Anti-Christian sentiment is found in opposition to some or all
Christians, the Christian
religion, or the practice of
Christianity.
Christophobia or
Christianophobia are also names for "every form of discrimination and intolerance against Christians".
Anti-Christian expressions
Vandalism
Marilyn Manson Performing Antichrist Superstar at the Electric Factory
The
vandalism or
defacement of Christian symbols or property is one form of the expression of anti-Christian sentiment. If the defaced or vandalized object is considered holy by Christians, such as
the Bible,
the Cross, or an image of Christ or a
saint, the case becomes that of
desecration. Such destruction may also be illegal if it violates
property rights or
hate crime laws.
Arson directed at Christian meeting places or churches is often considered a hate crime.
However, churches may also be targeted for reasons unrelated to anti-Christian sentiment, especially
racism.
An aggravating factor in the burning of a church in
Minnedosa, Manitoba was that two of the arsonists were fans of
National Socialist black metal music with anti-Christian themes, according to
the Crown.
Music
Some elements of the
black metal and
death metal (although, more focused on gore than anti-Christianity) scene declare open hatred of Christianity. Headliners of the black metal scene have claimed responsibility for inspiring (if not necessarily perpetrating) over fifty arsons directed at Christian churches in
Norway from 1992 to 1996.
The most notable church was Norway's
Fantoft stave church, which the police believed was destroyed by the one-man band
Burzum,
Varg Vikernes, aka "
Count Grishnackh".
. Long term goth/metal band
Christian Death, had an album called
Born Again Anti-Christian.
Examples of anti-Christian sentiment in politics and culture
United States
Christian activists have spoken out against the perceived increasingly secular nature of American society, and what they have seen as the minimizing of formerly dominant Christian traditions, e.g.
the War on Christmas popularized by
Bill O'Reilly and
Stephen Colbert. Other instances have included network television in the United States broadcasting content in TV series and talk shows that have been considered 'offensive' and 'anti-Christian' in nature; the same is said for many feature films. A double standard is also supposedly in effect as many have claimed that freedom of religion in the United States has been exclusive of Christianity. Examples of this include students allowed to write reports on Muhammed, but not on Jesus Christ, in public schools. Vandalism of Church property has also become common.
United Kingdom
Mark Pritchard, the
Member of Parliament representing the English constituency of
The Wrekin, instigated a debate in the
House of Commons on 5 December 2007 on the issue of Anti-Christian sentiment, describing the phenomenon as 'Christianophobia'. Introducing the debate, he said it was about "how anti-Christian sentiment is increasing, not decreasing; why many Christians feel they are not getting a fair hearing when it comes to Christianity in the public square; and what many people of all faiths and no faith see as the increasing marginalisation of Britain’s Christian history, heritage and traditions through the actions of Whitehall Departments, Government agencies, local authorities, the charity commissioners, or other sectors of society."
Norway
6 June 1992. The
Fantoft stave church, a wooden structure originally built in 1150 in Fortun, when the Vikings converted to Christianity, and moved to Bergen in 1883, burned down. At first the fire was put down to lightning and electrical failure. In January 1993
Varg Vikernes, aka Count Grishnackh, was interviewed by a local journalist in his apartment decorated with 'Nazi paraphernalia, weapons and Satanic symbols'. Vikernes claimed that the Black Metal scene had declared war on Christianity and Norwegian society and was responsible for eight church burnings as part of an ongoing terror campaign. He used a photo of the charred remnants of the church taken soon after the fire on his band
Burzum's album entitled
Aske (
Norwegian for ashes). Following his statement the Norwegian authorities began to clamp down on the Black Metal scene.
In 1994 Vikernes was found guilty of murder, arson and possession of illegal weapons (including explosives) and given the maximum sentence under Norwegian law of 21 years in prison, where he renounced Black Metal and embraced neo-Nazism.
[ In mid-2009 he is due for release under parole after serving 16 years of the sentence.]
Partial list of Christian church arsons in Norway by anti-Christian groups reported by English-language media sources:
1992:- May 23: Storetveit Church in Bergen
- June 6: Fantoft stave church in Bergen
[ Lords of Chaos (1998): 78] – Varg Vikernes was suspected of the crime, but denied this;[ he was not convicted.]
- September 1: Ormøya Church in Oslo
- September 13: Skjold Church in Vindafjord
[ – Varg Vikernes and Samoth were convicted for this.]
- October: Hauketo Church in Oslo
- December 25: a Methodist church in Sarpsborg
Sweden
1993:Germany
Following a visit to Germany, in 1998 the United Nations Special Rapporteur issued a report in which he found that a climate of intolerance affected several Christian groups, among them Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Charismatic Christians have also been targeted.
The stigma attached to formalized discrimination of this type has created a climate of religious intolerance that breeds daily incidents of discrimination.Israel
In May 2008, several hundred New Testaments were burned in Or Yehuda, Israel. The books were found in a number of local Jewish homes, and in order to stop distribution of Messianic literature in the city, the Deputy Mayor had them collected. He later reported that during his absence, 3 Israeli students started a fire and incinerated at least 200, when he returned he put a stop to the book burning.See also
