Christians Are Self-Censoring Their Beliefs due to Secular Intolerance, Study Finds

…The report, titled “Perceptions on Self-Censorship: Confirming and Understanding the ‘Chilling Effect,’” was put together by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe, the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Latin America and the International Institute for Religious Freedom. The study features case studies from France, Germany, Colombia and Mexico.

“Secular intolerance has a chilling effect on Christians, which directly affects their capacity to express their faith freely in society and is leading to various forms of self-censorship,” the study said. “Some people do indeed fear being subjected to legal proceedings or being criminally sanctioned on charges of discrimination, while others fear being subjected to disciplinary proceedings in their work or places.”

“With some exceptions, the majority chose to keep its expressions of faith or its opinions on issues related to life, marriage and the family from a Christian doctrine perspective private because they had witnessed sanctions or prosecutions to which colleagues or peers had been subjected,” the report added.

According to The Christian Post, the report’s authors stressed that while some of the incidents cited in the report may seem insignificant, when compounded, they can ultimately cause believers to feel uncomfortable living out their faith.

“A few cuts do not kill you and barely hurt. But continuous small strikes eventually have an impact. We posit that the accumulation of seemingly insignificant incidents creates an environment in which Christians do not feel comfortable – to some degree – to live their faith freely,” the report explained. “Indeed, Western Christians experience a ‘chilling effect’ resulting from perceived pressures in their cultural environment, related to widely mediatized court cases.”

“Because of the subtle and generally non-physically violent nature of the chilling effect, it is often misunderstood or even ignored and therefore largely remains invisible,” the report continued.

“This is the main reason why the phenomenon is not recognized in religious freedom datasets such as the Pew Research Center indexes,” the authors stated…










Read more news: https://www.christianheadlines.com/...s-due-to-secular-intolerance-study-finds.html








The intolerance of the secular progressives in western culture is oppressive. It exists to make believers uncomfortable in the expression of our beliefs. The nature of this more subtle form of persecution isn’t well known as such. The media and news do not often report on this milder form of persecution.

 

Anti-christian bigotry is all the rage on the left now.

You don't really even need to look any farther than this forum to see examples of it everyday.

 

The case the government brought against a member of parliament and a leader of the more conservative branch of the dominant denomination in Finland for their biblical belief expression on sex and marriage drew world wide attention. They were found not guilty but the impact was felt. We must make sure that environment is never allowed to happen here in the USA.

 

And the ironic thing is is that many of those same people sit there and tell us how against hatred and bigotry they are but they have zero reservations expressing it against Christianity

 

Christianity won’t die out due to a few leftist nut jobs. Even the might of the USSR and China couldn’t extinguish it and both eventually reintroduced it. It’s just the fashion at the moment to believe in politicians and Human Rights Acts. When the man-made utopia thing collapses as it always does, Christianity will come bouncing back.

 

Groomers are censoring themselves?
Great!

 

It can't be easy being a victim.

I can see why you worship Trump, you share the same sense of persecution.

I think the best solution is to continue to spread dozens of conspiracy theories until the majority of voters finally feel sorry for you.

 

Really? Cool...
Also, how is a Article (based on a "Study") Dated June 14th a "Current" Event?
Anyway, in general, I find the Christian Post's OPINIONS (about what the study actually means) to be incredibly misguided...
And, even the report's authors admitted:
the report’s authors stressed that while some of the incidents cited in the report may seem insignificant

 

I am a practicing Catholic and I know this is not even remotely true. This site should not allow such nonsense.

 

It's happened before it was called the Renaissance. Christianity was made better for it I don't think anybody would want to go back to the dark ages.

 

That is the bottom line here. You called it exactly the way that they are. They would have celebrated had the two in Finland been convicted of “hate speech” for merely expressing biblical belief by literally quoting from the Holy Bible itself. They brag that Christians aren’t persecuted here like the obvious cases in other parts of the world while they maintain a more subtle version of it in the west.

 

Oh really it seems to be a few people make fun of it and it seems to be part of pop culture but I'm pretty sure it always has been. There are quite a few controversial viewpoints from religious people and I think that's the primary source of all of this.

I'd say the best thing to do about it is don't place religions on the butcher block of politics unless you want it butchered. It isn't a shield.

 

They really need to just remove the rules around current event requirements and just make it “whatever we feel like” at this point.

It has gone from sad, to upsetting, to now just embarrassing

 

But neither do we want to go into the secular dystopias of the USSR and PRC.

 

So you favor the forms of subtle persecution and bigotry against religion SS exercised by the secular progressives in recent western culture and are celebrating the effects it. I’m not surprised. Also your bias and attack upon religious belief by the labeling you used is duly noted

 

I support the faith between the faithful and their beliefs — until they push that belief unto others — at which point I support the complete and total destruction of that organized religion

Glad to see you acknowledge what your religion is though!

 

I'm not sure religion is the solution to that. I don't see that as a possibility until a few constitutional rights are removed.

People owning guns is far more of a threat to the government becoming a secular dystopia than religion ever thought about being.

 

As a practicing evangelical Protestant, I see as the very truth. Your desire to censor other points of view is noted though.

 

The reformation is an ongoing thing. No one wants to go back to the religion being practiced during the dark ages. Today’s secular progressives are hostile to reformation and share the intolerance of those in the dark ages when it comes to the expression of religion they don’t like/ don’t agree with.

 

The fact that the source is Christian HEADLINES and did not come from their clearly labeled opinion section should have been your first clue that this is a news report reporting upon the effects of certain behavior by some due to the actions of others.

 

What?!

First: Christians don't worship mortals.

Second: Then you join those who would ridicule or dismiss Christians.

Please refrain from now on.

Thanks.

 

In a lot of cases the people owning guns and those involved in a religious belief are the same…

 

That's quite dramatic. When there are public executions then maybe.

What they are doing is trying to antagonize you. Read Matthew 10:22. This is what Jesus told you would happen. I'd say don't care so much about it and it likely won't bother you.

 

Yeah one is going to be much more functional than the other in fighting off oppressive regimes.

 

Unfortunately there are people that take advantage of people's commitment to their faith, especially the Catholic Church. Although I never even come close to experiencing such, it does them great harm.