A new report out from Premier Christian Media warns of a “strong bias” against Christians in British public life.
The media group’s report is based upon consecutive polls it has commissioned in recent years to gauge perceptions among Christians and non-Christians.
Feelings of marginalisation were found to be particularly strong amongst Christians. In a 2008 survey of 500 Christians, 73% said they felt Christians were being unfairly marginalised in British society.
That was followed by a C-Panel poll the following year which found that 66% of Christians felt there was greater negative discrimination towards Christians than other faiths.
Although non-Christians were far less likely to agree that Christians were being marginalised, poll results revealed a sympathetic general public.
In a May 2010 ComRes poll of Christians and non-Christians, 38% believed marginalisation of Christianity was increasing. In March this year, a similar ComRes poll found that 37% of the general public felt the Government favours other religions over Christianity. In the 2010 survey, 43% of the general public said they expected the marginalisation of Christians in society to increase in the next five years.
Premier noted perceptions of “favouritism” towards Muslims in particular and a bias towards homosexual lobby groups.
It pointed to the recent statement by the Equality and Human Rights Commission acknowledging that Christians were being discriminated against more than other religious groups in the workplace and proposing the “reasonable accommodation” of beliefs. It retracted the statement a few weeks later following the intervention of Angela Mason, formerly of gay rights group Stonewall.
Despite perceptions of marginalisation, Premier noted that in another poll, only 12% of Christians said they had experienced victimisation directly.
Premier said that the feelings of marginalisation could be attributed to the media or the rise of secularism.
The report stated: “There are several explanations for this general feeling of increased marginalisation. The first reason is the rise of secularism, evidenced through the virulent campaigning of such groups like the National Secular Society.
“Another contributory factor could be the negative role some parts of the media has played, not only in shaping public perception, but more specifically, creating a climate of anxiety and fear amongst Christians.”
Polls consistently revealed feelings of dissatisfaction with the way that issues of a Christian nature are portrayed by the media, with one respondent saying that Christians were often depicted as “complaining”, “bigoted” or “extreme”.
“Our evidence shows that not only is the misrepresentation of Christians and Christianity in the news affecting the general public’s perception, but it is also affecting the Christian community,” Premier said.
Premier warned that the “sensational” way in which some legal cases involving Christians had been covered by the media had contributed “significantly to creating a climate of fear amongst Christians”.