Missionary panic: When Christianity scares mass media
Anja Tang-Hoffmann. Canva
Christian Life
If some sports people are Christian, the media seem to feel obliged to warn against them. That is the impression of Anja Tang in the German-speaking media world. “Let’s cling to Christ”, her advice is.
Watching German television news increasingly feels like watching satire. It would be amusing – if it were not a serious misuse of taxpayers’ money. Critical reporting on religious communities is, of course, both legitimate and necessary. Yet recent programmes and articles by Germany’s publicly funded broadcasters create the impression that some journalists see themselves less as reporters and more as activists with a mission of their own.
It now seems sufficient, as a Christian, to live one’s faith openly to arouse suspicion. When a Christian footballer prayed on the pitch after a match last June and later spoke to students about his beliefs, the TV station Tagesschau wasted no time to warn the German public of the “danger”. With notable seriousness, the presenter announced: “Some footballers live their faith quite openly. (…) At first glance, that may seem harmless. But critics warn that, in some cases, this could be targeted missionary activity.” How shocking indeed!
Broadcasters including ARD, BR, Der Spiegel and Deutschlandfunk have meanwhile issued earnest warnings about the Catholic prayer app Hallow – which reportedly has received funding from conservative Americans (!) – and the Christian rappers O’Bros.
When the O’Bros reached number one in the German charts, ARD’s Brisant informed viewers of the alleged threat. Although their lyrics revolve around love, Scripture and the Holy Spirit, they are “anything but harmless”. “The halo is deceiving,” the young reporter warned gravely, because their real aim was to “lure young people back into the church and convince others of their worldview—in other words: to evangelise.” The dramatic tone left little doubt: This must be a threat to public safety. And, even more concerning, the rappers had once attended a conference where LGBTQI-critical views were voiced.
What goes conspicuously unmentioned is that the right to share one’s faith—to evangelise, in other words—is explicitly protected in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Nor do reporters appear aware that evangelisation and the belief in marriage between one man and one woman have been elements of the Christian faith for the past 2,000 years.
Curiously, anxieties about “missionary influence” seem to arise only when Christians are involved. When a photo of the Muslim footballer, Antonio Rüdiger, made the tawhid gesture at the start of Ramadan, it went viral. He faced criticism for using what many view as an Islamist symbol. The Tagesschau rushed to denounce the reaction as “anti-Muslim hatred” from the radical right. A sociologist was promptly invited to assure viewers that it was “evident” Rüdiger was not radical and that the gesture needed to be “placed in context”.
These televised warnings about Christian missionary activities appear even more surreal when set against what is currently happening in Germany. According to police statistics, anti-Christian hate crimes rose by 105 per cent between 2022 and 2023 and by another 22 per cent between 2023 and 2024.
Last summer, the German Bishops’ Conference –rarely accused of alarmism– issued a public statement warning that “all taboos have been broken” when it comes to church vandalism. Their concern followed grotesque attacks on churches: arson inside sanctuaries, excrement smeared on altars, and statues of Jesus found decapitated.
The situation has hardly improved since. In recent months, a young man in Berlin was beaten and injured after admitting he was a Christian. A sacristan was violently attacked with a large cross torn from his own parish, and the Evangelical Tabernacle Church was forced to cancel its open-air service after the pastor had received death threats. Last week, a Lutheran parish in Schleswig-Holstein cancelled its Christmas market after receiving a threatening letter.
However, such hostility does not seem to align with the preferred narrative. This becomes particularly apparent in coverage of global Christian persecution, which is rarely mentioned by the very media outlets that warn incessantly about the dangers of Christian missionary work in Germany. And when persecution is covered, it usually comes in distorted, strange framing.
When around 200 Christians were massacred in Nigeria last June, reportedly amid cries of “Allahu Akbar”, the German broadcaster ZDF published a lengthy article explaining that the conflict between farmers and herders was primarily a result of climate change. “At times, the conflict takes on a religious colouring,” the article further insists. “But describing it as clashes between Christians and Muslims is misleading, according to experts.”
These kinds of biases are not confined to Germany. Across the West, traditional Christian views on marriage and gender are routinely labelled “homophobic”, “fundamentalist” or even “religious extremism”. Such sources—completely neglecting the fact that extremism is defined by the readiness to use violence to achieve one’s aim, while those labelled as such are typically preaching forgiveness and humility (and, yes, also that the moral standards of the Bible should be taken seriously).
These defamations are not only unjust but also dangerous. First, they trivialise the threat posed by genuine religious extremism (which is rarely Christian in origin). Second, as the OSCE has warned in a recent Guideline, hostile narratives can contribute to increased aggression towards Christians themselves.
For committed Christians, it is easy to feel discouraged or offended in the face of such injustices, to fold our hands and complain about the imbalance of “the media.” But that is not the purpose of this reflection.
Instead, we might ask ourselves: how can we express our criticism of such unfair portrayals gracefully and even with a touch of humour –whether in a letter to the editor or a guest commentary– and in doing so help make our media landscape a little less one-sided?
After all, for Christians, it is part of our calling to be the “salt and light” in the world, and Jesus’ words leave no doubt that we will not always find ourselves among the like-minded. Yet the more closely we cling to Him and recognise His love for the world, the more patiently and lovingly we can, by God’s grace, contribute to shaping a fairer and more compassionate society.
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