i had no idea until i came to R&S that christians feel this way. is this something that they are taught in church?
which religion (or lack thereof) do you think is really the most persecuted today? i would think muslims
2007-09-10 01:34:11 · 31 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
pangel - you made a great point. just because someone disagrees with you, that doesn't mean you're being persecuted
2007-09-10 01:50:56 · update #1
I had an idea that some considered that but I didn't know there were so many Christians who thought they were the most persecuted.
There are many religions that are more persecuted, Islam is one of them but I don't think they are the most persecuted. The most persecuted would be one of the Pagan religions. Did you know that until a couple months ago a Wiccan soldier couldn't have a pentacle put on his gravestone when he dies when all other religious symbols were allowed? It took ten years to bring that into effect.
2007-09-10 01:40:00 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 2⤋
I've encountered this mode of thought before. Not all Christians believe this, but a surprising number do. I know that at least SOME churches teach this, because I've attended a few that do. Developing a persecution complex is a way to unify the group. People are willing to give up a lot of themselves when they believe that their families are under siege.
Of course, when you're a member of a religious majority group, it's difficult to claim religious persecution. For this reason, many Christians have developed a habit of seeing "persecution" virtually everywhere.
As far as which group is the most persecuted, in the USA it's the Jews. Jews represent about 1% of the US population, but are the victims in almost 70% of religiously-motivated hate crimes. Muslims come in second, representing less than 1% of the population, but over 10% of religious hate-crime victims.
2007-09-10 09:00:48 · answer #2 · answered by marbledog 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I wasn't aware that we were all having a "persecution contest" here.....
FYI: Lots of Christians around the world are being persecuted for their faith and in some cases being killed for practicing their faith. It doesn't get a lot of media exposure. Not long ago there was an actual news story about how Christian churches in Iraq were being blown up. I'm surprised it made the news. Our media has an obviously anti-Christian bias.
I am not in any way supporting them - I don't really believe in what they preach - but I think the most persecuted religion right now is actually the traditionalist Mormons right here in the Western U.S. Most of them appear to want to be left alone in their own communities to live the way they want to, but are harrassed by the government. At least that's what it looks like anyway..... Even if you don't agree with their beliefs, they have a right to be left alone to live their lives in peace, as long as they aren't actually harming others.
Muslims??? Persecuted?? Where in the world did you ever get that notion? I don't think a guy who puts on a vest full of explosives and then detonates it in a crowd of innocent people is exactly persecuted.
2007-09-10 08:51:18 · answer #3 · answered by the phantom 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I think it's in their bible that Jesus said that they were supposed to be persecuted, so sometimes some do try to find evidence of persecution where none exists.
Which religion is the most persecuted? That depends on where in the world you're talking about. There are members of almost all religions being persecuted at different points around the world.
2007-09-10 08:40:21 · answer #4 · answered by Cathy 6 · 6⤊ 0⤋
The Jews are surrounded by their enemies and have been persecuted through out history 3 to 4 thousand years longer then anyone else. Today It seems it happens to every group I think religion in general is starting to be attacked more everyone seems to blame a religion for all the problems of the world.
2007-09-10 08:49:10 · answer #5 · answered by budleit2 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I would think the Muslims too, if not only for the fact that some of the fundamental factions within Islam are so inexorably linked with terrorism...note I did NOT say all Muslims.
As for Christians feeling persecuted, well, the tears of this crocoduck will slip gently from my cheeks for about two seconds as I fondly remember the heady days of the Inquisition, the "correcting" of native North Americans, and the triumphs of the Conquistadors.
2007-09-10 09:09:50 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
I would still have to go with Jews, simply because of the whole mass extermination thing, but there are countries where Christianity is punishable by death. In the States, though, I think Pagans or Muslims are the most persecuted. Christians have a cake-walk here.
Edit: and although it's not a religion, I think atheists have it pretty rough in the states, too. Ordinarily reasonable people will actually say that they would not vote for an atheist or trust one... it's madness!
2007-09-10 08:40:50 · answer #7 · answered by ZombieTrix 2012 6 · 5⤊ 1⤋
I really don't know who the most persecuted is - I haven't got the statistics. There do seem to be a lot of touchy Christians on here, but perhaps, there are just a few who are very vocal....
2007-09-10 08:41:13 · answer #8 · answered by Marnster 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
For a short period of time, Christians were fed to the lions by the Romans. And they never let anyone forget it. They act like it happened to them personally.
When I was a Christian, and went to church, they would often talk about how persecuted we were for our faith. That the secular world hated us, and was jealous of us at the same time.
I don't know if all churches talk like this, but the one I went to did.
2007-09-10 08:42:09 · answer #9 · answered by hypno_toad1 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Been going to churches for over 60 years, never heard that one.
Most Christians believe the Jewish people are the most persecuted.
2007-09-10 08:41:22 · answer #10 · answered by oldguy63 7 · 4⤊ 1⤋