Introduction
It is hard to disagree that Christianity is a religion that spreads the message of forgiveness, kindness, care, unconditional love, and support for other people. One of the key purposes of Jesus Christ was to help poor, lonely, and hungry persons, and he tried to promote such an attitude towards those on the margins of society. This is one reason why Christianity was initially considered a religion for the poor, and for the same reason, it later became one of the most accepted and preferred teachings in the world (Standaert 2011). However, its popularity had both positive and negative effects on the essence of this religion. Overall, it is possible to say that, after Christianity became very popular, it has simultaneously continued to be a religion for the marginalized and also prevented the love, protection, and care for these people.
Defining Marginalized People
Before talking about the popularity of Christianity and its impacts on marginalized persons, it is necessary to define the latter. Generally, according to Chand, Nel, and Pelc (2017), marginalization may be defined as social exclusion or isolation of certain individuals or groups; this exclusion may happen due to various reasons. Marginalized people are those who experience discrimination, become humiliated, ignored, or avoided by others, and they typically get limited access to different services or resources like healthcare, education, or nutritious food (Chand, Nel, and Pelc 2017). For example, marginalized groups may include seniors, individuals with limited abilities, cultural or racial minorities, LGBT representatives, refugees or immigrants, women and children, and low-income families.
The Message of Jesus
As evident from the list of marginalized communities, it is impossible to completely exclude or ignore such people because, if united together, they represent the majority of the total population. However, individually, they face and have always faced many difficulties. When Jesus came to spread his teachings, one of his primary goals was to care for the poorest people and make them feel included and accepted (Priebe 2020). Therefore, he never divided individuals into the worthy and unworthy ones, trying to save all of them.
For example, Jesus Christ never denied the value of children. He encouraged society to welcome them, treat them in a better way, and pay more attention to their desires (Mark 10:14). Jesus insisted on the necessity for the richest to give their valuable belongings to the poorest: “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven” (Mark 10:21). He also welcomed women by not avoiding and helping them (Luke 8:48). Finally, it is even more important that, unlike other people, Jesus Christ did not fear the lepers, and it may be seen in various parts of the holy texts that he healed the disabled people (Mark 1:41, Mark 10:52). Therefore, the very essence of Christianity is to support the marginalized individuals and communities and sacrifice one’s well-being to help them.
The popularity of Christianity: Impacts on the Marginalized
When Christianity became one of the most popular religions in the world, many people joined this teaching without truly understanding its essence. Nowadays, representatives of the marginalized communities are braver in revealing themselves and challenging the norms of society, which is why they face many obstacles (Standaert 2011). Despite the message of Jesus Christ and his promotion of unconditional love toward all people, some Christians consider themselves empowered to judge others based on their characteristics.
Prevention of Love and Protection
Negative impacts of the popularity of Christianity are explored by Hudnut-Beumler (2018) on the example of the LGBT community. As noticed by the author, “for conservative Christians in the South, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and now transgender persons have ‘chosen a lifestyle’ that amounts to rejecting God’s natural order of creation” (Hudnut-Beumler 2018, 215). Unlike centuries and even decades ago, modern times are more tolerant and accepting, which is why more and more people reveal their true gender or sexual identity. Consequently, they also face more oppression, and a major part of it comes from the Christians. The latter appeal to the teachings of Jesus and messages of God, and gay persons “bear up under that pressure while often holding on to the Christian faith that supposedly drives those who would exclude them” (Hudnut-Beumler 2018, 216). Consequently, Christianity stopped being a counterculture and became extremely popular, which made most of this religion’s followers forget the real idea behind the message of Jesus.
Another example is how many Christians avoid helping or even thinking about disabled people. This issue is studied by Longchar (2012); the author tries to answer the question of why are persons with disabilities underrepresented or absent in the modern Christian tradition? It is rather common for Christians nowadays to live their own lives, pray every Sunday, and never pay attention to the needs and devastating situations of disabled individuals (Longchar 2012). The possible answer is that precisely popularization of this religion has made it less genuine and sincere. Most Christians are only focused on their well-being, ignoring the message of Jesus; they want to be wealthy and desire to have political influence but still call themselves the followers of Christ (Longchar 2012). At the same time, the marginalized groups are not protected by Christianity anymore.
The religion of the Margins of Society
One would argue that not all Christians forget about the teachings of Jesus. Indeed, there are still those who follow the true message of Christianity and strive to help various marginalized individuals. For instance, while the majority of the representatives of this religion exclude LGBT persons, the genuine followers of Jesus welcome them, try to help, and spread the love (Hudnut-Beumler 2018). Additionally, many sincere charity organizations appeal to Christ’s message and ask ordinary people to support disabled or ill persons, as well as refugees (Hernandez 2021). Considering this information, it is fair to suggest that if more persons remember the teachings of Jesus and spread them around the world, it will be possible to support the marginalized populations in a more effective way.
Conclusion
To draw a conclusion, one may say that the issue under discussion is rather controversial and uncertain. On the one hand, it is good that the teachings of Jesus Chrisy have been spread around the world, and more and more people can accept them. On the other hand, not all of these persons truly know the essence of Christianity – some of them simply refer themselves to this religion because it is popular to do so. Consequently, they cannot follow the message of Jesus and sincerely support and care for the marginalized groups. Thus, the popularity of Christianity has simultaneously extended the number of people following this teaching and loving those on the margins of society and made this religion more popularized and insincere.
References
Chand, Raghubir, Etienne Nel, and Stanko Pelc. 2017. Societies, Social Inequalities and Marginalization: Marginal Regions in the 21st Century. Berlin: Springer.
Hernandez, Elizabeth. 2021. Christ and the Marginalized: Bringing Refuge to the Broken. Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Hudnut-Beumler, James. 2018. “Southern, Christian, and Gay.” In Strangers and Friends at the Welcome Table: Contemporary Christianities in the American South, 215-241. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
Longchar, Wati A. 2012. “Sin, Suffering, and Disability in God’s World.” In Disability, Society and Theology: Voices from Africa, edited by Samuel Kabue, Esther Mombo, Joseph Galgalo, and C. B. Peter, 47-58. Kenya: Zapf Chancery Publishers Africa Ltd.
Priebe, Trisha. 2020. “5 Times Jesus Prioritized the Marginalized.” Lifesong for Orphans.
Standaert, Nicolas. 2011. The Interweaving of Rituals: Funerals in the Cultural Exchange between China and Europe. Seattle: University of Washington Press.