There's a lot of talk on the right about how religious liberty (read: Christianity) is under attack. To me, the biggest threat to it is how so many have malaligned Christianity with morally bankrupt political stances and figures it has no business being associated with.

I'm reading @DrIbram's "Stamped from the Beginning," and he talks about how Christianity was deeply entwined with whiteness in the 1600-1700s in such a way that it was broadly used to justify enslaving Africans. White equaled moral, enlightened. Black equaled immoral, heathen.

If you can convince people that a group's humanity is a direct threat or opposition to their moral standards, it becomes so much easier to widely dehumanize and marginalize that group. And that is one way Christianity is manipulated into something it isn't by people in power.

If you believe America is a Christian nation founded entirely on Christian ideals, you can convince yourself that any time someone protests American systems, laws, or "pro-American" politicians, even when that protest is justified, they are anti-Christian and wrong.

If your political party talks loudly about religious freedom and postures themselves as the Christian party, you can convince yourself that your neighbor from the opposite party is not motivated by morality, good will, or faith, nor are they worth listening to.

If your party postures themselves as the Christian party and you believe they are, it's easy to justify every single choice they make, even when it contradicts the basic tenants of the Christianity you claim to believe in, like caring for the poor, the oppressed, the afflicted.

The biggest threat to Christianity may just be the politicians, parties, and people like you and I wielding Christianity as a tool to manipulate people of faith and oppress/harm communities who are not going to take it silently.

I know there are lots of people on my peripheral who are doing much better work to unpack this issue, so if you have any good book, film, or podcast recommendations, drop them below!