8 Reasons Evangelicals Cry Oppression While Owning America
They run the courts, the politics, and the media—yet play the victim every time the world stops bowing.
They’ve got mega-churches that look like sports arenas, media networks that reach millions, direct pipelines into Congress, and even seats on the Supreme Court. Yet the second someone says “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas,” they fall into victim mode.
So why does the most privileged religious group in America keep acting like they’re being thrown to the lions in Rome? Let’s break it down.
And before anyone gets upset: not every evangelical fits this mold. But the ones running the show—the faction that dominates politics and media—certainly do.
1. They Confuse Losing Privilege with Persecution
For most of U.S. history, evangelical Christianity was the default. Presidents had to talk about God to get elected. Kids prayed in public schools whether they wanted to or not. Stores shut down on Sundays. The Ten Commandments were placed on courthouse walls.
When America grew more diverse—racially, religiously, culturally—evangelicals started losing their monopoly. Not their rights, just their dominance.
But to them, every step toward equality looks like oppression.
When the Supreme Court ruled school-led prayer unconstitutional in 1962, they claimed America’s morals were collapsing. When same-sex marriage was legalized in 2015, they said their “religious freedom” was being trampled. But freedom doesn’t mean controlling everyone else’s lives. It means you can believe what you want without forcing it through law.
Evangelicals aren’t losing rights. They’re losing control.
2. Victimhood Raises Money and Builds Loyalty
If evangelicals excel at one thing, it’s marketing fear. Leaders know that if you scare people enough, they’ll open their wallets.
That’s why groups like the Family Research Council push headlines about “attacks on religious liberty” every time a bakery gets sued for refusing a gay wedding cake.
Franklin Graham, heir to the Graham empire, spends his days warning that Christianity is “under siege” while living in a mansion and traveling by private jet.
The trick works. Fear keeps people loyal and keeps donations flowing. Victimhood has become a profitable strategy.
3. They Always Need a Villain
Every movement built on “us versus them” needs a “them.”
For evangelicals, the list is endless: feminists, LGBTQ+ people, secular teachers, scientists, Muslims, “the liberal media,” immigrants, Hollywood. The villain changes with the times, but the story stays the same: “They hate us for our faith.”
Back in the 1980s, Jerry Falwell’s “Moral Majority” made headlines blaming America’s problems on liberals. That tradition continued through televangelists like Pat Robertson, and now through politicians who turn every cultural shift into an attack on Christianity.
It’s easier to blame outsiders than to face declining membership, scandals, or growing distrust of church leadership.
4. The Bible Tells Them to Expect Persecution
Victimhood sticks because evangelicals believe the Bible predicted it.
Verses like John 15:18 (“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first”) are often treated as a promise. If nobody is pushing back against them, they think they’re doing something wrong.
That’s why even the smallest cultural shift—like a school recognizing Pride Month or Starbucks dropping “Merry Christmas” from its cups—gets framed as an attack.
It becomes self-fulfilling. They expect to be hated, so every disagreement proves the prophecy.
5. They Built a Bubble Where Reality Doesn’t Get In
Many evangelicals wall themselves off from outside information.
They watch Fox News, listen to Christian radio, read evangelical news sites, and send their kids to private Christian schools. They even buy “family-friendly” versions of movies that cut out content considered objectionable.
Inside that bubble, the outside world looks threatening. Science that challenges Genesis? Attack on faith. History that shows America wasn’t founded as a Christian nation? Attack on faith. Civil rights movements? Attack on faith.
Instead of adjusting their worldview, they dismiss outside reality. This is why conspiracy theories, vaccine skepticism, and denial of climate change thrive inside evangelical circles.
6. They Mistake Power for Faith
The Jesus of the Gospels had no political office, no mansion, no legal power. He wasn’t lobbying Roman senators. He was walking with fishermen, lepers, and outcasts.
But modern evangelicalism has become focused on power—winning elections, influencing laws, and placing judges.
When that power slips, they frame it as persecution.
Take Roe v. Wade’s reversal in 2022. Evangelicals celebrated, then panicked when the backlash came. That wasn’t oppression. It was democracy. Most Americans disagreed with them.
Faith is not power. Yet evangelicals often treat the two as the same thing.
7. They Use Victimhood to Justify Cruelty
Victimhood also allows evangelicals to excuse harmful policies.
Ban trans kids from sports? “We’re protecting women.”
Deny medical care to gay couples? “We’re defending our beliefs.”
Force teachers to promote creationism? “We’re reclaiming freedom.”
In every case, they strike first, then frame themselves as the injured party.
This reversal lets them present cruelty as self-defense. It shifts the story from “we’re restricting others” to “we’re protecting ourselves.”
8. It’s Politically Useful
Ultimately, the victim narrative is a political tool.
Donald Trump, a man barely familiar with the Bible, became an evangelical hero because he said what they wanted to hear: that they were victims, and he would fight for them.
Even after January 6, when Christian flags and prayers were mixed into a violent insurrection, many evangelicals insisted Trump was the persecuted one.
Politicians from Ted Cruz to Marjorie Taylor Greene still repeat the line: “Christians are under attack.” Not because it’s true, but because it wins elections.
Before You Go
Evangelicals in America aren’t victims. They’re just no longer in charge of everything.
The culture moved on. People became more diverse, more independent, less willing to be told what to believe. Instead of adapting, evangelicals leaned on victimhood.
Every pushback gets exaggerated into persecution. Every loss of influence becomes an attack.
The reality is simple: they aren’t oppressed. They’re just angry that the world stopped revolving around them.
Read the whole way through? You’ve already done more thinking than half of Congress. If this struck a nerve—or lit up a brain cell—drop a comment and hit follow. Free thought is welcome here.
If the evangelicals don't run America anymore, than I'd like to know what is. Is it Pfizer at last?