Christian Privilege Checklist
1. The idea that my religion is too dangerous to be taught in schools will never be entertained by lawmakers in most western countries.
2. When violent acts are committed in the name of my God, I am not expected to publicly disown them. If I am not quick enough or passionate enough in my disavowing of those acts, people will not accuse me of supporting them. People assume that I do not support religious violence.
3. If I am a man, people do not assume that I am abusing my wife and daughter(s) just because my wife and daughter(s) wear a common symbol of our religion.
4. If I am a woman, no one assumes that I never decide anything for myself, and that there is a man behind every choice I make, from who I marry to the clothing that I wear.
5. No one has ever asked me why my God wants me to kill them.
6. People generally do not assume that I want all homosexuals dead when they learn what my religion is.
7. Whenever there is any kind of interfaith prayer service or meeting, I can be certain that my faith will be represented.
8. When taking surveys, I am always able to correctly answer "What is your religion?" Even if my specific denomination is not listed, my general category always is.
9. If I am singled out at the airport, I can be reasonably certain that it was not because of my religion.
10. If I send my child to a government-ran school wearing a symbol of our religion, I do not have to worry about my child being forced to remove that symbol or otherwise punished for wearing that symbol while other children are permitted to wear symbols of their religions.
11. My religion will never be my greatest obstacle in running for a public office in the western world.
12. If I have ever marked 'Decline to answer' when asked my religion on an application, it was not because I was genuinely afraid that my application would be thrown out if I answered truthfully.
13. The fact that I practice my religion is never seen as a sign that I am immature.
14. If I am greedy, short-tempered, laid-back, eccentric, or academically-driven, no one attributes it to my religion.
15. I can flip to almost any channel on television, and the odds are overwhelming that I will see at least one person who at least claims to follow my religion within five minutes.
16. I have a natural advantage in advanced English classes, because books filled with symbolism from my religion make up 90% or more of the course material, while books exploring symbols and themes from other religions are ignored.
17. In fact, I will probably be tested at some point during my English studies on how much I know about my religion. I am very unlikely to ever have to take a similar test in an English class on how much I know about anyone else's religion.
18. If I am a woman, no one has ever tried to pass a law requiring me to remove articles of my clothing that I am not comfortable removing in public.
19. If I am a woman in a developed nation, no one is ever shocked to learn that I am educated or that I have a job.
20. No one has ever accused me of harming children, citing my religion as the primary basis of their suspicion.
21. I have never had to show people evidence that my religion is a 'real' religion.
22. I have never heard a joke based on the premise that my home country or the world as a whole would be better off if all people of my religion would just die.
23. Laws stating that following my religion is a major component of being a 'real' citizen of my home country are actually entertained in the western world.
24. I can be reasonably certain that I will get every major holiday of my religion off. If I do not get it off, I will likely be compensated with extra pay. I will never have to prove that I am really celebrating a religious holiday and not just looking for time off. I will never have to choose between falling behind on my work or schooling and missing out on a major religious holiday.
25. I can thank my God or declare that my God is great in public without people becoming suspicious or frightened.
26. If I am a man, no one is ever shocked to learn that I am willing to (or prefer to) date a woman who has a steady job.
27. If I have parents who do not approve of me going out as much as my friends are allowed to, or who expect me to get higher grades than my friends are expected to, this is not attributed to our religion.
28. When my place of worship is attacked, no one ever calls it ironic or claims that we brought it on ourselves.
29. No one ever assumes that I am an immigrant because of my religion.
30. Excepting areas that don't allow any religious schooling at all, I can be certain that I can find a school catering to my religion almost anywhere in the western world.
31. Music about my religion or my God can be easily located almost anywhere in the western world.
32. If I have lived in the western world all of my life, I have probably never been the only person I know of my religion.
33. I do not have to answer the question "What's that?" nearly every time I tell someone my religion.
34. No one ever assumes that I support violent extremists simply because they claim to worship the same God that I do.
35. Teachers in the western world do not generally report feeling a need to impress values of another religion onto my child. If they do, it is likely because I have chosen to send my child to a school ran by another religion.
36. Even if I choose to send my child to a government-ran school, I can be confident that, should my child need to speak to the school's guidance counselor, that guidance counselor will share my our religion, and will advise my child accordingly.
37. My religion holds the majority in most western nations. Thus, I never have to worry about aspects of my faith being outlawed because they conflict with aspects of another faith.
38. No one has ever told me how weird, cute, eccentric, or frightening they find the ceremonies and traditions of my religion.
39. Even if I choose to send my child to a government-ran school, my child will likely be subtly rewarded for following our religion all through their school days.
40. If there is a religious component to a major government ceremony, I can be sure that the ceremony is from my religion, even if it is not from my specific denomination.
41. No one would ever seriously suggest shutting down my place of worship until relations with another country are smoothed over.
42. If I am in mixed company and someone calls for everyone to bow their heads in prayer, I can be almost certain that context will make it clear that the prayer is being offered to my God, even if His name is never spoken.
43. Book stores in the western world are never expected to defend their rights to carry my religious text.
44. If I am careful, I can make it all the way through the first decade of my child's life without my child learning that other religions exist.
45. Every year, children in state-run schools are taught about important figures who share our religion. It will never be my job to introduce my child to positive historical role-models who share our religion.
46. The presence of people of my religion in my home country is not seen as a sign of the decaying of western society.
47. If I am a woman, I do not have to deal with people outside of my religion wanting to 'free' me from it against my will.
48. I can expect my religious dietary needs to be accommodated almost anywhere in the western world.
49. Members of other religions generally do not assume that my primary reasons for not worshiping their God are pride and bitterness.
