Christian hegemony refers to the normalization of Christian values, beliefs and practices, as well as the positive and privileged platform individuals of Christian faith are afforded within institutions and the larger society (Kivel, 2009). It includes “the conscious and unconscious advantages afforded to the Christian faith” (Seifert, 2007, p. 11) that manifests ideologically, individually, and institutionally (Clark et al., 2002; Schlosser, 2003; Seifert, 2007). The historical dominance of Christianity in Canada, and particularly Catholicism, is evident in that it was used as a justification for the cultural genocide of Indigenous peoples, who were viewed through a distorted lens of Christian purity and piety by the French and British settler colonials. Present day violence and xenophobia toward non-Christian groups continue in Canada where 35% of reported hate crimes are motivated by religion (Statistics Canada, 2018).
Ghaffar-Kucher (2011), in her work explores the concept of “religification” (p. 33) in which, the religious identity becomes one of the dominant markers through which people categorize and define themselves over other markers such as race, ethnicity, gender, and class. Within the context of post 9/11, Ghaffar-Kucher (2011) notes that when Pakistani American youth were increasingly discriminated against and were facing challenges negotiating their identities as both Pakistani Muslims and Americans, there was a tendency for the youth to navigate their belongings through religification. As such, the othering of non-Christian groups through Christian hegemonic structures and the interplay between religion and politics, as in the case with Pakistani-American youth, possibly supports marginalized groups claiming a religious identity that reinforces their outsider status and shapes their sense of self, acceptance, and notions of belongings within the dominant geopolitical and national structures.
Ideologically, the continued oppression of non-Christian faith groups is perpetuated through messages such as, “non-Christian faiths are inferior, or dangerous, or that … non- believers are immoral, sinful, or misguided” (Blumenfeld, 2006, p. 205). In fact, the Ontario Education Act (1990) outlines that the duty of a teacher under section 264 is “to inculcate by precept… the principles of Judeo-Christian morality and the highest regard for truth, justice, loyalty, love of country, humanity, benevolence, sobriety, industry, frugality, purity, temperance and all other virtues” (Ontario Ministry of Education, n.d.). The continued centering of Christianity in law, institutional practices, curriculum, and cultural norms brings into question the presence and impact of religious oppression in a seemingly multicultural and secularized society. Secularism often functions as a tool for racial and other divisions. Sherene Razack (2008) shares, “a colour line, marking the difference between the White, modern, enlightened West and people of colour, in particular, Muslims” (p. 148).
Christian hegemony is complex as it continues to shift, operate, and maintain its dominance on multiple levels (Kivel, 2009), alongside other systems of oppression. In understanding how Christian hegemony works, Kivel argues that it is important to see the difference between individualized and institutionalized Christianity (Helfand & Zimbardo, 2021). Christian hegemony is not about one’s individual relationship to Christianity that may offer affirmation, community, and emotional support; Christian hegemony is about the system of power that for centuries has been exerting control, domination, and violence in the name of Christianity (Helfand & Zimbardo, 2021).
Kivel outlines the following secularized Christian cultural concepts that highlight the deep-rooted system of Christian power and the ways in which dominant Christian worldview that shape our lives (Helfand & Zimbardo, 2021):
- Dualism – The idea that there are two sides to everything and they are in opposition. For example, ‘good’ cannot exist without ‘bad’ or ‘evil’. Kivel speaks about the war on Iraq and how Christian language was used to garner support for the war, as well as the attacks on reproductive rights and 2SLGBTQ+ communities. This visibilizes the way in which the dominant Christian ideology continues to play out in North American society.
- One truth - The idea that salvation comes through people finding “the truth” (righteousness) within Christianity. Other systems of thought and spirituality are positioned as inferior or dangerous, and therefore, the role of Christians is to save non-Christian people (e.g., missionaries, conversions, certain types of charity work, etc.). This also connects to manifest destiny, the idea that white Americans were divinely ordained to expand westward and settle the entire continent of North America.
