Discussion
White evangelical protestants in the US are the only religious group 'in which a majority says empathy can become dangerous when it leads people away from a society guided by God's truth'
https://www.axios.com/2026/10/20/religious-divide-empathy-democrats-republicans
@skinnylatte well yeah, evangelical "Christianity" is a cult that uses Christian symbols but venerates money, power, and violence in place of Christ
@skinnylatte A repugnant group of people who use "religion" as a veil for racism and general discrimination. They cherry pick passages from the Bible to justify their behavior and pretend they are "good Christians" while they violate the teachings of their Messiah and much of the old testament.
@skinnylatte some people need a shot of Sermon on the Mount straight into their veins
Or the parable of the Good Samaritan, which is entirely about how it doesn't matter who you are or positive or negative prejudices that may relate to you, what matters is how well you treat people around you.
@skinnylatte Maybe I’m just naïve, but I’m surprised not everyone with faith agree with the statement that empathy is foundational. 😬
@morino_pottery @skinnylatte religious folks may say "god is love" but they worship an angry, vengeful, punishing god - and they preach hell and damnation - not much empathy there.
@skinnylatte I have no idea how these people can read the Gospels and come to the conclusion that "empathy is bad, actually." I just don't get it.
I mean, I understand how it's happened. I've seen it in real time as American Evangelicalism has evolved into what it is today, I just...gosh, I hate it.
@mdmrn that's because it's an in-group / out group cult (many of them are but this one especially). they exist by saying that salvation only for people inside, damnation for everybody else. it's what they need for their sect to survive (hatred)
@skinnylatte @mdmrn Cult dynamics are the key to understanding this, I think. The in-group vs out-group division is important, but so too is the unchallengeable authority that lies at the heart of these cults, whether those are personalities or ideals. Empathy tempts the believer to look at the suffering of those in the out-group and ask “Isn’t this excessive? Shouldn’t we be doing *something* for them?” But that undermines the authority that drew the r lines separating the elect from the unsaved, so empathy becomes a sin.
All of this is anchored by emotional needs that bring people into cults and keep them there…though I understand that operates more on an individual level and tends to fall apart across generations
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@skinnylatte
tbh I've always found it damning that the other Christian sects just...let the Evangelicals control everything for 50 years. Like, didn't feel the need to *do anything* as they ::checks notes:: eviscerated the social safety net and the rights of a half-dozen minorities.
So, in my way of thinking, this poll isn't showing what these people actually think; it's showing what they want other people to think about them.