Jesus Freaks are Intolerant Bigots

Pushback

People in every focus group we gathered for a discussion lead by a professional moderator railed against Christian hostility toward homosexuals. There was widespread pushback against other moral restrictions, such as our stance against abortion or sex outside of marriage or unmarried people making babies. We heard sweeping statements about the narrow-mindedness and negative impact of Christianity. A woman in Austin said, “The intolerance of it has led to just a lot of destruction of culture….” A guy in Phoenix said, “It’s almost like tunnel vision. They see what they want to see…” It probably doesn’t surprise you that many people beyond the walls of churches consider those within intolerant, bigoted, homophobic, discriminatory, and unloving.

Many individuals who spoke up in our focus groups felt judged by Christians. Some even felt condemned for their mere external appearance:

A woman in Phoenix: “I used to dress very dark in high school. I wore all black, I had eyeliner. I didn’t really do the hair…. I wouldn’t classify myself as Goth by any means, but my color choice was always black. I figured everything looked good in black. Wearing black and wanting to pierce my ears a bunch of times, half of the Christians that I talked to thought that I was Satanic…. It’s so ridiculous to look at somebody and immediately peg who they are just by how they appear. When I would go to church with my friends there would be women that would be pointing me out going, ‘I think that girl’s having sex.’ I maintained my V card until after I graduated high school. It’s ridiculous to say you have to look a certain way.”

Others felt judged for their outlooks and attitudes, especially if they questioned or rejected Christianity:

A woman in Austin: “One thing that I don’t like is the idea that Christian groups think that they are basically the most blessed, the best, and that everyone else is broken. Everyone else needs to be fixed.”

A woman in Austin: “You can’t even have a conversation hardly with a religious person. They automatically take you as being combative even though you might be honestly asking a question…. You can see their blood pressure going through the roof and then they’re upset. Then they start I feel becoming insulting or criticizing your character for the fact that you don’t just believe or that you’re asking questions.”

Patrick in Phoenix: “Ten-thirty on a Saturday night, my friend’s twelfth wedding anniversary. His mother-in-law looks me square in the eye. She says, ‘You believe in God, right?’ We proceeded to have an hour long discussion as to why I don’t. She proceeded to call me the Devil and then said, ‘I pray you get a DUI on the way home.’….She couldn’t accept that someone had a different thought as to God…. Her little world didn’t have any alternatives. It was either that or you were just—I think she saw horns coming out of my head.”