50. Unless I am a member of an extremist organization, my attempts to convert others to my religion generally are not referred to as 'spreading hate.'
2. When violent acts are committed in the name of my God, I am not expected to publicly disown them. If I am not quick enough or passionate enough in my disavowing of those acts, people will not accuse me of supporting them. People assume that I do not support religious violence.
3. If I am a man, people do not assume that I am abusing my wife and daughter(s) just because my wife and daughter(s) wear a common symbol of our religion.
4. If I am a woman, no one assumes that I never decide anything for myself, and that there is a man behind every choice I make, from who I marry to the clothing that I wear.
5. No one has ever asked me why my God wants me to kill them.
6. People generally do not assume that I want all homosexuals dead when they learn what my religion is.
7. Whenever there is any kind of interfaith prayer service or meeting, I can be certain that my faith will be represented.
8. When taking surveys, I am always able to correctly answer "What is your religion?" Even if my specific denomination is not listed, my general category always is.
9. If I am singled out at the airport, I can be reasonably certain that it was not because of my religion.
10. If I send my child to a government-ran school wearing a symbol of our religion, I do not have to worry about my child being forced to remove that symbol or otherwise punished for wearing that symbol while other children are permitted to wear symbols of their religions.
11. My religion will never be my greatest obstacle in running for a public office in the western world.
12. If I have ever marked 'Decline to answer' when asked my religion on an application, it was not because I was genuinely afraid that my application would be thrown out if I answered truthfully.
13. The fact that I practice my religion is never seen as a sign that I am immature.
14. If I am greedy, short-tempered, laid-back, eccentric, or academically-driven, no one attributes it to my religion.
15. I can flip to almost any channel on television, and the odds are overwhelming that I will see at least one person who at least claims to follow my religion within five minutes.
16. I have a natural advantage in advanced English classes, because books filled with symbolism from my religion make up 90% or more of the course material, while books exploring symbols and themes from other religions are ignored.
17. In fact, I will probably be tested at some point during my English studies on how much I know about my religion. I am very unlikely to ever have to take a similar test in an English class on how much I know about anyone else's religion.
18. If I am a woman, no one has ever tried to pass a law requiring me to remove articles of my clothing that I am not comfortable removing in public.
19. If I am a woman in a developed nation, no one is ever shocked to learn that I am educated or that I have a job.
20. No one has ever accused me of harming children, citing my religion as the primary basis of their suspicion.
21. I have never had to show people evidence that my religion is a 'real' religion.
22. I have never heard a joke based on the premise that my home country or the world as a whole would be better off if all people of my religion would just die.
23. Laws stating that following my religion is a major component of being a 'real' citizen of my home country are actually entertained in the western world.
24. I can be reasonably certain that I will get every major holiday of my religion off. If I do not get it off, I will likely be compensated with extra pay. I will never have to prove that I am really celebrating a religious holiday and not just looking for time off. I will never have to choose between falling behind on my work or schooling and missing out on a major religious holiday.
25. I can thank my God or declare that my God is great in public without people becoming suspicious or frightened.
26. If I am a man, no one is ever shocked to learn that I am willing to (or prefer to) date a woman who has a steady job.
27. If I have parents who do not approve of me going out as much as my friends are allowed to, or who expect me to get higher grades than my friends are expected to, this is not attributed to our religion.
28. When my place of worship is attacked, no one ever calls it ironic or claims that we brought it on ourselves.
29. No one ever assumes that I am an immigrant because of my religion.
30. Excepting areas that don't allow any religious schooling at all, I can be certain that I can find a school catering to my religion almost anywhere in the western world.
31. Music about my religion or my God can be easily located almost anywhere in the western world.
32. If I have lived in the western world all of my life, I have probably never been the only person I know of my religion.
33. I do not have to answer the question "What's that?" nearly every time I tell someone my religion.
34. No one ever assumes that I support violent extremists simply because they claim to worship the same God that I do.
35. Teachers in the western world do not generally report feeling a need to impress values of another religion onto my child. If they do, it is likely because I have chosen to send my child to a school ran by another religion.
36. Even if I choose to send my child to a government-ran school, I can be confident that, should my child need to speak to the school's guidance counselor, that guidance counselor will share my our religion, and will advise my child accordingly.
37. My religion holds the majority in most western nations. Thus, I never have to worry about aspects of my faith being outlawed because they conflict with aspects of another faith.
38. No one has ever told me how weird, cute, eccentric, or frightening they find the ceremonies and traditions of my religion.
39. Even if I choose to send my child to a government-ran school, my child will likely be subtly rewarded for following our religion all through their school days.
40. If there is a religious component to a major government ceremony, I can be sure that the ceremony is from my religion, even if it is not from my specific denomination.
41. No one would ever seriously suggest shutting down my place of worship until relations with another country are smoothed over.
42. If I am in mixed company and someone calls for everyone to bow their heads in prayer, I can be almost certain that context will make it clear that the prayer is being offered to my God, even if His name is never spoken.
43. Book stores in the western world are never expected to defend their rights to carry my religious text.
44. If I am careful, I can make it all the way through the first decade of my child's life without my child learning that other religions exist.
45. Every year, children in state-run schools are taught about important figures who share our religion. It will never be my job to introduce my child to positive historical role-models who share our religion.
46. The presence of people of my religion in my home country is not seen as a sign of the decaying of western society.
47. If I am a woman, I do not have to deal with people outside of my religion wanting to 'free' me from it against my will.
48. I can expect my religious dietary needs to be accommodated almost anywhere in the western world.
49. Members of other religions generally do not assume that my primary reasons for not worshiping their God are pride and bitterness.
50. Unless I am a member of an extremist organization, my attempts to convert others to my religion generally are not referred to as 'spreading hate.'