Aaron Renn claims Christians are shut out of elite institutions. In reality, evangelical power has rarely been stronger, and we're all suffering as a result.
There is an underlying mentality here that seems to be asserting evangelical Christians have some kind of inalienable right to rule, regardless of how the rest of the country feels about it. The evangelicals are the first people to claim they’re being persecuted any time they’re prevented from forcing their religion on others. They are also the people most likely to persecute others given the power and opportunity to do so. These people will never have all the power they think is their due. Power few groups would be more ill-equipped to exercise.
Evangelicals are EXPERTS at using DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender roles) to bolster their arguments. And everyone knows that DARVO is Abuse 101. Evangelicals are bona fide ABUSERS towards anyone not in their particular tribe, and two thousand years of history proves it.
They think they are owed respect because they have bought into the lie that the United States is a Christian nation, specifically that their brand of Christianity is somehow the default. They don't think they have to earn that respect because they believe that anyone who doesn't bow and scrape to their narrow little idea about what it means to be an American is less than and doesn't deserve to be thought of as fellow Americans. They think that respect is owed to them because of who they are, not what they do. And what they do is why they deserve no respect.
Renn wants to claim underrepresentation in Congress in the courts? I can play that game too. Non-religiously affiliated Americans constitute 26 to 29% of the US population. What about us?
True representation would mean about 25 senators and 110 representatives as evangelicals, 30 and 120 as non-religious, and the rest a mix of liberal Christians and other religious beliefs. Let the MAGA right wing assholes have proportionate representation. They will be a permanent and shrinking minority.
And the thing that this guy seems to forget is that we hold ELECTIONS to choose our leaders. So if they're so great why aren't more of them getting elected? Riddle us THAT.
Thumpers like Renn love to bleat about non-existent persecution in this country, but I never see them journey to other countries where Christians really are being persecuted and stand shoulder to shoulder with their brethren and face that same persecution. I mean, isn't risking martyrdom for their Jesus what they want?
RE the headline changing. Longtime subscriber to WaPo here. Sometime in the last year I noticed that ALL the headlines change sometime during the day. I see it as a way to trick readers into clicking on an item more than once.
I’ve subscribed for almost 40 years. That ends on 3/16.
Evangelical Christians are underrepresented in elite institutions? Ya think? I’m just guessing that they are underrepresented in University Science programs… What would people who believe in the antithesis of Scientific Method bring to the table. I doubt there is some frustrated pool of Evangelical Theoretical Physicists out there with a useful take on quantum theory. We already know they are just simply wrong about evolutionary biology. Anthropology? Chemistry? Applied science like technology, engineering, medicine don’t seem to be clamoring for them - although the ones who made it through medical training are wreaking havoc on the Nation’s healthcare system… People who yearn to drag society back to some golden yesteryear are polarizing and degrading all of society including elite institutions.
"Renn says that this exclusion of evangelicals deprives us of “an important pool of talent.” (That’s the same argument, by the way, made by supporters of DEI, which white evangelicals overwhelmingly oppose.) But he offers no evidence that they’re excluded from those pools because of their faith."
Maybe I'm oversimplifying here, but I believe that if they're actually excluded, it's because they're stupid and obnoxious. No rational person wants to deal with them. They're like a bunch of spoiled 2-year olds having a tantrum in public. Nobody wants that shit, and rightly so.
You got it right--this is just plain dumb and even dumber. There are 100's of colleges, bible colleges and I even attended one in Manhattan Christian College that push out all kinds of "ministries." They have Christian book stores, Christian TV and radio and podcasts all over the place. They have practically the whole Trump administration in this evangelical and end times craziness. Now we should add the tax free churches and housing for "pastors." You rightly point out the Supreme Court with Catholics (but they are not really evangelical or even Christian to these nutcakes). They have a frickin war with Iran so Jesus can come back--how much power does one religion need to have before they get over their little pitty party and persecution complex. Give me a break I have heard this for over 50 years.
Evangelicals are dangerous, but Renn is correct, not very well represented in the trump regime. Hegseth, Johnson, Vought. After that, who? But the trump regime would collapse overnight without the Leonard Leo Maga Catholics. 6 Supremes, Heritage, JD, Rubio, Homan and nearly 40% of trump cabinet. Tons of books, articles and documentaries on scary Evangelicals - Nada, zero, zip on the far more powerful Maga Catholics. Why no media scrutiny?
But I want to point out that the church I attend Sunday service in (after a >40 year lapse) hasn't a single MAGA. In fact, that's why I'm there: it's a safer space than even my own rural, deep south house (considering my neighbors.)
