I never really thought of myself as a Christian, and I never considered Christianity in general as a problem. At first, it seemed like you guys were just using Christians as a scapegoat, but now I’m questioning everything I’ve been taught. Every time I look at the news, there is some crazy shit Republicans are doing. Today, I saw Missouri passed a law making a dress code for women in government and couldn’t help but think of the Christian purity you guys ridicule. Before I thought of all this lunacy as a Republican problem. Now, it’s starting to seem like a Christian problem. ~Email from Reader
Dear Reader,
Thanks for describing your emerging clarity on the Christian issue. One of the greatest challenges
to our critical thought and autonomy is accepting that one need not be Christian to be Christian. Living in a
Christian-dominated society forces everyone to adopt and comply with their oppressive culture, regardless of faith.
For years, I considered myself an atheist, yet found myself defending conservative ideologies rooted in
Christianity. You likely will begin noticing this trend in yourself and others, such as atheists defending
Christians, but the problem extends beyond religious arguments.
The pervasiveness of Christian values infects culture and wraps around economics, law, and other areas too numerous to mention. Many of these values appear unrelated to religion, but they are part of the Christian pollution keeping our society locked in medieval, harmful thinking. The Christian work ethic is a prime example of this problem that reinforces hard work as a guarantee of success. So ingrained was this way of viewing my career I nearly killed myself for this unrealistic goal despite having been an atheist for many years.
The difficult-to-overcome Christian lie steals much time seen readily in your example concerning Missouri’s new law governing female legislator’s dress. Critics and opponents of this law argue this is an example of conservative or Republican misogyny, which completely misses the mark. Not once did any opposing opinion, not even from women legislators, criticize this dress code as a Christian problem.
There is no other possible reason for this dress code other than Christian purity culture.
The reason people overlook Christian causes stems from the indoctrination that makes everyone in a Christian-dominated society believe that not only is Christianity fundamentally “good,” but any criticism of Christianity is fundamentally “bad.” Christians are the first ones to scream about Islam’s oppressive nature over wearing a hijab, yet these same people see nothing wrong with telling a woman to wear long sleeves. Christians are not alone in this belief.
Christians brainwash society, including women legislators, to believe women’s clothing is a debate over “professionalism.” Herein we see the Christian pollution reveal itself as men take it upon themselves to create and enforce women’s dress code, assuming women charged with legislating cannot govern their clothing choices. The topic, absolutely born of Christian purity, now appears secular and becomes a professionalism or misogyny debate, missing the entire point of the dress code’s wrongness. Now, the controversy can rage since reinventing the problem as a Republican or chauvinism issue does not offend the Christians. NonChristians just like Christians, many who are women, do not perceive the Christian problem, and nonChristian blindness to the issue amplifies ignorance.
Christianity caused this problem because Christianity elevates men above women in a purity culture that reinforces misogyny and sexism. Calling the dress code a misogynistic problem might be true, but the inaccuracy focuses attention on the wrong detail.
You have no hope of fighting this oppression if you don’t recognize the cause.
Ignoring the Christian cause is no different than ignoring a person’s pack-a-day smoking and claiming they caught lung cancer because they were unhealthy. To fight the Christian Pollution within ourselves and society, we must recognize the underlying beliefs that guide even nonChristians to give credence to this absurd belief and partake in ridiculous debates over social policies stemming from religiosity, not critical, philosophical, or ethical points of view.
With time and effort, you will continue to recognize and overcome this problem.
All the best!