- Individualism -The focus is on personal attitudes and behaviours, and the personal work towards absolving sins, which detracts from institutionalized control. Chrisitan hegemony centers the self and the promise of afterlife in heaven and directs individuals to work towards seeking salvation from earth. This positions humans as the dominant beings on earth, which then feeds into anthropocentric values and consumer cultures that overlook the destruction of our environments and our fundamental interconnectedness with all life.
In critiquing the logics of Christian Hegemony, we consider the following:
1. Dominance of Christianity: In obvious ways, Christian privilege can be observed when considering the integration of Christian celebrations and days of worship into calendars as well as the secularization of Christian holidays that are often assumed to be celebrated by all. In more insidious ways, Christian hegemony operates through the erasure and distortion of other versions of spirituality and faiths, and the ongoing, ahistorical portrayal of Christian institutions as only benevolent, virtuous, and innocent (Blumenfeld, 2006; Kumashiro, 2015; Seifert, 2007).
2. Assumptions of benevolence: The equation of innocence, justice, and goodness with Christian values, assumes that these values are unique to Christianity. This contributes to the mistrust and dismissal of alternative belief systems or non-belief systems that in contrast become of lesser value and virtue.
3. Secularism as oppression: The Ontario Human Rights Commission explains that efforts to promote assimilation and social cohesion through secularization disproportionately harms non-Christian groups by disguising the “persistence of Christian privilege in Ontarian public culture and institutional life” in what they refer to as “systemic faithism” (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2013). Individuals with intersectional identities of race, ethnicity, and place of birth, in addition to non-Christian beliefs, are at further risk of being excluded and oppressed under an ideology of secularism.
In considering the harmful impacts of Christian hegemony on leadership, we consider the following questions:
- What would it mean to challenge the false neutrality that we are a secular system and instead speak to the ways in which spirituality, faith and religions inform leadership?
- How do notions of benevolence and care promote an assumption that leadership and institutions are unquestioningly good and trustworthy?
- How might we critically reflect upon our own relationship to dominant Christianity?
- How do our sociocultural, communal, political, and professional identities relate to Christian hegemony?
- How might a more open dialogue about faith, spirituality and leadership support our connection and care for students, communities, and ourselves?
References
Blumenfeld, W. (2006). Christian privilege and the promotion of “secular” and not-so “secular” mainline Christianity in public schooling and in the larger society. Equity & Excellence in Education, 39(3), 195–210.
Clark, C., Brimhall-Vargas, M., Schlosser, L., & Alimo, C. (2002). Diversity initiatives in higher education: It’s not just “secret Santa” in December: Addressing educational and workplace climate issues linked to Christian privilege. Multicultural Education, 10(2), 52–57.
Ghaffar-Kucher, A. (2011). The Religification of Pakistani-American Youth. American Educational Research Journal, 49(1), 30-52. http://dx.doi.org/10.3102/0002831211414858
Helfand, J. T. & Zimbardo, Z. (Host). (2021, September 3). Episode 2: Understanding and dismantling Christian hegemony with Paul Kivel [Audio podcast episode]. In White Noise Collective Podcast. https://www.conspireforchange.org/Podcast-episodes/episode-2-understanding-and-dismantling-christian-hegemony-with-paul-kivel-2/
Ontario Ministry of Education. (n.d.) Education Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.2, s. 264 (3). https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e02
Ontario Human Rights Commission. (2013). Human rights and creed research and consultation report. https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/human-rights-and-creed-research-and-consultation-report
Kivel, P. (2009). About Christian hegemony. Challenging Christian Hegemony. http://christianhegemony.org/
Kumashiro, K. (2015). Against common sense: teaching and learning toward social justice (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Razack, S. (2008). Casting out: The eviction of Muslims from western law & politics. University of Toronto Press.
Schlosser, L. (2003). Christian privilege: Breaking a sacred taboo. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 31(1), 44–51.
Seifert, T. (2007). Understanding Christian privilege: Managing the tensions of spiritual plurality. About Campus, 12(2), 10–17.
Statistics Canada. (2018). Table 35-10-0066-01 Police-reported hate crime, by type of motivation, Canada (selected police services). https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3510006601.
