Evangelicals Are Copying the Same Dirty Tricks as Global Religious Fanatics

From fake persecution to moral panic, America’s Christian crusaders use the same fear-based playbook as the zealots they claim to hate.

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You keep hearing American evangelicals bragging, “We’re nothing like those crazy religious fanatics overseas.” Like Iran, Pakistan, or India have cornered the market on religious lunacy and moral policing. Well, guess what? Peel back the shiny speeches, the clean suits, and the church-funded PR, and the playbook is almost identical.

In those countries, hardline groups pretend they’re the victims. They shout “persecution!” whenever someone questions their authority. Then they make life hell for anyone who doesn’t fit their holy mold—LGBTQ+ people, secular educators, minorities—blaming them for destroying “their” sacred traditions. They censor, ban, shame, and sometimes kill, all while preaching about morality.

American evangelicals don’t light cinemas on fire, but they weaponize laws, school boards, and media fear to push the same script. It’s not faith. It’s control.

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Claim They’re Under Attack

Evangelicals’ favorite card is the “war on Christianity.” It’s their magic shield. The Pew Research Center found that nearly 60% of white evangelical Protestants believe Christianity is losing its place in America. They act like victims surrounded by a godless horde. Meanwhile, Christianity remains the largest and most politically powerful religion in the country.

It’s a lie of convenience—because nothing rallies the troops like fake persecution.

Hardliners abroad do the same thing. In Iran, clerics blame “Western plots” for any social protest. In Pakistan, politicians use blasphemy laws to “defend Islam” while jailing critics. In India, Hindu nationalists claim Hinduism is “under threat” from Muslims and Christians—then unleash mobs on them.

The evangelical “war on Christmas,” “war on family,” or “war on faith” are the same paranoid fantasies—just dipped in American flavor and Fox News polish.

When evangelicals scream “we’re being silenced,” what they really mean is “we’re losing control.” Nobody’s banning their churches or burning their Bibles. People just stopped buying their moral superiority, and that’s what scares them.

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Target the Vulnerable

Every fanatical movement needs an enemy. For evangelicals, it’s whoever’s easiest to punch without consequences. They’ve chosen the LGBTQ+ community, Muslims, atheists, and teachers.

The “groomer” panic was a masterpiece of manufactured hate. Groups like Focus on the Family and Moms for Liberty spread lies that LGBTQ+ educators were “sexualizing children.” According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, this language has been used to justify book bans, harassment, and even physical attacks. It’s the exact same psychological warfare that extremist clerics use when they call secular women “immoral” or gay people “diseased.”

They also target Muslims whenever they need a new villain. From opposing mosque construction to pushing “Sharia law bans,” evangelical lobbyists have worked for years to stir Islamophobia under the banner of “religious freedom.” The irony is painful—they scream about persecution while persecuting others.

And teachers? They’re the new devils. Evangelical-backed politicians push to ban critical race theory or sex education, painting teachers as brainwashers. That’s straight out of the Indian nationalist and Iranian clerical playbook: control education, rewrite the story, and keep future generations obedient.

When they shout “protect the children,” what they mean is “protect our control over them.” Because if kids grow up thinking freely, the church loses its grip.

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Turn Fear Into a Weapon

Moral panic is evangelical gasoline. Without it, their political machine dies. The trick is simple: invent a crisis, scream “think of the children,” and watch donations pour in.

The latest targets are drag queens, trans people, and library books. PEN America reported more than 1,500 school book bans in 2022 alone, mostly on LGBTQ+ or racial topics. Many were pushed by church-backed groups that claim kids are being “indoctrinated.” Same story, different decade—just like the “Satanic Panic” of the 1980s, when evangelicals saw demons behind every heavy metal album and Dungeons & Dragons game.

Meanwhile, hardliners in Pakistan accuse artists of “blasphemy.” In Iran, women are beaten for showing hair. In India, Hindu extremists burn film sets for showing mixed-faith love stories. American evangelicals aren’t burning buildings yet—but they’ve mastered the propaganda: convince your followers the world is falling apart because of “sin,” and they’ll accept any amount of control.

And the funny part? Their panic always targets art, literature, and sexuality—never greed, war, or poverty. Those don’t threaten their power.