Christianity throughout history, Christianity Today ”Despite this toleration, by the early second century, the Roman governor of Bithynia (on the Black Sea) had no hesitation in sending to immediate execution those who had been denounced as being Christians. The name alone was a sufficient death warrant.” The question is, however, does this translate into modern society? While obviously, people don’t hear stories on the news about massive numbers of American Christians being put to death, perhaps there is a modern equivalent? However, the American perspective overwhelmingly favors Christianity over every other religion.

Fig. 1. Pew Research Center (Americans Express Feelings Toward Religious Groups).
The survey was taken a year after the filming of the video, and while there’s a definite shift in opinion in the youngest generation, a majority of those in power and enforcing laws would be in the older demographics. The real ranking for the most “hated” group goes to Muslims in first place, in a close second place are the atheists, and in third place, the Mormons. To say Christians are the most hated group is just blatantly false, and the harm is that this idea was spoken by a pastor to those who came to worship their God. A man of his position should never give his own opinion as truth and try to disguise it as the word of God.

2. “You hear a lot more about people being offended by Christians rather than for Christians” (2:53-3:00)

This is a testimonial spoken by a Christain being interviewed for the video. The Christian’s name according to the AP archive, the organization responsible for creating this video is “Faith Haley” and she is a college student. Miss Haley makes the claim that there is more news about people being offended by Christians, and in a way, she is not wrong. The Pulse nightclub shooting, the signage of the religious freedom act, even the 2016 presidential election put religious groups, specifically Christians in the limelight as a potentially dangerous group. These were events which CBS news states “defined 2016”. However, the reason for the link between linking between Christians and hate isn’t as random as it seems. Research done by PEW research finds that over 70% of Americans either identify as Christian or are in a Christain affiliated faith group. This is significant once the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon is understood. The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon or the frequency illusion states that once something is noticed by an observer, said observer notices that something more frequently. The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon is overwhelmingly controlled by a bias that can make it seem as though a problem that is important to someone is even larger as time goes one. Miss Haley being Christain has a bias to believe that her religion is under attack. It is safe to say that without a shadow of a doubt that young Faith Haley was influenced to hold this belief by her pastor Richie Clendenen, with his idea that they are “America’s most wanted”(0:56). Pastor Clendenen is not totally at fault for the idea held by Faith, rather the state of America and the attitude of Christians is to blame.

3″I feel like in culture, that a lot of the issues that we’re coming up against brings us to this cliff and we’re right on the edge of it.”(3:15- 3 :27)

Pastor Richie Clendenen of the Christian Fellowship Church is bringing to mind the image of Christianity as a whole being pushed closer and closer to its destruction by society, if this were true then, by all means, Christians would be able to make a stronger argument for their supposed levels of hardship, and would be justified in playing the victim. One thing should remain perfectly clear. Christians are not the victims in modern-day America, nor could they plead that they are a force solely for good. In fact, modern actions done by Christians are blatant attacks against Islam, homosexuals, people of color, and other minority groups in America. In a 2016 article written by Julia Ioffe, Ioffe states that “If any community in this country has shown itself to be anti-gay, it is conservative Christians and their decades of peddling hatred for gay people, comparing homosexuality to pedophilia and bestiality, claiming AIDS is divine punishment, pushing “cures” for homosexuality, and blocking laws that prevent gays not just from marrying but from being discriminated against.” This point however is seemingly lost to many Christians, especially when it pertains to attacking the second largest political group, Islam. It is baffling to see the very same people who would deny services to a queer person make the claim that Islam is an inherently violent religion while Christianity is peaceful. This shift is so jarring bystanders are at risk of whiplash

Fig. 2. Man holding anti-LGBT sign at a rally, showing a photo of two men kissing, reading: “Sin sodomy”

4. But the thing that concerns me is when the law tries to get to the point to where it forces me to acknowledge their actions as truth, or, you know, participate in their actions (4:26-4:38)

First things first, there has been and never will be a law forcing Americans to participate in a homosexual relationship. In, fact although gay marriage was deemed legal in the US, many laws show the extent to which religious groups (namely Christians) are trying to exert control over the LGBTQ community. On March 26, 2016, Vice president Mike Pence signed the religious restoration act, which is an overly simplified version would allow religious business owners to deny service to any potential patrons under the pretense of religion. The law is still standing and with a Republican majority will likely remain standing for many years to come. According to PEW forums “white evangelical voters have been the bedrock of the GOP throughout this decade.” Although there is a separation of the church and state in the US, the First Amendment makes it so that every American (yes including lawmakers) can practice religion in any way that is deemed not harmful to others. Many Christians hold the belief that homosexuality is a sin often citing ROMANS 1:26-27 or LEVITICUS 18:22, and use this belief coupled with their first amendment rights to hold down the oppressed group of LGBT individuals. Understanding this power will hopefully give the guidance to see that Christianity in America is not weakening and is if anything growing stronger.

5. LifeWay Research

LifeWay Research is the subject of AP’s video and it is likely where many of the videos featured Evangelicals get their information. The same problem with the pastor from the beginning is her. LifeWay wants the best of both worlds. According to their website “LifeWay Research assists and equips church leaders with insight and advice that will lead to greater levels of church health and effectiveness. Frequent surveys on today’s church and culture demonstrate our knowledge of the dynamics of ministry today and our understanding of the realities of the culture we live in.” Despite obviously being a religious group first and a research institution second, a quick scroll through their website would have readers believe that they know God as well as they know the news. LifeWay is riddled with bias and faulty data. This disinformation is harmful in many ways the biggest one being that because LifeWay is a distributor to over 100 churches in densely populated areas, whatever they say or preach is then said or preached to thousands of individuals unchecked possibly forever. This becomes dangerous when these now misinformed people are making decisions by casting their vote to affect people’s lives across the nation.

Conclusion

At the end of the episode “Life of Crime” Spongebob and Patrick are safe and all is well in Bikini Bottom, but this is only accomplished by the two of them confessing to their wrongdoings and being willing to change. Christians in America must first, acknowledge their own wrongdoings. This can be done in big ways like making the Religious Freedom Restoration act desuetude but can be done in day-to-day downscale ways as well like simply talking to those who hold different beliefs than those held by the church, and treating every person with compassion and respect. Next, Christians must stop backing politicians whom they agree with simply upon the pretense that the politician is Christain. One thing that makes America a free nation is the variety of ideas and ideologies, and by picking a representative based on policy rather than identity is what true democracy is at its core. Finally, all Americans, not just Christians must allow themselves to see past identity and see one another as equals working toward a common good. A good defined not off of a book written thousands of years ago, but a good defined by freedom, justice, and happiness. It is only by valuing the life and liberty of others that people become truly deserving of the same.

Featured image from the Associated Press video “Christians Feel Under Siege in Divided America“

Works Cited

“16 Stories That Defined 2016.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, www.cbsnews.com/news/16-stories-that-defined-2016/.

Ioffe, Julia. “If Islam Is a Religion of Violence, So Is Christianity.” Foreign Policy, 14 June 2016, foreignpolicy.com/2016/06/14/if-islam-is-a-religion-of-violence-so-is-christianity/.

Kershner, Kate. “What’s the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon?” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 27 Jan. 2020, science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/baader-meinhof-phenomenon.htm.

LifeWay Research, 30 Mar. 2020, lifewayresearch.com/about/#.

“Religion and the 2006 Elections.” Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, 30 May 2020, www.pewforum.org/2006/12/01/religion-and-the-2006-elections/.

“Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics.” Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, 11 May 2015, www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/.