I don't imagine I'll ever call myself a Christian again in this life, but if most of us white folks can be eliminated from organized Christianity, it can be pretty nice! (And a lot more honest.)
Most people don't yet intuitively get the part about it being WHITE evangelicals causing problems. In our church (that's only about 10% white), that problem doesn't even exist.
Christian fascists claim persecution when they are unable/prevented to denigrate, insult, harass, or commit acts of violence (without any consequences, of course) against people they hate such as POC, gays, atheists, muslims, etc.
The Christian fascists would never seek out actual persecution, they want “PERFORMATIVE” persecution. This is where the Christian fascist pretend to be getting attack, without any actual evidence of getting attack.
Performative persecution is the foundation of this absurd religion. The story takes a Jewish man who may or may not have existed and spoke on behalf of the have nots. He was allegedly tortured and persecuted. Nobody bothered to write any of it down or corroborate it, even in Roman society. Hundreds of years later he is turned into a deity. Then 2000 years of bloodshed leading up to Mike Johnson.
If Christians were persecuted by the ancient Romans as they claim the religion would have been wiped out. If Christians today were persecuted as much as they claim how do they explain Trump and his administration as well as all the media outlets, colleges etc to exist? They can’t, because it is a false narrative.
Hilarious and true: “The fear that the US is under the sway by Marxist big corporations is a rather good illustration of the kind of minds we are dealing with here.”
No, Renn. It is Christians that do the persecuting and have since 380 CE.
This is recorded history, not fantasy.
"Evangelicals have excelled in politics, producing figures such as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana)."
Those two shitstains are your best argument? Try again, this time with a brain.
He also mentioned Tyson Foods and Hobby Lobby. Seriously? Does Renn not keep up with the news?
There is an underlying mentality here that seems to be asserting evangelical Christians have some kind of inalienable right to rule, regardless of how the rest of the country feels about it. The evangelicals are the first people to claim they’re being persecuted any time they’re prevented from forcing their religion on others. They are also the people most likely to persecute others given the power and opportunity to do so. These people will never have all the power they think is their due. Power few groups would be more ill-equipped to exercise.
Evangelicals are EXPERTS at using DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender roles) to bolster their arguments. And everyone knows that DARVO is Abuse 101. Evangelicals are bona fide ABUSERS towards anyone not in their particular tribe, and two thousand years of history proves it.
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦’𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑡.
They think they are owed respect because they have bought into the lie that the United States is a Christian nation, specifically that their brand of Christianity is somehow the default. They don't think they have to earn that respect because they believe that anyone who doesn't bow and scrape to their narrow little idea about what it means to be an American is less than and doesn't deserve to be thought of as fellow Americans. They think that respect is owed to them because of who they are, not what they do. And what they do is why they deserve no respect.
The Christian fascist don’t think that anyone not like them is even HUMAN deserving Human Rights and Civil Liberties (not to mention being decent to).
Renn wants to claim underrepresentation in Congress in the courts? I can play that game too. Non-religiously affiliated Americans constitute 26 to 29% of the US population. What about us?
True representation would mean about 25 senators and 110 representatives as evangelicals, 30 and 120 as non-religious, and the rest a mix of liberal Christians and other religious beliefs. Let the MAGA right wing assholes have proportionate representation. They will be a permanent and shrinking minority.
And the thing that this guy seems to forget is that we hold ELECTIONS to choose our leaders. So if they're so great why aren't more of them getting elected? Riddle us THAT.
This is akin to the argument xtians make that they are being silenced when in fact they never shut the fuck up.
Lefty Cartoons » Blog Archive » I Have Been Silenced! https://share.google/hgToY3XEP0mc7CDEw
Thumpers like Renn love to bleat about non-existent persecution in this country, but I never see them journey to other countries where Christians really are being persecuted and stand shoulder to shoulder with their brethren and face that same persecution. I mean, isn't risking martyrdom for their Jesus what they want?
Frauds, the lot of them.
RE the headline changing. Longtime subscriber to WaPo here. Sometime in the last year I noticed that ALL the headlines change sometime during the day. I see it as a way to trick readers into clicking on an item more than once.
I’ve subscribed for almost 40 years. That ends on 3/16.
Fox seems to put up the same articles under three or four different headlines at the same time.
Evangelical Christians are underrepresented in elite institutions? Ya think? I’m just guessing that they are underrepresented in University Science programs… What would people who believe in the antithesis of Scientific Method bring to the table. I doubt there is some frustrated pool of Evangelical Theoretical Physicists out there with a useful take on quantum theory. We already know they are just simply wrong about evolutionary biology. Anthropology? Chemistry? Applied science like technology, engineering, medicine don’t seem to be clamoring for them - although the ones who made it through medical training are wreaking havoc on the Nation’s healthcare system… People who yearn to drag society back to some golden yesteryear are polarizing and degrading all of society including elite institutions.
