by Madison Connor
Hebron Christian Academy
The politics ruined it for me.
I grew up in a conservative Christian environment, being taught that women should be submissive and obedient, being taught that gay people were wrong, and guns are OK but abortion is not. This is exactly what caused me to run away from Christianity. The hatred spread from a loving religion seemed hypocritical, especially considering that God is supposed to see every sin as equal, meaning that if one thinks being gay is a sin, then the gay person is just as bad as one single lie told. However, I eventually realized that right-wing politics is what is causing so many to run away from the church.
Another factor for me, and many others in my generation, is the obsession with Donald Trump. The former reality star lost many of us when it was uncovered that he said, “Grab ‘em by the pussy,” when referring to women.
Many people have taken issue with this, and rightfully so. The former President clearly made a sexist statement, even if some argue it was taken “out of context,”although I’m not sure how this could be taken in context. Regardless, many young people have disdain towards Donald Trump over his racist tendencies, many sexual assault accusations, 34 felony counts, sexism, xenophobia and many of his other qualities that seemingly contradict everything Jesus Christ stood for. However, many right-wing voters — including conservative “Christians” — adore him.
Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Green even went so far as to compare Trump to Jesus. “President Trump is a convicted felon. Well, you want to know something? The man that I worship is also a convicted felon. And he was murdered on a Roman cross.”
It is crucial to remember that being arrested does not make you a hero. Several Nazis have been previously arrested, and everyone knows they were far from heroes. Aside from this logical inaccuracy, many believe that the Bible is pro-life in the same context of pro-life right wing voters. The Bible is used too often to justify the wrong issue, and to oppress groups who have been oppressed for far too long. This leads young people to back away from religion due to the conservative aura that clouds it. Many young people see the MAGA Republicans purchasing Trump’s Bible(which was totally blasphemous), and decide they want absolutely no part in it, and who can blame them? The idea that Trump is some sort of Jesus in the flesh, being waved in front of Gen Z’s faces, makes many opt out of religion, when in reality, many of Trump’s positions are in stark contrast to what Jesus stood for. However, just as in the past, today’s extreme conservatives use the Bible as a weapon.
“I think that they’ll use religion to justify the bad things they’ve done, like with slavery like they would tell the people they were capturing that it’s because of the Bible, and they make it an evil thing but it’s not supposed to be,” a classmate told me.
Just as slavery was a core issue for conservative voters two centuries ago, right-wing candidates are honing in on issues of race, gender and sexuality. My generation has been known to be extremely open minded to those topics, causing them to veer away from the close-mindedness that characterizes many Conservative beliefs. Dr. Joe Dennis, a college professor at Piedmont University and Methodist Sunday School teacher, said he notices that young Christians are not aligned politically with older Christians.
“In my experience young people really don’t care about issues like race, gender, sexuality, they’re more concerned with the content of people’s character,” he said.
Gen Z is the most LGBTQIA+ generation that we have seen so far. Historically, Christianity and Catholicism have not been welcoming to those who identify within that margin, and as a result, Gen Z has not welcomed those religions in return.
Another contentious issue is abortion. While being “pro-life” stands as a core issue among conservative Christians, Gen Z largely disagrees. Interestingly, Judaism sides with Gen Z.
A fetus is not a living being, and does not have the same rights as the mother. Abortion is especially encouraged if the mothers life is in danger.
Right-wing political beliefs have taken control over many conservative Christians, and this is driving away my generation.
The right-wing Christianity isn’t real Christianity.
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