Yes, there are people who view belief in things that aren’t really there, talking to things that aren’t really there, etc. as negative qualities.
"Renn says that this exclusion of evangelicals deprives us of “an important pool of talent.” (That’s the same argument, by the way, made by supporters of DEI, which white evangelicals overwhelmingly oppose.) But he offers no evidence that they’re excluded from those pools because of their faith."
Maybe I'm oversimplifying here, but I believe that if they're actually excluded, it's because they're stupid and obnoxious. No rational person wants to deal with them. They're like a bunch of spoiled 2-year olds having a tantrum in public. Nobody wants that shit, and rightly so.
You got it right--this is just plain dumb and even dumber. There are 100's of colleges, bible colleges and I even attended one in Manhattan Christian College that push out all kinds of "ministries." They have Christian book stores, Christian TV and radio and podcasts all over the place. They have practically the whole Trump administration in this evangelical and end times craziness. Now we should add the tax free churches and housing for "pastors." You rightly point out the Supreme Court with Catholics (but they are not really evangelical or even Christian to these nutcakes). They have a frickin war with Iran so Jesus can come back--how much power does one religion need to have before they get over their little pitty party and persecution complex. Give me a break I have heard this for over 50 years.
Evangelicals are dangerous, but Renn is correct, not very well represented in the trump regime. Hegseth, Johnson, Vought. After that, who? But the trump regime would collapse overnight without the Leonard Leo Maga Catholics. 6 Supremes, Heritage, JD, Rubio, Homan and nearly 40% of trump cabinet. Tons of books, articles and documentaries on scary Evangelicals - Nada, zero, zip on the far more powerful Maga Catholics. Why no media scrutiny?
The MAGA Catholics are functionally equivalent to the white Evangelicals.
Essentially, it seems.
But I want to point out that the church I attend Sunday service in (after a >40 year lapse) hasn't a single MAGA. In fact, that's why I'm there: it's a safer space than even my own rural, deep south house (considering my neighbors.)
I don't imagine I'll ever call myself a Christian again in this life, but if most of us white folks can be eliminated from organized Christianity, it can be pretty nice! (And a lot more honest.)
Most people don't yet intuitively get the part about it being WHITE evangelicals causing problems. In our church (that's only about 10% white), that problem doesn't even exist.
Thanks for being "exceptional", Joe.
Every day I see a news item that causes me to say wtf white people and I am a white people.
As you can see, even Chiquita is mostly white.
I’ve always thought the Catholics just use Evangelicals. They need their votes. It’s pretty straightforward.
Correct. The oil libertarian oligarchs provide money, the Evangelicals are votes, infantry. Leonard Leo Catholic generals run the show.
And the Evangelicals use the Catholics. Mutual selfishness to grab theocratic power. They'll worry about the holy wars later.
Yep yep
Christian fascists claim persecution when they are unable/prevented to denigrate, insult, harass, or commit acts of violence (without any consequences, of course) against people they hate such as POC, gays, atheists, muslims, etc.
The Christian fascists would never seek out actual persecution, they want “PERFORMATIVE” persecution. This is where the Christian fascist pretend to be getting attack, without any actual evidence of getting attack.
Performative persecution is the foundation of this absurd religion. The story takes a Jewish man who may or may not have existed and spoke on behalf of the have nots. He was allegedly tortured and persecuted. Nobody bothered to write any of it down or corroborate it, even in Roman society. Hundreds of years later he is turned into a deity. Then 2000 years of bloodshed leading up to Mike Johnson.
If Christians were persecuted by the ancient Romans as they claim the religion would have been wiped out. If Christians today were persecuted as much as they claim how do they explain Trump and his administration as well as all the media outlets, colleges etc to exist? They can’t, because it is a false narrative.
Speaking of Josh Hawley, he made the big time:
https://americanloons.blogspot.com/2026/03/2993-josh-hawley.html
Happy yet?
Finally, he's no longer a runner-up.
Just a RUNNER. 😝
Yup. That's why my pun. :)
Hilarious and true: “The fear that the US is under the sway by Marxist big corporations is a rather good illustration of the kind of minds we are dealing with here.”
I hate his smug face
Someone give Aaron Renn a cup of coffee. We don’t want to live in a theocracy. Mind your business and we’ll leave you alone.